Chapter 325
Chapter 325: It’s Still Not Easy Even If You Know. (1)
KWA-AAAANG!
“KIEEEEKK!”
As Gillian swung his two axes, the Grexes that rushed towards him turned into a spray of blood and disappeared.
PUDUG!
A blue flash erupted from Gillian’s eyes as he gritted his teeth. His bulging muscles seemed ready to burst with tendons.
He summoned all his strength at once. Even saving a little energy wouldn’t allow him to break through the tremendous numbers of Grexes.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWA-AAAANG!
In just a few axe swings, dozens of Grexes exploded, their bodies shattered.
However, Gillian had only taken a few steps forward. The Grexes continued to pour in endlessly.
Taking a deep breath, Gillian exhaled. He had never felt such despair even when fighting Desmond’s Army.
The weakness of individuals meant nothing. He had to think of it as fighting an army that defied death.
KWA-AAAANG!
Gillian swept away everything that blocked his path, like a rampaging ogre.
Even the soldiers fighting atop the fortress were left dumbfounded by his tremendous strength.
“What are you doing! Don’t stop attacking!”
“Don’t get distracted!”
“The more we kill, the safer Lord Gillian will be!”
Commanders shouted out chaos, expertly managing the confusing situation, thanks to their experience following Ghislaine.
PAAAAAAT!
Countless arrows poured forth beside Gillian. Thanks to the soldiers’ aid, the Grexes couldn’t swarm him in great numbers.
But it was not a situation to be relieved about.
DUDUDUDUDU!
The forest echoed louder. He felt an overwhelming swarm of Grexes approaching from a distance.
‘Lord…’
Ghislaine still hadn’t emerged from the woods. If she were swallowed by that red tsunami, even someone like her would find it hard to survive.
Thus, Gillian pushed forward with all his might.
PAAAK!
“KIEEEEKK!”
He certainly cleaved through the Grexes in front of him. But just like slicing through an illusion, the empty space was soon filled again with Grexes.
At some point, Gillian found himself unable to take a single proper step forward. No matter how much he swung his axes, the front was packed with Grexes.
KWAANG! KWA-AAAANG!
“Kugh…”
No matter how many Grexes he slayed, it felt like he was just swinging his axes in place.
Gillian, one of the few acknowledged for his destructive power in Penris, could barely move forward at all.
It felt more like a natural disaster than anything else. A calamity beyond human control.
Just when the suffocating feeling of despair set in, dozens of daggers flew in from behind him.
PAPA-PAPA-PAK!
“KIEEEEKK!”
Even without seeing who it was, he knew. Belinda was fighting alongside him from behind.
“Huuh!”
Finally, Gillian felt his blocked breath begin to clear.
She was fighting in an incredibly clever manner. The dozens of daggers connected to Belinda moved as if they were alive.
The daggers attacked the monsters blocking their path while luring nearby Grexes.
As the Grexes’ attacks became dispersed, Gillian could slowly but surely progress again.
He heard her breathless voice from behind.
“Surprisingly, we work well together?”
“… Can’t deny that.”
Gillian spat out a brief response and focused on swinging his axes.
Belinda had already participated in a grueling operation beforehand. It was easy to tell that even a brief sentence could throw off her breath.
Together, the two pushed a bit further forward.
It might seem reckless at a glance, but it had to be done. No matter how skilled Ghislaine was, if she became surrounded by such numbers, she would eventually run out of strength.
To be of any help, they had to break through the monster horde and meet her.
The people in the fortress knew this as well, busily covering for the duo.
“Don’t stop shooting!”
“Deal with the ones that get close with spears!”
“Get closer! I said don’t dodge, get closer!”
Since the Lord hadn’t arrived yet, they couldn’t use the catapults or any magic. They couldn’t predict how entangled they might become. The only attack they could manage was to hold back with arrows.
Even so, despite relentlessly firing arrows, there was no sign of the monster tide diminishing.
“KIEEEEKK!”
The Grexes were eagerly climbing up the fortress. They dug their sharp claws into the palisade as they ascended.
The corpses stacked below also helped the Grexes climb higher.
“Push harder!”
THWOK! THWOK! THWOK!
Amid the commanders’ cries, the soldiers stabbed and pushed back the Grexes. Without the fortress, they could never endure like this.
There was no time to admire the Lord’s preparedness as the battle became increasingly fierce.
Watching this scene, Vanessa opened her mouth with a grim expression.
“We need to create a path.”
A nearby mage spoke respectfully. No one could carelessly disregard Vanessa, now the head of the Penris Magic Laboratory.
“If we use magic now, we’ll need to gather our mana again. The soldiers will have to hold on during that time.”
“Regardless, if the Lord doesn’t arrive, any preparation will be useless. We need to resolve the situation quickly instead.”
“… Understood.”
GUUUUUUUN!
As Vanessa stretched out her hand, light began to emanate from the magic circle engraved on the ground.
For this operation, she had gathered every Runestone left in the territory. Some were embedded around the magic circle to facilitate mana gathering.
Additionally, dozens of mages were already collecting mana for the magic circle. That mana flowed into Vanessa.
Soon her voice resounded with a radiant tone.
“Ice Spear.”
DUDUDUDU!
Water gathered in the empty air, forming ice spears.
When tremendous mana met the realization of a 6th Circle Mage, hundreds of ice spears materialized in an instant.
“Go.”
At her command, the ice spears shot forth.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
“KIEEEEKK!”
The massive ice spears swiftly cleared away the Grexes on either side of Gillian and Belinda.
Vanessa quickly continued her magic before the Grexes could swarm in again.
“Earth Wall.”
KUKUKUKUKUNG!
A giant wall of earth rose beside Gillian and Belinda.
“It won’t hold for long.”
Vanessa stated before withdrawing her mana. If she used any more mana, she wouldn’t be able to unleash the prepared magic.
She sat down, closed her eyes, and began to meditate to gather her mana again. The mages beside her followed suit, also beginning to gather their mana.
Thanks to Vanessa, Gillian and Belinda were able to move forward faster.
The walls created on either side prevented the Grexes from easily jumping over.
“Thanks to Vanessa, we’re alive. Why does the Young Master always have to be so reckless!”
Belinda complained even while fighting. Hearing her constant nagging, Gillian couldn’t help but laugh.
There was another reason for his smile.
“It’s the Lord.”
KWA-AAAANG!
Ahead, Gillian saw innumerable Grexes being repelled. Ghislaine was also struggling against monsters, making her way toward the fortress.
Ghislaine was fighting against even more Grexes than Gillian and Belinda.
“KIEEEEKK!”
Hundreds of Grexes suddenly pounced on Ghislaine. In an instant, her body became obscured.
KWA-AAAANG!
The Grexes exploded upon covering Ghislaine. But as if nothing had happened, more Grexes soon piled up on her again.
KWA-AAAANG!
Once again, Grexes exploded in all directions. In the meantime, Ghislaine rolled forward quickly to escape, but the monsters relentlessly charged toward her.
“Phew, this is serious!”
Even while fighting, Ghislaine tsked.
With her current strength, she could easily pierce through thousands of soldiers. However, the raw assault from the Grexes was not something she could easily break through.
Humans are greatly affected by momentum. Just by killing a couple hundred at the front, the morale of those left behind would plummet.
Even if the opponent wasn’t human, such fear could be exploited. Monsters following their instincts would still have a fear of death.
But the Grexes felt none of that. They didn’t fear death. It was as if such a concept didn’t even exist for them.
An army that operated solely on the orders of Queen Grex with one purpose.
This was the most ideal yet the most terrifying army imaginable.
“It’s still not easy even if you know.”
Covered in fatigue, Ghislaine swung her sword without pause and wore a bitter smile.
Just seeing the information from her past life hinted it would be quite difficult… but experiencing it firsthand felt entirely different.
“Thrilling.”
CHIIIIIICK!
Red smoke billowed from Ghislaine’s body. Despite the dangerous situation, a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
Ghislaine was naturally someone who enjoyed battle. Especially fights that pushed him to his limits.
KWA-AAAANG!
He swung his sword like a madman, his red eyes gleaming. His newly perfected defensive art had helped immensely in this battle.
No matter how much the Grexes clawed and scratched, they couldn’t deal a proper wound to him.
There was only one problem.
‘Can I hold out until I reach the fortress?’
In the current situation, he couldn’t be sure.
There seemed to be an estimated 100,000 Grexes converging. And they were still increasing.
Even after slaying so many, moving forward felt impossible. It felt like a wall made of Grexes was layered thousands of times right before his eyes.
Judging the remaining strength he had, the probability of reaching safely was less than half.
‘But I still have to go.’
Somehow, he had to make it. He hadn’t come into the woods to die in a place like this.
As always, it was a matter of succeeding only at the last moment.
KWA-AAAANG!
Ghislaine pushed aside his distractions and focused solely on swinging his sword. Not long after, he discovered those approaching him from ahead.
He was so deep in battle that it took him a moment to realize someone was coming toward him.
“Lord!”
“Young Master!”
“Gillian? Belinda?”
He had told them not to come out, but they wouldn’t listen. However, Ghislaine smiled.
“Now it’s half done.”
The probability of safely returning had increased. As the three grouped together, their speed in pushing through the Grexes slightly increased.
KWA-AAAANG! KWA-AAAANG! KWA-AAAANG!
The sounds of mana explosions and the screams of Grexes rang out incessantly.
The wall Vanessa had created was a great help. But magic doesn’t last forever.
KURURURUNG!
As the mana dwindled, the wall began to crumble rapidly. The Grexes previously held back by the wall rushed toward the three.
As they entered the open space, they found themselves caught again by the wave of Grexes.
Those in the fortress saw this and moved busily.
“It’s the Lord! The Lord has arrived!”
“Shoot quicker! We need to create a path!”
“Prepare the catapults!”
Now that it was clear where the Lord was, there was no need to conserve the catapults.
Galbaric adjusted the catapults with the dwarves to aim their attacks.
Being excellent engineers, they had already completed surveying the area around them.
Galbaric, having gauged the distance accordingly, shouted.
“Fire!”
PAANG! PAANG! PAAANG!
Dozens of catapults launched massive boulders.
The dwarves witnessed firsthand why Ghislaine said precision wasn’t necessary.
KWA-AAAANG! KWA-AAAANG! KWA-AAAANG!
The Grexes that had been charging from behind Ghislaine were smashed by the boulders with satisfying force.
No shots went wide. Given how tightly packed they were, it would’ve been strange for anything to miss.
Once the catapult attacks began, the momentum of the Grexes approaching from the rear clearly stumbled a bit. The boulders impeded their movements, and the mounting corpses added to the hindrance.
However, it wasn’t a very significant effect. Still, there were far too many Grexes clogged in front of Ghislaine’s group, and even more were rushing in from the sides.
KWA-AAAANG! KWA-AAAANG! KWA-AAAANG!
The sight of the Grexes being blasted away by the trio’s attacks could be seen even from the fortress.
Yet despite that, the three were still unable to move properly. They were powerful enough that they could easily create a path but were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Reluctantly, Vanessa stood up again.
“I will create a path again.”
At that statement, the mages’ faces turned pale. The number of Grexes had increased since before. That meant they would need to expend even more mana.
“Gathering mana with the magic circle and runestones has reached its limit.”
“If we use the mana we’ve gathered this time, we won’t be able to use the magic the Lord had planned.”
“Perhaps we should just wait a little longer…”
If they couldn’t use the prepared magic, they might have to fight those tremendous Grexes for many days. Countless soldiers could die.
But Vanessa firmly shook her head.
“We can’t wait any longer. It’s a dangerous situation.”
The mages couldn’t oppose her. They certainly could not allow the Lord to fall into danger.
While they were stuck in this dilemma, Kaor, who had taken a moment to catch his breath, approached.
“From what I gathered, it seems like we shouldn’t use magic now?”
“It can’t be helped. Look over there. If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to do anything.”
Vanessa pointed towards the forest. The woods had now turned completely red.
An astonishing number of Grexes were advancing.
Seeing that, Kaor spat on the ground and said, “We just need to make a quick path, right?”
“Is there a way?”
“We’re the ones who’ve trained the most under the Lord. Creating a temporary path is what we’re best at in the kingdom.”
A charge tactic attempted by 400 knights was something no one could stop. Although the power that could only be exerted for a brief moment.
Waving his hand, Kaor had a few soldiers bring him his armor.
“I don’t usually want to wear this because it’s embarrassing, but it can’t be helped. The old man helped me once.”
The reason he didn’t often wear his new armor was simple. Gillian didn’t wear it either. But now, he needed it.
Kaor’s armor, like the other knights’, bore the crest of Penris on one side of his chest.
However, what set it apart was that there was a painting on the back as well. A black dog, baring its fangs, was drawn on the back of his armor.
“Hey! Everyone, gather!”
As Kaor donned his armor and shouted, the knights still fighting off the Grexes gathered around him.
They were already fully prepared to descend.
“Let’s go. Time to create a path.”
CLANG!
As Kaor lowered his helmet and spoke, all the knights gathered their mana to its maximum limit.
Since he was a half knight, he had always fought while conserving his strength as efficiently as possible. But now was the time to unleash his full potential.
ZING—!
A bright light began to seep from the gaps in the knights’ armor.
