Chapter 338: Upgraded Defense

Movement on the wall to his left caught his attention as one of the restored ballistae began to change. Light spread through its wooden frame, causing the soldiers operating it to step back as the weapon’s lower mechanisms shifted. Metal rails extended from beneath the firing platform, and a second set of drawing arms unfolded above the first before locking into place with a heavy mechanical click.

A wide belt appeared beside the ballista. At first, Kael thought it was some kind of carpet stretched across a rotating frame, but then one of the soldiers placed a bolt onto it.

The belt moved, carrying the projectile forward and feeding it directly onto the firing rail. The two drawing mechanisms began alternating. The lower arm fired, and while it reset, the upper arm drew another cord into position.

A fortress soldier sat behind the aiming controls and turned the entire weapon toward the army below. The upgraded ballista released one bolt, accepted another from the moving belt, and fired again with only a fraction of the previous delay.

The crew no longer needed five people. One soldier could aim and fire while the others merely kept the feeding belt supplied with bolts.

Kael watched the upgraded ballista tear through the horde. "So that’s what the first upgrade does."

More weapons across the walls began transforming. The other climbers had also accumulated enough currency to improve their defenses. The spear user upgraded the ballista nearest the western corner, while the staff wielder improved two weapons overlooking the largest concentration of hobgoblins. Near the gate, one of the burly man’s ballistae unfolded a second firing arm and began sending bolts into the creatures crowded below.

The pace of the battle changed. The basic ballistae had fired in slow, punishing intervals, but the upgraded models created a constant rhythm.

Crack.

Impact.

Crack.

Impact.

Bolts rained into the army with increasing frequency. Hobgoblins climbing the walls were struck in the back and ripped free from the stone, while those waiting below were pierced through shoulders, chests, and skulls. Every fallen creature became another obstacle for the ranks behind it.

Kael opened the defensive interface. His five relics appeared before him alongside the available upgrades and their costs. He selected the nearest ballista, and currency vanished from his total.

The ancient weapon began transforming. A second drawing arm unfolded above the first, an automatic feeding belt appeared beside the frame, and the soldiers operating the ballista immediately adapted to the improved mechanism.

[Ancient Ballista upgraded.]

[Repeating Armature installed.]

[Reload time greatly reduced.]

Kael upgraded the next one, then another. He spread the currency across his controlled defenses, prioritizing the weapons overlooking the densest clusters of enemies. Each improved ballista became a far more efficient killing machine, releasing bolts faster than the hobgoblins could replace the bodies at the base of the wall.

A sudden explosion echoed from the field directly below Kael, but it had not come from one of the cannons. Flame and dust burst among the hobgoblins, throwing several creatures away from the impact as a golden figure landed in the crater with his weapon drawn.

The Leonard had jumped beyond the safety of the fortress walls.

His polished armor shone beneath the gray sky as he drove his blade through the nearest hobgoblin. Energy erupted from the weapon and tore through two more creatures behind it. His earlier grin was gone, replaced by an expression tightened by stress.

His attacks remained powerful and controlled, but frustration showed in every movement. He had been forced to leave his safe inner formation and enter the battlefield personally.

Kael understood why.

The restored defenses were working too well. Hobgoblins had reached the walls, but none had broken through the gate. The Leonard’s turrets around the central keep had not fired a single shot. With no enemies reaching the city center, he was earning no kills from the five weapons bought using everyone else’s currency.

He still needed five percent of the wave, so he had come outside to gather it himself.

Kael watched the Leonard cut through another hobgoblin. "Guess listening wasn’t enough."

The Leonard either did not hear him or chose not to respond. He continued fighting beneath Kael’s section of the wall, where the concentration of hobgoblins was thickest.

That irritated Kael. Every creature the Leonard killed on this side was one less target for Kael’s ballistae, which meant less currency for the upgrades he still needed. The bastard had an entire battlefield available and had chosen Kael’s section.

Kael considered telling the siege crews to aim closer to him, but decided against it. The bolts continued raining down, and there were more than enough hobgoblins for both of them.

He returned to the defensive interface and inspected the cannon. Its first shot had killed several times more enemies than a ballista bolt. A properly upgraded cannon could become the most valuable defensive relic on the wall, especially against the tightly packed army below.

Then Kael saw the cost.

One thousand currency for a single upgrade.

He sucked air through his teeth. "That’s expensive."

There was only one cannon assigned to each climber’s section of wall. Improving it would consume nearly everything he had earned since the beginning of the wave. The upgraded ballistae were already producing steady kills, and the fortress remained secure.

For now.

Kael looked down at the sea of hobgoblins still gathered beneath the walls. Their numbers had diminished, though not enough to make the field look empty. The army continued climbing, throwing stones, and hammering at the gate. The upgraded defenses were cutting them down faster, but hundreds remained.

The wall stood, the gate held, and the fortress soldiers had suffered only a few injuries. For the moment, there was no reason to rush the cannon upgrade.

Kael closed the interface and gripped the ballista controls as another bolt slid automatically into place. The weapon fired, striking a hobgoblin climbing near the gate cleanly through the chest and carrying it backward into the army.

Kael watched his currency begin rising again. One thousand for the cannon would take a while.

Thankfully, the walls were still standing.