Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

As dawn broke, five miles south of the city of Rield, the Sassanid army had already begun its advance.

The bugles sounded mournfully, and the war drums beat deafeningly. Squads of soldiers poured out of their tents and assembled in formation on the drill ground.

Spears stood like a forest, shields like a wall, and sunlight shone on the iron armor, reflecting a blinding light.

Twelve thousand people.

This was a probe force carefully selected by Cassius, consisting of three thousand light infantry, five thousand heavy infantry, two thousand archers, and two thousand auxiliary soldiers responsible for carrying ladders and battering rams.

Cassius stood on the reviewing stand, looking at the dense crowd below, his face expressionless.

He knew very well that of those twelve thousand people, he didn't know if even half of them would make it back alive.

Below the reviewing stand, several centurions were whispering among themselves.

"I heard there's an incredibly powerful mage on the other side who single-handedly wiped out General Redmond's three thousand cavalry."

"Really?"

"It's true, the cavalrymen saw it with their own eyes. Fireballs were falling from the sky, one after another, and they just wouldn't stop."

"Then let's go this time..."

"General Olaf is here, isn't he? He can definitely stop that mage!"

"Is it really possible?"

The centurions spoke in hushed tones, but an barely suppressed fear seeped through every word.

Cassius, of course, heard it.

However, he couldn't reassure them because he himself was unsure, believing that General Olaf was unlikely to take action this time.

At that moment, a huge figure walked up to him.

Olaf Ironback.

This hero-level warrior wasn't wearing his flashy black plate armor today; he was only wearing ordinary leather armor, making him look much more low-key.

But the oppressive feeling still made the surrounding officers instinctively take two steps back.

"Ready?" Olaf asked.

Cassius nodded: "Twelve thousand men, as you instructed, divided into three waves. The first wave will probe, the second will follow up, and the third will provide cover."

Olaf hummed in agreement, his powerful eyesight piercing across the training ground to gaze at the vast city in the distance.

Rield.

The defenders could be vaguely seen moving on the city wall, their flags fluttering.

But what caught his attention even more was the sprawling camp outside the city.

That was the camp of some of the reinforcements from Eriland.

According to the inside report, the reinforcements numbered 100,000, led by Prince Alfred, a level 13 warrior.

Moreover, not all of them entered the city.

Approximately 30,000 men camped in key locations outside the city, forming a defensive perimeter with the city.

Olaf stared at the camp for a long time.

Cassius followed his gaze.

"General Olaf, those 30,000 troops outside the city..."

"I saw it," Olaf interrupted him. "Send ten thousand men to keep an eye on them."

Cassius swallowed hard. "But can ten thousand men stop thirty thousand?"

Olaf looked at him and patiently explained, "We only sent a little over 10,000 men to attack the city, while the rest of us made a show of preparing to attack from a short distance away. If those 30,000 reinforcements rush out to attack my flank, it means they don't trust the city's defenses and need to come out to help. Then the mage in the city might not be that powerful."

"What if they remain inactive?"

"That means they trust the city," Olaf said. "What in the city could they trust? It must be that the mage is truly an exemplar."

"oh--"

Cassius quickly understood.

"What if that mage intervenes personally?"

"It's better to make a move," Olaf said. "I'll get a feel for his true worth."

If he's stronger than him, then we'll negotiate; if he's weaker, then we can fight.

"Go ahead," Olaf waved.

Cassius turned to make the arrangements.

……

Outside Rild City, at the Eredland reinforcements' camp.

Prince Alfred stood atop the camp's watchtower, his brow furrowed as he gazed at the vast, dark mass of Sassanid troops in the distance.

The 30,000-strong army was stationed southeast of the city, at a 45-degree angle to the city wall. This position provided flank support to the city and controlled the main road leading east.

The campsite was set up very carefully.

The outer perimeter was fortified with deep moats and high walls, with three layers of barricades. Inside the camp, infantry squares, cavalry reserves, and archer positions were all in their designated locations.

From above, the entire camp looked like a curled-up hedgehog, covered in thorns.

This was arranged and planned by him personally.

The scouts have already reported that the Sassanids have sent nearly 100,000 reinforcements. The ordinary soldiers are not the main concern; the problem is that it is unclear how many of them are professionals.

A head-on confrontation is not a wise move; the best approach is to stall.

They came from afar, but they won't last long.

The essence of the pincer attack strategy lies in this: if he attacks me, I will stab him from the side; if he attacks from the side, I will come out from inside the city and stab him. By attacking from both sides, the enemy cannot defend both ends.

Alfred had been fighting for over a decade, so he naturally understood this system.

"Your Highness!" A scout rushed up the watchtower, kneeling on one knee. "The Sassanid army is arrayed, about twelve thousand strong, advancing towards the south gate!"

Alfred squinted.

"Twelve thousand? Who will lead the army?"

"It was Cassius who personally led the team."

Alfred paused for a moment.

"Pass down the order," he said in a deep voice, "all troops are on high alert and are not to launch any attacks without authorization. Await my command."

"yes!"

The messenger rushed off.

Alfred looked again at the Sassanid army in the distance, his fingers tapping lightly on the wooden railing of the watchtower.

"Twelve thousand men? Cassius shouldn't have sent so few..."

"But I'd like to see what tricks you're up to."

……

Outside the city, the Sassanid army's siege equipment was being assembled.

These are the things brought by the 80,000 reinforcements—siege towers, battering rams, and ladders, disassembled into parts and loaded onto two hundred large carts, which were then jostled all the way here.

In the rear camp, hundreds of craftsmen were working busily.

The blacksmith toiled in front of the furnace, sweat pouring down his face, his hammer clanging incessantly against the anvil.

The carpenters sawed, planed, drilled holes in, and spliced ​​together the thick logs, and the framework of the siege tower was erected little by little.

The siege ladders were the easiest to make; two long logs with a crossbar nailed in the middle and an iron hook attached to the top were simply laid on the city wall and ready to use. With prefabricated components provided by the army and freshly cut wood, more than two hundred ladders were produced in just one morning.

Siege towers were more complicated to build, requiring scaffolding, wooden planks, pulleys, and a wet cowhide covering for fire protection. But the craftsmen were all experienced; with dozens of people working together, they could assemble four or five towers a day.

The siege hammer was the slowest. That thing required a whole thick tree trunk to make the hammer body, with a copper head wrapped around the front end, and it was suspended from a frame by iron chains, requiring dozens of people to push it.

The hammer body needs to be made from suitable trees selected from the forest. After the trees are cut down, the bark needs to be removed, the wood needs to be polished, and the metal needs to be wrapped around it. It takes three to five days to make the hammer.

Time is rather short. We have enough siege equipment for today, but we're far from enough for the next few days.

Outside the city, the Sassanid army continued its advance.

There are still 500 meters to the city wall.

Four hundred meters.

Three hundred meters.

……

They've entered arrow range.

On the city wall, Graham raised his right hand and swung it down sharply.

"Release the arrows!"

Thousands of arrows flew from the city walls, tracing arcs in the air before raining down on the Sassanid army.

Screams echoed throughout the room.