"Better one lives to tell the tale than all perish! Run, kid!"
Jupiter implored the last of her companions.
"I'll use my magic to hold them off, use that chance to escape!"
The young mercenary, tears streaming down his face, positioned his lance and cried out.
"How can that work? Our best bet is to hold out until reinforcements arrive!"
"What?"
"You're a sorceress, old woman!"
The young mercenary, brandishing his lance, struck a Living Armor charging from afar.
"Rule number two of mercenary survival! Always stick close to your ally wizard!"
"..."
"With no warhorse to make a quick escape, relying on your magic to clear the way is our only hope!"
The young mercenary kept holding off the Living Armors with his lance and yelled.
"Just prepare for the next spell, I'll keep them at bay!"
-Thunk! Thunk!
His strategy was working.
Rather than killing the Living Armors, he was pushing them away, keeping a safe distance with his lance.
Once knocked down, the heavily armored creatures took time to rise.
Additionally, from the distant city walls, Damien was providing supporting fire.
His arrows sent the Living Armors tumbling one after another.
If Jupiter were at her full strength, this would have bought them sufficient time.
But her injuries were slowing down her magic accumulation.
By the time she barely managed to summon a single bolt of lightning,
-Thud! Thud-thud!
The young mercenary stalling for time had been impaled by the monsters' spears.
"Argh...!"
"Damn it!"
-Crack-!
-Boom!
Jupiter thrust her arm forward. A lightning bolt crashed down, reducing the Living Armors in the vicinity to charred rubble.
"Huff, huff..."
Gasping for breath, Jupiter, arm still outstretched, glanced over her shoulder.
"Cough, choke."
The young mercenary was prostrate, blood seeping from his wounds.
Could she have saved him if her magic had been a few seconds quicker?
Jupiter shrugged off the useless guilt. She was too old to bear the burden of every life lost.
"Hey, kid."
"..."
"What's the first rule of mercenary survival?"
With trembling, blood-stained lips, the young mercenary mumbled.
"Don't... take... jobs that pay... too well..."
"..."
"Ah, mother..."
Those were his final words. The young mercenary died with his eyes wide open.
Jupiter lifted her gaze. Beyond the scorched remnants of the Living Armors, more of them were charging.
A bitter smile curled the corners of the veteran mercenary's mouth.
"All your survival rules were off, lad."
-Fizz, fizz...!
A feeble magic gathered at Jupiter's fingertips.
"You'll never make it big as a mercenary with that mindset."
The magic was not enough to cast. Turning the last of her magic into a lightning bolt, Jupiter coiled it around her fist.
"To strike it rich as a mercenary! To earn fame and respect!"
Her fist darted forward, a swift body blow to the Living Armor.
"To take on only the most perilous jobs that pay a mountain of gold!"
-Bam-!
The Living Armor struck by her lightning-charged punch shattered into fragments.
"To keep as far away as you can from your fellow mages! Because!"
-Bam! Bam! Kaboom-!
With a relentless barrage of punches, she swept away the Living Armors, lightning erupting from each blow.
"Because the mages will hog all the glory!"
Jupiter's laughter echoed around her as the sparks finally flickered and died on her fingertips. She had drained the last dregs of her magical power.
"Most of all... If you wished to live, you shouldn't have picked the mercenary life in the first place."
The vanquished Living Armors, now just scattered metal dust, fell behind her, replaced by a new wave of the metal monsters.
Nonchalantly, Jupiter pulled a cigar from her pocket, placing it between her lips. Too drained to summon even a spark of lightning to light it, she simply wore a lopsided grin, the unlit cigar perched in her mouth.
"Ah~ Thought I'd get to taste the sweet honey of a high salary..."
-Groooaaar!
Beasts roared out from every direction. Jupiter closed her eyes.
"So this is where my journey ends."
But then...
-Clip-clop, clip-clop-!
The rhythmic sound of horse hooves broke the silence.
"Huh?"
Surprised, Jupiter turned to see,
"Hold tight."
Lucas, mounted on a horse, right behind her.
-Thump!
With his left hand, Lucas hoisted Jupiter up by her collar. At the same moment, he swung his right hand, his sword carving a long, horizontal arc.
-Zzzing-!
Struck by Lucas' sword, the Living Armors ignited with a crimson fire and disintegrated.
Casually, Lucas deposited Jupiter, who he'd scooped up with his left hand, behind his saddle.
Caught off guard, Jupiter could only stare at Lucas, who responded with a nonchalant command.
"Keep a firm grip."
"Wha, what..."
"Hya!"
With a swift turn, Lucas directed his horse back towards the city.
-Grooooar!
-Grrrooooaar!
The Living Armors behind them hurled spears in a frenzied rage.
Unruffled, Lucas brandished his sword, deflecting each incoming spear.
Watching the shattered spears raining down behind her, Jupiter found her voice again.
"Hey, young knight."
"What is it?"
"Do you fancy meeting my granddaughter sometime? She's a charming lady..."
"If you have time for jests, focus on regaining your magical strength."
Lucas shot back icily, then spurred his horse onwards.
"There's a horde of monsters still to deal with."
"Hehe..."
Despite his kindness towards his Lord, Lucas was as cold as ice when he was absent.
Nevertheless, Jupiter expressed her gratitude.
"I owe you my life, thank you."
"There's no need for thanks. I was merely executing His Majesty's command."
Lucas hesitated for a moment before forcing out the next words.
"But... I apologize for not reaching you earlier."
The other members of Jupiter's party were all dead.
These mercenaries weren't mere cannon fodder. They were the warriors who were meant to stand guard over this fortress in the days to come.
Yet, due to a cascading series of unfortunate events, they had met a bleak fate.
"Time for regret is after we've exterminated these monsters..."
Jupiter cast a look over her shoulder.
Before her surged a sea of Living Armors, and amidst them, the colossal form of the Phantom Knight floated in the air.
From her single eye, a bright spark danced as she glared at her adversaries.
"It's been a while since I've been this ticked off..."
***
From a distance, Lucas returned safely after having rescued Jupiter on horseback.
"...Phew."
I let out a sigh, mingling relief and regret.
Rescuing Jupiter, an SR rank wizard, was indeed a significant victory.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, we'd lost four heroes who were of immense value to us.
'I leaned too heavily on my experience in the game.'
While the game's rules held some sway here, this place was a harsh reality.
All kinds of unpredictable elements that one wouldn't concern oneself with in a game were coming into play.
'Just the appearance of the boss is enough to strike terror in the soldiers.'
Sure, in games, you had to manage morale, and there were status ailments like fear and confusion, but in real life, reactions were far more nuanced and varied. I could never have anticipated that even the warhorses would succumb to fear.
'I need to account for the real-world variables.'
With a slight bite of my lower lip, I lifted my gaze.
'And that too is a reality distinct from the game, a consequence of this being the real world.'
My gaze drifted towards the fortress wall.
-Thud, Thud, Thud...
Slowly, the wooden outer wall was giving way.
Not under the assault of the Living Armors. Rather, it was due to our own crossfire.
As the intense volleys whizzed past it, sparks ignited, setting the wooden wall ablaze.
The fire started small but was gradually gaining momentum.
It served to incinerate the nearby Living Armors, but ultimately, it was causing the outer wall to crumble.
'If the outer wall falls, the kill zone will soon be rendered useless.'
Living Armors were streaming through the gaping holes in the wall.
They no longer needed to pass through the killing field of our crossfire, and thus, our kill zone was slowly losing its strategic value.
-Roar!
-Roar!
The savage cries of the Living Armors echoed across the battlefield.
Damien and the Ballista units were felling the monsters as they advanced, but it wouldn't be long before they reached the fortress wall.
"It seems we're destined for a wall-to-wall fight after all."
I clenched my teeth in frustration.
My strategy had been to conclude this stage with ranged attacks alone, avoiding close combat as far as possible.
We had only about five hundred men.
Most of them were either veterans past their prime or raw recruits.
In the brutal melee of close combat, our casualties would multiply rapidly.
That's why I had hoped to avoid it if at all possible.
'Still, we've managed to deal them a substantial blow.'
My eyes flicked to the enemy information screen.
[Enemy Info - STAGE 1]
- Lv.25 Phantom Knight: 1
- Lv.5 Living Armor Assault Troop: 277 Units (Kill Counts: 775)
The enemy ranks had dwindled to just under 300.
Before the clamor of close combat began, we could continue to thin their numbers with a rain of ranged attacks. This meant the actual count we'd have to face in hand-to-hand battle would be even less.
'It's within our grasp.'
This battlefield was still mine to command!
Just then, Lucas and Jupiter made their way onto the city walls, fresh from their foray through the city gate.
"Your Highness. Jupiter... the lady is safe."
Lucas grudgingly tacked on the title "lady" to Jupiter's name.
For someone fallen from grace, it felt awkward, but it was prudent to respect a wizard's dignity.
"I have returned, Your Highness."
Jupiter offered me a brief bow. The blood from the wound she'd taken when she was thrown from her horse was seeping into her weathered brow.
"Jupiter. I'm relieved to see you're safe."
"I am remorseful, Your Highness. This old woman faltered."
Jupiter lightly touched the wound on her forehead, staining her leather gloves with the fresh blood.
"The loss of my team is on me. Those poor young souls met a pointless end. It's a heartbreaking reality."
"We couldn't have predicted the sudden appearance of that monster, nor the panic among the horses. You are not to blame."
The fact that her team consisted of hero characters had at least ensured Jupiter's protection.
The loss was grievous, but that sacrifice had preserved a cornerstone of our power—a magician.
"No, I should have been better prepared given my years and battlefield experience. The fault is mine."
Jupiter clenched her blood-stained glove into a fist.
"So... I will rectify this."
Jupiter's remaining eye was locked onto the boss monster suspended in the sky.
The Phantom Knight.
The chief enemy of this stage and the leader of the Living Armors.
"I will most certainly take that damned creature's head."
"First, you need to rest, Jupiter."
My gaze shifted beyond the wall.
"We will require your strength imminently."
-Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The Living Armors were thundering across the open field.
I called to the cannon unit.
"The kill zone has served its purpose! Hold fire!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers, their bodies slick with sweat, stopped manning the cannons.
"Damien, you take a break too."
I patted Damien on the shoulder, who had been tirelessly firing his crossbow.
"Ha... Ha... Ha!"
Damien, who had been letting loose arrow after arrow, turned to me, his face pale. His overworked arms were trembling.
"But, they're still advancing..."
"We have a larger prey for you."
I, who had gently grasped his shoulder, gave him a quiet nod.
"Rest and gather your strength. Understand?"
"...Yes, Your Highness."
Damien set down his crossbow, and my gaze was drawn back to the battlefield.
-Growl!
Unbeknownst to me, the Living Armors had already reached the foot of the wall, right at the edge of the moat.