Chapter 100
Chapter 100
"Those strange arrows have stopped flying in."
"What are the chances it's a trick?"
"None. Even if it were, they likely don't have many left anyway."
"Good. They're trapped with nowhere to run, and their supplies must be running low. If we leave them be, they'll collapse on their own. Right?"
"Correct. I believe they'll come crawling out on their own within a week—no, three or four days."
"Hmm. All we have to do is wait and crush them when they're exhausted."
The situation was overwhelmingly in their favor.
But Roger Bifrost, who had already endured his anger long enough, had no intention of waiting a single day more.
"There's no need to wait any longer to catch a mouse with its fangs and claws already pulled. Flanz!"
"Yes! I've been waiting for this!"
His voice brimmed with fighting spirit.
The past few days of brief skirmishes and retreats had built up frustration not just in the MacLaine camp, but in theirs as well.
"These vermin dared invade my land. I'll tear them limb from limb myself."
With that bloodthirsty declaration—
"Full assault! Bring me the heads of the MacLaine father and son!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The Tomodo Fortress trembled once more.
"They're all coming! The enemy is everywhere!"
Even without the soldier's near-screamed warning, everyone could see the enemy forces swarming in from all sides.
Logan's eyes twitched as he watched the enemy's all-out offensive, pouring every last soldier into the attack.
'We have to hold. No matter what, we have to hold!'
Though variables had arisen, the only thing he could rely on were his memories of his past life. He had hoped the enemy would buy him more time, but now, he could only watch in frustration.
Of course, that didn't mean he would just roll over and die.
"Hold fire until the last moment. Unleash everything when they're right on top of us."
"Yes, sir!"
The quiet response was swiftly relayed in all directions.
For the past day, they had deliberately refrained from firing their repeating crossbows—saving their strength for one final counterattack.
'I didn't think we'd have to use it this soon.'
Logan's eyes darted rapidly, assessing the momentum of the enemy knights scattered across the battlefield.
He was trying to pinpoint the positions of Aslan, Flanz, and the other high-ranking knights.
But even so, finding those who had deliberately hidden themselves within this vast army was nearly impossible.
The most conspicuous one was no exception.
'Did Aslan discard his armor? Or has he truly withdrawn?'
But his thoughts about the missing top-tier knight didn't last long.
-Let's finish this! Full assault!
With Roger Bifrost's magically amplified voice ringing out, the enemy surged forward.
"Fire!"
Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!
"Aaaargh!"
The last remaining volley of repeating crossbolts proved its worth.
Though the enemy mages still disrupted their attacks, their interference was concentrated around the knight formations. The final barrage, aimed at the cavalry and infantry behind them, achieved far greater results than expected.
Of course, that didn't change the tide of battle.
"Die—!"
Schwing!
Logan split the skull of a knight who had just vaulted onto the wall, his gaze already locking onto the next target.
Splurt!
"Gah!"
"If you're out of arrows, grab a spear! Stab them with whatever you have!"
Logan snarled through gritted teeth, prioritizing the enemy knights scaling the walls.
His senses sharpened to their limits as he scanned his surroundings and moved.
"Moon Knight! Stop him!"
The southern wall.
A knight he loathed had appeared where only mid-tier knights were stationed.
But Logan couldn't move.
"MacLaine! I'll take your head!"
"By Bifrost's will!"
"Die!"
Five high-ranking knights—most of Bifrost's remaining elite—were charging straight for him.
In some ways, this was a greater threat than a single top-tier knight.
This wasn't the time to worry about the other side.
After all, someone else was supposed to handle Flanz.
"Hold out as long as you can!"
Logan clenched his teeth and spat out the obvious order before swinging his golden sword.
"This time, I'll finish you for good!"
Flanz swung his vicious blade, brimming with killing intent.
The freezing energy pouring from his beloved sword, Glacies, amplified the destructive power of his silver Force Blade whip.
As the over-three-meter-long silver whip lashed out unpredictably, the soldiers caught in its path froze solid before being sliced apart without understanding what had happened.
While Flanz was devastating the southern wall, a crimson blade came flying toward him.
"Where do you think you're—?"
BOOM!
"Hmph. How patheti—?"
After several clashes, Flanz smirked, confirming that his opponent—Patrick MacLaine—was a step below him.
But that smirk vanished the moment he recognized the familiar sword in Patrick's hand.
"That sword...!"
"A fine blade, isn't it? It's called Velocitas. Let's settle this once and for all."
Patrick tightened his grip on the artifact his son had given him, channeling his Force to its peak.
-It didn't suit me very well.
How could he not recognize his son's consideration?
Unlike Logan, who had defeated a top-tier knight despite the gap in skill, Patrick keenly felt his own inadequacy compared to Flanz.
But with this artifact, he could crush at least this one bastard.
No—he had to.
That alone would be a tremendous help in this desperate situation.
Patrick poured all his strength into the artifact's power and charged at his enemy.
Logan was fighting better than even he had expected.
Not only was he holding his own against the relentless assault of five high-ranking knights, he had even managed to kill one of them.
However, the surprise effectiveness of his Metal-Cutting Slash had worn off, and he wasn't in any condition to use the Divine Sword Secret Art, which drained too much energy.
All he could do was push the limits of Ghost's Shadow and the Wind God's Boots to endure the remaining four knights' attacks.
Logan's expression grew increasingly grim—but the same was true for the knights attacking him.
"This monster...!"
"How, at his age?!"
"We must kill him here!"
Ignoring their words, Logan focused solely on seizing the last chance for a reversal amidst the relentless onslaught.
'Just a little more! Just a little more!'
Most of the overwhelmed allied forces were now gathering around him, and enemy soldiers were climbing the walls one by one alongside the knights.
A hopeless situation.
Yet Logan's eyes still held a glimmer of hope.
"Gah!"
A comrade fighting back-to-back with him fell with a scream.
Ronian seized the moment to reverse the situation, driving his sword into the triumphant enemy's face.
"Ghk!"
Then, sensing a blade aiming for his side, he immediately rolled across the ground.
"You damn rat!"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Slash!
In return, he slashed the enemy's thigh, sending him into a frenzy.
Taking advantage of such foolish moves, Ronian calmly steadied his mind.
With cold precision, he thrust his sword into every opening he saw around him, using just the right amount of force.
He moved minimally, as if he had eyes on all sides, striking everywhere—front, back, left, right—without hesitation.
Ronian's movements were the epitome of the best possible combat in a chaotic melee.
'If we hold out, we win. Big brother said if we hold out, we win! Hold on like your life depends on it!'
Unbeknownst to him, the talent of the Aura User who had earned the title Ironclad Fortress in his past life was unknowingly blooming within him.
But the tide of battle was turning against MacLaine not just on the eastern wall where he stood, but everywhere.
'More! More! More!'
Victor moved faster and faster, as if forgetting the fatigue of his body—the more wounds he took, the quicker he became.
The lord he had sworn loyalty to was fighting desperately against overwhelming odds right in front of him.
He wanted to help, but in his current state, merely keeping up with his lord's movements with his eyes was the best he could do.
Still, even a glance was enough to tell that his lord was at a disadvantage.
'No!'
The moment his lord fell, Victor thought of his younger sister, who would become an orphan again.
He might not matter, but his sister still needed protection.
Not from a useless older brother who constantly undermined her independence—but from this family and his lord's guardianship.
'You must not fall, my lord.'
So Victor desperately wished—
For the power to intervene in that battle, the strength to aid his lord.
'Faster! Even faster!'
Fortunately, he had the talent to make that reckless wish come true.
As the chaotic battle raged on, his body began moving faster and faster without him realizing it.
Until finally—
Pop!
With a sensation like something bursting in his head, Victor felt something change.
The openings in the enemies around him, the movements of those overwhelming his lord—they all became clearer in his vision.
Without even thinking about what it meant, Victor immediately threw himself into his lord's fight.
'I can take at least one!'
If he could just remove one, his lord would seize the opportunity.
At the very least, he could suppress the enemies tormenting his lord.
A faint gray Force had begun to shimmer around Victor's sword without him noticing.
"Haaah!"
With a defiant shout, he struck at the high-ranking knight from behind.
As a sneak attack, it was foolish—but as a distraction, it was effective.
The senses of the Bifrost high-ranking knight, Faryon, momentarily shifted backward.
And in that instant, he realized his mistake.
'Damn brat.'
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have even glanced at such a weakling—but this fool had struck at the worst possible moment.
For Victor, it was the luck of a lifetime.
For Faryon, the worst possible timing.
And the result—
Splurt!
A searing pain shot through his neck as a golden blade passed through it, and his strength rapidly drained away.
'What rotten... luck...'
The last thing his fading vision saw was the reckless boy being overwhelmed in a one-sided beatdown.
'Good, Victor!'
Thanks to the unexpected help, Logan had taken down another high-ranking knight.
The fight should have gotten easier—but from that moment, the remaining enemies fixated on Victor, shackling Logan's movements.
"Victor! Fall back!"
"But—!"
The boy stubbornly resisted, but Logan couldn't keep fighting like this.
Looking around, the allied forces had already been pushed to the center, forming a desperate last stand with their backs against each other.
It was time for the final move.
Gritting his teeth, Logan swung his sword fiercely at the enemies.
Seizing the momentary opening, he roared with Force-enhanced volume:
"All forces, retreat!"
His thunderous voice echoed through the fortress.
The MacLaine soldiers who still had some presence of mind began shouting in response.
"Retreat! Soldiers first!"
"Knights, hold the enemy back!"
The voices spread rapidly, leaving the Bifrost troops who had just climbed the walls bewildered.
'Knights sacrificing themselves for common soldiers?'
'What kind of joke is this?'
Some of Bifrost's knights, already confident in their victory, openly scoffed.
But the MacLaine knights truly formed a minimal defensive line, guarding the stairways while sending the soldiers down the walls.
'What kind of idiocy is this?'
Similar thoughts crossed the Bifrost knights' minds.
But the enemy's foolishness only benefited them, so they raised their voices even louder, as if to announce their triumph to their lord waiting outside the walls.
"The enemy is retreating!"
"Uproot them completely!"
A solid defensive formation was, in other words, a perfect last stand.
The Bifrost knights pressed forward in tight ranks, mercilessly driving the MacLaine knights back.
And at that moment—
'Now!'
Confirming that most of the surviving soldiers had fled into the inner fortress, Logan gave the final signal.
"Let's end this!"
With those words, he raised his sword high—and a colossal golden giant's blade erupted from it.
Logan swung it downward with all his might.
"Not a chance!"
"Where do you think you're aiming?!"
The attack was too telegraphed to be a true killing blow.
The high-ranking knights facing Logan easily dodged its trajectory.
But in that brief moment, the concentrated barrage against Logan faltered.
Seizing the opportunity, Logan released the giant's blade, grabbed Victor by the scruff, and leaped off the wall.
"Wha—what?!"
The Earth-Cutting Slash had been nothing more than a feint—a signal.
Immediately after, thick streams of mana surged along the fortress walls.
Rumble—!
As if by some miracle, the walls of Tomodo Fortress began collapsing all at once.