436

Episode 436: It's okay if we just keep going like this. (3)

When Jiselle jumped down, people were shocked.

I'm so used to it now that I know why he does that. It means he's trying to waste time alone again.

However, in the past, they brought down mercenaries and knights. It was not common to fight against many enemies alone as recklessly as now.

"Gisselle!"

Zwalter shouted loudly. That bastard always fights, and if he doesn't like something, he just runs into the enemy lines.

I remember how much it pained me during the previous Battle of Ferdium.

"master!"

"My lord!"

Belinda and Gillian also shouted urgently. I understand how you feel, but there are so many enemies on a whole other level than before.

Even now, as soon as he went down, Jiselle was covered in gray waves, making it difficult to even see his appearance properly.

As everyone was about to go down to help Jiselle, a loud shout was heard from below.

"Don't come down and rest! Eat water and powder and reorganize your formation! I don't intend to overdo it either!"

At those words, Giselle's entourage and knights were unable to move and only flinched. They knew very well what the situation was.

The area has become much wider than the existing cracks. It is difficult to maintain combat power because the cracks are piled up inside.

Even just a little bit of rest is needed to continue fighting. That's what Jiselle was trying to buy for him now.

Then Vanessa stepped forward and spoke.

"I will build a wall and assist you, my lord."

You shouldn't waste your magic power, but you can't just keep saving it either. If your allies are pushed back before you can even fight Equidema, then no matter how much magic power you have left, it's useless.

People had no choice but to nod. They had to make use of the time that Giselle had given them.

Kaaaak!

Jiselle fought at the front with the largest number of crackers, drawing attention.

In particular, the Crackers who felt the divine power emanating from Giselle's body rushed towards her like crazy.

To attract attention like this, Giselle covered her body with divine power.

Thanks to that, the number of crackers climbing up the fortress was reduced to less than half in an instant.

"Earth Wall!"

Gurrrrrr!

Vanessa blocked the walls again, and the number of people coming through the cracks decreased, if only for a moment.

Still, those who came up were stopped by the knights and took turns resting, and the soldiers took advantage of the gap to drink water and eat powder for the first time.

While they were resting, they were able to watch Giselle fight in detail. Giselle's movements were amazing.

Kwaaaaang!

He only created space by emitting mana when the Crackers were too crowded. It was a different fighting style from his usual style of fighting, which was always fierce and scorched the surroundings.

Kaaaaaaah!

Scratch!

Jisel's spear drew a large circle and cut off the necks of the Crackers. He conserved his mana as much as possible and fought the Crackers only with his skills.

Papapapapak!

In one breath, the spears were extended dozens of times. All the crack people surrounding Jiselle fell down with their heads pierced.

In an instant, the Crackers gathered in the empty space, but Vanessa used her magic again.

Kwaaang!

Several explosions occurred around Giselle. Giselle moved through the resulting gaps, dragging the rift people along with her.

"How can you move like that?"

"It's not like I'm pushing with force."

"It's like dancing."

Until now, it was difficult to properly appreciate its power because its destructive power was so strong. Every time he swung his weapon, all the enemies were blown up.

But now it was different. It seemed like dozens of Crackers were dying every time the window moved, but this time I could see the process clearly.

Tata tata tata tang!

Jiselle blocked and dodged the attacks of the surrounding crack people and counterattacked. Her movements were like flowing water.

The corpses of the crackers continued to increase, so quickly and accurately.

A technology that has truly reached its peak.

Although he was able to kill fewer enemies with each attack than before, he was showing how to fight effectively with minimal force.

It was as if he was showing everyone what level they should be heading towards.

"amazing."

Even Kaoru was so shocked that he said things he never usually said.

That monstrous lord was growing stronger by the day. It was unbelievable.

Kwaaaaang!

Thanks to Vanessa's magic, the rifts that were gathering again burst apart. Giselle's crimson spear passed through them as if dancing.

The knights and soldiers swallowed their saliva at the sight.

"As expected… … The strongest in the North… … ."

There is something special about Giselle's fight.

When we watch him fight, our hearts start pounding and our blood boils.

With him, it seems like you won't lose a battle. It gives you that kind of confidence.

It is precisely for this reason that the army led by Giselle is able to maintain high morale.

"Let's try a little harder!"

"You can do it! You've already removed a crack once or twice, right?"

"How long are you going to make the Archduke fight alone!"

The soldiers gritted their teeth and got up. The priests helped them recover, and thanks to Giselle, they rested for a considerable time.

I drank water and ate Fenris's combat rations. The nutrients provided in extreme conditions gave me strength again.

"Wow!"

The soldiers shouted and struck down the rising rift men.

Even the elves who ran out of arrows joined in and fought against the Crackers.

Thanks to the divine power surrounding Jiselle, who caught their attention, they were able to drive away all the crackers on the wall and form a solid formation again.

Now it's back to the way it was at the beginning.

"Vanessa!"

When Giselle felt that, she shouted loudly and Vanessa stretched out her hand and released her magic power.

Kwakwakwakwakwang!

Several pillars of flame shot up, scorching the area around Giselle. Giselle took advantage of the brief moment of respite to quickly climb up the wall.

Because of the hot heat, steam was rising from Jiselle's body.

"master!"

Belinda, who had dealt with more crackers than anyone else with her unique skills, ran over and covered Giselle's body with a cloth soaked in cold water.

"What is this? Where did this come from?"

"I prepared it in advance."

"As expected of Belinda. Thank you."

Jiselle, who had just wiped her face, smiled and shouted.

"Okay! Here we go again! Just hold on a little longer!"

It took a day to safely deal with 100,000 Crackers. There are more Crackers now than then, and fewer friendly forces.

But as they fought through the fortress, the wizards were also pouring in more strength.

Jiselle and the soldiers worked hard to maintain the current tactics.

Vanessa separated the rifters and the wizards poured their magic into the dangerous area.

The priests revived the soldiers at the perfect timing according to Giselle's orders. If things didn't go well, Giselle would go down again and grab the attention of the Crackers.

Jiselle was constantly moving and looking around.

'It'll just have to continue like this.'

Strong people like Belinda, Gillian, and Kaor also helped a lot. They each took charge of their own territory and fought while leading knights and soldiers.

The same was true for Zwalter and Randolph, Skoban and Ricardo.

The knights of Ferdium, whose skills had greatly improved, also exerted their strength, recognizing that this battle was their last in their lives.

So they fell into a state of selflessness and continued to fight and fight.

"Ugh, ugh… … ."

Skoban, who was called the cause of the disaster, thought with his eyes wide open as he swung his sword.

'Why do I have such a hard life?'

Something is wrong with my life. I am living such an intense life.

At some point, I didn't even know why I was swinging my sword. I just swung it because there were crackers in front of me.

Even though he had fought so carefully, saving his strength, he was now only emitting a faint black light. It was difficult to properly draw in mana anymore.

'Why… … aren't you letting me recover?'

Thanks to the priests, I was able to continue fighting. I wish they would have healed me once more, but that has stopped.

Skoban did not know that the priests had also fallen after exhausting all their divine powers in the long battle.

'Oh, I'm sleepy.'

My eyes are closed. My body feels too heavy. It's strange that I can swing my sword even though I'm sure I've exceeded my limit.

I can't feel any pain because all my senses have already been destroyed.

I also thought about Desmond's trio of spies who defected to Fenris.

'I feel like I have to fight until I die.'

'Should I just die?'

'Yeah, if I keep doing this I'll end up dead.'

Still, their three-person cooperative attack was very effective against the Crackers, as they fought while complementing each other with minimal force.

They fought for three days straight without sleeping. It was possible thanks to the priests, but now that is over.

We've been able to hold out until now with our mental strength, but it's too much. Everyone has long since reached their limit.

"uh?"

The soldiers felt something strange while sobbing.

"It decreased."

Someone muttered. The number of Crackers that had climbed up to the fortress was only a few hundred(?).

The guys running towards me, riding on a mountain of corpses, were similar.

"It really has shrunk."

How many people have been killed?

Even though the wizards burned and blew up the corpses, the corpses of the Crackers were piled up like a mountain in front of the fortress.

The wizards had also retreated, having exhausted most of their magical power. Only Vanessa was still fighting with the magic of the circle.

"The end… is in sight."

The number of Crackers advancing toward the fortress has also decreased significantly compared to before. Now, they are advancing in small groups. This is natural since I killed more Crackers than the number that came out of the Cracks.

"Just a little bit… … Let's try harder… … ."

The soldiers gritted their teeth and fought. The knights also swung their swords while spitting blood.

They had all lost feeling in their hands for a long time. It was hard to even stand, but they held on with a sense of responsibility to protect this place.

At least Jiselle and her entourage were still able to fight. They were really effective in distributing their power and put more effort into helping their allies.

Paaak!

Jiselle, who had cut off the necks of the Crackers, exhaled and looked forward.

Most of the Crackers who climbed up the wall died. The number of Crackers climbing up decreased even further.

It's almost over now. Only the final fight remains.

"Everyone, stand back."

At those words, the soldiers slowly retreated, fighting the few remaining Crackers.

And in front, only Giselle's entourage, Zwalter, and Randolph remained.

This was something we had already discussed before the battle.

- Keuuuung!

A beast's roar is heard from afar.

Equidema's mission is to expand its territory and defend it.

It usually doesn't move in front of the crack because it has to conserve strength. However, there were times when the beast moved on its own.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

Something was approaching from afar, making the ground shake.

Equidema has moved.

"Phew… … ."

Jiselle took a sip of water and caught her breath again.

There were still small cracks coming up. However, most of the soldiers had lost their strength and collapsed, and most of the knights were barely able to stand with blood dripping from the corners of their mouths.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

- Keuuuung!

The beast's howl erupted again.

There is only one reason why Equidema moves: to protect its territory.

In the rifts that Jisel and the Northern Army dealt with, Equidema never stepped forward even when all the rift people died. They only focused on expanding while conserving their strength.

The cracks that had been dealt with so far were extremely small areas from Equidema's perspective. The number of crackers was also small, and even if they were all killed, they would quickly recover, so the beasts would not feel threatened.

But when the area gets this big, it's a different story.

Even though there were many Crackers who set foot on this world, most of them died. This means that a powerful enemy that could pose a serious threat to the realm has appeared.

Eventually, Equidema had no choice but to stop expanding and stand down.

- Keuuuung!

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

The soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons as they heard the earthshaking sound. The fact that Equidema was rushing here and the number of Crackers was slowly increasing was also a problem.

Although not as many as the first time, the number of cracks that kept appearing here and there added up to over a thousand again. It was a truly disgustingly large number. At least I guess I'm lucky that I don't know anything about strategy or tactics.

"Ugh… … ."

They had to fight more. They stood up bravely, even though it was difficult.

Kaaaak!

The Crackers climbed up the wall again and attacked.

Jiselle didn't deal with them anymore. The others who were nearby took care of the crackers.

Jiselle simply swung her sword forward in a large motion.

Kwaaaaang!

There was a sound like something exploding, and a huge object landed on the wall.

Krrrrrr… … .

Equidema appeared. There was a thin wound on his face, but it wasn't a serious wound.

The soldiers who first saw the beast turned pale and took a step back without realizing it. It was because of their instinctive fear.

Kwaaaaang!

As the enraged Equidema roared, the already exhausted soldiers froze and even dropped their weapons.

In the brief moment that Jiselle and Equidema glared at each other, the Crackers swelled again.

They rushed towards the stiffened soldiers. Jiselle and those around her were unable to deal with all the crackers as they were busy fighting off the Equidema.

But it was okay, because they had something to believe in.

Soon a splendid voice, as if descending from heaven, was heard from behind.

[And the Goddess said, I have given you authority to trample them underfoot and to overcome all the power of the enemy; no one will harm you.]

Wow!

In an instant, a bright light spread across the battlefield, enveloping everyone.