Faith, Betrayal (3)
What reached me faintly at first was the cry of monsters. The sound was coming from inside the city, not from beyond its walls.
“What was that just now?”
If anything, I was the one who wanted to ask that.
As I shook my head at Cha Heera’s question, the wailing kept coming from somewhere nearby. It was a high-pitched cry, long and thin, so alien that it was hard to believe a human throat could imitate it.
“Kiiieeeeeeeeeek!”
Did the monsters underground just break loose?
It wasn’t impossible, but the sound itself felt strangely pathetic for that.
Whatever the reason, the sensible thing was to identify the source of the noise before jumping to conclusions.
I was just turning back toward Cha Heera to speak when—
“Jagi. Could you stay quiet for a moment?”
“Huh?”
“Just a little quiet, for now.”
She had closed her eyes, as if trying to sense something.
It was an action I couldn’t begin to understand, but I quickly understood why she’d asked me that.
The moment I lowered my gaze again, I felt the floor begin to tremble beneath my feet.
It was subtle, but the ground was definitely shaking, as if an earthquake had just begun. Small pebbles jumped into the air with a faint rattling sound.
The realization that this wasn’t just my imagination came almost instantly.
What… is this?
“Get ready.”
“For what?”
“It’s coming.”
“What?”
“I’m not joking. I think I was wrong. It’s coming now, so get ready as fast as you can. It still seems to be far away, but… it’ll probably hit us soon.”
“Why is this happening all of a sudden…?”
The situation was so absurd that I almost laughed.
Thinking about the timing, this should have happened a little later.
Hyunsung had looked busy this whole time, but not like someone waiting for an enemy about to descend at any second.
Did it happen earlier than it did in the first turn? Did Hyunsung know monsters were coming today? Right now, of all times?
As if he’d read my thoughts, Kim Hyunsung also started sprinting toward us from a distance, his face clearly stricken with panic.
He didn’t know.
The moment I saw the face of someone who was terrible at lying, I had no choice but to realize that events were unfolding faster than they had in the first turn.
His expression was full of disbelief, as if he couldn’t quite accept what was happening.
He must have thought something had gone wrong.
“Kiyoung.”
“Yes, Hyunsung.”
“We need to prepare for battle quickly… It seems the monster wave has begun.”
“Ah… yes. Understood.”
Hyunsung and I were thinking the same thing: Why did it go wrong?
I’d spent plenty of time wondering whether I’d bent the future myself, but this time, there wasn’t much I could suspect.
At most, I’d reorganized the unit formations a little earlier than before.
But as I kept thinking it over, I began to catch on to the fuse that had lit this sudden explosion. No—I didn’t even really need to think about it. The answer was already there if I looked at the circumstances.
That cry just now.
I didn’t know how it had reached the city, but there was no doubt that the source of this disaster was that scream from a moment ago.
“It seems… the scale is a little larger than we expected.”
“I see. I’ll have us switch to combat readiness immediately. Hyunsung, you—?”
“I’ll notify the lord’s castle myself. Kiyoung, keep your eyes on the central command and manage the reserve forces there. Blue will move together as one.”
“Ah… yes. Then I’ll have everyone nock their arrows and keep their spells primed while waiting.”
“Yes. And that sound we heard just now….”
“We’re currently investigating it. If anything unusual comes up, I’ll report at once.”
“Yes. Kiyoung?”
“Yes?”
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Of course my mood improved after that.
Not because I was happy to have the regressor’s trust.
It was because I’d realized Hyunsung’s words weren’t just politeness.
This event was important to him too. If anything, it was a rare chance to build visible experience. Given the situation, it made sense that I was the one in charge of the command, but trusting someone inexperienced like me would have been difficult for Hyunsung as well.
It was only natural that I felt grateful to the man who supported me quietly without saying a word.
I’d been dazed for a moment, but it was obvious I couldn’t stand still like this. The moment I started running and spreading the word that something had happened, the soldiers around me shouted and scattered in all directions, relaying my orders as they went.
A great bell began to ring, and in an instant the surroundings turned chaotic.
“Battle readiness.”
“Battle readiness!”
“All units, prepare for battle! Battle readiness!!”
I spoke quietly once more.
“All forces, hold your positions. Magic corps, cast and then await further orders.”
“It’s monsters. All forces, prepare for battle! Hold your positions, and the mage corps will cast and stand by!!”
Having a messenger who could shout the orders for me was certainly convenient.
Castle Rock didn’t seem to be a complete disaster after all, because it entered combat formation almost instantly. Since the monsters weren’t in sight yet, the soldiers were loading arrows and casting spells without really understanding what was coming, but the continuing toll of the bells made the tension on their faces unmistakable.
As for me, I was still too busy thinking about something else to focus on the immediate crisis.
The cry from earlier was the keyword.
A scream like a puppy searching for its mother.
For a brief moment, I thought of the monster egg that had supposedly been put up for auction.
No way.
It was a story I’d only skimmed over at the time, so I hadn’t checked it properly. But if that egg hadn’t been sold, or if a guild had bought it and kept it for some other purpose, then I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it had already hatched.
I should’ve looked into it more carefully.
I should have been suspicious from the moment the monster egg appeared at the central auction house.
Of course the odds were still high that it had nothing to do with this, but for some reason, the pieces were fitting together too neatly.
And if the wave was starting earlier than scheduled, then for now the safest assumption was that the cry had caused it.
Whatever happened, I needed to find out about that egg.
“Noona.”
“What?”
“That sound that came from inside the city just now.”
“Should I go check it?”
“Yeah. You don’t need to go yourself. No, actually, it’d be better if you stayed here and guarded this place. The Mercenary Queen’s name will help raise morale.”
“Of course.”
“What about the western district?”
“Once the wave starts, we’ll move out according to the operation. Don’t worry about it, Jagi. This side is fine, so you should be thinking about what kind of reward to ask for this time. You’ve already got more money than you know what to do with. Don’t try to wriggle out of it with a few gold coins.”
“Ugh….”
“You were planning to solve it with money again?”
“Halfway….”
“I knew that’s what you were thinking. But this is your first glorious sortie, isn’t it? Why don’t you give a short speech or something?”
“…….”
Part of me wanted to throw down a proper declaration of war, but as a human being, this was all far too sudden.
I already knew how important the commander’s role was. It wasn’t a war between humans, but it was still a large-scale battle, so lifting morale was an essential part of it.
Still, this wasn’t really the ideal time to open my mouth.
Not much time had passed since the formation had been completed, and everyone was still running around in confusion.
Even so, it was obvious that everyone had finally taken their positions. Little Rock, whom I’d worried might flee in the middle of the chaos, was also standing atop the first wall, peering down below. The merchant guild delivering supplies was hauling arrows, potions, and other consumables to each position, while some of the more faint-hearted among the imperial citizens were praying to God or trembling so hard their hands and feet shook.
Probably…
They felt it.
I could feel the tremors shaking the earth growing stronger.
Literally.
The ground, which had started out with a faint trembling, was now shaking as if an earthquake were intensifying by the second. From far away came the roars of monsters.
Hah…
If someone asked whether I was scared, I’d answer honestly that of course I was.
That was how unreal the air around me felt right now.
The vague confidence that I’d be fine, that I could handle this, had already begun to curdle into anxiety.
Fuck… I’m scared….
Still, I had plenty of cards in my hand, and there was no reason to cower just yet.
There was the lovable regressor Kim Hyunsung, and Park Deokgu the human shield. There was the adorable Jung Hayan, who only had eyes for me, and the top-class priest Sun Heeyoung.
Little Kim Yeri and Hwang Jeongyeon were a little distant from my side of the line, but they were still comrades who could save my life when it mattered.
Right now, the most reassuring presence of all was Cha Heera standing here with me.
And there was no denying that I was safe as long as I remained at the rear, observing the situation from a secure position.
On top of that, there were thousands—tens of thousands—of soldiers ahead of me who would throw down their lives for me if it came to it.
“There’s no need to be nervous.”
“Hm?”
“Sound magic. Please.”
“You want to say a few words?”
“Of course, Heera noona.”
As the howls grew louder and the sound of monsters stomping their feet kept echoing across the battlefield, I quietly opened my mouth.
It was nothing special.
The voice I let out in a low murmur was amplified by magic, spreading across the walls and over the entire lord’s castle, swallowing the monsters’ cries for a brief moment. What the soldiers heard, likely, was not the monsters’ wailing, but my voice.
“This is not our homeland.”
“…….”
“Strictly speaking, most of us have no real connection to this place. We were dragged here without even knowing why, and among us, most came to Castle Rock either because they were trying to survive or because they were looking for work.”
“…….”
“I’m sure many of you have unhappy memories here. This place isn’t particularly kind to us. Some of you have lost friends here. Some have lost lovers. Some of you have spent your nights drowning in liquor because each day was too hard to bear, and some may even have wondered whether they should end their own lives.”
“Jagi?”
“But listen, everyone. For a moment, look back and see the result behind you. Castle Rock as it is now was made by you. It was the free citizens and imperial citizens here who changed Castle Rock from what it used to be—a place that didn’t even function as a military stronghold. The Castle Rock that everyone used to avoid, the place they called dangerous and fled from whenever they could, has now become a destination for tourists and free citizens, and the center of the hunt. It is the result of the people you’ve lost—friends, lovers, and family—working together.”
“…….”
“Everything here has been built by your hands. This high wall beneath our feet, the arrows in our hands, everything around us where you stand—it was all built by you, and no one else. This place was forged with your blood and sweat. It is a precious place. It is our shelter, and it is our home. It is the home where our beloved family and friends live.”
“Our Jagi sure can talk.”
“So I ask you this: is Castle Rock really not our homeland? Do you truly believe it has nothing to do with us?”
“…….”
“Castle Rock is safe. If you raise your weapons with the resolve to protect it, then our homeland—this home we built with our own hands—will be safe! Everyone, we are not drawing our swords because we have no choice under a contract with the Holy Empire. We are raising our swords so that we, ourselves, can protect our own homeland. Let us defend the ground where we live, together! Everyone!”
It had come out suddenly, but it wasn’t bad.
Humans are the sort of animals who are easily moved by a speech like this when they’re cornered.
I’m not even from Castle Rock….
But there probably wasn’t a single person here thinking about that right now.
Some were probably cursing and asking what the hell I was talking about, but others might be swayed enough to shout back, trying to forget their fear.
“L-let’s protect our home!”
Just like that.
“Let’s protect our home! Let’s protect the ground we live on!”
Good. Very good.
“Protect our home!!!”
The cry that had first burst out like a desperate curse spread like an epidemic, racing from wall to wall.
Even Little Rock up on the first wall was shouting about protecting their home, which was a little ridiculous.
Then you all can do the protecting, you bastards.
“Kwoooooooooooo!”
As the sound went on, monsters began bursting through the forest and coming into view.
I could see some of the soldiers flinching for an instant, but the “protect our home” nonsense flying in from somewhere had them unconsciously repeating the slogan all the same.
“Today Castle Rock will be safe, everyone!”
“Let’s defend Castle Rock!”
“All troops!”
“Kwoooooooo!”
“Fire!”
Magic and arrows filled the sky.