Chapter 321
Chapter 321: Very Dangerous Characters. (2)
People looked at Ghislaine with incredulity.
Even now, we are establishing boundaries and building defensive walls. But suddenly, what’s this talk about constructing a fortress?
There’s no way to build a fortress in the forest. Even if, by some chance, it was to defend against the occasional monsters that show up, this place certainly wasn’t it.
We hadn’t even reached the intended location yet. This wasn’t a strategic point or a pathway; building a fortress here was excessive.
Gillian asked again for confirmation.
“I recall we still have some distance to our destination. Is it really a fortress and not just a defensive wall?”
“Yes, it’s temporary, but we have to build it to fortress level. Everyone needs to participate without exception.”
“It’ll take some time to construct a fortress.”
“Move quickly, okay? With this many people, it’ll be enough.”
“…Understood.”
The people moved according to Ghislaine’s orders. They had learned through experience that it was better to follow the lord’s words without question in this forest.
There was also the fact that opposing him was futile; he was not someone who could be reasoned with.
As thousands of soldiers and laborers were mobilized, the fortress rapidly began to take shape.
Thud! Boom! Thud!
The sounds of people chopping wood resonated constantly. While expanding the territory, the surroundings quickly turned into an open space.
Still, there was an abundance of timber. They had felled a tremendous number of trees while moving here, and they were still doing so now.
Moreover, the trees growing in the Forest of Monsters were incomparably larger and sturdier than those in other places. Stacked several layers thick, even a wooden wall could rival the durability of a stone wall.
Ghislaine looked at the increasingly formed exterior of the fortress and called for the dwarves.
“We need to build watchtowers for arrow attacks.”
Galbarik nodded. While using timber to build the fortress would allow for a defensive wall, it wouldn’t be suitable for fighting from the top.
The plan was to raise platforms to serve a similar role to castle walls, but it would inevitably be less effective than actual castle walls.
Therefore, constructing watchtowers was necessary to effectively respond to external attacks.
“Of course, a fortress needs those. There should be watchtowers built all around…”
“No, not like that. They need to be packed tightly against the walls. At this size, we’ll need about… a hundred.”
“A hundred…?”
At that statement, Galbarik’s face paled.
A lord with mysterious knowledge wouldn’t initiate such a thing for no reason.
Normally, the lord preferred to smash things directly. Yet here he was, building a fortress and focusing on defense.
What kind of enemies is he preparing to fight against? My intuition tells me this isn’t good.
Ghislaine’s words didn’t end there.
“Build catapults as well. We’ll need dozens of those. They don’t need to be precise, and long-range isn’t required. As long as they can attack in the vicinity, that’s enough. We can throw them away after using them this once. Got it?”
“Ah, understood.”
As Galbarik was about to step back, he cautiously asked with a tense expression.
“My lord… Are the enemies we’re facing this time quite dangerous? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you prepare to this extent.”
Others felt a little tense with such preparations, but they weren’t overly worried. The lord had always resolved everything until now.
However, Galbarik was also someone who had worked with Ghislaine the longest. Therefore, he knew this preparation was not ordinary.
“There’s no creature in this forest that isn’t dangerous.”
Ghislaine didn’t elaborate further. There was no need to stir unrest among the people.
After all, as long as there was a target, they would inevitably clash with anything that interfered.
If they knew now, the laborers might get nervous and try to withdraw. It wouldn’t be too late to tell them after the fortress was completed.
“I’ll let you know when the preparations are finished. Until then, I hope anxiety doesn’t spread among the people.”
“…Understood.”
Galbarik nodded at Ghislaine’s somewhat heavy words and turned to leave.
Just before Galbarik could exit, Ghislaine called him back.
“Galbarik.”
“…?”
“Make sure to construct it very sturdily. Got it?”
At that, Galbarik grinned.
“I’m a dwarf. Making things is the best in the continent. Even elves can’t compete with me.”
Ghislaine smiled back at Galbarik’s confident words. It seemed the pride of dwarves had been slightly deflated by the elves’ performance.
True to the dwarves’ boast, the fortress was built so sturdily it defied belief that it was made of wood.
The wizards too had become capable craftsmen who could hold their own against anyone in the continent. Tasks that required time, such as refining materials and inscribing magic circles, were all handled by the wizards.
With their combined efforts, the pace of work accelerated significantly.
The thing that took the most time was the construction of the catapults. The dwarves huddled together to create makeshift catapults.
“We need to gather all the monster tendons we’ve obtained so far.”
“The ogres we recently captured should be sufficient.”
“They said we don’t need precision. We aim to make as many as possible.”
Catapults weren’t something laborers could just crank out. Some engineering knowledge was necessary, so most had to be made by the dwarves.
Laborers and soldiers could only help with side tasks.
The dwarves scraped together the monster tendons and timber to complete dozens of makeshift catapults.
Galbarik scratched his chin as he looked at the completed catapults.
“Hmm… is this really good enough?”
Honestly, they were too crude for use in a war. Their range and accuracy were significantly lacking compared to proper catapults.
In principle, catapults are weapons meant to attack castle walls. They should have a range much longer than enemy arrows, with high accuracy and destructive power.
However, due to hastily scraped-together materials, these barely achieved half the performance of existing catapults.
Even though this level of work could only be done by dwarves, Galbarik was still dissatisfied.
“Why not ask the Chief Officer for proper catapults? We could request them from Perdium as well.”
“There’s no need for that. It won’t even be a few anyway. What’s important right now is the number.”
“But the performance is lacking…”
In response to Galbarik’s words, Ghislaine decided to test one of the makeshift catapults. Admittedly, it didn’t compare to a real catapult, but its destructive power was still quite good.
Even if it were half as effective, hitting a human would still flatten them.
Ghislaine grinned broadly and patted Galbarik on the shoulder.
“That’s enough.”
“Really? You think it’s fine?”
“Yep, what matters is the numbers, right? We need to overwhelm them.”
What could one say when the client is satisfied? Galbarik and the dwarves nodded blankly.
Thus, when everyone devoted themselves to their tasks, most of the preparations were completed within a few days.
People couldn’t help but admire the grandeur of the fortress they had made.
“Wow… it looks amazing like this.”
“We could really hold off an ogre attack, couldn’t we?”
“It’s almost a waste to have it in a forest.”
Although there weren’t any proper internal facilities, it was sturdy enough to repel something.
Its height met Ghislaine’s wishes, and the walls, made from overlapping timber, were thicker than most castle walls.
There were countless watchtowers and catapults positioned as well. At this point, it felt like even tens of thousands of soldiers could be warded off.
Of course, they would be helpless against fire arrows, but if they were to face a fire-wielding monster, the lord wouldn’t bother making such a thing.
After inspecting the fortress several times, Ghislaine issued new orders.
“Clear out all the front area to create an open space. We need to secure our fields of vision.”
During the construction, almost all the surrounding trees had been cut down. But just a little farther out, the forest was densely packed again.
With so many trees, it would be disadvantageous to attack monsters. The thick trees would block arrows and catapult attacks.
Knowing this, Gillian measured the distance necessary for their visibility and asked.
“How much space do we need to secure?”
“Enough that it won’t catch fire if we use it.”
“Understood.”
That would require securing an immense area. Soldiers and laborers went out of the fortress to chop more trees.
Boom! Thud! Boom!
Huge trees fell and were moved into the fortress. They cleared an extensive area, making it impossible not to encounter monsters.
“Graak!”
There were both monsters encountered since arriving and new ones as well. However, the soldiers easily dispatched the appearing monsters with their overwhelming numbers.
After clearing enough trees to leave the surroundings empty, the soldiers moved a little further ahead. And then they encountered them again.
“Kiieeek!”
It was the grotesque Grexes. A few of them quickly approached upon spotting the soldiers.
With their sharp claws raised, they scuttled like spiders. The expression of the soldiers soured at the sight.
“Yikes, they’re even nastier alive, huh?”
“I told you they weren’t that strong.”
“Let’s just kill them quickly and get back to work.”
Ping!
The Grexes couldn’t even approach the soldiers. The elves waiting in the back filled them with arrows.
“Wow, these things are really weak, huh?”
“They don’t seem any different from regular humans.”
“Still, they say their claws can dig through the ground, so let’s be cautious.”
Now the soldiers didn’t underestimate their weaker opponents. They advanced cautiously while continuing to chop trees.
“Kiieeek!”
The terrifying screams of more Grexes echoed as they appeared again. Their frequency was increasing.
This time, after easily dispatching the monsters, the soldiers discovered something new where the Grexes had been.
“What’s this?”
“A hole?”
“Did they dig into the ground?”
The soldiers looked curiously at the few holes in the ground. It was the first time they had seen holes dug in this forest.
“Step back!”
As the soldiers got closer to the holes, Lumina rushed over with the elves.
She and the elves began firing arrows straight into the holes.
Papapapat!
“Kiieeek!”
Chilling screams erupted from beneath the ground. For some reason, Grexes had been hiding inside the holes.
As the Grexes were attacked, they tried to crawl out of the holes. But every single one was met with an arrow from the elves and fell dead.
“Okay, that’s done. Let’s fill the holes and retreat.”
At Lumina’s command, the soldiers filled the holes quickly and returned.
After witnessing this incident, Ghislaine gave a new command to Gillian.
“Let’s stop advancing from here. Now, get rid of the fortress’ doors.”
“The doors, you say?”
“The doors will lack durability. So fill them in thickly as well. Leave just the back door for supply access.”
“Does that mean we won’t be going forward anymore?”
“From now on, all personnel will remain inside. Anyone who needs to can go out and return using ropes.”
They were isolating themselves in the forest. Just how strong of an enemy were they preparing for to adopt such a defensive stance?
Recently, Kaor, who had battled numerous monsters in the Shadow Mountain Range, asked.
“You’re preparing like a monster wave is coming. Is there something like that in the Forest of Monsters?”
“Similar. We built the fortress to face many monsters.”
“Hmmm, so when does it start?”
“Well, that’s for us to decide now. All preparations are finished.”
“We’re deciding when the monster wave happens?”
Kaor asked with a bewildered expression. How could they possibly trigger a monster wave?
[While we were investigating the Grexes, we learned new facts. A wizard who had miraculously returned from a wiped-out reconnaissance squad found out where the Grexes’ leader was located. The leader was situated deep within their territory, in the most comfortable area. We called it the ‘Queen.’
The Queen was feeding on the prey brought by the Grexes and had laid eggs, which the Grexes had hidden deep underground.]
Ghislaine nodded, as if she had a plan.
“Yeah, we can decide. We just need to force it.”
“No, how do we force it? Do monsters listen to us?”
[The Queen always peacefully fed and never did anything else. Although she was under the protection of the Grexes, it was hard to understand how weaklings like them survived in this harsh place. We hypothesized that the Queen might possess some special ability.]
At Kaor’s questioning, Ghislaine looked around at everyone and said.
“If they don’t listen, we’ll make them.”
“How?”
“There’s a way.”
[So we decided to conduct an experiment. The wizards and skilled knights would abduct the Queen and bring her back to the camp.]
Ghislaine continued with a chilling smile.
“We will kidnap Queen Grex.”
