Far too many.
An overwhelming quantity.
As I observed the tsunami of rats surging towards the castle wall, I swallowed my dry saliva.
It felt as though I were standing on a seafront rather than a wall.
A seafront that was on the verge of being assaulted by a turbulent, rolling tide.
Squeak! Squeak!
The grey wave of beasts hurtled towards the castle wall and splintered upon impact, akin to a wave crashing against a sea barrier.
This was due to the concentrated barrage rained down from the wall.
"Fire!"
"Launch-!"
Soldiers, soaked in sweat, shouted continuously. Then, a deluge of cannonballs and arrows gushed outward.
Boom! Bang!
Thud, thud, thud!
The rats were consumed by explosions and skewered by arrows.
They were small and swift from a distance, making them challenging targets.
But as they approached the wall, our hit rate with cannons and arrows surged.
And that wasn't all. The barricades were denser around the castle wall.
The shards of the phantom knight's greatsword, which had been lodged in the wall and then extracted, played a substantial role.
The sight of rats slipping on the metal fragments and tumbling was quite something.
'Not bad, not bad, but...'
I moistened my parching lips with my tongue.
'We retreated the front line too quickly!'
The neutralization of the kill zone occurred too swiftly, and the rats crossed the plain to reach the wall too rapidly. Far faster than anticipated.
Even if the neutralization of the kill zone was unexpected, it was my error not to properly gauge the speed of these four-legged creatures. Damn it.
'Nonetheless, the defense is holding up.'
I scanned the wall.
Though the rat monsters arrived at the wall in an instant, the soldiers kept their cool and intercepted them individually, as trained.
Thanks to their experience from the previous stage and the inclusion of battle-hardened veterans, the situation remained manageable.
"Pull yourselves together, rookies! Put some backbone into it!"
"Don't exhaust yourselves too early! We've got hours to go! Go drink some water!"
"You're discouraged because you missed with that damn cannon? Even a net shot can push the monsters back! Keep firing!"
The veterans were doing a fantastic job coaching the young mercenaries.
Even without my issuing detailed commands, they were effectively combating the rats on their own.
And as for our party members.
"Left defensive line! The net is too low! What are you doing? Aim properly!"
Lucas was overseeing the front line.
While I managed the overall front line, Lucas issued detailed orders based on my directives.
Even when I, who was still unfamiliar with the mercenary techniques in this world, issued vague instructions, Lucas perfectly understood them and provided precise commands. What a proficient protagonist.
Clang!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Damien was picking off targets.
Slowly but surely, he was penetrating the heads of rats nearing the wall.
Damien's strength lies in long-range precision shooting, and while that skill becomes slightly less prominent in such a mass battle, it remains helpful.
Even diligent, steady kill counts mattered. Hang in there.
"Gravity Artifact Number One will be down in three minutes! Please prepare Gravity Artifact Number Two!"
Lilly was overseeing the gravity artifacts at the scene.
She raised her voice, bustling about; her actions seemed to declare, 'Look, I'm putting in the work.' But...
I'm sorry, Lilly. No matter how much you protest, if necessary, you need to be at the front line...
It appeared Lilly glanced at me with a desperate gaze, but I deliberately looked away, ignoring her.
Finally, in our main party, the last member was Jupiter.
"Wow~ everyone's working so hard."
"..."
She was lounging.
On the makeshift bed set up inside the fortress, she had stretched out her legs.
When told to rest and wait, she was indeed resting in absolute comfort. Is this her bedroom?
"Oh my, oh dear! My back aches when I try to gather magic power! Oh dear!"
When I shot her a reproachful glance, Jupiter pretended to be in pain and clutched her back.
"..."
I left without uttering a word. What can I say to such a precious magician... Damn.
"Pull your weight later, Jupiter."
"Of course!"
Jupiter, who winked with her single eye, started sipping a drink through a straw. I truly dislike this old woman...
In any case, thanks to the efforts of everyone but Jupiter, the front line was tight but well-maintained.
Thud-Thud-Thud-Thud!
Especially, the power of the automated turrets was unmatched.
Despite the drawbacks of swift ammunition consumption and lengthy reloading times.
They exhibited supreme power when activated. Low-level, weak creatures like rats could be entirely exterminated in hordes.
"Aww, so adorable, aww!"
I lovingly patted the automated turret that had entered its third reloading phase. Keep up the good work.
In front of the fort, the bodies of the rats piled up, forming a small hill.
I nodded, looking down at the horrifying yet satisfying sight.
'If it continues like this, we'll complete the stage with ease!'
Could we finally achieve a flawless victory?
Just when I was entertaining this peaceful thought, something occurred.
"...?!"
Something flickered at the edge of my vision.
Surprised, I redirected my gaze in that direction.
A man dressed like a bard with a conical hat stood there.
On the southern horizon, no doubt about it.
Standing motionless, he observed the fortress, the frontline where rats were charging.
'So, I wasn't hallucinating earlier?!'
I activated one of my traits, [Map Creation].
The traits I brought to this battle were [Attack Totem], [Defense Totem], and [Map Creation].
This was a trait I brought along to get a precise understanding of the battlefield when it gets chaotic, and I used it without hesitation now.
I had to find out who this mysterious figure was.
A sprawling dot map unfolded before my eyes. I scanned the spot where the man in the pointed hat, the bard, stood.
"!"
Typical monsters were denoted by a red diamond shape. Boss monsters were flagged with a red skull.
And the bard in the pointed hat... he was indicated by a red circle.
A circle represented an NPC character.
Red signified he was an enemy!
"Damn it."
Profanities spilled from my mouth without thinking.
I had finally pinned down who my adversary was.
'An antagonistic NPC intruding? At Stage 2?'
During the course of the stage, various events unfold. These variables brought life and excitement to the game.
Hostile NPC intrusion was one such event.
Whether it was an NPC from the dungeon beneath the lake or from another kingdom at odds with the empire, all sorts of jerks tried to obstruct the progression of the stage.
But now it was only Stage 2! It wasn't the time for such occurrences!
"Damien!"
There was no game director to question about the game design. I quickly called out to Damien.
Damien, who was loading the next bolt into his crossbow, promptly came to my side. I pointed towards the south with my hand.
"Do you see that man?!"
This time, Damien spotted him too. Damien nodded his head.
"Yes. Are you referring to the bard?"
"Shoot him! Now!"
"What?"
A puzzled Damien opened his mouth slightly.
"But he appears to be a person, not a monster..."
"That's not the point now! You need to shoot immediately!"
It was clear that the NPC had arrived from the Lake Kingdom.
And that outfit. That unmistakable bard attire.
I had finally identified who my adversary was. I had come across him a few times while playing the game.
"We need to shoot him before he blows his 'flute'!"
Grasping the hesitating Damien's shoulder, I shouted.
"Didn't I tell you to be my trigger, Damien!"
"...!"
"If you don't want to see more people die, snipe him now! Quick!"
But it was already too late.
In the few seconds that Damien hesitated, the bard had already put his flute to his mouth...
Screech-
And played it.
Despite being a small flute, a piercing sound reverberated throughout the area.
Squeak?!
Squeeak?
As soon as the flute sounded, the rats ceased moving.
Thousands of rats across the vast battlefield. All at once.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"The rats stopped? What's going on?"
Our soldiers, sensing the anomaly, were also perplexed.
And the next moment,
Screeeaaam-....!
A prolonged flute note echoed.
Squeak!
Squeeak, squeak!
Immediately after, the rats' eyes gleamed with a blood-red light and their four legs pounded the ground.
Those who had been rushing aimlessly towards the nearest wall...
Suddenly began to swarm towards a single point in the wall.
"They're concentrating on one spot!"
I shouted, clinging to the edge of the rampart.
"Where?! Where are those devils aiming?!"
"Right next to the castle gate, in the center of the wall! That, that area is…!"
Lucas, his face drained of color, left his sentence hanging.
"It's the section we finished repairing today..."
Cannons erupted with fire and ballistas launched bolts toward the enemies congregating from one direction.
But, we couldn't halt them all.
Their sudden change in tactics was too sudden, and our defense line couldn't adjust in time.
The soldiers quickly rotated the cannon barrels, and the ballistas also realigned their aim, but it was too late.
Finally, the forefront of the devils, who had even crossed the moat, reached the wall.
Thud!
"...?!"
I was taken aback by the slight tremor seeping up my toes.
What?
What are they trying to achieve?
Thud!
The rat devils didn't attempt to scale the wall. Instead.
Thud!
They rammed their heads.
Thud!
Against the wall, they battered their heads.
Right against the wall that had just been patched up this morning.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The rats headbutted the wall.
Until their skulls cracked, they wore away at the stone wall with their bodies.
The leading rats struck the wall with their heads until they exploded, splattering blood and dropping down.
The subsequent rats did the same, and then the ones that followed...
"Insane…"
"What are they doing?"
The soldiers, their faces pallid at this gruesome sight, mumbled in bewilderment.
But then I finally comprehended their intentions.
"These unhinged devils..."
The wall repairs were wrapped up just a few hours ago.
Everyone had put in their utmost effort in the limited time, but unavoidably, the condition of the wall was still less than ideal.
We had focused solely on fixing the damaged sections.
Inevitably, there were crevices.
And these rat devils were burrowing into those crevices with their bodies.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
They bashed their heads against the wall. They warped the metal plates with their claws. They gnawed at the stone with their teeth.
They were undermining the wall.
In a way that no other monster could. A tactic only rats could employ.
Creak-
The sound of the metal plate encasing the wall splitting rang out ominously.
Grinding my teeth, I glared at the southern horizon.
In the distance, a bard with a hat – a piper – was leisurely pulling the pipe from his lips.
I wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but.
He seemed to be grinning.