Chapter 209
The sight of the undead army surging like a wave was grim even from the 200-meter-high wall. Despite continuously cutting them down, skeletons and zombies seemed to endlessly crawl out from the enemy lines, as if on infinite refill.
“Stage two opening. Prepare the fortress cannons.”
“Stage two opening!”
Rumble.
The wall vibrated slightly once more, and this time, changes occurred lower down.
At the very bottom of the wall, at a height of less than 10 meters, countless fist-sized holes appeared. A long ledge formed at the 10-meter mark, upon which stood knights and soldiers armed with close-combat weapons like swords, spears, and axes.
Above them, stood troops with large bows.
“Archer knights, commence firing!”
At the command of their leader, the archer knights began their attack.
Whoosh, crack!
“Groooan!”
Over thirty arrows, glowing with mana, flew swiftly and pierced through the seemingly impenetrable bone shields with ease.
The thirty expert archer knights, specialized in archery, targeted the medium and large monsters carrying shields, sniping them one by one. This created gaps in the rushing bone shield formations, forcing the undead army to suffer more losses.
‘Still not enough. They’ll reach the wall at this rate.’
The undead army was rightly called the immortal legion for a reason. They seemed to never truly die as they relentlessly swarmed forward, with reinforcements replacing the fallen, steadily closing the distance.
And finally.
Whoosh! Crash!
“Brace for impact!”
Medium and large undead that had reached within 50 meters of the wall began their ‘throwing’ attack. The ‘projectiles’ were none other than the undead monsters like skeletons and zombies themselves.
Thud! Crash!
“Argh!”
Skeletons crashing onto the first ledge and zombies smashing upon impact bared their teeth at the soldiers, launching attacks.
“Hold formation! Don’t try to finish them, just push them off the wall!”
The shield-bearing soldiers methodically pushed the undead off the ledge with tower shields and boots.
Splat!
In the process, exploding zombie bodies splattered the wall with sticky, repulsive blood. Ordinary undead, not chosen as projectiles by the larger undead, continued to run desperately towards the wall, almost reaching its base.
“Activate the mechanism.”
“Activate the mechanism!”
At Duke Hansley’s command, the sound of gears turning echoed through the wall.
Thunk! Crash!
‘……! What is that?’
Raul looked down with a stunned expression.
From the fist-sized holes at the bottom of the wall, hundreds of 10-meter-long iron spikes shot out, impaling the undead. As the spikes rotated with a grinding noise, the undead were shredded like meat in a butcher’s grinder, their remains scattered everywhere.
The spikes then retracted into the holes to repeat the process, literally ‘shredding’ the undead into pieces.
‘What an incredibly brutal weapon. No wonder this wall is called a natural fortress.’
While Raul wasn’t entirely certain, the sheer force of the spikes seemed enough to deter even the medium and large undead from easily approaching the wall.
But as if mocking Raul’s thoughts, the undead army’s response also changed.
“Raaaawr!”
With a tearing screech like steel being ground, about twenty Abominations began charging towards the wall. As they drew nearer, they grew larger, absorbing the fallen corpses (zombies, ghouls, etc.) to bulk up.
5 meters, 6 meters, 7 meters….
“Target their cores! Don’t let them reach the wall!” the archer commanders shouted, urging their archers. However, it was impossible for regular arrows to penetrate the bodies of the Abominations, now swollen with corpses.
Whoosh, thud!
While the sniper team of archer knights managed to bring down a few with concentrated fire, it wasn’t enough to stop them all. Finally, the Abominations reached the wall and, instead of avoiding the attacking steel spikes, thrust themselves at them.
Thwack! Crunch.
The sharp spikes easily pierced the Abominations, but then stopped working. The pierced bodies of the Abominations stiffened like cement, gripping the spikes tightly.
And the result was, “All hands, prepare for close combat! Don’t let a single one through!”
The undead began climbing up the enormous petrified bodies of the Abominations like statues.
“Uwaaah!”
“Die, you half-dead things!”
Although some of the mechanisms were still functioning and the archers continued their support fire, the undead, piling up like a mountain of corpses, finally began to step onto the first tier of the wall.
Splat! Thud!
Nonetheless, the defense was solid.
The elite soldiers, well-versed in battling the undead, maintained their formations and systematically dealt with the undead like clockwork. Moreover, knights stationed at intervals provided support, intervening wherever the defensive line showed signs of faltering and dispatching the undead.
While it seemed like a monotonous war of attrition between the undead horde and elite human soldiers, the battle was progressing to the next stage.
“Everyone, fall back to the second line! Withdraw slowly, maintaining formation with the signal!”
The soldiers positioned on the first tier of the wall gradually retreated while maintaining their shield wall. Approximately 20 meters back, the first tier was now teeming with over a thousand undead.
“Activate the mechanism!”
Rumble. Boom!!
And the wall descended upon the heads of the undead. The ceiling, about 3 meters above, came crashing down, crushing the undead beneath it.
“Well done, everyone. Move to the second-tier waiting area and support the second line! Move out!”
Squish, squish.
Stepping over the blood and flesh that flowed out between the collapsed ceiling and floor, the troops began moving up the stairs.
*
The first tier at 10 meters, and the second tier at 15 meters. Each new tier was formed at 5-meter intervals, gradually wearing down the undead. Finally, upon reaching the fifth tier, Duke Hansley commanded,
“Fire the fortress cannons!”
“Fire!”
Rumble, crash!
From each tier of the wall, 2-meter-wide holes opened, emitting dazzling beams of mana that lit up the front of the wall. When the light vanished, the numerous undead climbing the wall like spiders and most undead within 100 meters in front of the wall were obliterated.
The only ones left were a few lucky undead that had escaped the cannon’s range and the medium to large undead boasting tenacious vitality and defense.
‘Impressive.’
As Raul marveled at the tremendous power of the bombardment, Duke Hansley, fastening something to his waist, asked:
“Will you join us?”
“Of course!”
Raul, who was eager to partake in the large-scale battle rather than just watch, promptly answered. A soldier approached and strapped a device around Raul’s waist.
“This is a Dive device. You might need to use it again when coming back up, so please be careful not to damage it.”
Just as the soldier was about to explain how to use it, Duke Hansley, sporting a mischievous smile, said, “Well then, follow along at your own pace.”
He then gracefully walked over to the edge and leaped off the wall. Simultaneously, around a hundred knights and officers on the wall followed suit.
‘Good grief,’
Raul clicked his tongue and sprinted towards the edge, determined not to be left behind.
“Ah, the controls…!” The soldier shouted urgently, but Raul had already disappeared.
*
‘Wow!’
Raul marveled as he ‘ran’ down from the 200-meter-high wall. Not just Duke Hansley and the senior knights, but all the knights stationed on each tier of the wall were wearing devices with cords attached to their waists, running down the wall.
The number totaled at least 500. This implied that there were at least 500 knights of expert level or higher.
‘If you combine the knights remaining on the wall and those in the forward bases, just how many forces are gathered here?’
It was no wonder this place was called humanity’s last bastion. Before long, the blood pool, stained dark red with undead corpses, approached.
Raul lightly fiddled with the device around his waist, and it felt as if someone grabbed him out of the air, suddenly halting his motion. With a snap, the ring automatically released, and the cord detached from his waist.
Whir, thud.
Raul landed lightly on the ground, and Duke Hansley, who had been watching him with curiosity, gave a sly smile and clapped.
“Impressive. Did you learn how to use the device somewhere else?”
“Haha, I just imitated the other knights.”
“Hoho, it usually takes even skilled knights a month to get used to this device. It seems your heart is made of steel.”
Duke Hansley’s praise made Raul feel a bit embarrassed.
‘It’s only natural, considering I used it so much in my previous life.’
While it was only used on the wall now, in ten years it would become more widespread.
“Shall we start the cleanup then?”
Duke Hansley drew a heavy-looking mace and charged forward, followed by his escort knights and the fortress knights who also drew their weapons and advanced towards the enemy lines.
Raul drew a two-handed sword and ran after them.
“Grooooan….”
The skeleton ogre, which had survived the bombardment, howled and swung its fist, but before it could even touch Hansley, its massive skull split in half and collapsed.
‘Wow….’
Whether they were escorts or senior officers, the knights by Duke Hansley’s side displayed exceptional skill.
It’s no wonder, considering there were thousands of knights on the wall, and those holding senior positions must be of extraordinary prowess.
Raul also moved to the front and slashed a 3.5-meter-tall troll ghoul standing in his way in one strike.
“Oooh.”
Low exclamations from the surrounding knights could be heard. After cutting down a couple of medium-sized undead, the enemy lines finally came into view.
“Selta, to the right. Girion, to the left.”
“Yes, Vice-Commander!”
At Hansley’s command, two officers led dozens of knights to the left and right flanks of the enemy lines. Then, thrusting his massive mace forward, hansley shouted,
“Charge!”
“Waaah!”
The wave of knights surged into the heart of the undead horde as if no detailed strategy was needed.
Boom!
Hansley charged ahead first, swinging his mace with such force that skeletons, ghouls, and Dullahans burst apart like watermelons, their remains flying into the air.
‘Wow.’
Seeing a true master in action on the battlefield was a first for Raul in this life. Unconsciously, he let out a sigh of admiration.
With each casual swing of Hansley’s mace, undead within a 5-6 meter radius were shattered, enabling him to cut through the enemy lines effortlessly without stopping.
‘I can’t fall behind either.’
Raul poured mana into his two-handed sword clutched in both hands and swung it forcefully forward.
Slash!
A golden mana blade arced out from the sweeping swing of his sword, slicing through the necks and bodies of dozens of undead.
Whoosh!
Dozens of daggers sprang from his chest, embedding themselves in the foreheads of the undead whose bodies had been severed but still lived, finishing them off. A few nearby knights glanced at Raul’s curious technique with shining eyes but soon returned their focus to the battle.
‘It’s convenient not having to be overly cautious.’
After all, knights and mercenaries from around the world were gathered here. There were plenty of people in this place who used strange techniques, so Raul didn’t have to hesitate to use his psychokinetic abilities.
Cutting through the undead like a reaper, Raul followed behind Duke Hansley for a while.
Clang!
For the first time, Raul’s sweeping strike was deflected.
‘What’s this?’
Before him stood a knight in black armor, burning with a violet aura. A Death Knight pointed its sword at him.
(To be continued)