As the battle approached, martial law was declared in the city, and the
residents stayed indoors.
Lucy, with her soldiers with arms reinforced by Anastasia, was at the north
gate as planned.
I was also near her, waiting for the right moment.
Finally, word came from the watchtower on the outer wall of the city.
"Report! Enemy monsters are advancing toward the north gate. Their
number is approximately 7,000!"
At these words, the commanders in the command post let out a groan.
"…S-seven thousand?"
"Does this mean that the enemy has allocated its full strength to assault us?"
The north gate had the most strength of the four main gates, but it was still
only around 800.
It was expected that the north gate would be the first to get clashed amongst
the heavily guarded four main gates, but receiving the news that they had to
hold out against nearly ten times as many enemies until reinforcements
arrived, they still couldn't help but shudder.
"Calm down, everyone! We'll call for reinforcements at the command right
away, so get into your respective positions!"
The most senior commander of the group announced, and somehow the
chaos that was brewing was averted.
As I followed Lucy back to my unit's post, I saw a hooded woman beside
Tilda. It was Anastasia.
"It looks like the mood is not good."
She spoke. She was still in a calm mood even though it was before the
decisive battle.
Her reason is that the Demon Race generally lived longer than humans, and
with that, the number of ordeals they had been through were greater, which
made them calmer in return when it comes to situations like this.
"Well, once the fight starts, you'll be motivated, even if you don't like it.
After all, there's no way out for you once you get there."
Krasland boasted the area's largest population and served as a beacon to
prevent monsters from attacking neighboring towns and villages. If you ar e
a ble to re ad this m ssag e, you are re din g from an unaut ho rized aggreg
ate site. Rea d at my Wo dPres at stabbi ng with a sy ringe. ho me. blo g to
supp ort me and my transla tion s.
Should this place fall, the entire surrounding area will be overrun by
monsters.
"For this one time, everyone will cooperate while putting down our
personal grudges temporarily… I see the enemy."
Peeking through the hollows in the outer wall, I saw a group of monsters
approaching, billowing clouds of dust and smoke.
"Though it is as we expected, the number of monsters is really
overwhelming now that we're seeing them personally. The vanguard seems
to be goblins as usual, but behind them are…humanoid beings?"
As Lucy was speaking, something glowed bluish-white at the far end of the
enemy group.
The first to see it was Anastasia, who also moved first and foremost.
"Everyone, get down! Offensive magic incoming!"
With those words, Tilda dragged me and Lucy, who were near the wall,
down.
The next moment, the outer wall was hit by an impact as if it had been hit
by a wrecking ball.
Simultaneously, a blast was created, and crushed pebbles rained down on
me as I fell.
"Guh, what is…that…"
I looked up and checked the condition of the exterior wall and was left
speechless.
I quickly turned back to Anastasia, who looked as if she was biting a bitter
bug.
After analyzing the situation, she came up with an answer that we had not
expected.
"Not many people can use this kind of long-range bombing magic. There's
no doubt about it. There's a Demon Race sorcerer amongst our enemies."
"Wait. You said that monsters of the Demon God have also turned hostile
towards the Demon Race. How are they still cooperating?!"
Anastasia shook her head at my question.
"I don't know. But what is confirmed is that our enemies right now are
those sorcerers."
I guess we have to trust the analysis of Anastasia, who is also of the same
speciality. But nothing has really changed except knowing that we are in a
very bad situation.
"The only long-range attacks the enemy has had so far have been stonethrowing. We have no countermeasures against magic bombardments like
this."
At this rate, the planned siege battle would be impossible. The city would
be destroyed along with its outer walls.
"Anastasia, can you prevent the magic we just saw?"
This is the only hope we have, but she looks at me with a complex
expression at my suggestion.
"I've used a good amount of mana to strengthen your armors and weapons.
Even if I try it, I can already predict that it won't last."
Anastasia, who seemed to have realized the power of her opponent with the
current blow, declared with frustration to me.
"In the meantime, we will send a message to the command post and the
headquarters. But even if reinforcements arrive, the result will be the same
unless we do something about the sorcerer."
At these words, I realized what Lucy was trying to say.
"The only way to win is to get rid of the sorcerer as soon as possible, huh?"
We can no longer win by being on the defensive. We must take a bold
strategy to turn the tables. Th is chap ter tra nsla tion is ma e poss ib le by
stabb in g wit h a sy rin ge tra nslat ions. check o nly up-to-dat e translat
ions on my Wor dpre ss si te.
Lucy gathered her vassals and began to explain her strategy.
"It's too late to make a detailed plan, so we'll do it in our usual way. We
will make a detour and launch an assault on the enemy's rear guard."
As soon as she finished, the bombing magic exploded again.
There was no time to fret.
"Let's go with that. Prepare to sortie immediately."
The vassals stood up after me.
The soldiers who had been waiting were bewildered by the sudden collapse
of the outer wall, but as soon as I told them of the plan, they stood up with
their weapons.
Relieved to see them not panicking, I checked my own equipment, putting
on a long sword at my waist.
It was then when Lucy arrived on horseback. She seems to have brought an
extra horse for me as well.
"The first line of goblins are already at the north gate. It's no longer
possible to use that gate as an exit."
"What are we going to do then?"
I mounted the horse she had brought with her and rode alongside.
Lucy then smiled as if she was not worried.
"I have spoken to the defense force. I'll have them knock down the old wall
a short distance away, to which we'll get out of there."
"Really? That's a plan I didn't see coming. What's surprising is that I totally
didn't expect the defense force would also agree to this plan."
Giving a wry smile, I was deeply moved to see Lucy, who now had the air
of a commander in her.
"If we fail here, that big hole we created will be enough for us to be courtmartialed."
"If we fail, there won't be any room left for a court-martial to happen,
Yuushin."
Chuckling at the un-joking words of our now-serious commander, we got
into position.
As usual, Tilda's platoon was in the lead, and Lucy was flanked by myself,
a few vassals, and this time, Anastasia.
When everything was sorted out, Lucy gave the signal at the same time as
the bombing magic was released again.
The sound of the explosions shook the air and almost tore my eardrums, but
Tilda, who was leading the charge, did not flinch and continued forward.
The other believers followed suit, and the entire unit launched.
We kept moving forward with the goblins attacking the north gate to their
side.
"Reporting! Some of our enemies have spotted us, but most are still with
their eyes at the gate!"
Lucy nodded at the vassal's report.
The goblins are slower than we are. And their responses are even slower
because of the big numbers.
As ordered, our unit went around to bypass the enemy.
On the way, we saw a strange group of goblins that make up the main force.
Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be rotting and mangled corpses.
Not only goblins and ogres but also human corpses.
""Is that ... a corpse in motion?"
Anastasia, who was standing beside me, muttered as her face contorted at
the creepy sight.
"The living dead… the magic bombardment… Oh, I finally get it."
"Anastasia, what did you find out?"
"The enemy general this time. It's a lich, an immortal sorcerer who has
been revived by the magic of the Demon God."