Chapter 436: Just Keep Going Like This. (3)
When Ghislain leaped down, the onlookers were struck with horror.
They already knew all too well why he was doing this it had become a familiar sight. Once again, he intended to hold them off alone.
Still, in the past, he had led mercenaries and knights into battle alongside him. It was rare for him to recklessly face such a large enemy force by himself like this.
“Ghislain!”
Zwalter bellowed loudly. That bastard always had the habit of diving straight into the enemy lines whenever something didn't sit well with him during a fight.
He had caused plenty of headaches during the Siege of Ferdium with that exact behavior.
“Young Lord!”
“My Lord!”
Belinda and Gillian shouted desperately. Their feelings were clear, but the sheer number of enemies this time was on an entirely different level compared to before.
As soon as Ghislain descended, a gray tide of Riftspawn swarmed him, making it almost impossible to see him clearly.
When his allies were about to rush down to assist him, a thunderous voice rose from below.
“Don’t come down! Rest! Drink water, eat the powder, and reorganize the formation! I’m not planning to overdo it!”
His command froze his close aides and knights in their tracks. They flinched, but didn’t move forward. They were well aware of the current situation.
The area covered by the Rift had expanded to an unprecedented scale, making it far more difficult to maintain their combat effectiveness due to the sheer number of Riftspawn flooding in.
A brief rest was necessary to keep fighting, and Ghislain was buying them that time.
At that moment, Vanessa stepped forward and spoke.
“I’ll create a barrier to support the lord.”
While wasting mana was inadvisable, hoarding it endlessly wasn’t an option either. If the allies were overwhelmed before even facing the Equidema of this rift, it wouldn’t matter how much mana remained.
Reluctantly, the group nodded. They had to make the most of the time Ghislain was buying for them.
The area where the Riftspawn were thickest was where Ghislain fought, drawing all their attention.
Especially sensitive to the divine power radiating from his body, the Riftspawn charged at him madly.
To ensure this, Ghislain had deliberately wrapped himself in divine energy, drawing their focus entirely to himself.
Thanks to him, the number of Riftspawns climbing the fortress walls dropped by more than half in an instant.
“Earth Wall!”
Rumble!
Vanessa created walls on all sides, temporarily reducing the number of Riftspawns that managed to climb over.
Knights held back the few who made it through, taking turns resting, while soldiers seized the moment to drink water and consume the powder for strength.
During this brief respite, they were able to closely observe Ghislain fighting. His movements were awe-inspiring.
Boom!
Only when the Riftspawn gathered excessively did he release bursts of mana to create space. His combat style was a stark contrast to his usual one, which typically left nothing, but devastation in its wake.
Screech!
With a wide sweep of his crimson spear, he decapitated a swath of Riftspawn. Carefully conserving his mana, he relied solely on technique to handle the horde.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
In one breath, his spear lashed out dozens of times, and all the Riftspawns surrounding him collapsed, their heads pierced through.
Though more Riftspawn quickly filled the gaps, Vanessa supported him again with her magic.
Boom!
Explosions erupted near Ghislain, creating openings he deftly moved through while continuing to lead the Riftspawn around.
“How can he move like that?”
“It’s not brute force.”
“It’s like he’s dancing.”
Until now, his overwhelming destructive power had overshadowed the finer aspects of his skills. Every swing of his weapon had obliterated enemies before anyone could truly comprehend his abilities.
But this was different. While dozens of Riftspawn still fell with every movement, his extremely fine martial skills were now laid bare for all to witness.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Ghislain dodged and parried the attacks from all directions, countering with flawless precision. His movements flowed like water.
So fast and accurate were his actions that the Riftspawns’ corpses piled up endlessly.
This was a master at its peak.
Though his attacks now killed fewer at a time, he demonstrated how to fight with the utmost efficiency, expending the least energy for maximum results.
It was as if he was showing everyone the path to a higher level of skill.
“Incredible,” Kaor muttered, momentarily so entranced that he spoke words he normally wouldn’t.
That monstrous lord only seemed to grow stronger with each passing day. It was unbelievable.
Boom!
Vanessa’s magic erupted again, scattering another wave of Riftspawns. Through the gap, Ghislain’s crimson spear flashed like a dancer’s flourish.
Knights and soldiers watching the scene swallowed hard.
“As expected… of the strongest in the North…”
There was something extraordinary about Ghislain’s martial prowess.
Watching him fight, everyone felt their hearts race and their blood boil. It inspired an unwavering belief that they couldn’t possibly lose while fighting alongside him.
This was exactly why the army under Ghislain’s command maintained such high morale.
“Just a little more effort!”
“We’ve dealt with Rifts countless times before, haven’t we?”
“How long are we going to let the Young Lord fight alone?”
The soldiers gritted their teeth and stood up. The priests healed their wounds, and they had managed to get significant rest thanks to Ghislain.
They drank water and ate the combat rations. Even in extreme circumstances, the nutrients provided by the rations gave them the strength to push on.
“Waaaahhhh!”
With a fierce battle cry, the soldiers drove back the Riftspawn climbing the walls.
Even the elves, who had run out of arrows, joined the fray, pushing the Riftspawns back.
Thanks to Ghislain’s divine energy drawing attention, those on the fortress walls managed to repel all the Riftspawns and restore their solid formation.
They were finally back to the state they had been in at the beginning.
“Vanessa!”
Sensing this, Ghislain shouted, and Vanessa extended her hand, unleashing her magic.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Pillars of fire erupted around Ghislain, decimating the enemies surrounding him. Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, Ghislain swiftly climbed the wall.
Steam rose from his body due to the intense heat.
“Young Lord!”
Belinda, who had defeated more Riftspawns than anyone else with her unique skills, ran to him and covered him with a cloth soaked in cold water.
“What’s this? Where did you get it?”
“I prepared it in advance.”
“Of course you did. That’s Belinda for you. Thanks.”
Wiping his face with the cloth, Ghislain grinned and shouted again.
“Alright! Let’s start again! Just hold out a little longer!”
It had taken a day to safely deal with a force of 100,000 Riftspawn during a past battle. This time, there were more Riftspawns and fewer allies to fight them.
However, with the fortress as their stronghold and the mages expending greater amounts of power, they had a better chance in holding out.
Ghislain and the soldiers focused on maintaining their current tactics.
Vanessa divided the Riftspawn, while the mages concentrated their power on the most dangerous areas. The priests, following Ghislain’s precise orders, healed the soldiers at critical moments. When necessary, Ghislain himself descended again to draw the attention of the Riftspawn.
Constantly moving, Ghislain observed the battlefield.
If we keep going like this, we’ll make it.
Belinda, Gillian, Kaor, and other strong allies played pivotal roles. Each took charge of different sections, leading knights and soldiers in the fight.
Zwalter, Randolph, Skovan, and Ricardo were no different, fighting fiercely in their designated areas.
Even the vastly improved Ferdium knights fought with the resolve that this might be their final battle.
They fought relentlessly, losing themselves in the chaos of combat.
“Pant… pant…”
Skovan, the so-called “Harbinger of Calamity,” swung his sword with hollow eyes, lost in thought.
‘Why is my life so hard?’
He felt like his existence was nothing but a series of hardships a life that is far too intense.
At some point, he wasn’t even sure why he kept swinging his sword. He just did because there were Riftspawns in front of him.
Despite fighting carefully to conserve his strength, his sword had dimmed and his mana was almost entirely depleted.
‘Why… why aren’t they healing me?’
What he didn’t realize was that the priests had all collapsed after exhausting their divine power during the prolonged battle.
‘Ah, I’m so sleepy.’
His eyes began to close. His body felt unbearably heavy. He had undoubtedly surpassed his limits, and yet, somehow, his sword still moved.
Perhaps his senses had dulled completely because he no longer felt any pain.
Even the three spies from Desmond’s camp who had defected to Fenris were barely holding on.
"I think we’ll have to fight until we drop dead.”
“Should we just give up and die?”
“Yeah, at this point, dying seems fine.”
Despite their despair, their cooperative three-man attacks proved devastating against the Riftspawns. By working together, they maximized their efficiency, conserving as much energy as possible.
Remarkably, they had fought for three straight days without sleep. Thanks to the priests, they had been able to endure, but now even that support was gone.
Their sheer mental fortitude had carried them this far, but it was no longer enough. They had surpassed their limits long ago.
“Huh?”
The soldiers, staggering as they fought, noticed something unusual.
“They’ve decreased.”
Someone muttered quietly. The number of Riftspawn climbing the fortress walls had dropped to just a few hundred.
Even those climbing over the piles of corpses were dwindling.
“They really have decreased.”
‘How many had we killed?’
Despite the mages burning and obliterating the corpses, piles of Riftspawn bodies still stacked like mountains in front of the fortress.
The mages, having mostly exhausted their mana, had retreated to the rear. Only Vanessa continued fighting with lower-circle spells.
"The end... is in sight."
The Riftspawn climbing toward the fortress had dwindled dramatically, far fewer than before. They now clung to the walls sporadically. It was no surprise they had killed more Riftspawn than the fissure could produce.
"Just a little... more push..."
The soldiers gritted their teeth and fought on. Even the knights swung their swords, spitting blood with each stroke.
None of them had any remaining sense of feeling left in their hands. They could barely remain standing, but their sheer determination to protect this place kept them going.
Fortunately, Ghislain and his close aides were still capable of fighting. They had been conserving their strength and focused on assisting their allies effectively.
Slash!
Ghislain exhaled, cutting down a Riftspawn as he looked ahead.
Most of the Riftspawn that had climbed the walls were dead. The number of riftspawns trying to climb up continued to decrease.
It was nearly over. Only the final fight remained.
"Everyone, fall back."
At his command, the soldiers fought the remaining Riftspawn as they slowly retreated.
Left in the front were only Ghislain’s close aides, Zwalter, and Randolph.
This had been arranged in advance before the battle.
Rooooaar!
From afar, a beast’s howl echoed.
An Equidema’s mission was to expand its territory and protect it.
Normally, it would remain stationary near a rift to conserve energy. However, there were rare instances when the beast moved on its own.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Something was approaching, shaking the earth with its steps.
The Equidema was on the move.
"Hoo..."
Ghislain took a sip of water, steadying his breath once more.
Riftspawn continued to trickle up the walls. However, most of the soldiers were too exhausted and had collapsed. The knights, too, were barely standing, blood trickling from their mouths.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
― Rooooar!
The beast’s cry rang out again.
An Equidema only moved for one reason, to protect its domain.
In all of the rifts that Ghislain and the northern forces had cleared before, an Equidema had never emerged not even when all the Riftspawn were eradicated. The beast had conserved its strength, focusing solely on expansion.
The previous rifts had been insignificant to Equidema. The Riftspawn numbers were small, and even if they were wiped out, they could quickly recover never enough to make the beast feel threatened.
But this time, it was different.
The domain had expanded greatly, and though many Riftspawn had set foot in this world, most were now dead. A powerful threat had arisen, posing a serious danger to the rift’s territory.
The rift’s vanguard, the Equidema, could no longer remain idle, abandoning its focus on expansion to confront the threat.
― Rooooar!
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The ground shook, the soldiers, tensed with anxiety, gripped their weapons tightly. Both the Equidema’s approach and the steady resurgence of Riftspawns posed significant challenges.
Although the numbers weren’t as overwhelming as before, the scattered Riftspawn emerging from various spots had amassed to over a thousand once again. Their sheer volume was grotesque. At least they had no sense of strategy or tactics, which was a small relief.
"Ugh..."
They had to keep fighting. Despite their exhaustion, the soldiers gritted their teeth and forced themselves to stand.
Kreeeee!
Riftspawns began climbing the walls again, throwing themselves into the battle.
Ghislain no longer engaged them directly. His companions handled the Riftspawns as he focused ahead.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out as a massive figure landed atop the wall.
Growl...
The Equidema had appeared. A thin scar marred its face, but it was not a significant wound.
The soldiers who had never seen the beast before turned pale, instinctively stepping back in fear. It was a primal terror they could not suppress.
Rooooar!
As the Equidema roared in fury, the already-drained soldiers froze in place, dropping their weapons.
In that tense moment, Ghislain and Equidema locked eyes, and the Riftspawns began to surge again.
They turned towards the immobilized soldiers. With Ghislain and his companions occupied by the Equidema, they couldn’t fend off all the Riftspawn.
But it was fine they had something to rely on.
From behind them, a voice as radiant as if descending from the heavens rang out.
"The Goddess declares: I grant you the power to crush them and subdue all the abilities of your enemies, so no harm shall come to you."
Zzzzoooom!
A brilliant light engulfed the battlefield, wrapping everyone within it.