Although the protective barrier encircling the Floor 21 Palace initially held strong against the coward army’s assault, providing a glimmer of hope to the Olympian soldiers manning the walls, this hope was short-lived.

Although the Olympian defenders believed that they could perhaps withstand this relentless barrage of long ranged attacks by the coward armies’ siege weapons thanks to the strength of their powerful protective barrier that was set up by the underlings of Lord Escanor himself, this notion was quickly debunked as the Cowards rolled out their truly powerful siege weapons.

Unfortunately for the Olympians, the Arch-Ballistae and the Inferno tower which were Earth-Shattering weapons by themselves were not all that the cowards had, as they also had the Catapult of Shadows, the Thunder Cannons and the Earth-Shaking Trebuchet to deploy.

The Catapult of Shadows especially was a fearsome machine that launched shadowy projectiles, which looked like dark orbs crashing into enemy lines, with these orbs exploding into a deadly spell upon impact.

As Zane gave his army the command to unleash these orbs, the entire golden barrier protecting the floor21 palace began faltering visibly, its glow darkening as the barrier seemed to grow weaker and weaker with each subsequent impact.

Then came the Thunder Cannon, a massive artillery piece that fired bolts of lightning towards the desired target.

Under Zane’s command, the coward’s army directed these electrified blasts towards a particular weak point within the defensive barrier, which overlapped with the same spot where the inferno tower was attacking, as under the dual assault of lightning and flames, the golden barrier, which was already showing signs of cracking and breaking, degraded even further as the cracks widened and the barriers integrity seemed to be compromised.

*Crack*

*Crack*

*Crash*

The Cowards Army cheered as the barrier began to show signs of serious weakening.

The cracks forming in the outer structure became larger and larger with every passing second as it looked like the barrier could collapse any second now.

“Prepare to fire our strongest weapon. It’s time to decimate the enemy barrier–” Zane commanded, as the coward’s army prepared the final weapon, the Earthshaker Trebuchet, which hurled enormous boulders coated with a highly corrosive substance towards enemy targets.

*Swoosh*

*Swoosh*

Upon Zane’s command, these massive boulders were unleashed towards the weakest spot on the enemy barrier, as when these boulders struck the barrier, they clung to its surface with the corrosive substance eating away at the magical protection.

Bit by bit, the barrier’s resilience was whittled down as with a final, concerted effort from all the siege weapons, the barrier shattered.

*CRASHH*

*CRACKLE*

The sound of its breaking, reminiscent of glass shattering, echoed across the battlefield, prompting massive waves of cheers from both the True Elites and the Cowards armies.

*Cheers*

*Celebratory Noises*

“Redirect the fire! Decimate both the outer and inner walls, aim to cause maximum damage” Zane screamed out loud as he kept his wits about himself and instructed his forces to focus on whittling down enemy forces now, instead of celebrating like the job was done.

Listening to his command, the cowardly forces redirected the fire of the Arch Ballistae and the Inferno Tower to the outer wall, aiming to claim enemy lives by the thousands.

Unfortunately for the Olympians, the second that the protective barrier broke, the massive arrows from the Arch Ballistae punched through the stone and wood of the outer wall, sending debris flying and claiming the lives of the soldiers manning the defenses, whereas the Flames from the Inferno Tower swept across the battlements, engulfing soldiers in fiery death and turning the wooden watchtowers that were constructed behind the outer wall to ash.

The Catapult of Shadows and Thunder Cannon continued their assault, adding to the chaos as shadowy projectiles exploded amidst the enemy ranks, causing confusion and fear, while bolts of lightning from the Thunder Cannon struck with lethal precision, reducing soldiers to charred remains.

The Earthshaker Trebuchet continued its assault as well, launching its corrosive boulders, now aimed at the inner wall as the corrosive substance ate through the thick stone, weakening the inner defenses with each hit.

Within seconds, hundreds of thousands of defending Olympian soldiers lost their lives to the siege weapons of the coward’s army, while the integrity of both the outer and inner palace walls were compromised big time.

Massive holes were created in the palace’s defenses and the pre-existing defensive lines were completely decimated, opening up the palace for an easy assault on foot.

“Hahaha. So this is the power of dwarven weapons… it’s so cool!” Karna commented as he watched on like a kid watching his first snowfall, feeling completely mesmerized by the sight that unfolded before him.

It wasn’t just him that felt this mesmerized either, as the entire True Elite Army watched on the decimation of the Olympian forces in joy. Cheering loudly for their misery.

The Elites, although far away from the palace currently, could still see the fear and desperation in the enemy ranks as the outer wall was breached, and the inner wall was decimated under relentless attacks.

Karna and Neatwit, though only spectators at this stage, felt a sense of grim satisfaction to see the enemy forces suffer so horribly, as the enemy losing so many lives made the route for the Elites winning this war that much smoother.

Their impromptu plan that they had only formulated a few minutes before the start of the war was working flawlessly, and the enemy was seemingly being forced into a corner.

The Cowards Army, under Zane’s command, was executing their role flawlessly, bringing the full might of their siege weapons to bear on the floor 21 palace.

“ELITES! PREPARE TO MARCH” Karna ordered as he observed the state of the enemy’s defenses that were crumbling horribly and realized that it would soon be the Elites turn to charge and fulfill their role in this war which capitalized on the chaos wrought by the Cowards Army’s devastating siege.

The stage was set for the final push, and the True Elite Army stood ready, their eyes fixed on the weakening inner wall, knowing that victory was well within their grasp.

********

( Meanwhile Perseus )

From the second that Perseus saw the massive siege weapons prepared by the coward’s army, he knew that the palace’s defenses stood no chance, which was why he ordered for the consolidation and evacuation of all critical assets before the war ever began.

If he wanted to, he could have asked his troops to abandon their post. To save their lives and abandon their positions in what was a useless fight, however, he did not do so.

He let the troops believe that the barrier formation created outside the palace would hold-on against the enemy siege weapons and that they must not abandon their positions.

This led to hundreds of thousands of soldiers dying under his watch, however, his heart did not bleed for the men dying under his watch, even slightly.

“Information head…. What is the report from the underground prison? Has Rocky been captured already or not?

I don’t wish to dally around here at the palace a second longer than what I absolutely must.

If Rocky has been captured then I wish to retreat immediately” Perseus said, as he pressured his information head to give him news on Rocky, however, the information head had nothing but bad news to present.

“My Lord, unfortunately, it seems like the ambush we had prepared for Rocky has failed miserably.

Not only has he managed to kill all our top experts that we sent to capture him, but also seems to have managed to capture Sophia and hold her hostage–” the information head reported, as listening to his report, Perseus immediately lost his cool.

“Captured? What do you mean captured?

That bitch had one job! ONE JOB TO SAVE MY LIFE AND SHE FAILED THAT TOO!

WHAT GOOD IS MY ARMY?

WHAT GOOD IS ALL MY PLANNING, IF ALL MY UNDERLINGS ARE INCOMPETENT AND MY SISTER IS A USELESS HOE” Perseus said, losing his calm entirely as he blamed Sophia for the failure of his plan.

The information head shuddered in Perseus’s presence, as he had never seen Perseus as angry as he appeared today, however, he gulped and continued with the report, since he was unsure what would happen to him if he did not.

“According to reports, Rocky is trying to re-enter the prison grounds through level one alongside a bunch of Elite soldiers as their goal to save Riva seems to be unchanged.

If we play our cards right, we can perhaps still capture Rocky…. However, with the enemy holding Sophia hostage, there will be some tough negotiations taking place on both sides” the information head reported as Perseus unsheathed his sword in absolute fury.

“Father always said that if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself…. And he was right.

.net

I was a fool to trust my underlings and Sophia when I should have been doing the job myself.

Very well…. Better late than never” Perseus mumbled as he jumped out of his office window and seemed to head towards the underground prison entrance in a hurry, while the rest of the palace was being bombarded by enemy siege weapons.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep