The ergency bell rang, but no one who had already woken up was going back to sleep. Those who were still asleep had not yet stirred.
Everyone had stayed awake through the night. The news that the Gnoll group would return was what had kept them up.
And so, the monsters and beasts returned.
This ti, it was different.
The creatures charging from one side of the wasteland were not the sa as before. Among them, there were new, strange objects.
Two or three of the monsters carried long, strange objects at their sides.
They were "tools," long and with holes drilled through the middle.
Unlike before, they didn't just charge recklessly. This ti, there was a bit of order to their advance.
The creatures moved in clusters, and there were dozens of them.
Doichi, rembering his early days as a rcenary, estimated their numbers by using a thod taught to him by a forr military rcenary. He folded his fingers into a circle, then used that circle to count the number of gnoll creatures, estimating how many of these circles would fit into the total area.
"Twenty..."
Roughly twenty per circle, and it looked like there were about fifty circles in total.
Among the gnolls and hyenas, there were also ghoul-like creatures slithering in between.
It was an awful number. More than the day before. Even yesterday had been a nightmare.
Everything about this situation was horrifying, but the worst part was the long, hollow tools that the creatures were carrying.
"Ladders?"
Doichi muttered to himself.
He felt a chill run down his spine.
The gnolls had brought ladders.
The gnoll monsters used weapons, so it made sense that they could also use tools.
What was even more shocking was that the ladders appeared hastily made.
"They made ladders?"
No, wait, what the hell, did the gnolls really make ladders?
It seed certain now that there was soone behind this, soone pulling strings.
"Cultists."
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, a deeper sense of dread settled over him. The ladders were the imdiate concern.
Whether hastily thrown together or carefully crafted, if these ladders reached the top of the walls, then the quality of the ladder wouldn't matter anymore.
"Boiling oil!"
Doichi shouted reflexively.
"Would there really be such a thing?"
The village chief's shout echoed.
There were still so stones left to throw, but not enough to call it plenty. There were arrows too, but could they really defeat an army of what seed to be a thousand monsters with just that?
When they were huddled at the base of the walls, shooting would at least hit sothing.
But with only twenty archers?
They couldn't pour boiling oil like in a siege.
Should they gather so filth and pour that on them?
Would a bit of shit or piss make the gnoll or hyena beasts retreat?
It was an impossible thought.
If they could just hold out for another week, reinforcents would co, but could they hold?
'If only there were enough stones.'
What if all twenty archers and the villagers rushed in? Could they do sothing?
Once the stones were thrown, there wouldn't be any more ammunition, and using the villagers like troops in a lee fight would be like feeding rare steak to the Noll.
There was no way to quarry enough stones in a day, and there wasn't the manpower to do it.
They'd carry what they could, but it wouldn't be enough. They couldn't stop the enemy that way.
'Impossible.'
Once the ladders were placed, it would be over. The difference in numbers made it clear they wouldn't be able to stop them with just arrows and falling rocks.
Even if the cultist was behind this, and even if there were curses, how could they defend against that?
It would be a miracle if they didn't all collapse from exhaustion.
At the mont, Doichi himself didn't have any way to resist the curse.
This wasn't a scale that even a forr rcenary commander could handle, especially for a settlent like this.
Honestly, Doichi just wanted to run away.
The victory from yesterday had already faded from his mind.
The craftsman brought in to help build the walls had jokingly called them "Mad Enkrid Wall," but was it a joke now? There wouldn't even be a foundation to lay.
If things went on like this, this place would beco a gnoll colony nest. It would be their village. A village of gnolls—how absurd.
If a large-scale expeditionary force were organized, the gnoll village would be burned down in no ti.
But what about those who would die and lose everything in the anti?
Doichi had invested all his wealth and everything into this settlent. If he lost it, he'd be left with nothing. He'd have to pick up his sword and start over from the bottom again.
So, should he run away? Was that really the answer?
'If I run away, where would I even go?'
There was no place to go. If he fled with his rcenaries through the quarry, where would he go next?
Should he cross the border?
Would he even make it? A journey without preparation would be like signing his own death sentence.
But his experience as a rcenary told him that running might be his best chance at survival.
"Shit."
A curse slipped from his lips.
And then it happened.
"What's that guy's na again?"
"Doichi."
A voice murmured from the side.
The hero of last night, the mad squad leader with black hair and blue eyes.
The man who charged alone into the Noll horde and cut down their leader with a swift strike.
"Doichi, let's crack open the door."
It was Enkrid speaking.
Doichi's brows furrowed in frustration, his emotions churning like crashing waves. Beside him, Krais recited the prepared words in his crystal-clear voice.
"You haven't forgotten that the command is with my squad leader, right? You will follow orders, Captain of the Guard of the Frontier Village."
It was rely a recitation of what needed to be said, but the effect was undeniable.
Krais wasn't being arrogant or forceful in his tone.
But the timing was perfect.
There was no way out, was there? Seeing the situation, the numbers of ladders, the monsters—things were far worse than when they first arrived. And then, there were the cultists. What was their plan? What could they even do?
To sum it up: it was an escape route.
By relinquishing command, Doichi could evade the responsibility.
From Krais's perspective, Doichi might be a bit slow, but he was a good man.
'He'd be better off giving up now.'
The Captain of the Frontier Guard? What good was that title?
Would there be any benefit in holding onto such a role?
In the end, it was all a gamble. How many failed frontier villages had there been?
Given how tangled the situation was now, Krais thought he would've already looted the place with his rcenaries and made off with the spoils.
Honestly.
Of course, Krais couldn't do that.
If he did, a blade might fly towards him from Enkrid's hands or feet.
It was true, though. The squad leader was genuinely concerned about people.
But considering it made him a bit sick to think about. Enkrid always seed to pick the strangest things to focus on.
Look at him now—he was still at it.
It was right after the alarm bell rang.
", Luargarne, and Esther will go out."
"Where to?"
"Outside the walls."
This was what Enkrid said just after the alarm rang.
Krais had honestly wondered yesterday if Enkrid had gotten a blow to the head during the fight.
"You know we almost died yesterday, right?"
Enkrid nodded.
"Yeah, it was close."
Doesn't he care about his own life?
"Focus, Enkrid."
Just as Krais thought that, Enkrid spoke, and not wanting to be on the receiving end of another blow, Krais looked away.
"What if our luck is bad today?"
"Luargarne's with us."
"No matter how great Frog is, what makes Luargarne a knight? That's not right, is it?"
"No, it's not."
"Then it's dangerous."
"You know what to do. Find sothing useful."
Enkrid's words were clear and brief, signaling the end of the conversation. After that, Krais began to strategize on his own.
'A full-scale battle with just one human, Frog, and a leopard? What can the rest of us do?'
There would be support, of course.
'Maybe I can shoot arrows when the ti is right.'
Krais dismissed the fleeting thought and focused on what needed to be done right now.
"Then, I'll take command and say this: Open the gates."
Krais said, his voice firm.
By the ti he finished speaking, Enkrid, along with Luargarne and Esther, were already at the gates.
Krais could see them walking toward the gate, Esther trotting along behind them.
'Don't die, please.'
Krais silently prayed. If the squad leader died, it would be hard for him to survive too.
Krais didn't think Enkrid was a fool.
'He must have sothing planned.'
Even though it seed reckless, Krais trusted him. He rembered the back of Enkrid's figure, the one who had blocked him on the battlefield once before. They had barely survived then.
The Enkrid back then and the one now were incomparable.
It wasn't just about being promoted from squad leader to platoon leader. It was his skill that had grown. His dream of being a knight wasn't a joke anymore. He had gotten much stronger, more terrifyingly so.
"I told you to open it! Disobedience is punished by decapitation, Doichi Fullman!"
Krais's voice carried a new weight. The coercion wasn't there before, but now it was evident.
He wasn't a rcenary captain, nor was Enkrid. He was just a weak human, and so he had to rely on his power.
"...Yes, sir."
Doichi responded, the forr captain of the guard who had thrown away his duties.
"Cut the heads off those who refuse to obey."
Krais spoke to Doichi, though he didn't really expect him to decapitate anyone.
Of course, that wasn't going to happen.
With a loud creaking sound, the pulley system began to turn, and the wooden door slowly opened.
Enkrid, Luargarne, and Esther stepped out.
Unlike yesterday's reckless charge, today they were facing a more organized force: the Noll, hyenas, and a group of ghouls approaching from one side. Sowhere within, the cultists were probably hiding as well.
A force large enough to be called an army, yet only three stood in front of them.
Krais couldn't help but feel a dryness in his throat when he saw it. He swallowed hard, trying to hide it from others.
No matter what they did, he had to back them up.
"Bring all the archers you have."
He called for the archers.
"And gather stones around, ready to throw at any mont."
The villagers imdiately began moving in response to Kraiss's orders.
With the log barricades set up, they prepared to face the enemy once again.
Enkrid felt relieved that Kraiss was taking charge, freeing him from having to worry about the small details.
'If it weren't for the treasure, I would've been in real trouble.'
If it weren't for the map, Krais would never have co along on this mission.
Otherwise, Enkrid would have had to handle all the little leadership tasks himself.
Doichi Fullman, the one-eyed man with a glaive, had the expression of soone who had lost his nerve.
'He looks like the type who'd just struggle and die. That kind of face.'
It was a familiar expression — one Enkrid had seen many tis before.
After noting this, Enkrid pushed it from his mind. He focused instead on his sword, himself, and the new realizations he had gained.
It was ti for that.
As he stood before the wooden gate, his thoughts naturally drifted to the dream from the night before.
The conversation with the ferryman and his reaction, everything that had happened afterward, was still vivid in his mind.
"You've taken shortcuts," the ferryman had said.
There was no emotion in his words.
'It just happened,' Enkrid thought, speaking to himself in his mind.
Sohow, the ferryman understood.
Despite the calm waters, the boat rocked up and down, as if mirroring the ferryman's inner feelings.
The ferryman seed to think, How dare you? Take shortcuts? Play tricks like that?
Yet, Enkrid remained unbothered.
"The rules will bind you, and you'll waste ti regretting, but this is not the end."
The ferryman had recited so sort of verse, warning him, but Enkrid had rely nodded along.
He didn't quite understand what the ferryman ant, but what could he do? He was too focused on what lay ahead.
And so, the dream continued, spiraling into a nightmare.
He found himself trapped in a well, staring up at the moonlight shining above, unable to climb out, no matter how much he scratched at the walls.
He had scraped his nails raw in the dream, desperately trying to climb, but it was hopeless.
That was why he had been tossing and turning in his sleep.
"What kind of dream was it?"
Luargarne asked as the wooden door opened.
"It was a dream with a beautiful moon," Enkrid replied.
It wasn't an entirely false statent. The moonlight over the well had been beautiful. Even in the dream, it was enough to be intoxicating.
No alcohol was needed; the moonlight alone was enough.
"That doesn't sound like a nightmare."
"Does it not?"
The two exchanged a few casual words.
"Ahhh."
Esther let out a sound as the door opened. Enkrid glanced to the side and caught Esther's gaze.
"Can you help again today?" Enkrid asked.
Esther was no ordinary leopard, sothing Enkrid had already realized.
But what about him?
"Hooh."
He took a deep breath and reminded himself of what he had learned.
Ah, there was sothing else to check. He almost forgot.
"Luargarne."
"Speak."
"Show us your skill."
The provoked the Frog: how well would it fight? Enkrid reminded himself of a fact that might have been forgotten.
Grrr.
Luargarne's cheeks puffed up considerably.
"Alright, let's see it."
The Frog, the one who spoke, was the first to act. With a loud bang, it stomped the ground, sending dirt soaring into the air as it charged forward. The sight was incredibly reassuring.
It was curious, though.
How well could a provoked Frog really fight?
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