Chapter 91 |
“Kueeeeeek!!!”
“Kwooooo!!!”
In the pitch-black night, eerie screams echo from all sides.
It was a devil’s harmony, brimming with pain, rage, and malice. The faint-hearted would feel the blood drain from their heads and dizziness would assail them just by listening.
“The walls…”
“No way…”
And simultaneously, the walls begin to tremble slightly. Although it wasn’t a significant movement, the mere fact that the sturdy walls were shaken was quite shocking.
“Can you see anything?”
I shifted my gaze from the shaking walls to Baron Jorge standing next to me.
Baron Jorge murmured, his voice low and throaty. A blue light shimmered in his eyes.
“The situation is not good.”
Baron Jorge is a magician, and the spell he had cast was known as “Eye of the Sky,” a reconnaissance-type magic.
The effect of the magic is simple. It allows one to look down at their current location from the sky.
While it may seem like a trivial spell, there is no better magic for grasping the situation in a battle. Thus, in Baron Jorge’s world, it is a magic essential for warfare and one that every noble learns.
“How does the situation look? Do you think the walls will be breached?”
“I’m trying to figure out how to put it…”
As Jorge pondered, beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and finally, he spoke.
“...Have you ever seen a large rock into a stream?”
“I have.”
“That’s exactly our situation now. Like a large boulder sitting in the middle of a stream.”
The number of monsters is countless, feeling more like a flow of liquid than individual entities.
“The majority are slamming into the walls. Some die instantly from the impact, while others are crushed to death by the monsters piling up behind them.”
“That explains the noise...”
Just as a stream tirelessly laps at a boulder, the monsters continually crash against the walls. That’s why the walls are shaking and the screams are relentless.
“And it seems these monsters have a destination in mind.”
Baron Jorge mentioned that it doesn’t appear the monsters are specifically targeting us. They’re just heading somewhere, and our fortress happens to be in their path.
But due to the sheer scale of the monsters, it naturally ended up being surrounded.
“Lastly, the walls... the monsters are piling up.”
The monsters that crash into the walls die. They are crushed from behind and above. Their bodies instantly turn into bursts of light, and the walls are still holding, for now.
However, some of the monsters are strong and sturdy enough to withstand the pressure. These are clinging to the walls, wildly flailing their arms, the problem being that these sturdy monsters are accumulating and acting as a foundation.
Gradually, a hill of monsters that others can climb is forming. Of course, the monsters serving as the hill are not invincible; they continuously die and disappear, and the hill collapses repeatedly... But the environment where monsters could potentially leap over the walls has been created.
“It seems it will be soon. I’ll head inside the fortress now.”
His subjects were waiting inside the fortress. They weren’t much help in battle, so they were kept out of sight.
“Phew.”
Baron Jorge let out a sigh, the blue light fading from his eyes. I heard that ‘Eye of the Sky’ is a taxing spell. He didn’t show it, but he must be quite fatigued.
“By the way...”
He stopped walking towards the fortress and turned to look at me, a complex emotion flowing through his eyes.
“What is it?”
“Never mind.”
I then noticed Baron Jorge’s hands were trembling slightly. His expression was as usual, seemingly unaffected, but he couldn’t completely hide the tremor in his hands.
“...Let’s live to see it.”
With those words, Baron Jorge disappeared into the fortress. I turned my head back towards the walls just as a wolf and I locked eyes.
“What are you looking at?”
“Grrrrrrr...”
Leading the pack, the wolf I had made eye contact with now prominently revealed itself along with the rest of the monsters atop the walls. The ‘hill’ Baron Jorge had mentioned was now complete.
“This is fierce.”
Glittering eyes. Drooling saliva. Furiously snorting nostrils.
Unable to hold back any longer, the monsters began pouring down the walls. Some landed gracefully and charged straight at us, while others stumbled and fell, becoming makeshift cushions for other monsters that dropped into the courtyard.
“Kheuong!”
The first to charge was a wolf, baring its fangs at me. Compared to the monster wolves I encountered on the third floor, this one was laughable.
I swung my sword mechanically. The sensation of cutting through thick fur, splitting flesh, and shattering bone transmitted to my fingertips as the severed wolf’s head spun in the air before dissolving into light.
But the wolf was just the beginning. Orcs. Goblins. Creatures with heads like dogs but otherwise indescribable… The monsters kept dropping.
“...Damn.”
The struggle had begun.
**
About 30 minutes since the monsters breached the walls.
I swung.
And swung.
And kept swinging.
Despite the continuous action, my body was still brimming with energy. My eyes were sharper than ever, my heart pounded ferociously.
“Kuaaaa!”
Screech!
An orc tried to block with a wooden shield, but I sliced right through it.
-Roarrr!
Four wolves attacked at once—from below, above, left, and right. It’s impossible to simultaneously block all four.
“Hah!”
Then the solution is to swing my sword four times faster. Four halved wolf corpses tumbled across the ground.
A fearsome strength that couldn’t possibly be human, and a speed leaving no afterimages… These were the effects of the hero trait—Truly a wolf among sheep.
Every monster that entered my sword’s reach spilled its blood and fell dead. The experience I’d gained from the third floor’s arrow traps made dodging a breeze.
However, the situation wasn’t entirely optimistic. In fact, it seemed more appropriate to consider it bad.
As I slashed through a goblin wielding a short dagger, I fell into deep thought.
Considering the situation I was in objectively... It was incredibly complex.
Currently, I am immensely strong. The incoming monsters? They’re not a big problem. The passage I’m guarding is narrow enough for only three adult men to squeeze through, limiting the number of monsters that can attack at once. This means there’s no chance for them to exploit any gaps.
Sure, occasionally some sturdier, more muscular monsters mix into the fray, but if I focus, I can dispatch them in a single strike.
Assuming I maintain my concentration, there should be no chance of a careless mistake leading to a regrettable regression.
However, the condition I just mentioned is the problem. Maintaining concentration is the challenge itself.
Though the blood and fat on my sword vanish the instant the monsters are slain, my rough usage quickly dulls the blade. I need to periodically check its condition and switch it out as necessary.
Moreover, the strong individuals that sporadically intersperse the horde pose a challenge. They’re too weak to defeat me, but strong enough to inflict minor wounds.
If I mindlessly swing my sword without focus, I’ll inevitably get hurt. I must constantly be alert and strain my mind to calculate every possible scenario that could unfold.
Yes, the physical aspect is not the issue. My body, invigorated by the hero trait, is still vigorous and full of energy. It’s my mental state that is problematic.
“Sigh…”
Keeping my mind sharp while repeatedly performing the same motions is incredibly draining. Naturally, the mental fatigue is significant, and my mind grows cloudy, causing my swordplay to falter.
Of course, I can endure it. It’s tough, but I can continue to fight through the struggle. However, I am a regressor. I might have to repeat this dreadful ordeal not just once but hundreds of times. Realizing this makes every moment feel like hell.
Maybe I should just take a portal and leave. Whether others die or not isn’t my concern.
No, I need to see this through at least once. I have to see what’s on the fourth floor.
“Swoosh!”
In a moment of dizziness, a sharp ax aims for my skull. A massive orc wields it, but I dodge easily and behead the creature.
“...Ah.”
For now, I’ll focus on surviving. Then, I can worry about everything else.
**
As the morning sun rises...
“Is it over? Is it really over?”
“Huff.. Huff….”
Outside the walls, the landscape was still swarming with monsters, and terrible screams echoed from every direction, but... no more creatures were climbing over the walls. It seemed there were no monsters strong enough to bear the weight of others for now.
“Are-are you okay?”
Yoon Junghyun hurried over and examined me from head to toe, his eyes widening in surprise. Naturally, there wouldn’t be a single scratch. If I had been hit, I would have regressed anyway.
“I’m fine. How about you?”
“There are quite a few injuries, but it seems there are no fatalities.”
The passage was narrow, and thanks to around 90 players fighting in shifts, the damage was minimal. Except for a few individuals, most of the monsters were not very strong.
“That’s a relief.”
A slight smile formed on my face, glad that my efforts weren’t in vain. It felt like achieving a challenging accomplishment in a game.
-51:02:11
But this was only the third day. We still needed to survive two more days, and there was a need to rest our weary bodies.
“You’ve all done well. I’m not sure of the exact situation, but it seems we are safe for now. Although you’re tired, we need to set up a watch rotation and take turns resting...”
“Junho-nim.”
A hoarse voice interrupted me from behind.
It was Sir Thomas, Baron Jorge’s guard, who cut off my words. He was stained with blood.
“Are you injured? The blood...”
“That’s not what’s important.”
Honestly, I was a bit elated. I felt I had done quite well—
“31 people have died. They were all vassals of Baron Jorge’s.”
“...What?”
—Then such bad news came unexpectedly.
– – – End of Chapter – – -
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