Chapter 398

It was a monster.

A colossal monstrosity, nearly reaching the height of the city walls.

It was the giant summoned by the messenger.

A being that exuded immense pressure just by being seen from afar.

Even the Holy Soldiers, who had been valiantly crushing the undead army, were so shocked and horrified upon witnessing the giant that their eyes widened.

If it had been just that, it might have been fine.

The problem was.

That the giant began a terrifying stone-throwing attack towards the castle.

The giant simply picked up boulders the size of houses and threw them as if they were pebbles.

An action that felt like a light, casual act.

But it wasn’t so for the humans on the receiving end.

*CRRRRAAAAAASH!*

“Aaaaargh!”

“Kuaaaargh!”

The rock, flying like an arrow, directly destroyed a group of Holy Soldiers.

Yes, destruction.

Even though they were heavily armored Holy Soldiers, upon colliding with the large, powerfully thrown rock, they were miserably turned into bloody messes.

However, that was only the beginning.

*CRRRRAAAAAASH!*

“Kuaaaaargh!”

*CRRRRAAAAAASH!*

“Krooooargh!”

Rocks continued to fly, and each time, Holy Soldiers became gruesome piles of blood.

That meant the iron-tight defense was wavering.

Cracks had already begun to appear in various parts of the city wall.

The undead army, not missing those cracks, pushed forward.

“S-Stop them!”

“Absolutely do not let them up! Absolutely!”

“Push them back somehow!”

Desperate shouts were heard from here and there.

Everyone knew.

If that giant was left alone, the city wall would eventually be breached.

Grant, the commander, naturally realized that too.

However.

“Tsk.”

He couldn’t come up with a sharp countermeasure.

It was almost impossible to attack a giant far away, so it was natural.

To attack that giant, they had to open the city gates and rush out.

But that meant abandoning the overwhelming advantage of the terrain and fighting a disadvantageous field battle on a plain teeming with enemies.

That was why he couldn’t make a decision.

It was then.

“We will go, Commander!”

An old magician from the Tower of Light said to Grant.

Grant’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean by that?”

“We can approach and attack him with flight magic.”

“But it will be dangerous.”

“Danger is a matter of course. Anyway, if we can’t do anything about that monster, this place is finished. We must eliminate that monster as soon as possible.”

“That’s right, Commander! We must crush that monster immediately!”

“Leave it to us!”

Other magicians also spoke with determined eyes.

Grant, feeling their will, became solemn.

Their statuses and positions were different, but their will to win this war was all the same.

To respond to that will, he had to make the best decision for victory here.

“Understood. I wish you good luck.”

Grant said, saluting the magicians who had volunteered for the dangerous mission as a sign of respect.

The magicians also nodded firmly.

Soon, the magicians launched themselves from the city wall in unison with flight magic.

* * *

The giant soon spotted the approaching humans.

Though, in the giant’s eyes, they probably looked like nothing more than a swarm of flies.

“Kro?”

However, the giant’s target soon shifted to the annoying swarm of flies buzzing around.

Perhaps it felt like a bothersome mosquito.

The giant immediately picked up a rock and threw it mercilessly at the magicians.

*WHOOOOOOSH!*

A roar like a storm.

The magicians’ faces turned pale.

“Huuuuh?!”

“D-Dodge!”

The magicians moved with all their might to dodge the rock.

However.

Unfortunately, there were those whose reactions were too slow.

The rock was already almost upon them.

“S-Shield! Shield!”

“Shield! Shield! Shield!”

The magicians, in their desperation and urgency, cast as many overlapping shield spells as they could.

However.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The sound of shields shattering futilely was heard in succession.

The power of the rock thrown by the giant was not something that a mere shield spell could withstand.

Eventually, all the shields broke.

*CRRRRAAAAAACK!*

A bloodcurdling roar.

The magicians, unable to even utter a final scream, became unrecognizable masses of blood and died instantly.

“N-Noooooo!”

“Y-You baaaaastard!”

The magicians’ eyes turned red with anger and resentment.

But they did not lose their reason.

Because they knew that no matter what, defeating that monster was their absolute mission.

“Let’s not let their sacrifice be in vain!”

The old magician’s shout.

The magicians who heard that shout rushed towards the giant with determined faces.

“Kruuu?”

The giant threw another large rock as if annoyed, but it couldn’t stop them.

The magicians, undeterred even after losing comrades again, rushed towards the giant.

And finally, they approached the giant’s vicinity.

Within the effective range of magic.

“Shining Blast!”

“Shining Arrow!”

“Shining Field!”

Various light spells poured down on the giant.

The giant instinctively swung its limbs wildly, but it couldn’t block all the pouring magic.

*Boom! Bang! Boooom!*

Light magic that exploded upon impact.

“Kwoooar!”

No matter how durable the giant was, it couldn’t remain unscathed from the magic pouring down from all sides, and it let out a scream-like roar as its body staggered.

A light of hope appeared on the magicians’ faces.

“I-It’s working!”

“The legs! Concentrate your attacks on the legs and knock it down!”

“Die, you monster!”

A continuous bombardment of magic.

Yet, the giant did not fall easily.

But it clearly seemed flustered and pushed into a defensive position.

“Tsk, it’s all good, but it has no brain, no brain.”

The messenger who was watching clicked his tongue.

Considering its overwhelming physique, it should have crushed those magicians in an instant, but because it lacked intelligence, it couldn’t utilize that physique properly.

It was the only disappointing point.

But it was alright.

For now.

“Hmph.”

Watching Natasha, who had begun to move, the messenger smirked.

Dark Elf Natasha.

The organization’s best swordsman.

Now that she had moved, the outcome of the battle before them was as good as decided.

* * *

“Hmm?”

It was the old magician who first spotted the approaching Natasha.

A light of caution appeared in the old magician’s eyes.

Because there was a high probability that it was a new enemy.

“Everyone…”

It was when the old magician was about to warn the other magicians.

*Tap.*

Natasha’s right hand grasped the hilt of her staff-sword.

Not just any sword.

The legendary famous sword of the Dark Elf tribe, the Formless Sword.

*Shring.*

The Formless Sword was drawn and swung in an instant.

But the magicians saw nothing.

Because it was a sword with an invisible blade.

However, if one had ears, one couldn’t help but hear it.

*SWIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!*

A sharp sound, as if the air itself was being torn.

The magicians’ faces were filled with confusion.

That was the last of it.

*Slice! Slice! Slice!*

As if by agreement, the magicians’ bodies were dismembered.

Faces filled only with confusion, as if they hadn’t realized anything until the very end.

Along with those faces, the dismembered bodies fell.

Bright red blood splattered like rain.

*Thud, thud, thud!*

Natasha, showered in that blood, sheathed her Formless Sword again.

“Hehe, as expected, you are amazing.”

The messenger grinned, baring his teeth.

However, Natasha replied with an indifferent face.

“Prepare.”

“For what?”

“Because the enemies will rush out of the city gate.”

* * *

“…”

Grant’s expression, standing on the East Gate wall, was heavy and solemn.

Because he had witnessed the noble deaths of the magicians who had sacrificed everything to defeat the giant.

A sacrifice that must be remembered forever.

But the result was failure.

It was a moment when, as a commander, he had no choice but to make a cold judgment.

Now, there were two choices left.

Either open the city gate and rush out to defeat the giant somehow, or abandon the city wall and retreat.

However, retreat did not exist in Grant’s mind.

Abandoning the city wall meant the city wall would be breached.

And the city wall being breached meant the Holy City would fall.

For the sake of everyone, he could not abandon the city wall until the very end.

Even if only one last person remained, he would fight to the end.

“Everyone, listen!”

Grant’s lion’s roar.

Everyone felt that it was a roar filled with tragic resolve.

“Remember the great sacrifice of the magicians who tried to defeat the giant for everyone! They tried to protect everyone. It was only for that one thing!”

“…”

A sense of solemnity also pervaded the expressions of the Holy Knights and Holy Soldiers.

They were feeling it too.

“It’s the same for us! We are the glorious army of God! An army with the grave duty of protecting this Holy City! We will defend this city wall until the very end! To do that, we must defeat that hateful giant! We will defeat the giant!”

Grant’s shout echoed everywhere.

“Holy Knights! Holy Soldiers! From now on, we will open the city gate and charge towards the giant! We will cut down the enemy, clear a path, and surely defeat the giant! I will stand at the forefront! Fight until the very, very end! to Cut down even one more enemy! That is for God, our families, and everyone!”

As soon as Grant’s words ended, the Holy Knights and Holy Soldiers let out roars until their throats were sore.

“Uooooooh, let’s kill the giant!”

“Let’s kill that giant bastard!”

“For God!”

“For our families!”

“For everyone!”

“Until the very, very end!”

It was clearly a desperate moment, but the humans’ morale, on the contrary, soared to its peak.

Something that couldn’t be explained by mere religious faith.

Something fundamentally inherent in humans had manifested.

“Open the city gate! Everyone, charge!”

The humans’ tragic final charge began at the East Gate.

* * *

North Gate.

It was the same there; one giant had appeared.

However.

The large rock fiercely thrown by the giant was not harming anyone.

Because of the ice wall.

An incredibly huge and thick ice wall that felt like an iceberg.

The one who created it was Elaine, the master of fire and water.

Having been asked by Max via letter to defend the North Gate, she was performing brilliantly there.

“Kruuuuuu!”

The giant, enraged that the rock it threw was futilely blocked, threw rocks even more frantically.

However.

*Clang! Thwack! Thwack!*

Those rocks also violently collided with the ice wall and bounced off.

“M-Master!”

“A-Are you alright?”

Magicians approached Elaine.

Because they were worried.

“I’m fine, so please focus on the other side.”

Elaine deliberately spoke calmly.

Though she didn’t feel that way inside.

In fact, although that rock had tremendous power, it was certainly possible to block it.

The problem was.

‘I have to defeat the giant…’

She herself could probably do it.

She was confident of that.

But to do so, she had to release the ice wall.

And if she released the ice wall, it was clear that her allies would suffer enormous damage.

That was why she was agonizing over it inwardly.

What on earth should I do?

It was when Elaine’s eyes wavered.

“Need me?”

A peculiar tone of voice suddenly heard.

It was also a familiar tone.

Elaine’s expression brightened at once.

“R-Riviera!”

“Need?”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

“Roger.”

Riviera’s head nodded slightly.

And she shot out of the city wall like an arrow.

A smile of relief formed on Elaine’s lips.

The North Gate was facing a different fate than the East Gate.