“This turned out a lot easier than I thought.”

From his balcony, Dedrick looked onto the enemy's attack, or whatever one could call what they had mustered. By now King Pacha had given up on his attempts to just rush them down with fast cultivators, so the business of small troops rushing between the walls was gone.

Instead, they had been replaced by front line infantry with heavy armor, as well as an array of siege weapons. They had brought not only ladders and rams, but even their own cannons, chunky, unwieldy beasts straight from Chutwa.

“It is true. These modern weapons have the ability to bridge the gap between mortals and cultivators.” Tama shouted beside Dedrick. When he turned, he saw the woman stand beside him, though he hadn't heard her move. Rather than focus on the boss' new spy master, he looked back to the battlefield. Soon he nodded to confirm the woman's assertion.

Even the armored cultivators couldn't push through Qarasi's walls of lead. While they did better against the guns from a distance, their survival rate dropped as soon as they got closer. Once they reached the foot of the walls, their guns were strong enough to punch through even the heavy armor. Even worse, the heavy armor of the cultivators prevented them from climbing the walls at all. Instead, they were stuck at the bottom and hoped for their siege instruments to clear the way for them. However, they had rounded the tops of their concrete walls when they moulded them, so any hooks and ladders were easy to push off.

“What, are you trying to say my men are mortals? The wolves are cultivators as well, I'll have you know,” Dedrick grinned, and looked at his men spread all across the walls. Over the years, he had been involved in a great many battles, but so far, this one looked like one of the most one-sided. Even his warriors smiled as they reloaded their guns behind the crenelation. Never had they looked this happy without any loot in sight.

A bang from the side ruined his mood, as it did his ears. By now, a persistent bird had nested within them, and ruined his day. He really should follow the spy master's example next time. With envy, he looked to the cotton she had stuffed into her ears to save herself from the incessant chirping of the invisible birds. With that sort of modern cotton technology, maybe the king's great modern empire could save his hearing until the time he was rich enough to retire. Although he couldn't hear her snort, Dedrick could still see it well enough, as he could her slight grin. Even though he didn't like her attitude, Dedrick still followed Tama inside, away from the inferno outside. At least the walls dimmed the noise a bit.

“Compared to the men of House Pluritac, your wolves are nothing more than pups,” Tama shouted as she pulled out the cotton. “The warriors of the emperor's clan are chosen from birth and trained from childhood, all for a singular purpose, be they climbers, linemen, storm guards, scouts, runners. All of them have their own unique cultivation technique and physical training, all of them designed to maximize their abilities on the field of battle and off it. What are your men but a bit stronger than the average commoner? They are ordinary warriors, trained in the most lowly form of Pluritac cultivation for a few scant years. That would make them nothing more than servants in the house of Pluritac. How could they ever be compared to real cultivators?`”

Another cannon fired, and Dedrick could see the heavy iron ball land around an enemy cannon. Although there were still a few cannons left for King Pacha, most had either been destroyed or abandoned. High up on the walls, their own weapons had an insurmountable advantage. Their cannons had larger calibers, greater reach, and most importantly, the wolves had far more experience with the weapons.

With their shallow curve, the enemy cannons were almost worthless against the cement walls, where they left no more than a few shallow cracks, easily fixed over night. At the same time, they would be within range of their own.

“Okay, right, all of them are perfect. Really perfect how they scream and die down there.” Dedrick's vicious grin was answered by a bored shrug. Although she had shown some talent in organization ever since Tamaya had arrived here, Dedrick really didn't care for her attitude.

“In the end, it is as I said: This shall be a victory of technology over tradition, irrespective of the troops on display. This is the future of combat. Now King Pacha will only need to send more and more of his men into our open trap, until his shaky alliance breaks for good. This way, we would be able to swallow the southern half of his so-called kingdom. Not long and we will be able to reunite the empire, and fulfill Emperor Titu's last wish. Even if the lords of the north refuse to follow us after we have taken the center, with these new weapons we will be able to force them to their knees, under fire and brimstone.”

“Don't underestimate that army, girl.” Dedrick growled, but she had already looked away. Annoyed, the warrior followed the girl deeper into the room. The small command tower was airy, with balconies on two sides. From the northern balcony, they marched past the table where they had placed their maps and to the southern opening.

“Oh, since when could the idiot Pacha be underestimated? This servant was unaware that such a feat was possible.”

Annoyed, Dedrick grabbed the girl's shoulder and turned her around.

“Don't fuck with me, I'm serious. Yeah, we're beating them hard, but they're not losing a ton of troops either. Their first attack was a bit reckless, but it wasn't dumb, considering what they knew. After that. They've committed fewer and fewer men, and their actual losses have been pretty limited. If he was as dumb as you said, this King Pacha would have tried to cross the river long ago, to surround and overwhelm us. Then his whole army would be stuck in no-man's land, and wait to be taken down by our guns.”

Dedrick pointed to the trap-filled bog they had created around the small river to their castle's south, before his finger moved back to the north side.

“Look at them though, they're spread out, and careful. They only attack enough to test our limits, and to keep us firing. We're not gonna fall, but this Pacha guy isn't half as dumb as you all make him out to be.”

For the first time since the start of battle, Tama stared right at Dedrick. Her frown spoke volumes.

“It appears you have never met King Pacha, warrior. Maybe his men are less, but where is the problem, if I may ask? If they send less warriors, they might not die in droves as before. However, they will still die, one by one. Maybe 'King' Pacha has been a bit more careful than we expected, but he will still continue to send men, until all of them are gone. Pacha is prideful, and he is not used to defeat. He will never give up. When he ordered a storm on Qarasi, out victory was already guaranteed.”

“Do you have any clue how much ammo we've wasted so far?” Dedrick asked as his entire features pulled down. Really, no matter how smart Tamaya might have been, she was an obvious amateur when it came to warfare.

“So what if the ammunition is a bit more expensive? Saniya is rich land. We can pay for whatever is needed to defeat the center.”

At first, only a sigh escaped Dedrick. Only after a while did he take a heart and deigned the spy worthy of his wisdom.

“Look, so far this is still fine, but we don't have infinite ammo. Yeah, their cultivators aren't free either, but our enemies are one good thought away from a reversal. If the northerners start sending levies rather than proper knights, we'll be in deep trouble. With every shot, we'll make a financial loss, and we'd soon run out of powder too. The boss has saved up a lot over the last couple years, but it's still nothing if we have to keep running our cannons and muskets day and night. At the current rate, we'll run dry within a couple days. Then what do we do?”

“...there is always a way. If they begin to send peasants, we will have to find ways to deal with them in advance. Further, once King Corco's troops arrive here, our numbers will swell enough to hold the enemy back in a melee, gunpowder or not. Then we will have an easy time with the defense, no matter what ignoble tricks Pacha's side comes up with.” Despite his own reasonable worries, Tama remained defiant. This one was almost as bad as Corco when he was convinced of something. Just like when he would talk to his boss for too long, the knight's right eye began to twitch.

“And then what? You really think that king down there will continue to attack a well-staffed castle? You might have been calling him an idiot, but he doesn't seem all too silly to me. What if they hold back and just wait? They can completely eliminate the food supplies to the south, and then we're screwed.”

“Saniya has had an excellent harvest.”

“...which is nowhere near enough to feed the entire south. We'll all starve to death long before winter is over.”

“Is that not the very reason we sent Official Atau back to his fleet east? Once he brings back the grain from the northern kingdom, we will be stocked up and ready to face any challenge.”

“You always think every plan will work out fine! This is war, nothing every goes the way you think! And we don't have a plan B!”

Right into the heat of their argument, their faces only inches apart, the two were interrupted by a noise from the southern balcony. All of a sudden, the air was filled with twice as many drums as before. Although the castle was now surrounded, everyone within breathed a sigh of relief.

In the distance, the new purple banners of the southern kingdom stretched all across the horizon. King Corco's troops had arrived. One way or another, soon the storm onto Qarasi Castle would end.

“Damn it all to the depths!” A goblet of wine flew across Pacha's command tent. “How did they manage to come here this fast? I thought Epunamo would hold them back for a while?” Pacha looked around the tent, where all of his servants stared at the ground. Only his aide, a member of the silver tiger guard and field commander of his troops, would reply to his lord.

“Even if the southern troops are here, we can still capture the castle. Soon the enemy will run out of gunpowder, and then they will be ripe for the slaughter.”

For a while, Pacha stared into the distance, as the wine soaked into the ground.

“Call off the attack,” he pressed out between his teeth.

“Noble king, we only need to keep mixing armored commoners into the rest of our troops to conserve our losses. Soon, Qarasi will open up to us, and give way to our plunder of the south.”

“I said call it off!” Pacha shouted. For a while he only stood and breathed, until he had calmed his mind. Anger wouldn't help, no matter how relieving it felt. Even worse, after their performance so far, he began to question the loyalty of the Pluritac warriors. If he tested their honor by sending them against the old emperor's oldest son, it might end in a disaster.

“Your plan to include commoners in our troops has been useful, but this time I will not heed your advice. There will be no direct confrontation between the armies, not for now. There is no need to spill more warrior blood for little gain. Let us set up a permanent camp for now. We can just wait until the southern monkeys are starved out of their trees.”

Of course there were more reasons for Pacha's reluctance, but he would never admit to any of them. As he stared at the opulent flags in the distance, a cold shower ran down his spine.