Two days had passed.
The dawn of Stage Start Day arrived.
At long last, the city wall repairs were finished.
“There were many areas where we had to hurry because of time, but it should hold up as a city wall.”
I laid a comforting hand on the shoulder of the Mason Guild leader, whose head remained bowed.
“You’ve done well, you’ve really worked hard.”
The morning sun rendered the newly refurbished walls with a radiant glow.
Reflecting on the vast amounts of resources and funds used to mend these walls, I couldn’t help but feel a deep respect.
Clank! Clank!
Among them, the newly installed automatic turret moved its barrel with a menacing noise.
I stroked the massive barrel as one would a puppy’s chin. It felt dependable.
‘We have ample resources.’
On the city wall, arrows and cannonballs were stacked high. We had more than enough to perforate dozens of monsters.
‘We’ve also bolstered our ranks.’
I spotted soldiers inspecting their armor and weapons on the wall.
The Twilight Brigade.
These were the warriors of the Cross family, who, alongside Margrave Cross, had defended this city for a lifetime.
Their original number was around a thousand, but the Margrave’s retirement had scattered most, leaving around three hundred.
‘This isn’t just any group of three hundred.’
It was not merely three hundred soldiers. They were veterans, more familiar with this front line and more skilled at slaying monsters than any other.
In a time where every single soldier was a godsend, this was the most valuable reinforcement I could hope for.
I decided to reward all of them with a generous weekly bonus.
‘We’ve also completed setting up the kill zone.’
We’d upgraded the wooden fence wall, also known as the kill zone, which directed the movement of monsters.
Further, we’d strewn numerous minor barricades and traps on the path to the southern city wall.
The city wall was armed with a plentiful array of revamped artifacts, cannons, and ballistas.
“We are ready.”
I declared confidently.
“Come on then, monsters!”
During the countless resets and game replays, over 700 times, I’d never been as prepared as I was now.
Confidence surged. I felt certain that I could navigate the stage flawlessly, even in the face of unexpected variables.
Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, a scout on horseback rushed into the city wall. He was part of the scouting party dispatched the day prior.
“News from the scout base!”
The soldier’s voice echoed across the walls.
“The monsters are on the move!”
“…!”
Simultaneously, a faint tremor stirred beneath our feet.
A thick dust cloud billowed up in the not-so-distant horizon. It signified the approach of the monster vanguard.
I called up the stage information window in front of me.
[Enemy Information — STAGE 2]
— Lv.? ??? : 3
— Lv.5 Giant Sewer Rat : 3251
— Start Time: 10 minutes
The battle would commence in 10 minutes.
“They’re almost here! Keep your eyes peeled!”
“Yes, sir!”
My shout was met with a unanimous response from officers, including Lucas.
‘Reassuring, aren’t they?’
Their unyielding presence lifted my spirits. I allowed a faint smile to tug at the corners of my lips.
That was when we completed our final military check and braced for the looming battle.
“Huh?”
My brows knitted in puzzlement.
My gaze had been cast towards the south, a silent question lingering in the air about the impending arrival of the rat horde.
From a distance, just beyond the horizon… a figure stood.
“…?”
I rubbed my eyes, second-guessing my sight, yet the vision persisted.
Someone was there, leisurely stationed on the southern plains, where the rat creatures were expected to overrun soon.
A man, dressed as a bard, his pointy hat casting a shadow over his face.
“What’s up with that guy?”
Lucas joined me as I continued to peer anxiously.
“Why the troubled expression, Your Highness?”
“Lucas, do you see that person over… ”
I had turned to Lucas, but as my hand stretched back towards the south to indicate the figure, I noticed…
“Huh?”
The bard in the pointy hat had vanished.
Beside me, Lucas appeared baffled.
“I don’t see anything, Your Highness.”
“Damien!”
I beckoned Damien hurriedly. He had been tinkering with his crossbow on the other side and now dashed over.
“Did you summon me, Prince?”
“Do you see anyone over there?”
Damien surveyed the area I was pointing at, but eventually gave a slight shake of his head.
“I see no one, Prince.”
“….”
If Damien didn’t see anyone, it meant that there truly was no one there.
A shiver slithered down my spine.
‘Did I see a mirage?’
I hoped that was the case.
But what if I hadn’t been mistaken? What if someone had indeed been there?
‘What was he doing?’
A foreboding sensation swept over me as a faint sound resonated.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
The ground started to vibrate.
“They’re here!”
With clenched teeth, I directed my gaze back towards the south.
Thud, thud, thud, thud-!
A sea of grey unfurled.
The colossal swarm of 3,000 rats finally came into view, surging from the south towards the city.
Despite the distance, the stink of the sewer and the reek of the plague invaded my nostrils.
My fist clenched tightly around my sword.
‘I must stay composed.’
Regardless of their number, regardless of whether I had witnessed a mirage, there was only one task for me.
‘Halt them.’
We had prepared to the best of our abilities. All we could do now was slay as many monsters as possible.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud-!
The forefront of the rat swarm advanced towards the wooden fence wall of the southern plains. I raised my voice and hollered out.
“Artillery squad, ready to fire!”
The artillerymen ignited their cannons in synchrony. With a determined sweep of my hand, I ordered,
“Fire!”
Boom! Bam, bam, bam, bam!
The thunderous sound of firing engulfed the air.
Whishhh-
The shells that sliced through the air eventually plummeted to the ground after a long arc.
Boom…!
Raising a plume of dust, the shells decimated the frontline of the rat horde.
[Enemy Profile — STAGE 2]
— Lv.? ??? : 3 units
— Lv.5 Giant Sewer Rat : 3154 units (Kill Count: 97)
Close to a hundred rats were blown apart by the first volley.
“Yes!”
Surveying the fragments of the now shattered monsters, I pumped my fist.
“Annihilate them!”
These rat scum were nothing but statistics, nothing remarkable!
***
Bang! Crash!
A wooden barricade was positioned in the open south of the fortress.
The creatures faltered as they encroached along the barrier, their maneuvers becoming clumsy. We rained crossfire upon them.
This was the killing field.
The front line of the sewer rats couldn’t evade this maze of death, and the kill count escalated dramatically.
‘Their numbers are overwhelming, and they’re bunched together.’
In essence…
‘If we unleash area attacks, we can wipe out a lot in one go!’
About 30 minutes had lapsed since the onset of the battle, and not a single rat had managed to escape.
[Enemy Profile — STAGE 2]
— Lv.? ??? : 3 units
— Lv.5 Giant Sewer Rat : 2327 units (Kill Count: 924)
Already, nearly a thousand sewer rats had been obliterated amidst the crossfire.
I was slightly apprehensive because the quantity of creatures was immense, but it seemed we had no issues at this pace.
The moment I began to breathe easier while watching the lifeless rats being pulverized within the kill zone,
Rumble…
“Huh?”
One segment of the wooden barricade wall started to tremble.
Squeak, squeak-!
Accompanied by the shrill squeals of rats, giant sewer rats began crawling over the barricade.
“?!”
Taken aback, I swiftly hoisted my telescope to survey the area.
“Damn it.”
The interior of the wooden barricade was filled with rat carcasses.
The remains of the deceased piled up so much that they overflowed the barricade wall.
The rat legion behind them began to evade the fence by clambering over these corpses.
Squeak-!
Just like water overtopping a dam.
Within an instant, they overwhelmed the barricade and began to flood out of the kill zone.
“Shit!”
I inadvertently let out a swear.
Even if the kill zone was to collapse quickly, I assumed it would occur after we had eliminated more than half of them.
I hadn’t anticipated that they would scale the wall because too many corpses had accumulated. I hadn’t even thought of it.
‘We’re still okay!’
I hastily directed the artillery unit to adjust their targeting, and readied the ballista unit.
‘We have a considerable distance from the kill zone to the fortress wall, and it’s littered with all sorts of obstructions! We can secure a lot more time!’
However.
I neglected one aspect here.
Thump, thump, thump-!
It was the speed of the sewer rats.
Those that spilled out onto the open plains were repulsively quick.
And their size was merely about that of a large dog. In other words…
Thump! Thump!
Thunk…!
The large, slow-moving bolts from the ballista simply couldn’t hit their marks.
“Damn rat devils!”
“We are missing…!”
The soldiers swore and continued to bombard with cannon fire and arrows, but, striking the surging horde, that was spreading across the expansive field like a wave, was no simple task.
Squeak! Squeak!
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
The nimble, small-sized rats twisted and turned their bodies, dashing across the field.
Apart from the sporadic cannon blasts and the occasional arrow that luckily struck a target… they were closing the distance with almost no hindrance.
“Huff!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Damien, standing by my side, tirelessly discharged his crossbow.
The arrows from Damien’s bow did manage to topple some of them, but it was far from sufficient.
‘Naturally, I expected that the rats would reach the fortress walls.’
At this pace, far more rats than I anticipated would arrive at the walls…!
Just then, it occurred.
Hummm-
Clink!
A beautiful, hefty mechanical sound echoed.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
With a gratifying firing noise that resonated in the ears, dozens of turquoise magic bullets were discharged.
The magic bullets tore across the ground like soaring arrows, and large explosions erupted from the direct-hit areas on the field.
The magic bullets swept across the area like a lash. The rats in their path were instantaneously turned to dust.
“What an unexpected turn of events!”
I turned to the side, my face showing a near-moved expression. There I saw a thick-barreled structure moving with a clinking noise.
The newly summoned automated defense turret!
I tapped the heated barrel with my fingertips and gave a nod of approval.
“Indeed, auto-turrets are the best for tower defense.”
Though the genre of this game leans more towards character defense, still, anyway!
The automated defense turret continuously dispatched clusters of magic bullets like a whip.
The shower of bullets, reminiscent of a bullet hell game, effectively swept away the rats.
But it could not cover the entire battlefield.
And the rats numbered in the thousands.
Rats still streamed in beyond the range of the automated defense turret.
Moreover…
Hummm…
The automated defense turret, having used up all its ammunition, entered a reload sequence.
Naturally, a gap appeared in the core of our defenses…
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
The rats were now pressing towards the center of the fortress walls.
–TL Notes–
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