CHAPTER 169

The Sacred Cult of the Demon Realm aims to transform the continent into a dark realm.

Why?

"Why is sorcery considered wrong? Why can't we see that within it lies the path we need to develop and evolve? It's natural to fear the unknown. But avoiding it won't solve everything."

It was the sound of ghouls blowing trumpets.

So, why turn the continent into a demon realm?

"Because it's the right thing to do."

Where else would the term 'fanaticism' fit so well?

Why? There is none.

Justification? There's no such thing.

They just believe. They simply say it must be so.

Blind faith, pure fanaticism.

Thus, the cultists were truly insane.

That's why the Inquisitors hunted them down with such fervor.

The cultists had made several attempts to create a demon realm, and similar incidents had occurred in this land.

They gathered 100 freshly caught young goats as a sacrifice, trying to turn this entire area into a land of monsters and beasts.

The cultists began gathering monsters even before the pioneer villages were established, so no one saw it coming.

At first, they wanted to establish a kingdom of knolls in this area by gathering monsters. It later turned into raiding the villages.

The well-fortified pioneer village, with its walls and watchtowers, could have become a small fortress.

Such a fine prey had walked right into their hands.

"God has blessed us."

The cultists truly believed this.

Wasn't this a sign to further fatten the monsters and enlarge their bodies?

Before them, the sacrifice was offering itself, cutting its flesh to feed them. Thus began the event of consuming an entire pioneer village.

This was not something to be taken lightly.

The cultists poured their hearts into it. They infiltrated mercenary groups while secretly gathering more knolls.

The cult's spells were deeply tied to the monsters.

Experts in brainwashing and manipulation intervened, even low-ranking followers and priests participated.

Knolls, monsters with hyena-like habits, always fought in packs and moved together.

They had a tendency to form colonies. All they needed was a leader.

Curses and enhancements were bestowed upon a single knoll.

Thus, they formed an army of knolls.

Creating such a colony into hundreds didn't happen overnight.

The blood, sweat, and tears of the cultists were embedded in this work.

"We shall establish a sanctuary!"

They shouted their intention in the middle of the wilderness.

They poured in Krona to arm the knoll horde.

They created leaders and enchanted them with spells.

The resources put into this operation were far greater than what it would take to run a pioneer village.

It was worth it. Great rewards require great investments.

This was just the beginning of what the Sacred Cult of the Demon Realm sought to achieve.

While the cultists invested time and resources, the pioneers built walls.

This was the full story of what had happened.

It was something that happened without Encrid's knowledge.

Naturally, it was an unexpected event.

So what?

It didn't matter. Knowing wouldn't change anything.

Encrid didn't care about the background stories. He didn't ask 'why'.

Monsters were approaching, and he only thought of killing them all.

They were monsters and beasts. Killing them was enough.

"What, a horde of beasts."

Krais had a vague understanding of the situation.

A horde like this suddenly appeared in the wilderness and fields? And they were armed? With spies planted within the village?

What kind of nonsense was this?

They held a knife to the village chief's throat, heard the cries from beyond the walls, and in the meantime, roughly treated Finn.

Then, Krais hurried up to the watchtower to check the size of the monster horde, and his mind was racing.

'The cult.'

It was the work of cultists. They were the biggest troublemakers across the continent.

Bound by malice and hostility.

Look at that horde of monsters. What else could they call it but malice and hostility?

Roughly, Krais guessed that the horde was a result of the cultists' blood, sweat, and resources.

He could only guess because knowing wouldn't change anything, so he left it at that.

'What does it matter?'

Survival was what mattered, and Krais' mind raced even faster.

He reached a conclusion.

'No trebuchets or mangonels.'

They didn't have siege engines. Dreaming of large siege weapons was out of the question. Did they have enough troops? They were certainly fewer compared to the number of monsters and beasts.

He would be lucky if the wall held for a thousand years, but the number of knolls and hyena beasts far exceeded hundreds.

Could they hold out?

Could they withstand it as it was?

A few hyena beasts were clawing at the wall, trying to climb it.

If they kept scratching, wouldn't they eventually find a weak spot? A small crack would soon become a hole, and the hole would become a passage and entrance.

Many knolls wielding weapons were pounding on the wall, and there were plenty of them hacking at it with axes.

The wall was accumulating countless scratches.

Was there a hole somewhere? Could it be blocked if breached?

'It doesn't seem possible.'

At the very least, this seemed like a fight with a time limit.

They couldn't hold out for long. That was the conclusion. So, they needed to wait for reinforcements.

They had seen a few birds, typically used for urgent communication, known as blue-feathered pigeons.

Even if they sent them out, there was no telling how long it would take for reinforcements to arrive.

The conclusion was the same.

Could they hold out?

Krais felt a sense of foreboding. When they spoke of the wall's strength, Krais had envisioned a colony of a typical size.

At most, such a group would be around thirty to fifty, but this was swollen to about ten times that number.

"This isn't good."

Krais felt a rising sense of dread. He reflexively sought out his Platoon leader. He saw the Platoon leader moving, but Encrid showed no signs of unease.

There was an odd air of composure about him.

He quietly walked up onto the wall.

Krais knew that his Platoon leader, who was obsessed with training, was quite sharp-minded, even if he didn't always pay attention to his surroundings.

So, seeing that kind of demeanor made him think that perhaps there was something Encrid had faith in.

In any case, there was nothing Krais could do right now.

He had treated Finn and taken a good look around from the watchtower.

"Hey, I'm hurting."

Finn called out from below.

"I'm coming down." 

Krais replied.

Krais came back down. He had roughly bandaged the wound, but there was a hole in her stomach.

It seemed she had narrowly avoided any damage to her internal organs.

"I used the Ail Caraz technique to avoid hitting my organs." 

Finn said. Is there really such a technique?

"I'm joking."

To be making jokes at a time like this, Finn must have been quite sharp-witted.

"You sound like Rem's wife."

"That's an insult. I challenge you to a duel."

"Yes, sure."

Krais said this casually as he rechecked the wound.

It seemed difficult for Finn to move vigorously.

But at least it wasn't a fatal wound.

"You won't die."

"For now, anyway."

Finn had also noticed. It was the anxiety about how long the wall could hold.

"Yeah, well."

Krais brushed it off casually.

If things went wrong, he had a way out.

Though it would be a cruel fate for those left behind.

He hadn't walked around the village for nothing.

Krais always prepared for the worst, so he had already scouted an escape route.

* * *

There was a long shooting platform built on top of the wall.

Below it, the knolls and hyena beasts were swarming and making loud noises. It was practically a field of monsters.

"What the hell? What's going on?"

"What's with all the monsters? Why are there so many? No, there are too many."

"Pam? Pam is dead. No, Ralph too?"

The sight of monsters and the still-warm bodies of their comrades.

When Encrid went up, the militia was still in shock. Not one of them had drawn their bows.

They were in a state of panic. At least no one was screaming or wetting themselves, which was a relief.

Thud!

Groooaaar!

With a peculiar cry unique to knolls, they threw themselves against the wall and the gate.

The wall shook slightly with the impact, but it wasn't enough to collapse it.

At least, that was Encrid's judgment.

The knolls rammed their shoulders, kicked, and struck the gate and wall with weapons.

But for now, it was holding.

The wall was sturdy.

However, the morale of the militia was not.

They were overwhelmed by the force of the knoll horde. Everyone was terrified.

"What the hell is going on here?"

It was one of the militia members. This place was not central even within the Kingdom's territory, the Border Guard was at the northern end, and this was even further out.

On the continent of Pen-Hanil, this area was considered the north, a place where monsters and beasts were common.

But even so, this number of creatures was not normal. It was an unusual sight.

Fear, pressure.

It was the effect of the monsters' overwhelming presence.

A few mutated knolls picked up stones from the clay-colored ground and threw them. The stones were as big as a person's head, slamming into the wall with a thud.

Smaller stones flew towards where people were standing.

"Eek!"

The militia ducked under the wall as stones whizzed by.

The wall was sturdily built, as Krais had assured them that it wouldn't collapse against an ordinary monster colony.

But it could still be breached if left alone, the wall wasn't designed to withstand such large numbers.

The creaking gate and the militia struggling to hold it—this wasn't working. If they succumbed to fear, it would be over.

Waiting for the wall to be breached would only lead to death, rendering all their efforts from the morning useless.

"If you're not going to shoot, hand it over."

In this situation, Encrid climbed up the steep stairs and extended his hand.

"Huh?"

"I said, if you're just going to watch, give it to me."

He took a bow from a bewildered militia member standing nearby.

It was a short bow, with short arrows.

It wasn't meant for long distances, but with so many monsters around, he just needed to shoot. Accuracy wasn't the main concern.

'It's been a while since I've used a bow.'

Encrid had learned to shoot a bow to some extent.

After pulling the string a few times to get a feel for it, Encrid took aim.

He gripped the bow with his left hand, stretched out his arm, nocked an arrow, and drew the string. The bow creaked as it bent under the tension. He had enough strength.

He aimed at one of the monsters and released the arrow.

Thump!

It happened just as a gnoll was ramming the wall with its shoulder again.

The sound of the arrow being released overlapped with the thud.

The arrow flew and embedded itself in the ground, missing all the knolls and hyena beasts. It broke quickly, trampled under the feet of the horde.

'No way, I missed it?'

He had aimed properly.

"You're good in a fight, but is this your first time with a bow?"

The Squad leader, who had been trying to keep things together despite his nerves, spoke up as he climbed up behind Encrid.

He had shown a good deal of courage, even in today's tough situation.

The wall shook again with another impact.

Thud! Roar!

The noise made it hard to hear unless one spoke loudly.

Encrid cupped his hand to his ear, pretending not to hear.

"What did you say?"

"I think you heard me just fine."

The Squad leader was a bold one, Encrid knew that much.

"I didn't hear you."

With that, the Squad leader turned his gaze away from Encrid and looked out over the wall.

He took a deep breath, tensed his stomach, and shouted,

"Do you want to die like this?!"

The Squad leader's voice boomed, catching the attention of the militia.

"Forget about Pam! Is this the time to be distracted by your fallen comrades? Can't you see what's urgent right now? Get it together! Pick up your bows!"

Krais had said it before: the discipline here was solid.

Just then, Deutsche Pullman came up the ladder on the opposite side.

What was his nickname when he led the mercenary band? The One-Eyed Glaive? No, it was the One-Eyed.

Deutsche, wearing an eyepatch, glared at Encrid with his remaining left eye before shouting,

"Fire! The wall won't fall! Shoot them all before you get hit by stones!"

It wasn't clear how many militia members there were, but there seemed to be plenty of arrows.

There were at least twenty archers.

"Excuse me, can I have my bow back?"

The soldier from whom Encrid had taken the bow approached, hand extended.

Encrid handed it back willingly.

Archery wasn't quite his thing.

It was something else he would need to train in later.

Soon, the twenty or so archers began to rain arrows down below.

The knolls' ear-piercing shrieks mixed with the sound of arrows being released.

The arrows found their marks, hitting the heads, arms, and legs of the advancing beasts and monsters.

Some were wearing poorly made leather armor, but many of the knolls were unarmored.

Where had they acquired such weapons? There seemed to be over five hundred of them.

Equipping five hundred soldiers like that would strain the resources of any local lord.

It was a tangled mess.

A conspiracy by someone?

Well, that was none of Encrid's concern.

The important thing was that the militia had regained their composure.

Encrid watched the monsters and beasts die under the hail of arrows, his gaze distant.

He couldn't find his target earlier when they were on the run, but now there was time.

With the wall protecting them and no need to dodge the hyena beasts' teeth, finding the target was easy.

Amidst the different types of knolls stood a small gnoll, calmly perched on a small mound. Typically, a colony leader needed such a position to assert dominance and lead from a noticeable, elevated spot.

While the others were shouting, running chaotically, and brandishing their weapons wildly, this gnoll stood alone, aloof.

Encrid had encountered this one several times before and nearly died each time. He had become good enough at distinguishing knolls that recognizing this one wasn't difficult.

A few more encounters, and he might even start differentiating between attractive and ugly knolls or those with unique features.

"I'll leave this to you." Encrid said as he descended the wall again.

As he climbed down, he felt a sense of emptiness.

"Grrraaa!"

Encrid shouted loudly enough to be heard over the gnoll's cries.

"No matter what happens, keep shooting! If you see an ally, don't hit them!"

What kind of nonsense is that?

Deutsche, who had been yelling at the militia to aim for the heads of the creatures at the gate, looked at Encrid.

What the hell was he shouting about as he went down? It was incomprehensible.

There were rumors that he had cut down some of his subordinates, with the Squad leader claiming they had behaved strangely.

In the midst of it all, one of his subordinates was missing.

He had been a sharp one.

Of course, this wasn't the time to delve into that.

Deutsche was quite a capable mercenary. As the situation worsened, he had prioritized clearly.

First, deal with the monsters.

After that, he planned to get to the bottom of what was going on with that crazy guy.

Whatever Encrid had been thinking when he cut down his own men, Deutsche intended to find out, even if it meant asking with a blade.

* * *

Encrid couldn't read Deutsche's mind, though he likely wouldn't have cared even if he could.

He descended among those rolling logs and stones to block the gate.

"Esther."

The panther, which had been guarding the gate until then, trotted over to Encrid.

Encrid asked politely, "Can you watch my back?"

One of the soldiers stacking obstacles at the gate glanced over.

Why is he talking to a panther?

"Kra."

The panther nodded as if it understood.

What the hell is that?

Even in this situation, it was a sight that caught the eye.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

A comrade called out to the soldier.

"I'm coming!"

The soldier returned to adding obstacles in front of the gate. If the gate broke, they would have to hold it. That would be when the melee began.

He swallowed hard.

Could he fight? He'd been trained, but this would be only his third real battle. He was nervous.

'Ugh.'

His knees felt weak. The thought of the horde of monsters beyond the wall was overwhelming.

It was in this tense moment that Encrid, now among them, spoke up.

"From now on, everyone follows my orders."

He was the Platoon leader who had come with orders, the man who talked to panthers.

"Can we crack this gate open a little?"

Then he spoke again, and to the soldiers, it seemed like nonsense not worth listening to.

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