It was exactly thirteen days after Hercule had crossed the desert that Stephan's landing party appeared in the waters near the city of Teripol.
　It was almost the same time that the cavalry led by Jebe had left the village.

　The day after the battle of Teripol, Hercule sent a boat to the Marne: ......
　It took three days for the ship to reach the Marne, and four days for Stefan to leave the Marne for the waters around the city of Teripol after he received the news.

　The Lemurian navy had chained and stabilized the ships ...... and lined them up to cover the harbor of the city of Teripol.
　The Lemurian Navy chained the ships to each other and lined them up so that they covered the harbor of Teripol.

　The kingdom of Cerda, on the other hand, had already given up on naval warfare: ......
　They sank all the ships and made the harbor unusable.

　They also blockaded the harbor with thick chains.





　"Your Majesty, the smoke is rising.
　"Looks like it.

　Looking at Alicia's pointing finger, ......
　Hercule sneered.

　The west gate of the city of Teripol is already manned by three hundred and thirty troops.

　"The wolfsbane is up, which means Stefan's guy can launch an attack at any time.

　Hercule grinned.
　Then he ordered the soldiers.

　Then he ordered the soldiers: "Raise the wolfsbane and give the signal. ...... We will now launch an all-out attack.

　330,000 from the land side.
　330 from the land side. 200 from the sea side.

　A total of 5,300 Lemurian troops launched an attack on the city of Teripol, where 10,000 soldiers were holed up.



　The Lemurian army's attack on the first day was mainly with projectile weapons.
　On land, trebuchets, made by engineers of the Lemurian Empire, roared and sent various objects flying into the city.

　It could be a simple stone, a lump of straw soaked in oil and set on fire, a human or animal carcass, or a pot filled with feces and urine. ......
　There are many different types.

　In addition, the Bulgurons and cataphract cavalry would shoot arrows as close as possible to the walls of the city, and then leave the city immediately, thus reducing the enemy's strength little by little.

　At sea, arrows were fired mainly from ballistae attached to ships.
　Sometimes, a small bottle was attached to the tip of the arrow and filled with "holy fire" (a weapon made of refined oil mixed with pine resin, sulfur, and nitre), which was then shot into the harbor.


　The enemy's counterattack was surprisingly feeble.

　That night, Alicia gave her impressions of the siege to Hercule.
　Normally, in a siege, the enemy's arrows rain down on you like rain.

　The arrows from the top of the wall and the arrows from the bottom of the wall fly longer than the arrows from the top of the wall.
　No matter how good the Lemurian Empire's compound bow is, the disadvantage of height difference cannot be overturned.

　However, the number of arrows raining down from the Kingdom of Cerda was not very large.

　Perhaps the loss of the light infantry was having an effect.

　The archers of the Kingdom of Chelda are the light infantry.
　However, in the last battle, Chelda's army was reduced to one-fifth of its strength.

　In particular, the light infantry seems to have been severely damaged by being forced to deal with both the mighty Bulgurons and the medium-armored cavalry (cataphracts).

　Instead, we're seeing a lot of stone throwing. It looks like the citizens are joining in.

　Scheherazade said.
　Instead of archers, the enemy general Carmine had mobilized his strongest citizens to fight back against the Lemurian Empire by having them throw stones and household goods.

　Even citizens with no combat training could throw things.
　Just throwing things from the walls is not a bad idea, as it is powerful enough to kill people.

　However, ...... there is a limit to the distance that an amateur can throw by hand, no matter how high or low the difference is.

　This has resulted in many casualties among the citizens.

　"Your Majesty. Are we just going to wait and see for today?　Will you launch a full-scale attack tomorrow?

　Alicia asked.
　Alicia asked, because Hercule hadn't made any aggressive attacks today.

　They mainly attacked with projectile weapons and occasionally attacked the city walls sporadically as if they remembered.

　The projectile attacks are still going on.
　Particularly with the trebuchet, Hercule intended to keep it in full operation throughout the night.

　There is no need to hit the city walls.
　All that was needed was to hit a house inside the city walls and kill someone.

　That's enough to give the enemy psychological stress.

　I'm going to keep going like this for a while. I'm going to keep going like this for a while. If the trebuchet hits the city walls well, we'll be golden.

　While Hercule waited for Stephan to arrive, he chopped down a nearby tree and had a trebuchet made.
　There were four of them in total.

　This leverage-based weapon is very powerful: ......
　It is powerful enough to destroy a castle wall.

　The problem, however, is that it does not hit very hard.

　When they do hit, it is only in the upper and middle parts of the walls, ...... slightly destroying the walls.
　To bring down the walls, you have to bring down the lower part of the walls, but you rarely hit that part.

　(Should we call Nia back?)

　Suddenly, Hercule had an idea.
　Nia's magic eye could see vectors.

　Perhaps he could manipulate the trebuchet well.

　But if you think about it, being able to see vectors and being able to control a trebuchet are not necessarily the same thing.

　And you can't call it back now.

　"Well, don't worry. It'll be down in five days.
　"Why is that, ......?

　Scheherazade asked.
　Alicia was curious.

　Hercule shrugged.

　While we were waiting for Stefan, I dug a tunnel. Five in total. In five days, these tunnels will reach the bottom of the city walls. All that's left is to bring the walls down from their foundations.



　A tunneling strategy is a tactic of digging beneath the city walls and destroying the walls with their foundations.
　The tunnels are supported by wood and are dug under the city walls.
　Then, when the time is right, the wood is set on fire and the tunnel collapses.
　As the ground sinks, the walls will collapse under their own weight.

　This strategy is very effective and requires minimal casualties.
　But it requires advanced tunneling techniques.
　However, the Lemurian army is a standing army, and ...... Hercule had trained his infantry in tunneling techniques, so this tunneling strategy can be adopted relatively easily.

　To counter the tunneling strategy, the enemy would have to dig counter tunnels to destroy the tunnels dug by the Lemurians. ......
　This is not an easy task.

　It is impossible to destroy all five tunnels.

　Well, we'll be attacking with a castle hammer and trying to hang ladders on the walls, but ...... those are all diversions. The main thing is the tunnels, which are sure to win.

　The victory of the Lemurian army was already assured.





　After that, the Lemurians continued to wage a day-and-night siege, exhausting Chelda's army.
　In the meantime, they continued to dig tunnels under the walls.

　Noticing the Lemurian tunnels, Chelda's army succeeded in destroying two of the five tunnels by creating counter tunnels. ......

　By the evening of the same day, three of the tunnels had reached just below the city walls.



　By the evening of the same day, three of the tunnels were directly under the city walls. "Now, we will launch an all-out attack as soon as the sun rises in the early morning of the next day. Let's make a surrender call before that.

　Just before sunset, Hercule wrote a letter recommending surrender and sent it to the city of Teripol.
　The letter read, "The tunnel has already reached the bottom of the city wall. There is no point in resisting any longer. Open the gates and surrender before we launch a full-scale attack tomorrow. You don't want to hurt the innocent people, do you? That's what he said.

　"Are you sure, Your Majesty?　Your Majesty. May I inform the enemy of the existence of the ...... tunnel?

　Alicia asked.
　She didn't want to tell them the timing of the general attack, but it seemed too big a hint to the enemy that she intended to use the ...... tunnels to bring down the walls.

　No problem. Think about it, we can't even dig a counter mine now, can we?
　...... That's true, too.

　Alicia nodded.

　I'd like to avoid a civil war if possible.
　Yeah. It would cause more damage. ......

　Hercule nodded in agreement to Scheherazade's words.
　A siege doesn't have to end when you get over the walls,.......

　The city battle that follows is also very costly.
　Because the enemy has the advantage of the land, it will cause great damage to its own forces.

　Not only that, but many civilians will die as well.
　If too many innocent people die, it may affect the future governance.

　And I want to keep the walls intact.

　The war is not expected to end soon after the city of Teripol is destroyed.
　There is a high possibility that the enemy will come to take the city back.

　Therefore, it is important to keep as much of the city's defensive equipment as possible, as it will determine the outcome of the war.

　Now, ......, I'd be happy if you surrendered.

　All that was certain was that the next morning, the double-headed eagle would be fluttering over the city of Teripol.




　That evening, Carmine and his men were discussing whether or not to surrender.

　Those in favor of surrender argued that there was no point in fighting any longer.
　They argued that if the walls fell, they would be crushed by a five-fold difference in strength. ......
　In addition, the morale of the soldiers was greatly degraded by the defeat in the battle and the fatigue from the daily defensive battle.

　On the other hand, there were many who advocated against surrender.
　They claimed that the Lemurian army had lied when they said that the tunnels reached right under the city walls.
　In other words, the walls would not come down the next morning, and there would be plenty of time to fight.

　The city of Teripol is the second largest city in the Kingdom of Cerda, and the key to the defense of the country.
　We can't afford to lose it.

　However, the opposition's claim that the tunnels reached just below the city walls was a lie told by the enemy was denied by those who observed the "tremors" that occurred during the digging of the tunnels during the war.

　We don't know the exact location of the tunnels, but there are certainly multiple tunnels extending ......
　And it has yet to be destroyed.
　It is quite possible, they argued, that it reaches right under the city walls.

　...... We have no choice but to surrender. We can't afford to sacrifice our men and our people.

　Carmine muttered.
　But ...... one of his men shook his head.

　"No, my lord!　If his lordship is taken prisoner, the ...... royal court will be taken over by that traitor, Hoamel!
　"That's .......

　Carmine stammered.
　It is true that if Carmine is captured in Lemuria and absent from the palace, it is certain that Hoamel's power will increase.

　I don't think my daughter Sonia can stand up to Hoamel on Carmine's behalf.

　"Sir ......, why don't we just get out of here?

　One of his men said.
　Carmine frowned.

　Carmine frowned. "What do you mean by that?

　"Everyone here right now is a key member of your faction. Your capture is certainly a problem, but ...... the capture of the others would be a great loss for us. Besides, there are few people who can lead an army in the Kingdom of Cerda now.

　In the last civil war, many of the warbeast aristocrats who are known for their martial prowess followed King Raus I. As a result, many capable generals were killed.
　As a result, many capable generals were killed in battle or executed.

　In addition, if Carmine, his nobles, and his subordinates were captured, the kingdom of Cerda would have no generals who could command an army.



　"But running away without your soldiers and your people... ......

　Carmine muttered.
　But inwardly he tapped his abacus.

　(......Teriportania is the support base of that traitor, Hoamel. No great loss for me in losing it.

　Do I really need to work so hard to protect it?
　I wondered.

　(This all happened because of that idiot Iason, the young soldier. If we put all the blame on Iason, it would be more of an attack on Hoamel.

　Carmine smiled.

　(Why aren't the reinforcements coming to us in the first place? (Why haven't the reinforcements come to us in the first place?) That Hoamel must have told the king something bad and said he didn't want reinforcements. In other words, ...... it's all Joamel's fault.

　Let's put it that way.

　Carmine may be blamed for the defeat, but ......
　In any case, Hilderic II has no choice but to entrust his army to Carmine.

　In addition to the fact that Carmine is the only person, aside from Iason, who can stand up to the Lemurian Emperor to some extent, not a few of the troops in the Chelda Kingdom's army come from Carmine's territory.

　"We have no choice but to leave ...... a few commanders behind and escape the city on our own.

　Carmine decided to do so.



　Thus, Carmine and his party escaped from the city of Teripol under the cover of darkness through a hidden passage.



　The next morning.
　The next morning, the gates of Teripol City were opened and 5,300 Lemurian troops entered Teripol City.




　It was the eighteenth day after Hercule had begun his journey across the desert.