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Chapter 90
Squeak!
Squeak squeak!
Baaah!
“Ah, seriously! No matter how many I catch, they just keep coming!”
Before the massive castle gate beneath the towering wall—
A young man stood, sword in hand, leading his soldiers as flocks of goats and swarms of rats surged toward them.
Allen Ater.
“Lord Allen! The rats are mixed in with the goats—it’s hard to deal with both at once!”
“At this rate, we can’t hold much longer! We’ll have to close the gates and fall back inside!”
Allen clenched his jaw as he watched his men falter—already starting to be pushed back not long after stepping out from the gate.
No matter how many monsters they struck down, more came spilling in to fill the gaps.
“Focus on blocking the goats! Ignore the rats! Don’t worry about infection or poison—the priests led by Sir Gregorius will heal everyone!”
Encouraged by Allen’s firm voice, the soldiers steadied their ranks and tried to hold the goats back as best they could.
But even that resistance couldn’t last forever.
The priests could heal the small wounds quickly, yes—but the pain and exhaustion that accumulated were another story.
“Sir, I think we’ll have to fall back soon. The men in the front lines are completely spent. Even rotating the ranks in three lines doesn’t help—the troops are too few, and the rotations happen too quickly. The ones who fall back don’t even have time to recover before being sent in again.”
Allen’s adjutant spoke in a worried tone as the situation grew more dire by the minute.
A decision had to be made—fast.
They had formed a circular defensive line to push the monsters away from the gate.
If even one side of that line broke, the beasts would surge through the half-open gate straight toward the priests and archers behind them.
“…No. We haven’t received my father’s command yet.”
“My lord!”
Allen, after a long pause, shook his head with a tormented look.
His adjutant wasn’t wrong—he could see for himself that the soldiers were on the brink.
But he couldn’t retreat without permission.
His father, Grand Duke Ater, was watching from above—if he hadn’t yet given the order to fall back, there had to be a reason.
Baaah!
Thud!
“Guh…!”
“Hey! You okay?!”
“Don’t leave your position! Rotate from the back—first line, hold your ground to the en—urk!”
They pushed themselves past their limits to defend the gate, but eventually, one flank began to collapse under the relentless assault of the goats.
Just as disaster threatened to unfold—
“Open the way.”
“Waaaaah!”
“Move the wounded to the rear! Anyone still able, join me here!”
At that moment, Austin’s calm, commanding voice rang out behind them, followed by a thunderous charge of knights bursting forward to push the goats back.
“Allen, well done. That wasn’t easy—you held out bravely.”
“…No, it was thanks to the men who believed in me and stood their ground to the end.”
After sending the knights ahead, Austin approached Allen, who looked utterly exhausted.
The young man had been rushing about to plug every gap that opened near the line.
“You look worn out. Go inside and rest a bit.”
It had only been a short time, but the contribution was significant.
Thanks to Allen and his soldiers, the gate had been held long enough that one of the two Demon Lords—the Plague Lord—finally moved his main force personally.
That meant the main army within the fortress could now sortie without having wasted their stamina—an enormous advantage.
Even if no one knew yet why the Corruption Lord’s army still hadn’t moved.
“…Thank you.”
Allen, who had wanted to remain to support his men to the end, noticed his hands trembling from fatigue and finally closed his eyes.
“By the way… where is Eric?”
Just as he was about to accept his father’s order and take a short rest inside the fortress, Allen glanced up at the wall, puzzled not to see his younger brother anywhere.
“Eric?”
“If you mean the second young master, he should be in the sewers right now with his companions.”
One of the officers near Austin answered.
“The sewers?”
“Yes, sir. A female knight who was beside the young master came to me earlier asking whether any part of the fortress’s water system drew from outside the border…”
Tap!
Before the officer could finish explaining, Allen’s face hardened.
Then, forgetting his exhaustion, he sprang up and dashed off.
“L-Lord Allen!”
His adjutant, startled, pushed off the wall and ran after him, but Allen didn’t stop—
He was already sprinting toward the passage leading down to the fortress sewers.
Whatever it was, his brother must have sensed something suspicious down there.
Meanwhile…
“Y-you insolent brat! What could you possibly know about my magnificent invention?!”
In the vast network of tunnels beneath the fortress—
Eric’s group stood before Fosio, a named subordinate under the Corruption Lord, who had emerged through the debris.
Sent to infiltrate the fortress and sabotage something under orders from his master, Fosio now faced Eric, who had sent Lillian away to prepare her magic while he stalled for time.
Bzzzzz—
Instead of a pickaxe or shovel, Fosio pulled out a massive iron pitchfork, its mechanism whirring ominously.
As it whooshed through the air, its four sharp prongs slicing toward him, Eric dove backward—though he easily had space to dodge, he threw himself much farther back than necessary.
Thud!
Crunch-crack!
Rolling to his feet, Eric glanced at the spot he’d just been standing—
Or rather, a few steps past it, where the pitchfork had buried itself deep into the stone floor.
‘Damn, the stat gap is huge. Even knowing what that weapon does, it’s not easy to dodge.’
“Sir Eric… just now…”
“Yeah. The handle extended. I had a bad feeling, so I threw myself back. Good thing I did—if I’d only stepped back, I’d have a hole through my head right now.”
Leo, sweating, looked from Eric to the weapon, and Eric nodded grimly.
If he hadn’t recognized that weapon from the game—Fosio’s signature tool—he’d already be dead.
“Y-you… was that luck?!”
Fosio’s eyes widened. He had deliberately swung so the tip would barely miss—so how had the man jumped exactly far enough away?
“I told you. Your invention? Totally worthless.”
“Y-you dare insult the genius inventor Fosio’s masterpiece twice?!”
Fosio stomped furiously, veins bulging on his forehead.
“I-I’ll never forgive youuuu!”
With a howl, he ripped the pitchfork free from the floor and charged.
“Sir Leona!”
Eric immediately retreated further, shouting to his knightly companion, then raised his sword just in time—
Claaaang!
“Kh—!”
The shock reverberated through his arms like a sledgehammer. He nearly dropped his sword, biting his lip as the pain flared.
‘Damn it. Even with Leona’s help, this is the best we can manage?’
Despite Leona intercepting part of the blow at the midpoint of the weapon, Eric’s palms were flayed raw just from the force of that single strike.
This was why Fosio was considered one of the toughest among the Corruption Lord’s subordinates—
Not only were his bizarre inventions unpredictable, but his raw strength rivaled Squalor’s.
‘And he’s fast, too, since he’s not that big…’
“Die! Diiiiie!”
Boom! Crash!
Fosio went berserk, swinging his weapon wildly.
Eric sprinted through the narrow tunnel, using the sewer wall to limit Fosio’s movements and drawing him toward a side passage where Leona waited.
Whoosh!
Shnk—
“Gyaaaah! You accursed—!”
After several minutes of frantic pursuit, a slash from Leona caught Fosio’s ankle, making him stumble.
Eric glanced into the side tunnel and saw the flickering heat waiting there.
Fwoooosh…
‘Perfect. This should do it.’
The heat was so intense he could feel it even before turning the corner.
Eric gave Leona a quick nod, then called out to Fosio, who was bent over clutching his bleeding ankle.
“What’s wrong? Tired already? Guess your so-called ‘invention’ was as flimsy as its maker.”
“You… you little—!”
Enraged by the taunt, Fosio charged again—
And followed Eric and Leona right around the corner.
Until suddenly—
“…Wait. You tricked me!”
The searing heat beyond the turn made him stop dead, only one step from the corner.
“Tricked you? What, you think I was lying about your invention being trash? I was being honest.”
“Heh… fine. So you lured me here, huh? Too bad—I’ll just leave!”
But the moment Fosio tried to back away—
Crack—!
“H-huh? C-cold?!”
He spun around to see the passage behind him frozen solid—an ice wall sealing his escape.
Sweat poured down his face as he realized he was trapped.
“Damn it—”
“Fire Breath!”
Fwooooooosh!
