Chapter 20: [STAGE 1] Kill Zone (2)

“Ugh... Uuuugh!”

“How do we kill such a gigantic monster…!”

The appearance of the boss monster threw the soldiers on the wall into confusion.

The shots from the cannons and ballistae stopped, and the fire net that had been tightly maintained was loosened in an instant.

Gaaah!

Gwaaaah-!

The Living Armors started to pass through the moment the fire net became loosened, pouring in through the front and left and right sides of the wooden fence.

These monsters rushed to kill the nearest human.

Toward Jupiter, who was knocked down by the shock of falling off a horse and passed out.

“Shit! We have to form a defensive formation!”

“We have to protect the mage!”

Four of Jupiter's party members hurriedly ran and formed a square in front of Jupiter.

However, they were also quite injured because of the fall. In addition, all the war horses that were with them ran away one by one.

The end of a guerrilla unit that has lost its mobility was an obvious one.

‘They will die!’

I clenched my teeth.

I can’t afford to lose Jupiter and an entire hero party in a place like this!

“Demian!”

Demian turned to look at me. I hurriedly pointed at Jupiter’s party.

“Snipe the Living Armors approaching Jupiter’s party!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Damian changed the direction of the crossbow without hesitation.

Twang! Twang! Twang-!

The arrows flew in succession.

Thwack! Thwack!

The arrows of each blow accurately pierced the Living Armors.

But the problem was… Demian may be the most accurate sniper in the world, but his shooting speed was not fast.

Gwaah-!

There were too many Living Armors pouring in through the loose Kill Zone, and it was hard to stop them all only with Demian's shots.

Lucas shouted at me.

“Your Highness! We need to turn the cannon fire nets to support Jupiter’s Party!”

“No!”

I refused immediately.

“The fire net must be kept as it is! If the Kill Zone disappears, the number of escaped monsters will increase!”

“But—!”

“Focus on the restoration of the fire net! The soldiers have lost their minds!”

I ran to the soldier who was struggling behind the cannon in front of the wall and slapped him in the back.

“Get yourselves together, you idiots! Don’t get intimidated by just its size!”

The soldier immediately regained his senses.

“Huff?! M-my sincerest apology, Your Highness!”

“Huh?”

I became more bewildered than the soldier. What the hell? Was my slap that effective?

As I looked down at my palms, I suddenly realized the reason.

My passive skill, [Indomitable Commander]!

‘Soldiers within 10m around me recover from mental debuffs.’

I watched the soldiers trembling in fear on the wall.

Could it be that mental state recovery means I’ll dispel not only debuff magic but also a shaken mentality?

‘Then if I run around the battlefield, will I be able to restore the shaken mentalities of the soldiers?’

The moment I thought of the plan, I made the decision quickly. I turned back to look at Lucas.

“Lucas!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I'll take care of calming the soldiers and restoring the Kill Zone! And you…!”

I hesitated for a moment but said it in the end.

“Will take care of the rescue.”

“......!”

“Go out of the castle and rescue Jupiter’s party.”

I can’t lose an SR-rank mage here. Never!

And the only person who could rescue Jupiter from that hell infested with monsters was the main character, Lucas.

Lucas quickly skimmed over the battlefield.

Even now, the Living Armors who had escaped the Kill Zone were attacking with a terrifying force.

The armored monsters ran toward Jupiter’s party with a terrifying roar.

Jump into a deadly place and rescue your colleagues.

Such a reckless order.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

However, Lucas nodded his head with an unshaken face.

“I’ll follow your order.”

“...Good luck, Lucas.”

It was a decision that could cost me both the SR-rank mage and the SSR-rank knight.

But I decided to put my trust in Lucas. I decided to gamble on the natural fortune that he was born with as the main character.

Lucas climbed down the stairs very quickly and went down the wall. Please, return safely, main character!

I hurriedly ran out of the wall and slapped the soldiers in the back.

“Get yourselves together! Get yourselves together, you idiots! Do you plan on dying altogether?!”

Slap! Slap!

All the soldiers who had been hit by my devastating back slap jumped and woke up.

“Argh?!”

“Ouch!”

“Y-Your Highness? What are you…”

“Get yourselves together, and start firing the cannons! Maintain the Kill Zone!”

As I ran over the wall with all my might, pounding on the soldiers’ backs, cheeks, and shoulders, I shouted as loud as I could.

“Are you afraid of that monster? Truly?!”

The soldiers looked at the huge Specter floating in the sky. Everyone still looked terrified.

So I told them honestly too.

“I’m scared as fuckin’ hell too!”

“Huh?”

“Of course that shit is scary! If you’re not afraid of that, then you aren’t even a human!”

Monsters are larger than humans.

Monsters are stronger than humans.

It is a primal instinct to fear such things. Being afraid isn’t something to be embarrassed about.

However—!

“Ordinary people will be more afraid of those monsters than us who are trained!”

As I ran a lap around the wall, I slapped all the soldiers on the back once. Everyone calmed down.

But knowing that they had come back to their senses, I ran one more time in the opposite direction and slapped each one on the back once again.

“Think of your loved ones, your mother, wife, siblings, and children! Think of the fear that they will be feeling after seeing that monster!”

A new fear entered the hearts of the soldiers who were hit by my back slap.

“Think of what will happen when those monsters enter the city!”

“......!”

“Think of the powerless ordinary citizens being slaughtered by those monsters! Think of the countless children who will be sacrificed because you were afraid!”

Huff, huff. Oh my god. I’m so out of breath after running laps around the castle wall. I think I might throw up.

“We have to stop them here.”

I continued shouting even as I had difficulty catching my breath.

“We are the ones who block the monsters and protect the people! We are the final stop line!”

The soldiers were still terrified, but with trembling hands, they grabbed the cannons and ballistae again.

“Start shooting again, if you’re back to your senses! Quick! Pour everything you have!”

“Y-yes, Your Highness!”

“Fire! Fire-!”

Boom! Boom! Boom-!

The cannons and the ballistae were being fired again. I also kept shouting as loud as I could.

“Fire, fire at them! Burn those monsters alive-!”

The Kill Zone was finally restored.

The center of the wooden exterior wall was again blocked by crossfire, and the Living Armors began to melt helplessly.

However, the number of monsters that had entered the outer wall was still quite big.

“Open up the castle gate!”

Lucas ran out with only his horse to that field of monsters.

“Giddy-up!”

The figure of Lucas riding on a horse quickly disappeared over the horizon. I clenched my fists.

‘Lucas, I leave this to you!’

The fate of this stage, no…

The fate of this game lies in your hands.

* * *

[Translator: Dawn ]

[Proofreader: Alissa ]

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* * *

“Ugh?”

Jupiter opened her only eye.

‘Where am I?’

Jupiter hurriedly took a look around.

It was the plain in front of the southern wall of Crossroad. There she was lying.

‘I remember up till I fell off from the horse.’

What about after that?

What happened?

“Dame Jupiter, are you awake?!”

An urgent shout flew in. Jupiter tried hard to get back on her feet as she raised her upper body.

She tried to wipe her forehead as it felt very wet, which was blood. It seemed that her forehead was injured from the fall from the horse.

It also seemed that her back was injured, as it ached when she tried to move.

“Oh for lord’s sake. Am I really at the age to be going through this…”

“Dame Jupiter! We need your help! Dame Jupiter!”

When she turned in the direction of the voice, she saw her party members around her, protecting her.

Gwaaah-!

All while the Living Armors were screaming and running toward those party members.

“......?!”

Her still dizzy head instantly cooled down. Jupiter got herself together and tried to get a grasp of the situation.

Jupiter’s party was isolated.

Everyone was injured from the fall, and Jupiter lost consciousness.

Before they could even try to retreat to the city, the Living Armors attacked them.

“The rescue team is on the way! We have to survive until then…!”

The mercenary who was telling Jupiter the status of the situation hurriedly swung the mace in his hand.

Crash!

One of the Living Armors’ helmets, which suddenly rushed in, was hit by the mace and dented.

Ga- argh!

However, the Living Armor only paused for a moment, and stably stabbed the spear in its hand again.

“What?! It endured that hit?!”

The mercenary exclaimed

It was the same for other party members.

They attacked the Living Armors that were pushing in a wave, but the Living Armors did not fall easily with any attacks.

They can be easily eliminated with magic attacks, but they won’t stop moving until they are completely shattered when it comes to physical attacks.

This was the reason why the Living Armors were difficult to deal with.

Even though all of Jupiter's party members were N-ranks, they were hero characters.

They were talented fighters who had gone through many battles against monsters, but even for them, the Living Armors were still difficult to deal with, since there were so many of them.

In the end,

“Urgh?!”

Casualties started to occur.

It was the mercenary who was telling Jupiter about the situation.

He succeeded in smashing the fourth Living Armor with a mace, but the Living Armor with only an upper body crawled and stabbed him in the calf with a spear.

While staggering in pain, a few more Living Armors rushed in.

He swung his mace with all his might, smashing the leading Living Armor, but…

Stab! Stab!

The other Living Armors’ spears pierced the chest and the stomach of the mercenary.

“Gaa… Argh…”

Writhing in pain, he tried to swing the mace again, but the monsters were faster.

Stab! Stab!

The monsters pulled out the spears like machines and stabbed him again.

There was no emotion in the actions of the monsters. They only moved in the most optimal route in order to kill humans.

Jupiter's eyes flipped as she watched the process of one party member being brutally murdered.

“You fucking frying pieces of shit…!”

Jupiter tried to quickly use magic to wipe out the Living Armors around her, but her hands didn't gather enough mana.

Perhaps it was because she fell head first from the horse that she couldn't control mana properly.

Jupiter rubbed her forehead and struggled to gather mana.

“Ugh, damn it…! Hurry…!”

Stab! Splash-!

“Ah, aaah!”

In the meantime, the second party member fell.

It was the mercenary who was trying his best to parry the attacks with his shield.

However, the shield broke by the Living Armors’ rushing attacks, and he was stabbed mercilessly.

“Uuhh, Aaah! Fuck, fuck!”

The third party member fighting beside him turned around and ran. No, he tried to run.

However, the moment he turned his body around, the Living Armors started throwing spears at his empty back.

Shooh! Swoosh-!

Stab, Stab, Stab!

The third party member, who was pierced by the thrown spears in an instant, fell to the floor without even being able to scream.

He trembled in the pool of blood he had poured out and eventually died.

The small defense line, which had only been maintained by a few people, collapsed in an instant.

Jupiter smelled the living armor right in front of her.

The smell of rusty armor and rotten water.

The smell of drowning.

“You should’ve stayed down at the bottom of the lake…”

A handful of mana managed to gather at her fingertips. Jupiter shouted and stretched her hand forward.

“Did you find this good ol’ grandma taking her salary comfortably that irritating?!”

Flash-!

A bright blue thunderbolt swept through the area.

The Living Armors standing in the front burned to the ground and collapsed all at once.

It was effective, but it wasn't even half of her usual output. Thunderbolts that would usually drop several rays at a time only dropped once this time.

‘Looks like I’m done for.’

Jupiter clicked her tongue as she watched the Living Armors rushing behind the charred armors.

So she shouted at the last party member.

“You, run outta here!”

“Huh, what?!”

The last party member was a young mercenary. Jupiter yelled at him again.

“At least one of us must survive! Get the hell outta here, kid!”