Side Story 22: The Battle at Castle Teullon.

Side Story 22: The Battle at Castle Teullon.

The wind around Silva began to stir, transforming itself into numerous four-winged butterflies, floating around Silva as her eyes began to glow like a rainbow. Tasianna looked at the wind elf and bowed like a devout believer, her head kept low as if she was reluctant to gaze up. Saori, on the other hand, gave a short bow in wonderment as she sat down on the cold ruin floor due to the damage she received to her legs in her fight with the garms.

However,this isnt todays story.

Let us turn time back, before the defeat of the onnikai garms by the hands of Saori, Tasianna, and Silva. Will we follow Hestias endurance battle against the onnikai beast a destructive deathmatch between two mammoth-sized monsters combatting each other like a certain monster-killing video game on Earth? Also, no.

The reason was that another battlefield was being held during this day. On this one, neither side possessed a dragon idol blessed by multiple gods, a beast created through the condensed mana of a wrath-filled onnikai, a descendant of a legendary wolf monster leading a pack of shadow monsters.

Fire! Fire! There is a fire in the forest! A sentry shouted from a watchtower of a nobles castle. He was one of the soldiers of Baron Teullons army that saw Hestia bring the villagers from Rashan Village to the castle for their safety. By the order of the army captain, Zik, the sentries of the castle were to report any unusual activities.

That is truly a large fireShe wasnt exaggerating when she called it a Sea of Fire.

Zik saw the results of Hestias [Dragon Fire] song firsthand. Her flames might not have scorched the whole woods down due to its arena creating effect, but it was large enough for people from the castle to see it, despite how far away it was from Rashan Village and Baron Teullons castle. Zik couldnt help but gulped as he witnessed the power of a mage.

Although Zik was the commanding officer of a nobles army, he hasnt had much experience with mages on Hestias level. Baron Teullon was a noble, but he was of the second-lowest rank. A nobles rank usually was affected by a nobles merits and pedigree, which was indirectly affected by their combat prowess. For a Baron, being able to cause the damage that Hestia just did to the forest would be a dream.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Despite being distraught at the rising fire and smoke coming from that patch of the woods, Zik remained composed outwardly. He remembered Hestias words and ordered his men to keep a lookout for any enemies, explaining that the Lady Priestess is fighting the foe.

W-What is she fighting to use this much power?

I-Isnt she a priestess of the Goddess?! How can she create this much fire?

S-Shouldnt we try to run?! That fire will spread to us soon enough!

The soldiers witnessing the fire werent able to fully accept Ziks words. Some were frightful as they imagined the small noble girl they saw today fight against an enemy so powerful that she had to use such a huge spell. Some couldnt understand how a priestess of Aurena was able to create such a massive spectacle when it was usually the fire mages of Danternos area of expertise. Some were even afraid of the fire itself, believing an inferno of this intensity would reach the castle in no-time.

Whatever it was they thought of the situation, all of them felt the same emotion. Fear. Fear for the amount of power that was shown.

Humans, whether it was on Earth or Peolynca, always feared the unknown. The inability to explain a concept resulted in being unsure of what actions they should perform next. If a might surpassing them by a landslide were to show up, a human couldnt stop but retreat to their natural instincts of fight-and-flight. To preserve their own lives this fear was rational.

They didnt know Hestia. They werent aware of her abilities, and only knew she was a noble of a greifnobles level and an adventurer from the hunters guild. These soldiers werent part of a greifnobles army nor the royal army, so their knowledge of mages was mostly restricted to Baron Teullons family and hired mages from the mages guild. They were like frogs inside a well, peering up to only see a part of the wide sky.

The only soldiers who were able to remain relatively composed were the guards and militia led by guard captain Dan. That wasnt to say they werent alarmed. They witnessed Hestia, Saori, and Tasianna fight to protect their village, but it was only a glimpse of their abilities, so seeing the firestorm before them was still surprising.

However, these people have already witnessed the attack from the onnikai and they were also aware of what the girls told them before they were brought to the castle. While the soldiers from the army slowly descended in chaos, the guards and militias kept careful watch of the surroundings as their thoughts repeatedly wavered between the casualties from the onnikai attack and their loved ones hiding inside the basement of the castle.

And this cautiousness rewarded them.

M-Monsters! Theyve come!

B-Bell! Somebody ring the bell!

As if it was coordinated, the large pyre was like a flag signaling the arrival of dozens of onnikai zombies. As most of the corpses were destroyed during the initial attack of the girls, most f the zombies today were those made from monsters. Due to the high concentration of mana surrounding the ruins, to the point, it nearly transformed into a dungeon, many weak and strong monsters were born due to monster spawnings.

These monsters were then slaughtered by the combined power of the remaining onnikais and their corpses were quickly possessed by free onnikai, effectively regrowing the army to a fearsome size. It hasnt reached its former glory, but for an attack on a human village, the size was just about enough.

Shit! The attack actually came! Damn that bitch!

Hearing the ringing bell, the seneschal Evalk rushed to the balcony of his office. His eyes widened as he saw the zombies approaching the castle. His expression was a mix of irritation, nervousness, and fear. However, it wasnt towards the onnikai.

He was confident the zombies wouldnt be able to breach the castle knowing this, he wasnt afraid for his life. However, what he was worried about was the fact that his lord, Baron Teullon, ordered him before he left for Artorias capital that he wouldnt tolerate any damage to the castle. This included the walls and gate.

Like many living beings, Evalk feared for the safety of his life. Baron Teullons eyes and voice still sent a shiver down his spine, and this fear caused him to object against Hestias request before he learned of her identity. Like many commoners under the rule of a noble, he knew about the dangers of angering one. He couldnt reject Hestias words once it came to light that she was backed by a Marquess, a Duke, and even his King, but that didnt mean he could excuse himself if he went against his Lords commands.

Would Hestia come to his rescue if Baron Teullon ordered his execution for failing his responsibility as a seneschal? Would Duke Greenveil chastise Baron Teullons actions? Why, Duke Greenveil probably doesnt even know Evalk existed. Would the King personally pardon him, if he told him his story? It would probably be impossible from the confines of the prison if he were lucky. If luck wasnt on his side, he would be cut down the moment the execution order was given.

Evalk knew Hestia only thought of the safety of the villagers, especially after he reviewed the content of the Quest descriptions, he personally issued to the hunters guild. However, he could only think of her as the villain in this instance. Her actions were threatening his life. To him, it was a noble abusing her privileges to create a favorable situation for her alone.

Captain Zik, protect the castle at once! Use every force necessary! Evalk ordered from the top of his balcony. Use all the arrows, take the healing potions from my room, burn them with oil and fire! I dont care what you use, just protect the castle and its walls! Soldiers and subjects, for your home and our Lord, Lord Baron Teullon, we must fight and repel this threat! For the Goddesss priestess has blessed us today!

Please, Goddess, please, I beg you to spare me today. Please, I beg you to grant us your protection!

It was a plea of desperation, but for the unknowing soldiers, it was a call to action. The seneschal, the representative of their noble lord, ordered them to fight and allowed them the free use of any resource inside the castle to fight back. The threat was made clear to them, and although it was unnerving to hear how dangerous the enemy was, they couldnt help but yell in fervor. This fervor also infected the less trained and more agitated village guardsmen and militia.

The only one, outside of a few castle staff members, who knew this was a plea was Zik. He knew the seneschals true personality and also the words he received from Baron Teullon. It was a selfish plea to protect his life, but he kept this information to himself. Evalk gave a good motivational speech, and for Zik, that was enough.

Mass of boiling water and liquid animal fat was poured down from the top of the walls onto the hordes of zombies. While the heat couldnt destroy the corpses outright, some of the weaker zombies still fell motionless as the black slime had to begin healing their possessed bodies.

This created a chain effect where the weaker monster became incapacitate but the stronger ones didnt. Regardless if they were allies or not, the onnikai didnt hesitate to trample on their allies to reach the gates. This would further delay the resuscitation of the corpses.

Now, men! Like Lady Hestia instructed, pull the pin from these bombs and immediately throw them into the hordes! These tools were blessed by a Priestess of the Goddess, so handle them well! For victory! Zik yelled out as he threw one of Hestias holy flame bombs.

Oh, Goddess, I pray to you, grant me the strength to fulfill my duty!

As the balls crashed into the horde, multiple massive explosions rocked the walls of the castle, creating cracks on it like a flimsy sword. Unfortunately for the seneschal, when Hestia made these bombs, she didnt have the word moderation in mind. Although, for the defense of the castle, it was a blessing.

White flames burst from the bombs and began incinerating the animal fat. The zombies at the epicenter of the explosion were blown to bits while any not killed by the bombs were quickly set on fire by the burning animal fat. The flames grew and grew, turning corpses into ashes and destroying black slimes, however, the castle gate was torn into pieces.

Shit! That was too powerful!

Gates! Soldiers, get down from the walls and into the courtyard, now! Gather at the courtyard! Zik shouted.

The explosions might have slain numerous zombies, but it wasnt all of them. Still, no onnikai, not even the rank Ds were a match for bombs created with Hestias fire. They were scorched, easing the lives of the castle defenders, but the fight wasnt over yet.

Due to the looprizsars and other castle scaling monsters, the soldiers retreated from the castle under the protection of Zik and his commanders, who were able to hold back the rank Ds for a couple of seconds by their lonesome. They wouldnt be able to defeat a Rank D by themselves, but they could delay them for longer than a normal soldier.

Uarrrrgh! Ahhhhhhh!

F-Fuck! Get away from him, you bastard!

Arrrragahah! Help, help! Arghhhhh! H-Help, I dont want to die!

They thinned out the horde, but the monsters on the walls wouldnt give up. Defenders were kicked and dropped off the walls, while some were ravaged and lost limbs if they survived. The few militias responsible for the healing using potions and first aid were overwhelmed due to the chaos and cries inside the castle. Even if they werent in the frontlines, the cries tormented them as they witnessed the puddles of blood staining the white snow of winter today.

Shit, forget the wall! Take this you scum! Zik, took out another bomb from his belt. This one, marked with the letter C was thrown at the monsters invading the walls. Due to the explosion from before, Zik calculated the distance he had to retreat and ran away after all the defenders evacuated the walls.

However, these bombs were Hestias crimson fire. The holy bombs had some scale-dust to create the explosion, but the other half of the bomb was kept empty so the [Sanctified Blaze] magic circle imprinted onto the bomb with [Trap Creation] could turn the flames into holy element. The crimson bombs were filled to the brim with scale-dust and a single [Ignite] magic circle.

The result was catastrophic. Not only for the onnikais and the walls, but also Captain Zik.

Guraaarrgrhhhh!

The wall exploded and was blown to bits, sending the Zik flying off from the walls as he was descending a stair. One half of his body was scorched by the explosion while his other arm was crushed from the fall damage. Luckily, his armor was destroyed and didnt melt into his flesh, protecting him from severe burns, while his sacrificed arm meant he could still move around the battlefield. He managed to protect his head, but it seemed his organs and ribs didnt fully survive the fall.

Gryak! Gack! Gack! Gack!

Captain Zik!

He coughed up blood, the world was shaking for him, and a dreadful pain could be felt from his chest. His stomach stirred as nausea began to build up, but Zik kept his composure. He sighed internally that he could still move his legs, but the damage from the fall made it impossible for him to stand up without puking. His soldiers had to drag him away from the fight.

Although the flames at the front gate were still active, some of the more stubborn zombies still forced their bodies through it, ignoring the flames as they planned to sacrifice their bodies in an attempt to deal as much damage to the defenders as possible. Equerochs and orcs, and the other sturdy monsters, charged through the inferno without hesitation. It was truly the mindset of an undead.

Like berserkers, the monsters tore through the terrified soldiers and militias without any problem. Some were held up but the reckless fighting style they had made it hard for the soldiers to hold the monsters back for long. Although, they injured a few soldiers and villagers, the white flames burned the black slimes easily and once it was gone, the corpses turned back into corpses. The onnikais had to abandon them to survive.

The gate, the only entrance inside the castle was unpassable, meaning the only way for the onnikai was over the walls. Although the wall was destroyed by Ziks thrown bomb, it was still too high for many of the onnikai to scale over. Only those able to climb or jump over made it pass.

The attacking force was reduced to these monsters alone as the onnikai horde didnt have something able to destroy the walls like the onnikai beast. The defenders were finally able to see a light behind this darkness. Slowly but surely, the winner was decided.

They are retreating!

As if something was calling them, the onnikai frantically turned their backs to the castle and rushed back into the woods, seemingly having decided they lost todays battle. Naturally, no one could guess it was due to the onnikai inside the ruins recalling them back to protect it. For the soldiers, it was a merry momenteven if it came at a price.

Torn to shreds, crushed, sliced up, venom stopping their hearts however, it happened, soldiers and villagers lost their lives today. Even with healing potions, some were unlucky and couldnt receive healing in time and bled out. Some were heartbroken as they gazed at their dead friends and family. Although some cheered, this fight has robbed many people of their joy.

VictoryI thank you, Goddess Aurena. Thank you for your blessing todayThank you, Lady Hestia

A smile appeared on Ziks face as he closed his eyes the fatigued, he gained from his tired and pained body. Despite the flame burning so brightly outside the castle, heating the area, Zik couldnt help but feel cold like the snow covering the castle today.

We wonI must flee, Evalk, the seneschal whispered as cold sweat formed on his face. The gate is gone, a large chunk of the wall is destroyed, and quite a few soldiers have died. Captain Zikhe doesnt look good. I must flee. I must flee now!

His eyes then turned towards one of the attendants of the castle. He was around Evalks height, had about the same body type, and his skin color was close to his.

Nobles are despicable.