Otaku Translation: The Amber Sword V3C26

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Chapter 26: Expansion, Part 7

Antietta clasped her hands together at her chest, silently watching as the shadows of people moving through the forest grew denser. Since the onset of , though the first snow in was still weeks away, the night air had grown bitterly cold. The thin white breaths exhaled by everyone gathered above the formed a misty haze, hovering like a ghostly shroud over the compound. Behind the parapets, soldiers rubbed their hands together to ward off the chill, and an air of tension mingled with the frosty silence.

Nearly all the mercenaries were stationed on the wooden walls, with no reserves held back—a decision and strongly opposed. But had assured Antietta it wasn’t necessary, and for the noblewoman, his word was law.

"What if something unexpected happens? This is putting everyone in danger," Yuta had snapped, her frustration evident.

When answering the fiery commander’s complaint, Antietta was momentarily struck by a whimsical thought. If Brandon had misled her and she died here, she mused, she would probably haunt him as a vengeful spirit.

The absurdity of the idea startled her, bringing a faint blush to her cheeks that left her feeling oddly warm. Exhaling sharply, she shook her head to dispel the notion.

But Yuta, noticing the young noblewoman’s sudden flush followed by a dismissive shake of her head, frowned deeply when Antietta offered her flippant reply: “It’s Lord Brandon’s command.”

That careless answer erased whatever goodwill Yuta had built toward the girl. Without another word, the mercenary leader turned on her heel, muttering under her breath about "arrogant nobles" as she stormed off to inspect her troops. Yet, had she been honest with herself, she might have realized how much Brandon’s influence had already seeped into their thinking. After all, she hadn’t outright refused the deployment strategy—a tacit acceptance of sorts.

Clenxia, too, eventually fell silent, though not without casting a wary glance at . The towering leader stood nearby, a faint smile playing across his darkened features.

"You knew?" Clenxia asked, suspicion creeping into his tone.

Frein chuckled, as though reading the cunning middle-aged man’s thoughts. "That girl is calmer than either of us. Do you think she’d give reckless orders? The only one who commands her is that young lord."

"Observant as ever," Clenxia grunted.

"The feeling is mutual," Frein thought but didn’t say aloud. Beside him, a seasoned scout periodically called out estimates of the ’ numbers emerging from the woods. Frein listened silently, his expression unreadable.

The cave dwellers’ ranks swelled past a thousand, their movements stirring unease among the defenders. Stars wheeled overhead, and time crept past the first two hours after midnight. Antietta, battling fatigue and ’s endless barrage of peculiar questions, finally succumbed to exhaustion. Just as she blinked sleepily, stifling a yawn, a series of sharp sounds jolted her awake.

The mercenaries had raised their crossbows.

Antietta straightened abruptly, her gaze snapping toward the forest. The cave dwellers were advancing in orderly rows, each line shielded by massive wooden barriers hoisted by spaced evenly apart.

"Siege weapons?"

Voices echoed along the battlements as mercenaries exchanged queries.

"No."

"None spotted."

Scouts relayed updates from the watchtowers. A collective sigh rippled through the ranks. "Sir Brandon guessed correctly again," Antietta thought, her face impassive.

At a hundred fifty paces, the cave dwellers began to accelerate. From the wall, they appeared to jog lightly, but the sea of giant shields surged forward like a tide.

One hundred paces.

Fifty paces.

At this moment, Yuta, Frein, and Clenxia issued simultaneous commands to fire. The release of hundreds of crossbows sent a deafening vibration through the air. Everyone watched as a semi-transparent white line—a blade of arrows—swept forward, slicing into the advancing ranks. The front two or three rows of cave dwellers and bear goblins staggered, collapsing in unison. Clear gaps tore open in the once-impenetrable formation.

Yet, no one believed the bolts inflicted significant damage. Before they could reload, the tide surged forward, filling the breaches almost instantly.

In mere moments, the cave dwellers reached the outer wooden walls of the lumber mill.

The walls, constructed from four layers of logs packed with earth between every two layers, seemed excessive to the three leaders at first glance—a waste of resources. But when bear goblins slammed their colossal shields against the barrier, doubts quickly turned to regret. The sheer weight of their bodies and shields made the logs groan and tilt backward, despite being driven deep into the ground.

The creaking wood beneath their feet set everyone’s nerves on edge. By comparison, cave dwellers leaping onto the walls using their powerful hind legs seemed almost harmless.

Mercenaries swiftly repelled these intruders, but the cave dwellers weren’t done yet. Soon, screams erupted atop the walls:

"They’re digging tunnels!"

ushered Antietta back slightly while the leaned over the parapet. Sure enough, beneath the cover of towering shields, cave dwellers were excavating furiously—an astonishing feat befitting their subterranean heritage.

Without oil or stones, the defenders hurled logs down, but these proved useless against the bear goblins’ brute strength.

Fortunately, they had prepared. Some men retreated to trenches dug earlier per Brandon’s instructions, each several meters deep. When the first tunnel broke through after nearly half an hour, the lead cave dwellers were immediately shoved into the trench below.

Dazed, they looked up only to meet spears thrust downward. Though individually formidable, even cave dwellers couldn’t withstand multiple spear points raining down from above. Dozens fell before they abandoned the attempt.

Instead, they opted for a more direct approach—scaling the walls via ladders. Bear goblins crouched at the base, holding shields aloft to form platforms for their kin to reach the walls.

"Net!" Antietta shouted, raising an eyebrow.

Clenxia and Frein relayed the order. Nets, hastily woven from rope and framed with timber, unfurled outward, smothering the ascending cave dwellers like giant paddles. These crude contraptions, laughably simple in human warfare, proved surprisingly effective against the inexperienced attackers.

As the cave dwellers struggled with the nets, mercenaries rained blows from above, inflicting heavy losses. Yuta and the others marveled at the simplicity yet efficacy of the tactic—a far cry from regular armies’ strategies. It seemed less like the work of a noble or knight and more akin to seasoned mercenaries’ improvisations. Yet, it was exactly what that young lord had foreseen.

Using the nets, the mercenaries repelled wave after wave of attacks. But inevitably, the battle intensified. The rope nets, though durable, weren’t indestructible. As more cave dwellers breached them, bloodshed erupted atop the walls.

Human casualties mounted rapidly. In close combat, the cave dwellers’ individual prowess shone through. Step by step, the mercenaries retreated, their initial advantage lost. Defenders were driven back in many places, and the invaders from seemed poised to break through.

Though poor at siege tactics, their overwhelming numbers masked every flaw.

Sweat-drenched Clenxia and Frein simultaneously turned to Antietta. They knew the key to turning the tide rested with the noble girl. If she didn’t act, they’d take matters into their own hands.

Both leaders silently resolved the same course of action.

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