episode_0143

Marquis Ludwig and Richard’s plan was simple.

After quickly defeating only the skeleton snakes that can destroy the castle walls, they retreat and engage in a defensive battle.

The rotten sick and mixed remains that made up the main force of the enemy army had no means of climbing the walls, so it was calculated that a unilateral attack could reduce their numbers… Actually, it wasn’t that wrong.

The tomb predators may be a bit of a threat, but if they get stuck on the castle wall, the masters will come in and knock them off.

After a war of attrition… When the enemy was reduced enough to warrant an all-out war, the plan was to send out knights to attack and then return.

After listening to it, it seems like a method that could work… .

“What happened to end up like this?”

Looking at the current situation, it was definitely a failure.

Marquis Ludwig sucked the smoke from the cigarette deep into his lungs, as if he felt sick just thinking about it.

“Isn’t it obvious? The gate was not opened.”

A word spit out as if chewing.

With a bitter smile as if laughing at himself, the Marquis let out a long sigh into the air.

The smoke hit the ceiling and scattered in all directions.

“The number of troops deployed inside the walls was 4,000. Most of them were shooting arrows from the castle walls, and only two knights and fifty soldiers were in charge of the castle gate. I thought that since opening and closing the castle gate would be enough anyway, there would be no need for more numbers than that. After all, they… .”

The moment the retreating troops were caught in confusion by the tightly closed castle gate, the monsters rushed in fiercely… It is said that many people lost their lives.

In particular, the losses of the Seong Corps that held on from the front were enormous.

“No, does that make sense? What’s the point in closing the gate there?”

Once the outside troops are annihilated, there is no way for the inside to be safe, and unless the inside troops have betrayed the entire force, it is clear that they will be suppressed soon.

“Well. Was he so frightened that he lost his judgment at the sight of the monsters running wild, or was he instigated by someone… . It’s something we can’t figure out now. What is certain is that more people than expected joined in, and it took about ten minutes to subdue them all and open the gate.”

“That’s shit.”

Even though the 3rd Corps is a ragtag group compared to the 1st and 2nd Corps, the Imperial Army has gone as far as it can go.

“Prince Leopold tried to control the confusion somehow, but after he fell after being hit by a blind arrow from the castle wall, the confusion only grew.”

That injury on your shoulder, wasn’t it a monster, but an ally?

“… Wasn’t it Isabella’s doing?”

It would be enough to claim that the reason they didn’t open the castle gate was because they were panic-stricken cowards, and if arrows are fired on a large scale, there are bound to be one or two stray arrows.

Even if Leopold dies like that, he will be able to at least alleviate the criticism and suspicion that will come to him.

“I think so too… There is no evidence left. Those who committed the riots all committed suicide before they were captured.”

“Of course, that’s right. If you get caught, the only thing you can do is torture… . So, what happened after that?”

It is understandable that if you were hit in the back by your own troops, the loss of your troops would be large, but that alone cannot explain why the castle wall was destroyed.

“After retreating, we conducted a defensive battle as originally planned. Because of the ‘Whisperer’, the number of enemies increased as did the loss of allies… I was able to endure it somehow. For three days.”

three days

“On the first day, he raised a large number of corpses and disappeared. And three days later, hundreds of new monsters appeared… . With this place surrounded by monsters, he went around the area that became Muju Communist Mountain alone and collected the bodies.”

It’s definitely not a decision that can be made by a single monster.

As if reminiscing about that time, the Marquis continued speaking with deeply immersed eyes.

=====[Ludwig, three days ago]=====

A melee was in full swing.

Seven masters holding spears and swords were knocking down the tomb predators climbing the walls, and thousands of soldiers were shooting arrows and throwing bricks in a one-sided attack on the rotten sick.

The paladins who survived the first battle shot heavenly arrows toward the ground, and the priests gathered inside the castle prayed incessantly.

May the young blessings never end for the soldiers and knights.

“A fleshy body appears on the northern castle wall!”

fleshy fluid.

A large, irregularly shaped monster made up of sagging flesh, boils growing here and there, and slimy pus.

Originally, it was just a big monster and not a very threatening monster… The story changed during the siege.

A huge piece of meat wriggles and clings to the castle wall at an angle.

The body, which had been swaying like melted butter, gradually solidified, and in an instant, a ramp leading up to the castle wall was completed.

The monsters that created the entrance road begin to run up all at once.

“Monsters are coming!”

“Defeat the troops and deploy the knights! Anyway, only a few monsters can climb up at once!”

Marquis Ludwig shouted loudly.

“5 squad entered! Protect the walls! For the Empire!”

“For the Empire!”

Knights with swords drawn blocked the monsters that came up by stepping on the fleshy body.

Sword gods with a faint glow cut off the rotten limbs of the sick, and subsequent kicks made them fall to the bottom of the castle wall.

“Ahhhh!”

The knights who were hit by the whips wielded by the mixed remains fell backwards and fell with a scream.

Other knights rushed into the gap and cut off the guy’s legs.

Five or six sword bodies rush towards the falling monster.

To cut him to pieces until he dies.

“Flocheta!”

Ludwig shouted, pointing at the fleshy fluid.

“I’m really crazy! If it wasn’t just for research expenses!”

The high-ranking wizard, Flohetta, grumbled hysterically and gathered magical energy.

Sweat was pouring down from my entire body due to the extreme consumption of magical power, but I still had energy left.

She raised her arms.

Above the head of the fleshy body, enormous magical power gathers like a whirlpool.

“Take out the knights! Right now!”

“Everyone retreat! High-ranking magic is coming!”

The knights of the 5th squad quickly pulled out.

It was a short battle, but four people lost their lives during it.

Flocheta watched the knights retreat and lowered his raised arm.

A waterfall of flames pours down from the air.

Fierce flames covered the monster’s back.

The entire body of the fleshy fluid began to burn in an instant.

The monsters that were on top of it too.

“Gaaa!”

The thing screamed and struggled, tearing itself away from the castle wall.

The lump of fire rolling around on the ground crushed and burned the surrounding monsters.

“This is incredible, this is high-level magic… !”

One knight let out an exclamation of admiration at the sight of a large monster and dozens of monster armies burning with a single hit of magic.

It seemed like he was the first knight to witness the magic unleashed by a high-ranking wizard.

“You can’t use it twice now, so deal with it on your own from now on!”

Flohetta shouted at the knights and started throwing fireballs at the other monsters again.

Although magical energy was falling at a rapid rate, there were endless enemies to burn.

‘As expected, was it right to choose Suseongjeon? I think this is enough to last me.’

Ludwig looked at the situation and muttered to himself.

The imperial army was attacking almost one-sidedly.

Excluding the fleshy fluid, there were almost no monsters with proper siege capabilities.

At most, a few monsters fell while trying to climb the castle wall.

There were not only advantages.

As long as we were attacking from the top of the castle wall, the only means of attack here were miracles from paladins, arrows from soldiers, and magic.

Miracles and magic certainly worked against them, but arrows did little damage.

It was said that the priest’s blessing nullified the regeneration itself, but unlike the sword, it was difficult to neutralize them with the soldiers’ arrows.

Except for those lucky enough to cut off limbs, most monsters were still moving even with dozens of arrows stuck in them.

Rather, dialysis was more effective.

Still, it was possible to stop their advance, and the number of monsters was reduced considerably.

The conviction that if things continued like this they would eventually win was passing through everyone’s minds.

” Gentlemen! Fight without fear! Their attacks will not reach us, so we will win in the end!”

Leopold repeatedly encouraged his soldiers while raising the sword in his left hand.

Even though the injury on his right shoulder had not yet healed, he stood upright on the castle wall without even caring about the pain.

Morale, which had been low due to the damage from the first battle, was recovering again.

At that moment, the whisperer appeared again.

With what looked like 300 to 400 rotten sick people.

—-

Everyone was speechless.

Since it hadn’t been seen once since the first day, everyone had overlooked its existence.

The fact that there were almost no corpses left for the bastard to resurrect at the point when the battle was entered also played a role.

But I never thought they would recruit troops from outside.

It was a simple strategy, but no one expected a monster or something to have such judgment.

You can’t blame me for letting my guard down.

It was the first time even for the members of the Elfinel Church who had subdued numerous monsters.

From inside the tattered black robes, a bony arm protruded and pointed towards the castle wall.

Newly recruited monsters joined the forces surrounding the castle walls.

The soldiers are noisy.

Morale, which had soared, was falling again.

“Don’t panic! The number of enemies has increased slightly, but they still can’t attack us!”

Ludwig shouted in an attempt to somehow calm the soldiers, but he was also sighing internally.

‘Replenishment of troops at this time. Even we can’t stop it… ! How many times will something like that be possible in the future?’

I might have been able to deal with it just this once, but if it happened a second or third time, it would be over.

Physical strength, magical power, and even sexual power are not infinite. The same goes for food and arrows.

In the end, they will slowly wither and die here, waiting for the rescue army to arrive.

Even if the relief army came, since it was clear that it was the army of the 3rd prince, the 1st prince’s faction would be finished.

‘Now that it’s like this, there’s nothing we can do… ‘I guess I’ll have to organize a guerrilla force.’

Marquis Ludwig’s face hardened and he approached Leopold.

This was no longer a situation that could be resolved just by staying in the castle and fighting.

We had to definitely reduce their numbers, even if it meant engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Open the gate and send out some troops to engage in combat, then return them before they reach their limit.

Originally, this was an operation to be carried out when the number of enemies was sufficiently reduced, but it could not be helped.

The sacrifice would be much greater than expected, but it was better than being saved by the Third Prince.

‘Treat the troops brought back through the priests, and alternately deploy other troops while they rest… .’

That moment,

A sound like thunder rang out, as if mocking Marquis Ludwig, who was in the midst of his worries.

Everyone’s eyes turned towards the east.

And then, they screamed in unison.

An earthquake out of nowhere shakes the earth.

As if a lightning bolt rose from the ground and struck, deep cracks were engraved here and there on the castle walls, causing them to split apart.

“El Pinel… !”

Before anyone’s lament even ended.

With a loud noise, the entire eastern wall collapsed.

An explosion that felt like hundreds of lightning bolts striking at the same time.

I couldn’t even hear the screams of the people involved.

The shattered rocks collide with each other and throw themselves toward the ground.

The people on top of the castle wall waved their arms and legs and it fell like rain.

There were even people who were crushed between the rubble and exploded in the air.

The knights and soldiers who had fallen to the ground were piled up, half crushed, and the remains of the castle wall fell on their heads once again.

When the dust that seemed to cover the sky cleared, there was not a single living person there.

Beyond the hill of rubble, a skeleton snake leapt out and let out a long roar.

===============

“Like that, we lost over a thousand soldiers and dozens of knights in an instant… Even Lord Daniel.”

Ludwig muttered as if he was sighing.

“Daniel?”

“1 He was one of the masters of the prince’s faction. After all, we were fighting in the middle of the castle walls.”

Does this mean that a master-level knight is also dead?

Well, since it doesn’t have wings, it’s natural that it would be crushed to death if the castle wall collapses.

“But, seeing as the other walls are still intact, how did they manage to capture it?”

“We were almost wiped out. The other masters were scattered here and there. If it weren’t for Sir Gerard’s sacrifice, the other castle walls would have been lost as well. Sir Gerard, the master knight closest to the Skeleton Snake, clung to its body and chased it to the basement… Neither of them came back. It was truly an honorable end. May Elfinel lead him to heaven.”

Marquis Ludwig made the sign of the cross.

Even for the Marquis, who was not a devout believer, the knight’s fighting spirit seemed to have been quite impressive.

So in the end, we lost two masters?

“Two master knights are dead, so even if I win now, I’ll be criticized.”

“It’s better than losing… . Anyway, that’s the end of my story. After that, all we had to do was build a defense line on the collapsed castle wall and hold on. They also attacked endlessly, repeating attacks, retreats, and reinforcements.”

Marquis Ludwig put out his finished cigarette in the ashtray and stood up.

“If you’ve had enough rest, let’s go outside. I also have to check the situation.”

I also threw my cigarette in the ashtray and left the room with the Marquis.

I’ve had enough rest, and I’ve heard enough about how things ended up like this… Now I have to think about how to win.