God Save the...

"Nonsense!? They put cannons on a flesh golem!"

Cain shouted in desperation as he looked back at the crumbling outer wall where the cannonballs had been lodged.

It was a crazy product that could only be the result of an engineer with bad taste who was given full development authority and went to the limit of their extravagance and bad taste to mount cannons on the shoulders of a gigantic siege flesh golem.

"Physical cannonballs that the magical defense mechanisms of the city walls can't protect against."

Zeft analyzed calmly.

There were two types of magic cannons: those that normally fire cannonballs and those that directly fire magic energy.

Cities were generally built on top of magical energy pooling hot spots, and the magical power of the earth's veins was pulled out and used as energy for defense and other purposes. With that power, the city walls usually had magical defenses. They were probably wary of this and aimed to do physical damage.

However, when it came to sending actual ammunition, a single shot would be the end of it. It needed to be reloaded, and the shells for that purpose were not on the shoulders of the giant...

And then, just as they were thinking. A dozen rocks broke through the snow and emerged.

Just the size to fit in the barrel, the projectiles.

--«Create Rock» and «Telekinesis» ... or is «Poltergeist» better?

The undead soldiers lined up in rows, shields at the ready.

The ones in the front were skeletons, zombies and the like, but it would be more reasonable to assume that there were also Liches and other magic-capable undead in the mix.

They were the "loaders".

"Oh, no! We've got to stop them!"

“Should we intercept the cannonballs!?"

At Claire's suggestion, Zeft hesitated for a moment.

She could destroy the flying rocks with magic. There were magicians among the following adventurers and the knights waiting on the wall.

"Defense on the wall... No, no. If we let that thing get close to the city wall, it's not going to do anything. If we could just knock off one of its legs and stop it from moving, that would be fine."

"In the end, we're the ones who will hold the army together!"

"No, we don't have the whole army. We have a lot of good friends with us."

Zeft turned around and smiled at the assembled adventurers.

Many of them were not very good at what they did, but even so, they could make the most of their presence by taking on dangerous opponents.

The adventurers, who were on the verge of a panic, seemed to calm down just a little when Zeft called out to them.

"Guys, take it easy! After damaging the giant, we will retreat to defend ourselves. The "Sub-Zero Crystal Spear" will lead the way. Follow behind! Let's go!"

"""Ooh!"""

It was a little short on volume to call it a battle cry, but they roared and shouted and started to run.

It may have seemed s*icidal to rush into a sea of undead soldiers in such small numbers.

But it was led by Ciel-Terra's strongest adventurer party, the "Sub-Zero Crystal Spear".

The night air shivered and the sound of the wind rang out.

Arrows were fired from the undead camp at the adventurers who were rushing toward them.

"≪Wind Shear≫! "

A backwind sprang up and the flying arrows were collectively bounced off the ground. It was Claire's wind magic.

The small number of people meant that the coverage area to be protected was also narrower. Less magic power was also consumed.

The spearhead of the assault was Cain, a large man wearing heavy armor and holding a large shield.

Zeft and Albina, the Priestess, followed behind him.

The spear line of the undead soldiers with their shields almost reached Cain.

Then Albina stepped forward.

"[Performance Deviation: Power-oriented]…≪Holy Ray≫! "

The silver staff shuffled and spat out a dazzling flash of energy. The aftermath of the energy made Albina's priestly robes flutter.

The flash, which extended horizontally to the ground, was thicker and shorter than it originally was. It was a magic that had been adjusted to increase its power at the expense of magical efficiency and range.

When Albina waved her staff to the side, a huge sword of holy light also moved, sweeping away the undead like sweeping away dust.

A large hole was bored through the undead camp.

The undead soldiers in the rear closed the distance to fill the hole. Then.

"≪Turbo Explosion≫”

The earth shook with a force so powerful that it was almost as strong as the giant's footsteps.

What rolled up with a momentary burst of flame was earth and sand mixed with Claire's magic was blasting away the undead.

"We're going to cut them down!"

"Roger!"

Chenxi slammed her right fist into her left hand. The gauntlet clanked.

"≪Agility≫!"

She kneaded her energy and used self-enhancement buff magic.

Some of the vanguard personnel learned a certain amount of magic only for self-enhancement buffs. The particular magic was connected with training as a warrior and was called "Kneading technique" or "Kneading body art".

"Haa!"

Chenxi leapt into the air like her weight had vanished.

"Hii!"

Chenxi released a flying kick with a thrusting throwing spear-like motion. It blew a skeleton's head off.

Its skull shattered like a rupture.

Kicking its shoulder and flying further, Chenxi attached her hand to the head of one of the skeletons.

Then she released a spinning kick in the air as she swung herself around.

"Yah!"

Several undead reared up around Chenxi.

She was equipped with leg armor, a weapon that increased the power of her kick rather than protective gear. In the face of a kick that could pierce even a dragon's armor, the undead soldiers were nothing more than pieces of wood.

Furthermore, Chenxi kicked the skeleton that was holding her up, crushing it between her legs, and landed on the ground. A spear came in late, but Cain intervened.

Breaking the spear, Cain pushed his shield and crushed the skeleton and the zombie at the same time.

"Nice follow!"

"Thank goodness we're dealing with stupid guys."

Phew, Cain exhaled.

The shields used by shield-handler tanks were collectively called "targets".

These shields were usually enchanted to "Induce Hostility", so that the target's gaze and attacks would be somehow guided by the tank's target.

Even skeletons and zombies that only moved as commanded by magic would recall their own body's memories of battle and make decisions on the spur of the moment.

Where to attack, who to target. As long as there was room for them to make such decisions, they would be caught in the "Hostility Inducement" as well.

"Goaaaaaah!"

The holy beasts rushed in to further widen the wounds.

The tiger-shaped holy beast took advantage of its huge body to reap the undead soldiers, even at the risk of being wounded itself.

The bird-shaped holy beasts swooped down to finish off the undead who leaped out to counterattack.

"Move, move, move!"

Wielding his greatsword, Zeft advanced. With each swing, he struck several undead at a time, knocking them down and crushing them into tiny pieces.

And he was just two swings away from engaging the giant.

"Sush!"

"Kuh!?"

A sharply honed sword flash blocked his way.

It was a slash of divine speed, as though slashing three times with a single thrust, but each blow had the power to kill.

While blocking with his sword, Zeft retreated.

The man who fired the slash had long dull-colored blond hair that was bound high. He was dressed in a traditional costume, which was tied together in the front and fastened with a belt.

He had earthy-colored skin and cloudy eyes. He was a ghoul.

In his hand was a beautiful, thin, single-edged sword. It was a katana, a weapon used in the Far East.

"A Ghoul ... Samurai!"

Clearly, he was a fierce warrior of a different caliber from the mooks around him.

"This guy..."

"Doscoy!"

"Aiyah!"

The Ghoul Samurai punched away at Chenxi, who leapt at him.

Spinning in mid-air, Chenxi landed with a flutter.

"Be careful. This guy can do it."

Behind the Ghoul Samurai, the giant, which had finished loading, was in shooting position.

The 12 cannons were filled with magic power. How many more rounds would the wall be able to hold its shape? How many more minutes, how many more seconds? Zeft was becoming impatient.

"Tell me, even if .... you order me some nice fish, I won't have any food if I don't find any condiments!!"

“What are you talking about!?”

"That means you're already in the ring with no salt on you!"

“What in the world are you talking about!?”

The Ghoul Samurai snapped his katana, and for some reason, he came running up to him.

"My name is Udanosuke! I am a proud samurai in the service of the great Princess! Harakiri will be your punishment. That's it! Always fight!!"

＊ ＊ ＊

"It looks like it's started."

Bertil looked at the city wall from the rooftop of the inn and thought to himself.

The Second Knights were stationed in the city. The danger of being attacked from behind would increase if all the forces were concentrated in one place, so the adventurers were left to guard the area outside the walls.

Leaving Kaya in charge of the front line, Bertil was further in the rear.

On a rooftop where a cold wind was blowing, Bertil lined up a call mark, pinned it down with a weight, and then lined up a number of crystal balls for distant vision. These were magic items that would allow him to connect two crystal balls together and watch images from them.

Bertil looked around the city, which was buzzing uneasily, and checked some of the buildings and the holy beasts placed in the city.

A temple, an assembly center, and a hall.

Because of the large number of refugees pouring into the area, empty shelters that were large enough to accommodate a certain number of people were crammed full of people without exception. Even so, they were not enough, so tents were lined up behind the Noacurio military garrison, and bonfires were constantly burning to keep the people who had been pushed out of the tents warm.

--When I die, I'm going to hell. Well, heaven or hell, I guess it will be hell.

A lot of people would die now.

Many would die because Bertil facilitated it.

Most of them, however, were likely to die in the end, even if Bertil did nothing.

Marquis Edfeldt's domain was now just waiting to be overrun by René.

It was a critical disadvantage that could not be reversed. If René wanted to, she could easily kill 80% of the population, if not all of them.

That was why Bertil was looking for a way to keep the rest alive by cutting off a certain amount of lives.

He understood that for those who would be cut down, that would be the end of everything.

Even if he lost, there was a way to lose.

--If a man is so afraid of the punishment after death that he does not do what he ought to do in this life, he is no better than a dog...

Bertil looked up at the pitch black sky.

"Look at me, O Lord of Heaven! This is the battle of Bertil Lagerbeck."

Bertil checked the time on his pocket watch.

The second hand.

The second hand rotated.

Eventually, it reached its zenith.

"God, protect Ciel-Terra."

Several silent lightning bolts simultaneously spouted out.

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