Dusk started settling on the fields, while distant armored figures bustled around the catapults like ants, preparing the devices. They soon began loading a massive stone onto one, wrapped in an oil-soaked cloth. Flames danced over the projectile’s surface as they lit it, sending a sinister glow across the battlefield.

“Damn them!” Kent hissed, his face turning toward Connor. “They’ll aim straight for us. My family’s castle! It will not survive!”

“We’ve got it,” I said reassuringly, then looked back toward the catapult. On our side, defenders cursed and exchanged glances, the tension growing palpable. On their side, the operators prepared to release the sling. I couldn’t help but watch closer with the grid. It was technically out of the rough 300 feet of grid reach, but as it was an open field, I could watch as if I were standing closer to it, although I couldn’t zoom in.

The arm of the catapult groaned, pulled taut like the string of a giant bow.

“Everyone, brace yourselves!” Kent shouted, his voice carrying over the parapets. The defenders ducked low behind their shields, some clutching their weapons tightly, others murmuring prayers.

The catapult released with a deep, echoing thunk, and the flaming projectile arced high into the sky, its fiery tail painting a streak against the blue heavens. Gasps rippled through the defenders as they watched its lethal descent toward the castle’s walls. We had a front-row view, as it was quickly coming toward us.

CONNOR: Now.

And then, Ina shouted, leaning over the battlements. She thrust her staff upward, and a shimmering dome of translucent energy materialized in the air, growing outward like a celestial bloom. The magic shield flared to life just as the projectile neared its apex.

The flaming stone collided with the magic barrier in a shower of sparks and embers, the impact reverberating like a thunderclap. The crowd below watched in stunned silence as the flames guttered out harmlessly against the impenetrable shield. The boulder itself shattered, falling to the water in a harmless rain of debris and fiery cloth, its flames subsiding as soon as it touched the creek.

A cheer erupted from the castle walls. I turned to Ina, who stood firm, her staff still alight, her face calm despite the strain.

“Well done,” she said, her voice full of gratitude. “But I’m guessing that won’t be their last shot.”

Ina didn’t smile; she nodded, expressionless. At least, she had nothing negative to say. I could see her [MP] displaying before me. [18/24]. I assumed it had been full right before.

They operated the second catapult from one of the carriages. We had a miracle working for us, but we’d probably wear her out before the threat was over.

We could deflect only three more shots with her current [MP]. The rest of them, we’d have to hold in place or disable the device. But how?

No anti-aerial guns. And we couldn’t Molotov the catapult from that distance.

CONNOR: Alright. The moment of truth. I need you to get rid of those operators. Is it possible?

LARIEL: Difficult. It’s more than four hundred feet away. It’s more than doubling our standards. I think Alynna’s bow can shoot at that distance.

ALYNNA: I can try. Who should I aim for?

I couldn’t get a clear view of their faces.

CONNOR: A guy with a blonde mustache. That doesn’t help, huh? He’s crouching next to it.

An arrow buzzed beneath. I saw it through the grid, nailing itself into the man’s face. It didn’t kill him, naturally, but must’ve put him through a lot of pain.

CONNOR: Great! Keep them busy, huh? Can you throw fire arrows?

LARIEL: Hmm… We can try, but again, they’re too far away, and the fire weighs the arrows down.

CONNOR: Okay. That’s a shitty situation. Try.

ALYNNA: I’ll try.

It was already late enough, as they mounted a second boulder on the first catapult. Lariel and Alynna’s fiery arrows passed much too far as our enemies let it fly, this time with no flaming cloth around it. It rolled in the sky like a meteor. I cursed under my breath as it loped toward the section right above the gate.

Ina, again, stopped it. This time, however, a bubble of light appeared in front of us, and instead of dissolving immediately, it moved forward. The boulder crashed against it, but instead of bouncing down, the momentum of the energy bubble made it bounce back, crashing into the front rows of Ingo’s forces. Soldiers had tried to move out of the way, but it’d struck two, mashing their legs into a puddle and prompting infernal screams.

Ina gasped. I saw her on the battlements, a handful of paces ahead of me, collapsing forward, numbers flashing around her.

[MP: 12/24]

“Ina,” I shouted.

Hell. If there was at least a poison or something that could keep her awake and her [MP] reliable.

“I can’t do it any longer,” she said through her teeth.

Another one flew from the second catapult. This time, we weren’t fast enough to stop it. Ina tried to get up, a shield flaring for an instant but failing. I prayed for it not to strike the tower where Lariel was hidden. It struck, however, near me, pushing into the building, collapsing an entire section of battlements and sinking part of the wall. If we weren’t right above the ditch, with less than a meter of ground, that’d be an advantage for them.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

But we couldn’t afford more damage to the fortress. And too many things were going on. They’d brought another bridge, just in case, and were trying to send it forth. Vanor had managed to attach one, and although they were far from the main door and couldn’t use a battering ram, his men were already climbing the wall from the east section. It was a blind spot for us. They were even out of sight for Alynna’s tower. It’d take them a long time to climb, but they’d done.

What Ina had done, however, had given me an idea.

“Lord Kent,” I said curtly. “You better go prepare your knights in case something happens. I’ll take care of these two sections.”

“I agree, Lord Tactician.”

Kent bowed his head slightly, shouted an order, and went to meet his knights downstairs.

CONNOR: How’s your range, Ina?

INA: I… will be gone in a few seconds… You… really love to use me. I’m going to bed, I guess, and I really pray I don’t wake up in a cage.

CONNOR: We just need you to contain two more. Please tell me how your range is. Can you position a shield close enough to make it fall right on top of the catapult?

INA: Damn. One should practice in order to get that done. Easier… said than done. I’ll try my best, but no promises.

I ducked, feeling an arrow from below brush past me. The damn battle was chaotic. I peeked through, my teeth gritted as I saw them load another boulder, preparing to hurl it at us. I crouched and raced across the battlements, reaching Ina, and watching from close to her, getting an angled view of the catapult. The operators pulled a massive lever, ropes tensing, boulder ready.

Then it was released.

Ina let out a grunt right next to me, light flaring from her body.

The glowing shield appeared just as the massive stone rose, a shimmering sphere that caught the boulder mid-air. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought it might fail—cracks of light spiderwebbed across the shield's surface. But then, with a pulse of raw energy, the bubble of light pushed forward, the momentum redirecting the boulder back.

The stone slammed back into the catapult with a sickening crash. Wood splintered, and soldiers screamed as shards and debris tore through their ranks. The remains of the engine toppled backward, its wreckage scattering the enemy’s back lines. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

But my relief was short-lived. Ina’s knees buckled, and she collapsed forward onto the battlements.

“Ina!” I grabbed her shoulder, shaking her gently. She blinked at me, her eyes unfocused and heavy with exhaustion.

“One… down…” she said. “I…”

“I’m asking too much of you, Ina. But please… do you have a sliver of strength to destroy the other one? Please, this will change everything.”

“I…” she said, her eyelids weighing down. “Pull me into the battlement. I… must see it…”

I lifted her in my arms and placed her right in front of the battlement. My vision fixed ahead at scrambling soldiers trying to get the second catapult to work, the first one whirling the ladder, and another one charging.

“Ina?” I hissed, finding that her head was pressed against the stone, her eyes shut and her breathing deep. I shook her body, and she reacted.

“Now!” I exclaimed. Her eyes shot forward.

I couldn’t even see it.

But it had been enough to make the machine fail. It wasn’t even the ball she’d focused on. With the grid, I only saw a tiny bubble of light, far from the boulder. No, it stood right there, waiting for the catapult’s pole to lift up, probably made of incredibly sturdy wood, moving upward with massive strength, crashing against the air and splintering in two.

The boulder’s arc collapsed, rolling over one of Ingo’s own men, cracking his armor and probably his back.

“Yes,” I hissed. I’d give her a kiss on the cheek if elves weren’t so reserved.

“I’m… tired,” Ina whispered, her voice like an unraveling thread.

“You’ve done more than enough,” I said, supporting her as she slumped against me. “Rest. We’ll handle the rest.”

Her lips twitched in a weak smile. “Good. I’d like to sleep for a year, so… take care of us.”

“Deal,” I said, setting her against the wall. “Vinara! Get Ina to safety!”

The elven brunette appeared beside me, lifting Ina with surprising strength. And again, the group chat appeared.

ALYNNA: Connor! I think they’re climbing the East wall.

CONNOR: Believe it or not, we know.

I turned, my stomach sinking. Vanor’s troops to our left had managed to swim through the creek; a line of dark shapes was scaling the wall on the eastern side, shields slung across their backs as they clawed their way up on the bricks, ropes embedded in the lower section of the battlements. Their position was out of sight for most of our archers, leaving the wall dangerously exposed. Elven archers had to lean into the battlement to shoot, but the width of the battlements proper was becoming an issue.

CONNOR: Babe. Can you hit them?

ALYNNA: Not at all. Can’t really see them either, but I can hear their voices. The window is too narrow for me to come out.

My brain raced. We couldn’t let a single one of them come through; the castle would be breached. Blind spots would be a problem, and this castle had too few windows on the side tower, and abandoning the gate to focus on the wall would give the enemy another advantage. I clenched my fists, then went into the group chat. We’d have to prepare our next step.

I turned to Vinara, who was already back from taking care of Ina, nocking another arrow. “Cover them! Pick off anyone trying to reach the gate!”

The elven warrior gave a curt nod, her bowstring already singing as she leaned over toward the front gate, killing those attempting to secure a new bridge.

“Anyone ordered soup?” Malor said with a wink, walking up the staircase with some of Kent’s men, carrying sealed containers full of hot oil, hefting them to the battlements where the climbers were nearing the top.

The barrels tipped, golden oil cascading down the wall and onto the climbers below. Then, the screams began.

“We hold this wall!” I shouted, turning to the elven defenders, Nidar among them. “No one breaches this line! Nidar! You know this drill. We’ve done this before, and we were damn good at it.”

“Yes, tactician!” the elf roared.

The soldiers around me roared, raising their swords and shields.

But beneath us, the roar of wood and stone still echoed loudly. I glanced through the grid. With our attention split and a shortage of flammable material, the enemy had managed to attach a second bridge, a battering ram already at our gates, crashing against the sturdy walls and making them rattle.

CONNOR: Lariel. Can you see them?

LARIEL: I’m running out of arrows. Can you send someone with more?

Shit.

We’d already killed dozens of them. I, almost in a prayer, asked in my mind for more information. And finally, Aria gave me a quick rundown. Perhaps I only had to think of it. We’d killed 87 in total out of roughly 700, and no losses, but a few severe wounds from the catapult attack.

What would Waldemar do? If he began attacking the Western wall, we’d be in real trouble.

At that moment, an arrow flew from my right, enveloped in a sheet of paper. It passed above the battlements and fell into the courtyard inside. One of the knights ran to fetch it.

“You!” I pointed at him. “Bring it to His Majesty. He’ll tell you what to do.”