Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Since We're Dying Anyway
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Rikein Gold wasn't an exceptional commander, but he was a knight overflowing with courage and passion.
"Why the long faces? This is our chance! Let's enjoy it!"
Rikein Gold appeared with a flushed face after holing up in his room for days. And he truly seemed to welcome this situation.
He had thought he was inevitably demoted, but now an opportunity to achieve the greatest feats had come knocking right to him.
He immediately climbed the western wall to survey the enemies.
"The rest are all Titans, with just one custom unit. That's probably the noble riding it."
A smile deepened on Rikein's face as he observed the foes.
"I'll take out their leader. You all just hold the line. They've got 18 units. We've got 10. We're at a disadvantage, but if we snag their commander, the rest will fall back."
There was no basis for his claim. But there was nothing else to believe in either. Their forces were clearly inferior.
On their side, the strongest unit was the top-tier Nephilim piloted by Rikein Gold. Meanwhile, the Rogot forces had a custom unit that surpassed even top-tier models.
Nephilim 1 vs. Custom 1.
Yotun 4 vs. Titan 5.
Cyclops 5 vs. Bayaba 12? Wait, no—the numbers were Titans 17? Earlier he said 18 total, one custom.
Golem 80 vs. Golem 60.
By the numbers, victory was impossible.
So they had no choice but to trust Rikein Gold, hoping he would take out the enemy leader and turn the tide.
"Alright, everyone, launch your Gigants!"
Rikein Gold left those words behind and leaped down from the wall. He gave no further instructions to the confused soldiers and knights.
"Damn it. What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
Zaksen Silver clutched his throbbing head. He didn't know how to proceed in a situation like this either.
Zaksen Silver was a field rider, not a commander.
Kang Geohan stepped forward instead. He addressed the garrison commander, with whom he'd grown familiar over the past few days of working together.
"Garrison commander! First, evacuate the civilians to the eastern wall. Then, execute the standby Gigant tactics! You inspected them yesterday, right?"
"Y-Yes, yes!"
"Carry them out as planned. We'll move accordingly."
"Y-Yes!"
"As you can see, the chain of command is in disarray. Make your own judgments and act when the situation demands it."
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
The garrison commander, who had always been uncooperative, now stood ramrod straight and responded with crisp discipline.
Kang Geohan naturally patted his shoulder and turned his gaze to the Master Knight of the Eastern Border Fortress.
They had met faces, but he was the leader of the regular knights, someone Kang Geohan hadn't truly conversed with.
"Master Knight, sir. We expect street fighting. With our Gigant forces at a disadvantage, we'll have to rely on the knights. We're short-handed, but please support us as best you can."
Master Knight Coolan Black.
Even though he wasn't a Gigant rider, he had earned the right to the Black surname, marking him as an outstanding knight.
Over seventy years old, he looked like a man in his mid-forties. He possessed that much solid, potent mana.
Coolan Black stared straight at Kang Geohan. He had always regarded him with the indifference reserved for cows and chickens, but today was different.
"I wish you good fortune, Sir Kang Geohan White."
He even saluted.
Coolan was Black, Kang Geohan White.
Startled to receive a salute from a superior, Kang Geohan hastily returned it with an embarrassed smile.
The veteran's intent had been conveyed in that single salute.
"Thank you."
With those words, he leaped down from the wall.
On the wall, now emptied of Gigant riders, Master Knight Coolan Black glared at the enemy Gigants approaching with earth-shaking steps.
Frankly, it took his breath away.
In his seventy years, he had clashed with countless foes in battles of life and death, but never had Gigants been among them.
'It feels like facing final judgment...'
He realized he stood at a crucial crossroads.
Live or die?
Would the sword he had honed his entire life hold meaning? Or would it prove futile?
'I've got too many years behind me to go quietly.'
At least there was some silver lining. The pesky Gigant rider named Kang Geohan had been a huge help over the past two days.
Thanks to him, they had solid preparations for urban combat against Gigants.
All that remained was whether they could turn the abstract effects described in the manual into reality.
It truly felt like judgment day.
The terrifying Gigants seemed to approach as if to test the weight of his four swords.
Coolan Black bared his teeth and shouted.
"Charge! We've got to kick those smug Gigant riders' asses!"
"Waaaaah!"
On the wall bereft of riders, the knights and soldiers ignited their resolve to fight to the death.
* * *
Boom! Bang!
Boooom!
The wall's cannons fired relentlessly.
Shells filled with oil burst into black smoke and flames upon hitting Gigants, spreading fire across their bodies.
The shells couldn't inflict direct damage on Gigants anyway.
The goal was to ignite them with oil shells, reducing cooling efficiency and obstructing vision.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
But despite the soldiers' desperate barrages to the last moment, the Rogot Gigants didn't slow down at all.
Thud!
Kablooey!
The Gigants reached the wall in an instant and smashed it with full swings of their war hammers.
The towering wall exploded, sending stone chunks flying like cereal into the sky—an utterly surreal sight. And the flaming giants trampling over the rubble.
"Ugh... Uwaaaah... They're in! How do we beat that?!"
"Run! Urgh!"
The soldiers who had just steeled their resolve now fled, tears and snot streaming down their faces.
Kang Geohan felt and heard the chaos as if he were right there, through Femoral's SPU.
But seeing them run was less heartbreaking than the alternative.
"Sacrifice your lives! Buy time for the Gigant riders!"
The knights took to the skies. Literally.
Balistas, loaded by the power of the fortress's central waterwheel, launched massive spears, with knights clinging to each one.
Sword auras flickered at the spear tips.
Veteran knights who had spent lifetimes honing their skills to manifest sword auras staked their lives on single strikes.
Clang!
Craaack!
The massive spears shattered in midair. Some failed to pierce shields, others were deflected by greatswords.
A lucky few embedded in shoulders and such, but the Gigants took no serious damage.
"Go!"
The knights shouted.
Kang Geohan ran.
Rumble!
A towering crane collapsed, crushing toward the enemy Gigant, while bullets poured out to disrupt the foe's SPU, dyeing the sky gray.
Kang Geohan piloted Femoral through the chaos.
The sacrifices of knights and soldiers were desperate bids to give the Gigant-vs-Gigant battle even the slightest edge.
He couldn't let it go to waste. Kang Geohan pushed output until his entire body's mana screamed.
"Die!"
Femoral's greatsword cleaved the air.
Kablooey!
Greatsword met greatsword.
The opponent was a Rogot advanced trainer, Bayaba.
It parried Femoral's blade and charged at Kang Geohan, shrugging off the barrage like it was nothing.
Thud!
'Strong...!'
He felt it the moment the enemy's shoulder slammed into his chest. As a Gigant rider, the foe's experience and skill outclassed his own. It was on par with Rapal Black's pressure.
Femoral couldn't withstand the impact and flew back.
Rumble!
It smashed through a two-story building and crumpled.
"Protect the rider!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Clang! Kang! Boom!
Knights swarmed, hammering Bayaba's ankle joints with war hammers.
Jetpacks and sword auras fueled their lifelong ultimate strikes, all targeting the same spot.
Thud!
Bayaba, greatsword raised to charge Femoral, staggered and lost balance momentarily.
"Got it! Fall back! Fall back!"
The knights, achieving their goal, tried to withdraw. But Bayaba was faster.
Crush!
Like swatting a fly, it slammed its open palm down. Knights wielding war hammers became bloody smears stuck to the hand.
At that sight, Kang Geohan's vision flipped.
"Uwaaaah! You bastard!!!"
Boom!
A burst of giant stride propelled his fallen body into the air.
SPU at maximum output.
An overwhelming flood of data poured into Kang Geohan. He braced his thighs and accepted the heavy information.
And he felt it. The power of the SPU, refined once more by Harold Smith and the Ren Engineer.
'Its raw power is reduced.'
In exchange, it had gained an ability touching the realm of Gigant special techniques, 'Abilities.'
Upgraded with the crown that unified Lizardmen consciousness...
Now he could read the opponent's intent through the SPU.
Precognitive information, akin to superpowers, stabbed into his mind.
'It plans to shove me aside with its shield, then impale me with its greatsword.'
Knowing the intent made countermeasures simple.
He amped output again for another giant stride. Flames erupted from both feet. Femoral leaped 10 meters into the air mid-run.
Whoosh!
Bayaba's swung shield grazed beneath Femoral's feet. Kang Geohan dropped the greatsword and drew the Giant Slayer. He ignited the Berserker Pack.
"Die!"
Screeech!
Flames spewed from the Giant Slayer.
The thruster on the axe's back blade yanked Kang Geohan downward from the sky, slamming him from heaven to earth at supersonic speed.
Kablooey!
Dust clouds billowed thickly, sparks flying like welding.
Amid it, Bayaba twitched, its left arm shattered. Regrettably, not a killing blow.
'Finish it now!'
Kang Geohan gritted his teeth and crouched.
Enduring the weight, he twisted his mana, sprang up, and drew output once more.
But,
Kablooey!
Another Bayaba intervened.
It barreled in wildly, swinging its war hammer, forcing Kang Geohan to block with the Giant Slayer's side.
Thud! Rumble!
Femoral rolled across the ground twice, smashing buildings before halting.
By the time he regained footing, the arm-shattered Bayaba and the new arrival had composed themselves for battle. And another Bayaba appeared behind them.
"Rider! Fall back!"
The numerical disadvantage was dire. 18 vs. 10. Nearly double, so no one-on-one matchups formed.
"Retreat! Retreat! Pull back!"
"Why aren't the shells hitting?! Keep firing!"
"Topple buildings to block their paths!"
"Golem mages, what are you doing?! Block the Gigants!"
"Balistas ready! Infuse sword auras! Fire! For the kingdom!"
Knights and soldiers died endlessly to save the outnumbered Gigant riders.
Thanks to them, despite the force imbalance, the fight dragged on.
The most vulnerable rookies—Kang Geohan and his cohort—hadn't lost anyone yet.
But it was grim. Casualties mounted.
Riiiing—
Kang Geohan shook his ringing ears and scanned for Rikein Gold, the fortress's senior-most rider.
'What the hell is that guy doing? He said he'd kill the enemy leader and win...'
But when he spotted him, Kang Geohan's face twisted in horror.
'Damn... All talk, no action...'
They were being pushed back. Pushed back hard.
So hard that the enemy custom unit ignored Rikein Gold's Nephilim and charged straight for the central power source—the massive waterwheel.
Kang Geohan alternated glances between the fierce battlefield and the waterwheel. Cold sweat trickled down his back.
'If that falls, we lose...'
The moment the waterwheel stopped, the balistas damaging enemy Gigants would halt.
The persistent artillery slowing their advance would stop too.
The wagons hauling shells and bullets ran on waterwheel power.
Not to mention traps and building-collapse strategies.
Everything depended on the central waterwheel.
The enemy knew it. That was why it raced straight for it.
'This won't do!'
Kang Geohan raised the nearby crashed Harkrux.
"Harkrux! Harkrux! We're pulling back!"
-What? Are you insane? What about here?
"This is more urgent."
-Damn...
Harkrux fell silent upon seeing Femoral's pointing finger. He felt it too. The waterwheel falling meant defeat.
With trembling lips, he finally spoke.
-Fine. Got it.
Harkrux stood his Gigant.
They locked eyes once and dashed rearward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"W-Where are you going? If you retreat now!"
A knight's shout came from behind, but there was no time to reply.
Just a silent apology in his heart.
Suddenly, Harkrux muttered as he followed.
-In my 18 years of life... No regrets. It's okay... It's fine.
Kang Geohan was dumbfounded.
"You going off to die?"
-Would you rather not?
"...You're coming even though you think we'll die?"
-Even if I stay put, we're dying anyway.
Kang Geohan was at a loss for words. He had no concrete plan either.
He had simply realized that if no one acted now, death was certain for all.
The enemy was strong, and Kang Geohan and Harkrux were still weak.
But somehow...
"Let's not die. Let's not die—and win."
Kang Geohan racked his brain desperately. A way to combine his and Harkrux's power to stop the enemy custom unit.