A soldier from the Allied Forces yawned widely atop the massive fortress.
"Haahm… This is boring."
It had already been two months since he arrived here.
At first, everyone was on edge. Though they didn't know the details, there were rumors of fighting against a massive horde of monsters and even dragons.
But as two months passed, the tension began to ease little by little.
When they thought about it, there really wasn't much to fear. No matter how strong monsters or dragon were, could they possibly defeat this massive army entrenched within the fortress?
The soldier turned to look behind him.
"Wow… Just seeing it is reassuring."
More than a hundred giant catapults were lined up in a row.
That wasn't all. Hundreds of knights and dozens of mages were standing by.
The army itself was nearly 50,000 strong.
Even experienced hunters were stationed at each fortress since they were veterans in monster hunting.
Additionally, the Fenris Mercenary Corps, now the continent's largest, had been fully mobilized and stationed at various fortresses.
It was as if a colossal military force was coiled up within each fortress. More than ten such fortresses stretched across and blocked the Shadow Mountains.
It was obvious that any ordinary monsters rushing in would be utterly crushed.
The soldiers, growing increasingly relaxed, began to chat idly.
"Ah, I thought I'd get to go home since the war ended."
"Exactly. Then they suddenly drag us here to fight monsters?"
"Well, it's better than during the war, isn't it? The monsters aren't as strong as we thought, after all."
Indeed, monsters had appeared sporadically. However, there were only a few hundred at most, and they were flattened by the catapults before they could even approach the fortress.
With no direct combat against monsters, the soldiers gradually let their guard down.
A hunter clicked his tongue as he watched the soldiers.
"Hey, don't be so careless. Monster waves aren't that easy to deal with."
The soldiers scoffed at the hunter's words.
"Come on, we outnumber the monsters. Why would we be scared?"
"If they keep coming like this, they won't even get close to the fortress."
"Hunters should know a lot about monsters, yet you're more scared than us?"
At their mocking tone, the hunter frowned and retorted.
"This is the frontline fortress. When the monster wave starts, this is where the most monsters will gather, and we'll be the first to face them. What's so funny about that?"
Their fortress was the closest to the mountain range, positioned where the most monsters emerged.
In the worst-case scenario, this fortress was meant to be abandoned. Its purpose was to buy time for the other fortresses to prepare in case an overwhelming number of monsters appeared.
There was another fortress in the rear of this one. In other words, the forces stationed here were expected to be prepared for death in a way unlike those in other locations.
But even with the hunter's warning, the soldiers remained unfazed.
"That's why we have the most troops stationed here, isn't it?"
"Have there ever been monsters that this kind of force couldn't stop?"
"You're a hunter, so you probably don't know much about our strength. We're the Allied Forces that won the war, after all."
The hunters from Turian hadn't participated in the recent war. During the battles against the Rift monsters, they focused on guarding the surroundings and hunting any monsters that strayed away.
Afterward, they were reassigned to the fortress and only occasionally ascended the Shadow Mountains.
In any case, only Yulian and Marquis Gidion had joined the Allied Forces with their regular troops.
Hearing the soldiers' ridicule, the hunter could only smack his lips in frustration. He understood why they were acting that way.
'With an army like this, they might indeed handle a monster wave easily…'
Even he inwardly agreed with the soldiers. He'd never seen such a massive force gathered in one fortress before.
A member of the Fenris Mercenary Corps approached, patting the hunter on the shoulder with a grin.
"Don't mind them. People with different jobs won't understand each other."
The mercenaries remained on high alert. To be precise, they were maintaining their vigilance under Ghislain's strict orders.
They trusted that Ghislain wouldn't have prepared so thoroughly without reason.
Thus, the soldiers, hunters, and mercenaries continued their uneasy coexistence, keeping watch at the fortress.
Occasionally, monsters would appear, but even then, their numbers were only in the hundreds. So, when new monsters emerged, the soldiers barely reacted.
Kaaargh!
Far in the distance, monsters began creeping closer. At first, there were only a few, but their numbers soon grew to dozens, then hundreds.
"Ugh, here they come again."
"It does seem like there are more than usual today."
"Still, a few rounds from the catapults, and it'll be over."
"They might as well come all at once instead of trickling in like this."
"Hahaha, exactly. It'd be more satisfying to finish them in one go."
They laughed leisurely as they loaded the catapults.
Even the commanders didn't scold the soldiers for their lax attitude. For them, too, life at the fortress was an endless stretch of boredom.
"Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the commander's order, rocks from the catapults flew with tremendous force. The monsters were struck down before they could even approach the fortress.
The soldiers grinned triumphantly at the sight.
"Tsk tsk, it's almost pitiful to watch."
"I don't know why they keep coming when they can't even put up a fight."
"Monsters don't think. It's more tiring for us to reload the catapults."
Their toughest task was gathering rocks for the catapults.
Ghislain's orders had filled one side of the fortress with an abundance of rocks, but there was a strict directive to replace any used ones immediately.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The barrage continued longer than usual. The monsters charging ahead had long since turned to mush.
As the dust began to settle, a soldier furrowed his brows.
"Ugh, there are a few more at the back."
Grumbling, the soldiers launched another volley of rocks.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Wait, there are more behind them again?"
"There really are a lot today."
"Still, it's just a few dozen, right?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After several more rounds of attacks, the soldiers began to notice something odd.
"They… keep coming?"
"Why does it feel like their numbers aren't decreasing?"
"What is… that?"
The numbers weren't increasing dramatically, but no matter how much they fired, the monsters kept appearing.
The soldiers paused their barrage, staring at the direction the monsters were coming from.
Initially, only a few dozen had appeared. But while they had been observing, the monsters had multiplied into hundreds.
The writhing shapes of the monsters seemed to spread wider and wider. Before long, there were easily thousands.
Unlike before, their numbers were growing at an alarming rate.
Finally, tension began to settle on the soldiers' faces.
"The monsters are increasing?"
"They're multiplying too fast!"
"Sound the alarm! Hurry and report this!"
By now, the monsters had swelled to tens of thousands. Their endlessly writhing forms blanketed the horizon.
With each blink, the monstrous horde expanded like a living organism.
Kaaargh!
Kuooohhh!
The monstrous roars echoed from all directions, shaking the earth.
The piercing, savage cries were enough to freeze the hearts of anyone who heard them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Massive ogres, mountain-sized trolls, and growling bugbears stomped forward, each step uprooting trees and crushing boulders into powder.
"Kaaargh!"
Wyverns and griffons, winged predators, filled the skies like a black cloud, casting a shadow over the land.
Sharp teeth, beaks, and claws gleamed as they spread death from above.
Countless small and medium-sized monsters surged forward like an endless tidal wave, blanketing the ground like a living carpet.
They advanced with a momentum that seemed ready to devour everything in their path.
A calamity capable of consuming all was unfolding before the fortress.
"Emergency! Emergency! It's a monster wave! The monster wave has begun!"
"Everyone, to your positions! Move quickly!"
"Full-scale attack! Don't let them approach the walls!"
Commands rang out from all sides as officers shouted. The soldiers' faces turned pale with fear.
They had scoffed at the monsters, believing that even hundreds could be dealt with easily. After all, they had never experienced a monster wave in the Turian Kingdom before.
In the past, the fortress had fended off monster waves with far fewer troops, which had inflated their confidence.
Hunters, staring blankly at the horde outside, murmured.
"This is… nothing like before."
"Someone said earlier they'd prefer to handle them all at once… What terrible luck to say something like that."
"Once again, Duke Fenris was right."
This was unlike any monster wave they had seen before. It felt as if every monster in the Shadow Mountains had emerged at once.
If such a monster wave had occurred before, the fortress would have been destroyed long ago.
Watching the advancing monsters, the hunters felt chills run down their spines.
"And to think… this isn't even all of them…"
The Shadow Mountains were incredibly long. At every major point where monsters emerged, there were fortresses.
Monsters were surely charging toward those fortresses as well.
Of course, since those fortresses were farther behind, it would take a bit more time for them.
It was a sight that could leave even experienced hunters dumbfounded. However, even in such a situation, there were those whose fighting spirit burned fiercely.
"It's fine! The captain already said tons of them would come!"
"He also said we can handle it! Don't chicken out!"
"I'm not scared! Are you the one freaking out?"
Only the members of the Fenris Mercenary Corps, their faces flushed, were preparing for battle.
These were mercenaries gathered from all over. They didn't even know each other's faces, as they had worked in different regions.
Yet, just because they belonged to the same Fenris Mercenary Corps, they felt a strong bond.
Unlike in the beginning, Ghislain had now become the greatest commander to them. He had continuously supported them, investing a significant amount of money.
Of course, there was also the pride they took in the prestige of being part of the continent's strongest and largest mercenary corps, under the powerful patronage of Duke Fenris.
"Alright! Let's fight until we drop today!"
"Waaahhh!"
At someone's rallying cry, the mercenaries raised their weapons and let out a thunderous cheer. Even the Allied Forces soldiers, seeing them, were invigorated.
The Fenris Mercenary Corps believed in Ghislain. While most had never seen him in person, everything went well when they followed his orders.
Thanks to the mercenaries' confident energy and shouts, the fortress troops managed to collect themselves to some degree.
They, too, had gained considerable experience through the war. Before long, the soldiers began to exude sharp, focused energy.
"Fire!"
More than a hundred catapults moved simultaneously. Enormous boulders soared through the sky in graceful arcs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was like meteors raining down from the heavens. The boulders crashed into the middle of the monster horde, crushing dozens at once.
The ground-shaking impact and the monsters' screams spread in all directions.
Hundreds of monsters fell in an instant, but the hundreds behind them immediately filled the gaps.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kuaaaaah!
The thick hides and solid muscles of the large monsters were tougher than expected. It was clear they were already half-mad, unable to feel pain.
Even with bodies torn apart and bones shattered, those still breathing roared as they charged toward the fortress.
Before long, the monsters advanced to a point where they were difficult to manage with catapults alone.
"Magic! Use magic! Target the large monsters first!"
At the commander's shout, mages cast their spells with desperate expressions.
Boom!
Pillars of fire, bolts of lightning, and spears of ice struck the large monsters.
Many monsters fell, but the sheer number of them was overwhelming.
Ogres dragged their burning bodies forward, and trolls, even after being struck by lightning, roared and charged.
"We can't hold them all off with magic!"
"Archers, fire! Don't hold back on arrows—fire everything!"
Thwack!
The barrage of arrows began. A cloud of arrows filled the sky, raining down on the monsters.
Smaller monsters were struck down by the arrows, but the thick hides of the larger monsters made it difficult for the arrows to penetrate effectively.
Still, there was no alternative. At this point, strategy and tactics were meaningless. Victory would depend on how powerful and relentless their attacks were.
"Don't stop! Don't stop firing!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thwack!
Rocks, arrows, and spells rained endlessly onto the battlefield.
Thousands of monsters died in an instant, but even more surged forward to take their place.
The soldiers' expressions grew grim. Not even their battles against the Riftborn had been this intense.
While Riftborn were fast and strong, their bodies were no different from human soldiers.
That's why, no matter how many there were, they could be dealt with if their numbers matched. Magic, in particular, had overwhelming power against them.
But monsters were different. While some were as weak as or weaker than Riftborn, most had far superior physical abilities.
Using their tough bodies, the monsters charged relentlessly. Their numbers rivaled the Riftborn at their peak of expansion.
"This… is a real monster wave…"
Someone muttered in despair. They'd heard there would be a lot, but no one had imagined it would be like this.
Their attacks were effective, but the enemy's sheer numbers made them meaningless. They had no idea how to handle this.
All they could do was keep fighting.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
They attacked relentlessly, fighting for their lives. Archers had blisters bursting on their hands, and mages were running out of mana.
Some catapults broke from being loaded too hastily. The stockpiled boulders were also running low.
Then, suddenly, the sky darkened. The flying monsters had reached the fortress before the ones on the ground.
Kaaaaargh!
Various flying monsters began diving toward the fortress.
"Watch out! They're coming from above!"
As if on cue, the terrified screams of soldiers erupted everywhere.
The swiftly approaching flying monsters used their sharp claws and beaks to snatch soldiers and fling them into the air.
The attack of the flying monsters plunged the fortress into chaos.
Among them, a lone crow that had been wandering was caught and eaten by a descending wyvern.
— You insolent creature! Ahhh!
Unfortunately, the raven's cry was drowned out by the roars of monsters and the shouts of soldiers.
[T/L: I need your support, dear readers. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]