The stairs Milady had made grew sloppier the higher they went.
Only the first three steps or so could really be called proper stairs; past that, the edges rounded out until the structure degenerated into a mere mound of dirt. Earth Magic lays bare the caster's skill in plain, visible form. She was still no match for His Excellency.
Over the fence, the subordinates who had breached the perimeter first were fanning out, and chaotic fighting was already underway inside. They had successfully opened the gate as planned, and the knights of Laufen were pouring in like an avalanche.
Thanks to scaling the wall with the earthen stairs, the enemy had been caught unprepared. In a mess like this, their kill zone was rendered useless.
"Spread out and take them down! Don't let them target us from atop the fence!"
I bellowed the command. From the looks of it, our soldiers held the upper hand in individual combat ability. By deliberately creating a melee, we could force the archers to hesitate, lest they shoot their own men.
There was another fence further in. Their plan was likely to force invaders along a longer route so they could rain fire down from above unopposed. There was even a wooden gate between the first and second fences. Taking this place through conventional means would have resulted in severe casualties. A rather meticulous setup.
Milady was crouched in the shadow of the inner fence. Resting the butt of her halberd on the ground, her shoulders heaved as she caught her breath. I felt bad asking when she was already exhausted, but I needed one more piece of work out of her.
"Milady. Your stairs collapsed into a mound."
"...Be quiet."
"Can you make one more?"
Milady glared at me, then answered honestly.
"...I can manage one, barely."
"Then I need one more push. Right in the middle. Around that spot."
Right now, the enemy was in disarray, so the fortress wasn't functioning effectively. But the last thing we needed was for them to recover and start picking us off from atop the fence. That was why I needed Milady to build a staircase right away so we could clear it. Hitting the middle would let our forces split left and right to sweep the enemies off the fence from both sides.
This wasn't a place to linger. If we were going to break through, speed was everything.
"Leave it to me."
Just then, our battle line split open in one spot.
A massive man appeared. Broad-shouldered with short hair, he stood a full head taller than me. Lowering his sword, he strode toward us. One of our young lads lay at his feet—slashed down just moments ago, no doubt. Blood dripped from the man's blade.
"Damn it, that one's done for..."
Both his sword and sword belt were of fine quality. He looked like a noble strolling through a city street, carrying a blade just for show. Yet despite his casual gait, he didn't show a single opening.
"...He cut down one of our men! I'll take him!"
"No."
"Why not?!"
"Milady's job is making the stairs. Leave those archers alone, and they'll shoot us from above. Leave this guy to me and get moving."
"...Fine. You'd better finish him off!"
Keeping an eye on Milady as she dashed away, I took a step forward and leveled my sword at the man.
"Well then, let's see what you've got."
"Do not chirp at me, country knight."
With those words, he closed the distance in a single breath and swung his sword upward from a low guard. Fast!
I hastily threw my blade into the path of his, but he drove through with the full momentum of the clash. I leaped backward with the force of the blow, yet I was thrown back far more than expected. He wasn't just fast; true to his build, every strike was devastatingly heavy.
"Now that's a tough break. Where're you from, friend? I'll have you know I'm the Vice Leader of a frontline domain."
Trading light remarks, I hurled a throwing knife from my belt. He swatted it away effortlessly with his sword, but the arc of his swing told me everything I needed to know.
This man had been schooled in formal swordsmanship. And he was an exceptionally skilled fighter at that.
"Insolent fool. I have no name to give to the rabble of the borderlands."
"Refusing to introduce yourself? Where are your manners?"
Talking all the while, I threw another knife and lunged forward right behind it.
Aiming for the instant he evaded the blade, I swung horizontally. As expected, he raised his hilt high to catch my sword—likely intending to slide upward into a counter.
A split second before our blades collided, I shifted my trajectory downward. Slipping beneath his guard, I thrust!
The man's reaction was swift. Slamming the base of his blade near the hilt against my thrust, he pivoted to deflect the point, then swung upward in a fluid, sweeping motion.
That was dangerous. Giving up on a follow-up attack, I pulled my sword back.
"Not bad, for a country knight."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Take it as a souvenir for the afterlife."
Both recognizing the other's skill, we locked eyes in a tense standoff.
An arrow flew in from somewhere and struck the ground between us. That served as the signal. We closed the distance simultaneously.
"Hah!"
First clash: I parried his diagonal downward slash once more.
Second clash: I immediately snapped my wrist to return an upward diagonal cut, but he met it with a vertical block.
Third clash: He transitioned from the block into a horizontal sweep. I stepped back half a pace to dodge.
Fourth clash: As his swing finished, I thrust forward, but he brought his blade back around from the flank to parry and bind my steel.
Fifth clash: I slid my edge along his, and he flicked his sword upward to break the lock.
"Man, this really isn't going to end anytime soon, is it?"
"Silence, cur."
Even as he spat those irritated words, the tides of battle were shifting. The sound of a bar lifting and a heavy gate swinging open echoed from within.
"Nicely done, Milady."
"...Useless fools. They couldn't even hold the line."
"Well, we've got two outstanding healers on our side, you see."
The longer this battle dragged on, the more advantageous it became for us. Even if our men were injured, so long as they fell back to the rear, they were patched up and back on the front line in no time. Through that steady cycle, our numbers barely dwindled at all.
Having the Saint and the White Angel backing us up apparently made all the difference.
Looking toward the entrance, the area had mostly been cleared out, and Lord Rein's group was already making their way inside. The Battalion Commander raised a hand in my direction.
"The outcome is decided. I'd advise surrendering."
At my words, the swordsman glanced around, unable to ignore the situation any longer. That created a glaring opening.
I unleashed a follow-up thrust into that gap, grazing his arm and drawing blood for the first time.
"To think you would wound me... Filthy dogs..."
Leaping backward, the man shouted toward the rear at the top of his lungs.
"Retreat! Set the fire!!"
With that command, the massive man spun on his heel and bolted.
One of my subordinates tried to block his path, but was cut down in an instant. It didn't even slow him down.
"He's too dangerous! Don't block his way!!"
Shouting the warning, I gave chase. Past the second gate, I regrouped with Milady.
"He just ran past here! You let him get away?!"
"My bad! I'm chasing him down right now!"
"I'm coming too!"
As we ran, fire arrows and fireballs rained down indiscriminately from the gate on the mountain side. Upon impact, the flames spread with unnatural ferocity. Looking at the blast points, I saw shattered clay pots.
"They prepped oil?! Are they trying to burn the whole place down?!"
The man slipped through the rear gate. As I moved to pursue him through the opening, he turned around with a smirk.
"A valiant effort, but this is the end. Burn and die in the flames."
With a swift slash of his sword, he severed a rope anchored outside.
In that instant, a portcullis of timber reinforced with iron plummeted from above, cutting off the path to the mountain trail.
The portcullis had evidently been doused in oil as well, bursting into flames in a matter of seconds.
"This is bad... Milady, can you get us over this?"
Milady placed her hand on the ground. The earth rose only slightly before crumbling.
"...Ngh. It's no good."
I looked back. The area behind us was already engulfed in a wall of fire.
"We might have seriously screwed up this time..."
The sweat running down my cheek felt chillingly cold, despite the blistering heat.