The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 207 Siege
Eric stared at the outside of the city for a long time, still finding it hard to look away. As the Imperial army retreated back into the city, the demonic positions visible from the city walls became even clearer.

The catapults and ballistae abandoned outside were burned before the retreat, with one or two of the larger ones still emitting black smoke.

On the battlefield, Eric saw a new catapult being assembled in the distance. He squinted and noticed that one of the faces directing the assembly next to the catapult was human.

"..."

He looked around, trying to find a ballista or a powerful bow that could be used to shoot that way on the city wall, but his gaze suddenly stopped.

—Another "he" dressed as a saintess is walking towards him.

Eric was only surprised for a second before realizing his true identity. "Eileen, what are you doing?"

"Eric!"

Eileen rushed over and threw herself into his arms, exclaiming, "You're finally awake!"

"Um……"

Releasing his sister, Eric looked at "himself" from someone else's perspective for the first time.

"How is this going?"

“I’m pretending to be Eric,” Eileen said, removing the headscarf that covered her long hair.

"why?"

"Because the demons all say you're dead."

Eileen shook her head, causing her long hair to fall.

“They were still shouting yesterday, ‘The saintess is dead, the saintess is dead,’ which made many people here think that Eric was really dead… Since you were unconscious, my uncle had me wear your clothes, hide my hair, and stand on the city wall. The demons stopped shouting after they saw me.”

"..."

Eric frowned, speechless. Why were the demons so certain he was dead? Was it because of the curse that knocked him unconscious?
What happened before I fainted?

Eileen shook her head blankly, "I don't know... I was on the city wall the whole time, and when I saw Eric being carried back into the city, I thought..."

Her eyes suddenly reddened.

Eric wiped his sister's eyes and comforted her, "I've 'died' twice already, you should be used to it by now."

"How can I get used to this!"

Eric smiled at her, then remembered his earlier plan and pointed towards the distant demon formation, "Can your spells reach that catapult being built over there?"

“It’s too far.” Eileen answered him immediately, clearly having considered the same question. “Unless we set up some energy-condensing arrays on the city walls, but setting up such arrays is troublesome and consumes a lot of resources.”

Eric sighed. "Never mind then."

“I feel Eric would rather kill the human next to the catapult,” Eileen said.

Eric looked at her. "You really are my sister."

“You can’t take risks. I heard you wouldn’t have been in danger otherwise, but you were targeted by the demons because you went to rescue other knights,” Eileen said, holding his hand.

"The city is besieged, how can I risk anything?"

Eric squeezed her hand, reminded of his knights.

"I'm going to see my uncle first." He turned to leave the city wall, but after thinking for a moment, he pulled Eileen back. "You come down too, and change your clothes."

"Oh."

The two descended the city wall and went together to see their uncle Edgar.

To avoid being hit by boulders thrown in from outside the city, the commander's camp was quite a distance from the city gate. The area around the east gate was blasted to the ground by Xinmagu. Reconstruction was rushed, but only the city gate, walls, and roads were restored; the surrounding area remained an open space.

Upon arriving at Edgar's command tent, Edgar saw that Eric had woken up and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "It's fortunate that your knights risked their lives to save you. A large part of the reason our soldiers were able to hold out outside the city for two days was because they were inspired by your bloody battle."

Eric responded and asked, "How is the battle going? Have we suffered heavy losses?"

Edgar let out a long breath and nodded slightly.

"Although we thwarted the demons' attempt to achieve a swift victory, the cost was considerable... Of course, this cost was two-way; the demons suffered even more casualties, but unfortunately, they also had a larger and more numerous army!"

Edgar looked to be in poor condition, and his words carried a hint of resentment. "Wait and see, wait and see, the southern provinces are still waiting and seeing!"

“I think that after seeing our determination and ability to defend Lutia, any intelligent person should know what to do,” Eric reassured him. “Has Memphis of Gradia contacted your uncle? What did he say?”

Seeing his niece looking at him with concern, Edgar calmed himself down before saying, "Memphis still says the same thing: he is actively mobilizing all forces in Guradia and will soon bring a large army to rescue Lutia."

"When is 'soon'?"

Edgar glanced at his nephew, his brow furrowed. "I'd like to know too."

What about the other provinces?

“Only the governors of Dorne and Tebnity each sent a team,” Edgar said. “I also wrote to the king of the Kingdom of Varane, but they think the demons in the north are likely to move east, so instead of supporting us, they are requesting imperial reinforcements to go north.”

“The three northeastern kingdoms are freezing cold, and the demons don’t even want to go there.” Eric shook his head. “Only if the demons occupy the empire will they consider moving eastward to annex those places.”

“But they don’t think so, and I didn’t expect anything from them.”

Edgar paused for a moment, then looked at him again. "When you were unconscious, the Emperor came to visit you. If you have nothing else to do, go to the palace to see the Emperor and try to restore his confidence."

Eric agreed first, and then asked, "Did His Majesty say something discouraging again?"

“He didn’t say it, but I could tell that he had already considered surrendering the city as a necessary option when the time came.”

Eric pursed his lips. "I really shouldn't have let the demon envoy meet the emperor."

Edgar raised an eyebrow to indicate that he believed the emperor's weakness had nothing to do with the envoy.

"I will go to see my knights first, and then I will go to the palace to see the emperor."

"Go."

"By the way... has there been any news about Her Highness the Eldest Princess these past few days?"

Edgar paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head.

After leaving the commander's tent, Eileen followed and grabbed Eric's arm.

“Eric, your uncle hasn’t slept well for days.”

Eric was silent for a moment. “No one can sleep well when this responsibility falls on their shoulders. When we get back to the church, I’ll send a few monks over to use magic to help him calm down.”

Eileen nodded emphatically.

Back at the cathedral, Eric first met Molly and Sophie, who had rushed over after hearing that he had woken up.

After offering them a few words of comfort, Eric then met with Edward, the commander of the Knights.

He heard from Elise that Edward had also fallen on the battlefield, and that they were sent back to the city by the other knights, but Edward had simply been overworked.

"Your Highness..."

"Are you OK?"

“I’m fine, Your Highness. I’ve had plenty of rest,” Edward replied. “But how are you, Your Highness?”

“No problem,” Eric patted him on the shoulder, “except we still don’t understand what the curse that knocked me unconscious was. What exactly happened?”

Edward looked worried. "I didn't see the specific process either. When I noticed, His Highness was already lying on the ground. And in the demon formation, there was a demon knight holding a staff at His Highness. I think that must have been the one who did it. He even shouted that His Highness was dead."

Eric thought for a moment, and the images of some elite demon monsters came to mind. "Those should be high-level demon sorcerers."

In "Thorns of the Soul", the elite spellcasters start at level 100 or higher, unlike elemental mages who are skilled in silent spells with terrifyingly high magic damage, easily killing squishy characters.

However, apart from fainting on the spot, losing consciousness, and having a splitting headache when he woke up, there were no other consequences. No one knew why that sorcerer was so confident in shouting that he was dead.

Eric even wondered if the sorcerer was scared to death after Eileen climbed the city wall to appear on his behalf.

“I heard that after the priest of light examined His Highness, he found no trace of the curse,” Edward said.

"Yeah, I only had a headache when I first woke up."

Eric didn't dwell on his own affairs, instead asking, "What is the casualty situation of the Knights?"

Edward's face was somber. "Seventeen knights were killed. The bodies of twelve of them were recovered, but the other five..." Eric felt a pang of anguish upon hearing that seventeen of his comrades had died.

Not to mention that these knights are the elite of the elite, they have also developed a deep bond with each other through fighting and getting along together during this time.

"What about the rest? I want to see them."

"Your Highness, please follow me."

Upon arriving at the knights' camp, after two days, the knights who returned alive had mostly recovered from their injuries and were out of danger.

"Your Highness!"

"Are you alright, Your Highness?"

"I'm fine, and I'm glad to see that you're all okay too."

Eric had seen them, and then came to the twelve bodies of the knights that had been retrieved. He paused for a moment, prayed and mourned for them, and then had them cremated with holy flames. He planned to find an opportunity later to send them back to the holy city of Lessier and bury them in their convent.

Divine magic can certainly prevent corpses from decaying for a while, but who knows how long this siege will last?

“You don’t need to follow me anymore, you can continue to rest.” Once outside, looking back at the blazing holy flames, Eric mounted his horse. “I’m going to see the Emperor.”

"Your Highness, walk slowly."

Eric rode alone to the palace, and when he arrived at the council hall, the emperor was already waiting for him inside.

"I am glad that the Holy Maiden is safe and sound."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Eric bowed.

The emperor looked at him and sighed heavily, "It's come to this. What does the Holy Maiden think?"

Eric knew he was referring to the retreat from outside the city to inside, and quickly replied, "Your Majesty should be pleased."

"Why?" the emperor asked, puzzled.

"I believe Your Majesty has already observed the scale of the demon army from the city walls. Before the demons launch their full-scale attack, how long do you think we can hold out outside the city?"

The emperor hesitated for a moment, then said, "One day."

“That’s right,” Eric replied immediately. “But in actual combat, the demons weren’t as strong as we thought, and our warriors were unexpectedly brave. We held out for more than two days!”

The emperor seemed to be a little agitated, but quickly added, "But Edgar said that many of our soldiers also sacrificed their lives."

"I hope Your Majesty will not forget them."

"Oh, I won't... Of course I won't forget them."

A belated sorrow appeared on the emperor's face, which seemed genuine enough. "They were brave men who died for their country, and all the people of Lutia will remember them forever."

He paused. "I mean, was the warriors' sacrifice something Edgar had anticipated?"

The emperor was still not straightforward, but Eric understood his meaning: "Sacrifice is inevitable, but Your Majesty need not worry that Lutia will not be able to hold out for long. Resisting outside the city and holding out inside the city are two different things."

"Good, good, that's good... I haven't stopped writing letters to the outside world. When reinforcements arrive, we can still drive away the demons, right?"

"Indeed, your majesty."

The emperor nodded and leaned back again.

"The saintess told me a few days ago that there was news of Natalia, so why hasn't she returned yet?"

Eric paused for a moment, then replied, "The area outside Lutia City is teeming with demons. Her Highness the Princess must be looking for an opportunity to return to the city, but she cannot reveal herself."

"Will she..."

“No.” Eric interrupted the emperor’s ominous speculation. “I was just knocked unconscious by a demon sorcerer, and they kept shouting that I was dead for two days. If Princess Natalia really has met with misfortune, the demons will definitely not let go of this opportunity to demoralize us.”

His words were reasonable and well-founded, and the emperor immediately felt truly comforted.

After leaving the palace, Eric climbed the city wall to look out at the demon army's position outside the city.

After driving the garrison outside the east gate back into the city, the demons divided their forces to block the four gates of Lutia, with troops stationed at each direction. Although the main direction of the attack was still the east gate, he and his knights had little chance of finding an opportunity to launch a guerrilla attack outside the city.

"Get ready, let go!"

A row of archers fired arrows in unison under command, a dense barrage of arrows shooting towards the other side of the moat, forcing the demon soldiers carrying sandbags who were trying to fill the river to retreat.

Having taken into account the situation during a siege, arrows are probably the least lacking strategic resource in Lutia—at least for now.

After several volleys, the demon soldiers outside the moat were temporarily driven back, and the demons' idea of ​​filling the river didn't seem particularly strong; it was more like an experiment.

In summer, the rains are plentiful and the water flows swiftly. The upper reaches of the moat connect to the largest river in the Breeze Plain. If the moat is not filled in one go, it will be difficult to fill it down.

Eric turned his head to look in the west of the city, where the moat connects with the river. If the demons wanted to fill in the moat, they would definitely start from that side.

For those too far from the city walls, the garrison inside could only watch helplessly.

Unless we take the initiative.

Eric thought for a moment. With the aerial view keeping an eye on the demons' movements, plus the cover fire from the city walls, his elite cavalry might be able to solve the water problem in the west of the city.

Of course, the problem hasn't happened yet, and he's just thinking about it.

Having only been unconscious for two days, Edgar might not be willing to let him leave the city again to carry out any missions.

Eric looked again at the siege engines that were gradually taking shape in the distance. They were waiting for the demons to attack, while the demons were waiting for enough siege engines to be assembled. At that time, this city wall would hardly have the peace it had now.

"Eric."

Eileen returned to the city wall, having changed back into her robes, accompanied by Molly.

Eric looked around. "There's only so much space on the city wall. Where will you mages stand?"

“Stand alongside the archers to ensure even firepower,” Eileen said, placing her hands on the city wall. “Of course, if the demons are about to attack, we’ll have to retreat and give this area to the warriors.”

Eric gestured with his eyes to the catapults on the demon's position in the distance, "This place will probably be very dangerous then."

Eileen looked over and slowly nodded. "That's why we've been practicing 'Group Defense Shield' these past few days. If a boulder comes crashing down, we can cast a spell together to block it."

"Can you block it?"

In Eric's mind, the shields cast by mages had extremely low durability. They were either so fragile that they would shatter with a single strike, allowing him to take down both the mage and the shield with a single sword strike, or they were like the shield cast by Sinmag, which required him to attack for a long time even in full power.

"Form defensive formation!"

Eileen suddenly shouted, and then she and Molly raised their staffs to him, conjuring a two-meter square, semi-transparent shield in front of them.

"Eric, come and try attacking."

Eric touched his waist and shook his head. "I didn't bring my sword."

“Alright.” Eileen stopped casting her spell, and the shield quickly dissipated. “The shield cast by two people can absorb a lot of the impact, and when the city walls are full of mages, the group defensive shield cast by them will be enough to block any flying stones—that’s why we need to be interspersed with the archers.”

Eric nodded. "You must take good care of yourself. And so must you."

Molly nodded as well.

Eileen sighed, "If only I could fly, I could fly straight to the demon camp and unleash magic from the sky, who could stop me... But the winged people all say that they can't fly with me on their backs, and I'm not even that heavy?"

“I told you to give up on that idea a long time ago,” Eric shook his head.

“It’s a real shame that the winged people don’t have much combat ability,” Eileen said. “It’s unreasonable that they are not allowed to learn magic, even if they have talent.”

Eric was taken aback. "There's such a rule?"

"Yes, the reason is that it is difficult to counter spellcasters who can fly, so humans and elves who cannot fly forbid winged people from learning magic."

Eric shook his head. "No wonder the winged people only ever see druids of the nature sect, and never mages... But the airdrop spell is really scary... Hmm?"

He suddenly had a thought: "We can have the winged people drop alchemical bombs!"

Eileen and Molly were both taken aback for a moment. The latter quickly said, "But the power of an alchemical bomb depends heavily on its size. If it's too small, it won't be powerful enough, and if it's too big, the winged people won't be able to fly at all."

“We don’t need much power,” Eric said, pointing to the catapults on the demon’s position. “Even just dropping incendiary bombs is better than just standing here and watching.”

(End of this chapter)