Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 49: The Siege of the Citadel Part 2

Captain Muindis observes from a hilltop obscured by brush and trees as the first catapult projectiles are launched. The Citadel's ruler, a young fox-like girl, has allowed the siege line to set up without confrontation. It becomes quickly clear why.

The jars of flammable oil smash on a barrier that was invisible until the moment the clay containers reached and smashed against its surface. The oil even runs down the curved dome of energy like it's a solid pane of glass, yet the gossamer energy looks ghastly and ethereal, like solidified magic itself.

Darner murmurs quietly as he studies the same sight from beside Muindis, "A barrier. It wasn't present when we last arrived."

"We weren't attacking. This must be why Hekate hasn't bothered to send any troops. Look there." Muindis points towards a high point on the titanic castle. Dwarfed by the castle's mountainous size rests several full-size dragons, leisurely watching the ineffective siege. Over 20,000 men and women of the Allied Nations marched on the Citadel, and yet, the dragons are barely interested. It's like an adult watching a child fail at an innocuous task requiring no intervention.

"The dragons... They don't see us as a threat at all, do they?"

"No, but if Lady Wenlianna's airship is everything the rumors say, we may yet see fear in their eyes."

Darner takes a breath and exhales. No one asks the question they're all thinking. They haven't even seen how the Citadel's defensive forces fight yet, which includes multiple dragons, and they haven't even sparked the interest of the titanic creatures of legend. Many of them are lounging or basking in the sun, not threatened in the least. They are like a final tournament champion waiting for a challenger to earn the right to face them. Few in the Grand Duchy believe they'll survive the mission. There are doubts they'll even be able to find Daniel in a castle so large, let alone extract him. There's no telling what forces are present in the castle, how numerous they are, and how strong they are. Supposedly, the silent knight that stood behind Hekate is the one who defeated the rumored feldrok lording over the Citadel for many centuries, and both he and Hekate had brought all of the dragons into their service, by all appearances.

One of the dragons flew off before the siege began, but they flew west.

Hopefully, the airship can prove its mettle against its first challenger.

Muindis looks at his infiltration team. There are around fifty of them from various specialist squads of Stalvaltan guards. While not all of them are as close knit as their own squads, they are all proud Stalvaltan battlemages. There are no individual soldiers in the allied kingdoms that can face off against them, and this will be the first real trial of the elite soldiers against the nigh-invincible dragons. The Grand Duke himself had hoped that ten Stalvaltan Guards could take down a dragon with his specialized training regimen, and Muindis has fifty at his disposal for this mission.

He gathers his resolve once more. They've come this far. "Let's move. We need to search for side or back entrances while the siege keeps the attention forward. If they aren't being attacked, all the better."

The soldiers nod in agreement, and they continue as planned.

The terrain around the Citadel, much like the Citadel itself, is mountainous, with one of the faces of the castle butting up against a cliff that overlooks the massive lake to the northwest of the castle. There is likely an entrance or exit near the water, since it would be an acceptable escape route for virtually all races, since Dragons can swim, and a boat would be relatively quiet when fleeing under cover of night.

Some of the castle town and wall extends down to the lake as well, meaning they'll still need to bypass the perimeter of the wall, but it should be less guarded than the siege front for the time being.