Over the past half-year since the Demon Beast Front Line was established, today marked the heaviest casualties.
"The number of soldiers killed or wounded reached sixty percent of the total, and the Northern Wall's damage exceeds forty percent…?"
This was the toll from just over two hours of battle. The sheer number of Demon Beasts had nearly obliterated the entire Northern Wall defense line.
If Naoki hadn't arrived just in time afterward, the casualties would likely have been far more devastating.
Sitting on his throne, listening to Nobunaga's report, Gilgamesh nodded gravely: "Understood. Bring all the wounded soldiers back to Uruk. I will personally mourn the fallen soldiers. Gather the severely wounded at the temple for treatment and care. Lightly wounded soldiers will also return for treatment. The same goes for the Servants."
"Eh? Wait a moment, King Gilgamesh!"
Ushiwakamaru, who had also come to the Ziggurat to report, couldn't help but speak up: "If all the soldiers are withdrawn, the Northern Wall's defense—"
"No need to worry about that." Gilgamesh looked at Naoki. "Holy Sword Bearer, can you hold the Northern Wall alone?"
"If the enemies are just Demon Beasts." Naoki replied. "No matter how many Demon Beasts come, I can guarantee the Northern Wall won't be breached. But if Enkidu or the Magical Beast Goddess appears, I can't make that promise."
"Hmm, that's enough. Holy Sword Bearer, from now on, I entrust you with guarding the Northern Wall, assisted by Merlin, Merry, Morgan, and the personnel from Chaldea. The other Servants will return to Uruk and rejoin the Northern Wall after resting for two days."
"Also, what about the repairs to the Northern Wall?"
"Merlin, Merry, and Morgan are working on it at full speed." Naoki answered. "At the earliest, it'll be done by dusk, but that's just emergency repairs. I'll reinforce it later using Imaginary Manifestation."
Gilgamesh nodded: "Good. Then, let's move on to logistics and supply issues…"
The handling of the aftermath of the first wave of the Demon Beast general assault continued until the afternoon.
Due to the massive casualties, there was a severe shortage of various supplies, such as medical facilities, medicine, bandages, and more. Beyond the confirmed casualties, many soldiers were still missing, requiring the formation of rescue teams to search for them. Add to that the rebuilding of camps, handling of the dead…
These various tasks kept Uruk bustling all day long. The city was enveloped in an unprecedented tension and seriousness, struggling to address the shortages caused by this major battle. Even Naoki, before heading to the Northern Wall, was held back to use his Imaginary Manifestation to urgently create a large number of beds and medical rooms. King Gilgamesh was truly intent on squeezing him dry from now on.
Though Naoki didn't mind, he felt a bit guilty for not arriving at the Northern Wall in time, despite rushing as soon as he received the notification.
If he had maintained his highly attuned observational senses, perhaps the Northern Wall wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Evening, as the sun set, at the Northern Wall.
After exhaustive repairs by Naoki, Merlin, Merry, and Morgan, the Northern Wall, damaged from the morning's battle, was finally restored to about ninety percent of its original state.
Standing atop the wall, looking at the piles of Demon Beast and human corpses in the northern desert, Ritsuka clenched her fists tightly.
"I didn't expect… something like this would happen…"
Up to this point, Ritsuka had traversed six Singularities. In previous Singularities, she had witnessed horrific scenes like the one before her.
Just recently, in the fifth Singularity, she had seen a mythological war spanning North America.
She should have developed some immunity to such gruesome sights by now, but in reality, no matter how many times she saw them, Ritsuka felt she would never get used to this.
"Today's battle was the strongest Demon Beast attack ever." Merlin, standing beside her, explained. "The confirmed number of Demon Beasts killed is nearly three thousand. The actual number involved in the attack was likely closer to ten thousand. It's as if they unleashed all the forces they'd been hiding in one go."
A Demon Beast army totaling nearly ten thousand.
Due to this overwhelming number, the Northern Wall suffered such extensive damage.
"Though thanks to Natsukawa's timely arrival, nearly all the Demon Beasts were wiped out, and there shouldn't be another attack this strong, the situation is still far from optimistic."
Indeed.
Now was not the time to breathe a sigh of relief.
The sheer number of Demon Beasts alone had caused such losses at the Demon Beast Front Line. If the Magical Beast Goddess appeared on the battlefield, or if the fake Enkidu joined the fight, the Northern Wall would suffer even greater losses, and total collapse wasn't impossible.
[The one thing to be grateful for now is that Natsukawa has dealt with two Goddesses. If fighting just one Goddess is already this difficult, if the Three Goddess Alliance attacked together, we definitely wouldn't have held.]
Roman's voice came through the communication device on Ritsuka's wrist.
That was the only good news.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the nearby entrance stairs. Then Ritsuka, Mash, and Merlin saw Naoki walking up.
"You're all here. What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, just reflecting a bit on the battlefield." Merlin laughed. "How's the situation over there? Has Uruk stabilized?"
Naoki sighed: "That's hard to say. From my perspective, the atmosphere in Uruk is pretty grim right now. After all, they had just seen a glimmer of hope before, but today they were nearly wiped out. It's a natural reaction."
"We probably don't need to worry about that. King Gilgamesh will manage their emotions well." Merlin said. "As far as I know, King Gilgamesh has been saying things like 'Uruk will surely fall' for the past half-year. The people of Uruk might already be prepared to face the end of the world."
"Prepared…?"
Ritsuka's face darkened.
Naoki gently patted her head: "Don't think too much about it, Fujimaru. It's okay to feel various emotions about this situation, but don't get too caught up in negative ones. Instead of spending time grieving here, focus on the current situation."
"After all, all of Gilgamesh's Servants are starting to return to Uruk to regroup. Only a few of us are left to hold the entire Northern Wall."
As Naoki said, after the morning's battle, the Servants previously stationed at the Northern Wall had sustained various injuries, big and small. Ushiwakamaru and Benkei had numerous wounds. Leonidas had been clawed in the chest, leaving a deep gash down to the bone. Most severely, Tomoe had lost much of her abdomen.
Nobunaga, who had been providing fire support from the air, had the lightest injuries.
As for Hinako and Xiang Yu, neither was injured at all. After all, one was a mechanical creation, and the other was a fairy. They weren't easily harmed, so they could return to defend the city now.
"Cheer up, Fujimaru, Mash."
"Our fight in this era is just about to begin."