Upon seeing this spectacle, Wells, who had been observing from above Kith City, spoke to the messenger beside him, "Relay to the central command: commence the catapult assault. Fifth and Sixth formations, advance."

Receiving Wells' command, the herald on the walls of Kith City swiftly waved the banner in his hand. Within moments, dozens of pre-assembled, light-duty catapults, under the cover of soldiers, slowly lumbered toward the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the two heavy infantry formations of the Fire Cloud Empire in the center of the field began to move rapidly, coordinating with the infantry regiments that had already advanced, pushing toward the main camp of the Proud Moon Empire.

Witnessing this, Gamagee, standing atop the Proud Moon Empire's command platform, could not help but see his expression shift slightly. He urgently addressed the messenger beside him, "Order every catapult in the main camp to fire. Target the enemy's catapults."

Although Gamagee's command was prompt, the front of the Proud Moon Empire's main camp was densely packed with charging soldiers, obstructing the view of the catapult operators. They were utterly unable to clearly pinpoint the exact positions of the Fire Cloud Empire's smaller catapults. After one volley,

Only a few Fire Cloud Empire catapults were destroyed, while the majority of the light siege engines reached their intended positions accurately.

At the Fire Cloud commander's signal, the stones prepped atop these dozens of catapults instantly flew toward the Proud Moon Empire's main camp, aimed directly at the massive crossbows positioned at the camp entrance. Following just one volley, several of the Proud Moon Empire’s crossbow beds were smashed outright by the attack, along with over a hundred unlucky Proud Moon soldiers.

This barrage from the catapults delivered the first casualties of the war to the Proud Moon Empire.

Though the enemy hadn't suffered massive losses in personnel, the action distinctly boosted their own morale and effectively suppressed the power of the enemy's heavy crossbows. Seeing this, the Fire Cloud soldiers felt their spirits soar, quickening their pace as they charged toward the Proud Moon camp, rapidly closing the distance to within two hundred meters of the enemy's fortifications.

However, this was the most difficult section to assault. Around two hundred meters surrounding the Proud Moon Empire's main camp,

No fewer than ten trenches, two meters deep, had been dug. One purpose of these chasms was to prevent enemy cavalry from launching a charge against the camp; the other was to halt enemy infantry from approaching the main fortifications. Only directly in front of the Proud Moon camp's center was a path left open, roughly twenty meters wide, designed for their own troops to move in and out easily. But this area was also the most heavily defended.

Compared to other sections, this position was exponentially harder to breach.

Complemented by the relentless covering fire from the Proud Moon archers, the two leading infantry formations of the Fire Cloud Empire, despite the cover provided by their own catapults,

Still suffered heavy losses and made agonizingly slow progress. Even though the Fire Cloud engineers quickly erected makeshift wooden bridges across the trenches, the construction significantly hampered the army's forward momentum, causing their losses to snowball.

More and more.

From the start of the assault until this moment, the two Fire Cloud heavy infantry formations, each comprising five thousand men,

Had already lost a third of their strength. The losses were particularly devastating near the main gate of the Proud Moon camp, accounting for nearly half of the total casualties. This was because both sides understood that whoever seized the main gate secured the initiative in the battle. If the Fire Cloud army captured the camp's entrance, their subsequent forces could pour through that breach ceaselessly. Therefore, the defense at this point was the tightest, concentrating nearly a third of the Proud Moon's forces here.

The Fire Cloud Empire naturally understood this principle as well. Thus, despite the horrific toll, countless Fire Cloud soldiers bravely surged toward the Proud Moon camp gate. What was truly frustrating was that even after paying such a heavy price, the distance to the camp entrance had barely shrunk.

Fortunately, at this critical juncture, the two fresh heavy infantry formations from the rear caught up. These heavy infantry, entirely encased in armor, coupled with the shields specifically designed to deflect enemy arrows, suddenly rendered the archers—who had been a major threat to the infantry—far less effective, greatly mitigating their own losses.

With the aid of these heavy infantry, the Fire Cloud soldiers finally began to slowly approach the enemy's main gate.

Seeing this unfold, Gamagee, still standing high on the platform, showed little agitation, for he knew that even if these Fire Cloud soldiers reached the gate, breaching it would not be easy.

At the main gate, Gamagee had stationed nearly two full regiments of elite infantry—one heavy and one light—both considered the finest of his current contingent. Combined with the inherently defensible design of the camp itself, Gamagee remained confident that taking the gate would be anything but simple for the Fire Cloud forces.

And indeed, events unfolded exactly as Gamagee had foreseen. Although the Fire Cloud armies had drawn close to the gate, the terrain prevented them from organizing an effective assault. Consequently, even though the Fire Cloud soldiers held a numerical advantage, they could not utilize it; only a small fraction of their troops could genuinely engage in combat.

The two sides became locked in a grinding stalemate; a decisive outcome would not be reached quickly. Wells, watching from atop Kith City, furrowed his brow slightly and addressed the general beside him, "Gamagee's defense is methodical, utterly without a weak point. To hold the Proud Moon camp so impregnably with fewer troops—he truly lives up to his reputation as one of the Proud Moon Empire's two great strategists."

Having said this, Wells turned to a middle-aged general nearby. "Rancor, take your archer regiment and advance. This is your moment to shine. Target the enemy's main gate. Whatever the cost, you must secure that gate for me."

Hearing Wells' directive, Rancor quickly acknowledged the order.

He hastily gathered a few soldiers, rapidly descended from the city gate, mounted his warhorse, and sped toward the battlefield. Soon, an arrow formation of Fire Cloud archers was spotted advancing swiftly toward the main gate, covered by a regiment of Fire Cloud infantry.

They quickly neared the gate area.

When Gamagee saw the Fire Cloud Empire deploy its archers, his expression immediately darkened. He urgently commanded the archers within the camp to engage the enemy archers, but due to the covering force of a Fire Cloud infantry corps, the Proud Moon archers’ attacks inflicted minimal damage on the enemy formation.

At this moment, the Fire Cloud archers positioned outside the camp raised their bows.

Wrapped around their arrows were thick layers of coarse cloth—flaming arrows, commonly used by the attacking side in sieges.

Beside them,

Fire Cloud soldiers immediately ignited these arrows. A torrent of fire erupted instantly. After just one volley, thanks to the flaming arrows, most of the tents positioned toward the front of the Proud Moon Empire’s camp burst into raging infernos, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing up before the camp.

Witnessing this situation,

Gamagee had no choice but to divert a portion of his soldiers to fight the fires. Since it was autumn, the weather was dry, and the camp tents burned easily, allowing the flames to spread rapidly. If the fire reached the rear of the camp, it would be disastrous; that area stored their vital provisions. If those supplies caught fire, this entire battle would likely be lost.

Furthermore, if these tents were completely destroyed, where would his men sleep? They certainly couldn't sleep exposed to the elements. With the autumn season, night temperatures were extremely low; sleeping unsheltered would cause a significant portion of his soldiers to fall ill, rendering them useless for battle. Therefore, despite being short-handed, Gamagee dispatched an entire regiment of infantry to contain the blaze.

Just then, several figures slowly ascended above Kith City and rapidly flew toward the center of the battlefield. Seeing this, Gamagee's expression finally shifted slightly. "Mages..."

But before Gamagee could finish speaking, a calm voice sounded from behind him, "Your Excellency, please rest assured. We have already deployed magic barriers around this camp. While these barriers offer no resistance to physical attacks, they will certainly intercept any magic used by the enemy. Therefore, Your Excellency need not worry."

The speaker was an elderly mage, looking well over fifty, clad in golden robes. His face was a map of wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy, giving him the appearance of a man nearing his twilight years—utterly unassuming, lacking the haughty demeanor of most mages. Were it not for the robe, few would believe he was a court mage.

Embroidered on his robe was an eagle in flight, the standard attire for Imperial Court Mages across the continent, though the specific pattern varied. That eagle was the insignia of the Proud Moon Empire.

Hearing the speaker, Gamagee’s tension eased. He quickly turned and respectfully addressed the elder, "Since Archmage Moko has intervened, there is indeed no reason for me to worry. There is no mage in Kith City who can stand against Archmage Moko. Perhaps only Aliver could offer a challenging fight, but otherwise, no one in the entire Fire Cloud Empire is your equal."

Gamagee felt so confident because he knew Aliver was currently absent from Kith City. This meant no one could match Moko.

Moko was the foremost Court Mage in the Proud Moon Imperial Palace. Court Mages were exempt from the Mage Guild's formal ranking assessments; each empire had its own system for classifying them, a long-standing tradition designed to prevent court mages from aligning too closely with the Guilds.

Thus, although Moko lacked an official Guild rank, Gamagee had personally witnessed Moko effortlessly defeat a mage of the Magister rank. Moko's power was, at minimum, that of a Great Magister. As for Aliver, he was not originally a court mage but joined later, already renowned across the continent as a Great Magister at that time, which is why he possessed a ranked insignia from the Mage Guild.

Now that Aliver was gone, no matter how strong the enemy mages were, they surely couldn't surpass Moko. Gamagee naturally felt much less concern now that Moko had spoken.

As expected, the enemy mages, after flying to the middle of the battlefield, sharply increased their altitude to avoid becoming targets for the enemy archers. Once they reached a distance of about five hundred meters from the Proud Moon camp, the Fire Cloud mages stopped their advance and began to chant their spells slowly.

Soon, magical attacks of various affinities streaked forth in dazzling, multi-colored radiance, soaring toward the Proud Moon camp. The sight was breathtakingly grand. Ordinary Proud Moon soldiers felt a sudden chill in their hearts, as mages were held in the highest regard by commoners, inspiring in many a deep reverence for magic—the Proud Moon soldiers were no exception.

Leaping to