A nervous air spread across Pialu. This type of atmosphere was expected considering that today could be Pialu’s last day. An army of monsters was coming, and the only hope they could cling to was Zich’s solution that Lyla refused to even explain. If the situation hadn’t been so grave and Zich wasn’t a Karuwiman Holy Knight, they both would have been chased away while being showered with curses that they were lunatics. Yet, in the end, Pialu accepted Zich’s suggestion. Not everyone agreed and from time to time, some people burst out in frustration, but they couldn’t change their plans at this point. Soon, people simply strengthened their resolve.
Not long afterward, they saw dark shadows appearing from far away. They were very small at first, but as time passed, the shadows grew bigger. As these shadows wiggled and lengthened, they seemed like vivacious monsters laughing at them with their tongues hanging out.
“They’ve come.” The commander looked beyond the castle walls solemnly and stared. The soldiers near him gulped. The situation they had ardently wished for not to happen was approaching.
“Ready the soldiers and let the mercenaries know.”
“Yes!”
The next commander in line gave out orders to the soldiers near him. Yet, the commander-in-chief simply glared at the army of monsters from far away.
“Okay. Let’s give it a try,” he said. There was no place to back away to now. The commander gripped the handles of the sword hanging on his waist tightly.
* * *
There was a commotion above the castle walls. Soldiers holding spears stationed themselves in rows behind the battlement and archers nocked their arrows on their bows. Mercenaries held onto their weapons and made preparations while the mages and priests tightened their grip on their staffs. Moreover, those tasked with the most important mission of preventing the high-level monsters from reaching the castle walls also finished their preparations.
Lara gripped her sword tightly. The dark figures of the monsters grew clearer and closer; and the force of this army of monsters appeared to be stronger too.
“Gulp!” The soldier near her gulped. The sound of his gulping was so loud that it surprised him, and the soldier looked at his surroundings in surprise. In a way, it was a very funny scene, but no one was laughing. That was how nervous people felt, and Lara felt the same way. When she told Glen that she would also fight the high-level monsters, Glen’s response hadn’t been as pleasant as she expected. He expressed clear disapproval; in similar situations from before, he used to talk in a soft voice as if he was quelling a child, but he didn’t do that anymore. He simply spoke in a cold tone like he thought she was pathetic.
[You don’t have the skills.]
Then he looked disapprovingly at the sword on her waist. He still was displeased that Lara hadn’t changed the weapon of her choice from a sword to a shield. However, Lara didn’t back down.
[I still want to, and I don’t think my skills are as lacking as you say.]
Lara had never resisted so much before, so Glen looked considerably surprised. Following that, he said in a cold voice.
[Do what you want.]
From then on, Glen thoroughly ignored Lara’s presence and commenced his meeting while addressing only Chelsea and Pina. Lara also no longer felt the need to be in Glen’s room and left. Lara couldn’t immediately assume the role of fighting high-level monsters. Her current position was simply a member of Glen’s party, and it wasn’t as if she could ask the commander himself to let her fulfill the role. Yet, she had someone else to rely upon.
“Are you ready?” Hans stopped midway of wandering the castle walls and asked Lara. Although Hans was also just a member of Zich’s party, he was well-respected in the city because of his outstanding skills. With a recommendation from someone like that, the commander heeded her request to join the front-line fighters and Lara could join those fighting the high-level monsters. Lara knew that Glen’s relationship with Zich wasn’t good, so she didn’t know what Glen would think about her collaboration with Hans; she supposed he probably wouldn’t think well of it. Yet, Lara now felt more passion and excitement than she had ever felt in a while.
“I am done with my preparations.”
“As I told you before, you are strong. So, please have some confidence,” Hans said.
“Yes!” She didn’t realize how nice it was for another person to trust and believe in her. Lara smiled slightly as she nodded.
* * *
Kuoooooh! The ogre dashing from the front cried loudly. As if that was a signal, other monsters began screaming simultaneously. Although the monsters were still a distance away, the soldiers could feel their skin quaking. From the center of the army of monsters, the high-level monsters revealed themselves.
Kuaaaaah!
Kieeeeeeh!
These were sounds that could squeeze a person’s heart. These noises especially affected some soldiers and they lost their grip over their weapons before falling over. Only when their commanders showered insults at them did they grip their swords again and stand up. However, they couldn’t change the fear-stricken look in their pupils.
“Their numbers have decreased,” the commander-in-chief murmured, recalling the number of monsters Glen had mentioned to him before. Lyla’s use of the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls hadn’t been completely ineffective. Still, the number of monsters still posed a great threat to the city.
“Give them a signal.” The aide by his side commanded another soldier.
Da-thump! Da-thump! Da-thump! The sound of drums rang across the battlefield.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Hans and Lara jumped down the castle walls, and they weren’t the only ones. Many others also jumped down, each one of them Pialu’s most skilled fighter taking the role of fighting high-level monsters. Hans and Lara immediately dove into the army of monsters.
Sparkle! With a flash of light, an orc and a troll in the front were sliced into pieces. With another flash of light, an ogre from the back was sliced into two.
‘He really is amazing.’ While slicing monsters from behind, Lara stared at Hans’ fighting, impressed. It seemed clear to her now that Hans was stronger than Glen.
`Then how strong is the man named Zich who taught Hans swordsmanship?”
From the fighting she had witnessed before in battle, she knew Zich was an amazing fighter. But now, she thought she might have underestimated his strength. The two pierced through the group of monsters in an instant and arrived at a place where high-level monsters were gathered.
Bam! A titan stepped on the ground and seemed to cause an earthquake near their surroundings. Their shadows alone could be mistaken for mountains and their enormous sizes triggered fear in people’s hearts. Yet, Lara didn’t back down. She gripped her sword tightly and dashed forward.
* * *
Bam!
“Ugh!” Glen felt a strong shock climb up his arms as he blocked the basilisk’s tail with Tornium and frowned.
Spit! Poisonous venom shot out of the basilisk’s fang straight toward Glen like a fountain, but he quickly evaded it by moving his body to the side.
Chiiiiiick!
Kuacccck!
Kueeeeck!
The monsters hit by the venom screamed and melted. A sufficient amount of time had passed since the battle had started. To a certain extent, the people in Pialu were successfully defending the city. Ordinary soldiers used the city walls to push off any monsters climbing into the city, and the strongest fighters in Pialu expertly baited the monsters away from the city to prevent them from entering it.
‘They’ll soon reach the limit.’ The difference in power and numbers was too large, and the humans were slowly losing. No one knew when either side would fall. However, this was of no concern to Glen. ‘When the hell is he planning to initiate his counterplan?’ Glen couldn’t see a trace of Zich. ‘Well, even if the city collapses like this, it won’t be bad for me.’ However, there was one thing he found bothersome.
Crassh! A titan near him swung its giant fist. However, it ripped apart a monster close by and failed to kill its target.
Flash! The light from Estellade drew Glen and the Titan’s gaze, but Estellade’s light was not what annoyed Glen so much. Even though it was annoying as hell that this no-name punk was swinging Estellade, something else was even more annoying.
Bam! Glen saw Lara pair up with Hans and hit the Titan’s ankle. Glen tightened his grip on Tornium. When Lara told him that she wanted to face the high-level monsters, he felt an extreme amount of displeasure and a slight shock at her rebellious attitude. Therefore, he told her to just do whatever she wanted because, based on her personality, if she didn’t receive the commander’s permission, she would follow the commander’s decision.
However, he had no idea that she’d ask Zich’s subordinate to get a recommendation to fight the high-level monsters. This whole affair annoyed him to hell, and he gritted his teeth. Regardless of how much Lara Browning was acting outside his control in this timeline, she was his. Yet, she was acting however she wanted right now.
‘Now that I think about it, isn’t this the perfect opportunity?’ Wasn’t it a good idea to expel that Hans punk who was not included in any of his plans? Considering that Hans was a thief who stole his Estellade, he deserved to die. Death was also natural in a battle, and there were many ways to subtly kill him on the battlefield.
SSSSSckkk! Glen looked at the basilisk rushing towards him and slightly moved to the side.
Bam! Bam! Bam! While avoiding the basilisk that was frantically moving its body, Glen lashed out with his swings as if he was trying to retaliate. However, his swings were directed towards the other monsters and not the basilisk. After a few moments, many monsters started chasing after Glen. He secretly tried to push the monsters towards Hans. Thanks to his limitless experience, his movements were extremely subtle. Even though Lara could also die as a result, Glen didn’t care.
‘Lara is not going to become a proper person in this timeline anyway.’ Glen had a twisted thought that the only “proper” and correct way for Lara to exist was for her to act exactly like how he wanted her to be. However, this was not the only thing. Glen also thought, ‘I don’t need a woman who’s been tainted by another man!’
Bamm! Glen provoked another monster and moved his body back.
Kuaaaahhh!
Keuahhh!
The monsters frantically moved around in anger and desperately tried to find a target to unleash their rage at. The people they saw in front of them were Hans and Lara.
Bam! The behemoth rushed straight toward Hans and Lara with its enormous body, and they quickly moved away. A flash of light came from the basilisk after that. The titan and hydra also let out piercing shrieks and rushed towards Hans and Lara.
Lara’s complexion grew pale. No matter how skilled she was, it was natural that she would feel anxious about dealing with such fierce attacks from so many monsters.
“Are you all right?” Hans moved closer to Lara and asked, “If you think it’s too difficult, you can step back for now.”
“…Didn’t you tell me that I’d be able to do it?”
“Your skills are more than enough, but it’s not like I can help you with your mentality.”
“Fufu, yes, that’s true.” Lara’s face was still pale, but motivation returned to her eyes. “This is related to saving people.” She fixed her grip on the sword. “I can’t fall like this.”
“I also agree.”
Then, the two swung their swords at the monsters coming at them in all directions.
* * *
Glen had passed over many high-level monsters to Hans and Lara, and he was now fighting the monsters at a slight distance away from them.
Bam! A huge light beamed out. A great amount of mana exploded and made a loud sound—that was where Hans and Lara were. Glen slightly frowned and stared in their direction. ‘No way. They didn’t escape that, right?’ Glen didn’t feel happy that all his efforts would be in vain. Then, Glen saw something flying towards him.
Crash! The object let out all kinds of bright light and pierced the front of the ground that Glen was standing on. Glen knew right away what it was—there was no way he would forget it since it used to once be a sword that symbolized him.
‘Estellade!’ It was his sword that he had lost in this timeline, his precious sword that a thief had stolen from him. ‘Is he dead?’ If that was true, it would be great news. It would feel like a gift after so many annoying events that had happened recently. Without even thinking much about it, Glen threw down Tornium and then grabbed Estellade’s hilt. ‘It finally returned to me in the end!’
To Glen, it felt clear that he was fated to become a hero. Glen felt Estellade in his hand and put more strength into his arms.
Thud! “Hmm?” Shock and astonishment filled Glen’s eyes.