Chapter 512: Chapter 536: The Road to Death Chapter 512: Chapter 536: The Road to Death “Here’s a piece of advice for you, never bet anything you’re not willing to lose, even if you think you have great odds,” Lancelot glanced at Bruto and turned his head to speak to Kalalin, “The battle over there will take a while, I need you to cast Arcane Eye to scout what’s beneath the fissure at the base of the fortress.”

“All right,” Kalalin immediately reached for his backpack, “What should I look out for?”

“Hmm… First, see if there are any suitable caves on the cliffs of the fissure; you know, the kind of cave entrances that are hidden and are suitable for setting up Teleportation Runes, not too far from that fortress, and preferably not occupied by other creatures,” Lancelot stroked his chin, realizing it was time to shave again, “Then try to delve deeper into the fissure to see what’s really down there.”

“Could it be another ice-crushing spider crab?” Alamir interjected, “Given what’s happening over there, I bet a good number of fresh Giant corpses fall down every week…”

“If there really were ice-crushing spider crabs, there would have been signs over the years, and Kostcheqi wouldn’t have chosen to build a fortress here to detain his most important prisoners,” Old Reap expressed his disagreement, “But your concerns are valid. Frost Giants are not Demons, their flesh doesn’t rot quickly after death. So many corpses falling down will definitely attract creatures that feed on the dead, and even if there isn’t an Abyss, one could form from that.

“I’ll know the truth in a moment,” Kalalin opened the scroll of the Arcane Eye, activating the spell stored within, “But have a little patience, this magic eyeball doesn’t fly very fast, it will take a while to get there…”

“No rush, I can watch these Giant marbles roll for as long as it takes,” Bruto shrugged, “I’ll call you when it gets to the exciting part.”

As they spoke, the second wave of the boulder offensive hit the heads of the Frost Giants scaling the slope. They had lost nearly a quarter of their forces in the first round of attack, but it seemed their morale was still high, with no reduction in their pace.

Facing another round of assault, the Giants fared much better due to some experience; the space freed by their fallen comrades also helped. Nonetheless, some were still unlucky, dying unpredictably due to the bouncing boulders – they were either crushed into giant human-skin rugs spread on the ground or knocked off the cliffs, plunging into the bottomless fissure.

“I’ve noticed that most of the dead seem to be the ones at the back,” Bruto finally identified a pattern, “Is it because those at the front have a better view?”

“Yes. This might seem counterintuitive, but in my experience, in siege warfare, those at the forefront often have the highest survival rate,” Lancelot mused, shaking his head, “On one hand, those who dare charge ahead tend to have courage and martial skills above average, and on the other hand, it’s a matter of better visibility, allowing them to make the best responses. Additionally, the defenders tend to focus their projectile firepower on the middle of the assaulting group to maximize casualties. Of course, all of this only applies up until reaching the walls, after that, it’s another story.”

“Judging by your tone, you must have done your fair share of leading sieges in the past, huh?”

“Of course, I was the first to climb the walls in siege battles twice, one of my greatest feats during my military career,” Lancelot’s face showed a proud expression, but it quickly turned into a wry smile, “Looking back, I really liked to show off in those days, I was too young…”

“Tsk, you talk like an old man, don’t tell me you’re just bragging…”

Bruto’s face was filled with disbelief, but the third round of falling rock attacks diverted his attention. Fewer Frost Giants died in this round, with casualties in the single digits, and the subsequent fourth volley didn’t even bring down a single Frost Giant–the attackers had already covered half the distance of the slope, and the rocks thrown down didn’t have enough space to accelerate, allowing even the not-so-agile Frost Giants to dodge with ease.

“I really shouldn’t have bet my beard,” Bruto admitted to everyone, “it looks like there will definitely be more than ten Frost Giants reaching the base of the fortress…”

“See, the defenders must have other tricks up their sleeve.” Lancelot turned his head towards the scholar with eyes closed, “Kalalin, where have you gotten to?”

“I’m already below the fortress, about two hundred feet from the ground,” the scholar spoke with a somewhat drifting voice, “searching for cracks in the rock face to see if there might be larger spaces behind them… So far, there’s no sign of any creature activity in this area, but deeper in, there’s an extremely thick fog that prevents me from seeing clearly what’s at the bottom of the cracks.”

“Alright, find a suitable cave first, then explore what lies beneath the fog,” Lancelot nodded, “keep me updated on any progress.”

Meanwhile, the defenders inside the fortress unleashed a new weapon: towering javelins longer than fifteen feet. Compared to rolling stones, these javelins had terrifying piercing power, and when over thirty Frost Giants simultaneously hurled their javelins, creatures near the impact zone had no room to dodge, only able to raise their shields in despair.

But it changed nothing. The javelins raining down from the sky effortlessly penetrated the victims’ giant shields, nailing each Giant firmly to the spot. Even Lancelot, witnessing this spectacle, felt his palms sweat; as a powerful Knight, he feared nothing on the battlefield, but he would steer clear in two situations: one was a dense formation of a Long Spear Formation, the other was a volley from these heavy javelins.

Even now, if he encountered this situation and fought in the style of a Knight without utilizing Spiritual Cultivation Technique, he’d likely face his end then and there. The Frost Giants were already massive creatures, and after climbing most of the slope, they were so exhausted they were huffing and puffing, suffering tremendous losses under the defenders’ javelin barrage, their numbers rapidly diminishing before the naked eye.

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As more of the attackers perished, their formation became sparser, which ironically reduced the killing efficiency of the javelin barrage. In the end, fifteen Frost Giants reached the gates of the fortress; each one of them was bloodied and utterly exhausted, but they had completed the hellish road of death.

Waiting for them at the endpoint were enemies ten times their number, fully armed and ready. But the attackers didn’t despair; instead, they let out victorious cheers and charged fearlessly at the enemy, as if they had been favored by Solheim, heading not towards death, but towards Elysium after death.

“Even though I hate all Giants, they are true warriors,” the Dwarf who was engrossed just a moment ago now turned his head away, as if he couldn’t bear to see the Frost Giants’ ultimate fate, “I hope Solheim will cherish these brave souls.”

Alamir glanced at the Dwarf, opened his mouth to say something, but after a moment’s thought, he swallowed his words back down.

But it was not difficult for Lancelot to guess what the Elves wanted to say–as a cold, brutal deity, Solheim didn’t care for His people; He only cared for Himself, and the souls of the Frost Giants after death were merely nourishment for His increase in strength.