"Waaaahhhh!"
The hunter who had been suddenly grabbed and thrown screamed in terror.
The fortress wall was quite high, and falling from it would turn him into nothing more than a broken mess.
Thud.
However, a knight below caught him gently. Blushing with embarrassment, the hunter muttered.
"…Put me down."
Whoosh!
The knight promptly tossed him to the ground—not out of disgust but because more hunters were falling.
"Ahhhhh!"
"You crazy bastard! What are you doing?!"
"Are you trying to kill your own men?!"
Caught off guard, the hunters couldn't react and tumbled one after another.
The knights below, accustomed to such chaos, swiftly caught them and rolled them to the side.
Thump! Thud!
Though the landing was rough, the skilled knights managed to minimize injuries. The hunters quickly regained their composure upon seeing the advancing monsters and assumed battle stances.
Ghislain watched this with a faint smile.
"Not bad. They're quick to get their heads back in the game. Let's send the rest down now."
"No! Don't come near me! Stay away!"
"You're a monster, aren't you? Some kind of demon is here to destroy the fortress!"
The hunters hurled accusations at Ghislain, their faces pale with fear. But Ghislain, unfazed, replied.
"The contract states you must fight even outside the fortress. Just do your job and fight well behind me."
"Noooo!"
The contracted hunters tried to retreat, but the growing crowd of other hunters blocked their way. Unable to escape, they were seized by Ghislain and Kaor and thrown over the edge one by one.
Even those who had nothing to do with Ghislain's party and were just standing nearby were caught and thrown down.
"Wait, we're not part of this! We didn't sign any contract! You bastard!"
"Oh, my bad. But since you're down there already, might as well fight with us."
In total, nearly 300 hunters were thrown off the wall. Naturally, the top of the wall devolved into chaos, with some hunters even attacking Ghislain.
Whoosh! Thud!
Unbothered, Ghislain grabbed and hurled those who lunged at him. The skill gap was so massive that none of them stood a chance.
"Run! Let's get out of here!"
"This guy's completely insane!"
"Move! Get out of my way!"
With limited space on the wall, hunters stumbled over one another in their efforts to avoid Ghislain, creating a tangled mess.
Watching this unfold, Grant, the fortress commander, felt his blood boil.
The Monster Wave was already perilous enough. Unlike in battles against humans, the fortress walls couldn't offer complete protection. Even under the best circumstances, the losses were always heavy.
Yet, here they were, creating chaos among themselves instead of uniting against the monsters. This was the end of the fortress.
"You lunatic! What are you doing?! Are you trying to get all of us killed?! Kill him! Kill that bastard first!"
The archers turned their arrows toward Ghislain, but before they could release their bowstrings, Ghislain moved in a blur, appearing right in front of Grant.
"Get a grip. These walls won't protect you. Against this many monsters, it's better to go out, form ranks, and fight properly."
"W-what?"
"I'll give you your orders. Archers should focus on the flying monsters and those approaching from the outside. Monsters only attack what's directly in front of them. We on the ground will act as bait, so shoot freely without worrying about hitting us. You can manage that, can't you?"
"You… you…"
"The rest of you will form proper ranks and fight outside the fortress. I'll lead the knights in breaking through the center to draw the monsters' attention."
"Are you insane…?"
Grant's face was a mix of shock and disbelief as Ghislain smirked coldly.
"You can't fight effectively from the wall. The enemy isn't human. If you want to win, follow my lead."
Rooooarrrr!
"My lord!"
The voices of the knights rang out from below. The monsters were drawing dangerously close.
There was no time left to argue. Without another word, Ghislain jumped off the wall, shouting.
"Trust me. I'll lead the charge."
Thud!
Ghislain landed heavily on the ground. The hunters who had been thrown earlier glared at him with resentment.
But there was no time to confront him. The monsters were nearly upon them. Fighting Ghislain now wouldn't guarantee victory—and it certainly wouldn't stop the monsters.
They will fight from the back or wait for a chance to run.
Ghislain moved to the front of the group and spoke firmly.
"Open it."
Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!
The knights opened the large wooden crates they had placed before him, spilling their contents onto the ground.
Inside the crates were an assortment of greatswords, spears, and swords, packed tightly together. Hundreds of weapons scattered messily across the ground.
Ghislain glanced back and said, "Those of you who were thrown down without a weapon, take a few from here. I won't charge you."
As soon as he finished speaking, threads of mana began flowing out from him.
Drdrdrdrdr!
The air around them trembled.
Both the hunters below and those watching from the walls stared at Ghislain in shock and disbelief.
"What… what is that?"
"Is he a mage?"
"Damn, what kind of—"
The hundreds of spears lying on the ground began to float.
The threads of mana wrapped around each spear and lifted them into the air. But no one could discern the mechanism—most people had never even heard of such a technique, let alone seen it in action.
The knights of Fenris, though familiar with Ghislain's mana threads, weren't as astonished as the hunters. They had often seen him lift objects or even people with his threads.
But even the knights were taken aback by the sheer scale of this display. Ghislain had never lifted so many weapons at once.
Silently, the knights clicked their tongues.
'He's becoming more of a monster every day.'
'How does he keep getting stronger every time we see him?'
'This skill is insane.'
To the onlookers, it was an incredible sight. For Ghislain, it was merely another part of his routine.
He trained relentlessly every day, reclaiming the skills from his previous life.
No matter how busy he was, he never skipped his mana cultivation or meditation, even if it meant sacrificing sleep.
'I must become stronger.'
He never allowed himself to stop. If he remained weak, many people would die.
'No regrets this time.'
Bound by an overwhelming sense of responsibility, Ghislain grew stronger each day—always surpassing who he was yesterday, always striving to be better tomorrow.
Drdrdrdrdr!
The spears floating in the air glowed with a red aura.
This technique wasn't effective against highly skilled enemies but was devastatingly effective for mass slaughter against weaker foes.
In his past life, it had been less potent than a soldier's single strike. But as Ghislain grew stronger, so did the power imbued in this technique.
Adjusting the direction of the spearheads, Ghislain gave a chilling smile.
"Let's begin."
Boom!
With a sound like the air itself rupturing, hundreds of spears shot forward.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Screeeeech!
The glowing spears pierced through the approaching monsters like beams of light. Hundreds of monsters at the front of the horde were skewered in an instant.
While some heavily armored or resilient monsters survived the assault, the weaker ones collapsed where they stood.
"Let's go."
Taking advantage of the monsters' brief hesitation, Ghislain grabbed a greatsword and charged forward.
Slash!
With a single swing, he cleaved the nearest monster in half.
"Let's go too!" shouted Kaor, following behind. Watching Ghislain, Kaor felt both admiration and inferiority.
'He's not much younger than me, yet he's so strong. I'll catch up to him one day… I have to.'
Kaor was growing stronger, little by little. He was determined to surpass Gillian and eventually rival Ghislain himself.
For the first time, Kaor had a clear goal in life.
Slash!
Gritting his teeth, Kaor swung his greatsword, cutting down the monsters. The knights of Fenris also charged, their greatswords cleaving through the horde.
Screeeeech!
The monsters, surging forward with ferocity, were momentarily halted by the knights wielding mana-infused weapons.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ghislain led the charge, slaughtering monsters indiscriminately. Naturally, the attention of every monster focused on Ghislain and the knights.
Rooooarrrr!
Thud! Thud!
As the smaller, faster monsters were wiped out, larger and more formidable monsters began closing in on Ghislain.
Crack!
A massive troll charged toward Ghislain but was sliced cleanly in half by his greatsword.
No matter how tough their hide or how potent their regeneration, even trolls couldn't survive being bisected.
Wham!
Another troll swung a massive club at Ghislain's side.
Clang!
Blocking the attack with his greatsword, Ghislain immediately countered, decapitating the troll with a swift strike.
Screeeeech!
A wyvern swooped down from above, snatching up a knight fighting beside Ghislain. The knight, too focused on the ground monsters, hadn't noticed the wyvern descending.
There were simply too many enemies for anyone to maintain complete situational awareness.
"Urgh!"
The knight flailed in panic as the wyvern tried to soar higher into the sky. Dropping its prey from a great height was one of the wyvern's preferred methods of attack.
Thunk!
But the wyvern suddenly halted mid-air, as though caught on something. Ghislain had extended his hand and bound the wyvern with his mana threads.
Screeeeech!
The wyvern, a powerful monster, thrashed its wings violently, gradually breaking free of the mana threads and lifting higher into the air.
Thunk!
A spear suddenly emerged from somewhere on the battlefield, piercing the wyvern's body. Impaled through its torso, the wyvern plummeted to the ground, releasing the knight in its grasp.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The spears Ghislain had thrown earlier rose again, darting across the battlefield to assist knights in peril.
This was one of the reasons why Ghislain's battlefield prowess was considered among the top three of the Continent's Seven Strongest.
On the battlefield, everything became Ghislain's weapon. Every blade came alive, dancing to his will.
His attacks could come from anywhere, and their destructive power rivaled that of the knights' strikes.
Those who knew of his abilities prayed never to face him in battle.
He was a man who could hold off tens of thousands alone.
A man capable of waging war against an entire kingdom on his own.
The King of Mercenaries was also the King of the Battlefield.
The hunters, watching Ghislain and the knights drive back the vanguard of the monster horde, were left dumbfounded.
They didn't even have the presence of mind to think about running.
"How can anyone be that strong…?"
"Donkard doesn't even compare."
"Is that what they call a Swordmaster?"
The monsters halted their advance, focusing solely on Ghislain and the knights.
While the strange phenomenon of monsters gathering together had united them, they couldn't suppress their instincts to eliminate the greatest threat first.
"Let's move," one hunter said, gripping his weapon tightly.
The allied forces had been split. Staying put was pointless—if those at the front fell, their fate was sealed.
The only chance of survival lay in joining Ghislain and the knights to fight.
Although this reasoning was practical, it wasn't the only factor. Ghislain's fighting stirred something within them. There was a magnetic pull in his presence.
A belief that fighting alongside him could lead to victory.
With overwhelming strength and precision, Ghislain tore through the monsters, instilling confidence in those who watched.
"Let's go! We're hunters!"
"Fighting monsters is what we do!"
"We can't let the newcomers outshine us!"
"Waaaaahhh!"
The hunters let out a rallying cry and charged forward.
These weren't amateurs—they were veterans who had battled countless monsters. As the hundreds of hunters joined the fight, the monsters began to falter.
Slash!
Ghislain split a massive spider in half and glanced back with a small grin.
"Yes, that's how it's done."
Boom!
He turned back and resumed carving through the horde. Up until now, he had been fighting defensively, shielding the knights. But now things are different.
With the hunters joining in, the monsters' attacks became more scattered. Ghislain advanced alone, breaking through the center of the horde and dismantling their formation.
Screeeeech!
Monsters charging from behind diverted their focus entirely to Ghislain as he plunged deeper into their ranks. This drew even more attention away from the knights and hunters, making it easier for them to fight.
Meanwhile, on the fortress wall, Commander Grant looked on in disbelief.
"To think it's possible to fight like this…"
No one had ever battled a Monster Wave this way before. Most relied on the fortress walls for defense.
Ghislain's words had been correct. No matter how high or sturdy the walls, they held little meaning against monsters.
The moment the monsters moved past the range of siege weapons, they scaled the walls in an instant. Flying monsters even carried others to drop them onto the battlements.
Unhinged and fearless, the monsters didn't hesitate. Regardless of whether the ones ahead fell, those behind simply surged forward.
As a result, soldiers and hunters on the walls were forced into chaotic, disorganized skirmishes.
'But abandoning the walls was something we never even considered. The walls gave us a false sense of security.'
Prejudices, preconceptions, fear, and doubt had blinded them.
Every Monster Wave resulted in heavy casualties because they clung to the belief that the walls were their salvation.
But look at those fighting on the open battlefield now.
The space allowed them to form proper formations. The knights and hunters coordinated seamlessly, supporting each other as they battled the monsters.
The monsters, meanwhile, had no concept of strategy or tactics. They simply attacked whatever was in front of them.
By abandoning the walls, the fighters could utilize the open space and apply tactics that only beings with intelligence could employ.
And at the forefront of it all was a man who made it possible.
That extraordinary individual led the charge, creating the conditions for victory.
The fortress walls still served a purpose—they prevented the monsters from overwhelming the defenders all at once. Abandoning the walls meant forfeiting that advantage.
But now was different from the past, when they had no choice but to rely on the walls.
'Now… now is not the time to cling to the walls.'
The momentum of the monsters was broken. Watching from the walls while those below fought and bled was no longer an option.
If the fighters outside were wiped out, those defending the walls would face even greater losses.
Grant opened his tightly clenched fist. His palm was soaked with sweat.
As a knight, he felt a profound sense of awe.
He wanted to fight alongside that man.
He wanted to trust and follow him.
Not as the fortress commander, but as a warrior drawn by the purest instinct of battle.
Finally, Grant made his decision. In a low voice, he spoke to the adjutant beside him.
"…Open the gates of the fortress."
[T/L: Please support me and read 330 extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]