Chapter 262

Chapter 262: Trust Me. I’ll Take the Lead. (1)

“Uwaaahhh!”

A hunter screamed as they were suddenly grabbed and thrown.

The fortress walls were quite tall. If they fell like this, they’d be reduced to a pulp.

Thud.

However, a knight waiting below caught them effortlessly. The hunter blushed as they spoke.

“...Put me down.”

Whoosh!

The knight promptly tossed the hunter to the ground. It wasn’t out of malice but necessity. Hunters were falling from above incessantly.

“Arghhh!”

“You lunatic! What the hell are you doing?”

“Are you trying to kill your own allies?!”

The hunters, taken by surprise by the abrupt action, fell without even being able to react properly.

The knights below, however, were accustomed to such situations. They quickly caught the falling hunters and tossed them aside to make space for the next.

Thud! Thud!

Thanks to the skilled knights, the hunters avoided major injuries despite the impact. Seeing the approaching monsters, they swiftly got back on their feet and assumed combat stances.

Ghislain observed them with a smirk.

“At least their experience shows—they recover quickly. Let’s hurry and send the rest.”

“No, stay away! Don’t come near me!”

“You’re a monster, aren’t you?! A monster in disguise!”

“A demon here to destroy the fortress!”

The hunters, panic-stricken, hurled accusations at Ghislain. Yet, he responded casually.

“The contract states you’re obligated to fight outside the fortress, doesn’t it? Just fight well behind me.”

“Nooooo!”

The hunters that signed the contracts tried to flee, but the dense crowd of other hunters prevented any escape.

Unable to run, they were grabbed by Ghislain and Kaor and sent over the wall. Even hunters who simply wandered too close were caught in the process.

“W-we’re not part of this! We didn’t sign a contract with you, damn it!”

“Oh? My bad. Since you’re already down there, why not join the fight?”

Ghislain threw nearly 300 hunters down from the wall. Chaos erupted above, and some hunters turned their frustration and attacked him.

Whoosh! Thud!

Ghislain effortlessly subdued and tossed those who attacked him. The difference in skill was so vast that no one could properly defend against him.

“Run away!”

“This guy’s completely insane!”

“Move! Get out of the way!”

The limited space on the wall led to a chaotic scramble as hunters tried to avoid Ghislain, colliding into one another.

Watching the scene in disbelief, Grant felt his blood boil.

A monster wave was no trivial matter. The fortress walls, unlike during wars against humans, provided little protection against them. Casualties were always high.

Yet here, with everyone needing to stand united, internal strife was breaking out. The fortress was as good as doomed.

“You madman! What the hell are you thinking?! Are you trying to kill all our allies?! Kill him! Kill that bastard first!”

The archers aimed all their arrows at Ghislain. Before they could release, Ghislain moved in an instant, appearing directly in front of Grant.

“Get a grip. The walls won’t protect you. With this number, it’s better to go outside and form proper formations.”

“W-what?”

“I’ll give the orders. Archers, focus your attention solely on flying monsters and those approaching from outside. Monsters only attack what’s directly in front of them. My group and I will act as bait, so fire freely without worrying about hitting us. You can manage that, right?”

“You... you....”

“The rest of you, form proper battle lines and fight outside the fortress. I’ll lead the knights and break through the center to draw all the monsters’ attention.”

“What are you even saying...?”

Ghislain gave a sly smile as he looked at Grant’s bewildered expression.

“You can’t fight effectively on the walls. These aren’t human opponents. If you want to win, listen to me.”

Roarrrr!

“Lord!”

The knights’ shouts came from below. The monsters were closing in fast.

There was no more time to waste. Ghislain jumped off the wall without hesitation, calling out as he did.

“Trust me. I’ll take the lead.”

Thud!

As Ghislain landed, the hunters who had been thrown down earlier glared at him with resentment.

But now wasn’t the time to confront him. The monsters were just steps away. Besides, there was no guarantee they could beat him in a fight.

Their best options were to fight from the rear or look for a chance to escape.

Ghislain strode to the front of the group and spoke.

“Open it.”

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The knights opened the large wooden crates laid before them, spilling their contents onto the ground.

Inside the crates were greatswords, spears, and swords packed tightly together. Hundreds of weapons were scattered haphazardly across the ground.

Ghislain glanced behind him and spoke.

“Those of you who fell without a weapon, grab something from here. I won’t charge you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ghislain emitted threads of mana in all directions.

Rumble!

A spear suddenly rose from somewhere on the battlefield and pierced the wyvern’s body. The skewered wyvern plummeted to the ground, and the knight narrowly escaped.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Spears that had been thrown earlier floated back into the air, assisting the knights who were cornered.

This was one of the reasons why Ghislain’s capabilities in war ranked him among the top three of the Seven Strongest on the Continent.

Everything that fell onto the battlefield became Ghislain’s weapon. Every weapon came alive and danced to his will.

Because of this, one could never predict when or where his attacks would occur. Each strike was as devastating as a knight’s blow.

Those who knew his prowess prayed they would never encounter Ghislain on the battlefield.

A man who could face tens of thousands of soldiers alone.

A man who could fight an entire kingdom single-handedly.

The King of Mercenaries was also the King of the Battlefield.

The hunters, stunned by the sight of Ghislain and the knights driving back the monsters’ vanguard, could only watch in awe.

They couldn’t even think about running away.

“H-how can someone be that strong...?”

“Doncard doesn’t even compare.”

“Is that the Sword Master we’ve only heard about in legends?”

The monsters stopped their advance and focused solely on Ghislain and the knights.

Although it was an unusual phenomenon for monsters that should have been fighting each other to gather together, their instinct to eliminate the most threatening foe couldn’t be suppressed.

“Let’s go too.”

One of the hunters gripped their weapon tightly and spoke.

Their forces had already split. Staying back would mean certain death if those at the front faltered.

The only way to survive was to join the fight with them quickly.

Although the hunters rationalized their decision this way, it wasn’t the sole reason. Ghislain’s combat prowess stirred their blood. He had a magnetic force that drew people in.

He inspired a belief that victory was possible if they fought alongside him.

Ghislain, annihilating monsters with overwhelming power, exuded an aura that gave people such faith.

“Let’s go! We’re hunters!”

“Our job is to hunt monsters!”

“Let’s not lose to these newcomers!”

“Waaahhhh!”

The hunters roared loudly as they charged forward.

They, too, were veterans who had fought countless monsters. With hundreds of hunters joining the fray, the tide of battle began to turn further against the monsters.

Slash!

Ghislain split a massive spider in half and glanced back with a slight smile.

“Now, that’s the way to do it.”

Boom!

He turned back and began tearing through the monsters. Until now, he had been fighting while protecting the knights, but things had changed.

With the hunters joining in, the monsters’ attacks were more spread out. Ghislain charged through the center alone, completely breaking the monsters’ ranks.

Screech!

The monsters rushing in from the rear converged on Ghislain, who was singlehandedly penetrating their formation. This diverted even more monsters away from the knights and hunters.

Thanks to Ghislain, the knights and hunters found it easier to deal with the monsters.

Watching all of this from atop the fortress wall, the commander, Grant, looked on in disbelief.

“To think someone could fight like that...”

Until now, no one had ever confronted a monster wave in this way. Everyone had relied on the fortress walls for defense.

But Ghislain was right. No matter how tall or sturdy the fortress walls were, they meant little against non-human opponents.

Monsters would climb the walls as soon as they moved out of the range of large weapons. Flying monsters even dropped others onto the walls to create chaos.

Mad with frenzy, the monsters didn’t fear death. They kept charging regardless of how many fell before them.

This forced the soldiers and hunters into chaotic skirmishes on the narrow walls, unable to form proper formations.

Still, the idea of abandoning the walls never crossed anyone’s mind. There’s a false sense of security that comes with their presence.

Preconceptions, fixed ideas, anxiety, and fear blinded them.

That was why every defense against a monster wave came with heavy casualties.

But look at those fighting outside.

With more space, they could form proper formations. The knights and hunters supported each other as they battled the monsters.

The monsters, lacking any sense of strategy or tactics, attacked haphazardly. They only focused on whatever was right in front of them.

Abandoning the walls allowed the defenders to fully utilize their space. It enabled them to employ real tactics befitting intelligent beings.

And the one who made all this possible was the man fighting at the front, a being who seemed almost superhuman.

Certainly, the walls had their advantages. They prevented all the monsters from swarming in at once. Fighting outside meant giving up that benefit.

But now, the situation was different from before when they had to rely solely on the walls.

Now... now is not the time to cling to the walls.

The monsters’ momentum had faltered. They couldn’t afford to merely watch as their allies outside were wiped out.

If those fighting below fell, those defending the walls would suffer even greater losses.

Grant opened his tightly clenched fist, his palm drenched in sweat.

In that moment, he felt a sense of awe—not as a commander, but as a knight.

He wanted to fight alongside this man.

He wanted to follow this man and put his trust in him.

Grant’s desire as a warrior grew stronger, overwhelming his position as the commander of the fortress.

Finally, he made his decision. In a quiet voice, he spoke to his adjutant.

“...Open the gates of the fortress.”