Chapter 92: Great Stone Mountain, Mogron (2)

Edric added.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. We are not hunting the King of the Demonic Realm. We’ve simply been assigned the role of luring it away elsewhere if it shows itself in front of the Winter Castle.”

“It seems just as dangerous, no matter what it is.”

“I won’t deny that. But I want to say that it shows how high the Winter Castle’s trust in us is.”

I wondered what use that trust would be after I was dead, but it wasn’t something to say in front of Edric, who always professed to be a loyal soldier.

“Don’t worry too much. Even if the King of the Demonic Realm has awakened, there isn’t much precedent for it to storm the Winter Castle.”

“Which means there is some precedent.”

“Goodness, didn’t I just say there isn’t much precedent? Don’t worry too much.”

“But mission content aside, it will be difficult to lure the King of the Demonic Realm with just us. In the worst case, the mission will fail and the likelihood of annihilation is high.”

“Ah, regarding that part, there will be separate support from the Winter Castle.”

“Support?”

“There’s no time for that part, so I’ll explain it to you separately later.”

Edric’s gaze turned outside the window.

“It seems it’s about to begin.”

Along with that, as if it had been waiting, the sound of a great horn echoed from outside the window.

Buuuuuuuuung───

What this meant was clear.

“Prepare ourselves.”

A deep, dark shadow of war cast itself over the Winter Castle.

***

Gugugugu…….

Kung! Kung!

The pulse of the earth gradually grew louder.

Not only those with keen senses, but even the regular soldiers must have felt the vibration, as the tension on the faces of the soldiers on top of the castle wall was palpable.

“……Dammit, they’re coming.”

“Wh-what, why are there so many?”

The soldiers of Winter Castle Kreutz were, to a man, veteran warriors who had fought through all sorts of wars, but even they couldn’t hide their tension at the sight unfolding beyond the horizon now.

Outside the Winter Castle, the severe cold zone of the North.

The pure white snowfield, which had not tolerated a single speck of dust, was gradually being stained with black dots.

Demonic beasts, demonic beasts, and more demonic beasts.

An overwhelming military force, enough to make one mistake that this entire world was covered in demonic beasts, was rushing toward the Winter Castle.

Before long, the dark shapes of the demonic beasts became clearly visible against the dazzling white snow, and their intense presence filled the snowfield.

Krrr…….

Oooooooh!

The sound of the demonic beasts’ breathing, filling the snowfield, mingled with the ice-cold wind and echoed in the empty space.

“Ugh… I want to go inside and sleep. I feel like I’m going to collapse right now.”

“Stop whining, big guy. You’ve rested enough.”

“Rested? That’s absurd. You call one hour of sleep after returning from all that chaos resting enough?”

“You’re probably the only one complaining about sleep in a situation like this.”

Albino shook his head, but even as he said that, Albino too had dark circles drawn thickly under his eyes.

Just like that, the 4th Special Task Force was deployed straight to the front line without having rested properly.

Not only was there no spare capacity to hold back in a war where the Winter Castle’s fate was at stake, but above all, it was because we had a mission.

The mission we were assigned was the detection of and response to the King of the Demonic Realm, should it appear.

For that, we couldn’t take our eyes off the front line for even a single moment.

“But… no matter how much our mission is to monitor the King of the Demonic Realm, being here means we’ll have to fight eventually, doesn’t it?”

Conlan was right.

No matter how much our mission wasn’t to protect the castle wall, our current location was on top of the castle wall.

The very front line of the Winter Castle.

If the demonic beasts stormed this place, we would have no choice but to fight, whether we liked it or not.

“That’s probably why they deployed us here.”

“……Dammit. I knew it. That commander, if you watch him, he only ever picks the cheap shots, doesn’t he?”

At that moment.

“Hmm, if you’re going to badmouth me, wouldn’t it be better to do it where I’m not present? For your sake, and for mine.”

When Edric, who had suddenly appeared from somewhere, abruptly cut in, Conlan, who had been badmouthing Edric just moments before, pointedly feigned ignorance.

“……Were you listening?”

“I happen to have good hearing. Didn’t you already know that?”

“Kkeung.”

Conlan scratched his head with an embarrassed face.

Even as this happened, the black dots beyond the snowfield gradually approached the Winter Castle, faster and faster.

Amidst the sight that naturally appalled people, I looked at Edric and openMyFaceIsAllBurnted my mouth.

“Commander.”

“Speak.”

“How do I get discharged from the Winter Castle?”

Edric’s expression turned peculiar.

“How long has it been since you enlisted, and you’re already talking about discharge? Even though I haven’t been able to.”

“Isn’t my situation different from yours, Commander?”

“It’s not that different. Well, let’s talk about this later……”

Edric continued to speak.

“As you already know, the mandatory service period for soldiers of the Winter Castle who were dragged here as prisoners is twenty years. It was originally fifteen years, but it was recently extended due to a shortage of troops.”

“That’s quite the unfortunate story.”

I hadn’t planned on diligently fulfilling the service period anyway, but even so, hearing the distant number of twenty years directly didn’t feel good.

With such a murderous service period, it made sense that few of the prisoners dragged to the Winter Castle made it out alive.

“So, there are largely two ways to be discharged. Diligently fulfill your service period, or leave as a corpse after dying.”

“Neither one sounds very appealing.”

“Everyone feels the same way. Isn’t it just the way of the world that nothing comes easy?”

Edric laughed heartily.

There probably hadn’t been a day when that laugh sounded as unpleasant as it did today.

“Well, it’s not that there isn’t another way.”

“What is it?”

“You just have to establish merit. An overwhelming merit, enough to more than fulfill the twenty-year service period.”

“Do I have to catch the King of the Demonic Realm or something?”

“That would be more than perfect, but you know as well as I do that it’s nigh impossible, don’t you?”

“That’s true.”

Just as he said, it was true that as of now, there was no way to catch the King of the Demonic Realm.

Right, as of now.

“Well… I do think you might be able to establish such merit someday. Though it would be a shame for me to discharge a capable subordinate.”

“I hope so.”

“You’re more than capable of doing it. If you can survive today, that is.”

Edric’s gaze turned to the front line.

Countless black dots, reflected in his eyes, surged toward the Winter Castle.

Buuuuuuuuung───!!!

The war horn blared once again, warning of the impending clash.

Alicia, who had stood beside me at some point, looked at me with trembling eyes.

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

Humans die eventually.

But at least today is not the day I die.

-Grroooooooooow──

-Kyao! Kyaaaaak!

The ferocity exuded by the demonic beasts transmitted tinglingly all the way to the top of the castle wall.

The sound of the demonic beasts’ roars grew closer, and their shapes became distinct in the darkness.

The ice and snow couldn’t hide their fur, and the demonic beasts’ revealed eyes were filled with fierce anger and bestial roars.

However, the soldiers of the Winter Castle confronting those bestial roars were formidable as well.

As if to show what human will was, the Winter Castle commanders drew their swords.

“First rank, load!”

With the commander’s shout, the bowstrings of the archers on the castle wall were all drawn taut at once.

The Winter Castle, situated in the North with its severe climate, lacked everything, but one of the things it lacked slightly less of was arrows.

This was because, perhaps due to the influence of the Demonic Realm, there were quite a few forests around the Winter Castle, and arrowheads could be made by processing the fangs and claws of demonic beasts.

In addition to that, they also ground demonic beast bones to make bone arrows, and since the arrows themselves were partially recoverable, the Winter Castle had a fair surplus of arrows.

This was the reason why the Winter Castle, which lacked supplies, could use arrows relatively without shortage.

“Fire!”

Hundreds of tautly drawn bowstrings were released at once, and a rain of arrows soared into the sky.

Swish-swish-swish-swish!!

Swish-swish──!

The rain of arrows pouring down from the sky struck the demonic beasts all at once.

-Kaak!

-Kueek!

The demonic beasts running at the front were pierced by the arrows and became deceased on the spot.

“Second rank, forward! Load!”

The arrow attack continued.

The first demonic beasts to reach the Winter Castle were, by location, bound to be those inhabiting the outskirts of the Demonic Realm.

In other words, relatively weak demonic beasts.

That was why the arrow attacks were still working for now, but from a certain level of demonic beast upwards, the arrow attacks were bound to be ineffective.

“Get ready.”

Edric was not unaware of that fact either, so he quietly drew his sword.

Although quite a few demonic beasts had become part of the snowfield from the barrage of arrows just moments ago, countless black dots were still approaching the Winter Castle from beyond the snowfield.

I also readjusted my grip on the AKR-74 Assault Rifle I had summoned in advance.

‘At this distance… sniping isn’t impossible.’

With the revolver Colt garrison B-09, it might be a different story, but the AKR-74 Assault Rifle could snipe at a surprisingly long distance.

It was correct to view the normal effective range of the AKR-74 Assault Rifle as within 400m, but that was purely a matter of accuracy, not lethality.

If targeting a human, the lethal range of the AKR-74 Assault Rifle reached 1,500m, and its flight distance was even greater.

‘Of course, it won’t be easy against a demonic beast that deflects even arrows, but what if I load a Demonic Bullet into this?’

I remembered.

The sight of Yohan freely manipulating the snake of Demonic energy and slaughtering demonic beasts.

‘I won’t be able to control the Demonic energy loaded into the bullet as freely as that, but it should at least be possible to compensate for accuracy and power.’

I looked at a few demonic beasts that remained particularly unscathed amidst the pouring rain of arrows.

‘An Owlbear.’

The Owlbear is a powerful demonic beast, with most individuals being level 5 or higher.

It meant that demonic beasts inhabiting the depths of the Demonic Realm were beginning to show themselves in earnest.

The distance to them from my current position was at least 1,000m, but I judged it was worth a try.

Ssss…….

Demonic energy flowing from my fingertips began to seep into the magazine in the AKR-74 Assault Rifle.

Clack-

There was no need to hesitate.

Just, pull the trigger.

Taang!──

Perhaps because the situation was so chaotic, the loud noise of the gunshot was quickly buried.

The fired Demonic Bullet shot straight forward and pierced the Owlbear’s head just like that.

[You have succeeded in long-range sniping!]

[You have acquired the Art, ‘Sniping(D)’.]

[You have gained a deep understanding of how to handle Demonic energy!]

[The grade of the Art, ‘Demonic Bullet(B)’ increases. (+UP)]

[B → B+]

‘Hoo.’

I had expected it ever since I acquired Demonic Bullet as an Art, but to think that something like sniping would be recognized as an Art…….

‘Well, it’s a good thing, I guess.’

As I pulled the trigger a few more times, sniping the demonic beasts, Albino, who was next to me, shook his head as if fed up.

“……It’s still an absurd magic. Are you intercepting those demonic beasts so far away with magic right now?”

“As expected of Vell.”

“You’re an amazing mage.”

Albino and Conlan sent peculiar glances toward Alicia, who had suddenly chimed in, but Alicia didn’t seem to mind.

Rather, should I say she looked confident.

Just then, Edric, who had been silent until now, opened his tightly closed mouth.

“Eum. It seems the time has come for us to move.”

With Edric’s words, a massive vibration struck the Winter Castle.

Kung!

Kuung──!

The movements of everyone on the castle wall stopped for a moment.

In an illusion as if time had stopped, it slowly began to reveal its form from beyond the snowfield.

The Walking Rock.

He Who Shakes the Heavens and Earth with a Single Step.

Bizarre Rock Giant Stone.

However, among the names that pointed to it, the most widely known would surely be the modifier, King of the Demonic Realm.

Great Stone Mountain, Mogron.

It began to reveal its presence from beyond the snowfield.

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