Ch.291291. Frank Front Line (2)

Camille was just one of the ordinary serfs who had lived in the Duchy of Aquitaine in the Frankish Kingdom for generations.

The Duchy of Aquitaine was a land with a climate particularly suitable for grape cultivation and fertile soil, and thus Camille was one of the serfs responsible for grape farming in the production of wine, the region’s specialty.

Fortunately, the estate to which Camille belonged was under the direct control of the Duke of Aquitaine, so taxes were relatively lenient. As a result, Camille lived a life that, while not abundant, at least didn’t involve starvation—an excellent life by serf standards.

Additionally, in the Duchy of Aquitaine, instead of conscripting serfs, they deployed professionally trained men-at-arms from the estate, so there was no risk of being dragged away to die like a dog. This made the serfs here particularly well-off compared to others.

But because of this, Camille couldn’t have imagined that something like this would happen!

“A proclamation has been issued!! All men between 16 and 30 years of age, assemble in front of the lord’s castle!”

The lord, who normally avoided issuing mobilization orders so that people could focus on grape farming, had now issued a proclamation and was trying to mobilize even serfs like himself.

Despite voicing all sorts of complaints, people gathered because they didn’t want to be arrested for disobedience. And when they heard what the herald had to say, they became serious and took it to heart.

“Armies of devils—demons are gathering from across the sea! At this rate, this estate will be swept away! Therefore, the lord has issued this proclamation!”

The word ‘demon’ carried enough impact.

Even ignorant serfs had heard about it repeatedly in temples, and rumors about which estates had fallen to demons had been drilled into their ears.

“I… I volunteer!”

“An excellent attitude! You’re a fine man who understands honor and responsibility!”

Camille decided to step forward to protect his household instead of trying to avoid conscription. Perhaps thanks to this action, he was assigned to a relatively good military branch on the front lines.

Deployed as a soldier guarding the frontline rock barrier, Camille was assigned to be an Axe man.

Though crude, it was a relatively good position where he received an iron-rimmed shield with leather handle straps and a steel battle axe, and could wear a helmet and gambeson—a quilted armor made of cloth.

Of course, he had to stand on the front lines against the oncoming demons, or be the first to fight back if ladders were placed against the walls…

But it was still several times better than being a spearman, who would receive only a hastily made spear and have to fight on the front lines without any armor.

Among the positions available to Camille, who had no previous combat experience, this was the best role he could have been assigned.

Anyway, Camille, dispatched to the front lines, spent his time peacefully for a while.

“This… this is meat…”

“The bread is… white?”

Though Camille didn’t know it, they were receiving supplies from the Dawn Empire, providing even ordinary serfs with abundant white bread and meat every day, ensuring no one went hungry. In their spare time, they underwent various training, learning how to use axes and shields.

“Extend it! Extend your shield forward!! The moment you lower it, you’re dead!!”

The instructor of the axe unit, a former mercenary, taught them how to survive and fight in such battlefields. Thanks to this, by the time Camille had risen from a mere serf to a trained soldier (Grade 9)…

“They’re coming!!! The demons are coming!!”

Finally, the battle against the demons began.

For the first few days, there was little for Camille to do directly.

The arrows shot by archers on the walls were powerful enough to prevent demons from approaching, so Camille, whose role was to deal with enemies trying to climb the walls, just had to watch.

But as time passed, and the demons increased in both number and quality, the archers’ firepower alone became insufficient—

“Push, push!!”

“Urrrrrgh!!!”

“Break the ladder!!”

Thud! Thud! Crack!!!

Now Camille and the other axe men had to step forward and engage the enemy directly.

He split small winged demons—imps—with his axe, blocked their arrows and fireballs with his water-soaked leather shield, and smashed ladders they tried to place against the walls.

“Knights!! The knights are coming!!!”

And if they held out long enough, knights would arrive to sweep away the demons and relieve the pressure on the front lines. This process repeated several times, during which many soldiers died—and even more were deployed to the front.

How many days had Camille survived in this harsh environment where failure meant death? He had gained enough strength and experience to be called a veteran soldier, but…

“…Can we actually win this?”

As he survived and his perspective naturally broadened, Camille began to doubt whether this fight had any chance of victory.

So far, everything had been more or less holding together.

More new recruits kept arriving than the number of soldiers dying, and there were no particular problems with supplies like food or weapons.

Food was being distributed several times better than before the battle began, and some veteran soldiers were even using demon weapons purified by priests’ power.

But despite this, there was an underlying sense of anxiety spreading among the veteran soldiers.

The demons were getting slightly stronger with each passing day, while their own forces were just growing in number but remained disorganized. The supply of arrows was gradually decreasing.

Additionally, the frequency of knights patrolling this front had noticeably decreased compared to before, inevitably spreading negative sentiment among the people.

And bad premonitions always tend to become reality…

“…Good Lord.”

The next day, what greeted the Frankish Kingdom’s army, preparing for another demon attack, was a demon ‘army.’

※ ※ ※

The army attacking the Frankish Kingdom’s forces today was completely different from the previous demon ‘horde’—the difference was like that between a pack of beasts and a trained army.

They all wore black or red armor with spiky decorations that looked like basalt, and advanced slowly in formation using shields and spears.

Compared to the previous demons who just charged forward in a disorderly mix, the current demon army displayed an orderly appearance truly befitting its name.

Fwish-fwish-fwish!

“Argh!!”

“Return fire!! Return fire!!”

“Move the wounded to the back! Shield bearers, forward with your shields!!”

Now even the demons were forming ranks and shooting arrows, and they had the advantage in both strength and weapon quality.

Despite occupying the high ground, which should have given them an advantage in the archery duel, the Frankish Kingdom’s forces began to be pushed back by the overwhelming demon army’s arrow barrage.

To make matters worse, since knights had swept away enemy forces just yesterday, they wouldn’t be coming again anytime soon, meaning these conscripts would have to somehow manage on their own…

“…Damn it.”

Camille, who had somehow started to exude the distinctive aura of a veteran soldier (3 weeks in), began making several preparations to intercept the enemy forces, adjusting his axe and shield.

He securely fastened spare axes purchased from merchants following the army to his waist and tightened the shirt he wore under his gambeson.

As Camille, who now seemed far more experienced than his mere three weeks would suggest, glanced at the enemy forces while preparing for battle…

“They’re coming! Get rea—”

…RUMBLE!!!

Just as the demons approached the very front of the wall, a sinister red aura suddenly rose from the ground in front of the wall—and a horribly twisted siege tower sprouted from the ground like a growing tree.

‘Living’ siege towers made of bone, flesh, skin, and blood vessels formed at various points along the front of the wall.

Faces protruding from various places let out terrible screams, and demon soldiers climbing the blood-soaked, twisted siege tower stairs from the underworld were targeting the wall when—

—BOOOOOM!!!!

With a thunderous sound, green and red pillars suddenly struck down from the sky, and from within those pillars—beings that Camille could never have imagined revealed themselves.