School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 182 --Holding Out for Reinforcements

After Owen left, the lord turned to Kistan.

"Today, Ironblade City stands like a nail driven into the demon army’s path. They must capture Ironblade City to advance northward. Our city walls are formidable, and our supplies abundant. Though our forces are significantly outnumbered by the demon army, holding out for some time is still within our capabilities."

"Moreover, the distress messages we’ve sent should have already been received by the empire’s high command by now."

Looking towards the north, Dawson continued, "General will surely gather a large army and come to our aid in the shortest time possible. Hence, if we can withstand until the arrival of the reinforcements, by then the demon army’s vigor will have been dampened. With a pincer attack from both inside and outside the city, we will surely defeat them at our walls."

"Even if we cannot hold out until that moment, we must do everything in our power to deplete the demon army’s living forces, securing an advantage for our reinforcements to defeat the demon army. In either scenario, as long as we hold the city and deplete the enemy, victory will ultimately be ours."

"Though dying in battle is honorable, do not rush towards death. Choose your strategies wisely, making your sacrifice worthwhile," Dawson patted Kistan on the shoulder.

Kistan knelt on one knee: "My lord, I have served in the army for many years, always diligently, and have learned much about warfare from you. Yet, I have never reached your level of insight, perhaps due to my limited talents. Thus, I can only fulfill your commands, and dying for your orders is where my value lies. Please entrust me with the defense of the south gate!"

"No, not just the south gate." Dawson felt a stir of emotion: "You will command the south gate, and also oversee the defenses of the east and west gates. You will have full authority over all the city’s defenders. I trust you completely."

"Understood, my lord. I shall not shirk from death in fulfilling your command."

Kistan descended the tower, leaving Dawson alone at the summit.

The lord, now devoid of his arcanergy, gradually felt weariness creeping in and lay back in his wicker chair.

Although Ironblade City was besieged, he wasn’t overly concerned.

The demon army was most numerous to the south, but they lacked siege equipment, and the southern city wall was the sturdiest.

It seemed the demons had no intention of launching a major assault from that direction.

Though the east and west faces had more siege machinery, they were unlikely to breach the walls in the short term.

As long as the walls stood, the numerical advantage of the demon army couldn’t be fully leveraged.

Only the north posed a significant threat with the demon army’s elite, whose individual combat abilities were formidable.

However, with Owen there, Dawson felt somewhat reassured.

Even in an emergency, Dawson, commanding from the center, could quickly respond and redeploy troops to fill any breaches.

His thoughts then turned to Anna, who should now be far from Ironblade City, hopefully safe from this calamity.

They might have already cleared out the beasts, or perhaps there weren’t any significant threats to begin with.

Anna, undoubtedly worried about his safety, would be eager to return to Ironblade City.

But Dawson was confident the old boozer understood his intentions and wouldn’t allow Anna to come back.

Anna had always respected the old family friend, and even if she insisted on returning, the old boozer could tie her up if necessary.

His mind wandered to Anna and Owen, considering them quite a match.

Dawson recalled the way Owen looked at Anna, suspecting Owen might harbor feelings for her.

In these few days, Owen’s actions had deeply endeared him to Dawson, who even contemplated entrusting Anna to Owen after the war.

Though he intended to use Owen, his affection for the young man was sincere.

He assigned Owen to guard the north gate not just because it was the hardest to defend but also out of a personal motive.

If Ironblade City truly fell, the north gate would be the only lifeline, the sole chance to quickly break away from the demon army and flee northward.

But Ironblade City was not so easily conquered.

They had sturdy walls, and with that thought, Dawson closed his eyes in peace.

Humans are complex and contradictory beings, and the lord of Ironblade City was no exception.

Initially, upon losing his arcanergy, Dawson was pessimistic.

Even the assistance of someone as capable as Owen couldn’t dispel his worries.

However, after sending Anna away and securing a victory over the faceless, he became optimistic again.

Though he was well aware these events had no significant impact on the overall situation, his confidence had returned.

Faced with the siege, he made the calm and correct decision to hold the fort and wait for reinforcements.

In adversity, Dawson proved even stronger than when his arcanergy was intact, his strength lying in the unwavering resolve he showed in the face of hardship.

The human heart is a source of miracles because of its complexity and variability, immeasurable and the seat of the soul.

Now, Dawson was filled with confidence.

After assigning Owen and Kistan to guard the gates in the morning, he had been waiting.

Finally, the wait was over.

General Gerald’s message, delivered by pigeon, contained just one word: "Wait."

With a single word, General told Dawson to hold Ironblade City at all costs; the rest would be handled by him, Gerald.

Looking towards the setting sun, the lord of Ironblade City reminisced about a past encounter with Gerald.

It was during a royal hunt, an event Dawson had little interest in.

Coincidentally, General’s mind was also elsewhere, leading the two to strike up a conversation.

Dawson followed General deep into the jungle when suddenly a fierce tiger appeared in front of them.

The general remained unfazed, uttering just one word to Dawson: "Wait."

Sequentially, a group of tigers emerged from the jungle, encircling the two in the center.

The general remained silent, and Dawson, following his lead, waited quietly without even drawing his sword.

Moments later, a demon tiger, capable of taking human form, stepped out of the forest and stood about ten paces in front of their horses.

Just as the demon tiger was about to speak, General preempted it with a single word: "Kill!"

Dozens of demon-slaying arrows flew from all directions towards the demon tiger, turning it into a porcupine of arrows and killing it instantly.

Seeing this, the surrounding tigers dispersed, and the general’s elite guards emerged from their hiding places, rallying in front of him.

"So this was your true purpose for hunting," Dawson realized.

"Indeed, I had discovered that demon tigers were preying on humans near the Royal Hunting Grounds. This hunt was to deal with that beast."

"Why would such a creature warrant the general’s personal attention?"

"This beast was no ordinary foe. To minimize casualties, I had to come personally."

"General, I am in awe." Dawson never flattered his superiors; his admiration for the general’s meticulous planning was genuine.

"Dawson, with you in Ironblade City, I am at ease," the general made his assessment.

His decision to bring Dawson along on the demon beast hunt was to see if Dawson could remain calm in the face of change and execute his superior’s orders effectively.

Two imperial swordsmen were hidden nearby, tasked with ensuring Dawson did not disrupt the plan.

If Dawson proved incapable of waiting, they were ordered to make him wait at sword point until the demon tiger appeared.

However, as it turned out, their presence was unnecessary; Dawson indeed possessed the courage and discernment befitting the lord of Ironblade City.

That moment of waiting during the royal hunt earned Dawson General’s trust and solidified Dawson’s faith in the general’s commands, convincing him of the infallibility of General’s judgment.

Now, having received another command to "wait," Dawson was convinced this instruction was also correct.

Gazing towards the horizon, he noticed something different today—the cooking smoke had dispersed.

The demon army’s dinner had been prepared early!

"Sound the horn, all hands to battle stations!" he shouted to his guards.

Moments later, the alarm horns of Ironblade City blared, filling Dawson with a sense of foreboding as if he could hear something shattering amidst the sound of the horns.

Then, a thunderous explosion shook the ground, and turning his gaze towards the south, he saw clouds of dust rising and felt the earth tremble beneath him.

Through the dust, he saw something collapsing and tried to convince himself it wasn’t the city walls, but deep down, he knew he was deceiving himself.

The southern city wall had fallen!

As the dust settled, he saw the demon army outside the south city organized into well-ordered battalions, advancing towards Ironblade City.

The demon armies on the other three sides also initiated their assaults simultaneously, making the fall of the outer city a matter of time.

"Issue the orders!" Despite the chaos, the lord of Ironblade City maintained his composure.

"All reserve troops within the outer city are to be moved to the south city, under the unified command of Kistan. Hold the south city."

After the first messenger departed, the lord of Ironblade City continued with his commands: "Order Owen to hold the north city. If the south city falls, he is to break out immediately, without attempting to rescue the inner city!"

Lastly, the lord of Ironblade City issued a third command: "Close the inner city gates."

Having issued these three orders, the lord of Ironblade City turned his gaze towards the south city.

The soldiers atop the ruins of the south city wall maintained a neat formation, showing no signs of collapse.

Kistan was indeed a commander of experience.

The reserve troops redeployed from the city moved with order, partly due to the strict military discipline of Ironblade City and partly because most soldiers had family within the city.

To protect their loved ones, they could not afford to retreat.

Moreover, given the current situation, even deserters couldn’t escape the clutches of the demon army; a desperate fight was their only option.

The civilians within the city, however, were more disorganized, an unavoidable circumstance under such dire conditions.

Some hid in their homes, others took up arms to form militia groups, and some rushed towards the inner city, clogging some of the roads.

But with the inner city gates already closed, their initial anger and despair eventually led them to seek refuge elsewhere.

Thankfully, no one had started fires, the lord thought to himself.