NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 606
Chapter 606: Let’s Go Wild Again. (2)
The fortress’s attack focused on the approaching flying monsters first.
As arrows and magic targeted the flying monsters, attacks on the ground monsters naturally diminished.
Kraaah!
Kuwung! Kuwung! Kuwuung!
Eventually, the large monsters reached the fortress. The ogres’ massive clubs and trolls’ fists began to pound on the fortress walls.
Kwaaaang! Kwang! Kwaaang!
The giant monsters lashed out as if trying to break down the fortress. Their size prevented them from overcoming it.
However, the nimble small monsters had a different situation. They successfully crawled up the bodies of the giant monsters and the fortress walls.
Kwa-chik! Kwaaak!
“Aaaah!”
“Stop them! Throw off the ones that came up!”
“Hold! We must endure in front!”
Desperate cries from the commanders echoed everywhere. But with so many monsters, the situation could only worsen.
As the soldiers struggled to contain the monsters, more began to climb up the fortress.
“We cannot break! Stay in formation! We can hold them!”
“Archers and wizards, focus on the flying monsters only! Don’t worry about the ones that got onto the fortress!”
“Don’t look up! Only aim for the monsters in front!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Following the commanders’ shouts, the soldiers gritted their teeth and thrust their shields forward. Spears lunged out, stabbing at the monsters.
Kraaah!
Experience from large wars showed in the soldiers’ movements. They formed ranks and tightly grouped to push the monsters back.
Though they allowed monster access, nobody gave up hope of overcoming it. Everyone was still holding their ground.
Kuooooooo!
From afar, beyond the gathering ranks of monsters, a huge roar resounded once more.
As the soldiers briefly glanced toward the sound, horror gripped them.
“N-no way… Is that giant…?”
“Is that still around?”
“It’s a Cyclops! The Cyclops has appeared!”
Five giants, twice the size of ogres, emerged.
Cyclopes were creatures thought to be extinct due to their extremely low numbers.
Typically, people considered ogres the strongest ground monsters, but Cyclopes possessed power that surpassed even them.
They merely gave up the title of strongest to ogres because they only existed in legends.
Yet, to have not one, but five of such monsters appear.
Krruuuh…
Though the Cyclopes seemed half-mad like other monsters, unlike them, they did not charge blindly.
Surprisingly, they began throwing the stones used for catapults at the fortress.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaah!
“Uaaaaah!”
Soldiers, taken by sudden catapult attacks, screamed and fell. Many died crushed by rocks without even a scream.
Now the monsters were also launching catapult attacks. This rendered the formation meaningless.
As rocks were thrown, soldiers kept falling, shattering the ranks.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
Kaaaoooh!
The cries of humans mixed with the roars of monsters echoed everywhere.
The Cyclopes, unconcerned about their allied monsters, hurled stones indiscriminately. Even flying monsters were knocked down by the rocks.
The battlefield fell into complete chaos.
“W-what…?”
Alferen, the chief commander of the fortress, was left speechless, his mouth agape.
Having gathered extensive data on how dangerous a monster wave could be, he stuffed an army comparable to that of a nation into this fortress.
He was confident they could sufficiently fend off the monster wave. He was only pondering how to fight against dragons.
But the scale of the monsters exceeded his imagination. The number that gathered was incomprehensibly larger than what he had seen in the documents.
And now, with Cyclopes appearing too. That was a monster even a superhuman would find hard to take down alone.
Kaaah! Kwaaaang! Kwaaaang!
“Uaaaah!”
The soldiers’ screams rang ceaselessly. The walls of the fortress began to crack under the attacks of the giant monsters.
Despite preparing with confidence, it was insufficient to withstand the monsters’ collective assault.
Alferen’s mind blanked out, and the battlefield became a blur.
“I didn’t think the monsters would be this numerous…”
He was known for being a fairly competent commander. He had quite a record, so much so that he was chosen for the suppression of remnants.
He had fought brilliantly against his country’s rebels and the Salvation Society, successfully winning. He had even endured the offensive from Marquis Gideon and the Army of Atrode.
Yet even he didn’t know how to counter such brutal and violent power.
Kraaah!
In the eyes of the monsters swarming the fortress, there was no glimmer of reason. Only the madness pursuing destruction and slaughter shone forth.
They acted as though they felt no pain.
Even as blood spilled from arrow wounds and flesh fell away, the monsters only ignited their hostility toward the lifeforms within the fortress.
As the formation broke and they began to give ground, fear began to fill the soldiers’ faces.
“W-shouldn’t we retreat?”
Someone muttered, but no one heard that voice. No, it would be more accurate to say there was no time to listen.
Kraaah!
The ogres, even after having their arms severed, paid no mind and focused solely on breaking the fortress.
The trolls stood atop the bodies of other monsters, attempting to scramble up the fortress walls by any means.
Wyrms dashed toward the soldiers, indifferent to the tearing of their wings.
Horrific roars and cries filled the battlefield. The monsters’ maddened eyes reflected the very light of nightmares creeping out from the abyss.
“The monsters aren’t decreasing!”
“Shift left! Quickly re-form the ranks!”
“I-I can’t hold! This place is finished.”
Amidst the chaotic battlefield, the soldiers became engulfed in fear.
The previously solid formation had already crumbled from the moment the Cyclopes began hurling rocks. An army that couldn’t maintain formation found it hard to withstand the tidal wave of monsters.
“Get a grip! Re-form the ranks! We can do this! Our capital is still not that far!”
Commanders shouted loudly, motivating the soldiers.
Archers and wizards were still attacking the flying monsters, while catapults continued launching rocks outside the fortress.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
But the catapult attacks posed more of a threat to the fortress troops than the monsters. The Cyclopes had no concept of protecting allies as they unleashed volleys of rocks.
An attack fueled solely by the madness to kill the enemy was hard to avoid. With time, the fortress suffered more damage.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Kraaah!
The attacks of the monsters were far from tactical or strategic. They were merely a relentless tide of primal violence crashing against the fortress.
The refined swordplay of humans and defensive techniques appeared helpless against this barbaric onslaught.
Eventually, a young soldier could not hold out any longer and collapsed in terror.
“This… This isn’t war! It’s slaughter!”
Kwa-chik!
A harpy, its body resembling a bird with a human head, dove for an easy meal. The soldier became victim to its beak.
Skgch!
A knight beside him beheaded the harpy. But before he could catch his breath, surrounding monsters charged in frenziedly.
Kuoooooo!
Kuwung! Kuwung! Kuwung!
From below the fortress, massive gorgons resembling black bulls continuously slammed their heads against the fortress.
Tudak, todak…
The ceaseless attacks from the large monsters began to gradually break the fortress apart. The rocks thrown by the Cyclopes continuously crushed the soldiers.
Monster bodies were clinging black against the fortress walls. In the sky, flying monsters kept coming down.
Alferen gazed blankly, muttering.
“It’s over…”
Though he thought they had sufficient strength, they were being pushed back beyond belief. Even while fighting within the fortress’s confines, and not directly confronting the large monsters, they still struggled to cope with them.
Priests poured all their strength into protecting and healing their allies, but more soldiers continued to fall.
Before such overwhelming waves of violence, everything became meaningless. In the struggle between civilization and barbarism, and reason versus instinct, civilization and reason were being pushed aside.
The fortress felt like the last bastion of reason surrounded by a pack of beasts starving for slaughter.
“Uaaaaah!”
“Hold on! We must endure!”
“Reform the ranks! If you run now, the casualties will be even greater!”
The soldiers’ screams and the commanders’ shouts continuously intertwined.
It was a situation where, realistically, there was no chance to flee. They mustered their strength and faced the onslaught.
But everyone knew. If things continued like this, they would eventually be overwhelmed in one fell swoop.
They were trying hard to avoid that point, but limits began to show more clearly.
Just as fear and despair grew larger in everyone’s hearts.
Bang!
From afar, a sound like air bursting rang out.
Bang! Poof! Bang!
The explosion sounds followed one after another. With each sound, light flared up and approached the fortress.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa-BAANG!
Before long, a lightning-like figure sped toward the fortress at tremendous speed.
Kwaaah!
The man, Jerome, who appeared alongside the lightning, spread his arms wide. A golden magic circle was etched in his eyes.
“Gravity Wave.”
Kuwuuung!
In an instant, waves of gravity radiated in front of the fortress.
Kraah!
Flying monsters in the sky suddenly plummeted to the ground.
The monsters gripping the fortress walls could not withstand the tremendous pressure, either bursting or falling down. The movements of the giant monsters that had been pounding on the fortress slowed.
The soldiers seized the opportunity. They hurried to stab the monsters that fell from the sky and crush the ones that were down.
Many monsters were still approaching. But at least the soldiers on the fortress had a moment to breathe.
“Quickly! Quickly reform the ranks!”
At someone’s shout, the soldiers briskly regrouped. Only then did they realize what was happening.
“It’s Lord Jerome!”
“Lord Jerome has come!”
“Waaaaah!”
A tremendous cheer erupted.
Every soldier in the fortress knew who Jerome was.
He was the great mage who had reached the 8th circle. The one who had stopped the horrific monster Gathros.
Knowing that powerful strength fueled their morale.
Kuoooooo!
Cyclopes hurled stones again. Even though Jerome had dropped many monsters from the fortress, their attacks remained threatening.
As fast-approaching rocks streaked toward him, Jerome reached out.
Zing—!
Golden magic circles instantly appeared in front of the fortress.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
The rocks burst apart as they struck the magic circles. Seeing this, the soldiers erupted into cheers once more.
“Waaaaah!”
“Lord Jerome blocked them all!”
“Push back the monsters!”
If they could defend against the catapult attacks, they could maintain the ranks. Everyone began to fight against the lurching wave of monsters again.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
Jerome focused on defending against the catapult attacks thrown by the Cyclopes. At the same time, he cast spells to contain the flying monsters.
His role was to protect his allies. Thus, he couldn’t deal with the approaching monsters.
There were others to take care of that.
Paaaaaah!
In a location slightly distanced from the horde of monsters, Vanessa appeared.
As she floated in the air, she waved her hand, and dozens of magic circles formed in the sky.
Flare!
In an instant, light flashed and dozens of lightning bolts descended to the ground.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
Kraaaaah!
The indiscriminate lightning rained down, devastating the ranks of the approaching monsters from the middle.
But that wasn’t all. Massive pillars of flame erupted from the ground, ensuring the monsters couldn’t dash properly.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
The monsters’ advance began to slow. But before Vanessa could stop them, many had already headed toward the fortress, leaving it again under a solid wave of monsters.
“Kugh! I can hold on! I can endure this!”
The soldiers gritted their teeth, holding off the monsters.
Though Jerome was helping, it was still insufficient to completely block the monsters. They had been hit too hard before.
At that moment, a thick darkness began to converge in the air above the fortress.
PAAAAK!
Soon, the darkness tore apart, and Belinda sprang out from within. At the same time, hundreds of daggers scattered, glinting brilliantly in every direction.
Kraaah!
Monsters charging thoughtlessly were ripped apart without mercy. The moving daggers were as indistinguishable as a hundred knights in action.
Alferen clenched his fist tightly and shouted.
“We can do this! We can win!”
With just three superhumans joining in, the once lost battle turned around immediately. No, if it continued like this, it was certain they would be able to make a complete comeback.
Kuwung! Kwaaaang! Kwaaang!
The remaining problem lay with the large monsters attacking frenziedly from below the fortress. Though Jerome had dropped a good number, they began to regroup, strengthened by their resilient physiques.
If the fortress crumbled, it would result in massive casualties. The knights might be fine, but most soldiers would die buried in the rubble.
Alferen intended to ask Jerome to deal with the large monsters first. They had to take care of the gathered giants, even if it meant suffering some damage from the catapult or flying monsters.
But before Alferen could call Jerome, someone stepped up to handle the large monsters.
Dudududududud.
Yulien charged toward the big monsters on horseback.
He held his sword with an expressionless face, just as always.
Grooooooo…
More mana than ever began to converge into his sword. Soon, it was bathed in a brilliant yet chilling blue light.
Drdrddd!
As Yulien’s horse galloped, it suddenly turned and came to a halt. At the same time, he glanced sideways and sliced the air with his sword.
Skagh.
Though it appeared a very light action, the result was anything but trivial.
Kagagagagagagagagag!
The ground began to long split in the direction the sword had swung. And in that direction, all the giant monsters attacking the fortress were cut in half.
From the highest point of the fortress, Alferen could only blink at the sight.
“W-what…?”
He had heard that Yulien was strong several times. But what he showed could not simply be expressed as ‘strong.’
It was a force beyond the bounds of humanity, a power that defied comprehension.
While Alferen was left dumbfounded, Yulien plunged back into the monsters.
Skagh! Skagh! Skagh!
With each swing of his sword, the bodies of the monsters were split in half, and their heads flew off.
But no matter how strong he was, he couldn’t take on this many monsters by himself.
The mages hadn’t caught up yet. Only those who could arrive quickly in such an urgent situation were present.
They needed just a little more—a powerful attack capable of reversing the tide.
Skagh!
Having sliced through the surrounding monsters, Yulien turned his head.
Dudududududud!
In the distance, a cavalry unit was seen charging as if flanking. They boldly charged toward the rear of the monsters.
It was Giselle, followed by over 200 Knights of Penris.