Chapter 143

Marquis Ludwig and Richard’s plan was simple.

Quickly defeat only the skeleton snakes capable of destroying the walls, then retreat and engage in a defensive battle.

The main forces of the enemy, the rotten sick and mixed corpses, had no means to climb the walls, so they could be whittled down with one-sided attacks… and honestly, it wasn’t a bad plan.

The Grave Devourers were a bit threatening, but if they clung to the walls, the experts could just knock them off.

They planned to wear the enemy down… and once their numbers were sufficiently reduced, they’d send out the knights for repeated assaults and retreats.

Listening to it, it sounded like a decent enough plan…

“What the hell happened to end up like this?”

Given the current situation, it was clear the plan had failed.

Marquis Ludwig, as if his stomach was burning just thinking about it, took a deep drag of his cigarette, inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs.

“It’s obvious. The gates didn’t open.”

He spat out the words bitterly, a self-mocking, bitter smile on his face as he let out a long sigh into the air.

The smoke collided with the ceiling and scattered in all directions.

“There were four thousand troops stationed inside the walls. Most were shooting arrows from the walls, and only two knights and fifty soldiers were in charge of the gates. I thought that was enough since all they had to do was open and close the gates. But those guys… just had to…”

The retreating troops panicked when they found the gates firmly shut, and in the chaos, the monsters charged in fiercely… Many lost their lives.

The losses were especially heavy among the Holy Legion holding the front lines.

“Wait, does that even make sense? What’s the point of closing the gates at that point?”

Even if the outside forces were wiped out, the inside wouldn’t be safe, and unless the entire inner force had betrayed them, it was obvious they’d be suppressed soon enough.

“Who knows. Maybe they were so terrified by the monsters that they lost all judgment, or maybe someone put them up to it… At this point, it’s impossible to know. All I know is that more people than expected joined in, and it took over ten minutes to subdue them and open the gates.”

“What a mess.”

Even though the 3rd Legion was a ragtag group compared to the 1st and 2nd Legions, the Imperial Army had really hit rock bottom.

“Prince Leopold tried to restore order, but after being hit by a stray arrow from the walls and collapsing, the chaos only grew worse.”

So that injury on his shoulder… it wasn’t from a monster but from friendly fire.

“…Was it Isabella’s doing?”

If they claimed that the gates weren’t opened because of panicked cowards, and that the arrows were just part of a large-scale barrage where a few stray shots were inevitable, then even if Leopold died, the blame and suspicion could be brushed off.

“I thought the same… but there’s no evidence left. Those who caused the riot all killed themselves before they could be captured.”

“Well, of course. If they were caught, they’d just be tortured… So, what happened after that?”

If they were betrayed by their own, it’s understandable that the losses were heavy, but the walls being destroyed can’t be explained by that alone.

“After retreating, we fought a defensive battle as planned. The ‘Whisperer’ caused our losses to increase as much as the enemy’s… but we managed to hold out. For three days, at least.”

“Three days?”

“The first day, it raised a large number of corpses and then disappeared. Three days later, it returned with hundreds of new monsters… Surrounding this place, it wandered alone through the now-abandoned surroundings, gathering corpses.”

Definitely not the kind of judgment you’d expect from a mere monster.

As if recalling that time, the Marquis continued with a deeply troubled expression.

=====[Ludwig, Three Days Ago]=====

Amidst the chaos of battle.

Seven experts with spears and swords were knocking Grave Devourers off the walls, while thousands of soldiers shot arrows and threw bricks, raining down one-sided attacks on the rotten sick.

The paladins who survived the first battle shot heavenly arrows toward the ground, and the priests gathered inside the castle prayed without rest.

To ensure the blessings on the soldiers and knights never ceased.

“Flesh Golems on the northern wall!”

Flesh Golems.

Large, amorphous monsters made of sagging flesh, boils, and sticky pus.

Normally, they were just big and not particularly threatening… but in a siege, things were different.

The massive lump of flesh writhed and clung to the wall at an angle.

Its body, which had been swaying like melted butter, slowly hardened, and in an instant, a ramp leading up to the wall was formed.

The monsters began rushing up in droves.

“The monsters are climbing up!”

“Pull back the troops and send in the knights! Only a few can climb up at a time anyway!”

Marquis Ludwig shouted loudly.

“5th Division, move in! Defend the walls! For the Empire!”

“For the Empire!”

Knights with drawn swords stepped forward to block the monsters climbing up the Flesh Golem.

Blades faintly glowing with holy light sliced through the limbs of the rotten sick, and follow-up kicks sent them tumbling off the walls.

“Ahhhh!”

Knights struck by the whips of the mixed corpses fell back, screaming as they plummeted.

Other knights rushed in and severed the monster’s legs.

A flurry of blades descended on the falling monster.

To hack it to pieces until its breath ceased.

“Floheta!”

Ludwig pointed at the Flesh Golem and shouted.

“I must be insane! If it weren’t for the research funds!”

The high sorceress, Floheta, grumbled hysterically as she gathered her mana.

Sweat poured down her body from the extreme mana consumption, but she still had some strength left.

She raised her arm.

Above the Flesh Golem’s head, a massive swirl of mana gathered.

“Pull the knights back! Now!”

“All units, retreat! High-level magic incoming!”

The knights of the 5th Division quickly disengaged.

Though the skirmish was brief, four had already lost their lives.

Floheta, watching the knights retreat, brought her raised arm down sharply.

From the void, a waterfall of fire poured down.

Fierce flames engulfed the monster’s back.

The Flesh Golem’s entire body began to burn in an instant.

Along with the monsters on top of it.

“Gaaaaah!”

The monster screamed, tearing itself away from the wall and thrashing.

The burning lump of flesh rolled on the ground, crushing and incinerating the surrounding monsters.

“Incredible, this is high-level magic…!”

One knight couldn’t help but exclaim in awe at the sight of a large monster and dozens of others being burned to ashes by a single spell.

It seemed to be his first time witnessing a high sorceress in action.

“I can’t do that again, so handle the rest yourselves!”

Floheta shouted at the knights before starting to hurl fireballs at other monsters.

Her mana was depleting rapidly, but the enemies to burn were endless.

‘Perhaps choosing a defensive battle was the right call. We can hold out like this.’

Marquis Ludwig muttered to himself as he surveyed the battlefield.

The Empire…

The army was almost unilaterally pouring on the attacks.

Except for the Flesh Golems, there were hardly any monsters with proper siege capabilities.

At best, a few monsters tried to climb the walls only to fall back down.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Since we were attacking from atop the walls, our options were limited to the paladins’ miracles, soldiers’ arrows, and some magic.

While miracles and magic were effective, the arrows barely made a dent.

Even though the priest’s blessings nullified their regeneration, unlike swords, the soldiers’ bows couldn’t easily incapacitate them.

Unless they got lucky and severed a limb, most monsters kept moving even with a dozen arrows stuck in them.

The catapults, on the other hand, were somewhat effective.

Still, they managed to halt the enemy’s advance, and the number of monsters had significantly decreased.

Everyone felt a fleeting confidence that victory was within reach.

“Men! Fight without fear! Their attacks can’t reach us, and in the end, we will prevail!”

Leopold, with his sword raised in his left hand, kept rallying the soldiers.

Despite his still-healing shoulder injury, he stood tall on the wall, ignoring the pain.

The morale, which had dipped after the first skirmish, was slowly recovering.

At that moment, the whisperer reappeared.

Along with what looked like three to four hundred rotting corpses.

—

Everyone was speechless.

Since it hadn’t shown itself since the first day, everyone had overlooked its presence.

The fact that there were hardly any new corpses for it to raise during the siege also played a part.

But who would’ve thought it could replenish its forces from outside?

It was a simple strategy, but no one expected monsters to have such judgment.

You couldn’t really blame them for being complacent.

Even the members of the Elpinel Church Order, who had fought countless monsters, were experiencing this for the first time.

From within the tattered black robe, a skeletal arm pointed at the wall.

The newly replenished monsters joined the forces surrounding the wall.

The soldiers grew restless.

The morale that had just been lifted was plummeting again.

“Do not panic! The enemy’s numbers have only slightly increased, but they still can’t attack us!”

Ludwig shouted to calm the soldiers, but inwardly, he was sighing.

‘Reinforcements at this point? And we can’t even stop them…! How many times can they do this?’

If it was just this once, they could manage, but if it happened two or three more times, it would be the end.

Stamina, magic, and divine power aren’t infinite. Neither are food or arrows.

In the end, they’d just wither away here, waiting for reinforcements.

Even if reinforcements came, if it was clearly the 3rd Prince’s army, the 1st Prince’s faction would be finished.

‘In that case, there’s no choice… We’ll have to form a guerrilla unit.’

Marquis Ludwig, his expression hardening, approached Leopold.

Staying holed up in the castle wasn’t going to solve anything anymore.

They had to engage in close combat to significantly reduce the enemy’s numbers.

They’d open the gates, send out some troops to fight, and recall them before they reached their limit.

Originally, this was a tactic to be used when the enemy’s numbers were sufficiently reduced, but there was no choice.

The casualties would be much higher than expected, but it was still better than being rescued by the 3rd Prince’s army.

‘We’ll have the priests heal the returning troops, and while they rest, we’ll send in another wave…’

At that moment,

As if mocking the troubled Marquis Ludwig, a thunderous sound echoed.

Everyone’s gaze turned eastward.

And in unison, they screamed.

An unexpected earthquake shook the ground.

Like lightning rising from the earth, deep cracks formed across the walls, splitting them apart.

“Elpinel…!”

Before anyone’s lament could finish,

With a deafening roar, the entire eastern wall collapsed.

The sound of hundreds of lightning strikes hitting at once.

The screams of those caught in it were drowned out.

Shattered rocks collided and hurled themselves toward the ground.

People who had been standing on the wall flailed their limbs as they fell like rain.

Some were crushed between the rocks, exploding mid-air.

Knights and soldiers fell to the ground, half-crushed, piling up as the wall’s debris fell on them again.

When the dust that had risen to cover the sky cleared, there wasn’t a single living soul left.

Beyond the hill of rubble, a skeletal serpent emerged, letting out a long roar.

—

“That’s how we lost over a thousand soldiers and dozens of knights in an instant… even Sir Daniel.”

Ludwig muttered with a sigh.

“Daniel?”

“One of the masters of the 1st Prince’s faction. He happened to be fighting right in the middle of the wall.”

So even a master-level knight died.

Well, it’s not like he had wings; if the wall collapsed, it was only natural he’d be crushed.

“But the other walls are still intact, so it seems they managed to hold on somehow?”

“We almost got wiped out. The other masters were scattered around, so… If it weren’t for Sir Gerard’s sacrifice, we would’ve lost the other walls too. Sir Gerard, the master-level knight closest to the skeletal serpent, chased it underground, clinging to its body… Neither of them returned. A truly honorable end. May Elpinel guide him to the heavens.”

Marquis Ludwig made the sign of the cross.

Even for the Marquis, who wasn’t a devout believer, the knight’s valor was quite impressive.

So, in the end, they lost two masters.

“Losing two master-level knights… even if we win now, we’ll be criticized.”

“Better than losing…. Anyway, that’s as far as my story goes. After that, we just set up a defense line at the collapsed wall and held on. The enemy kept attacking, retreating, and replenishing endlessly.”

Marquis Ludwig stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and stood up.

“If you’ve rested enough, let’s head out. I need to check on the situation too.”

I tossed my cigarette into the ashtray and followed the Marquis out of the room.

I’d rested enough and heard enough about how things had come to this… Now it’s time to figure out how to win.