37-76

EP.76 Mayer and Baron Kimberly’s Painful Day (2)  

While Baron Kimberly was painfully hammering out reports, Mayer had gathered the guards from the southern villages and arrived at the mountain entrance with a total force of 1,000 men. 

“Halt! Who goes there?” 

“I am Mayer, Captain of the Guard for the Teshidanikana County! Here’s my ID and the baton authorizing me as the count’s representative!” 

A ranger on guard checked Mayer’s ID and led him to the ranger captain’s office. 

“Haha, long time no see, Mayer. Or should I call you Captain Mayer now that you’ve been promoted?” 

“Huh? William? Is that you? Weren’t you supposed to have retired? I thought the roster said you were replaced a year ago?” 

“Heh heh, the captain title... I got fired by that bastard Boras for speaking my mind, but the unit asked me to lead, so I’m still in charge. I’d retire if there was someone trustworthy to take over. What about you, Mayer? Still henpecked by your wife? I heard you made a nice sum after the last war, but you’re still at it?” 

“Ugh!! Enough with that! Is that what you say to an old friend after so long?” 

“Haha, you bragged to everyone when you got married, but now you’re totally under her thumb... haha.” 

After some friendly banter, William and Mayer spread out a map and turned serious. 

“Let’s stop chatting. Time is short.” 

“Damn! You tease me, then get serious... So, what’s the situation? I left as soon as I heard monsters were swarming, but haven’t heard anything since.” 

“We set as many traps as possible, so in the first line we’ve already thinned out a lot of goblins, orcs, and kobolds. Now we’re holding at the second line, but some ogres and basilisks have joined, so with only 400 rangers, we’ll be overrun soon. I’ve ordered a fighting retreat to lure them here by dawn.” 

“Basilisks? Do you have countermeasures for their petrification curse?” 

“If Boras was still around, we’d be in trouble, but thankfully the prince passed through and wrote a letter, so we got supplies through Administrator Kimberly.” 

“That’s a relief. I saw ballistae on the way use those for the ogres! Our troops will form a phalanx and hold the line. The rangers should handle the attack.” 

“Good! Let’s do this! For the honor of the Nikana Rangers, we won’t let a single monster through!” 

Mayer let his troops rest, then spent the night planning strategy with William. 

At dawn, the rangers, forced back by the monster horde, joined the 100 men at ranger HQ. Mayer and William woke their resting troops and set up a defensive formation. 

“Hey, you! Your shield is sticking out! If the line isn’t straight, we’ll get breached!” 

“Veterans, check the recruits’ gear! If a rookie dies, you’re next!” 

“Rangers, check your supplies again! We have to take out the basilisks!” 

William and Mayer ran around barking orders. Then, in the distance, a cloud of dust signaled the approaching monsters. 

“They’re coming!! About 700 orcs and kobolds!!” 

“Prepare the traps!! Archers, nock arrows!!” 

Thud thud thud thud 

As the massive orc horde charged, the ground shook and sweat beaded on the soldiers’ brows. 

“Raise it!!” 

At William’s signal, the camouflaged wooden barricade rose, and countless orcs and kobolds were impaled on the stakes. 

“Screee!!” 

“Kuweeeek!!” 

Those not killed by the stakes were pushed forward by the horde and kept getting skewered. But more orcs made it over the barricade than died, and at William’s signal, the rangers fired their arrows. 

Whoosh  

Four hundred arrows flew, killing many monsters, but orcs didn’t fall to a single arrow, and there were too many kobolds. 

The orc and kobold horde crashed into the Teshidanikana guards. 

“Hold the line!! If we break, our families are in danger!!” 

“Raise shields!!” 

At Mayer’s encouragement, the first line of shield-bearers braced their shields. 

Crash!! 

With a shout close to a scream, the battlefield fell silent as the monster charge finally halted. 

“Push!!” 

At Mayer’s command, the shield-bearers shoved the orcs back, and the second line spearmen stabbed through the gaps. 

“Kuweeeek!!” 

“Screee!!” 

The orcs, much stronger than humans, swung crude weapons, but the shield-bearers, having survived the first charge, gained confidence and actively blocked the attacks, while the spearmen stabbed and felled more orcs. 

“No big deal!! Kill them all!!” 

“Haha, let’s bet who kills more!!” 

“Isn’t it obvious you’ll win, you bastard?” 

As the guards began to massacre the orcs under Mayer’s command, some kobolds threw rocks in resistance, but the rangers quickly shot them down. 

Finally, with the monsters wiped out, Mayer ordered the battlefield cleared. The monsters impaled on the barricade were finished off and used to reinforce the fence, while the stinking kobold corpses were loaded onto catapults and flung over the mountains to lure away other monsters. 

“Haha, that was nothing, Captain!” 

“Looks like it’ll be easy from here.” 

But Mayer’s face was grim, and the smiling guards looked at him in confusion. 

“Uh... Captain?” 

“Don’t you hear that sound?” 

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. 

At Mayer’s words, the soldiers listened, and their faces turned pale. At the same time, a ranger on lookout shouted. 

“Alert!! Another monster horde is coming!! Four ogres, five basilisks, three cyclopes, and about 300 orcs are charging!!” 

“W-what? Twelve giant monsters? William, can we stop this?” 

William, with far more experience fighting monsters than Mayer, was asked for a solution. 

“Sigh~ Looks like we’ll have to die here…” 

Even William had no answer, and Mayer felt his strength leave him. 

‘Damn it, am I going to die here because of Yuno? Still, if I can save my wife, I have to kill as many monsters as possible…’ 

“Even if we die here, we have to buy as much time as possible for the people to escape. Let’s give it our all.” 

“You’re right! I know you’re just saying that to save your wife, but it makes sense.” 

“Hey, still!!” 

With some banter, the two commanders regained their courage and addressed the troops. 

“We’re facing ogres, basilisks, and cyclopes!! We’ll probably die here. But we can buy time for our loved ones to escape and for reinforcements to arrive, right?” 

“Yes! We can hold!!” 

“Heh, you’re crazy… You won’t even scratch an ogre or cyclops with those spears, and if you get petrified by a basilisk, you’ll die. Still okay with that?” 

“Yes!!” 

“Well… if there’s hope, it’s that reinforcements from Count Graim’s territory are on their way to Kiese Castle. So let’s hold them as long as we can!” 

“We await your orders, Captain!!” 

No sooner had Mayer finished than the ground thundered as two ogres and three basilisks appeared. 

“Fire the ballistae!!” 

Boom! Boom! 

At William’s command, four ballistae fired at the ogres, piercing their bellies. But the ogres, bleeding heavily, pulled out the huge wooden spears and, roaring with rage, charged the soldiers, who dodged their feet and stabbed with spears. 

“Kraaaagh!!” 

Almost immediately, screams erupted as the first casualties fell. The ogres, wielding their blood-soaked spears, swung wildly, sending soldiers flying. 

“Reload the ballistae!! Rangers, lure the basilisks away!! Don’t let them near unprotected soldiers!!” 

William directed the rangers to fight efficiently, but the basilisks wouldn’t be easily lured, and more soldiers were petrified, while rangers suffered injuries from tails and claws. 

“Damn it!! This is pissing me off!” 

In the chaos, one ranger broke formation and began shooting arrows at the basilisks’ eyes. 

“Macmorin!! It’s dangerous!! Get back in line!!” 

“Old man!! This is the only way! If we stay, we’ll all die!” 

With impressive skill, he shot arrows into all the basilisks’ eyes, then ran toward the plains, the basilisks roaring and chasing after him. 

“That crazy bastard!! But thanks to Macmorin, we bought time!” 

“Captain! Ballistae are reloaded!” 

“Fire immediately!! Target those two in the middle of the soldiers!!” 

Boom!! 

Following William’s order, the ballistae fired at the ogres. 

The two ogres, distracted by slaughtering soldiers, couldn’t dodge and were struck in the chest, killed instantly. 

“T-they’re dead, right?” 

“They’re dead!! The ogres are dead!!” 

The soldiers cheered, but their joy was short-lived. Two more ogres and a cyclops appeared, and despair filled their faces. 

“Hold the line!! Raise your spears!! Your families are behind you! If you survive, are you going to go home and tell your family you pissed yourself like a coward?” 

“Kraaaagh!!” 

“Aaaaagh!!” 

Mayer’s taunting encouragement fired up the soldiers, and though only about 800 wounded remained, they shouted and faced the ogres. 

“Die, monsters!!” 

Thirty soldiers surrounded an ogre and stabbed together, but the ogre seemed unfazed, raising its giant club high. 

Thinking they were doomed, the soldiers shut their eyes but felt no pain. Cautiously opening their eyes, they looked around. 

“Soldiers!!! Be strong!! We’re here!! Reinforcements have arrived!!” 

The ogre’s club was stopped by Cordelia’s sword, and behind her, fresh troops hurled spears at the ogre. 

“Reinforcements!!” 

“The knights are here!!!” 

Cordelia’s two knights engaged the ogre and cyclops, and the tide turned. The soldiers, emboldened, threw their spears at the monsters, and for the first time, the monsters’ bodies were pierced by spears, hope shining in the soldiers’ eyes.