# Chapter 17: Crazy Siege Battle
"This..."
Kaisa reached into his clothes and scratched. When he pulled his hand out, the gaps under his fingernails had turned black. Who knew how long this guy hadn't bathed—he was probably the type who could lose three jin just from scrubbing.
"It seems the knowledge I gave you before really wasn't worth much."
The smile on Su Xiao's face disappeared.
[Prompt: Quartermaster Nicholas Kaisa's favorability -60, current favorability 35 points.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao barely restrained himself from getting up and killing this guy.
Sensing Su Xiao's expression was off, Kaisa sighed.
[Prompt: Quartermaster Nicholas Kaisa's favorability -30, current favorability 5 points.]
Su Xiao and Kaisa stared at each other with wide eyes.
"My dear friend, how could I not take care of you? That knowledge of yours is priceless."
As soon as Kaisa finished speaking, Reincarnation Paradise's prompt appeared.
[Quartermaster Nicholas Kaisa's favorability +90, current favorability 95 points.]
The wild fluctuations were too damn thrilling. From this alone, Su Xiao had already figured out Kaisa's personality—stingy, mercenary, both greedy and timid, and somewhat selfish.
This was very interesting. The people Su Xiao disliked dealing with weren't those like Kaisa, but those rigid types who considered themselves righteous, self-righteous—those were the most troublesome.
The more personality flaws someone had, the more weaknesses they had. Su Xiao never tried to befriend people without flaws. Even if he did befriend such people, they were ticking time bombs. They would definitely help with small matters and do a good job, but if it involved life-or-death matters, those types would be the first to betray. Kaisa wasn't that kind of person. He was the type with many personality flaws but few weaknesses.
"My friend, rest assured. As long as your merits are sufficient, that thing will definitely be yours."
Kaisa gave a lecherous smile. Hearing this, Su Xiao calmly checked the battle merit exchange list. When he saw the situation with [Sacred Oak Branch], a smile appeared on his face.
[Sacred Oak Branch]
Origin: Vis Star·Dragon Soar Empire
Quality: Gold
...
Stock: 1
Exchange Price: 16,000 Battle Merits
The battle merits required for the Sacred Oak Branch hadn't decreased—instead, they had increased by 6,000 points. But Su Xiao noticed a small line of text below the exchange price that was barely visible unless you looked carefully. It read (Sacred Oak Branch is a rare substance, this is the current market price). This meant the Sacred Oak Branch was scarce, and its price would change over time.
Kaisa winked at Su Xiao. He wet his finger with saliva and wrote a "9" on the test table.
The meaning was obvious. Others would exchange for 16,000 battle merits, but Su Xiao would exchange for 9,000 battle merits!
On the wall behind Kaisa were eight scrawled Empire characters: Fair and Selfless, Defend the Empire!
"My friend, we were just talking about the frontline situation, weren't we?"
Kaisa was completely making this up. The two had never mentioned a single word about the frontline.
"Mm, the frontline situation isn't optimistic."
Su Xiao wasn't stupid and immediately went along with it.
"Ah, the Empire needs people like us."
Kaisa slammed the test table, looking deeply pained. A thought crossed Su Xiao's mind: With a quartermaster like you in the Dragon Soar Empire, if it doesn't fall, it would be an insult to your "upright and impartial" character.
"I'm leaving."
Su Xiao didn't want to continue this nonsense with Kaisa. Who knew if the favorability would have another terrifying fluctuation exceeding 80 points.
"Leaving so soon? Don't want to discuss the Empire's future?"
"No... no."
Su Xiao didn't want to keep dealing with this titanium-face-skinned guy. If Bubu Wang were here, it might be able to "exchange blows" with Kaisa for hundreds of rounds. Bubu Wang was the type that no matter how cunning the opponent, it maintained its silly nature—impervious to blades, unaffected by water or fire. You strong, let you be strong—it might even drag the opponent's foolishness down to its level.
As Su Xiao walked out of the tent, the helplessness on his face disappeared. Nicholas Kaisa was very abnormal. Not only was the speed of favorability changes astonishing, but more importantly, he could actually adjust the prices of items in the merit shop. That was something certified by Reincarnation Paradise. In the Holy Grail World, the old priest had a good relationship with Su Xiao, but because he was a neutral plot character, favorability hadn't been unlocked.
Even so, when the old priest helped Su Xiao get discounts, he used his own assets to fill the gaps in the faction shop. He couldn't change item prices.
Was the old priest's status low? Absolutely not. He was the supervisor of the Holy Grail War and the representative of the Holy Church in Fuyuki City.
"Nicholas Kaisa... even the name is this abnormal."
Su Xiao found an empty tent in the military camp and lay down to sleep. War could break out again at any time, so he needed to cherish his rest time.
He didn't know how long he slept before the sound of a horn woke him.
Woo—woo—woo—
The horn stopped. Su Xiao immediately walked out of the tent. As he emerged, he found the sky dark, filled with stars. Moonlight illuminated the camp. It was at least after 9 PM. Torches were stuck in the ground throughout the camp, and soldiers ran past him. The horn earlier was the assembly call.
Su Xiao followed the nearby soldiers running in one direction. Soon, he was mixed in with countless soldiers.
Over 300,000 Empire soldiers assembled, forming over a dozen phalanxes. Reinforcements had arrived.
In front of the formation, Legion Commander Carlos stood with his hands behind his back on a wooden war chariot. The orange torchlight reflected on his face. His adjutant handed him a pebble-shaped crystal, but Carlos waved it away. That was a sound-amplifying stone—he didn't need it.
"Attention!"
Carlos bellowed, and every soldier present heard his voice. Those closest to him had their ears ringing. Hearing the command, the soldiers immediately stood at attention.
This was the gap between Count Mark and Carlos. This gap would become even more apparent during the pre-battle mobilization. Compared to Carlos, Count Mark wasn't fit to command soldiers in battle.
"Tonight, we attack Black Earth Fortress. Are you afraid!"
Carlos slowly drew the longsword at his waist. With his serious expression, Carlos exuded authority—nothing like the guy who sat in front of an iron pot drinking seafood soup with his helmet.
"Being afraid isn't shameful. When I first attacked a tribal fortress, I was still a private. I couldn't sleep all night. The next day, I attacked the fortress in a daze. That fortress was West Midton Fortress—yes, the one the tribes boasted the Empire would never conquer.
Knowing fear shows you're brave enough. Even with fear in your hearts, you still throw yourselves into battle. Why? To defend the Empire? Bullshit! It's to give the people you love a stable, happy life in the future.
I won't encourage you. Follow me and kill our way up Black Earth Fortress. I'll lead the charge. Kill them all!"
The night wind made the torches in the camp flicker. Legion Commander Carlos did what Count Mark could never do—he personally led the charge. On the battlefield, "Charge!" and "Follow me!" were completely different concepts.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"
The deafening shouts of hundreds of thousands of soldiers spread out. As for whether the enemy at Black Earth Fortress would discover them, Carlos didn't care. With over 300,000 soldiers, there were bound to be enemy spies among them—it was unavoidable, just as he had his own spies among the tribes.
Carlos's move was actually very risky. If he died, the blow to morale would be devastating. But the current situation didn't allow for such considerations. Besides, Carlos had already arranged backup plans.
The tribal side was continuously blasting Black Earth Fortress. Once they created a passage large enough for their army to pass through, they would mobilize massive forces and charge through this breach. Then it wouldn't be a defensive battle or a siege—it would be a decisive battle. That was what the tribal side wanted most.
Carlos's words made his adjutant's face turn pale. This battle-hardened adjutant clenched his fists.
"Did your mother die?"
Carlos walked down from the wooden chariot and kicked his adjutant.
"Legion Commander, please reconsider. We still have some time..."
"Nonsense! It's easy to blast Black Earth Fortress from the inside, but repairing it is extremely difficult. Also, if I die, use that immediately."
"I... this..."
"Rona, you're the adjutant I chose. We've been together for over a decade. With that disguise item, it won't be hard for you to impersonate me. Morale is most important. And you'll command this battle. First, follow my predetermined strategy. If the situation changes, act according to circumstances. If I really die, you'll take the position of Legion Commander. I've already arranged the connections."
Carlos had prepared a backup plan. If he died while leading the charge, his adjutant Rona would immediately use an alchemical item to disguise himself as Carlos, stabilizing morale from the rear. This was a perfect solution—it gave the soldiers fearless courage while ensuring morale wouldn't collapse. It required sufficient decisiveness, no fear of death, and a trustworthy person. Carlos's adjutant Rona had saved Carlos countless times in critical moments. "Like brothers" wasn't enough to describe their relationship.
It was easy to imagine that with Legion Commander Carlos leading the charge, the Empire soldiers would fight like they were injected with stimulants.
Moreover, many people would die in this siege. Carlos's strategy was to pile corpses and stones to the same height as the fortress walls. Only then would there be a chance to take the fortress. Otherwise, under the Dwarf Clan's "city-defense heavy crossbows," climbing ladders was impossible. In such brutal conditions, without Carlos's battlefield command, the soldiers might scatter as soon as the siege began—the casualty rate was simply too high.
Standing among the troops, Su Xiao had a cigarette in his mouth to stay alert. Since killing enemies now earned battle merits, he would take this battle seriously. Unlike before, when he would cut down nearby enemies and then slack off, waiting for enemies to charge at him.
If things went smoothly, his kill count this time would be incomparable to last time. But there was a prerequisite—they had to successfully climb Black Earth Fortress. Given the fortress's height, without special siege equipment, relying on human waves would make this battle's brutality unimaginable.