Siege of Talion Fortress (2)
On the vast plain where hundreds of monster troops had gathered, a figure mounted on a massive lion with a crimson mane glared at the enormous fortress walls.
Scales burning like fire in a vivid red hue. Two horns protruding from its forehead. Despite its small stature, not much different from a human's, it exuded an overwhelming presence that could crush even giants.
It was a Dragonian, the monster said to have inherited the power of dragons.
"Lord Rekras. The humans' forces have assembled at the fortress."
A Dragonian approached Rekras, who was perched atop the giant lion's back. Hearing his subordinate's report, Rekras turned his yellow eyes—glinting with savage madness—toward the fortress city of Talion.
The massive walls, built along the canyon, radiated an unyielding aura that even a Dragonian's breath wouldn't easily breach.
"This won't be easy."
Rekras muttered in a low voice. Smashing the walls wouldn't be all that difficult if that was the only goal.
The walls were fundamentally protected by powerful magic barriers. But if the thirty or so Dragonians here unleashed their breaths simultaneously, even the strongest barrier would be reduced to ashes.
The problem wasn't just piercing the magic barrier and destroying the walls.
Dragon breaths were attacks that consumed tremendous stamina and mana—even true dragons fell into exhaustion after using them directly. While Dragonians' breaths paled in comparison to a dragon's, the extreme drain on stamina and mana remained the same.
If they used their breaths to shatter the fortress's magic barrier, they wouldn't have the strength left to face the swarming humans that followed.
"Are the humans gathered at the fortress all Summoners? Or are they kingdom soldiers?"
"All the humans at the fortress are Summoners. We saw no signs of kingdom troops."
"Hmm."
Rekras tilted his head at his subordinate's words.
"Not a single Elnot Kingdom soldier?"
"Yes. Something happened midway—they all apparently turned back."
"Ha. They dare turn back with me right in front of them?"
Rekras's face twisted in fury as he clenched his fist. Flames of ultra-high heat ignited in his hand.
He didn't know what had happened, but the mere fact that they'd ignored him and withdrawn their army filled him with disgust.
'I'll make them regret not stopping me this time.'
Rekras's eyes gleamed as he pictured Leopold, the capital of Elnot Kingdom, beyond the massive fortress.
His goal was to destroy the kingdom's capital and exterminate every living human there. The kingdom army ignoring him and heading elsewhere was infuriating, but from a pure strategic standpoint, it was good news.
No, it was downright welcome.
"Any other intel on the humans at the fortress?"
"When the Northern Borderline fell last time, Leviathan Guild—who had stepped away briefly—abandoned their dungeon raid midway and joined the ground forces."
"Leviathan Guild, huh..."
Rekras's eyes narrowed. He was well aware of Leviathan Guild's reputation.
They were a group of humans with exceptionally outstanding power.
"They're definitely not to be underestimated."
Rekras murmured coldly, his eyes glinting. He had no direct experience fighting Leviathan Guild members, but rumors of their formidable strength had spread widely among the monsters.
"Gather all Dragonians except the minimum needed to command the monsters."
"A-all the Dragonians, my lord?"
The reporting Dragonian looked flustered. Assembling all thirty Dragonians? Even if Leviathan was a powerhouse guild, this seemed like overkill.
No, beyond overkill, there was a far more critical issue.
"That would leave our assault force too weak to take the fortress."
The subordinate stiffened, speaking firmly. Dragonians were the core of the monster army right now. Without them, capturing the fortress would be impossible.
Rekras ignored his subordinate's gaze and rose to his feet. Blazing flames unfurled around him like a curtain.
"A brute-force frontal assault is foolish anyway."
"Then...?"
Rekras's eyes flashed with ferocity.
"We strike from behind the enemy."
Salvatore Guild, registered under the alias Iclojeon Guild, was assigned to C Team guarding the outer right flank of the walls.
Salvatore wasn't some weak guild that belonged on the outskirts. Though they had only twelve members, they included powerhouse Summoners like Yu-jin, Yuna, and Park Cheol-tae's parties.
And above all, Tiriya—wielding Grace of the Archangel—possessed might that placed her among the elite even among Rankers, said to transcend human limits.
No matter how strong individuals were, numbers mattered—but Salvatore had enough firepower to clash with even a sixth-tier guild.
"Looks like no one's caught on to our identities."
Yeong-sik spoke as he scouted the surroundings atop the fortress's right wall with Tiriya.
"Everyone's too busy prepping for the monster extermination. And we did disguise ourselves, right?"
Yeong-sik, Gil-su, and A-ra—whose faces weren't widely known—didn't need disguises, but the more famous guild members had to use simple magic to alter their appearances.
Tiriya had changed her golden hair, which shone like melted gold, to brown, and subtly shifted her facial features.
"Tiriya, we'll stick to the plan we discussed for this extermination, right?"
"Yes. We'll leave the main boss monster to Leviathan Guild and focus on clearing as many surrounding monsters as possible."
"If we can, I'd like to take down at least one regular Dragonian commanding the monster troops. Otherwise, we might run into issues with rewards later."
Yeong-sik stroked his chin, speaking softly.
What he was after this time was the black cube from an S-rank boss monster.
Black cubes were trash items no one else could use.
But even trash from a boss required some achievements to claim as a reward.
"Do we really need to worry that much? Leviathan Guild doesn't even bother recovering black cubes from bosses they kill."
"True enough."
Yeong-sik nodded, recalling how White Sword Kang Ha-rin hadn't spared the black cube from a boss a glance in the past.
"But it lets us snag other rewards too, and helps with the extermination overall."
"Hee-hee. Yes, we'll do as you say, Yeong-sik."
Tiriya replied with a look of utter trust. Since the palace raid, she'd shown him a pure, profound faith.
Yeong-sik gazed down from the wall, lost in thought.
'No need to reveal our full strength and draw attention this time.'
The monster extermination led by Leviathan Guild drew a staggering number of Summoners.
From small guilds with just over ten members to massive ones with hundreds, plus unaffiliated parties or solo Summoners.
It was almost unbelievable that so many Summoners had gathered in Elnot Kingdom—at Talion, no less.
All of them eyed the hefty rewards from this extermination.
Tension about the battle was absent from the Summoners' faces as they prepared. Facing the monster horde that had shattered the Northern Borderline without much anxiety defied common sense, but they had their reasons.
Leviathan Guild. The colossal guild on another level was participating in this extermination.
And this time, they were on the defensive, not attacking. Defending a fortress in a siege was a massive advantage—naturally, they felt little tension.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
At that moment, a deafening bell rang across Talion Fortress's walls.
"Monster forces confirmed ahead!"
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Shouts mixed with the clamor of the bells echoed out.
Yeong-sik and Tiriya's eyes met.
"It's starting."
"Let's head back to the guild members."
Yeong-sik and Tiriya moved to where the Salvatore Guild members were gathered on the wall.
"Hwang-hyeon, how big is the enemy force?"
Tiriya asked in a low voice upon arrival. Hwang-hyeon, peering over the wall, murmured softly.
"Eagle Sight."
A blue glow flickered in his eyes.
Staring at the approaching monster horde kicking up clouds of dust, he spoke.
"Around a thousand. Mostly giant-type monsters: ogres, minotaurs, cyclopes."
"...That's a terrifying force."
Tiriya's expression hardened at his words. Every one was a high-level monster over level 70.
And giant-types were often elite monsters like ogres.
A thousand elite monsters. A dizzyingly powerful army.
"Guild Master. We've heard from Yoo Tae-sik, Kim Chan-hyeong, and Park Eun-young. They're assigned to the central walls with Leviathan Guild."
"Tell them to join the extermination at their discretion until we contact them otherwise."
"Yes."
Bae Han-seong nodded and picked up his crystal orb. Tiriya stepped forward, continuing.
"Leviathan will call for long-range bombardment first. Hwang-hyeon, A-ra, Tae-young—support with ranged attacks then."
"Huh? What about me?"
"Chae-rin, your spells take too long to recast, so hold off and watch the situation before using yours."
"Got it, Tiriya unnie!"
Chae-rin shot up her hand with a bright shout.
"Ho."
Yeong-sik chuckled softly, watching Tiriya issue calm orders to the guild.
'Now she really looks like a guild master.'
Since the palace raid, she'd resolved something within herself—her tone was sharper, more composed than before.
As she spoke like someone stepping up to lead, Yeong-sik felt a faint smile tug at his lips. It was the satisfaction of a mentor watching their student grow.
"Cheol-tae, Yu-jin, Yuna—stand by until the monsters break through the ranged attacks and reach the walls. And..."
Yeong-sik listened to her as he turned his gaze beyond the dust-shrouded plain.
Whirr.
The sound of camera lenses whirring came from his eyes as his vision zoomed in.
"Hm...?"
His expression twisted as he spotted the monster horde charging toward them.
"What the hell is this?"