My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 159: Overwhelming Defence

Nobody panicked at the approaching lightning bolt. The vampires had their magic users positioned at the gate to be prepared for a large scale artillery type spell. It was a common way to start a battle since if the enemy were unprepared, it would be akin to having them welcome you into their city. Before the bolt struck, it crashed against a translucent green dome. This was most likely some kind of shielding magic cast by the vampires.

When Kace thought about this, he wondered how something of that magnitude was pulled off exactly. It could be advantageous to him in the future if he could learn something like that. Sparks flew where the two spells met, lighting the area up in a white and green glow as the two forces fought for supremacy. Cracks began to appear in the green dome, making Kace fear that it would not be strong enough to hold back the initial assault.

Luckily enough, the lightning bolt began to dim as it consumed the vast amounts of magic power that had been used to create it. The cracks grew larger by the second while the bolt slowly diminished. With all eyes on the contest eventually, a cheer went up from within the city. The lightning bolt was the first to fail. The green dome was slowly repairing its cracks as it turned invisible to the naked eye again.

The first shot of the war had been fired, now that the greetings were over with the real fight would begin. A woman standing in the centre of the heroes forces raised her weapon high and then pointed it at the city. This was the moment that the heroes had been waiting for. All sorts of spells of various different elements and power levels were launched from the heroes backlines.

The first few slipped over the city walls as if there was nothing there to stop them. The green dome only appeared when larger and more powerful spells attempted to cross the threshold. The sound of soldiers and buildings being struck by the lesser spells erupted from the streets behind Kace. 'I guess they would not waste power defending against every spell. Smart. Otherwise, it would wear itself out from the sheer numbers. It's definitely better to just block the more damaging spells.'

'I agree.' Sylvan replied to Kace's inner monologue, impressed with the foresight that the vampire queen possessed. Kace's eyes narrowed on the field between the two opposing armies. Not a single hero had made a move to attack the city yet. 'I guess they are trying to wear us down first?'

'That's most likely the case.' Sylvan stated as he scrutinised the initial phase of the war. It was a solid tactic. Wear down your enemies morale and energy before sending in the troops. This would give them an easier time in close-quarter combat against their enemies. 'I doubt the queen will allow things to go so smoothly for them.'

Sylvan's prediction seemed to be right on the mark as a horrible bringing noise came from the castle's direction. Large sections of castle walls slid open to reveal hidden war weapons. These were all similar to arbalests except they seemed to have some kind of sights fitted to them along with an operators chair. Their entire structure allowed the operator to swivel the weapon to get a better aim.

Kace was rather intrigued by this weapon and solemnly watched the operator take aim. When he fired the weapon, ten large steel bolts sprung weapon as if hell itself had unleashed them. The second the passed through the green dome they caught alight with green fire. 'Must be some kind of delayed effect? Would they have been stopped by the barrier otherwise?' Kace was unsure as to the reason for it but admits that it did indeed look highly dramatic.

The bolts landed in the hero army's front ranks, incinerating all the nearby heroes to ashes. However, they were not done yet. After a few seconds, they exploded, sending green flaming shrapnel throughout the ranks. The soldiers' screaming could be heard even from his position as the smell of burnt flesh accompanied them. They were definitely terrifying weapons, and unless the heroes had a way to counter them, they would suffer heavy casualties from the bombardment.

'I think I'm getting hungry' Kace thought nonchalantly as he savoured the scent of the cooking heroes lingering in the air. It was almost enough to drive him to leap over the wall and rush over for a bite to eat. As if this were some kind of fast food joint instead of a war zone.

The vampires were not done with putting pressure on their opponents. The same grinding sound could be heard as parts of the roads that made up the city's streets began to open. From inside these new holes, elevator-like platforms rose up from the depths. Riding on these platforms were standard siege equipment. The catapults!

As the catapults began to load up, the arbalest's dotted around the castle walls began to fire freely, filling the air with hundreds of bolts every few minutes. The hero army's frontlines could not take it anymore and began to charge towards the city walls with reckless abandon. Anything was better than having flaming shrapnel tear through their bodies!

This was a heavy mistake for them to make. The catapults that they could not see were specifically set to target areas closer to the city than the arbalests for this very reason. If the enemy army held back, the arbalests would tear their numbers to shreds. If they charged the walls to avoid them, they would be crushed by the coulters thrown by the catapults. It was a rather genius set up for defending the city, and right now, it was proving how effective it was.

Kace continued to smile as he watched the heroes getting butchered. Whether they were turned into swiss cheese or ground into meat paste. He did not care. As long as plenty of them died before they were forced to take action. He was no fool, he knew there would be a limited supply of this kind of ammunition. Judging by the looks on the vampire's faces around them, they would maybe run out sooner than he thought