Episode 109:
Frontline fortress, Fort Endeavor.
A towering fortress stood like an isolated island right in front of the Great Forest, its reputation ominous enough that anyone born and raised in the Grandis Kingdom would have heard of it at least once.
"The den of the most heinous criminals."
"Every day is a crossroads of life and death. More dead than alive."
"Endeavor County? You mean Endeavor is a County? I know that there's a hell named Endeavor."
Of course, as with rumors, they were often exaggerated. In reality, the Endeavor Fortress in its normal state was a place where the most monster byproducts were produced on the continent, and skilled mercenaries gathered for a big job.
It was not an exaggeration to say that it was the main source of income for the Grandis Kingdom, a resource that sustained lives.
Given its nature, the men of the Endeavor family born and raised there had lived each day with pride, brushing off the rumors and living their lives diligently.
"Die!"
Fwoosh—!
However, the current state of Endeavor Fortress was so brutal that the rumors seemed to have been diminished even further.
All around were piles of corpses yet to be cleared away. The battlefield was already covered in green and flesh-colored mounds. The walls were painted a dark red, almost black, from the thick layer of blood that had been slathered on.
—Aaaah!
The battlefield was still a river of blood that hadn't yet cooled down.
A mixture of human screams and orc battle cries filled the air, along with the clash of weapons, creating a cacophony that engulfed the land.
"Philion!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"Dispatch reinforcements from the east gate! We need support!"
"Your Highness, there are no more reinforcements to send! We've already sent all the troops to the north gate!"
Dawson Endeavor, the head of the Endeavor family who had ruled this land for generations and was also the master of the Endeavor Fortress, had a rugged face that was even more fearsome due to the scars.
"Philion! Then I'll personally go to the east gate! I'll hand over command for now!"
"No, Your Highness. I'd rather go."
"Just shut up and command! We don't even have time to argue!"
Handing over command to his son, Dawson, who was unbelievably swift, moved at a pace that was hard to believe and dashed under the walls toward the east gate. The orcs blocking his way were decapitated by his massive axe.
Thwack! Thud!
"Get out of the way!"
With a lion's roar, he turned the orcs into a mess.
Even the soldiers fighting alongside Dawson hurriedly cleared a path for him, taken aback by his overwhelming presence.
Suddenly, Dawson arrived at the east gate, which had almost been captured by the orcs.
Looking up at the wall that had been captured to about half, he frowned deeply.
His gaze was fixed on the bodies of the soldiers and mercenaries he had fought with for many years, lying in piles. Their cold corpses were hardly recognizable, not even retaining their original forms.
"Hmph, you fools. I told you to hold on for a little longer."
Contrary to his words, his eyes were moist with an indescribable emotion.
The soldiers near the east gate, who had finally realized Dawson's arrival, visibly rallied their spirits.
"His Excellency has come! Put a little more effort!"
Dawson was a powerhouse.
Not only due to his imposing size, but his combat experience and magical power, sharpened through countless battles, made him unmatched except against an Aura master.
Seeing Dawson's appearance, the orcs who had almost captured the east gate were now facing crisis.
After all, the war had been going on for a considerable amount of time, and they were now realizing the danger posed by Dawson.
"Did you have some fun? Well, now it's our turn."
Dawson's axe flew.
His agility was beyond belief, and in an instant, he overcame five orcs and removed the ladders leaning against the walls one by one.
—Khhm!
A particularly imposing orc stood before Dawson.
This orc warrior was larger by about two heads compared to an average orc.
Swaang!
As the orc swung its greatsword, Dawson parried it with his axe.
The sound of their clash created a massive shockwave, as if a spell had been cast.
Dawson's golden aura clashed with the orc warrior's red aura, creating a sparks-flying collision.
"Get lost! I don't have time to deal with the likes of you!"
A battle that would be indistinguishable in size was quickly brought to an end by Dawson's finesse.
Dawson slightly angled the axe he held with both hands, deflecting the orc warrior's greatsword. With a swift twist of his body, he evaded the attack and struck the orc warrior's chin with his elbow, causing the orc's jaw to shatter as it stumbled backward.
Boom!
Crunch!
The staggering orc warrior was finished off by Dawson's subsequent axe strike, which shattered its head and brought it to its knees.
"Your Excellency Endeavor! An orc warrior is trying to open the east gate!"
"Don't just talk, move, you useless bunch!"
The intense battle continued for some time.
In the end, Dawson, who managed to protect the east gate with great difficulty, surveyed his surroundings while soothing the newly acquired scars on his face.
'Jack, Cooper, Daniel, Joseph...'
So many soldiers had died.
Some of the bodies were so mutilated that their identities couldn't be confirmed, and Dawson didn't even know who they were.
"Your Excellency!"
From a distance, Dawson's son, Philion Endeavor, rushed over with a face covered in blood.
"I told you to command, and this is the result?"
"I didn't need to command. I had to do whatever I could with one hand. After all, we managed to hold them off, didn't we?"
"And the enemies?"
"They're retreating. It seems today's battle is over."
"Hmph, still, we can't let our guard down. They're more sinister than we thought."
Wiping the blood off his axe, Dawson called over one of the soldiers.
"Confirm the identities of the bodies as much as possible and cremate them. We need to clean up before an epidemic breaks out."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
Dawson, who now felt exhausted, wondered if he could endure any longer.
Reinforcements had been cut off three days ago.
In contrast, the enemy's attacks were becoming more relentless with each passing moment.
'The problem is that the Orc Lord hasn't personally shown up yet.'
Are they conserving their strength?
Dawson didn't know the reason, but at least for the exhausted Endeavor Fortress, the fact that the enemy wasn't giving it their all was akin to a message of despair.
"Your Excellency, there's a message that arrived on the way."
"A message?"
"It's from Vayatra Fortress."
Philion's words were enough to catch not only Dawson's attention, but also the soldiers around him. Vayatra Fortress was a rear base that provided reinforcements. Given that it was news from there, expectations were high.
"Speak."
"Reinforcements are coming to Endeavor Fortress."
The moment that sentence ended, the soldiers began to cheer in relief.
Dawson also attempted to smile in delight for the first time in a while, but when he noticed the strange expression on Philion's face, he raised an eyebrow.
"Reinforcements are always welcome, why the strange expression?"
"Well... the thing is, the reinforcements consist of only two people."
"What did you say?"
For a moment, Dawson and the soldiers strained their heads, thinking they might have misheard.
However, no matter how much they thought about it, there was no other way to interpret the content.
"Am I hearing correctly? Only two?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Sighs mixed with the sound of soldiers sitting down resonated here and there.
Disappointment filled the air to the point that it would have been better if they hadn't heard the news.
"But it's not that bad either. One of the reinforcements is none other than Luna Pendragon."
"Luna Pendragon? Luna? Hmm... Ah! She's Eve Millennium's daughter!"
Luna Pendragon was a powerhouse who could match up to a winner in a fight she couldn't win.
It was certainly good news, but considering that wars couldn't ignore the difference in numbers, it was a bit of a letdown.
'I wish a necromancer had come, even if they were a bit weaker than a black mage...'
Among the absolute powers on the battlefield, necromancers were one of them.
However, necromancers were extremely rare and seldom revealed their true identities.
While Luna was known for her reputation as a black mage, it was still a bit disappointing.
The soldiers also found some solace upon hearing Luna Pendragon's name, but their morale couldn't rise to the point of jubilation.
"These darn guys! Are you just going to sit there? Will those green monster guys retreat if you keep sitting? Move, quickly!"
At the words of the valiant warrior fighting alongside them, the soldiers reluctantly found their tasks and left. But Dawson could tell from the atmosphere that this news was far from good.
'I hope Luna Pendragon is as strong as the rumors say.'
The mention of two reinforcements had already disappeared from their minds.
.
.
.
.
Luna and I politely declined Sean's offer to rest and immediately headed to Endeavor Fortress, where the Orc Lord's main force was stationed.
Arriving late at night at Endeavor Fortress in a carriage provided by Sean, the scenery was almost fortunate due to the darkness.
"It's quite dire."
Outside the fortress, the corpses that hadn't been dealt with yet were piling up like a mountain. Knowing how crucial corpse disposal was in the aftermath of battles, it could be seen as a sign of how urgent the situation was.
'They've been overwhelmed to the point of not being able to handle the corpses.'
Leaving behind some of the already decaying bodies, we quietly entered the rear gate of the fortress.
"Welcome, I'm Vice Commander Philion Endeavor."
As we got off the carriage, a man approached and greeted us succinctly.
His gaze was focused on Luna, most likely because Luna's reputation extended even here.
"Luna! Just Luna!"
"Barry Sanders."
Luna and I each provided our aliases and followed Philion's guidance into the lord's residence.
He mentioned that they were in the middle of a late meal and invited us to join them, so we accepted to inquire about the current situation.
"I'm Dawson Endeavor. You can sit wherever you like."
Upon entering the dining hall, we could see several people enjoying their meals, including the Count of the place.
We gave our aliases again and took any available seats.
Naturally, their gazes were all directed at Luna.
It was hard to tell whether they were amazed by Luna's appearance or if they were simply in awe of encountering a famous person.
'Now that I think about it, I've never met him in the game.'
Whenever I had business to do in the Great Forest, there was a convenient path from Vayatra Fortress, so I didn't have to go too far. Besides, I didn't recall there being a fortress named Endeavor.
"First of all, I want to express my gratitude for coming to provide reinforcements. As much as you contribute to the victory, I'll cooperate and report to my superiors to ensure you receive appropriate rewards."
After the exchange of pleasantries, I immediately asked a question.
"I saw on my way here that the situation didn't look good. How's the current situation?"
"To be honest, it's a very difficult situation. Frankly, when we heard that you were coming to help, I almost burst out in anger. We're in a situation where our numbers are lacking. Moreover, the problem is that the enemy isn't giving it their all. Not even the Orc Lord, but even the chief-level Orcs are just watching from the back."
I wonder how they resolved this situation in the game.
The fact that I don't remember Endeavor Fortress might mean that it was already taken by the Orcs around this time.
'Grandis Kingdom is a kingdom I don't really need to pay much attention to.'
Of course, I knew about the major events, but I didn't know the details.
I only learned about the existence of the Orc Lord now, which was quite obvious.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
While having a conversation over dinner, we felt a commotion outside.
The staff officers and commanders in the dining hall also sensed something and turned their gazes toward the entrance.
Knock, knock.
"Your Highness, I have urgent news."
"Come in!"
One soldier rushed in, clearly out of breath, and quickly knelt down on one knee.
"No need for formalities, just report."
"Your Highness! Orcs are approaching the fortress right now."
"What? But why hasn't the emergency bell rung?"
"Well, the thing is, only about 10 Orcs are approaching."
"10 Orcs?"
A voice filled with doubt echoed.
And the soldier's immediate explanation plunged the dining hall into confusion.
"It's the Orc Lord and chief-level Orcs."