Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Epithet (1)
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Fundamentally speaking, in a siege battle, the defenders always have a far easier time dragging out the fight than the attackers.
No matter how numerous the attacking forces might be, the existence of the walls provided an advantage that could cover for overwhelming numbers.
Of course, in this world, there were heroes who could render that wall advantage completely null and void—but that only held true when the walls were ordinary.
Once you started pouring real resources into the walls and imbuing them with 'magic,' they regained their meaning even against heroes.
"Hoo, hohoho—!"
Lord Malis scanned his surroundings with a confident expression.
Atop the walls stood hundreds of archers armed with top-grade equipment, along with ten wyvern riders held in reserve for a potential sortie, standing tall and imposing behind him.
And flanking him were more than six heroes who had shone brilliantly in dozens of territorial wars.
Among them, four bore particularly standout epithets.
Slayer Baron.
Spear Master Arta.
Perfect Sharlen.
Silent Talan.
They gazed down at the base of the walls with confident expressions.
Turning his gaze just as the heroes did, Lord Malis looked toward Red Eyes, standing alone in the middle of an empty plain.
With hollow, utterly emotionless eyes,
yet somehow brimming with rage, she stared back at him.
"..."
The moment Lord Malis felt his breath catch unconsciously at that gaze,
Boom!
An explosion erupted right in front of him.
More precisely, the sound burst from a blue barrier that had appeared to block Merrillda's swung fist, exactly five meters from Lord Malis.
Crackle! Crackle-crackle!
The barrier began to crack amid the harsh roar.
However.
Thud—!!!
The barrier soon repelled Red Eyes with powerful resilience.
He watched her land on the ground after an attack so swift that not even he or any of the other heroes could track her form.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
As the cracks in the barrier healed back to perfect condition in an instant, he broke into a cold sweat but managed a smile.
"It must have been a hard journey here, but alas, Red Eyes. You cannot breach this protective wall."
The reason Lord Malis wore such a confident expression.
It was because Sertova Territory's walls were enchanted with protective magic.
Not some run-of-the-mill mage's barrier, but a protective magic circle crafted by investing jaw-dropping amounts of resources and summoning dozens of mages.
Of course, the protective magic circle wasn't invincible.
As mentioned, constructing it alone devoured years' worth of the territory's entire budget.
And while it blocked most external attacks once complete, that only applied as long as there were magic stones to fuel its energy.
In other words, the protective wall Lord Malis was so confident in would cease functioning once Sertova's embedded magic stones ran dry.
Even knowing this full well, Lord Malis remained confident because Sertova held an enormous stockpile of magic stones.
'Not that they were meant for the walls, but...!'
In truth, there was another reason Sertova's lord had amassed nearly 100 tons of magic stones, so this was a bone-deep loss for him.
But flipping it around, those 100 tons would undoubtedly safeguard his life from Red Eyes, allowing him to wear that confident smile.
Merrillda charged again at his words, swinging her fist once more, but
Booom—!
Her fist was blocked by the protective wall, as expected.
"I got a little intimidated hearing she's some hero slayer, but she's nothing special. Kinda dim, actually?"
"Right? What's her deal?"
"Must be the beastkin blood making her slow."
Slayer Baron, standing beside the lord, sneered, and the other heroes chimed in with mocking laughs as if on cue.
Of course, they knew full well how strong Red Eyes was.
They hadn't been able to follow her attack with their eyes even once.
Yet they could still mock her because, like the lord, they trusted in the overwhelming power of this protective wall.
Merrillda glanced around at the heroes sneering at her and the soldiers jeering at her futile efforts.
She lowered her gaze, searching for something.
Then she picked up a stone the size of her palm from the empty plain.
Scraaaape!
And began sharpening it with her fingernails.
"?"
"What's she doing?"
"Who knows, maybe she wants to sculpt all of a sudden."
"Is she a bit off in the head?"
The heroes chuckled at the sight, and Lord Malis smirked along with them.
But she said nothing, honing the stone until it was as sharp and thin as an arrowhead.
Then she looked straight at Lord Malis.
The moment Lord Malis sensed danger through his instincts as a former hero,
Whoosh!
He turned at a voice from beside him.
And saw it.
"Guh— Hack?"
A sharp stone shard embedded in the throat of Slayer Baron, who had single-handedly butchered hundreds on countless battlefields.
Splurt!
The moment Lord Malis registered the stone in Baron's throat, blood sprayed everywhere.
Thud!
One of the heroes he trusted met his end.
Before the question of how? could even form in his mind,
"Ah—"
Followed by a voice from below the walls.
"—missed."
Red Eyes's emotionless voice sent chills down his spine.
He involuntarily stepped back from the wall, goosebumps prickling his skin.
A few days later.
"...What the hell is this?"
Kim Hyunwoo muttered in disbelief at the title that popped up shortly after he'd produced resources for the barracks and smithy.
He glanced at the territory castle's wooden palisade, now nearing completion, then turned to a display cabinet against one wall of his office.
More precisely, to the shelf where the wine had vanished.
'...Why did Merrillda take the wine?'
Thinking