People often say that the time before a war is like the calm before a storm.
However, for the residents of Arunvida, it was just another day. They hid their sharp intent as usual and watched beyond the castle walls.
Then when the war finally began, the once peaceful atmosphere was replaced by chaos and madness, as if the calm moments before had never existed.
Beyond the castle walls.
A horde of monsters approached the walls to relieve their ferocity.
Was it the effect of the spell cast by the Orc Shaman?
The monsters’ eyes glowed red under the night sky which created an ominous and unsettling scene.
A sight that would surely make ordinary people’s legs tremble.
But the residents of Arunvida waited without a single tremor. They were patiently biding their time.
When the moonlight that was hidden by clouds suddenly illuminated the scene below, the monsters at the forefront of the horde became visible.
Leading the charge were rows of Ice Stone Crabs.
These creatures were known for feeding on rocks and had exteriors as tough as steel, making them nearly impervious to anything but the most powerful attacks.
Behind them, smaller monsters made up the bulk of the force. They were ready to surround the castle.
Amongst them, mid-sized monsters such as Owlbears and Ice Trolls advanced towards the gates in an attempt to break through.
And at the very rear were the giants—Cyclopses and Ogres.
The monsters each held a large boulder in their hands, and considering their strength, those boulders could easily be hurled with the same range as the cannons defending the castle.
When such monsters gathered together and were further strengthened by the magic of the orc shaman, the pressure felt just by them approaching was immense.
Finally, when the monster horde reached the range of the cannons.
The ears of the artillerymen who had been waiting anxiously were filled with the long-awaited command.
“Fire!”
BOOM─!!
The sound of cannon fire erupted; it felt like the heavens themselves were collapsing as huge cannonballs shot out from the barrels.
Hearing the distant roar of the cannons, the Ice Stone Crabs crouched down and braced themselves for the impending impact.
At the same moment, right in front of the cannon’s muzzle.
Magic circles unfolded before the cannonballs.
[Acceleration], [Overlap], [Penetration].
These were the magic circles that Mimir had painstakingly inscribed on the cannons over the past few days with Shane’s runes etched into them.
As the cannonballs passed through the magic circle, they gained amplified speed and flew far beyond their usual range.
The result was devastating. The damage extended all the way to where the giant monsters stood, and those preparing to hurl their boulders were pierced by the cannon fire.
At the same time, the cannonballs burst through the monsters’ bodies and slammed into the ground before exploding, sending metal fragments ripping through the nearby monsters.
With a single attack, the rear ranks of the monster horde were shattered.
However, this attack didn’t end with just one strike.
Wasn’t it said that a prepared mage was terrifying?
But for a mage to be truly terrifying, they also needed the financial means to back it up.
The imperial gold coins really are something.
In that short time, they had procured a large quantity of magic stones.
With just a bit of those, they could sap the monster horde’s strength from the very start, just like now.
As more shells flew in, skin and flesh soared through the air once again, and the scent of blood drove the monsters into a frenzy, making them charge forward with terrifying cries.
Monsters were incapable of hiding their wild instincts and they were fated to charge forward without retreat.
This was the limit of monsters, but on the other hand, it was also their strength.
If it turned into a battle of attrition where they didn’t care about their lives, the damage on the human side would be far greater.
“Open the gate!”
Anastasia cried out that order when saw the monster horde torn to shreds by the barrage of bullets and arrows. The tightly closed castle gate swung open and the residents who were equipped with gear supplied by the Empire rushed out.
These were the people who had lived in Arunvida for a few years at the least, and some for decades. They gripped their weapons and faced the charging monsters.
In an instant, the madness of battle filled the battlefield.
The sword of a warrior sliced through the neck of an Ice Troll in one swift motion.
An Ogre who had survived with one arm severed swung his huge fist, sending a shield warrior flying with his shield.
A Cyclops stomped its foot and dozens of humans stumbled, causing the front line to collapse.
Yet in a fierce struggle, dozens of soldiers swarmed the Cyclops and eventually took its life.
The battle of death continued through the night until dawn began to break.
By this time, the cold ground of Arunvida had been warmed by the countless monster corpses, forming what could only be described as a river of monster blood.
The first monster wave had ended.
Tens of thousands of monsters had lost their lives, while human casualties remained relatively low.
The total number of casualties was around 200.
Less than 10 percent lost their lives, but even so, Anastasia and Mimir’s expressions were not good.
“The damage is greater than I expected.”
Despite holding back a horde of tens of thousands of monsters with just a few thousand men, this was the assessment because they knew this wave was not the end.
The scouts had confirmed that the total number of monsters exceeded one hundred thousand.
The number of monsters lost in this wave was estimated at about 17,000. This meant that at least six more waves like this were expected to come.
And that wasn’t all.
They could not forget the presence of the Orcs, who were surely waiting for the humans to exhaust their strength.
However, if the monster waves kept coming like this, there would be no proper way to repair the castle, which needed to be defended in the current situation.
Because of this, they had to open the gates even at the risk of casualties.
“Considering the current situation, we can open the gates a maximum of three more times.”
Anastasia nodded her head at Mimir’s assessment.
“When is the predicted time for the next wave?”
“In two days, we estimate it will come at dawn.”
“I see…”
There were only ten days left until the advance party from Olicia would arrive.
Could they protect the castle walls until then?
If their losses grew too great, it would become difficult to give orders to the reinforcements that would arrive later.
No matter how advantageous it might be to defend one’s own territory, the difference in numbers would be hard to overcome.
On the other hand, if the walls were to fall, the war against the orcs would probably be impossible to win even if reinforcements arrived.
As they assessed the increasingly dire situation, Shane quietly spoke up.
“We need to change the supply list.”
***
On a seemingly languid afternoon.
Olicia gazed at the sunset and enjoyed a brief moment of peace as she sipped tea with ice floating in it.
Even though it appeared as if she was simply having tea, there was a sense of nobility about her, but this was just like a swan gliding on water.
In reality, just moments ago, she had been engaged in a power struggle with Samuel’s vassals in preparation for the coming war and had spent intense moments in political playing beneath the surface.
For Olicia, this was her first rebellion, and it was something she had to succeed in.
If she were to lose ground to Samuel’s influence in the imperial court again, Olicia’s own power would be drained away completely.
If that happened, she would be beyond recovery.
Yet the reason she could afford this brief respite was because of the boy standing before her.
“Yo-Your Highness, I-I’ve resolved the issue with the s-supply management you mentioned.”
The second son of the Bernshtein family. Bernshtein Osten.
Since their previous meeting, Olicia had met with Osten several times, and as a result, he had become someone she kept close at hand.
Some of her vassals were dissatisfied with the fact that he was a noble from another country who had entered the imperial court, and even more so that he had come directly under the princess’s command.
However, it wasn’t long before Osten’s skills silenced their complaints.
They knew that someone with his talents was essential for Olicia. Especially when she was so short on manpower.
Olicia took the document Osten handed her, read it briefly, and then spoke.
“You’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, I can take a moment to breathe.”
“N-No, it was nothing.”
“Even so, the progress is still slow… I wonder if my younger sister will be able to endure such a difficult time.”
Thanks to the portal Shane created, communication with Arunvida was faster than ever.
As a result, they were well aware of how precarious Arunvida’s situation was. It was like a candle flickering in the face of a typhoon.
Unbelievable.
A monster wave with an army of a hundred thousand.
And it wasn’t as if the average fighting power of Arunvida’s monsters could be considered low.
To think that they would have to hold out for two weeks against such a horde of monsters, with a hundred thousand of them on the move.
Even though the Viduron Castle was built to be impregnable from the start, would it still be standing by the time they arrived?
That was their concern.
However, Osten spoke with a far more relaxed expression than the princess.
“I-It’ll be fine.”
“Hmm. And why is that?”
“Because ‘he’ is there.”
“Oh, you didn’t stutter just now?”
“H-Haha. I-I’ve been practicing.”
“Hmm…”
The princess had already figured out that Osten wasn’t actually a stutterer.
However, she allowed him to maintain that demeanor because she knew it was his way of handling himself.
“If you mean ‘him’, you’re talking about Shane? Of course, he’s incredible, but…”
No matter how capable he was, how could a single person possibly handle a monster wave with an army of a hundred thousand?
Such doubts crossed her mind.
“F-Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but h-his talents go far beyond that. His ability to manage p-people is as sharp as, if not sharper than yours, Yo-Your Highness.”
“Oh… is that so.”
The princess, who had been observing Osten for some time now, was somewhat surprised by his acknowledgment of someone else’s abilities.
Osten, who usually carried himself with a lack of confidence, had never shown such recognition of others.
And because of that, his eyes were filled with certainty.
“So, I don’t need to push myself too hard, then?”
“I-If it was me… I-I would wait until I was fully prepared.”
“I see…”
Originally, she had planned to send out an advance party ahead of schedule, but when Osten spoke so confidently like this, it seemed right to prepare more thoroughly.
And so, Olicia spent time late into the night with Osten and they discussed various responses to Samuel’s movements.
***
“Ah! It’s so, so cold!”
Dilaila who was bundled up like a bear in thick fur clothing was startled by the harsh weather she was experiencing for the first time and looked around in surprise.
Behind her, Klein, Alex, Al Ross, and Artia emerged from the portal one after another.
And their expressions were not much different from Dilaila’s.
“Welcome. You’re later than I expected.”
The person who greeted them was none other than Shane.
Shane, who always maintained a tidy appearance, welcomed them with a slightly haggard look.
The half-destroyed walls of Viduron could be seen behind Shane, along with the sound of ongoing battles. This meant that the war was still in progress.
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