Chapter 29 – Roholon Defense Battle (2)

“Huff… Ugh, there’s no time to explain,” I gasped. “First, we need to… ugh— blegh… evacuate everyone. Every monster from the ruins and the plains is converging here. Spit! So please, hurry… ugh…”

Blood welled up in my throat, cutting off my words. Rubia, standing beside me, gently wiped my mouth with a handkerchief and pulled me into a soft embrace as my body trembled.

“All the monsters from the ruins and the plains…?”

“The horn that man used… cough… it draws all the monsters in the area to one place,” I managed between coughs. “And worse, it makes them go berserk… ugh…”

“I understand. You don’t have to explain anymore,” Rubia said softly. “So, we need to evacuate the villagers and prepare to defend the entrances, right?”

I could only nod in response.

“Since they’re coming from both entrances… we’ll have to block the gates and get the villagers to hide inside their homes.”

I nodded again, my throat too raw to speak.

Heinzel chimed in, his voice grim. “If the kid’s estimate is right… there’s probably close to 20,000 of those beasts heading our way.”

“Well, since we’re already screwed,” Luchi muttered, “I might as well take care of this myself.” He strode toward the villagers, raising his voice. “Hey! There are about 20,000 monsters heading here right now. You all just going to stand around like this?”

But the villagers only exchanged nervous glances, murmuring amongst themselves, making no move to act.

Luchi tried again. “And I need a lot of supplies right now—any merchants here willing to give me what I need? I’ll pay you generously.”

Still, there was no response from the crowd.

Watching this made my blood boil. Even Rubia, still holding me, sighed deeply, mirroring my frustration.

“Alright… I gave you a chance. You made your choice,” Luchi growled, wiping blood off his sword as he moved toward the villagers.

Sensing danger, Heinzel quickly grabbed Luchi’s shoulder. “Luchi. What the hell are you planning?”

“When words don’t work, this will,” Luchi replied coldly, raising his sword slightly.

Heinzel chuckled darkly. “Hah… This is insane.”

I could understand Luchi’s twisted logic. Time was ticking, and we couldn’t waste precious minutes trying to talk sense into everyone. Of course, things had escalated because of how messed up the situation was, but even if it hadn’t, these villagers would probably still think we were crazy.

Which meant…

I had to step in.

We had no choice but to force them into action.

A little scare should do it.

I’m known as the Red Beast that tears through monsters, so I should be able to intimidate them enough.

I downed another potion from my pocket, grimacing at the bitter taste. Then, freeing myself from Rubia’s hold, I grabbed my greatsword and followed Luchi.

If I can break one of those buildings, that should be enough of a demonstration…

I wasn’t sure if my current condition would allow me to pull it off, but if I could just knock down a pillar…

As I gripped the greatsword tightly, recalling the sensation of tearing down Hablon’s walls, Rubia’s hand on my arm stopped me.

“Noah. Wait.”

“Rubia… I don’t have a choice. If we don’t do this—”

“No, that’s not it,” she interrupted. “I’ll talk to them. It’ll be faster if I do it.”

Rubia walked past me, heading straight for Luchi with quick, confident steps. “Luchi. I’ll handle this. You and Heinzel just focus on getting ready for the battle.”

“You sure about that, Priestess? You think you can convince them?” Luchi asked, skepticism clear in his voice.

“I don’t like it, but we don’t have time to be picky. We’re in too deep now,” Rubia replied. She brushed off her hood and adopted a warm, slightly forced, but convincing tone as she approached the villagers.

“Hello, everyone. It’s been a while. I hope you’ve been well.”

The reaction was immediate.

“The… the Priestess?!”

“It’s the Priestess! She’s here!”

“A-Ah… Priestess! It’s good to see you again!”

As soon as Rubia revealed her face, the villagers knelt before her, bowing their heads. She then launched into an elegant speech, calmly explaining the situation.

I watched in awe. “Wow… Rubia… she’s amazing…”

“Turns out words can be stronger than swords,” Luchi admitted grudgingly.

Heinzel nodded. “At least this will speed things up. Kid, do you know which entrance the monsters will reach first?”

I focused, trying to sense the approaching hordes. “It’ll be the ruins side. The gnolls are faster, so they’ll hit the southern gate first.”

“The southern gate, huh?” Luchi mused. “I noticed quite a few adventurers in the village. What do you think about sending all of them to guard the east, while the three of us hold the south?”

Luchi glanced between Heinzel and me as he spoke.

“Just the three of us?” I asked, disbelief coloring my voice.

Luchi nodded firmly.

Heinzel, too, gave me a resolute nod.

“…There are more than 8,000 monsters, though.”

“8,000, huh…” Luchi said, a sly grin tugging at his lips. “Well, we’ll handle 3,000 each. You, the weakest, just need to kill 2,000.”

“Not a bad idea,” Heinzel added with a chuckle, giving me a teasing look.

The way they were casually tossing around numbers, as if killing thousands of monsters was no big deal, almost felt like a joke. But no matter how strong Heinzel and Luchi were, this was a situation where we’d have to risk our lives.

There was no way this would be easy.

And yet, the way they spoke… It was their way of steeling themselves, making a firm resolution.

So, I decided to play along.

“…I’ll kill 4,000,” I declared. “You two only need to kill 2,000 each. And don’t even think about outdoing me… or I won’t forgive you.”

“Kahaha! Sounds good,” Luchi laughed. “How about the loser buys breakfast tomorrow?”

Heinzel grinned. “That’s the best suggestion you’ve had in a while. I agree.”

I smirked. “If I win, you’re buying me all the jelly in the village. You guys head to the southern gate. I’ve got a few more things to gather.”

I turned my back on the two dark-haired warriors and walked over to Rubia, who was finishing up with the villagers.

“Rubia…!”

Hearing my voice, Rubia paused mid-conversation and turned toward me.

“How’s everything going…? Are you alright?”

She rubbed her arm nervously and sighed. “It’s all sorted. The villagers are going to give us whatever we need. Though, I can tell they’re putting a lot of trust in me… It feels heavy on my shoulders.”

Rubia’s eyes were filled with worry. “I don’t think they really understand the gravity of the situation yet. Which is understandable… but it still worries me.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that now,” I said, trying to reassure her. “As long as they stay inside their homes, they’ll be safe… How are the adventurers?”

“The innkeepers are waking all the adventurers up and bringing them to the plaza. The merchants are gathering the supplies we need there as well.”

“Good. Now, if you could just… bend down for a second?”

“Huh? Alright.” Rubia leaned forward slightly, confusion evident on her face.

I stood on my toes and whispered the list of supplies I needed directly into her ear, making sure to emphasize that it was a secret. It wasn’t really a big deal if the villagers found out, but I still preferred that they didn’t know—at least for now.

Rubia’s eyes widened in shock. “Did… did I hear that right?”

“Yes, you heard me right.”

“Y-you want all of that—wait, what…?” she stammered, her voice rising.

“Shh!” I quickly clamped my hands over her mouth. “I said it’s a secret!”

Damn it, Rubia! I literally just told you to keep it quiet!

“Mmmph! Mmph!” Rubia nodded, signaling that she understood, so I let go of her.

“Alright… I’ll get everything,” she said, still looking bewildered. “And you’re sure you want all of it?”

“Yes, and the more, the better. So get as much as you can.”

Rubia’s brow furrowed. “But… why only take that to the southern gate? Shouldn’t we split it between both sides…?” She trailed off, and then stopped, as if something clicked in her mind. “Noah… don’t tell me…”

I nodded grimly. “Yeah, you’re right. It’ll just be me, Heinzel, and Luchi holding the southern gate. So make sure those supplies go there. Oh, and bring 10 extra greatswords, plus an extra case of potions.”

“Only three of you…?” Rubia’s voice was sharp, filled with concern.

“Yes. You need to go to the western side and support the adventurers. If they work together, they should be able to hold the line. Also, remember that spell you used in the forest? The one that blocked the smell from spreading? Use that to keep the monsters from tracking us.”

Rubia’s hands, trembling now, gripped my shoulders tightly. “Don’t be ridiculous! How are you supposed to fight off that many monsters with just three people…! That’s impossible! Even with Luchi and Heinzel being platinum-ranked—”

I cut her off, my voice firm. “Rubia. Trust me. There’s no time to argue. Please, just do as I asked. We’re all going to meet up for breakfast after this, remember? The loser has to buy. And it’s definitely not going to be me, so you’d better get ready to eat all you want.”

Rubia’s hands shook even more as she gripped my shoulders, but I gently pried them away. “It’s going to be fine. So go on. And please, don’t forget the supplies.”

Without giving her a chance to protest, I turned my back to her and walked toward the southern gate.

Right after, I realized…

Wait… didn’t I just trigger a major death flag…?

“W-wait…! Noah, don’t—don’t say that…!”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“N-nothing…! Just be careful…”

***

At the southern gate, Luchi squinted into the darkness. “Hah… Even in the middle of the night, I can see those damn things charging at us like a pack of wild dogs.”

“Luchi, can you even see them with one eye?” Heinzel teased. “I thought your depth perception would be a problem.”

Luchi snorted. “Thanks to the radiant shine of your bald head, I can see just fine.”

Ignoring their pointless banter, I expanded my senses, reaching out to gauge the approaching horde. The vanguard consisted of six packs. Roughly 1,200 monsters.

“As expected, there are six groups,” I reported. “Are we sticking to the plan?”

“We have to,” Luchi replied grimly. “It’d be a waste to use them all up right now.”

Heinzel nodded. “A wise choice.”

Luchi drew his sword, the blade gleaming in the moonlight. Heinzel gripped his halberd tightly, its weight reassuring in his hands. I placed ten greatswords in the ground around me, ready for the fight ahead.

“Don’t lose count,” Luchi warned. “Especially you, Heinzel.”

Heinzel chuckled. “I’ll do my best to keep track this time. Though, is there no extra bonus for killing the leader?”

I shook my head. “If we added something like that, Heinzel would just get confused.”

“Kuhaha… Noah’s got a point,” Luchi laughed.

“Mmm… I suppose you’re right,” Heinzel conceded.

We all fell silent then, the gravity of the situation settling over us.

The gnolls’ savage howls echoed in the distance. The ground trembled beneath their footsteps. The air quivered with their bloodlust.

“Let’s finish this quickly,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear churning in my gut. “So we can enjoy breakfast with all our limbs intact.”

“Kuhahahaha! Now that’s the spirit!” Luchi roared.

I nodded, steeling myself for the battle to come. Then, I opened my eyes, my vision sharpening as I focused on the approaching horde.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

The target is a game character.

That’s right, I told myself. These are game characters. This isn’t real. It’s just a game.

So…

Don’t be afraid.

Just do what you’ve always done in the game.

You can do this.

As the first wave of gnolls came into view, I gripped my sword tighter, ready to face the onslaught.