Chapter 156
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156
As the day waned, the blood-red sky gradually bled into darkness.
Ding, dong, ding—!
The frantic peal of a bell echoed across the seaside fortress.
“Everyone to your positions! Non-combatants, move inside the fortress immediately!”
“Archers, mages, and spirit users, to the walls! Warriors, assemble at the main gate!”
The students moved in perfect synchronization, following their squad leaders' commands. It was a sudden attack, but thanks to the experience gained from the previous Faction War, their movements were systematic and disciplined.
Perhaps it was because they had been waiting in a state of high tension, but now that the battle had actually begun, a strange calm settled over them. It was the feeling of the inevitable finally arriving.
“Hildegard, what’s the situation?”
After using transmutation to move the seaside boats safely inside the fortress walls, I immediately sought out Hildegard. She had been observing the enemy from a spire, and her expression was one of pure terror.
“M-monsters… their numbers just keep growing. We’ve confirmed at least fifty so far.”
Hildegard’s voice trembled as she scanned the beach with [Observation].
“Fifty, you say?”
“Sixty… seventy… they’re coming endlessly from the sea…”
She shuddered as the count continued to climb. I patted her trembling shoulder to steady her.
“Don’t worry too much. As long as we don’t let them inside the fortress, we’re safe.”
The physical capabilities of the Deep Creatures were formidable, but they weren't strong enough to breach walls made of Cube. To break through a Cube wall reinforced by the magic of Full Moon Island, one would need power on par with Elena’s.
Besides, these were the walls of a level 10 fortress. Most attacks wouldn’t even leave a scratch, and even if they were damaged, the structure would repair itself in short order.
“We just need to stop them from scaling the walls.”
I narrowed my eyes, peering down at the creatures from the battlements.
We didn’t have a proper siege during the Faction War.
Most of the fighting then had been open-field skirmishes or ambushes. While I felt it was a bit of a waste of the fortress's potential back then… I certainly hadn't wanted to experience a siege like this.
[Krrr...]
The fishmen crawled ashore, emitting bizarre, guttural cries. Emerging one by one from the thick sea fog, they looked like a horde of zombies straight out of a horror movie. Watching them slowly close in on the fortress was an indescribable experience—a suffocating, unpleasant sensation, as if a heavy stone had been placed on my chest.
If I felt this way, I could only imagine what the other students were going through.
Once I confirmed their appearance, I turned to Elena.
“Elena, a mental barrier.”
“Understood.”
Swoosh—.
As Elena brought her hands together, a cool wind whipped her blonde hair about. Golden particles scattered in every direction, and soon, a vast mental barrier enveloped the entire fortress.
I watched the barrier settle and thought to myself: Deep Creatures possess a debuff that erodes the mind of anyone who looks at them.
Between their hideous forms and the aura they emanated, they forced their opponents into a state of primal fear, stripping away the ability to think clearly. It was because they inherited a fragment of the authority and madness of their master, Kral.
The Union’s students had higher stats than ordinary people, so they wouldn’t succumb instantly, but prolonged contact would eventually lead to mental erosion. That was likely why Hildegard had been shaking. My order for Elena to create a barrier was a preemptive strike against that madness.
Meanwhile, the fishmen continued to swarm the beach.
[Krrrr…….]
[Krrr…….]
The students, taut with tension, readied their arrows and magic. I could see the trembling tips of their arrows and the unstable flicker of their mana. The bowstrings, pulled to their limit, seemed to mirror the state of their hearts.
I issued an order to the squad leaders.
“Don’t waste your energy yet. Conserve your arrows and mana. Focus only on knocking off the ones that try to cling to the walls. Elena and the priests will handle the killing for now.”
My orders were relayed through the commander-level students like Hildegard, Chepesi, and Ciel.
Before long, the sun vanished completely. Torches were lit one by one along the battlements. The creatures that had been wandering aimlessly on the sand began to converge on the fortress.
And then.
[Krrrr?]
[Krrrr!]
As if they had suddenly been given coordinates, the horde charged.
Thud-thud-thud—!
Just like the one that had slammed into Elena’s divine barrier earlier, they began ramming their heads directly into the Cube walls.
Thud—.
Thud—.
The sound of the walls vibrating in the darkness as they struck was chilling. It was manageable when it was just one or two.
BOOM—!
BOOM—!
BOOM—!
But when hundreds of them rammed the fortress in unison, the entire steel structure began to shudder. An unsettling vibration traveled up through the soles of my boots.
[Krrrr…….]
“……”
The walls held firm, but the faces of the students grew pale as the impacts intensified.
Squelch—.
The creatures, realizing that ramming the walls was futile, began to climb over one another. They were slowly forming a mountain of flesh.
[Krrrr…….]
It was a mountain of fishmen, held together by slimy mucus that acted like a foul adhesive. The walls were high, giving us some breathing room, but if they kept piling up, they would reach the top soon enough. That would lead to close-quarters combat—a variable I needed to eliminate immediately.
“Elena.”
“On it. Holy Hammer!”
Elena extended her hand, summoning a massive hammer woven from pure divine power. She brought it crashing down on the climbing mass.
WHAM—!
The hammer struck with a thunderous crack, shattering the mountain of bodies.
[Krrrr!]
The fishmen were thrown back, collapsing uselessly onto the beach. Along with our central fortress, the four flanking fortresses also began dismantling the climbing hordes.
“Leaf Storm!”
Rumble—.
The spirit users’ magic tore the creatures to shreds.
“Fire Wall!”
Raging infernos of extreme heat scorched the rest.
[Krrrr!!]
The mounds of Deep Creatures collapsed amidst horrific screams. Before they could clump together again, flashes of magic struck them directly.
I watched the scene with my hands clasped behind my back.
The situation is progressing smoothly.
No matter how strong or numerous they were, defending was easy as long as we had these high walls. In a siege, the attacking force typically needs several times the numbers of the defenders. Furthermore, these creatures couldn't use siege engines or complex magic, which played heavily in our favor.
However...
This was merely a quantitative analysis. There were other variables.
First, we didn't know how long this would last. Even an impregnable fortress falls without food and water. Water could be managed with spirit magic, but we only had five days of food left. If they maintained this human-wave tactic for days, we would eventually starve.
Actually, we might not even last that long. There was a problem far greater than food.
I looked at the trembling students on the walls.
Not a single person can be seriously injured or killed in this battle.
This wasn't just about my personal feelings. These students weren't trained soldiers. While they were capable combatants thanks to the Union's curriculum, they were still just kids. They had never fought a life-or-death struggle, nor had they seen a comrade die.
If even one person were to be mangled or killed, fear would spread like wildfire. Their will to fight would vanish, and the formation would collapse instantly. That was the outcome I had to prevent at all costs. If they lost the will to fight, they were no longer a military force.
With that in mind, I gave the order.
“Prioritize student safety above all else. If anyone looks like they’re losing focus, rotate them to the rear immediately. Switch squads every hour.”
“Prioritizing safety? That doesn’t sound like you, Roen,” Elena remarked.
I shrugged. “It’s a strategic decision. Do you have a problem with it?”
“No. I feel the same way. It’s a good call, Roen.”
An hour into the assault...
“They’re climbing over there!”
“Hit them with magic!”
The defense seemed to be holding. The creatures couldn't scale the Cube walls and were mostly staggering around below. The students, who had been paralyzed with fear initially, were now excitedly unleashing their attacks once they realized they were safe behind the battlements.
“Take this!”
“You monster bastards!”
“Die! Just die!!”
[Krrr!!]
They rained arrows and spells down, their shouts growing heated. It looked as though they were venting all their pent-up stress. I narrowed my eyes as I watched them get worked up.
“……”
It was good that they were fighting, but if they got too excited and exhausted their mana now, we’d be in trouble during a long engagement. Moreover, excitement leads to mistakes. A single slip-up could leave us vulnerable to an unexpected attack.
I signaled Ciel to reel them in.
“Ciel, go and restrain the ones getting too worked up. Tell them to only target the ones actually climbing. Anyone over-excited needs to be swapped with the rear guard.”
“Understood.”
Ciel nodded and moved along the wall. When she tapped a student on the shoulder and gave them a look that said fall back...
“Ah, I got a bit carried away...”
“I’ll go rest for a bit.”
Most of them calmed down and obeyed. But there are always exceptions.
“What the—let go of me! I have to kill these things!”
“……”
Thwack—.
Ciel forcibly subdued a defiant student with a strike to the nape. As the boy collapsed, a female student nearby screamed at Ciel.
“Hey! Who do you think you are, stopping us?! Get out of the way!”
She looked familiar. Then it clicked—it was Charlotte, the noble who had been bullying Bell back when I raided the Noble Alliance’s food stores.
Wait, didn't I eliminate her?
I searched my memory and then shrugged. Right, eliminating the Noble Alliance students had been Silphiette’s job. It hadn't been under my direct jurisdiction.
“Let go!”
I watched Charlotte resist Ciel and guessed her motive. She had likely been humiliated by Esetra, the Noble Alliance leader, after my raid. She was clearly under immense stress and was taking it out by firing magic wildly.
“Don’t be stubborn,” Ciel said, moving to subdue the screaming girl.
It happened in that split second.
Fwip—!
From the darkness below the wall, amidst the swarming fishmen, a tentacle lashed out.
Whoosh—!
The tentacle cut through the night air and pierced Charlotte’s arm with surgical precision.
Puk—!
“KYAAAAAAH!”
A piercing scream ripped through the fortress.
“Tch.”
Ciel reacted a moment too late, grabbing the tentacle that had impaled Charlotte’s arm and trying to wrench it free.
Grrrk—.
Despite Ciel’s monstrous strength, the tentacle wouldn't budge.
“Sacred Cutter!”
Shnk—.
Elena fired a blade of divinity from across the wall, but even that failed to sever the limb completely.
I rushed toward the scene, my mind racing.
That tentacle... it’s the tail of a [Gon].
A [Gon] was a commander-level Deep Creature. Their spawn rate was less than 0.05 percent; I hadn't expected one to appear so early. Unlike the mindless drones, it was a high-level monster capable of ranged attacks and racial magic.
This battle was about to get a lot harder.
“Hap!”
With a grunt of exertion, Ciel used her raw strength to rip the half-severed tentacle out of Charlotte’s arm.
Yank—!
“Gah!”
Charlotte collapsed, screaming in agony. Since the tentacle had been removed quickly, she would live as long as she got immediate treatment. The [Gon]’s tail didn't carry potent venom.
Just as I started to breathe a sigh of relief—
Shhhk—!
Another tentacle shot out from the darkness. It coiled around Ciel’s waist and yanked.
“……!”
There’s more than one?!
Before I could even move, Ciel was ensnared and dragged over the edge, vanishing into the darkness below. Even for someone as strong as Ciel, falling into the middle of that horde was a death sentence.
“Dammit.”
Without a second thought, I stepped onto the parapet.
“Roen! Wait!”
Ignoring Elena’s frantic voice, I leaped off the wall.