Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Assault on the Orc Fortress
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Gawain and Park Gyuhwan charged toward the orc fortress with the X Troll unit in tow.
Everyone had grown during the five years I didn't know about, but the outcome was already set in stone.
How could NPCs from merely the fifth round stand against the summons of a level 60 necromancer?
Especially against trolls whose attack power had increased by 1.5 times from the X Virus infection.
-Kieeeek!!
My troll unit let out eerie shrieks as they charged.
Soon, the dwarf elite soldiers—who had become the enemy—and my subordinates clashed.
Duval shouted.
"Dee-fense!"
The dwarf elite soldiers in the front line raised their shields.
-Uwooo!
My trolls slammed their bodies into those shields.
Kwang-!
It sounded like popcorn popping in a frying pan—metal clanging nonstop.
The trolls and dwarf warriors became entangled in combat. Just dozens of my subordinates against over a thousand enemies.
It looked like a battle they could never win before the fight even started.
But that lasted only a moment.
The trolls began pushing the dwarves back bit by bit.
-Kiyaaak!
They say it takes a hundred honeybees to catch one wasp.
But this fight was beyond that.
The dwarves' attacks weren't landing at all.
No matter how much they slashed, the trolls' rapid regeneration trait kept healing them.
Their health bars above their heads showed no change.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Dwarf warriors started falling one by one.
Duval yelled at Blant with a desperate look.
"Blant!"
Blant commanded his soldiers.
"All units, ready bows and staves to attack the trolls!"
They planned to support with magic and arrows.
The elf elite soldiers sheathed their swords and took up bows and staves. Idiots, picking weapons that left them without shields.
They didn't know.
A single beast was lurking nearby, waiting for its chance.
Gawain, spotting the enemies' movements, kicked off the ground and charged.
With a tiger's body, his speed as he lunged was incredible.
"Fools with an incompetent commander!"
Gawain opened his maw wide toward the enemies. Then he roared so fiercely it shook the air.
Krrooong!
The enemies froze in place for a moment.
Gawain's blade ignited.
[Enchant Fire]
Clang.
All I saw was him sheathing his sword. His swing was too fast to even glimpse.
So this was the skill of one called a sword saint.
As Gawain straightened his upper body,
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The elves in the front line of their unit collapsed one after another.
Whoosh!
Their bodies burst into flames.
'...As expected, the title of Solar Knight isn't given lightly.'
Park Gyuhwan, not to be outdone, led with sword and gun straight into the center of the dwarf unit.
Bang! Bang-bang!
The dwarf elite soldiers couldn't even approach. Get close, and they'd be sliced; keep distance, and bullets flew.
-Kraaak!
-S-Spare me! We weren't told we'd fight monsters like these!!!
-Duval!
Duval fumbled in panic and opened his book.
Flip-. Flip-.
"Wh-What do we do in a situation like this? Um.... Tactical orders...."
Blant shouted in an irritated voice.
"Why the hell are you pulling out a tactics manual on the battlefield!"
"Ah...."
"No need for us to fight among ourselves when Kabata's got our backs. All units, shake off the enemy and retreat to the orc fortress!"
Unlike Deniro, who had led actual combat, Duval lacked frontline command skills.
In contrast, Blant had plenty of experience fighting orcs, so he kept his cool even here.
Until the door slammed shut.
Srrrrr-
Boom!
The orc fortress gates closed.
* * * * *
[All player movements are halted until the main NPCs' conversation ends.]
The dwarf and elf elite soldiers, their escape route cut off, had nowhere to go.
Blant looked up and yelled at Kabata.
"Kabata!!!"
Kabata smirked, lips curling.
"Blant, Duval. Time to fight, no?"
"Didn't we agree to fight together?!"
"Yeah, we'll fight together. But you fight out there, and we fight from in here."
"......What?"
Blant's face twisted. Kabata let out a sleazy laugh.
Despair spread across the faces of the coup forces.
Kabata patted Orcus's cheek, then shouted loud enough for all to hear.
"Who says a traitor won't betray again?"
"You bastard.... You used me?"
"You bet! Naive elves are great—they get scratched if you poke their feelings a bit, heal up if you pet them. So damn easy to use. Kahahaha!"
"......"
"Oh, one more thing. Your father? Actually killed by one of the dwarves."
"What......?"
"That one. The first traitor who told me Don Vito and Silvia's positions that day!"
Kabata pointed at Duval. Duval waved his hands in flustered denial.
"N-No, Blant!"
"Don't lie. Explain that day to Blant. You told me Don Vito's position, and you shot the elf knight who came for the princess."
"Sh-Shut up, Kabata!"
Blant glared at Duval.
"Is it true, Duval?"
"......"
"Damn.... Damn it.... Damn it all!!!"
-Kraaaak!
Blant clutched his head and screamed. Kabata laughed, holding his belly as he looked down.
"Blant! How's the despair I prepared just for you?"
"Then.... the princess...."
"Princess? She died knowing nothing. By your hand."
"......"
Blant glanced at the fallen elf queen. Then at Silvia's face on the flagpole atop the orc fortress.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
"I won't forgive you."
"So what if you don't? Block that necromancer in front of you first!"
[System allows player movements.]
I halted attack orders for everyone. Except for Park Gyuhwan—I ordered him to deal with Duval.
Park Gyuhwan sheathed his sword and walked slowly toward Duval.
No one stopped him.
Not even Duval's own men.
"H-Hey, stop! What are you all doing? Block that bastard!"
The elite soldiers just watched, ignoring his orders.
Flash-
Park Gyuhwan's gun barrel glinted.
Bang!
A hole punched through Duval's skull.
Silence fell.
Blant, filled with rage, walked toward me defenselessly. Come kill me if you dare.
['Blant's hostility toward you has disappeared.]
I signaled everyone to stand down and waited.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
"Kim Cheonjae."
"Yeah."
"Please tell the queen this: Don't forgive me...."
"......"
Blant finished speaking and drew his sword.
"Deniro! Let me apologize to you too. I'm sorry it came to this, but we'll finish what we started!"
Deniro shouted back.
"I understand what happened. Come back now, and I'll forgive you all."
"......No, I've committed an unforgivable sin."
Blant yelled at the elite soldiers before the orc fortress.
"Change of plans. Breach the orc fortress gates!"
The coup elite soldiers hesitated briefly. Then, grasping his intent, they turned toward the fortress.
Even Duval's men moved on Blant's orders.
Dwarf soldiers began smashing the gates with massive hammers and axes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kabata ordered his men.
"Stop them!"
Orcs on the walls poured boiling oil and rained arrows.
Elves raised shields overhead to block the onslaught. Breaching gates with just melee weapons and no siege engines—impossible.
Yet they fought on silently.
Under Blant's command.
"Breach the gates!"
* * * * *
Great peng bird flies against the wind,
Live fish swim against the current.
The inscription on his blade rang utterly hollow amid the miserable results.
Though he fought with his life, Blant failed to breach the gates.
His men were annihilated.
The last survivor, Blant, wiped blood from his face and yelled at Kabata.
"Don't think this is the end."
"......It is the end. Look at your annihilated soldiers beside you. And behind—don't you see the faces of the dwarves and elves you betrayed?"
"......"
"This battle is over. Your elite forces are wiped out before the real fight even began, and your reinforcements have barely any left. You have no hope now."
"......No, now it begins."
"What?"
Blant turned his back to Kabata and yelled at me.
"Kim Cheonjae! I've cleared the path—handle the rest!"
"......What?"
Crunch!
Blant thrust his sword into his own abdomen.
Seppuku.
He bowed toward the elf queen.
His health bar turned black.
I muttered softly.
"What the hell."
Why call my name while dying?
Elves are all selfish and willful. Even as enemies, why ask me?
'The storyteller in this game is the worst. Everything feels so damn sticky....'
The stench of blood filled the battlefield. All those elite soldiers lay fallen.
If they'd followed the plan, we'd have taken the orc fortress by now.
'Idiots.'
I removed one Death Knight gauntlet.
"Sora! Blue Injection!"
Yoo Sora rushed over as if waiting and administered the blue injection into my hand.
Sapphire light swirled in her palm, forming a blue holographic syringe.
She took a deep breath, gripped my forearm, and carefully inserted the needle.
Ssssh.
Blue liquid slowly entered my veins.
My whole body cooled like sucking on a mint candy, mouth tingling.
A blockage in my head cleared; my mood lifted, eyes sharpening.
My heartbeat slowed, tension easing.
Eyes closed as the liquid flowed in, I focused my cleared mind.
[Received blue blood transfusion from player 'Yoo Sora.']
[The power of the Tripitaka Master, who mastered the Sutra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma Pitakas, activates.]
[Activation time: 30 minutes]
My blue mana bar filled rapidly overhead.
High-speed regeneration.
Summoning restrictions lifted.
I nodded, and Yoo Sora returned to Michael.
Battle-ready, I yelled at Kabata.
"Hey! You're a necromancer, right?"
Kabata looked down at me.
"Yeah."
"You know I'm a necromancer too?"
"......Yeah."
"But you just left these corpses?"
I extended my hand toward the annihilated elite soldiers.
Kabata blinked once, then spat as he yelled.
"N-No way!"
I whispered the incantation, watching his twisted face.
[Skeleton Summon]
Skeleton soldiers rose.
All advanced warriors or higher. Skeleton soldiers hurled themselves at the gates to smash them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As many elite soldiers fell, I had summons to spare.
Betrayal or not.
Power or not.
Didn't matter.
The story's flow didn't change the round's clear method—it was already set.
Kabata realized my plan too late and ordered his men.
"Damn it! All units, fire arrows at the skeletons! They're weak to fire!"
One subordinate replied.
"Then the gates will burn, endangering the fortress!"
"Ah...."
Orc soldiers poured boiling oil and shot arrows, just as they'd fought dwarves and elves.
I used infinite mana to keep raising fallen skeleton soldiers.
Wearing the dwarves' and elves' gear as they rose, their attack and defense were better than usual.
Crack. Craaack.
Cracks spread across the gates.
I crossed my arms and watched them crumble.
Crack. Craaack.
As gate durability dropped enough, Gawain stepped up.
"My lord, may I handle it?"
"......Yeah. Command the skeleton soldiers."
"Yes, leave it to me."
Gawain approached the gates and swung Excalibur wide.
Whoosh-
The sword didn't touch.
Just the wind pressure warped space, shoving the gates.
Boom!
The gates shattered, spilling onto the ground. Combat-ready orcs appeared inside.
'......'
On a log spike inside the orc fortress, Silvia's head was visible.
I could almost hear her giggling, calling me 'Uncle.'
"......Hoo."
The meteor shower halted, as if the night sky had ended its feast.
I pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Sizzle. Sizzzzle.
Siiiip. Puff-.
"Park Gyuhwan, Gawain."
They replied in unison.
"Yes."
"Speak."
"......Rip them apart. Every bastard in front of me right now—tear them to shreds."