Chương 56: Hold the Line

Ch 56 - Hold the Line Zeph gripped the edge of the city wall as the first wave of monsters finally emerged from behind the trees. The dark mass stretched across the forest, and everyone on the wall immediately got into position. He turned toward one side of the city wall, where several people were already standing beside large ballistae, preparing to fire.

"Damn, they finally showed up." Madou grinned.

"There are quite a lot of them. I like this."

"You're seriously not joking, are you, Madou?" Suki replied.

"Fighting Tier 1 monsters is easy enough, but if there are this many of them, things are going to get ugly." The first massive attack was launched moments later. A gigantic fireball shot high into the sky, and Zeph followed it with his eyes until it exploded in the distance. The blast shook the ground, sending countless monsters flying wildly in every direction. Malon spoke as he watched the explosion.

"That single shot costs a fortune. It's made using extracted monster cores, so they spent a huge amount of resources just to create an explosive that powerful." Lena nodded after hearing that.

"Which is why they said they can't keep doing this forever."

"Exactly." Zeph carefully observed the monsters. Most of them were newly awakened monsters that had evolved from the wild animals living inside the forest. There were giant wolves, mutated bears, enormous boars, and many other twisted creatures charging together.

"What do you think, Malon? Got anything to say?" Madou asked.

"Well, I think this first wave has to be wiped out before it reaches the city wall," Malon answered.

"If they break through the defenses, things will become far more dangerous. A lot more civilians will end up dying." Before anyone could say anything else, someone suddenly leaped off the top of the city wall. No, it wasn't just one person. It was two. Zeph landed heavily on the ground, and Madou hit the earth almost at the same time beside him.

"You're pretty confident too, aren't you, Madou?" Zeph said.

"Look who's talking." Another powerful impact echoed moments later, this one twice as heavy as theirs. Hugh had landed. Not long after that, the others jumped down as well. Lena, Suki, and even Malon followed.

"Tch... I really shouldn't have come down. This is going to be a pain," Malon muttered.

"Then why are you even here, you spoiled brat?" Madou shot back.

"I don't have a choice. Otherwise, I'll get left behind and kicked out of this circle. I'm not getting kicked out of Zeph's group." Zeph stepped to the very front as a dark aura spread around his body. Something condensed within his palm, growing longer and heavier with every passing second until an enormous greatsword took shape. A completely solid, massive greatsword. The others watched the weapon form and smiled faintly.

"So, you finally managed to manifest each part separately now, huh, Mr. Reckless?" Madou said as he took his place at the front. Hugh raised his shield and stood ready beside them.

"Just make sure as many monsters as possible don't reach the city wall, okay?" Zeph said.

"Since when are you the one giving orders, Zeph?" If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Three people stood at the front, while the other three took positions behind them as dozens of monsters charged straight toward their formation. After that, the energy chains connected to all of them from Malon, who was standing behind.

"Stay in formation at all times. Hugh, take the left. Madou, the right. Zeph, you're in the center," Malon said. Madou grinned as soon as he heard that. He glanced over his shoulder and gave a thumbs-up.

"Nice. Alright, let's do this." Zeph immediately focused. Every part of his body tensed as every cell inside him prepared for what was coming. He knew this was it. Fighting alongside friends you could truly trust... wasn't this what he had always longed for?

"Let's go!" Zeph shot forward, taking the lead. He sprinted with his greatsword held low, ready to strike. He was stronger than before. He could do this better now, thanks to the endless training he had gone through. Day after day at the blacksmith club, he had swung his hammer thousands of times, and after all the brutal practice controlling his Sigil, this was the result of everything he had worked for. He charged ahead.

Even though he could only rely on his normal vision now, no longer enhanced because the mask that usually covered his face was not there, but it was enough. The bright floodlights shining from the city walls illuminated the battlefield, giving them enough light to clearly see everything ahead. Zeph gritted his teeth as the first wave of monsters rushed toward him. Four of them came at once. His grip tightened.

Every muscle in his arms swelled with strength, and suddenly his sword shot forward, crashing into all four monsters in a single swing. The blade stopped halfway through. He still didn't have enough strength to force it all the way. Zeph clenched his teeth even harder, straining every muscle in his body until the veins along his arms bulged. A flash of golden light shot forward and wrapped around the blade of Zeph's greatsword. It was Lena.

The girl pushed against the greatsword with him, a surge of energy bursting from her as the weapon finally completed its swing. A violent explosion of dark energy blasted through the monsters, sending them flying backward before they slammed hard into the creatures behind them.

"Nice one, Lena."

"I'm on your side, Zeph," she said with a smile as a pair of golden butterfly wings gently fluttered behind her, looking both elegant and breathtaking.

"I think your sword's too big. You're having trouble swinging it," Madou called from the other side.

"Oh, thanks for the mockery, Madou. Let's see who kills more monsters, okay?" Zeph charged forward again, bracing himself as another wave of monsters rushed toward him.

"Oh, don't challenge me to a kill count, okay? Now that Hugh's covering the defense, I can kill twice as many. No, make that three times as many!"

"Save the bragging for later, Madou," Zeph said with a grin as he dashed forward. He gritted his teeth as a mass of dark energy gathered in the palm of his hand. Moments later, it took shape as a dark gauntlet that covered his arm. He could now manifest two parts of his armor and weapon at the same time, though he still had to carefully manage both his mana and stamina. Zeph slammed his greatsword into the ground with tremendous force.

The impact blasted the approaching monsters in every direction, sending them tumbling across the battlefield. Without stopping, he swung toward the next group, smashing them away one after another. Instead of cutting them in half, the attacks mostly hurled them backward. He knew that if he wanted to split them apart with a single strike, he would need far more strength than he had now. Still, that was perfectly fine.

Their role on the front line was to drive the monsters back so Suki could finish them off with her arrows. At the same time, the sharp cracks of Malon's mana-powered rifle echoed one after another as he picked off the weakened monsters lying on the ground. More than once, Malon also shifted his aim toward monsters trying to ambush Madou from the side, taking them down before Madou even had the chance to react.

There were even moments when Zeph felt the boost flowing from Malon suddenly disappear as every energy chain shifted toward Hugh instead. It always happened whenever Hugh needed the extra support the most. In that regard, Malon performed his role as the team's coordinator flawlessly. He constantly adjusted his support to cover every member of the team, stepping in wherever he was needed. Whenever Suki failed to finish off a monster, Malon was already there, taking the shot before it could become a threat.

Meanwhile, Lena moved swiftly between the front line and the rear, making sure any monsters that slipped past the three fighters in front were dealt with immediately. She also kept a close watch on the others, ready to step in wherever another pair of hands was needed. They were truly fighting as a team, even though this was the very first time the six of them had battled together in a formation like this.

Yet every movement seemed to fall naturally into place, as if they had fought side by side for years instead of only coming together now. The three fighters on the front line formed the perfect balance between defense and offense. Although Hugh considered himself the team's dedicated defender, his incredible strength meant that even his shield became a devastating weapon whenever he went on the attack.

Zeph, meanwhile, had rapid regeneration and wielded a massive greatsword capable of delivering overwhelming offensive power. As for Madou... Well, he was literally half-undead. His body recovered quickly, and there were times when he barely seemed to feel pain at all. Combined with his exceptional martial arts skills, he was more than capable of holding his own against wave after wave of monsters.

"This feels manageable. I just hope this battle ends without anyone getting hurt." That hope lasted only a moment. Something emerged from the distant tree line. A massive ball of fire launched from a ballista exploded in the distance, briefly lighting up the battlefield. Through the flames, a towering figure slowly came into view. It stood three, perhaps even four, times taller than the surrounding monsters.