The walls of the Free City Alliance, adjacent to the Sail Kingdom, crumbled, and other regions faced similar chaos.
The eastern part of the Alliance bordered the Silent Mountain Range, an area usually experiencing few monster appearances.
However.
“M-monsters! A monster wave has appeared in front!”
A soldier on the city wall shouted, his voice filled with terror. Indeed, a large horde of monsters was charging towards them. It was an incredibly unfortunate timing for a monster wave to occur. It was the worst possible moment.
Lanceberg, the commander of the eastern defense line of the Free City Alliance, observed the monster horde through his telescope. His expression grew increasingly grim. Orcs and goblins, as well as various types of undead monsters, were flooding towards the city walls.
What was particularly striking was the monsters’ behavior. A typical monster wave would move in a chaotic fashion. Furthermore, monsters of different species were marching in an orderly manner, as if by prior arrangement.
“Commander Lanceberg, this is an unprecedented situation!”
Olan, a young knight serving as Lanceberg’s subordinate officer, spoke with a trembling voice.
“With crusaders attacking from the west and a monster wave from the east…”
Their misfortune was truly overwhelming. It felt as if the heavens themselves were sending a message that the Free City Alliance was doomed. Lanceberg briefly looked up at the sky. A clear, blue sky. To think such a disaster would strike on such a day.
But they couldn’t simply surrender to their fate. Commander Lanceberg surveyed his surroundings and gave a resolute order.
“Concentrate our defenses! Archers, prepare your arrows, and mages, begin casting! Prepare the catapults!”
“Yes, Commander!”
The soldiers moved swiftly. Mages on the wall began preparing their spells, and archers drew their bowstrings. Soldiers operating the catapults loaded massive boulders.
“Fire!”
At Lanceberg’s command, hundreds of arrows filled the sky. Following them, fireballs and lightning spells from the mages rained down among the monsters, and the boulders launched by the catapults struck them.
Some monsters fell, but it was merely the tip of the iceberg. An endless procession of monsters trampled over their fallen comrades and continued to surge towards the city walls.
“Barely the level of catching fleas.”
Lanceberg scowled. Despair began to dawn on the faces of the soldiers on the wall. They would have preferred facing the western wall. Of course, the crusaders were attacking there too, but at least they were still human. Surrendering might offer a chance of survival. But here, it was different. Would surrendering to monsters save their lives? Everyone’s thoughts pointed to “no.” Lanceberg, knowing this all too well, shouted until hoarse,
“Keep firing! We must bring down as many as possible!”
The only small mercy was that there seemed to be no high-rank individual monsters. They thought if they could just secure the city gates and hold their ground, they might be able to repel the monster wave. Everyone clung to a fragile thread of hope.
“Everyone, defend the wall! Prepare to fire again!”
However, the order was not meant to be completed.
“Commander!”
A guard on the watchtower cried out, his voice laced with terror.
“Look at the sky!”
Lanceberg and his subordinate Olan simultaneously raised their heads. A massive shadow suddenly fell upon the clear sky. At first, they thought it was a passing cloud, but its movement was too rapid. As they soon confirmed its identity, Lanceberg’s face contorted in fear.
“Th-that’s… a Wyvern!”
Olan gasped. The Wyvern, with its enormous wings spread wide, circled above the city wall. Its seemingly impenetrable scales gleamed in the sunlight, its majestic form instilling an overwhelming sense of dread in all who beheld it.
“Kuaaaaaaaa!”
The Wyvern’s roar shook the entire wall. Soldiers covered their ears, and some, paralyzed by fear, fell to their knees.
“Soldiers! Calm yourselves!”
Lanceberg shouted, though his voice also trembled. The Wyvern was a 5-star monster, difficult to engage with normal troops. In fact, how many people had even seen a Wyvern before? It was practically a legendary monster, something only found in books.
But that wasn’t the only problem. The more shocking revelation was the being riding on the Wyvern’s back. A figure clad in a blue robe, controlling the Wyvern like a rider. And behind them…
“Skeletons…?”
Skeletons sat densely packed.
“Riding a Wyvern, and it’s undead?”
But their shock was premature. The figure in the blue robe picked up a skeleton and dropped it towards the city wall! The skeleton plummeted like an arrow. And the moment it struck the wall—
QuAaAAaNG—!
A massive explosion rocked the wall. Soldiers around the impact zone fell from the wall, and a section of the wall collapsed.
“That’s… a Lich, a Lich!”
A skeleton exploding could only mean one thing. A spell used by an undead mage of Lich-level or higher, Corpse Explosion. This meant the figure in the blue robe was at least a Lich. Commander Lanceberg’s face turned pale. He had already grasped the severity of the situation.
“Quickly retreat into the city! Everyone evacuate!”
Lanceberg drew his sword and issued a retreat order to all soldiers. The Wyvern alone was a foe they couldn’t handle. And then there was the being, seemingly at least a Lich, using explosive magic by throwing skeletons? There was no hope of victory. There was nothing they could do in this situation. The soldiers began to descend the wall in a panic. However, there was no path for them to retreat safely.
The being on the Wyvern’s back was none other than the Arch Lich, Necros. Necros continued to pick up skeletons. Moreover, he possessed the trait ‘Hyper Precision Shot,’ recently bestowed by his Master.
“Click.”
The ‘Hyper Precision Shot’ trait activated. Time began to flow slowly for him. The movements of the fleeing soldiers below appeared as if they were stuck in a swamp. Harnessing the slow passage of time, Necros accurately dropped skeletons into desired locations.
QuAaAAaNG—
QuAaAaAAaNG—!
QuAaAaAaAAaNG—!!
The dropped skeletons exploded in succession, tearing through the wall as if it were paper. The eastern wall, which had defended against the Silent Mountain Range, was instantly breached.
“Damn it!”
Lanceberg tried to flee with the remaining soldiers. But it was too late. Beyond the debris of the collapsed wall, a horde of monsters was pouring in. At the forefront of them was a stout Orc, wielding a dark axe and charging forward.
“Chik! Indeed, Lord Necros! A great warrior must have such ambition!”
Skoll, an Orc who valued combat, appeared. Skoll praised Necros and raised his axe high. Then, he slowly approached Lanceberg.
“Great warriors fight honorably!”
Indeed, Skoll began slaughtering the fleeing soldiers with his axe.
“Great warriors do not flee! Chik!” Fleeing was a cowardly act, and not that of a true warrior. Skoll showed respect to true warriors but wielded his axe against those who were not.
“Fight honorably!”
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”
At Skoll’s roar, the Orcs likewise began to roar. In that interval, a Skeleton Soldier rushed to attack Lanceberg. However.
Clang—
With Skoll’s axe, the skeleton crumbled.
“True warriors do not steal their opponents!”
Lanceberg’s eyes flickered gravely at the sight. The sword in his hand began to tremble. He had served in the military for many years, but this was the first time he had witnessed such a scene. For such a trivial reason, one monster attacking another?
“W-what on earth is this…”
He couldn’t comprehend what was happening at all.
* * *
“A monster wave has occurred in the Silent Mountain Range!”
As the full-scale invasion began and a monster wave struck, the councilors of the Free City Alliance descended into chaos. The Grand Garden conference room was in disarray. Councilors slammed their desks, shouting, and secretaries frantically stuffed important documents into their bags. The distant sounds of explosions and screams from beyond the windows added to the tension.
“I’ve told you countless times that we did not assassinate Duke Emond!”
Caleb, the chief defense councilor, shouted while looking at a map on the wall. The map displayed the military facilities of the Free City Alliance, but they were already mere illusions on paper. The Alliance’s forces were already stretched thin, facing an invasion by the crusaders in the first wave, and if the Sail Kingdom’s military attacked in the second, their capabilities would be further limited. And how would they repel the monster wave? A decree had already arrived stating that the eastern front had been breached by the monster wave. In short, it was one disaster after another.
They couldn’t even extend a hand for help to other countries. Being branded as heathens meant just that. In this situation, no country would offer assistance to the Free City Alliance.
“To begin with, the assassination of the Duke was not our doing! Someone is framing us!”
A councilor exclaimed with a voice filled with anger. Other councilors echoed his sentiment.
“That’s right! The only lead we have is that the assassin was merely an adventurer!”
As everyone was engaged in a heated debate, the main door of the Grand Garden opened. All eyes were drawn to it. Mayor Atilane Vert of the Free City Alliance entered with heavy steps, followed by Vice Mayor Reinel Hazel. Atilane’s face was pale, and instead of his usual dignified demeanor, it was filled with exhaustion and despair. As he entered, the councilors’ commotion briefly subsided. But only for a moment, as a barrage of questions followed.
“Mr. Mayor, what does the Sail Kingdom say?”
“Have they accepted our explanation that we were not involved in Duke Emond’s assassination?”
Everyone’s hope was dashed when Atilane shook his head.
“They didn’t even listen to our explanation. The Sail Kingdom is labeling us as heretics colluding with warlocks, solely based on the fact that Duke Emond was assassinated in our city.”
“Where is the evidence?! The assassin took his own life, but there must be evidence revealing his true identity!”
Another councilor cried out. However, Atilane’s expression grew even darker.
“Too many people heard the assassin’s last words…”
“…What does that mean!”
It was all due to the assassin’s final statement. Before committing suicide, he had said, “All for the Master.”
“The Sail Kingdom claims that this is the creed of warlocks. They say it’s proof that we are harboring warlocks.”
“That’s absurd!”
But the conference room fell into a heavy silence.
“What about the situation in other cities?”
At Mayor Atilane’s words, all the councilors bowed their heads. Only Caleb regained his composure and reported.
“All the walls have already been breached.”
The walls adjacent to the Sail Kingdom had been breached by the crusaders, and the areas bordering the Silent Mountain Range had fallen to the monster wave.
“The crusaders are entering the city, and monsters are already wreaking havoc. Furthermore…”
Caleb’s words trailed off. The booming sound from outside the window made everyone flinch. A colossal figure flying in the sky was visible through the conference room window.
“Th-that’s!”
Caleb exclaimed in shock.
“A, a Wyvern!”
At that moment, the Wyvern dived towards the Grand Garden. Its massive shadow darkened the conference room as if to engulf it. The councilors screamed in terror, and some hid under tables. The Wyvern’s intense roar shook the entire building, and the windowpanes vibrated, shattering into fragments that scattered into the room.
Mayor Atilane’s face was filled with despair.
“…Even the sky has forsaken us.”
His murmur was lost in the fear within the conference room. Just as he thought it might be time to truly give up.
“Not yet!”
Figures clad in robes entered the conference room. No one could mistake them for anything other than mages.
“Oh! Aren’t you mages!”
Mayor Atilane smiled, filled with gratitude. Mages were powerful beings. While empires and kingdoms had Mage Corps, the Free City Alliance had a Mage Guild. However, there was one problem. They were not the guild mages of the Free City Alliance that the mayor envisioned.
“It’s not time to give up now that we are here!”
Sharia, leading the group, said with a smile. Sharia, the leader of the Twilight Church, and Vice Leader Lucas beside her, along with the warlocks positioned behind them, smiled.