James's massive body was easy to spot, even hidden among the distant trees, but the shells that landed on him caused no real harm.
"Set up the Dragon-Slayer Ballista. Aim at the giant," Rosen ordered, overseeing the entire battle. This was their first war, and it had to be fought beautifully. He couldn't trust anyone else with it.
So he not only came personally to defend the city but also observed every change in the battlefield, adjusting at the right moment. His immense strength gave him extraordinary perception.
One of the Dragon-Slayer Ballistae had been destroyed when Rosen broke through the castle earlier. Only two remained functional—but that was enough to deal with most powerful enemies.
"Yes, sir," Vic replied. Just then, Xia returned.
Suddenly, Alice's voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "The wall's been breached! I'm taking nearby troops to intercept, but I need reinforcements immediately!"
Rosen's expression darkened slightly, though he wasn't surprised. No matter how strong a fortress was, structurally it always had weak points. As king, he knew them well—otherwise, the attackers couldn't have blasted through so quickly.
Such flaws were hard to fix later or too costly to reconstruct. They might even have been deliberately left by royal command—after all, if the monarch didn't keep such vulnerabilities secret, how could the crown prevent rebellion from those who built the walls?
"Vic, take half the city defense troops to reinforce that section. The remaining positions will be handed to the untrained city-builders," Rosen commanded at once.
Vic nodded. The decision was sound. Letting city-builders charge directly would show courage, but the casualties would be enormous. Many of them were new to battle, untrained, and would fall easily. It was better to let them defend and adapt to the battlefield first—they might later become a real fighting force.
"Teams One to Ten, with me," Vic ordered through the Den Den Mushi, and the troops quickly mobilized.
"Sir! The wall's really breaking apart!" a soldier of the punitive army cried out in joy as the bombardment shattered the stone. Could Valos Bastion fall within a single day? If so, it would be an incredible feat.
"Don't—hmph." Before James could finish, two Dragon-Slayer bolts screamed toward him. He raised his fist and struck out. The bolts, massive and deadly, could pierce armor with ease.
Boom! His giant hand slapped one aside, but the impact drove him back several steps, his blood surging. Yet his battle spirit only grew stronger.
"Forward! Crush Valos Bastion!" James roared. Brandishing a custom-made cleaver, he swung it down, sending out a massive wave of blade energy like a tidal surge, aiming to sweep away the reinforcements at the breach.
Both sides concentrated their artillery fire on that single point—the defenders to hold, the attackers to break through.
Explosions shook the ground, craters formed, fire and smoke filled the air.
"Substitute—Hidden Lotus!" Alice led about three thousand soldiers—Lantis warriors and city guards—to the breach.
Her technique tore through the massive wave of blade energy, shredding it apart and replacing it with flashes of glinting daggers.
"Linear Execution!" Alice dashed forward into the heart of the enemy army, fearless before their numbers. Her daggers danced through the air in erratic arcs, cutting down soldiers in the front line.
Melee combat erupted instantly.
But with such disparity in numbers, even Alice could not hold back eighty thousand men with only three thousand.
"I'll take the big one. Never fought a giant before—heard they're famous warriors. This should be fun." Alice leapt high, charging directly at James.
James slashed down mercilessly. Alice ran along the massive blade, moving with lightning speed. Startled, James activated his personal barrier—an iron mask sealing over his head.
Bang! Alice's leg smashed into him, forcing the giant to stagger back seven or eight steps. She channeled her ability, ready to make her daggers bloom.
Defense meant nothing before Alice's power.
James's expression changed; he jerked his head aside, but one of her daggers still pierced partway into his face, a third of the blade embedded. A split second slower, and he'd be dead.
"Damn it." James yanked the dagger out and threw it aside. The wound was nothing to his massive body, but he had clearly lost that exchange.
"An ability user, huh? Then let ability users deal with her. Ability Squad—take her down! The rest of you, keep charging!" He wanted to finish their duel but couldn't afford to waste the chance to breach the bastion.
Six elite officers—ability users—sprang from the army and surrounded Alice.
"Cross Iron Slash!" James roared, swinging again. The shockwave lifted over a hundred soldiers off the ground. Ordinary warriors couldn't withstand a giant's might.
"Three Zoan types? Tough bastards," Alice muttered, frowning after a brief clash. Zoan users were notoriously resilient and durable, capable of fighting endlessly.
Six ability users were enough to keep her occupied—but defeating her outright would not be easy.
"Hold the line! Don't let them through!" Vic arrived with reinforcements. But James led his monstrous cavalry forward—some towering, some feral—and only the Lantis warriors could stand against them. The rest, overwhelmed by sheer numbers, fell quickly.
As the punitive army prepared to pour through the breach, Vic's reinforcements finally arrived—enough to stabilize the defense. But James himself and his cavalry were still nearly unstoppable.
Steel clashed, screams and gunfire filled the air, severed limbs littered the ground, and blood soaked the earth. War revealed humanity's darkest side.
"Will we win?" Xia asked quietly beside Rosen.
Rosen's calm voice answered, "We will. But sacrifices are inevitable. I can't promise no one will fall. Reality is never perfect."
"Let me face you, giant," Sparks leapt from the wall toward James. No other ability user was free to stop him now.
He grew larger, matching James's size, and the two giants collided in fierce combat.
The battle burned on. James launched seven major offensives, each repelled by the bastion's defenses and the counterattacks from Alice and the others. His army suffered heavy losses.
At last, James had to order a retreat. Continuing would only mean needless deaths. He needed to regroup and find another weak point—there were several, and if he managed the firepower right, he could still breach the city.
War was never won in a single day. Resolute, and only lightly wounded, James ordered the withdrawal.
"Night will fall soon," Rosen said as he watched the enemy retreat. "Alice, are the warriors ready?"
As James withdrew, the balance of victory finally tilted in their favor—something Rosen had been waiting for.
(End of Chapter)