Chapter 262
Chapter 262 Trust Me. I Will Lead. (1)
“Wowaaah!”
The Hunter, suddenly grabbed and thrown, screamed.
The fortress walls are pretty high. If I fall like this, I’ll be completely smashed to bits.
Thud.
But a Knight below casually caught him. The Hunter blushed and said, “…Put me down.”
Whoosh!
The Knight quickly tossed the Hunter onto the ground. It wasn’t out of fright. Hunters were dropping down endlessly.
“Uwaaaah!”
“You crazy bastard! What the hell are you doing?”
“Are you trying to kill our allies?!”
Caught off guard by the sudden action, the Hunters fell without being able to respond.
The Knights below were used to these situations. They busily caught and tossed the falling Hunters aside.
Thud, thud!
There was a bit of shock, but thanks to the skilled Knights catching them, the Hunters sustained little injury. In fact, upon seeing monsters approaching, they sprang up and took battle stances.
Ghislaine smiled at the sight.
“Looks like they’re snapping out of it quickly because they’ve had some experience. Now, let’s hurry up, everyone.”
“D-don’t come near! Stay away!”
“You’re a monster! You turned into one!”
“The demon that will destroy the fortress!”
The Hunters blamed Ghislaine with terrified expressions. However, Ghislaine casually replied.
“It’s in the contract that we fight until the end, right? Fight well behind me.”
“Nooo!”
The contracted Hunters tried to escape backward, but there were already too many other Hunters crowding the space.
Unable to flee, they were caught by Ghislaine and Kaor and continued to drop downward. Along the way, some random Hunters who just came close were also caught.
“We’re not included! We didn’t contract with you, you jerk!”
“Huh? Sorry. Since we’re already down, let’s fight together.”
Ghislaine had thrown close to 300 Hunters down. Naturally, chaos ensued on the walls, and some Hunters attacked Ghislaine.
Whoosh! Bam!
Ghislaine caught all the Hunters charging at him and threw them down as well. The gap in skill was so vast that no one could properly defend against it.
“W-we should run!”
“This bastard has completely lost it!”
“Get back! Move aside!”
The space on the fortress walls was limited. As the Hunters tried to avoid Ghislaine, they ended up getting tangled up with each other.
Grant, watching the scene in disbelief, felt his temper rising.
The Monster Wave is dangerous. The walls won’t protect them like in a war against humans. Therefore, casualties were always high.
And to have an internal conflict at a time when they needed to unite against the monsters! This fortress was doomed.
“You madman! What the hell are you thinking? Are you planning to kill all our allies? Kill that bastard! Start with him!”
The Archers redirected all their arrows at Ghislaine. Before they could pull back their bows, Ghislaine swiftly moved in front of Grant.
“Get a grip. The walls won’t protect you. With that many, it’s better to go out and fight properly.”
“What? What?”
“I’ll give the commands. Archers, focus only on attacking flying monsters and those coming from the outside. Monsters only attack the nearest opponents. I and those below will serve as bait, so you can attack comfortably. Just don’t hit our allies. You can do that, right?”
“Y-you….”
“Everyone else, gather your formation and come out to fight outside the fortress. I’ll break through the center with the Knights and draw the attention of all monsters.”
“What, what do you mean….”
Seeing Grant’s flustered face, Ghislaine grinned.
“You can’t fight properly on the walls. They aren’t humans. If you want to win, listen to me.”
Kuuooooh!
“Lord!”
From below, a Knight’s cry resounded. The monsters drew closer.
There was no more time to waste. Ghislaine leaped off the fortress walls and said,
“Trust me. I will lead.”
Boom!
As Ghislaine jumped to the ground, the Hunters who had fallen beforehand looked at him with resentment.
But they couldn’t fight Ghislaine here. Monsters were closing in fast. There was no guarantee they could win even if they fought him.
They had to either fight from the back or find an opportunity to flee.
Ghislaine moved to the forefront of the group and said,
“Open up.”
Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!
The Knights opened up the large wooden chests they had set in front of them and spilled the contents onto the ground.
Inside the chests were packed greatswords, spears, and swords. Hundreds of weapons lay strewn carelessly across the ground.
Ghislaine glanced back and said,
“Those who fell without weapons can pick up a few from here. I won’t charge you.”
No sooner had Ghislaine finished speaking than he released strands of Mana.
Drrrdrdrdr!
The air around them trembled.
Hunters who had come down and those watching from above stared at Ghislaine with astonished expressions.
“What, what is that?”
“That bastard was a Mage?”
“Insane, what the….”
Hundreds of spears that had been dropped began to levitate.
The Mana strands had tied the spears and lifted them, but the people couldn’t perceive that. Not even someone who could use such a technique existed, let alone those who knew about it.
The Knights of Penris were aware that such techniques existed and were not as surprised as the Hunters. Ghislaine frequently displayed his ability to lift objects or people with Mana strands.
However, he had never shown the ability to lift so many weapons at once. The Knights clicked their tongues inwardly.
“He’s becoming more and more of a monster.”
“How can he get stronger each time we see him?”
“That’s truly insane skill.”
While it was a shocking sight for the onlookers, for Ghislaine, it was just a natural occurrence.
Ghislaine was quickly regaining his skills through daily training that he didn’t miss a single day.
No matter how busy he was, he never skipped meditation or Mana exercises, even if it meant reducing sleep.
‘I need to get stronger.’
He didn’t stop trying. If he were weak, many people would die.
‘There won’t be a second regret.’
A sense of responsibility tightly bound him.
So he grew stronger every day, today more than yesterday. And tomorrow, even more so.
Drrrdrdrdr!
The spears hovering in the air all turned a vivid red.
This technique wouldn’t affect those with some level of mastery, but it was a truly effective mass slaughter technique against weaker foes.
In the past, one soldier’s attack wouldn’t even compare. But as he grew stronger, the power contained in this technique also increased.
Ghislaine adjusted the direction of the spear tips with a chilling smile.
“Let’s begin.”
Fwooosh!
With a blast of air, hundreds of spears shot forth.
Puuuuuu!
Kaaaah!
The spear-like lethal projectiles pierced through the approaching monsters. Hundreds of monsters charging at the forefront were instantly skewered.
Monsters with tough hides or strong ones survived the attack, but the relatively weaker ones collapsed right then and there.
“Let’s go.”
Taking advantage of the monsters’ momentary falter, Ghislaine grabbed a greatsword and charged forward.
Kwah-bam!
In one stroke, he split the nearest monster in half.
“Let’s go too!”
Kaor shouted as he followed behind. He felt a mix of envy and admiration looking at Ghislaine’s figure.
‘We’re not that far apart in age, yet he’s this strong. I, too, one day….’
He was indeed getting stronger, albeit little by little. He would definitely grow stronger. He would surpass Gillian and catch up to the Lord.
Kaor finally grasped a solid life goal.
Whack!
He gritted his teeth and swung his greatsword, attacking the monsters. The Knights of Penris all charged out, swinging their greatswords as well.
Kaaah!
The monsters charging in with gusto were momentarily halted by dozens of Knights wielding Mana.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
Ghislaine took the lead, massacring the monsters indiscriminately. Naturally, all the monsters’ attention was drawn to Ghislaine and the Knights.
Kuuoooh!
Boom! Boom!
As the smaller and weaker monsters were cleared away, the mid-to-large monsters began to approach Ghislaine.
Splat!
A giant troll was split in half by Ghislaine’s greatsword.
No matter how tough-skinned or regenerative a troll may be, it couldn’t survive being cut in half.
Whoooosh!
Another troll swung a massive club aimed at Ghislaine’s side.
Kaaah!
Ghislaine blocked the attack with his greatsword and immediately beheaded the troll.
Kaaah!
A wyvern rapidly descended from the sky and snatched a Knight fighting beside Ghislaine. The Knight was too focused on the monster in front of him to notice the wyvern swooping down.
The swarm of monsters was too much, and his attention was divided.
“Gah!”
The Knight was startled and struggled, but the wyvern tried to carry him away high into the sky. Dropping prey from a height to kill them was a common tactic used by wyverns.
Clunk!
But the wyvern suddenly stopped mid-air, as if it had gotten caught on something. Ghislaine had reached out and tied the wyvern with Mana strands.
Kaaah!
The wyvern is a strong monster. It flapped its wings repeatedly, slowly breaking free from the Mana strands and lifting itself back into the air.
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, a spear shot up from somewhere on the battlefield and pierced through the wyvern’s body. With the body pierced, the wyvern fell, and the Knight barely managed to escape.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The spears he had thrown earlier rose up from all directions, helping the encircled Knights.
This was one of the reasons Ghislaine’s combat capability was ranked among the top three in the continent.
Everything fallen on the battlefield became Ghislaine’s weapon. All the weapons danced as if alive.
Therefore, neither where nor when attacks would occur could be predicted. Their destructive power matched that of the Knights’ attacks.
Those who recognized his skill wished not to meet Ghislaine on the battlefield.
One who could single-handedly handle tens of thousands of troops.
One who could fight against an entire kingdom alone.
The king of mercenaries was also the king of the battlefield.
The Hunters stared in awe at Ghislaine and the Knights as they pushed back the front lines of the monsters.
The thought of escape didn’t even cross their minds.
“Is it even possible to be that strong…?”
“Doncard doesn’t even compare.”
“That’s the Swordmaster we’ve heard about, isn’t it?”
The monsters halted their advance and rushed only toward Ghislaine and the Knights.
Despite the bizarre phenomenon of monsters, who should have been fighting among themselves, clustering together, their instinct to eliminate the threatening foe couldn’t be suppressed.
“Let’s go, too.”
A Hunter firmly gripped his weapon and stated.
Allies had already been separated. Staying here meant certain death if the ones ahead were overwhelmed.
The only way to survive was to quickly join them and fight.
Yet, even if he justified it, it wasn’t the only reason. Ghislaine’s battle ignited the blood of those watching. He had a powerful allure.
The belief that they could win together.
Ghislaine, annihilating the monsters with impressive skill, instilled such faith.
“Let’s go! We are Hunters!”
“Catching monsters is our job!”
“Don’t fall behind the newcomers!”
“Waaahaaah!”
As the Hunters shouted loudly and charged forward.
They, too, were veterans who had fought against countless monsters. As hundreds of Hunters joined, the monsters began to retreat further.
Slap!
Ghislaine sliced a large spider in front of him and glanced back with a subtle smile.
“Yeah, that’s how you do it.”
Kwah-bam!
Ghislaine turned around and started cutting through the monsters. Until now, he had been fighting to protect the Knights, but this was different.
As the Hunters joined, the monsters’ attacks became further divided. Ghislaine, charging into the center, completely shattered their formation.
Kaaaah!
The monsters charging in from behind rushed toward Ghislaine alone. As a result, monsters approaching the Knights and Hunters dwindled.
Thanks to Ghislaine, the Knights and Hunters could capture monsters more easily.
And all of this was witnessed by Grant, the commander on the fortress walls, who wore an expression of disbelief.
“Is it possible to fight like that…?”
Until now, no one had fought in such a manner against the Monster Wave. Everyone sought to rely on the walls for safety.
In truth, Ghislaine’s words were correct. No matter how high and sturdy the fortress walls, they held little value against foes that weren’t human.
As soon as the monsters surpassed the range of the siege weapons, they rapidly scaled the walls. Flying monsters even dropped other monsters onto the fortress.
The monsters, half-crazed, no longer feared death. They swarmed in without caring whether the ones ahead lived or died.
So, soldiers and Hunters could only haphazardly fight without ever forming proper battle lines on the narrow walls.
‘Although, I never even thought of abandoning the fortress. The security provided by the walls was comforting.’
Prejudice, fixed ideas, anxiety, and fear clouded their vision.
As a result, they couldn’t help but suffer significant losses every time they faced a Monster Wave.
But look! At those fighting outside.
They could form formations because there was space. The Knights and Hunters worked together, coordinating and helping each other in battle.
In contrast, the monsters lacked concepts of strategy or tactics. They were busy attacking whatever was within sight at random.
By abandoning the walls, they could utilize the space. They acted strategically because they were sentient.
And all of that was made possible due to the one fighting at the forefront, that almost superhuman being.
Surely, the fortress walls had their benefits. They prevented a horde of monsters from surging in all at once. Going out to fight meant giving up such advantages.
Yet now, things were different from the past when everyone had to rely solely on that advantage.
‘Now is not the time… to depend on the walls.’
The morale of the monsters was wavering. They could not just sit back and watch as their allies were annihilated below.
Once they were wiped out, those on the walls would face even greater losses against the monsters.
Grant unclenched his tightly held fist. His palm was soaked with sweat.
He felt a profound sense of admiration as a Knight.
He wanted to fight alongside that person.
He wanted to trust and follow that person.
The desire and aspiration came from a pure place, unclouded by the burdens of being commander.
Ultimately, Grant reached a decision and quietly said to his deputy beside him.
“…Open the gates of the fortress.”
