Hypothesis

"Is it possible that those beasts are being controlled?"

Faust asked, "What do you mean by that, Milady?"

"Think about it. Monsters from the forest don't usually come here because this fortress isn't visible to the naked eye and can't also be detected even though there was a gate."

"Knowing that, there were still able to attack the fortress and even go as far as wanting to infiltrate it collectively. Upon seeing humans, I saw their bloodshot eyes and uncontrollable hunger, and how they behave is abnormal."

I pondered, "If someone all-powerful is controlling those demonic beasts, then it's correct for me to think that we might be biting with something more than we can chew."

"Do you have evidence that someone or something is controlling them?"

I shrugged. "No. This is just a hypothesis. But even so—" I looked at the map. "—I'm just saying that we should always expect that something might happen beyond our power to handle. Let's consider all possibilities, including what I hypothesized."

"And this hypothesis of yours is solely based on the fact that we're dealing with 'demons,' right?" The Commander asked.

"Demons are ancient creatures first seen 300 years ago, along with the natives of the Witch's Forest. There's not much information about them because they are rarely sighted, but according to the documents, they are highly minacious creatures."

"There are different types of demons to exist, but only lesser demons and demonic beasts were recorded in the empire's archive. So, we're possibly dealing with demonic beasts, and if Lady Adel's hypothesis is true..."

Leon gulped. "There's a chance that a lesser demon is controlling the demonic beasts."

After that, the room filled was with silence. We were casually gathering information and brainstorming about our plan of action, but I never expected us to 'possibly' fight against a lesser demon.

If I didn't know that this world revolves around magic and mystical creatures, I would think that this conversation is batsh*t crazy, and I'm talking to a bunch of lunatics. Well, I was the one who initiated about demons first, so maybe I'm also a lunatic.

"Hold on!" Renatus boomed. "We're still uncertain that Lady Adel's hypothesis is true. We can't conclude things yet!"

The Commander sighed deeply and asserted, "You know well that we're dealing with demonic beasts, Renatus, but at least we know they are weak against holy water."

He looked at Faust. "We have a mini chapel beside the infirmary for our knights who pray day and night for the safety of their well-being. I recall that we have three stoups that contain holy water, right?"

Faust nodded. "Yes, commander. We've been dousing our weapons and armor with it ever since we found out about their weakness, although we're slowly running out of it because of the number of monsters constantly multiplying every wave."

"Two weeks have passed, and the third wave has already passed. How long does it take for the fourth wave to happen?" I asked.

"The first wave happened two weeks ago, and the second one six days later. We thought we had six more days to prepare after the second wave, but we were shocked that the beasts came four days later."

"The number of days for preparation keeps decreasing every wave, so we might have two to three days before the fourth wave. We're unsure if it's the last wave, but we should expect it to be a bigger threat than the previous ones."

This is harder than I thought. It's way more problematic than what I've encountered in the mountain! Not only that, there's not much advantage in our terrain.

Our supply of holy water is running out, and Averon is the only healer in the fortress, so there's a limit on how many wounded knights he can heal.

Think, Chesah! What can we do in this situation?

"Commander, did you request the Duchy and the Temple for reinforcements?" I questioned.

"We've requested reinforcements to the Duchy first before breaking the gate. Since we've only realized the beasts' true origins, we sent a messenger pigeon to the capital. In terms of distance, the temple is much closer than the Duchy."

"Let's say it takes for the messenger pigeon a day to arrive at the temple. Considering the time to receive approval from the pope and for their preparations to depart, it will take two days for them to reach here."

I smirked. "Then that's perfect."

I looked at Renatus. "I've devised a plan, so would you mind hearing it?"

I pointed out some areas of the map and explained my strategy to them.

****

I felt the cold gush of the wind as we stood still at the top of the fortress' entrance. With the help of Renatus, we were able to come up with a plan in consideration of our limited sources and manpower.

It's already been two days since the third wave, so we prepared everything we could and thought of any scenario that might happen. The knights have already been positioned according to plan, and we're just waiting for what's about to come.

A part of me expects that instead of those demonic beasts, the Holy Knights of the Temple might come to our aid. They should arrive any time within this day, and I hope there won't be any delays.

"Nervous?" Averon asked.

I shrugged. "I can't tell. None of us anticipated this to happen. Should we bail?"

He chuckled. "You know we can't do that—Well, for us at least. You had the chance to prevent yourself from doing this, and I wouldn't criticize you if you were going to leave."

"And go where exactly? If I use the path to the barren lands, I'll only die from heatstroke. I'm already part of this, Averon—I should see it through to the end."

Our conversation ended when we heard heavy footsteps from afar.

"They're coming," I whispered. "Signal the squads!"

The demonic beasts' footsteps are so heavy that the ground is rumbling. I can already feel this herd has increased more than the previous ones.

"Archers!" I shouted.

They aimed toward the sky with their arrows doused with holy water.

"Fire!"