Two heads with foamy mouths fell to the floor with a thud.
Kuung!
Immediately afterwards, the massive body of the Twin Headed Ogre collapsed to the ground, creating a huge vibration.
The Twin Head Ogre's body was a mess. It was torn to shreds by sword cuts all over. It was all a sign of Kaor swinging his sword in a state of ecstasy.
He fought with his life at stake, blocking and dodging the ogre's attacks.
The wall he had cut down. It was the head of a twin-headed ogre.
Kaor finally got a clue to get over the wall.
"Got it… … ."
It's funny. I caught something that I thought I could never catch, all by myself.
In the past, he would have just stuck to the ground and lost his life. But now, he used all his abilities and eventually won.
"Kekekeke, I'm the best after all… … . Cool!"
Kaor collapsed, bleeding profusely. Only then did he come to his senses and examine his body.
His physical condition was a mess. One of his arms was broken and dangling, and his wrist, where he had been holding the sword, was swollen as if something had gone wrong.
I felt like every muscle in my body was being torn apart. I tried my best to avoid attacks and fight, but there were some attacks that I couldn't avoid and had no choice but to block.
Every time I blocked that powerful attack, the shock built up in my body. There was no way my insides would be okay.
"Shit… … . But I won… … . I didn't know an ogre like me could be this strong… … . Uwaaa!"
Kaor, who had vomited a lot of blood again, forced his eyes open and looked around the battlefield.
"What… … . How much time has passed… … ."
While he was fighting the Twin Head Ogre, the monsters were almost completely destroyed. The Turian soldiers and some hunters were cleaning up the remaining monsters.
I didn't realize it because I was fighting so frantically, but it actually took quite a while. The monsters around me had all been pushed back by Giselle and the others.
Those who were dealing with the remaining monster hordes realized that the fight between Kaor and the Twin Head Ogre was over and turned to look in that direction.
Immediately afterwards, a tremendous cheer erupted.
"
"Wow! I won!"
"That red hair is really amazing!"
"I caught the twin-headed ogre all by myself!"
The hunters were thrilled. Up until now, only a handful of people in the history of this fortress had managed to catch a large monster on their own.
This is the Twin Head Ogre, which is ranked among the strongest monsters on the ground. Even the monsters that reach the rank of leader in a monster wave become stronger than usual.
Since he caught that guy all by himself, everyone was busy expressing admiration and praise for Kaor's skills.
"Redhead, you're the best!"
"From now on, you are the king of Ironcliff!"
"Even a money card is no match for you! Oh, that bastard is already dead, right?"
The hunters who regretted joining Jiselle have now changed their minds. The stronger they are, the higher their chances of survival.
The human mind is originally this fickle.
"Heh, heh heh. You all saw that, right? Even inspiration can't beat me. I'm the best. Heh heh. Cool!"
Kaor continued to laugh as he sat down, spitting out blood. He felt like he was going to die, but hearing the cheers of the people made him feel like he was flying.
After all, he must be looked up to like this. Isn't that the life of a man?
Thud, thud. Boom!
A man approached Kaor and stood beside him, his greatsword planted in the ground. Then everyone fell silent.
"Hey, do you get it now?"
Jiselle chuckled and threw out the words. Kaor smiled, barely opening her blurry eyes.
"I almost died. No, I think I'm dying right now."
"You can only attain enlightenment quickly if you go right before you die. Then, when you die, there's nothing you can do."
"Kekekeke, if I come back alive, I'll really start training hard. When I get back, tell my grandfather to be careful."
"Well, I think Gillian has crossed the line a lot more times than you have."
"Oh, if we fight, I will always win."
The two just laughed like that. People cheered for Kaor, but not for Giselle.
"That's a real monster… … ."
"You said you came from the Kingdom of Rutania? Aren't you a real sword master? Or are you one of those magic swordsmen I've only heard of?"
"Can you really destroy our fortress by yourself?"
Humans do not cheer or feel friendly towards dragons. They only bow their heads in awe of their power and worship them.
That's how people who see Jiselle feel now.
It was so amazing that I couldn't even exclaim in admiration. It felt like I was just seeing a different species.
Kaor, who was still at a human(?) level, felt much closer.
So I gave praise to Kaor, but felt an inexplicable fear of Giselle.
Of course, not everyone was like that. The knights of Fenris, who had thought of Giselle as a monster from the beginning, thought so too this time.
'No one can figure out Youngju's skills anyway.'
'This time we were a bit surprised, but it's the Lord who does it again.'
'If you use that technology in war, the soldiers will just be swept away.'
'I'll have to ask you to teach me that later.'
Jiselle looked around at the people with tense expressions on their faces and smiled.
"Hey, what are you all doing? The hero who caught the Twin Head Ogre is dying. We need to take him in and treat him."
As she spoke, Giselle took out a potion and poured it all over Kaor's body.
Minor injuries can be treated with potions, but even that is only emergency treatment. Kaor, who has already exhausted all of his mana and is in a state of disarray, is truly half-dead.
Only then did the knights come running and support Kaor.
"Captain! Are you okay? Your skills have really improved a lot!"
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puck!
Someone was supporting Kaor and punching him in the side. It was a former member of the Mad Dogs who had been beaten up a lot by Kaor.
Kaoru couldn't even open her eyes properly, so she didn't even know who hit her.
"Ugh, who is that now… … ."
"Hey hey hey, you have to support him well. He must be in a lot of pain right now."
'This kid is usually really shameless.'
puck!
The knight, who usually had many complaints about Kaor, secretly threw a punch at him while supporting him.
"Ugh! What kind of kid… … ."
"Get Kaor inside quickly! We need to get him to rest! You f*cking bastard."
puck!
"Ugh… … ."
The knights surrounded Kaor and dragged him into the fortress, so the hunters did not see him get hit.
Some of the hunters looked a little impressed, wiping their noses.
"Tch, I envy that kind of camaraderie."
"If it were us, we would have killed them and taken their loot long ago."
"He must have risked his life fighting because he had colleagues like that. He may have a bad temper, but he actually seems to have a very kind heart."
While everyone was in a state of excitement, Kaor, who was being dragged into the fortress while being beaten by the knights, passed out halfway through his life.
* * *
"Thank you, Count."
Grant, the commander of the fort, met with Giselle separately and bowed deeply.
Noble status is not recognized here, but now it cannot be denied.
No, even if Giselle had been a slave and not a nobleman, Grant would have bowed to him.
"Thanks to that, the damage was less than when we fought with the castle in our hands. I should have trusted you from the beginning and gone out a little faster… … ."
Grant trailed off. If he had gotten ready and left right after Giselle spoke, the damage could have been reduced.
Even though the damage was much less than before, as a commander, I couldn't help but feel regretful.
"Gisselle patted Grant on the shoulder as he reproached himself," she said.
"Okay. You had to experience it at least once anyway. Don't worry about anything else. Just remember this one thing."
"What do you mean?"
"Most monsters have no intelligence. They only focus on attacking the enemy in front of them. Especially the half-crazy monsters that live in this mountain range. If you use that well, you can inflict great damage with human tactics."
"Actually, we've thought about that too. However, since monsters have better physical abilities than soldiers, we thought they would take more damage if they fought each other. The kingdom also built fortresses to reduce the damage."
"Do you still think that way after seeing the fight we had today?"
'That's because you're a monster… … .'
Grant was speechless.
Of course, I experienced firsthand that what Jiselle said made sense and that it could be realized. But at the same time, I also thought that it would be difficult without a strong person like Jiselle.
As if she knew what he was thinking, Jiselle clicked her tongue and continued speaking.
"You don't necessarily need someone as strong as me. Just make passages on both sides of the fortress for cavalry to pass through."
"yes?"
"Utilize their tendency to chase down enemies right in front of them. A skilled cavalryman will be able to separate the monsters easily."
"ah...."
"After the first attack with large weapons, when the distance is short, disperse the monsters with cavalry and attack in formation. This will be much better than fighting a melee on the narrow walls."
"Umm… … ."
There are few cavalry in the fortress, but if you ask the royal family, they will provide you with some.
To prevent the fortress from collapsing, the Turian Kingdom's policy was to provide full support for whatever was needed.
"Of course, you have to judge based on the situation where monsters are rushing in. If there aren't many flying monsters and most of them are ground monsters, it's better to fight while surrounded by a fortress. You can judge that much, right?"
Grant nodded.
Monster waves vary depending on how the remaining monsters in the mountain range gather.
There were times when there were almost no monsters that could easily jump over the walls or flying monsters. Large monsters would damage small monsters or throw rocks, but the damage was significantly less than other times.
"As a commander, you have to devise strategies and tactics for every situation. If you just hold on to one fortress, you might end up being defeated."
In my previous life, there was a place that actually fell after fighting based solely on the fortress. This was a problem that arose because the types of monsters were so diverse and I couldn't think of abandoning the fortress.
It can't be helped. Prejudice and anxiety aren't easily erased.
The fort had only been built a few years ago, so there wasn't much time to devise various strategies.
Grant realized what he had to do from today. He had to fight not just by relying on the fortress, but by devising various strategies and tactics according to the situation.
"Thank you. I will definitely keep your advice in mind and prepare more thoroughly."
"Yes, the number of monsters never exceeds a certain amount, so if you prepare well, it will be enough."
"How do you… … ."
"curious?"
"Yes. Honestly, I think you know more about this place than I do."
Grant felt a strange sense of discomfort as he talked to Giselle. It seemed as if, despite the impossibility of it, she had experienced something like this before.
Just for fun, Giselle decided to tell the truth for the first time in a long time.
"Actually, I died and came back to life… … ."
"There must be a reason why you can't speak. I'll just assume there's something going on."
"… … Yeah, there are a lot of stories."
It was actually funny that no one believed me like this.
After finishing his conversation with Giselle, Grant opened the warehouse and distributed a lot of alcohol to the people in the fortress. It was a kind of reward given to those who worked hard at the end of each monster wave.
In addition, his role was to mediate and ensure that the by-products were distributed fairly based on the contributions of those who participated.
"I guess I don't have to worry too much this time."
Originally, this was the most tiring and nerve-racking time, because everyone was fighting over who would get more credit.
But now there was no need for that.
"I'll take all the leather and sinews. Divide the rest equally. Who's dissatisfied?"
Everyone shut their mouths at Giselle's one word. The person who killed the most monsters was Giselle, and the Twin Head Ogre was killed by Kaor.
Who would deny it when the person who played the most decisive role in the victory speaks?
It was a very generous thing that they divided the remainder equally.
The hunters gathered in groups of three or five, chatting and drinking the drinks that Grant had handed out.
"Then let's drink and have fun."
"Ah, the alcohol is good, but the food isn't that great. It's monster meat again."
"But I heard that everywhere except the fortress is suffering from famine and there is nothing to eat."
The Turian Kingdom, unlike other kingdoms, did not suffer from serious food shortages. This was due to the massive influx of monsters.
I ate everything I could from the monster's corpse except the valuable parts. The downside was that most of it tasted bad, but it was better than starving.
Stews made with monster meat and lots of edible grass were the staple food of the people of the time. So, surprisingly, a lot of spices with strong aromas were developed around the fortress.
"Oh, I feel this way every time I eat it, but it's so f*cking tasteless."
"I can't remember the last time I had such delicious meat and bread."
"I told you, things are so expensive here. You have to blow your entire day's wages just to eat one decent meal."
People grumbled and stuffed food into their mouths, because it was better than drinking alcohol without anything else.
The food quality was poor for Jiselle and her party as well. Since they had only brought simple dried food, their food was no different from that of the hunters.
"Hey, our territory really eats well."
"I wouldn't have been able to eat it if it weren't for the spicy seasoning powder the butler gave me. The smell was too bad."
"It's really f*cking tasteless. I'm eating it because I'm hungry."
The knights who enjoyed the soft bread and chicken they had in Fenris' territory had no choice but to indulge in monster cuisine.
Since I've been eating only monster meat since I came to the fortress, just looking at it makes me feel like vomiting.
Unlike the complaining knights, Giselle ate very well.
"Why? Is it not tasty? Back in my day, there wasn't anything like this, so a lot of people couldn't eat it."
'What on earth are you talking about… … .'
'Everything is fine, but sometimes you talk like an old person.'
'When I was young? Was that the young old fart I only heard about?'
The lord ate it with relish, so the knights had no choice but to eat it. The butler said that when he was young, he would complain a lot about the side dishes, but now he even eats monster meat, so it was impossible to keep track of him.
After the monster wave ended and they were forcing themselves to fill their stomachs to recover, something good happened.
"Wow, what is that?"
"It's so loud, isn't it?"
"Has the big top come?"
When a huge number of wagons entered the fortress, the people were astonished. And when they saw the things that were unloaded from there, they were even more astonished.
The wagons that stopped in front of the inn that Giselle had taken over began to pour out huge quantities of wheat and meat.