"House Leviathan!"
"The poisonous people are coming!"
"They're numerous!"
The cries of the fortress guards were all similar.
The horizon was stained black.
An army of poisonous people covered the ground like a curtain descending from above.
The battle for the destruction of Fortress Tochka began in earnest, with the red death aura flowing like a demonic spirit.
Kyaaaaaaag-
The poisonous people rushed madly towards the first wall.
They cling to the walls with their bare bodies with a fierce aggression and ferocity that cannot be considered human.
…peoeog!
Just as a bird dies when it hits a wall, the first poisonous man who rushed at the fortress smashed its head against the solid wall of Tochka Fortress and died.
Then another poisonous man stepped on the corpse and smashed his head against the wall.
…peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog! …peoeog!
The bodies of the poisonous people piled up one after another, gradually taking on the shape of a mass.
And there was a single figure leading all these poisonous people.
The black hood and cloak that covers his entire body, and the scythe he holds in his hand, has not only the blade but also the hilt bent in a bizarre way.
"...What is he?"
"Has he come to harvest or something?"
The guards ask in disbelief.
…Flash!
The monster swung the scythe in his hand once.
A terrifying poisonous energy flew out with the strike and struck the city wall.
kwakwang!
The blow was so heavy that the entire city wall shook.
The Harvester wielded his scythe as if he had come to harvest the lives of his enemies.
With each blow, a powerful poisonous aura surrounded him, and the poisonous people around him grew stronger and stronger.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Bianca stood together.
"Is that dark fellow the leader of the vanguard?"
"He seems to be quite skilful. His scythe wielding is quite impressive."
"He does look like a commander...."
"I think the soldiers call him 'The Harvester,' and it looks like he's here to harvest our lives."
Bianca was the first to step forward.
"Let's see what you got, shall we?"
Bianca's arrow, the one that had killed Andrealphus, was aimed at the Harvesters.
peong!
The arrow shot through the air.
"...!"
The Harvester seemed to instinctively sense the threat.
But he didn't raise his scythe.
chachachachachag!
Bianca's arrows were blocked, as countless poisonous people formed like a human shield.
Bianca fired a few more times after that, but all of her arrows were blocked by the shields before they could reach the Harvester.
"Cih. You're so cheap. What kind of master are you?"
Bianca clicked her tongue as she watched the Harvester back away from the arrows.
But even now, the poisonous people kept coming.
Waves of red death.
The poison they breathed and the fountains of blood they spewed as they died could infect even the unaffected, turning them into poisonous people.
If not for the purifying power of Dolores, who maintains a wide-area divine barrier at the heart of Fort Tochka, this iron fortress would have been shaken.
chwaag-
The Harvester stretched his hand out to the side, and the poisonous people's path changed.
The Harvester continues to lead the poisonous people, attacking the weakest points in the walls.
He was strong in combat, but he also seemed to have a keen eye for tactics.
"Ugh, these monsters...."
"A combination of a military minded commander and soldiers who blindly follow him. It was not for nothing that they swept through the civil war."
"And with its poison, it's no wonder it's invincible."
"Damn it! It's scaring the soldiers!"
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Bianca gritted their teeth and encouraged their men, but the tide was turning in Leviathan's favour.
Just then.
"Don't back down, you idiots!"
A gruff shout came from the ramparts above.
All eyes, friend and foe alike, instantly turned to the central castle wall.
There, a huge old man stood tall, holding a club.
Orca. 'Orca Montreuil-sur-Mer Javert'. The warden of Nouvelle Vague.
A master of defence and fortitude, he looked out over the entire battlefield from beneath the ramparts.
"If you retreat, everyone behind you will die! If you fight here, the only thing you'll lose is your own life, and what better business is there than to die alone, or to have your entire family slaughtered!"
The soldiers' eyes snap back to focus as they hear Orca's rant.
For a split second, the atmosphere stopped tilting.
The seasoned veteran did not miss the timing.
"The spearmen and the head carpenters, step forward."
At Orca's command, the men who had been waiting in the wings stepped forward.
They stretched out their long spears and long trees at the poisonous people climbing the ramparts, pushing them back from a distance far beyond their reach.
And the furry cushions and bamboo drapes that the refugees had made overnight fell down to catch the poisonous blood.
Orca looked away.
In the distance, he could see a cloud of dust rising with the poison fog.
"Dig a hole in the ground, bury the jar, and select those with sensitive senses of hearing and touch to go into it. You can tell if the enemy is digging a tunnel."
Orca began to organise the defence of the fortress.
"Assign five men to each castle, but appoint one captain for every five strokes, and one captain for every twenty-five strokes. The Chiefs of Command, who are in charge of the 50 strokes, are to direct the divisions of the respective defenses and defend only their respective areas."
The pre-positioned troops move at Orca's command.
Orca watched the poisonous people squirming camp in real time and continued to give orders.
"The artillerymen in charge of the fortifications must keep the charcoal fires burning and beat the drums every ten minutes, so that the soldiers know they only have to hold out until the next drum. Also, the militia will be on guard inside the castle to ensure that no rogues interfere with supplies, especially oil and gunpowder."
The tide of battle began to turn again when Orca, who had been watching the situation from the sidelines, stepped to the forefront.
The soldiers had been reassured by the appearance of an old war hero.
With Tochka's defenders now organised, the Poisonous People's offensive was forced to retreat.
"As expected, you're good at it."
Vikir, who was leading the soldiers on the other side of the wall, looked at Orca's command in the distance and nodded.
Even before his retreat, Orca had been a master of defence and defensive warfare.
It was no exaggeration to say that Orca's participation in the latter stages of the war had kept humanity alive.
Unfortunately, he was protecting the Nouvelle Vague at the bottom of the deep sea while the war intensified, and he entered the war at the very end, so he was unable to prevent countless people from dying in the early and middle stages of the war.
...But now is different.
Brought to the surface by Vikir, Orca was working for humanity before the war had even begun in earnest.
And in earnest!
"We're in trouble! They're coming from Leviathan House with shields and carts, and the Poisonous Army is approaching!"
The poisonous army was carrying shields to defend against arrows and stones, and long ladders for the city walls.
There were also huge poisonous man with huge axes, trying to chip away at the stones and pillars at the base of the walls.
But Orca's face remained unchanged as he gave the following instructions.
"Pour the oil supplied to the militia onto the ramparts of the wall, and the potters throw charcoal on it. Put away the lances and the hangman's nooses, and in their place, tie sacks of gunpowder and iron shavings to chains and roll them over the ramparts."
Soon, the oil is flowing down the slightly sloping walls of Fort Tochka.
The poisonous man, who climbed the castle wall as if they were rock climbing fell down after struggling, covered in oil.
The slippery walls were too steep for even the strongest of poisonous man could not climb it.
Gunpowder, shards of iron, and charcoal rained down on them.
kwakwakwakwang!
The oil, flames, and gunpowder combined to create a chain of explosions.
The shards of iron scattered together spread with terrifying force, tearing through the poisonous people.
Not a single limb was left intact amongst the small and exploding bodies that soared into the sky.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Bianca's mouths dropped open in amazement.
"Well, I don't think you have any particularly ingenious or special strategies, but you're still amazing."
"It is exactly as it is in the textbook. It is an extremely standard and exemplary water battle."
"It's actually quite difficult to be precise, because you need to know exactly what's going on with your troops and control them so that you don't lose your supply and troops."
"Is sticking to the basics the most difficult thing? That's amazing... I guess this is a matter of age and experience."
As time passed, the poisonous people's general offensive was clearly weakening.
The red evil spirits on the horizon were gradually opening up holes.
The brave soldiers looked up at the ramparts and cried out.
"Woaaaah! the poisonous people are backing down! It's the war hero of the old country!"
"We've almost stopped them! Hail, Major General Orca! Hail!"
"Javert, what do we do now!"
"Hurry up and give the next order!"
The crowd was sending a torrent of abuse towards Orca.
However, the Orca only exhaled thick cigarette smoke and frowned as if it were annoyed.
"What do I know after that?"
...?
The words that made everyone doubt their own ears came out of the mouth of the old country's war hero.
Orca chewed on his words as he watched the enemy's fire slowly die down.
"I only defend. Offence is for others."
When he finished, he jerked his cigarette to the side in disgust.
Everyone's eyes shifted to the side wall Orca had pointed out.
And there, an old man with a creepy smile on his face.
"Pushishishi...."
Sade. The former Marquis de Sade, Cédric de Sade, Ang-gajumang.
He looks down at the poisonous army in front of him with a look of amusement on his face.