Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 54

Without any warning, it arrived. The crazed, urgent ringing of the bells continued to resonate. It signified one thing: the arrival of the main wave.

“Evacuate! Get back inside the castle!”

“Don’t push! There’s still time! Don’t disrupt the formation!”

Soldiers stationed around the castle gates, acting as temporary guides, herded the citizens who had been conscripted for fortification work, reminiscent of sheepdogs gathering their flock.

The units that had been hunting in the outskirts also began a full retreat, crushing the quickly approaching monsters with the suppressive firepower of the magic users.

Fortunately, the platoons that had been dedicated to patrolling managed to reach the gates. There were no stragglers left behind among the workers.

Chains were wound up, the drawbridge slowly closed, and the double castle gates began to shut. The complete sealing of the castle gates was merely the beginning.

“Get to your designated positions!”

“Get stones and soil for Earth Bullets up on the castle ramparts!”

It was too malevolent to be called a storm, too irrational to be a tsunami. A massive wave of monsters with a directed ferocity was surging towards Dandurg Castle.

There were no civilians left rushing to Dandurg Castle. It was easy to imagine that they had been overtaken and devoured along the way.

Walm was assigned to a gate tower beside the castle gate, which allowed a clear view of both the movements of the monsters outside and the soldiers inside.

Magic soldiers, archers, and stone-throwing soldiers crowded the castle ramparts, peeking through arrow slits. Even the battle-hardened soldiers of the Highserk Empire seemed tense.

“Wait for the order! We’ll start attacking after drawing them in!”

The battalion commander managing the ramparts shouted over the rumbling of the approaching horde.

Markers indicating effective firing range were placed around to prevent miscalculations in distance due to the sea of monsters. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the moment.

“Throwers, begin your attack!”

Stones held in slings started rotating with a whistling sound. At the moment of reaching maximum rotation, they were released. The mass weapons traced parabolas through the air towards the monsters. Few monsters fell, but bloodshed was certain.

“Archers, begin your attack!”

With a command, bowstrings drawn to their limits were released simultaneously. A rain of arrows fell on the monsters with a crisp sound. The leading group of monsters stumbled and stopped, but the ones following didn’t cease their mad dash and trampled over them.

With every volley of arrows, the leading group of monsters was whittled down, but soon, another row of monsters would take the lead.

“Magic soldiers, begin your attack!”

The simultaneous firing of the magic soldiers, the greatest firepower on the battlefield, commenced. The destruction was breathtaking. A corner doused in concentrated fire was heavily carved out, and many monsters lay on the ground.

Still, the gap filled up in no time. The gloominess in the soldiers’ expressions was evident.

“All units, attack at will. Don’t let them get close to the walls!”

The monsters were almost upon them. Stone throws crushed their heads, magic spells sent carcasses flying into the air, and arrows pierced their chests, but they did not stop.

The group of golems created beforehand with earth attribute magic confronted the monsters outside the castle, but it was like a drop in the bucket.

“They’ve reached us!”

The monsters clung to the castle walls, striking at them indiscriminately, trying to break through. The majority were goblins and orcs, but other significant threats began to emerge.

“Trolls!”

A troll, carrying a large tree and drooling, advanced towards the castle wall. Half of its body was torn apart, and it was riddled with countless arrows, but its advance did not cease. When the Earth Bullet, which was known for its efficiency and ease of use on the battlefield, hit the troll’s head, and its skull shattered.

The massive body fell to the ground, eliciting cheers, but they were quickly silenced. When the horde of orcs carrying the troll’s body reached the city wall, they used it along with the surrounding corpses as a stepping stone. Whether there was a sense of companionship among them was unclear to Walm. Still, it was evident that even in death, these creatures were merely seen as materials to gain height.

“Look above, there are Death Condors!!”

Dozens of winged monsters swooped down in a reverse dive, attacking the soldiers. One was clawed at the throat, another screamed as he was knocked from the rampart to the ground. Some were even carried off into the sky. The counter-attack weakened, and Walm could see the monsters below gaining momentum. In the midst of chaos, he discerned a faint intelligence.

Walm had been informed that even in a rampage, there were leaders among these creatures. The attacks they orchestrated were disgustingly effective. A new flock of Death Condors was about to descend upon the ramparts. Walm, anticipating the point of attack, hurried over.

“If you don’t want to burn to death, get down!!”

His mask trembled with what seemed like excitement. He conjured his magic, releasing Demon Fire into the sky. The blue flames engulfed the flock. The trailing ones tried to escape, but the intense heat disturbed the air, creating swirling hot winds that pulled in the Death Condors.

Those hit directly by the flames burned to death, while those who narrowly escaped immediate death lost their feathers, their flight disrupted. They fell to the ground, shrieking.

Unsatisfied, Walm peered down from the rampart. Monsters with hands were grabbing, and those with fangs were biting, piling up the dead bodies. The timing seemed right.

Walm leaned forward and jumped down.

“Eh, Sir Knight?!”

“The Guardian Chief has fallen!!”

Voices of restraint and screams echoed from the soldiers on the ramparts. It was a scene all too familiar to Walm.

Weapons seized in battle, claws, fangs, horns, all seemed eager, facing Walm as if they couldn’t wait to welcome him. It had been a while since he’d experienced such a reception, and Walm naturally smiled as he released the Demon Fire.

A moment behind the hot wind, the blue flame spread unstoppably.

A chorus of screams began. Walm, who would have hesitated and been reluctant if they were humans, faced no such concerns with these monsters, who were densely packed and easy to burn.

The Demon Fire he had acquired, which initially lasted only a short time, had grown through continuous fighting and killing. Its duration, power, and control had all significantly improved.

The blue flames whirled, engulfing everything around. All demons within 10 meters were dead, and those within 20 meters were scorched by the fire, still rampaging. Some were crushed to death, others suffocated. In an attempt to escape the blue flames, a confused ogre started killing nearby monsters.

The unrelenting rampage finally slowed down a bit, retreating only slightly.

After continuing to burn the monsters, Walm used wind magic to kick off the wall and return to the rampart before his magic ran out.

A wide range of monsters were dead or injured, the ones in the center charred. The monsters, as if awakening from a dream, cautiously resumed their advance.

“Let me rest a bit.”

No one stopped or blamed Walm as he returned from the rampart to the waiting room, instead he was sent off with cheers.