The fortress's defenses first focused their attacks on the approaching flying monsters.
Arrows and magic flew toward the airborne foes as a priority, which naturally reduced the attacks on the ground monsters.
Graaaaaaah!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Eventually, the massive monsters reached the fortress. The ogres' gigantic clubs and the trolls' fists began pounding against the fortress walls.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
The colossal monsters relentlessly smashed at the walls as though determined to destroy the fortress. Their enormous bodies couldn't scale the walls, so they resorted to brute force.
However, the situation was different for the nimble smaller monsters. They successfully climbed up, using the larger monsters' bodies and the fortress walls as footholds.
Crack! Shriek!
"Aaaaaaah!"
"Stop them! Knock those climbing ones down!"
"Hold the line! We have to hold the front!"
The commanders' desperate shouts echoed everywhere. Yet, with the sheer number of monsters, the situation steadily worsened.
As the soldiers failed to properly fend off the monsters, more and more managed to climb atop the fortress.
"We mustn't falter! Hold the formation! We can stop them!"
"Archers and mages, focus solely on the flying monsters! Don't bother with the ones on the walls!"
"Everyone else, keep your eyes off the sky! Focus only on the monsters ahead!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The soldiers gritted their teeth and thrust their shields forward in response to the commanders' cries. Spears jabbed through the gaps, piercing the monsters.
Kyaaaaaah!
As seasoned soldiers with experience in great wars, their movements were disciplined. They formed ranks step by step, pushing back the monsters as a united front.
Despite allowing the monsters to approach, they hadn't given up hope of prevailing. Everyone still steadfastly held their positions.
Roooooaaaaar!
From far away, another deafening roar came from behind the monster ranks.
The soldiers briefly glanced in the direction of the sound, only to gasp in terror.
"No, no way... Is that...?"
"It can't be... That giant...?"
"Cyclops! Cyclopes have appeared!"
Five giants, each twice the size and height of an ogre, emerged.
Cyclopes were monsters so rare they were believed to be extinct.
Ordinarily, ogres were considered the strongest monsters on land. However, Cyclopes possessed strength that surpassed even ogres.
They had been relegated to legend only because their existence was thought to be mythical.
But now, five of these monsters have appeared.
Hrrrrrrr...
The Cyclopes, unlike the other half-crazed monsters, didn't charge recklessly. Instead, they began picking up the boulders that had been used in catapult attacks and hurled them at the fortress.
Boom! Crash! Smash!
"Aaaaah!"
The sudden barrage of stones sent soldiers screaming as they were crushed. Many couldn't even cry out before being crushed to death under the massive rocks.
Now, even the monsters were launching siege attacks. This rendered the formations meaningless.
With each rock that struck, soldiers were killed, and the ranks began to crumble.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
Graaaaaah!
The screams of people and the roars of monsters mingled, echoing across the battlefield.
The Cyclopes showed no concern for their own side, indiscriminately hurling boulders. Even flying monsters were struck and fell to the ground.
The battlefield descended into complete chaos.
"Th-this can't be..."
The fortress's commander-in-chief, Marquis Alperen, stood frozen, his mouth gaping in shock.
He had studied extensively on the dangers of monster waves. He had amassed an army in this fortress equivalent to a nation's military strength.
He had been confident they could withstand the wave. His only concern had been how to deal with dragons, should they appear.
But the scale of the monster wave far exceeded his imagination. This was unlike any wave he had read about.
To make matters worse, Cyclopes had appeared. Even a superhuman would struggle to take down such creatures alone.
Bang! Crash! Smash!
"Aaaaaaah!"
The soldiers' screams filled the air. The fortress walls began to crack under the relentless assault from the massive monsters.
Despite all the preparations, they were insufficient against the monsters' all-out attack.
Marquis Alperen's mind went blank, unable to process the battlefield unfolding before him.
"For the monsters to be this powerful..."
He had earned a reputation as a competent commander, having been chosen for critical subjugation missions in the past.
He had fought and triumphed against rebels and the Salvation Church. Alongside Marquis Gidion, he had even withstood the Artrode army's offensive.
Yet, faced with this barbaric and overwhelming force, he was at a loss for how to respond.
Graaaaaah!
The monsters swarming the fortress showed no sign of reason in their eyes—only madness, driven by a singular desire for destruction and slaughter.
They acted as if they felt no pain.
Even as arrows pierced them and flesh was torn away, the monsters burned with relentless hostility toward the living beings inside the fortress.
As the formation crumbled and the soldiers began to falter, fear spread across their faces.
"Sh-shouldn't we retreat?"
Someone muttered, but no one heard—or had the luxury of hearing—those words.
Graaaaaah!
The ogres, undeterred by severed limbs, continued focusing solely on breaking the fortress.
The trolls, stepping over their dead kin, desperately climbed the walls.
The wyverns, oblivious to their shredded wings, charged at the soldiers.
The battlefield was filled with horrific roars, screams, and the sound of breaking bones. The monsters' maddened eyes were the very embodiment of nightmares from the abyss.
"The monsters aren't dwindling!"
"Stick together! Reform the ranks, quickly!"
"We can't hold them! It's over here!"
Amid the chaos, the soldiers were consumed by terror.
The once-solid formation had disintegrated the moment the Cyclopes began their rock attack. Without proper ranks, the army couldn't withstand the tide of monsters.
"Get it together! Reform the ranks! We can still do this! We still have plenty of men!"
The commanders shouted hoarsely, rallying the troops.
Archers and mages continued targeting the flying monsters, while catapults relentlessly hurled rocks outside the fortress.
Boom! Boom! Smash!
But the Cyclopes' unrestrained rock-throwing was more threatening to the fortress forces than to the monsters. The Cyclopes showed no concern for protecting their own allies.
Their attacks, driven by sheer madness to kill, were nearly impossible to dodge. The fortress sustained greater damage as time passed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Graaaaaah!
The monsters' attack was devoid of strategy or tactics. It was a relentless wave of primal violence crashing against the fortress.
The refined swordsmanship and defensive techniques of humans seemed powerless against this barbaric force.
Eventually, a young soldier, unable to endure the fear, collapsed.
"Th-this isn't a war! It's a slaughter!"
Crunch!
A harpy, its body resembling that of a bird but with a human head, swooped down toward the vulnerable soldier. The soldier was helplessly devoured by the harpy.
Slash!
A nearby knight cut the harpy's neck in one swift motion. However, before he could catch his breath, the surrounding monsters charged at him in a frenzy.
Roooooar!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Beneath the fortress, massive Gorgons, resembling enormous black oxen, repeatedly slammed their heads into the walls.
Crack, crunch…
The relentless attacks from the massive monsters were slowly breaking the fortress apart. The boulders hurled by the Cyclopes continued to crush soldiers mercilessly.
The fortress walls were now crawling with blackened swarms of monsters. Flying creatures descended endlessly from the sky.
Marquis Alperen muttered in a dazed tone.
"It's over…"
The forces he had thought sufficient were being completely overwhelmed. Even though they hadn't engaged the larger monsters directly, fighting from the fortress, it was becoming difficult to hold back the flood of monsters.
The priests had poured all their energy into protecting and healing their allies, but the number of fallen soldiers continued to grow.
Against this overwhelming tide of violence, everything seemed meaningless. In the clash between civilization and barbarism, reason and instinct, civilization and reason were being forced into retreat.
The fortress stood as the final bastion of reason, surrounded by beasts consumed by bloodlust.
"Aaaaaaah!"
"Hold the line! We must hold on!"
"Reform the formation! Running in fear will only bring greater losses!"
The soldiers' screams and the commanders' shouts intertwined without pause.
Escape was not an option. They had no choice but to muster their strength and fight back.
But everyone knew it. At this rate, they would eventually collapse in one swift moment.
They were doing everything to prevent that outcome, but the signs of their limits were becoming evident.
As fear and despair swelled in everyone's hearts—
Bang!
A sound like an explosion of air came from the distance.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
The explosive sounds continued in succession. Each time, flashes of light accompanied the noise, approaching the fortress.
BOOM!
A streak of lightning-like light struck the fortress at incredible speed.
CRACK!
With the thunderclap, a man appeared, his arms outstretched. A golden magic circle was engraved in his eyes.
"Gravity Wave."
RUMBLE!
A wave of gravity rippled out in an instant across the front of the fortress.
Screeeeech!
The flying monsters suddenly plummeted to the ground.
The monsters clinging to the walls of the fortress were either crushed under the immense pressure or fell below. Even the massive monsters pounding the fortress slowed in their movements.
The soldiers didn't miss this chance. They thrust their weapons into the fallen monsters, pinning them down and killing them.
The number of monsters still advancing was vast. But at least, the forces defending the fortress were given a brief respite.
"Quick! Reform the lines!"
At someone's shout, the soldiers hastily regrouped. Only then did they realize what had just happened.
"I-it's Lord Jerome!"
"Lord Jerome has arrived!"
"Hooray!"
A tremendous cheer erupted.
Every soldier in the fortress knew who Jerome was.
An 8th-circle grand mage. The man who had stopped the terrifying monster, Gartros.
Knowing the extent of his immense power, their morale surged.
ROOOOOAR!
The Cyclopes resumed their rock-throwing. Although Jerome had knocked down the monsters on the walls, their attacks remained a grave threat.
Seeing the incoming boulders, Jerome extended his hand.
Zzzzz—!
In an instant, golden magic circles appeared before the fortress.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
The boulders shattered upon striking the magic circles. The soldiers, witnessing this, erupted into cheers once again.
"Hooray!"
"Lord Jerome stopped all of it!"
"Push the monsters back now!"
With the rock attacks neutralized, the formations could hold. Encouraged, everyone resumed fighting the advancing monsters.
Bang! Bang! Crash!
Jerome concentrated on blocking the Cyclopes' rock attacks while casting spells to fend off the flying monsters.
His role was to protect the allied forces. Thus, he couldn't directly handle the advancing monsters.
That task was for others.
BZZZ!
At a slight distance from the horde of monsters, Vanessa appeared.
Floating in the air, she gestured, and dozens of magic circles formed in the sky.
FLASH!
In an instant, beams of lightning streaked down toward the ground.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Screeeeech!
The relentless lightning bolts tore through the advancing monsters' ranks, splitting them apart.
That wasn't all. Giant pillars of fire erupted from the ground, disrupting the monsters' movement and preventing them from advancing properly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The monsters' advance slowed. However, a significant number had already reached the fortress before Vanessa could intervene, and the walls were once again swarming with blackened masses of monsters.
"Ugh! It's fine! We can hold!"
The soldiers gritted their teeth, holding the line against the monsters.
Even with Jerome's assistance, it was impossible to completely stop the monsters. The earlier devastation had taken too severe a toll.
At that moment, a thick darkness gathered above the fortress.
Whoosh!
The darkness split apart, and Belinda emerged from within. Hundreds of daggers, scattering radiant light, shot outward in every direction.
Screeeeech!
Monsters charging recklessly were mercilessly shredded. Belinda's daggers moved with the precision of hundreds of knights.
The daggers spread out, supporting the soldiers in their battles.
Marquis Alperen clenched his fists and shouted.
"We can do this! We can win!"
With the arrival of three superhumans, the tide of battle had shifted. No, at this rate, a complete reversal seemed inevitable.
Boom! Crash! Smash!
The remaining threat lay with the massive monsters attacking the base of the fortress. Although Jerome had knocked some down, they were charging again, relying on their durable bodies.
If the fortress fell, the consequences would be catastrophic. While the knights might survive, most soldiers would be crushed under the debris.
Marquis Alperen was about to ask Jerome to deal with the massive monsters. Even if they had to endure some damage from the rock attacks or flying monsters, they needed to address the creatures below.
But before he could call out to Jerome, someone else stepped up to handle the massive monsters.
Dududududu!
Yulian rode toward the massive monsters on horseback.
As always, his face was expressionless, and he gripped his sword tightly.
Hummmmm…
An enormous amount of mana began to gather in his blade. The sword gleamed with a brilliant yet chilling blue light.
Crack!
Yulian's horse abruptly shifted direction and halted. At the same time, he turned his gaze and swung his sword into the air.
Swoosh.
It looked like a simple, light movement, but the result was anything but.
Craaaackkkkk!
The earth split open in a long, jagged line where his sword had cut. Every massive monster attacking the fortress in that direction was sliced in half.
From the highest point of the fortress, Marquis Alperen blinked in shock.
"What… What is that…?"
He had heard many tales of Yulian's strength. But this was beyond mere strength—it was a power that defied human limits, almost incomprehensible.
While Marquis Alperen stood stunned, Yulian plunged back into the midst of the monsters.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Each swing of his sword cleaved monsters in half and sent heads flying.
Even with his overwhelming power, Yulian couldn't face this many monsters alone.
The mages had yet to catch up. The urgency of the situation had forced only the swiftest to arrive first.
For now, they needed an even more decisive attack to turn the tide.
Swoosh!
Having cut down all the nearby monsters, Yulian turned his head.
Dududududu!
In the distance, a group of cavalry approached, charging toward the rear of the monsters without hesitation.
It was none other than Ghislain and the 200 Fenris knights following him.
[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 ]