Chapter 111
Chapter 111 – Clash (1)
“There it is. The castle wall…”
“No way. It’s incredibly high.”
The expedition team sent by Luke. Having definitely triumphed over Garhan, they boasted a military strength greater than any tribe that had ever existed in this area.
But that alone wasn’t enough. Rushing in quickly based on information from spies, they finally reached the Arin Tribe’s stronghold.
At the sight of the tall castle wall, they were struck dumb. Even though they were already aware, the reality was overwhelming.
“W-was this a proper castle wall? Compared to our kingdom’s border fortresses, it doesn’t seem to fall behind at all…”
The mage Rihar, who was assisting the expedition, felt the same. He had heard the term castle wall, but paired with the spy’s lackluster descriptions, he thought it was just some basic stone wall, but it was far from that.
The 10-meter tall massive wall was so uniform and smooth that they couldn’t even begin to fathom how it was constructed.
“Don’t even look at the wall! Look over there. They’ve built houses and farms. We just need to destroy those!”
As the pressure from the high wall weighed down on the soldiers, Ghir shouted at them to snap out of it. He commanded them to trample the village and fields laid out before them with their swords.
The village was a temporary settlement established by the gathered refugees, and the fields were hastily created using the traits of farmers, but the expedition team, unaware of that, surged towards the site.
“Look at those fools. Leading an army of 10,000 and this is all they can do?”
“Ahem…”
The Arin warriors atop the wall observed the expedition team’s antics. When one of the dwarves who had joined them scoffed at the sight, those around him coughed awkwardly.
The expedition team was simply following the established tactics. If you tell tribes of the grasslands to deal with someone fortified in a castle, they’d all approach it the same way.
“Anyway, let’s just do our job. Just annoy them as much as possible. Look! The defense turrets have started operating!”
The residents atop the wall began to counterattack the expedition team, who had now started to devastate the area outside the castle. If arrows could reach, they shot arrows, and warriors who had class-changed to mages used magic.
The most helpful were the defense turrets installed on the castle wall. With minimum level 3 enhancements, the large arrows fired from the turrets had increased range and power.
“Ugh, aargh!”
“They’re shooting giant arrows!”
Caught off guard, the expedition team had their screams echoing as multiple soldiers were skewered by arrows showcasing firepower greater than that of ballistae.
Strong spears pierced both men and horses as they soared across the sky, causing those nearby to go pale.
“Hold on! If we can’t manage this, what will the chieftain say!”
Ghir, determined not to let the morale he’d managed to build collapse, swung his sword to deflect the arrows from the turrets while shouting.
They hadn’t even breached the forward base, massacred the enemies, nor looted inside the castle. If they couldn’t even destroy what lay outside, they would completely fail their mission.
‘Still, those Arin folks wouldn’t dare come out to fight us.’
Having suffered multiple blows to their pride, at least they retained that much.
“W-wait, they’re coming out of the castle!”
But at that moment, even that one last shred of pride was about to crumble.
“It’s time.”
As the enemies trudged about, taking hits from the barrage of their arrows while diligently destroying things of little value, Riena had already armed herself with the soldiers and mounted her horse, ready for action.
The ones shooting arrows from the castle weren’t the main force. Knowing the enemies wouldn’t counterattack, they let the elderly and children, those who couldn’t fight, shoot arrows.
Her appearance was slightly different from the other soldiers.
Unlike the others who were armed with armor made from by-products of mutants, she wore armor imbued with a special power.
The armor was revealing, but she and the others no longer cared. It was armor bestowed by the guardian deity, so it was okay.
“While we are fulfilling our holy duty, these selfish ones dare to invade here!”
Looking at the gathered soldiers, she spoke in a cold voice.
Indeed, she was furious. Aside from her past bad experiences with raiders, she regarded the expedition team as an evil attempting to thwart her beloved comrades.
“We cannot allow those who are ignorant of our sacrifices and strength to rampage indefinitely.”
She inspired the soldiers. It wasn’t difficult. Most of those who joined her had already experienced defeat and injury. In such circumstances, they had all witnessed miracles and caregiving.
To protect this land, their sanctuary and holy site, they could fight not just against raiders but even against terrible monsters.
“They’ve made holes everywhere!”
The miners wielding pickaxes had opened just enough holes in the wall for them to escape.
The castle gate was firmly shut, and they poured out through the openings made, beginning their run to confront the expedition team.
“How dare they…!”
“W-wouldn’t it be better to retreat now? Haven’t we destroyed everything we could?”
“Shut up! If they’re charging first not knowing their place, retreating would be just the same as fleeing!”
Gnashing his teeth at the sight of the approaching Arin forces, Ghir felt a mix of emotions. Though some among them suggested retreat, stating they had achieved their goal and should avoid further losses, Ghir dismissed that idea.
Though there was emotional weight behind it, it wasn’t an emotional decision. Over half of the expedition team consisted of soldiers absorbed from Garhan’s forces.
If they dragged them into a dismal farce of battle, achieving nothing but a meaningless achievement of sabotaging farmland, future integration with the tribe would bear significant complications.
Originally, Luke had connected Ghir with them to help him achieve destructive exploits for easier absorption.
‘Can we win? They have the castle wall on their side.’
At his side, mage Rihar was watching the situation with a more objective perspective.
Riena was deliberately closing in against the wall, making it necessary for them to fight while taking fire from the castle’s unrelenting attacks.
If they stepped beyond the range of the castle’s attacks, there was no way the Arin forces would come out to battle.
‘Besides…’
Rihar swallowed hard. The Arin soldiers were somewhat different from typical tribes of the grasslands, including the expedition team. They were vastly different from what Rihar knew of the kingdom’s cavalry.
Their armor was not made of metal, yet it was a unified gear crafted with the same materials and methods.
Armor made from pitch-black leather and white bones seemed otherworldly, as if these beings truly belonged to this world.
‘What’s with that woman?’
Leading this uniquely armed group was a woman clad in entirely different armor. It was obvious from her attire that she was female, and she drew her sword, charging straight at them.
“Charge! It’s not even 1,000 of them!”
Ghir pushed on the expedition warriors, urging them to charge forward.
Ultimately, they had no choice but to rush towards the Arin tribe, who were numerically superior, whilst enduring the hail of arrows coming from the castle.
“Rihar!”
“That woman is dangerous.”
Instinct took over Rihar. Sensing something from Riena, he swung his staff, conjuring a searing flame spear and sending it towards her.
*
‘Is everything really unfolding as expected?’
Since the start of the war, he hadn’t eased up even once, but he had never felt more tense than now.
As the sun began to set and the sky started to color,
The fire spear shot by the mage, whose motives for joining the expedition team were unclear, sliced through the air, and Riena swung her spear-shaped sword to cleave the magic in two.
Compared to the writhing enemy forces, the few allies surged like a single black wedge, and Riena, the sharpest blade at the front, shone even now.
I too, watching from beyond the screen, could tell which side was stronger and more solid.
Numerically, the enemies had the advantage, but it was already proven that numbers weren’t everything.
Gritting her teeth, Riena pushed forward. Golden energy burst from her entire being, literally cleaving through the enemy formation.
“—. –!”
Barun’s main force, following closely behind, arrived almost simultaneously as a fierce battle broke out in front of the castle.
Not merely halting the advance, but ‘devouring’ the foe was the final phase of their plan. Barun immediately rallied his forces to slam into the terrified enemy’s flank.
‘We can win, right?’
Watching the chaos unfold, I anxiously stared at the screen while waiting for the cooldown of background-breaking actions to end. From the moment of collision, the enemy was already collapsing.
As I observed through the display, numerous foes were fleeing the battlefield in every direction at an alarming rate. All of them were from the expedition team.
Our side fought relentlessly until the bitter end, refusing to retreat, even if it meant death.
If deserters emerged and they couldn’t control them, it meant they had already lost command. The meaning behind numbers was now apparent. If you combined those who were fighting properly, the numbers didn’t seem so lopsided.
“—!”
Among our strongest forces, Riena was the star of the battlefield. Even after falling from the mount struck by enemy arrows, she made a mockery of them, slaughtering foes with a single sweep of her sword as she tore through the battlefield.
[General Ghir]
The enemy leader entangled with her was embroiled in fierce combat.
The opponent seemed to be a formidable foe, and I struggled to keep pace with the exceptional swordsmanship that was being displayed, but Riena had already been fully prepared, having received the power of the game.
“–!”
Their swords collided violently, and in the space between strikes, they exchanged blows with fists and feet. As a result, both staggered back, blood oozing from their injuries.
Especially after receiving a powerful kick to her abdomen, Riena was so gravely wounded she nearly vomited blood.
Yet, amidst the chaos, as the ground twisted beneath them and others dared not interfere, Riena swiftly recovered and leaped back into combat.
Her rapid recovery and regeneration came from the Celestial Blessing she had received.
Delivering judgment upon the foes and healing to her allies, the light encapsulated in her sword cleaved General Ghir’s body in two.
