Summoning America

Chapter 30: The Siege of Le Brias

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——

Parpaldian Camp, 10 Miles South of Le Brias

General Cius awoke with a start, finding himself in a tent. He groaned, feeling an aching pain all over his body. He looked around and saw bandages wrapped around him. "What in the heavens..."

A young man stepped into the tent, hearing the commotion. "General Cius, you're injured. Please don't exert yourself."

"Who...?"

"I'm Magician Vance. I'm one of the healers."

Cius nodded then rested his head on a pillow, relaxing his body. "What happened?" All he remembered was running to escape the forest fires, and then a brilliant flash of light before he lost consciousness.

"I apologize, I don't know much about what happened, only that some sort of explosion knocked out a lot of us. I'm with the reinforcements sent by the Emperor."

Cius felt nervous. If too much time had passed, the Altarans could've developed a considerable defense that even his troops would have difficulty penetrating. If he was facing any other barbarian country, he might not have been so anxious, but the Altarans have proven to be a cunning foe. "The reinforcements...? Boy, how long has it been?"

Vance held up his hands awkwardly. "Oh, don't worry. It's only been a couple of days."

"I see." Cius began to get up.

"Sir," Vance pleaded, "You really should rest."

Cius sighed. "Have all officers above the rank of captain meet me here in one hour. My body may have been ravaged, but my mind is still in sound condition."

"I shall see to this at once, General," Vance bowed before taking his leave.

——

An hour later, dozens of officers crowded around the entrance of the tent. General Cius sat up, using a map on a wooden table as reference while he explained his strategy. "The walls of Le Brias are heavily defended by the same ballistae that we encountered at sea. Their range is slightly better than our cannons, but they are less numerous. Our objective for this siege will be to eliminate these ballistae so that we can deploy our wyvern lords for air support. To do this, we will set up horse-drawn artillery at intervals."

The other officers nodded.

"We have 120 pieces. Some of them will inevitably be lost due to the enemy's superior range and accuracy. To reduce casualties, I have planned a night siege. Their wall will be clearly illuminated by torchlight during the night, so we may set up our positions under cover of darkness. The First Magician Platoon will apply flare spells onto their defensive positions, which will both illuminate and blind them, making it easier for us to lay fire onto them while simultaneously making it harder for them to lay fire onto us."

Nods of approval rippled throughout the crowd; most of the officers were impressed by General Cius' brilliance and adaptability.

"Our scouts have determined the locations of dozens of ballista emplacements, which are marked on the map. The targets will be split evenly between our artillery companies. Only when these ballistae have been eliminated can we move up and take the city. Now, get to work."

——

Washington D.C.

On a large, wall-mounted screen, thermal imagery depicted the movement of the Parpaldian army. Tracking the unsuspecting men from above, a UAV and its operator took note of the Parpaldian formations.