People gathered around the collapsed wall, their siege-like formation facing the fortress. Though calling it a siege was appropriate given the star-shaped fortress with its fully covered roof.


    Yet instead of an army inside, there was just one Heavenly King conducting guerrilla warfare against humanity through some scheme. It felt odd calling this a siege.


    Looking online, these jagged star-shaped structures were called trace italienne fortresses. Apparently regular medieval rounded walls would crumble when hit by cannon fire, with the stones shattering and walls collapsing.


    So they built them with multiple angles and thick walls to defend against cannons, though this made them easier for infantry to climb... but being a fantasy game world, everything was messed up. Han Se-ah, the viewers, and I searched the internet for trivia about fortresses hoping to find hints about conquering it, but nothing useful turned up.


    Brick walls that dispersed cannon impact (made of metal instead for strength)


    Vulnerable to infantry approach (covered with metal up to the roof)


    Deep wide moats for increased lethality (had mid-boss instead of moat)


    Cross-fire from corner bastions (only had one Heavenly King for troops)


    This wasn''t some Holy Roman Empire meme - all the information we found was useless. Besides the star shape, not a single detail matched.@@@@


    "Why would they put a roof over the walls? What were they thinking when building this fortress?"


    "Well... they say Demon Lords traveled between worlds. Maybe there was a world where even regular soldiers could fly?"


    "Ah, a fortress like this would make sense in a world where all infantry were airborne troops."


    The mages whispered about the Heavenly King''s fortress that defied common sense. The self-proclaimed knight conducting guerrilla warfare, the trace italienne fortress''s bizarre design - it all seemed like research material to them.


    So both viewers and mages racked their brains trying to figure out how to conquer the fortress, both in and out of game. The simple conclusion they reached was to bring stone dwarves to examine the walls and gate, and destroy the foundation if needed - crude but potentially effective.


    Whether simple or crude, we had a workable solution to act on. Fortunately, our request to borrow the vibration stones was immediately approved without rejection or side quests.


    "Something about catching Demon Lord''s army, right? We''ve always helped with that, squishies!"


    "Hahaha, thank you."


    The stone dwarves were a merchant race selling weapons and armor to the multi-racial alliance fighting the Demon Lord''s army even before being kidnapped to the tower.


    They weren''t pacifists hiding away, asked to give up racial treasures for war - they were war merchants who sold swords, armor and bombs. No way they''d refuse lending siege weapons to attack a fortress. RΑ?o??bE?s?


    Of course we had to pay a rental fee since these weren''t ordinary weapons but treasure-grade magical tools managed by the stone dwarf city... but the mages naturally handled that part.


    Using isekai underground dwellers'' cavern-making mana stones to try melting an isekai Demon Lord army''s unknown alloy fortress? Let''s fundraise immediately!


    The mages'' passionate attitude had them ready to sell even their robes and underwear to raise money. Like how men go crazy when robots and dinosaurs combine into Mecha-Tyranno, they went wild at the combination of other-world races and alloys.


    "I thought he might attack, but it''s surprisingly quiet."


    "It feels sketchy how he''s trying to buy time somehow."


    -Maybe he''s hiding cause he doesn''t wanna die after tasting the holy sword? lololol


    -Nah seeing two 6★s on floor 60 he''s like peace out ttl


    -???: Enemy difficulty seems weird, buggy game? Gotta bail first


    -I''d bail too if enemy tank had holy sword doing defense-ignoring damage you crazy bastard lol


    -So the enemy hits me with defense-ignore damage, I counterattack and take reflect damage, and might get struck by lightning too? Is this even a game?


    If it was just guerrilla tactics we could laugh it off as "what a weird guy, more realist than duelist." But with every gimmick from mid-boss to Heavenly King pointing in one direction, suspicions kept growing.


    But what scheme could a dark knight who could only create weapons with dark magic - not a mage or alchemist - possibly be planning?


    Neither the viewers nor the spectators at base camp, the stone dwarves and mages hired by Charlotte, nor the late-arriving priests and temple knights had any idea. No one knew what this Heavenly King was really about.


    All we knew was that he''d do anything to win.


    "The tunnel preparations are all done, hero squishy!"


    "Got it, Master!"


    So all we could do was charge in headfirst.


    How could we guess the answer without any hints no matter how much we thought about it?


    "Wow, you did all this in such a short time."


    "We dirt-eaters better be able to do at least this much, squishy!"


    Master Bobo and the stone dwarves had already dug a gently sloping 12m tunnel under the fortress, packed firm enough for people to walk through.


    Entering the tunnel that supported feet surprisingly firmly for loose prairie soil, I saw they''d long finished stabilization and even beautifully embedded light stones. It looked more like a tourist cave than a siege tunnel into an enemy fortress.


    "From here you can dig forward with this tool. Left about 3m just in case that Demon Lord army guy tries something."


    "Thank you, Master."


    As I descended into that surprisingly pretty tunnel then started climbing at an angle, there was no interference from the Heavenly King that Master Bobo had worried about. My precautions holding a shield in one hand and miniaturized vibration stone in the other proved unnecessary.


    Enjoy the chappy!