62. retreat (1)

Why do all sorts of random thoughts always bother me when I wake up?

The soldier, Andre, leaned against the spear and let out a deep sigh. The mountain built up with the corpses of monsters was still burning, leaving behind embers. A pungent smell wafted through the no-man’s-land.

Andre was originally a regular soldier directly under the royal palace. When I heard that I would be dispatched to a no-man’s-land, I had no idea how serious the situation was or what a no-man’s-land was like. I just regret that I should have cared for the senior’s expression when I heard the news that he was going to be dispatched.

“Yeah… I ended up going to no man’s land.”

The senior was making an expression somewhere between laughter and sympathy.

“Goodbye.”

Andre couldn’t imagine that it would really be a look of sympathy toward him. Andre went to the no-man’s land among the thousands of soldiers. The way there was also not clear. The dense forests and rivers of the kingdom disappeared as they went east.

And the reality of the no-man’s land that appeared was much more bleak than Andre thought. After riding a horse for days on end, the only thing that caught my eye was stones and dust, and a city came out. Andre expected the vitality of the city and drinks after work, but the city he entered had become a supply depot.

And, the first battlefield I faced after leaving the city was a place where the word hell really fits. Someone said that it only kills monsters. It was probably what the superior who included him in the first dispatch said.

It’s just, it’s a simple thing, it’s just a fuss from the top, so don’t worry too much and get a bounty. Even if the number of monsters increased, there would be no threat to the kingdom.

And the bell that rang shortly after arriving at the border. Andre realized that something was wrong from then on. At the sound of the bell, the knight who was leading him and his companions immediately led them up the wall.

“Reinforcements stand behind the line and act on my orders.”

The knight’s words were overbearing. As if there was no need to introduce him, the knight immediately gave instructions to the soldiers. Separate platoons and point hands here and there.

“That way, support the oil pot.”

In the end, Andre took on the role of moving the oil pot, which is said to be the most difficult position in the siege warfare. Andre glanced at the pot standing proudly with a weighty presence.

“Damn it, an oil pot.”

“I don’t have any luck.”

“Still, it’s fortunate that there seem to be a lot of shifts.”

And, the laments of Andre and the platoon members were quickly erased by other factors.

“Don’t you think the ground is shaking?”

“earth?”

The crew members’ voices trembled with anxiety. Andre sneaked out of the ranks and looked outside the walls. Then, without realizing it, he screamed at the crowd of monsters.

“F*ck, what is that!!”

And, the battle follows the battle and even discipline. I almost got my throat cut by a werewolf while moving that goddamn cauldron. The comrades next to me died one by one. Maybe you knew then that people die easier than you think.

Andre got out of his thoughts and returned to the vigil.

“I’m sleepy, Sifal.”

Andre shook his head, swearing wildly. I couldn’t imagine what kind of punishment I would receive if I fell asleep while staying awake.

want to go home.

Andre muttered as he leaned against the window.

I will tell you that I am discharged. After this f*cking dispatch is over, we’ll get rid of the f*cking army and find something else.

Andre looked up at the sky.

The sky was brightening. Dawn was coming. It also meant that the time on duty would soon be over. Andre let out a sigh of relief. There’s no way there won’t be another group attack like yesterday.

“Are you sleepy, Andre?”

A knight on duty who was sneaking past asked Andre as he poked him in the back. Andre was startled and straightened his posture.

“Oh… no.”

“Stand upright.”

The knight gave a warning, then turned around and walked along the wall, kicking the buttocks of the dozing soldiers or stabbing them in the back of the head.

“F*ck, can’t you sleep?”

Andre cursed at the knight in a low voice, then leaned against the window again to face the dawn. Just be patient and wait…

thud.

is it a dream It feels like the ground is shaking. Andre looked at the wilderness with a dreamy expression. There, the ground was stained black with dark spots. that would be a dream too Those crowds of monsters, their violent and disgusting cries, must all be a dream.

And the ground shook violently again.

“It’s… it’s a monster.”

I can hear the muttering of someone standing guard next to Andre. The murmur gradually grew louder and turned into shouting.

“It’s a monster… It’s a monster…! It’s a monster!!”

Andre shouted in unison.

“It’s a monster!! It’s a monster attack!!”

All the soldiers started running diligently. A soldier ran to the bell tower of the watchtower and climbed the ladder. The knight on duty spat out swear words and gave orders to the soldiers.

“you! Run down to the barracks right now, wake up all the troops, and you, run to the barracks of the Marquis immediately.”

But, it was strange. Andre thought as he watched the monsters swarming from under the castle wall with fear-stricken eyes. Compared to yesterday’s air raid, the monsters were much more reckless and faster. And above all, a lot. There were far more monsters than the number of monsters that came during the previous air raid. The soldiers said in a terrified voice.

“Isn’t that too fast?”

“Yeah… No, wait. why are there so many A lot more than the last time?”

the ground vibrates It was shaking more violently than ever. It seemed as if all the monsters that existed on the other side of the cliff at the end were coming in droves.

“What are you doing! Don’t just watch, return to your position and get ready for defense!”

the knight shouted. soldiers ran Falls, arms get tangled and fall. It was an abyss. I’d rather say that the demons that line up under the wall are more orderly.

It’s getting closer. The running demons were ready to throw themselves at the wall. Andre continues to look down at the walls as he attaches himself to the soldiers carrying the oil pot.

The monsters that were speeding up like crazy hit the wall. It didn’t climb up, it literally crashed into it. Using its own body as a cannonball, the monster collided with the castle wall and collapsed into a clot of blood.

Puck, puck, puck.

The heads of the monsters burst out, spilling brains on the floor. Another corpse was piled on top of that corpse, and another corpse was piled on top of that. Every time the monsters crashed into the wall, I could feel the wall shaking.

“crazy! What are they doing!”

Andre’s legs trembled. The steps of the four soldiers holding onto the cauldron are unstable.

“It keeps crashing into the wall…we have to move it, come on!”

The place where there was a pulley that could lower the pot under the wall was quite far. The soldiers gritted their teeth and moved on.

“Gee, f*ck!”

One of the soldiers lost his balance and fell, swearing. The heavy pot crushed the fallen soldier’s leg.

“Quaaagh!”

“Hurry up, you bastards. what are you doing!”

A soldier with a broken leg was dragged out by a nearby senior soldier. The soldier screamed in pain every time he was dragged away, probably because his leg was broken. In the meantime, a soldier clung to the staggering pot and lifted it together.

A senior soldier holding a wounded soldier on his shoulder shouted in a hoarse voice to the soldiers who were moving the cauldron.

“Move faster! You can’t let them climb up the walls-“

uh?

In front of Andre’s eyes, the senior soldier’s head suddenly disappeared. The neck of the colleague who was being supported by the side also suddenly disappeared.

Like a statue without a head from the start, the two of them stood still in a supportive posture.

Drool.

The senior soldier’s neck rolled and landed on Andre’s feet.

“…F*ck.”

On top of the castle wall, there were monsters wheezing and breathing. With the head of the comrade he just blew up in his mouth, the lizard monster glared at the group of soldiers carrying the cauldron.

sh*t, sh*t.

Andre set the pot as it was.

“Hey, f*ck!”

“Where!”

Andre ran. He ran to get down the wall, letting go of his teammates and everything. The monsters that started climbing up the wall one by one began to bite the soldiers’ necks and hang down.

Deng, Deng, Deng, Deng.

The bell rang. With every step Andre took, the bell rang after him. The wall keeps shaking. After a short scream was heard from behind Andre, the shouts of the soldiers carrying the cauldron could not be heard. Andre ran even more in fear.

aww

On top of the wall where Andre was running, another monster’s fur-covered feet grabbed the edge of the wall. And suddenly, the black wolf’s huge head appeared over the castle wall.

oh

Miracles don’t happen this time. Andre realized. When he dies, a kaleidoscope flashes. I don’t know who said it, but Andre’s hair was instantly erased like a blank sheet of white paper. People, in the end, were devising to live until the last moment.

“want to go home.”

Andre spat that out. The wolf grinned and showed his teeth.

That was the last memory of soldier Andre.

—

The barracks were a mess with people running to and fro in confusion.

“What a bell! From the puppet dawn!”

“Dude… Hurry up and get your gear!”

The barracks with Maxim were no exception. The knights who were not yet awake from sleepiness were their swords, and the sound of iron clashing with iron could be heard from here and there in the barracks as they were preparing their equipment.

Maxim went outside.

The bell kept ringing. Madly, at an ever-faster pace. Maxim looked up at the castle wall. Were there really that many people up there? No, that wasn’t a human outline. Maxim saw the shadows of people bouncing in the air and the shadows of monsters blowing people into the air.

“Above the castle walls, demons have gone up.”

In a blank voice, one of the knights spoke.

“Was it on purpose to catch us off guard?”

“Don’t be a jerk, there’s no way a monster has that kind of intelligence.”

A Hexfed and a Fenrir were stirring on top of the wall. And taking advantage of the gap that caused great confusion in the defensive power on the wall, more and more monsters began to climb up the wall. Two knights on the wall clung to one Fenrir.

The knight, who could create an aura, cut down the monsters that came up and ran around. However, it was impossible for only a few people to plug the hole in the wire once pierced. When the knights cut down a monster, monsters climbed up from another empty location.

Just like that, the defense line built on top of the castle wall collapsed.

“this…”

“Run fast!! I can’t let that wall’s defenses collapse!!”

The knights and soldiers began a battle to regain the wall by cutting down the monsters that had crossed the wall. The knights cut down the monsters that descended like water flowing down the stairs of the castle wall.

“Too many…! Let’s go all at once ha…”

A huge shadow fell over the head of the knight who opened his mouth to ask for support. The knight died without even completing the request for support.

Demons flow backwards. More and more monsters filled the top of the castle wall. Knights and soldiers rushed to the support site.

A human figure falls under the castle wall. In that shadow, the shadows of the monsters with four legs intermittently fell. The cries of the monsters that were heard were so different from what I had heard before. There was an emotion embedded in that cry. Hatred. A deep hatred, as if crying out to the world, was felt in the cry.

The situation was strange. It was different from just a monster trying to climb the wall. Maxim looked at the shadows pouring down his face with a hardened face.

“Everybody go up to the castle!”

“Everyone, get ready for battle! Grab your weapons and go up!”

Paola ran to Maxim’s side.

“It’s a big deal.”

That short word summed it all up. Paola turned to Maxim and said.

“Let’s go…”

ridge.

The ground rumbled.

Maxime and Paola stopped in their seats. It was a different sound from the advance of the demons. And the epicenter was too close.

“…Damn it.”

A curse came out of Paola’s mouth. As Maxim started to run straight ahead, Paola grabbed Maxim by the shoulder.

“No, Maxim.”

“Senior Paola? but…”

“No… I have to step back…!”

Maxim looked at Paola as if he couldn’t understand. Then, the Marquis’ high-pitched cry came from behind.

“Retreat!!!”

At the more desperate cry than ever, the soldiers who ran forward came to a halt.

“Catch the kids running right now…! right now!!”

“What do you mean, Marquis Marquis..!”

A knight objected to the Marquis’ words.

“Don’t ask… Come on!!”

The knights hesitated.

thud.

I feel a huge vibration again. The soldiers who had been running back and forth began to stumble and bite their feet.

The walls of the castle were shaking.

And on top of the castle wall, something appeared. Maxim couldn’t see it properly. The creature’s instinctive fear was refusing to look at it squarely.

As if looking down at insignificant beings, the Behemoth looked down at the troops under the walls.

And in the next instant, a huge crack opened across the entire wall.

It was the day the walls of the no-man’s land, which was called the breath of the kingdom, collapsed.