Chapter 255

Ash realized it all too late.

From the beginning, Lunared had planned a diversion.

He intuitively knew that a direct confrontation against the monster's defense line would be futile.

He had lost a heart and before setting out, he had a skirmish with Nameless, even sustaining a direct hit from a sword.

Yet that wasn't all; as soon as he emerged on the surface, various restrictions were imposed upon his entire legion.

A head-on battle was distinctly disadvantageous.

So, why not fight dirty?

While ostentatiously drawing attention, he covertly moved a portion of his elite troops.

Using the dust cloud raised by his subordinates and the cover of night, he managed to slip out of the main group and circled around the vast battlefield.

Bypassing the heavily guarded southern wall of the human army, he decided to attack the three other gates.

He split his detachment into three. Lunared personally decided to attack the north.

To avoid detection, he took a detour around a rugged mountain, and after a day and a half, he finally reached a point where the northern gate of the fortress was in sight.

"What the hell is this?"

Seeing the human soldiers surrounding him, brandishing their spears, Lunared chuckled silently.

"Seriously, life is full of surprises. What a delightful gift. Hehehe."

"..."

"..."

With tense expressions, the refuge guards gripped their spears.

None among them were hero characters. They were all just ordinary soldiers.

Normally, they wouldn't have been able to stand in front of the Nightmare Legion commander. They'd either wet themselves or faint, screaming in terror.

The sinister aura emitted by a commander-level monster was that powerful.

However-

"AAAAHHH!"

"It's a monster, a monster!"

"Run! Get inside the gate-!"

Right behind them, ordinary people screamed and fled in terror.

They realized that if they retreated, everyone would be slaughtered.

So, they had no choice but to grip their spears. With no other option, they stood their ground, even if they were mere meat shields in front of that monster.

As armored and armed individuals, it was their duty not to flee.

Lunared, observing the humans who were terrified but did not retreat, nodded in appreciation.

"Brave little creatures."

Then - his claws swiped.

SWISH! SWOOSH!

A bloody spectacle unfolded.

Spears snapped like twigs, armors folded like paper.

Bodies crumbled like mounds of dirt, lives evaporated like droplets in the scorching desert.

Against the wolf king's blade-like claws, the noble resistance of ordinary humans meant absolutely nothing.

The guards were mercilessly slaughtered.

"I live for the struggle."

In front of the scattered bodies of the guards, Lunared slowly bowed his head in respect.

"Thus, fallen warriors, I salute you. Your willpower was a rather tasty appetizer."

Soon after, a cruel smile formed on the wolf king's lips.

"Now, shall we begin the main course - the massacre?"

Behind such a wolf king, about twenty ferocious werewolves also shared a wicked grin.

The distance from the refuge to the northern gate was short.

However, the number of citizens inside the refuge was far too many.

The citizens, rushing towards the gate, caused a bottleneck at the gate entrance.

People screamed in panic, rushing to the safety within the walls. They pushed, tripped, and let out harrowing screams.

Total chaos.

It was one of Lunared's favorite scenes to behold.

But just as the werewolves advanced on their prey, flailing like fish caught in a net—

Suddenly.

Five humans stood in the way of the monsters.

"Ho,"

A glint of interest flashed in Lunared's eyes.

"Some of them might actually prove useful."

"…"

Blocking the werewolves were Lilly and Saintess Margarita's reserve party.

Margarita, trembling, cast a shield spell, and atop Lilly's head, a ball of fire levitated.

The other three hesitated slightly, raising their weapons.

"They don't seem like proper fighters...but oh well, they'll be fun to play with."

Crack. Crack.

Lunared cracked his knuckles and ordered his subordinates.

"Devour them."

About twenty of his werewolf minions nodded, bending forward in anticipation.

Swish! Swipe!

Long, sharp claws emerged from their fingers. Lilly and Margarita's faces paled at the sight.

The combat capability of these five reserves was pitiable.

They had bravely stepped forward to fight, but how long could they possibly hold these monsters off?

Grrrr...

Grrrrrr!

The salivating werewolves lunged at the five.

"Now!"

Boom!

The fireball Lilly shot exploded upon the leading werewolf.

The explosion was massive, and the charred werewolf crumbled to the ground.

It was a commendable magic attack from a Level 30 R-class magician. But that was as far as she could go. They lacked the power to fend off the rest.

"Nooo!"

"Gah?!"

Their protective shield shattered instantly, and the five of them were cornered.

Drooling, the werewolves closed in on their prey.

Then—

Bang-!

From afar, a distant gunshot rang out.

Whoosh!

Like a streak of light, something pierced through the leading werewolf.

Recognizing the object, Lilly murmured, "A bullet...?!"

It was a bullet.

The bullet that had pierced the forehead of the front werewolf continued on to penetrate the neck of the one beside it and then lodged in the chest of another.

Three werewolves spat blood and collapsed simultaneously.

Lunared, along with the other werewolves, was taken aback.

"...What is this?"

Lunared, observing his subordinates who had been taken down by a single bullet, narrowed his eyes in fury.

"Where the hell-"

Bang-!

Before he could finish, another bullet came whizzing by. It was then that Lunared could pinpoint the sniper's location.

The southern wall.

From the distant southern wall, barely visible as a speck, bullets flew across the entire city of Crossroad to land here, outside the northern wall.

And they did so without losing any momentum!

Thud! Thump! Thump-!

Another three were taken down. As Lunared looked down at his subordinates, who were dropping like flies, he laughed.

"You dare challenge me with such tricks?"

Then—

Flash!

Suddenly, a blue magic core teleported out of thin air. It was the commonly seen R-class magic core.

And then,

Boom! Rumble!

In a flash, an R-ranked magic core acted as the nucleus, pulling bricks and wooden fragments from thin air. Before anyone could react, a massive cubic structure had formed and planted itself firmly on the ground.

It was a grotesque building with a massive body, studded all over with thick, shield-shaped armaments. It looked remarkably sturdy.

Lunared couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.

"What on Earth is this?"

***

"It's called a [Shield Turret], pup." 

I murmured, sighing in relief as I read the words [Installation Complete!] in the system window before me.

Before my eyes, the entire city wall was spread out like a 3D blueprint.

I was back in stage 2, faced with the familiar screen for installing defense towers.

Around the Crossroad city walls, the map could be opened to precisely pinpoint installation spots.

In other areas, this feature wasn't available; magic cores were simply tossed out and structures were erected.

Regardless, I had just installed the newly researched defense tower, the [Shield Turret], in front of the north gate.

While this defense tower lacked offensive capabilities, it excelled in other areas.

'A tower specialized in provocation and tanking.'

It serves as a temporary tank, effectively drawing monsters' attention and absorbing their attacks.

Given the absence of a frontline tank hero on the battlefield, there's no other defense tower more useful at this moment.

"Don't underestimate it, monster," I sneered.

"Yes, I may have screwed up due to a momentary lapse, but I'm a veteran with 742 rounds in this game, you bastard."

Of course, I had more than a few tricks up my sleeve!

The Shield Turret would grab the monsters' attention, and Damien's sniping would thin their numbers. With that, a makeshift defense line had been established.

It might not hold for long, but it should buy us enough time until reinforcements arrive.

'Once I send defense troops to the northeast-'

"Lord!"

It was then. Lucas's urgent shout broke through the chaos.

"The main force of those beasts is charging!"

"…!"

I clenched my teeth, turning to the south.

Under a moonlight that illuminated the southern plains as if it were day,

Awooooo!

Awooooooo-!

A long, haunting howl filled the air, signaling the Werewolf Legion's advance.

Seems like they grew impatient just sitting around.

The main werewolf force began sprinting towards the southern wall at a terrifying speed.

'Damn it! They're coming at us from all sides!'

But these mutts should think twice.

Do they really think someone with my experience in this game can't handle this much?

"Lucas!"

In a split second, having assessed the situation, I issued an order.

"I'm delegating command to you! Take charge of the southern wall and fend off their main force!"

"Yes, sir!"

"3rd and 4th party, along with four mages from the magic battalion, reassemble under Lucas's command! Focus on defending the southern wall!"

I'd kept the 3rd and 4th backup parties and had Fox, Rabbit, Kitty, and Piggy from the magic battalion ready as a firepower team.

With ample troops, solid defenses, and Lucas overseeing it, I wasn't too worried about the southern wall, even with the enemy's main force approaching.

"Damien!"

Turning my head, I called out to Damien, who continued sniping towards the north.

"Keep sniping here! Focus on the north until the citizens in the northern shelter are safely evacuated. If the situation becomes critical on the east and west, assist them as well. I'm counting on you!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

From the southern walls to the north, east, and west.

It was an insane directive to cover the entire perimeter of the city, but Damien did not hesitate, and I didn't consider it an excessive command either.

Damien had that much capability.

"Evangeline, Junior, and the Penal Squad!" 

I gestured to the north as I called out the remaining hero characters.

"We're heading to the scene! Right now!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Every second counts! Run!"

"We'll lead the way!"

Whoosh!

Evangeline was the first to rush along the walls towards the north, moving as swiftly as a flying squirrel. The Penal Squad hastily descended below the walls and began to sprint directly towards the north.

After issuing a few more instructions to Lucas, I too was about to descend from the walls when Junior extended her hand to me.

"Hold on, Your Highness. I'll get you there swiftly."

"You can use flying magic or something?"

"I can do a similar trick."

As I grasped Junior's hand, she conjured a wind, lifting us gracefully into the air.

We soared, gliding like paragliders from the walls down to the city streets.

Upon landing in front of the barracks, I shouted to the soldiers rushing out in haste.

"All waiting troops! Reorganize into three squads! Squad 1 to the east gate, Squad 2 to the west gate, and Squad 3 to the north gate! Move out immediately!"

"Yes, Lord!"

Thanks to their experience from previous defensive battles, the soldiers were notably quick in their actions.

Almost immediately, the reorganized soldiers began running in their designated directions.

As I was about to take hold of Junior's hand and fly once more with her wind magic, Kureha stumbled out of the barracks.

"What on earth... What is happening, Your Highness?"

"It's best you stay hidden inside the barracks, Kureha."

I gritted my teeth, staring intently at the northern city gate.

"It's a complete mess out there."

Kureha looked around, following my gaze, and swallowed hard, his face pale with shock.

Flames were erupting from the east and west gates. Dark smoke rose menacingly into the sky.

Civilians who had sought refuge were now fleeing into the city through the north gate, continuously screaming in terror and shedding tears. The entire city was in utter chaos.

I shuddered.

"Tonight seems like it's going to be a long one."