[Raul's POV]
The following day, every force within the fortress city was on high alert. All archers had taken their positions in the fortress towers.
The final report from the patrol units arrived at 4:00 PM. They stated that the monster horde was already within 5 kilometers of the fortress city.
The citizens had been evacuated to the city's underground chambers. All who remained on the surface of the fortress were soldiers and priests.
Currently, I and several of my members were on the northern city wall, tasked with guarding and monitoring the area.
"Captain, will we be fighting tonight?" asked Piers, who stood beside me.
"You will find out soon enough, Piers," I answered casually.
Looking toward the horizon, the sun began to set, turning the sky dark and signaling that night had arrived.
A cold night wind blew against me as I stood there. Sipping a cup of tea made my body feel warm and comfortable again.
— Thud!
Piers and I glanced at each other. It was because we suddenly heard a very loud thumping sound.
The tea inside my glass rippled, signaling that the glass was experiencing vibrations caused by something.
— Dum!
This time, the thumping sound was louder than before.
I focused my vision toward the horizon once more. This time, something was faintly moving toward us in the darkness of the night.
Not long after, a line of monster forces appeared, approaching the city.
"Monsters sighted! Ring the alarm bell!" a soldier shouted upon seeing the approaching horde.
— Teng! Teng! Teng! Teng!
The sound of the bells alerted every soldier that the city was under attack.
Everyone prepared in their respective positions; I and several members were even ready if the monsters began to climb these walls.
— Groaarrrrr!
A massive monster roar echoed. A giant Minotaur, 10 meters tall, was walking toward the fortress walls followed by other monsters.
"Archers, get ready!" a leader of the archers in the wall tower gave the command to shoot. "Aim and hooooold!"
The monsters drew closer and closer.
100 meters...
90 meters...
80 meters...
This time, the entire horde of monsters was clearly visible to my eyes. Some carried weapons like axes and swords. It seemed they were also utilizing weapons stolen from fallen troops.
"Loose now!"
The moment the command was issued, hundreds of arrows launched, raining down upon the approaching monsters.
Screams and roars began to echo loudly in this place. However, the rain of arrows did not stop the wave of monsters approaching the city walls.
The monsters then began to climb over each other's bodies, attempting to scale the fortress walls.
As some reached the top of the wall, I rushed to draw my sword and attacked the monsters so they could not gain a footing atop the wall.
"Infantry, draw your swords and kill these monsters!"
The order was given; the wall guards began to fight the monsters trying to climb up.
The corpses of the monsters began to fall and pile up around the city walls.
However, I suddenly saw something flying this way.
— Tang!
A flying insect monster suddenly lunged its sharp claws at me.
Fortunately, I swiftly parried it and then split the flying monster's body into two with a slash of my sword.
"Watch out for aerial attacks!" I shouted loudly. "Mages! Shoot down the monsters that can fly into the city!"
Several mages positioned atop the city buildings then began to fire their magic projectiles at the monsters with the ability to fly.
"Grrrr!"
I heard the growl of a monster. Four Lycanthropes had successfully made it onto top of the city wall and began to attack the guards there.
Activating Accel magic, I dashed toward the four Lycanthropes.
"Woof! Woof!"
The Lycanthropes noticed my arrival and prepared to attack.
The first Lycanthrope threw a punch toward my face. However, I shifted my head to the side to evade and countered by striking its face using my hand, which had been reinforced with Temper magic.
"Woof! Woof!"
Two other Lycanthropes then stepped forward and launched several punches at me. However, I dodged them easily and then decapitated both of them with ease.
Seeing its three companions killed instantly, the last Lycanthrope intended to jump and flee, but I caught its tail and stabbed it from behind using the sword in my hand.
"Attack! Do not let those monsters enter the city!"
Everyone was fighting; not a single soul was idle. Casualties had begun to fall; several Priests had already come down to provide aid and create a perimeter for healing.
— GROAARRR!
Suddenly, I heard that very loud roar again.
Looking toward the source of the sound, the giant Minotaur from before looked as if it were bracing itself to run.
Don't tell me... that monster is going to ram the city wall to create a hole so the monsters can enter easily?
"ROOOARRRRR!"
The Minotaur beat its chest and then began to run toward the city wall.
The veins across all its muscles were visible; the impact of its footsteps was so strong that it made me feel the vibrations here.
— BAMMM!!!
A massive collision sound echoed as the giant Minotaur successfully hit the wall with its body. Several archers in the towers even fell due to the strong vibrations generated by the monster's attack.
The giant Minotaur backed away to brace itself again. A crack was visible in the area of the wall hit by that horrific monster.
"Mages, over here! Try to stop that giant Minotaur with your magic!" shouted one of the soldiers atop the wall.
I could not help them deal with the Minotaur because I was busy fighting the monsters that were starting to climbing up here.
"ROOAARRRR!!!!"
The Minotaur roared like a rampaging bull.
It then ran back toward the area of the wall it had hit previously. This time, its movement was much faster.
"Earth element mages! Create an Earth Wall to stop that monster!" a soldier directed.
Five mages then lined up facing the giant Minotaur and began to chant a spell in unison.
Not long after, five Earth Walls appeared between the giant Minotaur and the wall.
— Bamm! Bamm! Bamm!
However, the Minotaur was able to break through all the Earth Walls conjured by the mages to stop its progress.
"Fire mages, shoot that monster!" The soldier gave directions again.
This time, five mages in red robes replaced the earth element mages. They all extended their hands toward the approaching Minotaur.
"Maximize Magic: Fire Bullet Ultima!"
A large fireball then appeared in front of the mages and shot toward the giant Minotaur heading for the wall.
— Bomb!
An explosion was created when the large fireball hit the monster.
However, something emerged from the cloud of smoke resulting from the explosion. The giant Minotaur was still running, even though its entire body was burning with a blazing fire.
"ROAAARRRRR!"
The Minotaur hit the already cracked wall with extreme force.
A violent shaking occurred, causing the soldiers atop the wall to be thrown toward other buildings or to the ground.
Piers and I were thrown toward a building not far from the wall. A large hole was created after the Minotaur successfully destroyed the cracked fortress wall.
"They are coming! The monsters are entering the city!" shouted one of the soldiers.
Hundreds of monsters began to enter the city through the hole made by the giant Minotaur.
Because of the sheer numbers, the soldiers had to retreat and form a formation to stem the wave of attacks from the monsters flooding in.
"Captain, what should we do?" asked Piers, looking worried as he saw the soldiers overwhelmed by the onslaught.
Before I could respond to Piers' words, I heard a scream coming from the air.
"Exterminate all those humans! We will have a feast of fresh human blood in this city!"
Damn, it's the Vampires. This fight will certainly be harder to win.
"Piers, gather all the members! We will target the dangerous monsters entering the city!" I commanded him.
This is going to be a very long night.
***
[Marquis Fran's POV]
The battle has begun; those monsters truly attacked tonight. Explosions could be seen everywhere from a distance; my soldiers seemed to be facing strong resistance in the fortress wall area.
Currently, I am on the roof of the tallest building in my city to monitor the course of the battle more clearly.
"Report, General!" Suddenly, a Herald came to me.
"Speak!" I ordered him.
"General, the northern wall has been breached by the monsters!" said the Herald. "The Vampires have also begun to arrive, causing the two battalions guarding the northern region to be overwhelmed!"
"I understand. You may return to your post!"
After delivering the information to me, the Herald then returned to the battlefield to gather information about the progress of the fight.
So, they successfully broke through the northern wall, huh?
Currently, the monsters are attacking the northern and eastern sides of this city with full force. On the other hand, the western side has not faced significant resistance from the monsters.
In the southern part of the city, the soldiers have not found a single monster at all. Should I pull some troops from the southern side before deploying the reserve forces?
"Nirva!" I called one of my subordinates.
"Ready, General!" replied the man with the thick beard, facing me.
"Lead a portion of the troops from the southern side to move to the northern side to help the forces there fight the monsters entering the city," I instructed him.
"Understood, General! I will carry out this task as best as I can!"
After watching my subordinate depart, I suddenly saw something in the sky flying toward us.
Not long after, a figure of a pale-skinned woman with wings landed right on the building where I was.
"Are you the noble who rules this region?" asked the female figure.
"Correct. Do you wish to kill me, Vampire?" I asked her.
"Hehe~ Of course! My Master will certainly be happy if I can bring your head to him!"
After she said that, my four guards immediately drew their swords, intending to attack the demon.
"All of you, go help the troops on the battlefield!" I ordered them.
"But, My Lord! We are your guards! It is our duty to eliminate any threat targeting you!" said one of my guards.
"This one is a True Vampire; you would only be throwing your lives away if you fought her," I said to them. "Go, I can handle her alone!"
Seeing my persistence, my four guards then left from up here, leaving only me and the True Vampire in front of me on top of this building.
"Hehe~ You are very confident!" said the Vampire, laughing freely.
I then pointed my sword at the Vampire and said, "I will teach you a lesson for destroying my city, Vampire!"
"Fufufu~ I cannot wait for that!"
After saying that, the Vampire then dashed toward me. Our battle had only just begun.