It was still early dawn, the time when light and darkness switch, enveloping the world in a dim glow.
Grrraaah!
Gaaaah!
The tide of corpses surged toward Crossroad.
Under the dawn sky, the writhing bodies of the zombies appeared gray. The mass of zombies, swarming over the land, resembled a fluttering cloth or a cluster of caterpillars.
"Graaaah!"
Leading the horde was a giant reindeer.
Its antlers, massive like the branches of the World Tree, and its huge body, the size of a hill—no, a small mountain—thundered forward.
Cromwell.
This demon, zombie, and monster, the nightmare legion commander, charged directly toward the first line of defense set up on the southern plains of Crossroad.
The 'Kill Zone.'
A fenced barrier designed to restrict the monsters' movements.
The Kill Zone, fortified through the accumulated experience of carpenters and continuous upgrades, was sturdy enough to rival any stone fortress.
But...
Boom!
Before the charge of a legion-level monster, it was meaningless.
The fences forming the Kill Zone shattered into pieces. Cromwell roared fiercely, trampling the fence as she entered the southern plains.
Gaaaah!
While Cromwell's speed slowed momentarily due to destroying the Kill Zone, the horde of zombies poured in, trampling the broken fences and barriers.
Now, the zombies swarmed ahead of Cromwell, filling the southern plains of Crossroad as they tangled and intertwined with each other.
"The Kill Zone has been breached!"
"Kill Zone breached—!"
Responding to the soldiers' reports, I remained unperturbed.
"Don't panic! This was anticipated!"
The Kill Zone was set up in hopes of amusingly slowing down the small zombies.
Though it's a shame it was breached, it was within expected parameters.
The zombies, having crossed the Kill Zone, marched furiously into the next area. A scout shouted.
"They've entered the first section of the 'Party Hall'!"
"Good! Let the fun begin!"
Right after the Kill Zone.
Named, the Party Hall.
It means, of course... a fun party area.
What kind of party?
"Of course, it's a bomb party—!"
The foremost zombie stepped into the Party Hall zone,
Beep—
A mechanical activation sound rang out,
Boom!
A fierce explosion erupted from the ground.
That's right, landmines!
Every single mine remaining in Crossroad was buried in this 'Party Hall' zone.
Boom! Boom! Boom...!
The landmines triggered by the zombies' steps turned the southern plains into a field of smoke and fire.
Hooray—!
The volunteer soldiers who had joined more recently cheered at the sight of the horde's vanguard being engulfed in explosive flames.
"..."
Meanwhile, the seasoned soldiers, who had been fighting on this front for a long time, remained silent, coldly glaring ahead.
These soldiers had grown up dealing with various monsters over time. They could roughly guess how the battle would change depending on the monster they faced.
And the seasoned soldiers were right.
Grrraaah—!
The zombies continued their advance through the explosions and flames.
The startled new recruits stopped their cheers. I smiled bitterly.
This time, the enemy was 'zombies.'
Even if their legs were blown off, even if their lower bodies were gone, even if their innards were burning—they would keep coming.
Moreover, they weren't even in the human form one usually associates with 'zombies.' These were all 'monsters' that had turned into zombies.
Zombie dogs, zombie rhinos, giant mantis zombies, zombies galloping like horses, cicadas digging through the ground, centipedes that split and crawled even when their waists were severed...
'It's like a twisted farm of horrors!'
These monster zombies were far tougher than human zombies.
Grrr...
Gaaah!
The zombie monster horde continued charging through the exploding Party Hall zone.
Bodies on fire, dragging their innards, crawling on their hands instead of their blown-off legs, the zombies didn't stop.
"The first Party Hall has been breached!"
"The party's just getting started. Why are they in such a rush? Let's keep the dance going...!"
The monsters that passed through the first minefield entered the next zone.
Beep—
A magical sensor embedded in the ground responded. The next moment.
Thud...!
Boom!
The ground-based Claymore mines triggered, releasing a storm of shrapnel and metal balls that shredded the monsters' bodies.
This was a trap I devised, modeled after the Claymore anti-personnel mines from Earth.
In this fortress city, scrap metal and debris piles up like mountains.
We collected these and used them as ground-based mines to scatter shrapnel toward the enemy.
The storm of shrapnel tore through the zombies. Their bodies were ripped apart, limbs severed, and holes punched through them.
...But.
They were zombies.
Grr...
Gaaah!
Even with their bodies shredded, the monsters didn't stop advancing.
They pushed through the first Party Hall filled with ground mines, the second Party Hall with Claymore mines, and even the third Party Hall packed with every other trap we had.
The zombie monster horde kept moving forward, burning, shattered, and shredded. These stubborn creatures...
"The third Party Hall has been breached! The monster horde isn't stopping—!"
"It doesn't matter! Focus on your tasks!"
While the soldiers were significantly shaken by the rapid breach of the Kill Zone and the three Party Halls we had meticulously prepared, I didn't bat an eye.
I never had the naive expectation that the Kill Zone or the Party Halls would eliminate the monsters.
"Our Crossroad's defensive facilities are all top-notch, but the ultimate weapon is still..."
I gazed at the hundreds of cannons orderly positioned on the wall.
"Firepower!"
For the past three years, the class with the highest kill count among monsters.
Our Crossroad's main dealer, the monster slayers—the highly trained artillery soldiers glared fiercely.
"Prepare to fire—!"
At my command, hundreds of cannons began their targeting sequence.
A scout, holding binoculars and observing the vanguard of the zombie horde, shouted with all his might.
"The vanguard is within cannon range!"
"Not yet!"
Let the vanguard through.
The artillery's target is the second wave.
Grrr...
Gaaaah!
The advancing zombie monsters' forms became clearly visible to us on the wall.
Gulp...
The sound of soldiers swallowing their dry throats echoed. I shouted.
"Hold! Wait for it!"
A few eternal seconds later.
The scout, drenched in cold sweat, whipped his head around and reported.
"The second wave is within cannon range—!"
"Now!"
I thrust my hand forward.
"Fire—!"
"Fire!"
"Fire—!"
The command echoed along the wall, followed by the thunderous sound of cannons firing.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames erupted from the cannons in sequence, creating a beautiful wave of fire.
Hundreds of cannons unleashed a perfectly coordinated crossfire. The sight sent a shiver down my spine.
When the elite soldiers I had nurtured from the beginning perfectly executed my commands.
There is no greater joy for a commander...!
Wheee—
The rain of shells, carving through the sky, fell on the zombie monsters...
Boom!
The shells landed in succession, drawing a line of pure fire on the ground.
The zombie monsters caught in the bombardment could no longer move.
"Yes!"
I clenched my fist.
No matter how tough they are, after partying all night three times in a row! They had to be exhausted!
The zombie monsters, having passed through three trap-filled Party Halls, were now in a tattered state, perfect for our bombardment to finish them off...!
I extended my arm and continued to shout.
"Pour it on! Spare nothing and unload everything! Turn this southern plain to ashes, don't stop—!"
Firepower!
More firepower!
My command was eagerly followed by the artillery, who began firing continuously. The barrage of shells crushed the zombies one by one.
Even so, due to the toughness of the monster zombies, many still managed to push through the fiery inferno. The vanguard I had intentionally let through was also closing in on Crossroad.
To deal with these, we had the:
"Ballista squad! Commence fire—!"
"Archers! Follow up with your shots—!"
Ballista and archer squads.
The archers picked off the approaching zombie monsters one by one.
"Aim for the head, aim for the head—!"
"The parasites are in the head! Destroy the head, and they can't move!"
Three trap-filled Party Halls, a crossfire bombardment zone, and finally, the ballista and archer squads.
The zombie monsters, having survived all this, crawled towards the wall but were now significantly slowed.
For skilled archers, hitting the slow-moving monsters' heads wasn't a difficult task.
Everything was working smoothly, with the ideal form of defense in place.
Grrr...
Gaaah...
Yet, there were still too many of them.
After passing through three Party Halls, the crossfire zone, and the ballista and archer fire.
The zombie monsters, driven by their indomitable will to breach the mortal realm, crawled up to the wall.
"Don't bother with zombies that are already incapacitated! Focus on those still charging in!"
Following my command, the archers continued to target the most threatening enemies, but they kept glancing nervously at the zombies nearing the wall.
Understandably so. Even though their limbs were blown off, the zombies were still getting close to the wall...
'But really, there's no need to worry.'
It wasn't just because the incapacitated zombies lacked climbing ability or that our melee units could safely deal with them.
The real reason we didn't worry about these scattered monster remnants was...
Bzzzz!
This.
When the vanguard of the zombie monsters finally reached the wall, the power core inside the wall vibrated with a faint hum.
And when the leading zombie, crawling on the ground with its only remaining arm, touched the wall with its fingertips...
Whooosh—!
The wall unleashed a fearsome shockwave.
As if swatting away a disgusting fly.
Boom! Boom boom...!
The zombies clinging to the wall and those approaching it were all blasted apart, their bodies exploding and being flung backward.
Bzzz...
Once all the zombies within range were eliminated, the power core inside the wall calmed down again.
"..."
The soldiers on the wall looked down at the base of the wall with a mixture of shock and awe.
This was the true power of the wall created by entirely repurposing the cores of three monster legion commanders, the [Knight Bringer].
The wall made with the core of that black dragon.
It was never going to be a gentle protector...!
"It's good, but..."
Evangeline's lips quivered as she tapped the wall with her foot.
"This wall feels... strange! It's on our side, but it feels extremely dangerous?!"
I nodded.
That's right, it was made to be dangerous...!