Chapter 243

The Castle of Curse.

It was a castle built in the same way as the Castle of Hope, like twins.

However, the condition of the walls, ramparts, and gates were incomparable, far superior in the Castle of Curse.

This was because the undead, who naturally outnumbered the humans, had always been the aggressors in their wars.

Although they had been repeatedly repelled, unable to breach the castle walls in the end, it was always the undead who took the offensive.

Therefore, this was the first time the undead had surrendered the ground right in front of their castle.

This meant they were unfamiliar with siege warfare.

That’s why Vaien Blood himself ascended the castle walls to take command.

To boost the morale of his subordinates and directly respond to the battle situation.

“Deploy all archers and mages on the walls.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Skeleton archers and skeleton mages.

They weren’t high-level soldiers by any means, but their sheer numbers would be a significant force in a siege.

They were short on arrows, but it didn’t matter.

He had no intention of prolonging the siege.

Vaien’s mind was filled with thoughts of counterattacking at the slightest opportunity.

“How many siege weapons did they bring?”

“I was in such a hurry to report their approach that I didn’t have time to check…”

“Hmph. Well, it doesn’t matter. They can’t even dream of breaching this castle, no matter how many crude siege weapons they have.”

Vaien scoffed.

The underground was a land where all resources were scarce.

There seemed to be some skilled craftsmen among the humans, but it was impossible to create anything decent in this environment.

Especially not something as complex as a siege weapon.

“Hehe, you’re absolutely right, Lord. At best, they’ll have siege ladders. It’s ridiculous to think they can climb the walls with those.”

Riel also laughed.

Even though they were inexperienced in siege warfare, attacking enemies climbing from a lower position was overwhelmingly advantageous.

They had no doubt they could repel the attack.

“In my humble opinion, the humans, desperate because Kaysin is on his deathbed, are making a last-ditch effort.”

“Heh, that makes sense.”

Vaien nodded, agreeing with Riel’s assessment.

“Th-They’re coming!”

The vampire who had delivered the urgent report shouted, pointing towards the distance.

“Don’t make a fuss. I can see them.”

Vaien narrowed his eyes.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The sound of marching feet echoed from afar, shaking the ground.

A cloud of dust rose into the air.

Even though they couldn’t see clearly, it was obvious that the number of enemies was at least a hundred, as reported.

It might be laughable on the surface, but in this land where manpower was precious, it was a force to be reckoned with.

The distance gradually closed.

Soon, the true strength of the enemy would be revealed.

But.

“Huh?”

Vaien’s expression turned puzzled.

Something felt different about this human army.

“…Their formation is different.”

Riel also blinked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

A large banner fluttered high in the air.

The humans’ original banner was a sword of light.

A symbol of their fight against the undead, meant to boost their morale.

It was a pointless and laughable gesture from the undead’s perspective.

But the humans’ banner had always been a sword of light.

And yet, a completely different emblem was fluttering on the banner now.

A turtle.

It was definitely a turtle.

An incomprehensible situation.

But that was nothing.

Compared to what they saw next.

“Wh-What is that?!”

“Wh-What?!”

“Th-This is impossible…”

Vaien, Riel, and the other vampires were stunned.

They couldn’t believe their eyes.

The humans’ equipment.

It was beyond anything they had ever seen, surpassing their wildest imaginations.

The humans were clad in gleaming helmets, armor, and shields, their defenses impenetrable.

The long spears they held, perfectly aligned, radiated an aura of power.

And then there was the massive ballista.

And a siege weapon they had never seen before.

“A-Are we dreaming…?”

One of the vampires muttered, his face pale.

It was a transformation that couldn’t be described with words.

It was impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

The humans, who were constantly plagued by a shortage of resources, could never afford such luxurious equipment.

Even ordinary iron swords were precious in this land.

So what was this…?

“Ugh… Those cunning humans. They were hiding their true strength.”

Vaien gritted his teeth, his fists clenching.

“Th-That’s impossible, Lord!”

Riel quickly denied it.

They had been monitoring the humans’ movements relentlessly.

But they had never detected any signs of them preparing something like this.

So she couldn’t believe it.

“Then what is that?!”

Vaien shouted, his voice laced with frustration.

“Th-That’s…”

Riel couldn’t answer.

Because she didn’t know either.

She couldn’t comprehend this situation.

“Damn it, this is reality! Reality! We have to defeat those humans!”

Vaien’s rage erupted.

He had never been this angry, except for the time when he had been attacked by the humans on the surface and forced to retreat to the underground.

It showed how much he hated this situation.

“…I-I apologize, Lord.”

Riel bowed her head.

“What are you waiting for?! Prepare your arrows! Prepare your magic!”

Vaien roared.

The skeleton archers and mages flinched, their bones rattling, and hurriedly prepared to attack.

“Not yet! Not yet!”

Vaien shouted, raising his hand.

They were still out of range.

He couldn’t waste arrows and magic.

The distance closed.

Vaien’s red eyes gleamed.

He swung his arm down.

“Now! Now! Shower those humans with arrows and magic! Don’t let them get any closer!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A rain of arrows filled the sky, raining down on the humans.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dark orbs, imbued with dark energy, shot towards the humans like cannonballs.

“Yes! That’s it!”

Vaien was confident.

That his barrage of attacks would inflict heavy casualties on the humans.

* * *

There was no sign of nervousness on their faces.

It was partly due to the results of their rigorous training, but it also meant that they had become stronger through their experiences in that hellish environment.

They were the real deal.

They could overturn the common sense of what it meant to be an elite soldier if they were to go to the surface.

I smiled, satisfied.

The battle hadn’t even begun, but I was already certain.

We would win this fight.

On the other hand,

Camian and Annette seemed a bit nervous.

It wasn’t due to a lack of experience.

They were already seasoned veterans, having been tempered in countless life-or-death battles.

It was probably because this was a siege.

Humans who were attacking a castle for the first time were often overwhelmed by its scale.

They hadn’t felt it during the battle at the desert fortress because they had been on the defending side, not the attacking side.

And that fortress had been a small, insignificant one.

“You seem to be too nervous to think straight, so let me tell you what you need to do.”

I said, acting like a helpful senior.

“Wh-Who’s nervous? No one’s nervous.”

Camian tried to act tough, but his voice betrayed his nervousness.

“Please tell us, senior.”

Annette clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

As expected, honest juniors were the cutest.

I chuckled and said,

“We need to approach. Where? The gate. But we’ll think about that later. Why? Because we need to block this first.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As soon as I finished speaking, a storm of arrows and magic rained down on us.

“Eek!”

“G-Gather here!”

Camian and Annette panicked.

I smiled, my demeanor relaxed.

“Yeah, that’s right. Block it. Block it however you can. We’ll think about the rest later.”

“Shields up!”

Gwen’s shout echoed through the air.

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

The large steel shields I had generously provided covered the residents’ bodies.

They moved with confidence, as if they could easily block such a barrage of arrows and magic.

And their confidence was justified.

Because their defense was flawless.

The residents’ shield wall was a single, impenetrable barrier, as if they were one entity.

Such a formation couldn’t be achieved with ordinary training.

It couldn’t be achieved even if each individual was skilled.

It required both conditions to be met perfectly.

‘I can’t lose either.’

As their savior, I couldn’t show any weakness.

I had to show them what a savior was capable of.

And I had the perfect defensive technique for that.

– Net Slash Form.

My sword danced through the air, creating a net of steel.

An impenetrable net of blades.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

The net of blades intercepted all the incoming arrows and magic.

* * *

“Ugh?!”

Vaien’s face contorted in frustration.

He realized that his barrage of attacks hadn’t had any effect.

“Th-They’re that strong…?”

Riel’s eyes widened in disbelief.

They had already assessed the human army’s defensive capabilities.

They were never this strong.

Their defense couldn’t be this impenetrable.

Even with better equipment, how could they have changed so drastically?

It didn’t make sense.

…It was impossible.

“Wh-What do we do, Lord?!”

One of the vampires panicked, his voice trembling.

“You fool! Don’t panic! If it doesn’t work once, we’ll attack again and again! Everyone, prepare! Prepare!”

Vaien roared, his voice filled with rage.

The undead on the walls prepared for another volley of attacks.

* * *

“Oh, they think they’re the only ones who can attack? How rude.”

I chuckled at Ran’s joke.

She was quite the character.

Well, that was why she was a Named Character.

Anyway,

I had to agree with her this time.

They weren’t the only ones with ranged weapons.

Of course, it would be pointless to attack with bows from a lower position.

But we had that.

The monstrous weapon that had devastated Underground Floor 12.

“Yeah, we need to teach them some manners with a counterattack.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that!”

Ran grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and loaded the large ballista.

She was a skilled craftswoman, and her loading skills were also exceptional.

I chuckled and raised my hand.

“What are you waiting for? Load them up.”

“Yes, sir!”

The residents in charge of the large ballistae loaded the Orichalcum arrows.

They moved with speed and precision, as if determined to not be outdone by Ran.

They had become quite proficient in handling the large ballistae, their speed increasing significantly after using them so much.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

“Loaded!”

“Good. Then let’s teach those undead some manners with a well-aimed shot. Of course, we can’t miss.”

As soon as I finished speaking,

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoooooosh!

Ran’s custom-made, extra-large Orichalcum arrows tore through the air, flying towards the castle walls with terrifying speed.