Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair)

Siege warfare was the most brutal battle.

From the walls of Simonton City, crossbow machines aimed at the soldiers below. As before, they relied on those skilled in Lightfoot Skill to scale the walls. However, this time, the walls of Simonton City had been reinforced and heightened.

In just ten days, the Sandorian army had raised the walls by a meter, leaving only Rafael, Carissa, Violet, and a few others capable of reaching the top.

Timothy struggled initially, unable to fly up. After several attempts, he finally made it, but an enemy spear thrust towards him as soon as he landed. He fell straight down, only to be saved by Violet, who kicked the enemy away and threw her whip, lashing it around Timothy to pull him up.

With Violet rescuing Timothy, Cynthia immediately covered her, blocking enemy spears that reached out.

Amidst the throng of enemies, Carissa and Rafael destroyed two crossbow machines.

Carissa shouted to the Mystic Army, "Deploy the catapults!"

Michael relayed the command, "Deploy the catapults!"

Barrett's troops arrived with heavy artillery. As the Mystic Army and Barrett's forces joined, Michael spotted a familiar figure. He focused, and realized it was Aurora. He was puzzled.

Wasn't Aurora supposed to be leading the rear troops? She wasn't needed at the front for the siege. Carissa had mentioned that only coordination with Barrett's troops was necessary; they were responsible for transporting the heavy machinery.

Despite his confusion, Michael ordered the catapults to be moved into position. Massive stones were hurled at the city tower, raising clouds of dust.

The Mystic Army quickly set up the scaling ladders. Following the drills they had practiced, the ladders were divided into front and rear sections. The first team, equipped with shields, ascended first. Enemy spears jabbed at them, but the shields provided cover as they arduously climbed the ladders.

Upon reaching a certain height, they drew knives. If they could kill an enemy, they did; if not, they still obstructed the enemy.

Immediately after, the second team, armed with long spears, climbed up under the shield team's protection, picking off enemies one by one with their spears.

Meanwhile, Rafael, Carissa, and a few others were fiercely battling atop the city walls. The Sandorian army had sacred firearms, but these could only fire one shot before needing to be reloaded, making them impractical for close combat. Still, their volleys posed a significant threat.

More and more soldiers swarmed the walls, filling the entire city tower. Archers on all sides had their arrows trained on the walls, ready to fire as soon as anyone took to the air.

Massive logs were battering the gates, and more Mystic Army soldiers were climbing the ladders. The soldiers below were shouting, and the charge horns blared continuously, creating pressure and tension among the enemies.

Rafael and Carissa quickly surveyed the surrounding walls. If the archers unleashed their volleys, it would be an inescapable net of arrows. Opening the gates from below would take time and surely attract the archers' fire.

Simonton City was unlike Ilyrian City. Its walls were higher and thicker on both sides, with four walls in total. Beyond the first gate, there was a second one. Even if they breached the first gate and charged inside, the archers would kill the first wave of soldiers.

Thus, they needed to deal with the archers first.

"Carissa, take out the archers!" Rafael ordered swiftly, flying towards the left wall with his weapon drawn.

Carissa and her friends each chose a section of the wall. They needed to move quickly and use their weapons to deflect the incoming arrows.

Timothy couldn't manage this; his role was to destroy the crossbow machines on the walls. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. The Mystic Army had already managed to scale the walls.

Carissa and her friends flew across the walls like meteors. Her spear spun to deflect the rain of arrows before she finally landed on the southern wall.

The archers couldn't fire at close range, and had to engage in hand-to-hand combat. They swarmed her while another row of archers quickly took their place, aiming at the gate.

Even if the gate were opened, the second row of archers could still shoot any Starhaven soldiers entering the city.

All the soldiers had been prepared for the difficulty of this battle, and fought with calm determination.