A siege: the act of defeating an enemy entrenched within a castle and claiming the fortress as your own.
I considered my options. I wondered if I could simply demolish the walls with the power of my Crest, but the structure was far too sturdy. These weren't mere stone walls; they were reinforced with iron. Technology in this world had clearly advanced in specific directions. While they weren't quite on the level of the walls protecting the Royal Capital Arcana, brute force was out of the question. I could notch the surface with my Crest Sword, but there was no telling how long it would take to actually bring them down.
So, what was the alternative? The answer was simple.
You used ladders or siege towers—mobile elevated platforms—to board the battlements, suppressed the defenders from the inside, and then opened the gates.
It was incredibly straightforward.
The problem was that, because the objective was so simple, there were no clever shortcuts. Even if we managed to board the walls, we would be hopelessly outnumbered. We would be surrounded and crushed by the weight of their numbers.
Standard doctrine dictated that you repeated this process over and over, gradually grinding the enemy down until a breakthrough finally presented itself. That was why they said a siege required three times the military force of the defenders. I didn't know the exact count of the men inside, but if the rule of thumb held true, we wouldn't be able to take the fortress if they had more than 3,333 soldiers.
However...
"W-What did you just say!?"
"I have a plan to take the castle. Let's go, Zain-san."
In a world governed by Crests, military math wasn't always that simple.
And so, my Knight Order marched toward the front lines where Eisen-san was directing the assault.
"Hm? Oh, you’re finally awake! Hahaha!"
We pulled up alongside Eisen-san, the commander of the Fifth Army’s Eighth Squad. He was mounted on an Emblem Horse, watching his subordinates throw themselves at the walls. He let out a booming laugh at the sight of me. I breathed a sigh of relief; at least he wasn't angry about my late arrival.
"My apologies for the delay."
"I've heard the gist of it. Sorry my boy Zain here is such a pushover! Now, I appreciate you coming, but... it looks like your turn isn't going to come today."
Eisen-san looked toward the castle. Squads one through ten were currently engaged in the assault, but they were making little headway. The moment a knight reached the top of a ladder, they were surrounded, cut down, and tossed back into the dirt.
"We’ve been at it for an hour... and as you can see, we can't even establish a foothold. At this rate, the men are just dying in vain."
Standard tactics required establishing a base of operations atop the walls. However, that first step was proving to be an insurmountable hurdle. Normally, you would climb the ladders, clear a section of the wall, and have reinforcements stream up behind you to secure the area.
"The Fifth Army General—Adidas-sama—and Osiris-sama are both geniuses. I don't think they'll keep throwing lives away like this forever... and yet, the order to withdraw never comes."
Eisen-san glanced toward the command post. I followed his gaze and saw the banners of Arcadia surrounded by a heavy guard. So that was the Fifth Army General... which likely meant he was a Three-Star Knight. If he was leading an entire army, he was on the same level as Iricobert-san.
I turned back to the castle. Another man fell. In my field of vision, people were dying one after another.
...I hated it.
"Eisen-san. I have a plan."
"Hm? A plan? Let's hear it."
"Yes. I’ll scale the wall myself. Once I’m up, I’ll slay the enemy Knight Commander. The surrounding Vassal Emblems will deactivate the moment he falls, so use that opening to send everyone up at once."
"......Pfft, hahaha! What kind of plan is that?! A child could come up with something better. Leo... listen... don't be so desperate for glory. You can pass the Knight Commander Exam without resorting to such madness. Consistency is better. Don't go confusing recklessness with true courage."
"But I know I can do it. Besides, if we keep hesitating, more people are going to die. So..."
"—!?"
I channeled a surge of Sword Aura and directed it at Eisen-san, letting it carry the weight of my resolve. I needed him to see that I wasn't joking.
"Please, let me try. Even if it fails, I'm the only one who dies."
I took my position at the vanguard of the Eighth Squad. Behind me, Zain-san and the others held a forest of ladders, while the rest of the unit—roughly eight hundred men—stood ready. Eisen-san had given me his word: if I actually managed to kill the commander, he would commit every man to the walls.
I actually had two plans.
The first was the same tactic I used at the Emerald Plains: a solo charge to take the head of the general. However, it wouldn't be as easy this time. Unlike the open plains, the defenders were packed tight atop the narrow walls. Piercing through them would be nearly impossible. If I got up there and it looked doable, I’d go with that.
If not, I had a second method in mind.
I didn't know if either would work, but if I hit a wall, I could just jump back down and rethink. The only thing at risk was my own life—a small price to pay. Not that I had any intention of dying, of course.
"Alright, Zain-san. I’m off."
"To be honest... I think this is suicide. I know your strength firsthand, Leo-dono... but even so..."
"It’ll be fine. Trust me. I’m not going to do anything I can't handle. Um... for the record, these guys are officially my Knight Order now, right?"
"Of course."
"Good. Alright, Leo Knight Order! Stand by! Wait for my signal!"
""Yes, sir!! Good luck!!""
The men of my unit pressed their hands to the Crests on their chests, sending their fervor my way. I nodded once and fixed my eyes on the castle.
A hail of Crest Swords rained down from above like a storm. Our side was matching their desperation, swarming the ladders. It was a battlefield where a single lapse in judgment meant death. I took a deep breath... and then I moved.
—Run!
"—!? W-Was he not at full speed before? Who are you, really...?"
I drew my Crest Sword. I parried the falling blades as I sprinted forward. I was moving at such high velocity that a direct hit would be fatal even for me. I reached the base of the wall, where dozens of knights were struggling up the ladders.
"Sorry."
"Ow!?"
I used their backs as stepping stones. Leaping and weaving through the rain of steel, I vaulted toward the summit. In an instant, I was atop the wall. The enemy was packed in shoulder-to-shoulder.
Yeah... as I thought, there was no way I was going to slip through this crowd. It was too far to jump past them, too. There were no easy shortcuts in a siege.
But...
I clashed blades with the knight directly in front of me.
"A kid!? Kh—!? Is he a veteran!? Dammit!?"
I parried his strike. The man squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the killing blow. Instead, I reached out and touched his left hand.
The Master Crest and the Vassal Crest were linked. By touching a subordinate, I could feel the tether leading back to their leader.
—Found him.
The Knight Commander was in the distance, barking orders. He was the hub for all the knights in this sector. I locked my eyes onto him. He hadn't noticed me yet. The path between us was a solid wall of regular knights and infantry.
I stepped up onto the stone merlon of the battlements and gripped my Crest Sword. Enemy knights began to close in from both sides, their blades swinging for my head. The path was narrow.
But it was open. Compared to the pocket of a catcher's mitt, the window was enormous.
I wound up, lifting my lead leg high.
This might have been the first time I had done this since coming to this world. But my body... no, my soul remembered the rhythm. From the moment I was old enough to hold a ball until the moment I died in that other world, I had repeated this motion millions of times.
My soul was etched with this feeling.
Ryu had called me a genius. Others had called me a monster. If I recalled correctly, I had set a new record at Koshien—the most consecutive no-hitters.
None of that mattered now. Only one thing was important.
"Haaaaah!!!!"
"Hm? What—!?"
CRACK!
I was a pitcher. I had dedicated my entire existence and every ounce of my effort to the art of the throw.
My Crest Sword shrieked through the air, tearing a vacuum in its wake as it flew with the roar of a jet. It blurred past the heads of the startled knights, a streak of silver light. The enemy commander turned just in time to see it, and a heartbeat later, the blade buried itself in his throat.
A heavy, stunned silence descended upon the wall as the commander slumped over, dead.
"What?? Edia-sama... Edia-samaaaaa!!"
When a Knight Commander died, their influence vanished. The Crest Swords that had been swinging toward me suddenly flickered out of existence. The defensive strength of the entire section plummeted. Confusion and panic rippled through the enemy ranks as they struggled to process the impossible.
I filled my lungs and let out a roar infused with Sword Aura.
"Leo Knight Order! Scale the walls!"
""Ooooooohhhhhhh!!""
Everyone up. We’re taking this fortress right now.