◈ 039. [STAGE 2] The collapsed castle wall
On top of a low hill far to the southeast of the castle wall of Crossroads.
An old man stood on a horse and was looking at the situation of the defensive battle.
Charles Cross was the Marquess.
“… .”
As a commander who had fought and blocked monsters all his life, he was able to recognize them right away.
This monster invasion is something different.
It was completely different from when he was a lord.
Not only was it enormous from the scale, but also the composition of the monsters. Jung-gu Heating did not come out of the mix, but a unified corps appeared.
‘Something is strange.’
Is that all? When a bard appeared from the side of the lake and blew a flute, even the movements of the monsters changed completely.
‘It’s different from previous battles against monsters… … Is Prince Ash fighting this battle for the third time?’
It was understandable that the newly appointed lord-the youngest prince, Ash, desperately asked for help.
Even if Marshal Cross himself had continued to be a commander without resigning, he would have had a hard time if the enemies had come out like this.
Prince Ash is doing unbelievably well for a lame person who used to play and eat in the capital.
but it’s dangerous
‘Should I help?’
Unknowingly, I felt that way.
I could see the armor and weapons I had brought along as a habit throughout my life, kicked next to the saddle.
‘no.’
Marshal Cross shook his head before long.
Are you already retired? You don’t have to step out now.
This wire was damned. This land was hateful.
Even though he had dedicated his life to it, he hated the barren and desolate place that had taken his wife and made his daughter leave, and was driving him crazy.
I didn’t want to keep it anymore.
‘I just… … Just die in the orchard.’
Marquis Cross considered it his own atonement.
The one who abandoned his wife after being caught in the obsession of Suho in Monster Frontline can do it… … final atonement.
He will die where his wife died.
Marshal Cross turned back, not watching the defense any longer.
It seems that the war situation is not serious, so I came to check it out, but it’s too late now anyway.
I mean, what can you do?
‘It doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t mean anything… … .’
The Margrave of Cross was about to return to the orchard as his last home.
At that moment,
Quguaguagwang-!
A roar rang out.
“… ?!”
When I turned around in amazement, I saw that the entire castle wall was vibrating with a thick cloud of dust.
With thousands of rats digging under the walls.
Human screams were heard. The Marquis’ eyes trembled.
‘no. no! I don’t fight anymore.’
At this, the Marquis of Agony turned his head back towards the orchard.
‘I have to go back. To the orchard… … .’
In any case, if the front line fell, the entire area would be overrun by monsters.
His orchard will soon be trampled by monsters.
‘Wait honey.’
At that moment, the image of his wife smiling brightly appeared in Marquis Cross’s mind.
The smile of the wife who asked, ‘Is it sweet?’
‘I’ll protect you this time.’
Marquis Cross thought of his wife’s tomb, buried beside the orchard.
will die there
all over again… … .
Leaving behind the collapsing wire, Marquis Cross made his way to his orchard.
***
Koo Goong Koo Goo Goong… !
The vibrations and roar subsided.
I barely managed to get myself together and shouted toward the inside of the castle wall.
“Report the damage to the walls!”
After a while, the soldiers waiting inside the wall reported.
“It’s not completely broken yet!”
“But it’s only a matter of time! I can hear rats digging and eating stones from inside the walls!”
I shuddered and brushed my hair back.
“Why do you eat stones? It means to eat more well-being food… !”
The walls of this fortress are made up of several layers of stones and iron plates.
It doesn’t break through all at once. The problem is that the part that had just been repaired was broken helplessly by the ratman champion’s direct charge.
Eventually they’ll make a hole in the wall.
I covered my face with one hand and deep in thought, I growled in a suppressed voice.
“… Issue an evacuation order.”
“yes?”
Lucas, not understanding, asked back. I exhaled sharply.
“Give an evacuation order in the city! right now!”
“That word… .”
“There is a high possibility that monsters will infiltrate the walls! Don’t get caught up in death and all citizens in the city evacuate to the north!”
Of course, this is for the worst case scenario.
You must be prepared to stop them all here.
Ding-deng-deng-deng-!
The sound of the emergency bell rang in my ears. It is a sound urging citizens to evacuate.
Wishing the evacuation to go smoothly, I gave the following order.
“Except for the minimum number of artillerymen and archers to operate cannons and ballistas, everyone capable of melee combat should go down the wall.”
I chined Lucas.
“Lucas, you command the squad of soldiers. Form a defensive line inside the castle walls. Block them with your body.”
Lucas looked at me with a worried face.
“Your Highness?”
“I command from above.”
“It’s dangerous, Your Highness!”
Lucas pointed at my feet.
“It is a wall that once collapsed. It may collapse again. It is too dangerous!”
Indeed, the walls were visibly shaking.
The soldiers re-fixing and zeroing the cannons and ballistas had a hard time.
“But if you give up intercepting from above, are you going to block the remaining 1,500 rats with your bare body?”
The castle wall may collapse further if you move, but that doesn’t mean you can give up shooting from above.
Without fire support from above, the White Brigade would suffer catastrophic damage and may ultimately lead to failure of the defensive battle.
“… I understand, Your Highness.”
Lucas reluctantly nodded.
“But if the condition of the walls deteriorates even a little, you must come down without delay.”
“of course. Don’t worry, come down quickly.”
No matter how precarious the top of the castle wall is, is it as dangerous as the first floor, where you have to engage in hand-to-hand combat with monsters right away?
Even so, Lucas worried about me until the end, and only then did he run down to the first floor when I came to work. Ji is my mother very much.
“Jupiter, you fight at your own discretion, but kill as many of them as possible at once.”
The party members naturally gathered around me. I gave orders face to face one by one.
“Don’t spare your magic. When there are enough to shoot thunderbolts, pour them all out.”
“I will follow your orders, Your Highness.”
As the situation became urgent, Jupiter’s face became serious.
Jupiter hurriedly grabbed the bright yellow magic in both hands and ran to the castle wall.
“Lily. What artifacts are currently operational?”
“There is only one speed-enhancing artifact, Haste. The Gravity Field Artifact and Magic Amplifier Artifact are currently on cooldown. It cannot be used until this battle is over.”
“What about the flamethrower artifact?”
“You have 10 minutes to recharge.”
“Use Haste immediately on the White Guard soldiers, and use Flamethrower as soon as it recharges.”
“yes!”
Lily immediately ran to activate the haste artifact. I saw Damian last.
“Damian.”
“… Your prince.”
Damian was stunned with his head bowed.
He failed to shoot the Pied Piper and failed to stop the Rat Man champion.
Perhaps he thinks that the current situation is his fault.
I put my fingers together and put them on Damian’s straight forehead-
Exactly!
I lightly tossed the bean.
“Ahh!”
Demian, whose head flew backwards, looked up at me with tears in his eyes. I grinned.
“You’ve done well enough so far. You suck.”
“Prince Hwa… .”
“I don’t rebuke you for one or two small mistakes. So don’t be intimidated.”
A sniper who is sure to hit the enemy.
A de facto cheat character.
Just because Damien is a member of my party, the range of strategies that can be utilized is overwhelmingly widened.
Damian’s existence itself was a blessing to me.
“I get a lot of strength just by having you.”
“… !”
“So I hope you have as much confidence as I do in you.”
I patted Damian’s shoulder harder than usual.
“Let’s overcome this crisis together. okay?”
“Yes yes! Prince!”
“good. Damian. Your role is… … It is the ‘final line of deterrence’.”
I swept the wall under my feet, feeling a faint vibration, with my toe.
“Breaking through the wall has become a fait accompli. The rats that have broken through the wall will encounter our Baekbyeongjo on the first floor.”
“yes.”
“But Byeongjoo is a human being. not a castle wall Inevitably gaps are exposed… … It means you can miss the rats.”
Damian and I looked inside the castle wall at the same time.
The image of a peaceful city with smoke rising from baking bread.
“You don’t know how much damage it would cause if even one animal went into the city. You have to snipe them without missing them.”
Anyway, the boss monster Ratman Champion is all dead. What is left is about 1,500 rats.
Damian would be able to easily take down at least a rat that escapes the defense line.
‘As long as 15 of them don’t escape at once.’
Damian was an accurate sniper, but his slow speed was constantly being highlighted.
We must find a way to make up for this shortcoming… … .
“Okay, Prince! I’ll try!”
After answering vigorously, Damian raised his crossbow and ran to the inside of the castle wall.
done. Now, we hope that each of us can do our part well.
“Whoa!”
Taking a breath and slapping myself on the cheek, I tried to look outside the castle wall.
It was to check if the killzone had re-formed.
It was then.
“The wall is breached! They’re coming inside!”
A scream resounded from within the walls.
“It’s too fast, damn it… !”
I gritted my teeth and looked inside the walls.
The ground floor on the first floor, seen from afar. The walls inside it trembled.
Pucak-!
Rats burst out with smashed bricks and dust.
Kirik! Kiriririk!
Finally, the rats that made a hole tried to attack the humans in front with their dust-covered bodies.
Flash!
However, Lucas, who was standing right in front of the hole, decapitated them all.
The ‘Rat Cutter’, a saw-bladed sword in Lucas’ hand, emitted an eerie light.
Lucas, who cut the rats into pieces without blinking an eye, shouted.
“The aisle they come out of is narrow! Do not panic and dispose of them one by one!”
“yes!”
The soldiers responded unanimously to Lucas’s command.
But there was something Lucas overlooked.
Clearly, the hole was narrow, but the opponent was a rat. They passed through the narrow hole and kept pouring out.
Not only that, but the number of people passing through the aisle was gradually increasing.
I, who was watching from above, muttered dumbfounded.
“What kind of rat is this? Just a mole… … .”
Baek Byung-jo easily fended off the rats at first, but as time went on, the numbers increased and they began to struggle.
Besides, this wasn’t the end.
“Flame Throwing Artifact! Ready. Activate immediately… … Kyaaaaagh?!”
Lily, who was preparing to activate the artifact, screamed. I was startled and ran towards it.
“What’s up Lily!”
“The rats the rats… !”
A few rats climbed up in front of the flamethrower artifact.
Several of the bitten alchemists lay on the floor bleeding.
I sprinted forward and threw my fist forward.
“It’s Prince Punch!”
puck!
The moment his fist touched the field mouse, a hand-loaded Lucky Strike was activated.
Tring Tring Tring!
The numbers on the roulette are 0 1 5.
15 damage!
Fuck!
It was only a snot, but it was possible to knock down a level 5 rat.
Retrieving my fist, I quickly looked outside the castle wall.
“Did you come over the castle wall?!”
I was so focused on the part where they made a hole that I lost track of it.
Some of the rats were just jumping over the wall. A few of them attacked towards the artifact.
“profit! Eight!”
Lily threw a spark and consumed the rest of the rats.
Afterwards, Lily inspected the wounded alchemists and called out to me.
“There is no danger to life! But the rats are attacking the artifact, so it needs to be recalibrated to activate… … !”
“Do it as soon as possible! Because I can’t afford it.”
As all the troops to keep the rampaging rats in check had gone to the first floor, the number of individuals climbing over the wall began to increase.
Inevitably, even the artillerymen and archers waiting on the wall had to draw their weapons and greet them.
“Keah!”
“My hand, my hand!”
Injuries began to appear on the side of the Baekbyeongjo blocking the first floor.
The ranged interception team should attack properly to get rid of the rats digging into the White Byeongjo, and the White Byeongjo will easily block the enemy as the burden of defense is reduced.
Now, both sides were only increasing the damage as they blocked the rats from pouring in with their bodies.
‘As it is… … !’
In front of Jupiter who was out of breath preparing for the next magic, I swung a lucky strike.
Damian was also busy spraying his crossbow here and there next to me, but it was slow.
‘At this rate, the damage will be really out of control… … !’
The worst situation was pictured in my head. I tried my best to find a workaround. Damn what?!
It was then.
An old soldier who was stabbing a rat with a dagger on the wall suddenly widened his eyes.
He was a veteran old soldier under the Marquis.
He looked across the southern field as if he had seen a ghost and muttered softly.
“Sir Baek Baek… ?”
“… what?”
I looked that way too and soon found it.
Damn dag dag dag dag-!
far outside the walls.
The scene of an old lancer wearing rusty armor running this way.
