Chapter 198: Descent (1)

Kraaaaaah—!

Waaaaaaah—!

Countless monsters had surged into the Neju Territory of the Boluzan Kingdom.

They were goblins and orcs. Each of them rushed toward the tightly sealed fortress while holding rusted axes and swords.

On top of the walls, everyone was too busy firing arrows and throwing spears.

“Block them all! Never let the gate be breached!”

Several hours had already passed since the monsters began their charge.

Even the mages who had been continuously casting spells from various points along the walls were gradually growing exhausted.

Count Gerdin Neju, the lord of Neju, watched the scene in full armor.

“To think they would use monsters like this…….”

Count Neju’s gaze shifted toward the ridge behind the monster horde.

There, knights on horseback and soldiers standing on the ground were densely packed together.

They were the forces of the Dior Empire and the Moratz Kingdom.

After the envoy incident, the troops of the two nations that had crossed the border had taken positions along a nearby ridge.

It had always been nerve-wracking. And now, instead of their armies, monsters had attacked first.

Facing just the two nations alone would have been overwhelming…… and now, even the slight chance they had left had been completely crushed.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from below the walls.

“Trolls and ogres!”

At a soldier’s shout, everyone else went pale.

Count Neju also looked down.

Trolls and ogres were approaching the gate while carrying massive rocks and logs.

“So they intend to break it down no matter what…….”

The monsters were under perfect control.

From the beginning, it was hard to understand how a situation like this was even possible.

The only thing that was certain was that the monsters were on the side of Dior and Moratz.

“What about the situation in the north? Is there still no sign of reinforcements arriving from Prien?”

“Not yet! And the north is also swarming with monsters…… even if Prien sends troops, it’s doubtful they can help us…….”

They had requested aid from the Prien Territory, which lay not far north of Neju.

However, that too was made difficult by the monsters surrounding the fortress.

“Damn it……. Are we really going to be crushed like this!”

Count Neju wanted to leap onto the battlefield immediately.

He was, in his own right, a knight who had reached the early stage of Sword Mastery. His heart burned with the desire to charge into the monsters and cut them all down.

But the Dior and Moratz forces waiting behind them were the problem.

In the end, the monsters were nothing more than a means to drain Neju’s strength.

It was an obvious strategy, yet there was no way to counter it.

“How many arrows remain?”

“The reserves are almost depleted.”

“What about food?”

“We only have enough to last about one day. We had to hastily evacuate the outer villages.”

To make matters worse, the territory had not yet entered the harvest season.

As a result, they were completely unprepared for this sudden monster advance.

In this situation, Count Neju had only one choice.

“……Prepare to advance.”

“Surely you don’t mean to go out, my lord?”

“There’s no other way. Once the arrows run out, we’ll be forced to fight inside the fortress.”

Despite the knight’s attempt to dissuade him, Count Neju had already made up his mind.

Of course, the knight also fully understood their current limits.

“You stay behind. If the monsters swarm us once we go out, take all the territory’s people and escape through the northern gate when it weakens.”

“My lord!”

“It’s the only way. I entrust my wife and children to you as well.”

“That cannot be allowed! The monsters will be stopped by me and the knights, so please—”

“I am the lord of this land! How could I abandon my territory and flee!”

“But you must survive, my lord!”

“I cannot abandon my territory and escape alone! Now go at once! That is an order!”

The knight understood the meaning behind Count Neju’s words all too well.

Count Neju’s expression hardened even further.

In the end, the knight bowed his head and had no choice but to go down.

At that moment, the knight commander of Neju Fortress, Basinus, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward.

“The knights and soldiers are ready.”

“Well done. Let us sortie.”

Clatter. Clatter.

Count Neju went down to the front of the gate together with Knight Commander Basinus.

120 knights, 20 mages, and 1,500 soldiers. In addition, 200 more troops had been hastily gathered from mercenaries and adventurers.

A total of 1,840.

Compared to the monsters and the Dior and Moratz forces waiting at a distance, it was hopelessly insufficient.

However, they needed time to save the people, so there was no alternative.

“This battle is not one we fight to survive. It is one we fight so that others may live. Those who do not wish to die may withdraw now. There will be no punishment.”

At the quiet yet weighty voice, murmurs spread softly through the ranks.

The noise grew especially loud among the soldiers, mercenaries, and adventurers.

That reaction was only natural. Who would willingly throw themselves into a battle hoping to die?

Moreover, this fight was not for their own survival, but for that of others.

Step. Step.

Step. Step. Step.

A few glanced around nervously before quietly slipping out of the formation.

At the sight, Knight Commander Basinus moved to draw his sword.

“Do not.”

“My lord…….”

“How could anyone be forced into a battle meant for death? Even I am afraid.”

“…….”

The number of those who withdrew exceeded one hundred.

Most of them were adventurers.

The remaining force numbered just over 1,700.

“More stayed than I expected.”

“How could we let you go alone, my lord!”

“That’s right!”

Count Neju was well known for his benevolence even in ordinary times.

During periodic monster subjugations, he had always stepped forward first and fought alongside the mercenaries.

He spoke with mercenaries without reserve, building camaraderie by staking his life in battle rather than flaunting authority.

“……Thank you.”

“If you’re grateful, then when we survive, please buy each of us a bottle of Maneros at a high-class tavern!”

At most, it was about the cost of a mercenary’s monthly room rent.

At that joking remark, the face of Count Neju, which had been tightly strained, relaxed.

“Hah, Maneros, you say? That costs five gold per bottle, doesn’t it!”

“Of course it should cost that much!”

“…Fine then! Do you think I can’t even afford that much!”

“Hahahaha!”

As the tension eased, everyone’s expressions brightened compared to before.

Once all preparations were complete, Count Neju opened his mouth again.

“When the signal comes from the northern gate, open the main gate.”

“…….”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Even then, the sound of the gate being pounded by ogres and trolls continued to echo.

The thick wooden gate shook violently.

Cold sweat streamed down the foreheads of the soldiers guarding the front.

Was this what it felt like to walk into hell of one’s own accord?

Frightened knights and soldiers could be seen here and there. Even so, they did not retreat and firmly held their positions.

Suuuuuuu— Fwoosh!

“It’s the signal! The signal has gone up!”

From the direction of the northern gate, a mass of red flames shot upward and then scattered.

It was launched by the mage in charge of signaling over there.

The knights standing before the gate lifted the bolts with trembling hands.

“Fire!”

The moment the gate opened, the prepared 3rd Circle ‘Fire Lance’ and ‘Wind Cutter’ poured out from the mages’ hands.

Chwaaaaaak! Whrrrrl!

Fire, wind, and physical-type magic.

It was a decisive attack meant to maximize impact.

Kraaaaaah—!

Kkeuk-keok-keok!

The screams of monsters that had rushed in the instant the gate opened spread everywhere.

Even as they were engulfed in flames or had their bodies severed, they struggled desperately to enter the fortress.

At that sight, Count Neju furrowed his brow.

“Just who are these people, controlling monsters in such a way…….”

“The monsters have stopped coming in.”

As tremendous magic erupted from the gate, it seemed the monsters were momentarily frightened.

At Basinus’s report, Count Neju steeled his resolve once more and shouted.

“Advance!”

With those words, all the troops that had been on standby poured out toward the western gate.

The real battle had begun.

Among the monsters surrounding them on all sides, ogres and trolls rampaged through the soldiers.

Count Neju stepped forward himself, drawing out his aura as he fought.

Chwaaaaaak!

The blue-glowing aura was continuously swung toward the monsters.

“I will kill every last one of you!”

Along the castle walls, Count Neju confirmed that monsters were also flooding in from the direction of the northern gate.

If the monsters concentrated on the western side like this, the territory’s people and his family would be able to escape safely.

“Fight! We must hold this place no matter what!”

A hollow cry.

Everyone fought while placing their resolved deaths behind them.

As soon as all the troops exited the fortress, the gate was closed again.

It was a gate that would never open again.

All the troops had become bait of their own accord.

The monsters themselves were not a match for the knight order.

But their numbers were endless, and there was a limit to how many could be cut down.

“Kraaaagh!”

“Keugh!”

Soldiers and knights began to fall one by one…….

The same was true for mercenaries and adventurers.

Thud thud!

At that moment, a massive lion’s head and a goat’s head rose up among the monsters.

“It’s a chimera!”

“Everyone, fall back!”

Each head opened its mouth wide and spewed fire.

It showed no hesitation even as other monsters caught between them were swept up as well.

Whrrrrrrl!

A significant portion of the troops was engulfed in the flames and burned away.

Between ragged breaths, a groan leaked from Count Neju.

His own condition was already far from intact. Having continuously expended aura, even the blue glow had faded.

Puhk—! Kwaaang!

At that moment, the chimera flapped its wings as it flew in and swung its snake-like tail.

Unable to properly block it, Count Neju was slammed bodily into the castle wall.

“Keugh! How could a chimera even…….”

A chimera was a monster that lived only in ancient dungeons or deep forests.

There were mercenaries and adventurers who lived their entire lives without ever seeing one.

The appearance of such a monster was more than enough to bring despair.

“Is this the end……?”

The number of those who had thrown themselves forward as bait for the monsters continued to dwindle.

Gripping his sword tightly, Count Neju could do nothing but despair.

That was when it happened. A massive shadow suddenly fell over them.

Because the blood-splattered battlefield was lit more clearly than ever, several people lifted their heads upward.

A monster with the lower body of a lion and the upper body of an eagle blocked out the sunlight.

“Th-that is…….”

The biggest problem was its size. Regardless of the height at which it hovered, it was large enough to cast a thick shadow over the battlefield like a cloud.

At that moment, a tiny dot fell from there and dropped down like a falling star.

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