Free Web NovelChapter 125: Chapter 125: The Siege Commander Arrives
When Qin Yuheng’s team emerged from the maintenance tunnels, Iron Rain Fortress was already under attack again.
The final siege had begun early.
The sky had darkened into a spinning mass of black clouds. Iron rain fell harder than before, but now it seemed to avoid certain enemy formations, as if the siege commander had partial control over the storm. The south battlefield was filled with dark-armored infantry, siege beasts, tower shields, and long iron ladders.
At their center rode a massive war beast covered in black plates.
On its back stood the enemy commander.
He wore crimson-black armor and carried a long iron spear with a hook at the tip. A storm banner rose behind him, torn but still burning with dark light.
The panel appeared.
[Iron Rain Siege Commander]
[Level: 32]
[Type: Siege commander / storm authority remnant]
[Abilities:
- Iron Rain Guidance
- Siege Beast Command
- Wall-Breaking Spear
- Storm Banner Rally]
[Danger: Very High]
Qin Mo stared at the level.
"Thirty-two."
Qin Yuchen’s eyes were serious.
"Higher than the Second Gate Guardian."
Qin Lian looked toward the walls.
"Defenders are stretched."
Hao Jun rushed toward Qin Yuheng.
"Acting Commander! The tower stabilized suddenly. Was that you?"
"Yes. Status?"
"South wall under full pressure. East breach holding. North quiet. West medical post safe for now. But the siege commander is guiding iron rain into our ballistas."
Qin Yuheng looked at the fortress panel.
[Fortress Integrity: 33%]
[Command Tower Integrity: 71%]
[Defenders Alive: 151]
[Iron Rain Shield Array: 28%]
[Ballista Units: 1 / 8 functional]
The tower was saved, but the fortress was still near collapse.
Qin Yuheng climbed the command tower steps.
From above, he could see the entire battlefield.
His class stirred.
Tri-Gate Thunder War Commander.
This was the kind of battlefield it had been born for.
He activated Gate Thunder Command Field, wider than before but not reckless. It spread through the command tower and into nearby section leaders. The field did not reach all defenders, but it linked enough command points to improve response.
His mental burden rose immediately.
He steadied himself.
"Hao Jun, south wall fallback line. Do not hold outer parapet after second beast impact. Prepare inner spear line."
"Yes!"
"Qin Yuchen, take gate guard. If south gate cracks, you control retreat."
"Understood."
"Qin Lian, enemy banner. Find route. Do not strike yet."
A pulse came through the jade.
Understood.
"Qin Mo, shield array. Can you overcharge for one minute?"
Qin Mo looked horrified.
"One minute? It may burn out."
"Will it block guided iron rain?"
"For one minute."
"Prepare."
Qin Mo swallowed.
"Preparing dangerous thing."
The siege commander raised his spear.
The iron rain shifted.
Dozens of falling weapons curved toward the south wall defenders.
Qin Yuheng gave the order.
"Shield overcharge."
Qin Mo slammed both hands onto the array core.
The Iron Rain Shield Array flared dark-gold.
Falling iron shattered against the dome instead of defenders.
[Iron Rain Shield Array overcharged.]
[Duration: 60 seconds.]
[Damage accumulating.]
"Archers, enemy ladder teams. Ballista, commander beast front leg. Oil crews, wait."
The defenders moved with renewed clarity.
The last ballista fired.
The bolt struck the siege commander’s war beast leg joint. The beast staggered but did not fall.
The commander looked up toward the tower.
For the first time, his gaze met Qin Yuheng’s.
The storm banner behind him flared.
Enemy troops roared and surged forward. freёwebnovel.com
The south wall buckled under the next impact.
[South Wall Integrity critical.]
Qin Yuheng did not order them to hold.
"Fallback!"
Because the order came before panic, the defenders moved in formation. The outer parapet fell seconds later. Enemy soldiers flooded over broken stone—straight into the inner spear line.
Oil dropped.
Fire rose.
Qin Yuchen led the gate guard in a disciplined counter-thrust.
Qin Yuheng descended from the tower and entered the battlefield.
The siege commander had not yet entered personally.
He was waiting for the fortress to crack.
So Qin Yuheng forced him to act.
"Lian."
A jade pulse answered.
Positioned. Banner visible.
"Strike on my signal."
Qin Yuheng moved to the inner wall breach and released a controlled thunder flare—not full power, but bright enough to draw attention.
The siege commander’s gaze shifted.
Qin Yuheng cut down three elite soldiers and shattered a ladder hook.
The commander raised his spear.
Iron rain curved toward Qin Yuheng.
"Now."
Qin Lian emerged from the shadow of a collapsed siege tower near the enemy rear. Her Silent Moon Shadow Cloak blurred under smoke and iron rain. She did not attack the commander.
She attacked the storm banner rope.
Her dagger cut halfway through.
Not enough.
The banner flared.
Enemy soldiers turned.
Qin Lian vanished before they could surround her.
Qin Yuheng used that moment. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"Qin Mo, array pulse at banner mark!"
Qin Mo, still pale from overcharging the shield, activated a small lightning resonance Qin Yuheng had planted through the command field.
A pulse traveled through the iron rain fragments on the battlefield.
It struck the cut banner rope.
Snap.
The storm banner tilted.
The siege commander’s iron rain control flickered.
For several breaths, the falling weapons became chaotic again, striking both sides.
The commander roared and finally charged.
His war beast crashed through burning oil and broken stone toward the inner breach.
Qin Yuheng stepped forward.
Qin Yuchen moved to his right.
Hao Jun and the spear line formed behind.
Qin Mo’s formation locked the mud.
Qin Lian reappeared near the beast’s wounded leg.
The commander thrust his Wall-Breaking Spear.
The strike carried enough force to destroy the inner gate.
Qin Yuheng met it.
Not alone.
Gate Thunder Command Field compressed around the team.
Qin Yuchen struck the spear shaft.
Qin Lian cut the beast’s leg wound.
Qin Mo anchored Qin Yuheng’s footing.
Hao Jun and six defenders thrust their spears into the beast’s chest plates.
Qin Yuheng’s sword clashed with the Wall-Breaking Spear.
Thunder erupted.
The impact drove him back three steps.
But the spear did not pass.
The commander’s eyes burned behind his helmet.
"A living commander?" the remnant growled.
Qin Yuheng answered, "A defending one."
The war beast collapsed as Qin Lian’s strike severed the damaged leg joint.
The commander leaped from its back and landed inside the breach.
The final duel began amid fire, iron rain, and collapsing stone.
He was stronger than Qin Yuheng in raw battlefield pressure.
But Qin Yuheng was not fighting alone.
Every time the commander pushed, Qin Yuchen disrupted. Every time he tried to rally troops, Qin Mo broke the rhythm with formation pulses. Every time he created space, Qin Lian attacked from shadow. Every time defenders wavered, Qin Yuheng’s command field stabilized them.
The fight lasted twenty brutal minutes.
At the end, the commander raised his spear for another Wall-Breaking strike.
Qin Yuheng saw the opening.
The storm banner behind him, half-fallen, still fed power into his armor.
"Lian, banner core."
Qin Lian moved.
The commander sensed her and turned.
That was the opening.
Qin Yuchen attacked the spear arm.
Qin Mo locked the commander’s left foot.
Qin Yuheng stepped forward with War Thunder Advance and drove his sword into the chest gap beneath the armor.
Thunder exploded.
At the same moment, Qin Lian shattered the banner core.
The commander froze.
His spear fell.
[Iron Rain Siege Commander defeated.]
[Final siege wave broken.]
[Iron Rain Fortress defended.]
The enemy army dissolved into black iron dust.
The iron rain slowed.
Then stopped.
For the first time since they entered Floor 21, the sky became quiet.
Hao Jun looked around at the surviving defenders.
Then he knelt on one knee.
"Acting Commander."
One by one, the fortress defenders followed.
Qin Yuheng felt the weight of it.
Not worship.
Not victory.
Responsibility.
He lowered his sword.
"Stand," he said. "The fortress held because everyone held."
The settlement light began to rise.
Commander’s Burden had been heavy.
But they had carried it.
