The Rat Legion has been annihilated.
The boss monster, which I usually call the "Great Mother Rat," was also defeated, and the elite Ratmen who charged at the walls until the end ultimately died without breaching the walls.
During Stage 2, just having them charge at the damaged walls would have caused breaches, putting the city at risk of falling.
But much time has passed, and we have grown stronger.
With walls, troops, and experience far surpassing those of that time, we could crush the far more powerful monsters without difficulty.
"Kiyaaahhh!"
The last Ratman, stepping over the corpses of its comrades, climbed up the wall with glowing red eyes, attempting to kill the humans.
"Quietly..."
Evangeline, who had been waiting at the edge of the wall, lifted her shield high,
"Be gone!"
She struck down vigorously.
Bang-!
"Die."
The Ratman, hit by the shield, fell off the wall, and Evangeline laughed arrogantly, "Hah!" as it plummeted.
Evangeline was equipped with the repaired [Cross Family Spear] and [Cross Family Shield]. These equipment pieces had been reborn even larger, more splendid, and with three spirits attached... truly monstrous specs.
Only the frames of the equipment remained the same; the rest was entirely newly crafted, a testament to the extreme skills of Kellibey and the blacksmiths of Crossroad.
"As long as I'm here, none of you bastards can even touch this city!"
Evangeline pounded her spear on the shield and roared, and the surrounding soldiers cheered in unison.
I smiled quietly.
'Look, Margrave.'
Seeing the successor of the Cross family fend off enemies many times stronger than those of the past...
The face of the old man who defended the city and died then flashed before my eyes.
'We have come this far.'
Recalling the old acquaintances among the familiar enemies, I looked again at the southern plains.
"..."
The masked clown who had been staring silently at us slowly turned around and eventually faded like a shadow.
'Come as many times as you like, Crown.'
I clenched my fist tightly.
'I will block your attacks as many times as needed.'
And at the end...
I will grasp the ending I desire.
I nodded firmly. The soldiers on the wall continued to cheer, celebrating another victory.
***
A few days later.
Stage 47.
"I did say you could come as many times as you wanted, but..."
I muttered nervously, watching the advancing enemies.
"But aren't they choosing too strong ones for the final stages..."
Thud...! Thud...! Thud...!
Three gigantic statues clad in oriental-style armor were advancing at the forefront of the monster legion.
The heads of the giant statues were those of animals: a rooster, a snake, and a pig.
The rooster wielded a crescent blade, the snake had twin spears, and the pig held a serpent spear, using them to support their march.
I clicked my tongue and spat out their names.
"Tamn, Jin, Chi...!"
Tamn, Jin, Chi represent:
- *Tamn*: Greed
- *Jin*: Anger
- *Chi*: Foolishness
These three states of mind darken wisdom and are the root of evil, collectively known as the Three Poisons (Samdoksim).
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Behind these three statues followed a series of soldier statues.
These 108 soldier statues, each representing different afflictions and delusions, followed the colossal trio, their appearance grotesque and their aura fierce.
The human senses lead to 108 afflictions, and these statues, with their heads shaped like giant eyes, ears, noses, tongues, and brains, symbolized this.
The statues, originating from an ancient temple in the Eastern Continent, gained life through some unknown principle and roamed the world, killing people. They even crossed the sea to wreak havoc on this continent.
Thus, this entire group of three generals and 108 soldiers is known as the Samdoksim Affliction Legion.
"To reach Nirvana, one must eliminate the poisons of the mind."
"O disciple, we shall sever your afflictions."
"Abandon your attachment to life, for in such abandonment lies the path to the Pure Land."
The giant Tamn, Jin, and Chi approached step by step.
The 108 Afflictions, muttering distorted teachings in grating voices, advanced behind them.
The mere fact that such profound and pure doctrines were twisted and spewed from these murderous statues induced an uncanny fear.
"Thanks for worrying about my enlightenment, but why does that mean ending my life..."
I grumbled.
In past legends, eminent priests from the temple where these statues originated stood against them with their bodies, engaging in theological debates. They finally convinced the statues that their actions were wrong, reciting scriptures and teachings.
The statues stopped on their own, and the priests, exhausted from the seven-day-and-night debate, died on the spot.
'We can't use that method, can we...?'
Still, just in case, I tried talking to them.
"Hey! How about we solve this with words? We're willing to talk!"
"Abandon language. The mouth is the root of affliction. All living beings' mouths should be torn with saws, and their tongues pulled out. This is the first step to the Pure Land."
"What the hell are you insane bastards saying!"
I was horrified as they chanted in unison.
"Gouge out eyes!"
"Tear ears apart!"
"Rip off noses!"
"Cut off tongues!"
"Burn bodies!"
"Destroy brains!"
"Destroy, destroy! All of the universe is suffering! Everything in this world is suffering! Life is suffering! To end suffering, we must kill and end life!"
Lucas, beside me, also broke out in a cold sweat.
"They seem... thoroughly corrupted. They don't seem like they can be reasoned with."
"How great were the priests who managed to persuade these guys..."
Well, whatever.
Ending conflicts without battle is ideal, but if the opponent won't listen, we must use force.
"Night Bringer!"
I shouted, kicking the train beneath me with my foot.
"Time to work! Let's go!"
Vrooom!
The train immediately responded, starting to move roughly.
The mobile wall made from the black dragon- [Night Bringer].
An artifact that moves by laying tracks on bare ground, using the principles of the Iron King we defeated before.
The wall, consisting of nine cars in total, brought three cars in front of the black lake. Even three cars could instantly set up a small forward base on-site.
However, I wasn't setting up a forward base this time.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Reaching the pre-designated points, [Night Bringer] started transforming.
Two cars formed walls and barricades, while one car turned into a tall battery.
Mounted on this battery was a special cannon, previously installed. Damien, already seated at the gunner's seat, let out a scream as the battery rose with him.
"Is this safe, Your Highness...?!"
"Of course. Trust me!"
I shouted confidently, but I wasn't sure of this wall's temperament either... I had a feeling it might cause trouble one day... but it also seemed like it might defy that expectation...
Anyway, [Night Bringer] transformed into two layers of walls and a battery, maintaining tracks underneath for mobility. In other words, it could move even in wall and battery mode.
Meanwhile, the Samdoksim Affliction Legion continued approaching us steadily.
「Your Highness, initiating suppressive fire.」
「Woohoo! Let's shoot-!」
Voices came from the two airships hovering to escort us. One was 'La Mancha', and the other was the newly joined pirate ship 'Blue Pearl' of Rompeller.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Boom! Boom!
La Mancha unleashed a barrage of dozens of machine guns, followed by Blue Pearl's massive mana cannons mounted on its central and side sections.
Bang! Ba-ba-bang!
Boom-!
Thousands of bullets and three massive blue mana shells struck the monster legion in an instant.
A gigantic explosion erupted.
Excited voices of the pirates echoed from Blue Pearl.
「Piece of cake! We can go home now... huh?」
The simultaneous chatter of the two Rompellers halted abruptly.
A mysterious golden aura emerged from the monster legion, forming a dome-shaped shield, absorbing all our long-range attacks.
Thud...! Thud...! Thud...!
Despite the terrifying bombardment, the monster legion advanced without a scratch.
「What the heck is that?!」
「What is this...?」
Ignoring the dismayed groans of the two novice pirate kings, I examined the enemy.
By now, they had formed a formation.
The Samdoksim statues stood in a triangle in the center, surrounded by the 108 Affliction statues in formation.
"Om(ॐ)-"
The Tamn, Jin, Chi statues chanted, pressing their palms together, followed by the 108 Afflictions.
"Om(ॐ)...!"
The golden barrier surrounding them shone even more brilliantly, expanding its range.
Crack! Crackle!
Shatter...!
The surrounding vegetation evaporated, and rocks turned to dust as they were engulfed by this golden aura.
"I don't understand the principle, but these bastards have a very sturdy formation."
I clicked my tongue, watching the golden idols approach.
"But they're not invincible. Very powerful damage can penetrate. The problem is that it nullifies all attacks below that threshold."
No need to overthink it.
In the game, the legion had a special barrier with the gimmick of 'nullifying damage below a certain threshold'. The problem, as mentioned earlier, is that the damage threshold is quite high.
"But there's always a way."
In the game, we continuously pushed through damage that could slightly penetrate the barrier, gradually accumulating damage and knocking down the 108 Affliction statues one by one.
Each time an Affliction statue was taken down, the damage threshold would decrease slightly. For example, if it was set to nullify damage below 1000, after taking down about half of the 108 Affliction statues, it would change to nullify damage below 500.
Originally, this meant a drawn-out battle, whether we liked it or not...
"But we also have a new weapon."
I tapped the train beneath my feet again with my toes.
The [Night Bringer] started to slowly back up, creating tracks as it moved, putting distance between us and the approaching enemies with its dual-layered walls and a single battery.
Though the monster legion's speed was faster and they were gradually catching up, this distance was sufficient.
"Damien, are you ready?"
"Always, Your Highness!"
"Good. I'll leave the timing to you. Fire at will... Oh, wait!"
I grinned as I put on the item I had brought.
"Everyone, put on your sunglasses!"
I wore the sunglasses commonly referred to as MacArthur style, while Lucas, fumbling to put on his own, wore a simple round style.
"But why are we putting on these sunglasses, my lord?"
"Well..."
I glanced at the battery where Damien was preparing to fire and smirked.
"The new weapon is so bright when it explodes that it could damage your eyesight!"
What Damien was loading into the battery was...
A missile, larger than any we had used before.