Chapter 165: For the Empire
The Narvik Gate was peaceful to an extre.
On top of the walls that bordered the Uncharted Area, the guards did not neglect their watch.
Under normal circumstances, they would have idled the ti away appropriately, but the knights stationed below were the problem.
A full twenty knights ard in plate armor.
There was not the slightest sign of disorder.
“Che, does it even make sense to stir up this much trouble just to catch the Hand of Liberation or whatever it is?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I thought it was an urban legend, but I guess it was real.”
The Uncharted Area had been lawless from the start.
Whatever happened outside the Empire’s territory was naturally sothing to ignore.
Yet out of nowhere, the knight order had appeared, claiming they would root out traitors.
It was unprecedented, and Narvik had been abuzz, but no major incident had occurred so far.
“I really don’t know what His Majesty the Emperor is thinking.”
“Shh! Please keep it down! They’ll hear you below.”
“So what if they do? It’s not like I insulted him.”
The knight order did not treat the residents cruelly, but they were not a presence to be welcod with open arms either.
Public order was not unstable to begin with.
And every knight held at least the rank of baronet.
On top of that, they possessed the power to slice through steel as if it were tofu.
From a commoner’s perspective, they could not help but be intimidating.
“Hasn’t it been almost a week? How long are they going to stay like that… Tsk.”
“They must have their reasons. How would commoners like us know what those above are thinking?”
“You’re sothing else. Fine. How long until the shift change?”
At the veteran’s words, the junior guard checked the ti.
1:52 PM.
It was about ti for the relief guards to arrive.
“Eight minutes until the hour.”
“Yeah? Let’s head down.”
“The knight order is holding their ground below—will it be alright?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. They won’t make a fuss over sothing like this.”
The veteran guard stretched and moved toward the stairs.
The junior guard gave the Uncharted Area one last sweep to check for anything unusual.
“Huh……?”
At the far end of the flat, sprawling grassland—
Dots he had never seen before were visible.
“What is that…….”
Hearing the absent-minded mutter, the veteran guard lifted his head.
“What is it. Why aren’t you coming down?”
“T-there, look over there…….”
The dots appearing at the edge of the plains were people.
Well over a hundred of them were running this way.
Word must have spread that for the ti being, the knight order would not allow entry into the city—so why?
That question followed, but the veteran guard was quick in judgnt.
“Tess! It’s an ergency! Ring the bell!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
While the junior guard moved to ring the alarm bell, the veteran peered closely ahead.
Why were hundreds of people running?
The answer ca quickly.
“They’re driving monsters this way.”
If the adventurers were a flock of sheep, then the one chasing from behind was a wolf.
A Lich was trying to cross over toward Narvik.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
The bell signaling an ergency rang out urgently.
Between the peals, a guard shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Ergency! Ergeeency! A monster is coming!”
The guard unit was thrown into chaos.
A monster that had forced hundreds to retreat.
For the sake of blocking that unidentified monster, troops began to gather.
Robin was distracted by the Lich chasing from behind.
It was clearly within range to cast magic, yet the creature rely followed in silence.
It was welco news for the adventurers, but no one felt relieved.
When an opponent remained unexpectedly quiet, it usually ant it was hiding sothing.
“Robin, it’s not far now.”
Aelin inford him that she had spotted the Narvik Gate.
Robin’s current position was at the very rear of the adventurer procession.
The distant walls in sight were proof that they had truly drawn close to the city.
“By now, the guards must have noticed.”
“We should hope they inform the knight order.”
The Narvik guard unit would not be of much help.
They needed knights.
A great many would have to step forward—enough to surround the Lich and attack simultaneously.
“At this rate, we’ll arrive in about thirty minutes.”
“That is, if it doesn’t start pouring magic down on us before then.”
Sigbard glanced back.
The distance from the Lich was roughly fifty ters.
It did not close the gap any further.
“What magic do you think it hasn’t shown us yet?”
Aelin, Serena, and Robin only shrugged.
Nothing ca to mind.
Whatever it was, it would not be light.
“I’ll say this again—if it starts attacking, get away from .”
“Understood.”
After repeating the warning, he focused on running.
Thus, thirty minutes passed, and by the ti they reached the front of the gate—
“We’re s-saved!”
“That’s it! We made it!”
“To think we made it this far, did the gods help us?”
The adventurers at the front cheered.
Though relief at surviving lay beneath their voices, it was too early to rejoice.
The gate was, as expected, closed.
“Open the gate! Open it!”
“Can’t you see the Lich chasing us?!”
They shouted loudly enough that it could not be ignored, but there was no response.
The guard unit filling the top of the wall remained silent.
Robin gradually slowed and drifted away from the group.
“Why isn’t it attacking? Is it scared now that our numbers have grown?”
He hurled a provocation at the Lich, but there was no reply.
It was good that it had not attacked until now.
But now, it needed to unleash sothing.
To draw out the knights waiting beyond the wall, a clear threat was necessary.
Adventurers pounding on the gate, and the Lich staring silently.
After a brief standoff, it was Robin who moved first.
“Perhaps it needs a taste of Holy Water to co to its senses.”
Fighting Spirit extended from his sword and aid at the Lich.
Though it was blocked by black smoke, the creature finally turned its gaze toward Robin.
A hood drawn low over a shadowed skull.
From that expressionless being, an inexplicable confidence could be felt.
Crack. Craaack.
Suddenly, the ground dried as though struck by a drought.
Centered on the Lich, the grass of the adow began to wither.
“Everyone, stay sharp! It’s starting!”
A few with keen eyes gave warning, and the adventurers heightened their tension.
They stopped pounding on the gate.
An imdiate and tangible threat was about to descend before their eyes.
Rumble—
The trembling of the earth gradually intensified, and pits were carved one by one.
Dozens of pits soon beca deep fissures, and from those cracks, sothing began to crawl up.
With a dull thud, what rose above the ground were white bones.
Skeletons made of bare bones without flesh climbed out onto the surface.
“…What a headache.”
Skeletons were not difficult Monsters.
In terms of combat strength, they were about on par with an adult man.
However, there were far too many of the ones rising from the ground.
One, ten, a hundred…….
The ones that kept climbing up without end seed likely to exceed a thousand.
Clack. Clack-clack.
On top of that, they were not empty-handed.
It was common enough for each of them to be gripping a weapon.
But it did not stop there—they had even equipped armor, and so of them were mounted on horses.
The horses, too, were far from normal animals, leaving behind only bare bones.
The reason ordinary Skeleton hordes were now fully equipped was the Lich.
Each ti black smoke brushed past a Skeleton, the moving bones transford into trained soldiers.
“Robin, it doesn’t look like it’s only targeting you.”
Serena tapped her own shoulder lightly with her staff.
Her usual languid deanor was nowhere to be seen.
With her eyes wide open and fixed on the front, fighting spirit flickered within them.
“I didn’t expect it to co out like this.”
“Think of it as fortunate. The risk has dropped drastically, hasn’t it?”
“Well… can we really say the danger has decreased?”
Originally, Robin had intended to make use of the fact that the Lich prioritized him.
He had planned to lure it out and draw the Knight Order with it, but perhaps it had noticed.
Instead of charging in directly, the Lich had created a legion.
And not just any legion—it was made up of Monsters stronger than ordinary soldiers.
The Adventurers were frightened at the sight of the countless Skeletons.
Especially the Copper-Ranked Adventurers, who were on the verge of panic.
“Th-this is insane. We’re all going to die.”
“How did I even make it this far…….”
Those who had crossed the Dangerous Area together with Robin were at least sowhat better off.
They were as precarious as a candle in the wind, yet the fla had not gone out.
“You idiots! If you’re not even going to fight, then get out!”
“Get out where? The city gate is closed!”
Sigbard barked at the Adventurers and then picked at his ear.
“Accept reality. The gate won’t open just because you stand around doing nothing.”
Aelin, having said her piece as well, stepped up beside Robin.
“They’re coming.”
The Skeleton legion charged forward.
With nearly a thousand of them rushing at once, the ground itself trembled from the vibration alone.
“We need to change the mood.”
As Serena raised her staff, a mass of rock crashed down upon the Skeletons.
Over a dozen stones fell from the sky, crushing them, and as their surfaces split apart, they took the shape of bears.
“Kuwooooh!”
Fitting their thunderous roar, the spirit’s forepaws were destructive.
Hope flickered in the eyes of the Copper-Ranked Adventurers.
They had been reminded that there was a Spirit Mage on their side.
“Yeah, even if we die, we’re not going down without a fight!”
“At least I’m taking one with !”
Serena’s Manifestation of spirits bolstered their morale.
Not only bear spirits, but wolves and even tiger-shaped spirits appeared one after another.
Each spirit was ferocious, yet they could not block all the Skeletons.
Boom!
Sigbard struck the ground with his rod, ripping up a mass of rock.
Like at skewered on a stick, the chunk of stone hung on the end of his rod as he hurled it at the Skeletons.
Two or three Skeletons were crushed beneath it, but Sigbard clicked his tongue.
“I tried to imitate it, but it’s not working so well.”
With those words, he leapt in a single bound and landed among the Skeletons.
As he swung his rod in the heart of the enemy ranks, the Skeleton horde was swept away.
Piiing!
An arrow pierced through the Skull of a Skeleton that had been aiming for Sigbard’s back.
Aelin began clearing out the stragglers around him.
“Don’t worry about your back and go.”
“You make it sound like I’m just going out for a stroll.”
“What choice do we have?”
Robin curled up one corner of his lips and charged.
The Silver-Ranked Adventurers followed right behind him.
“You bone bastards, crawl back into the ground!”
There was no prearranged plan or formation.
Even so, they did not hesitate to face the enemy.
The reason was simple.
The swordsman wielding twin blades had brought them this far.
If it had not been for that young Adventurer, they would have scattered and died without ever banding together.
So they followed.
The trust he had shown through actions rather than empty words was solid.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of weapons colliding.
Crunch.
The sound of bones breaking.
“Aaaagh!”
So t their fate.
“Die!”
The Adventurers’ desperate battle cries burst out sporadically.
Though quickly buried within the fierce fighting, their struggle for survival did not end.
From atop the city walls, the Guards and the Knight Order watched it all.
At the sight of humans standing against Monsters, each of them bit down on their lips.
All except one.
“Are we just going to keep watching?”
“Has the adjutant failed to understand his mission?”
“After them, it will be our turn.”
A knight ard from head to toe pleaded with the vice-captain.
Even now, he ant to open the city gate, but the vice-captain did not give the order.
“If there is a Rebel mixed among them, will you take responsibility?”
“That is…….”
When the adjutant could not continue, the vice-captain burst into laughter.
“You really are straightforward. That’s what I like about you.”
“Th-thank you…….”
“That’s why you remind
of the forr captain.”
At the ntion of the forr captain, the adjutant closed his mouth.
The vice-captain chuckled at the sight.
Realizing he was being teased, the adjutant finished what he had ant to say.
“Among the undead Monsters, the Lich is especially dangerous.”
“I know.”
“Protecting the weak is also a knight’s duty. It would be reasonable to join forces while the Adventurers still hold the advantage.”
“Very well.”
“Y-yes, sir……!”
The adjutant was slightly flustered by the vice-captain’s swift decision.
“Then how many troops shall we dispatch?”
“All of them.”
“All of them……?”
“Why? Didn’t you say we should hurry and help them?”
“Understood! I will carry out the order to deploy all forces!”
The knights nearby imdiately completed their preparations for battle.
The adjutant went down first to relay the order, and the vice-captain slowly stepped before the city gate.
It took five minutes for a hundred knights, aligned in ranks, to assemble.
“You’ve heard the briefing, haven’t you? Open the gate.”
The four Guards who had secured the gate silently pulled the pulley.
The massive iron gate slowly rose.
The adjutant spoke to the vice-captain.
“Thank you for listening to .”
“As you said, after them it will be our turn. We cannot simply stand by.”
“A wise decision, Sir Nelson.”
Nelson, the vice-captain of the Third Knight Order, put on his helt and shouted.
“For the Empire!”
Blue Aura surged from the knights’ swords.
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