The cannons were fired ceaselessly from the Viduron Castle as if it were the final attack.
Despite this, the horde of eighty thousand monsters advanced toward Viduron without hesitation, even amidst the bombardment.
The night march of the monster horde was possible because they thoroughly knew who their enemies were.
With only a few dozen cannons, it was impossible to tell if the numbers of the monstrous tide were even decreasing.
Yet the glowing barrels of the cannons showed no signs of cooling and continued spitting flames.
When your enemy was as numerous as grains of sand on a beach, it didn’t matter where you aimed.
Eventually, as the monsters completed their march through the barrage and approached the castle walls, ready to strike the gate—
“Tinder.”
Shane cast the first-circle spell “Tinder” toward the ground and triggered the rune magic that had been lying in wait beneath the earth.
[Fivefold Layer], [Fivefold Amplification], [Compression], [Expansion].
Booooom──!!
A huge explosion erupted and the sky lit up.
It was a technique inspired by Raviata’s elemental magic from before.
Monster flesh burst in all directions, and the ground rumbled and shook.
It was a true disaster.
Even the monsters far from the blast’s epicenter were knocked over by the shaking ground.
Meanwhile, unlike the chaos within the monster horde, Viduron Castle remained relatively calm.
The cannons continued to blaze, and the archers relentlessly drew their bows until the last arrow was spent.
This was possible because Shane had directed the expansion forward.
It was a spectacle of Shane’s carefully crafted fivefold layered rune magic, developed with the utmost caution over the past few days.
Layering wasn’t simply a matter of engraving the same spell multiple times.
The space available for inscribing rune magic was limited, and any inscriptions beyond that space would be treated as separate, which would make the layering fail.
To maximize the use of the permitted space, Shane had to meticulously write each character without overlapping others while simultaneously struggling to maintain the stability that diminished with each added layer.
And the more layers there were, the exponentially greater the magical power required, leading to a huge consumption of magic stones.
Yet, despite all this, the number of monsters didn’t seem to decrease.
Monsters threw themselves into the craters created by the explosion.
Wave after wave, the monsters kept coming. They kept climbing over one another as they began to scale the castle walls.
“Pour the boiling oil!”
The people stationed on the wall poured boiling oil down below, and the heat-sensitive Arunvida monsters helplessly fell from the walls.
Despite this, some monsters managed to dig their sharp claws into the sturdy wall and clawed their way upward.
By then, the supply of oil to defend the broad wall had already run out.
Just as the monsters were about to climb the wall, like ants swarming over a canvas…
“Aaah! You filthy bastards─!!”
At that moment, a blonde girl with bronze skin stood on a magic circle atop the wall. She was baring her sharp teeth as she spat out curses.
It was Dilaila, who had spent the past few days battling heartache and headaches while repairing the wall.
To her, it must have felt like the masterpiece of her life, that was painstakingly created at the cost of her own life, was being eaten by insects.
When Dilaila unleashed her magic, the walls that had absorbed her power began to shake all at once.
Soon after…
The wall bristled with spikes, like a hedgehog curling up to protect itself.
In an instant, the monsters clinging to the wall were impaled and once again fell to the ground.
“Gyaah!”
Then, as the magic she had prepared by consuming magic stones activated, the recoil caused Dilaila to roll her eyes back and faint on the spot.
One of the residents quickly carried her away, and Anastasia who had been watching shouted.
“Open the gates!!”
With Dilaila’s final attack, the number of monsters ignorant of magic was drastically reduced.
This was possible not only because of the genius young mages, Shane and Dilaila, but also due to the supply of magic stones that allowed the installation of such large-scale magic circles.
This achievement was largely the result of the First Princess Olicia who persistently provoked and demanded resources from Crown Prince Samuel’s faction.
The amount of magic stones used so far would have been enough to power a city for five years.
By now, the monster army’s numbers had visibly dwindled.
Most of the large threatening monsters had been shredded by the relentless cannon fire. This created a situation where the human forces could safely engage the enemy outside the gates.
The sound of a horn echoed through the night sky once again, and the heavy gates swung open.
“Uwaaah!”
“Kill them all!”
“You filthy bastards!”
While the monster horde hesitated due to Dilaila’s magic, the people of Arunvida charged forward with all their might.
Humans clashed with monsters.
The warriors who had fought countless battles to the death over the past two weeks each grasped their weapons and aimed for the monsters’ vital points.
Those who could take on a hundred enemies on their own really lived up to their reputation and they took down dozens of monsters while three or four others teamed up to take down the medium-sized monsters that were difficult to fight alone.
Even though they were reduced to rags by the bombardment, dozens of warriors still charged at the powerful large monsters.
The continuous scent of blood spread through the air, creating a chaotic scene where it became difficult to distinguish between monsters and the bodies of their fallen comrades.
No matter how well-trained the warriors were, they couldn’t help but expose their weak points in the face of the overwhelming monster horde, yet even as they were pierced through, they never let go of their weapons and drove their swords into the monsters’ hearts to the very end.
Anastasia, who could instantly grasp the battlefield situation with her exceptional physical abilities, recalled the memories she shared with each warrior as they fell.
Every year, Arunvida faced a monster wave.
And every time, there were deaths, and the loyal deaths of those warriors continued to pile up in Anastasia’s heart.
And now.
She faced the highest number of casualties she had ever seen, but she kept her eyes open and refused to look away.
As if reflecting her emotions, blood flowed from her tightly bitten lips instead of tears. It dripped down her chin and stained the ground.
Finally, she drew the greatsword strapped to her back.
“I will not forget.”
“…….”
“I swear on my soul, I will never forget.”
“…….”
“I will never forget what your nameless organization did to me. So prepare to stake your lives. No.”
“…….”
“Stake your arrogant souls.”
“Gahahahaha─!!”
Karhu, the beastman who faced her fury colder than the harshest winter, burst into laughter as he felt her killing intent cutting into his entire being.
The aura emanating from the woman, who was at least two heads shorter than him, was indeed formidable.
He had made the right choice in seeking her out.
“Ah! Now this is the kind of opponent worthy of Karhu! Gahaha!”
***
Shane knew the organization’s tendencies better than anyone.
After the massive damage they had caused in the Great Mezaiya Forest, would Nameless really sit back and do nothing this time?
After coming all the way to the north because of their previous mistake?
Absolutely not.
The organization known as Nameless always followed their plans, and once disrupted, they never let their guard down again.
So Shane was sure they would intervene at the most effective moment. They would take advantage of the chaos caused by the monster wave.
And when would that most effective moment be?
When the once vigilant defenses had relaxed and the commander’s focus shifted from his surroundings to the front lines.
Also, the moment when they could kill the commander without anyone noticing and leave no trace, true to their name, Nameless.
That moment was during the all-out offensive.
Anastasia who had heard this fact from Shane before glared at Karhu, who was bursting with fighting spirit as much as she was.
The resolve that had relentlessly driven Anastasia to protect Arunvida—against the empire’s merciless assassins and countless Cyclopes—was nothing compared to the fierce spirit that now struck her without hesitation.
Even so, Anastasia held the greatsword in both hands without a single waver and aimed it at the guy.
“Ha—this is great, really great. I was so disappointed to think that I, Karhu, would be relegated to mere assassination work. But to have such a formidable warrior stand before me… this is splendid.”
Karhu who was a descendant of the Bear Tribe among the Beastmen grinned and bared his teeth without hiding his wild nature.
“We don’t need any idle chatter between us. You’ll need to face me with everything you’ve got. After all, it’s not every day I get such a worthy opponent—”
BANG—!
Before Karhu could finish speaking, Felice’s huge hammer slammed into his face from behind.
Felice’s signature attack which was known for ignoring the opponent’s defenses had already come into play.
“For such a big guy, you sure talk a lot.”
The heavy impact that traveled up Felice’s arm confirmed the success of his strike, but he kept his eyes fixed on the direction Karhu had flown.
Even before the dust settled from the several buildings he had crashed through,
“Kuhahahahaha—!”
Karhu emerged from the cloud of debris.
Despite Felice’s ferocious attack, Karhu was only bleeding slightly from the head and showed no signs of fatal injury.
“Ptui.”
Karhu laughed out loud and spat out a mix of blood and teeth before steadying himself.
“Here I come!!”
Karhu charged forward with a stance as solid as a bear’s.
But despite his bear-like appearance, his speed was beyond anything one could imagine.
Felice, who had been preparing for the oncoming attack, swung his war hammer along the path he predicted Karhu would take, but the latter dodged his strike with a reed-like agility and drove his left fist upward.
A warning bell rang in Felice’s mind as he braced himself for the impending impact.
That punch is dangerous.
It’s even deadlier than the war hammer he had swung with all his strength!
Shit.
There was no way to block it from his current stance. He quickly shifted his feet and tried to kick at him, but his kick lacked balance and power.
Just as Karhu was about to throw his punch, confident in his rock-solid resilience, he suddenly felt a chilling presence above him. He immediately drew back his fist and retreated.
The flexibility he showed was beyond what any human body should be capable of.
And sure enough, Karhu’s instincts had not been wrong.
A huge greatsword crashed down right where he had just been standing.
“Phew. I owe you one, Your Highness.”
“So many deaths have already occurred. This is an order—do not die, no matter what.”
“How gracious of Your Majesty. Hehe.”
“Father is still alive, so let’s not use such words.”
Karhu who had just felt a cold sensation at his throat grinned and reignited his fighting spirit despite their conversation.
He was born with a warrior’s temperament, one that only grew more intense in the face of such sensations.
Yet despite his determination, Anastasia and Felice’s killing intent was equally unyielding.
“This looks fun~ Can I join in~?”
At that moment, a young girl suddenly appeared in midair.
Karhu smiled brightly and answered the question of the girl, whose half-white and half-black hair was tied long enough to hang below her waist.
“Just support me from behind. I want to savor this fun for as long as I can.”
“Oh dear… What a shame~ Okay!”
As if she enjoyed the chaos of the battlefield, the girl raised the corners of her mouth and lay down in the air with her hands supporting her head.
“Fight~ Fight~ You can win this fight~”
“Now that’s a motivating cheer! Gwahahaha!”
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