31 - a defensive battle

An hour and a half after the red smoke was seen.

At last, the flags were hung from the flanking towers and the garrison appeared on the wall.

There were about thirty of them.

They were mainly composed of second class guards who had the means to attack remotely.

In addition, forty men with only melee attacks went out from the outer gate and attacked.

The third class guards, most of whom were below E rank, and adventurers of lower ranks remained in the plaza in case the gates or walls were breached.

The elite of the first rank are currently away on an expedition to the former neighboring city.

The D-rank and higher mid-level adventurers are also out of action for now, as they are hunting in places from which they will not be able to return soon.

Against monsters that are strong and have the ability to regenerate, it is difficult to finish them off unless they use martial arts or magic techniques.

However, their skills are limited by their own skill tree, which limits the weapons they can use and the cases in which they can use them.

Because of this bias, adventurers are not suited for uniform training and operation like soldiers.

In short, only archers who have received the blessing of the wind god Ro can perfectly use bows against monsters, and only shieldmen who have received the protection of the earth god Gaidaros can skillfully use shields. Another disadvantage of offensive magic is that only flame users can use it until they become skilled in the middle branch.

"Numerous reactions on the north wall!"

The garrison runs to the top of the wall at once, as reported by the lightning user who used the .

Monsters were already swarming like ants gathering on sugar in several places under the wall.

The green-skinned subhumans who recognize the sight of humans within the walls are screaming like monkeys and flailing their arms about.

A few hobgoblins mounted on viciously armored boars spurred them toward the stone wall.

Blowing bubbles from their mouths, the boars, charged with the role of castle-breakers, rattle the wall, scattering debris all around them.

The hobgoblins on top of the boar jumped up and began to climb up the stone wall.

"d*mn!　Don't get carried away, you goblin. I'll knock you off right now."

"Hey, idiot. Don't you dare show your face!

As soon as the magician leaned out from the chest wall, several hobgoblins shot out stones as if they were waiting for him.

The monsters, boasting arm strength nearly twice that of humans, threw stones that reached the top of the wall at a frightening rate.

Several stones grazed and shattered the chest wall, and one of them shot the unwary magic-user in the skull.

Before he can scream, the man collapses on his back and dies.

"It's been a long time since I've been in a real battle, but what a mess! There are a lot of them! You have to brace yourself!

"But I can't look down properly."

Most of the magic techniques are based on the principle of activation by sight.

If they cannot look down through the chest wall, it is almost as if their means of attack are blocked.

This is why there are so few side towers in comparison to the length of the wall.

"Then let's take this one. Give us this, O great Sustainer of the earth. Give the sky, the wanderer, a heavy anchor.

With the earth angel's chanting, a brown mass suddenly appears in the air.

The flying stones changed their trajectory as if attracted by the mass and rushed toward it.

The mass, which had taken on the attack as a substitute, shrank in a flash, spilling pieces.

"It won't last long. There are too many of them!

The guards with bows shout out to the earth users who have called up a new flying-props repellent.

"Leave the wall-climbers to us!

"Then it's my turn for the boar. I'll turn you into a roast pig.

With these words, Kanashi blew his horn loudly.

It is a magical song that lifts one's spirits and removes one's fear.

The archers, who had only a brief glimpse of the monster's face to confirm its position, fired their arrows one after another.

The arrows fly out from the bowstring and pierce the backs of the hobgoblins clinging to the walls in a curved line.

The arrows have feathers in only two places and are made to fly in a circle.

This is an ingenious way to aim at monsters while avoiding the backs of their allies in a melee situation.

From the tree of liberation, come and burn it down. Taste a glimpse of the power of the great flame with your own body--."

Holding up two fingers, the flame wielder thrusts his staff out from the chest wall.

A fireball as large as a child's head is released without a sound, and it explodes beautifully on the back of the armored boar, which had its head stuck in the stone wall.

The flames burn the boar intensely, and new fireballs fly in all directions.

The hobgoblin, who had been holding a stone near the boar, was engulfed in flames and rolled around on the ground.

"d*mn, he's not going down that easy, is he?"

With several arrows in their backs, the hobgoblins were slowly climbing up the stone wall.

A lightning man saw this and rubbed his hands together, silently touching the stone wall.

A beat later, a swarm of small lightning bolts, resembling purple snakes, streak across the stone wall.　

At the touch of the snakes, the monsters freeze like statues and stop moving.

Arrows are immediately poured into the target, which is now unable to move.

The hobgoblins, who had several arrows piercing their faces, fell to the ground with a groan as the effect of the electric currents wore off.

"All right, let's keep pushing back!"

The flame wielder, holding up one finger, shot a burst of flame down below.

The armored boar and the surrounding hobgoblins burst into flames, but new monsters soon surged over their corpses.

He fires another burst of fire, and when he has used up all of his available fire, the wizard backs away from the breastworks and moves to the back of the room.

The battlefield was filled with shouts and screams, but the peaceful singing of the musicians praising the gods flowed with the music of the lyre.

While the seated magic-users regain their magical power through the effects of their songs, the archers regain their strength by bathing in the water-user's .

The former adventurers managed to fend off the hordes of monsters that were coming in to overwhelm them with their numbers, with the stone walls that boasted solid defenses and their highly efficient movements.

Little by little, the momentum subsided and the situation seemed to be tilting toward the human side.

Suddenly, black gravels were released from behind the trees and flew over the wall.

They attached themselves to the bodies of the guards, discoloring and corroding their armor one by one.

Once it reached the skin, it began to erode and dissolve the flesh.

This is one of the dark arts given by the evil gods, the .

"You finally came out. You're giving me a hard time.

"O Lord of the Tree of Life! Cleanse the afflicted children of their sins.

The many drops of water that fall quickly dissipate the poison of corruption that has been scattered about.

The archers, their leather armor torn to shreds, ready their bows, their expressions of anger and fighting spirit on their faces.　

--

It is a martial art that ensures the return of an attacker's blow.

Several arrows pierced through the air, creating whirlpools from the arrowheads and piercing the brains of the hobgoblin shamans lurking in the trees.

They wanted to avoid that by all means, so they waited for the shamans to attack them in desperation.

Now that the monsters using those nasty luring techniques had been dealt with, it was time for the ground troops to take over.

"Okay, give the signal!"

The garrison commander nodded his head and blew his horn three times high.

The outer gate opened at the same time as the Kodama disappeared, and the guards who had been waiting for them rushed out.

The guards, screaming in defeat of the monsters, attacked the flanks, wielding their specialties.

Axes swung at the heads of the kobolds were easily knocked off, and a spear pierced an armored boar's huge body lay on the ground.

Daggers radiating red heat cut the monsters to pieces, and hammers smashed their bones to pieces.

The most conspicuous among them was an aged man wearing a golden partial armor.

He wore a gaudily decorated helmet, and with his double-edged axe he swiped at the hobgoblins as if he were cutting weeds.

Suddenly, the man's axe is enveloped in an intense light.

At the same time, a dark cloud begins to form in the sky above.

The surrounding guards see this and rush back the way they came.

Monsters rush to the old man who is swinging his axe in the air, mistaking it for an opportunity.

The axe comes down.

Almost at the same time, several huge streaks of lightning fell to the earth.

--

A flash of lightning pierced his eyelids and a roar so loud it pierced his eardrums.

The stone walls shake violently and the ground is gouged out, sending earth and sand flying with a loud crash.

After the thunder finally subsided, all that remained was a blackened, charred mass of what appeared to be former monsters covering the ground.

One of the guards looking down at the wall notices the raindrops on his cheek and clicks his tongue.

"You've gone too far, Mr. Director..." he said. Hey, let's get under the roof before it starts raining!

"Yes, sir. Hey, let's pull up."

Dadaan nodded his head in satisfaction as he heard the horn of triumph blaring overhead.

Then, as he lovingly touched the stone wall that had withstood the onslaught, he looked around with a question that occurred to him.

According to Thor's report, only the north wall had been repaired.

And yet, the monsters have gone out of their way to attack us.

The hobgoblins are not so intelligent that they would dare to concentrate their attacks on a well-defended area.

Above all, the boss leading them was nowhere to be found.　

The old ex-adventurer mutters bitterly as he is drenched by the light rain that has begun to fall in earnest.

"...... d*mn, this was a diversion, wasn't it?"