Overwhelming Firepower

While those on Duke Vardon and Marquis Valeire’s side were mourning their dead, Lucen and those with him were preparing for the second wave.

The scouts whom Lucen sent out had returned and reported that another wave was coming from the Northwest mountain range again, but the speed of this wave was slower than the first one.

Also, unlike the first one, this wave was composed of larger monsters. There were fewer this time, but their size was that of giants.

Lucen, who was sitting down inside his recently assembled tent, sighed inwardly. ”How long do you think before they arrive?”

”The monster wave would arrive at dawn in the latest, or at midday if they move slower.”

Lucen nodded his head. ”Alright, you can go rest now.”

The scouts gave a knight’s salute before leaving Lucen’s tent. Once Lucen was alone, he started thinking about what to do now.

’I don’t know how long we will be staying here. If possible, I would have wanted a few people to create tracks towards this area, connecting to the track we made from Ironhold to the First Fortress. But even if I do that, it would take several days to finish, by then this monster might have long been over.’

Lucen rubbed his temples as he felt his head aching a little. So he wanted to think about the positives of the situation first.

’Still, due to Ironhold being near here, supplies come rather quickly. Also, no one had died in the last wave despite it looking rather dire at the end.’

Lucen looked at the ring on his finger and sighed. ’After that incident, I couldn’t activate the ring again or hear those voices. I know the activation of this has something to do with heightened emotions or something similar; it could also just activate if I’m in another dire situation...’ Lucen then shook his head.

’Nah, I can’t rely on a power I don’t even understand. I need to think of something else.’

Lucen tried thinking about other positive things, but that was all the positive things he could think of at the moment.

Right now, even though they had all survived, a few had succumbed to the corruption and madness, making them unable to fight at this moment.

Another problem was that after using the power of the ring alongside RELEASE, his body wasn’t actually at a hundred percent at the moment.

His aura mantle was now unstable, and his mana supply was halved at the moment, and even drinking mana potions was not helping.

It would seem that he had gained some sort of debuff after using those two things to power himself up.

When he circulated mana through his core, there was resistance, as though invisible sediment clogged the pathways.

Not to mention his body was aching all over; it was as if his muscles were being torn apart. If not for his regeneration skill, this would have been much more unbearable.

So for now, he couldn’t use the same powerful attack he used on the first wave on the second monster wave.

”I guess we can prepare some traps since we know that they’re coming. I should have made things like landmines, too.”

Lucen exhaled slowly. The canvas of the tent rustled softly with the night wind. Outside, he could hear voices, the clink of metal bowls, and hearty laughter.

Lucen took a pick outside and saw several barbarians showing off their tattoos and telling others of how many monsters they had slain.

It would seem that the barbarians with them had enjoyed the battle greatly and are now lightening the mood outside.

The dwarves also seem to be less affected by the battle than Lucen expected, as they were outdrinking the barbarians and laughing heartily with them.

The mages were out on the field studying the dead monster and the corrupted animals. Even the other members of Thornefang happily laughed at the jokes of the barbarians.

Lucen stood at the entrance of his tent for a moment longer, watching the scene unfold beneath the dim glow of torches and mage-lights.

They were tired; anyone with eyes could see that. Armor lay loosened, shoulders rolled stiffly, a few injuries here and there.

But, despite all that and what they had experienced, surprisingly, there were no signs of despair, no fear to be seen in them.

When Lucen went out of his tent, the group greeted him. ”Leader!”

”Come join us for a drink, leader!” Harlik, who was sitting beside Durik and a few other dwarves, invited Lucen to join them.

”No, thanks, I need to talk to Robert first. Have you seen him?”

”He and the other mages are all studying those monsters. I guess you’ll find him deeper into the pile of dead monsters.”

Lucen nodded his head and started walking towards the area with the dead monsters. As he was walking, several people greeted him.

”Young warrior! Today’s battle was enjoyable. I hope the next one to come is even more so.” Varek spoke to Lucen while chugging a mug of ale. Lucen then showed a smile as he replied.

”The next battle will be an even better one.”

”Hahaha! Then it will be another glorious battle! One that our ancestors will smile upon and our descendants will be proud of!” Varek laughed heartily as he chugged another mug of ale.

Lucen then continued walking. As he walked, people greeted him, calling him leader, young warrior, or young lord.

Lucen did not slow his pace. He raised a hand in brief acknowledgment to the others who greeted him, then continued toward the darker edge of camp where the monster corpses had been dragged.

The laughter grew fainter behind him as Lucen arrived at the area with the dead monster bodies.

Mage light spells floated above his head as mana lamps lit up the ground.

Instead of laughter and stories of bravery, now he could hear the mages talking about the change in the surrounding mana, about the difference between the insides of the corrupted monsters compared to normal ones.

Lucen then noticed a smell; it was not just the foul smell of decaying flesh, but a burning, pungent smell like rotten eggs or sewage.

’This reminds me of those comics about the conman British magician. I remember him describing demons with a similar scent. I guess the demons in this world are pretty similar.’

While Lucen was thinking about random stuff, Robert had been cutting apart a few parts of a large monster’s body.

Robert did not look up when Lucen approached. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and faint lines of mana traced along his fingers as he guided a thin blade of compressed wind through thick hide.

The creature’s internal structure was abnormal. Robert had studied the bodies of different monsters ever since coming to Ironhold.

He was sure that this monster, before it became what it was now, was originally something else entirely. It looked like its body parts were stitched together by the demonic mana from different monsters and animals.

”My friend, do you need something from me?”

”The second wave is coming, and the monsters this time seem to be stronger than the last wave.”

”I see... I’m not one who’s good with tactics, but wouldn’t it be better to fall back into Ironhold, where we have better defenses?”

Robert asked while continuing what he was doing.

”That won’t work. Surely you noticed the corruption these monsters induce, which causes one to have different levels of madness. Even those with aura and mana have difficulty resisting. If you get them too close to normal people with weaker wills, it would be very bad.”

”Well, what other choice do we have?” Robert finally looked up from the dead body of a monster. Hearing his question, Lucen did not know how to respond at first.

’Yes, what other choice do we have at this point?’ Lucen started thinking about it once more, and then, finally, an answer he hadn’t thought about moments ago showed itself. His eyes sparkled with an idea.

He was so focused on making a stand here on this battlefield away from the citizens due to the effect of madness, but then he remembered that there were other moves available to him because of the train he made with everyone.

He did not need to make the citizens stay in Ironhold at all; he could just move them away. He felt like a fool for not thinking about that from the beginning.

”Hahaha! You truly are a genius, Robert!”

”Yes, I am.” Robert accepted the compliment without fully understanding why Lucen said it.

”Okay then, we can do that. Come with me, Robert. I need you to activate a communication orb.” Lucen pulled Robert away from the monster corpse.

Robert wasn’t even able to refuse as Lucen was already pulling him away. The two then arrived in Lucen’s tent, where Robert activated the communication orb connected to Vardon Thornehart.

It didn’t take too long before Vardon Thornehart answered, and his figure appeared before the two of them.

”Greetings, Father.”

”We are at a time of war, Lucen, no need for formalities. Just tell me what it is you wish to say.” Vardon spoke with his usual stoic face and monotonous tone.

”Father, how is the Styrhord going?”

”We have lost most of the Gatling guns, and one of the Roaring Thunders has been destroyed. A few hundred have been taken to Velmira’s embrace,” Vardon answered.

Hearing what Vardon said, a few faces flashed in Lucen’s mind. Those whom he spoke to a few days ago, those who he worked with, now they would never be able to see each other again, to continue forward to the future.

Lucen shook his head, trying to stop himself from thinking about such things at the moment. Lucen then told Vardon about what had happened on his side, about the weird monsters that cause madness and spread corruption.

Once he was done explaining his situation, Lucen’s eyes shone with his resolve burning like a furnace. The ring on his finger glowed ever so slightly.

”I have a plan to change the course of both battlefields.”