kscans

CHAPTER 5 WARS OF NATIONS – Episode 3 Demonic Beast Attack (Part 2)

t/n: so i just noticed i switched blue leopard and Blue Panther before. will stick to Blue Panther.

3

The growls of the demonic beasts echoed. While the demonic beasts charged, the beasts behind them began to growl. They growled without barking. It continued even when the darkness of the night covered the surroundings.

Bard stared into the darkness from a spot on the crumbling wall. There was a massive horde of demonic beasts. It was a number that Bard had never seen or even imagined. Unconsciously, Bard reached for the ancient sword at his waist. At that moment, the hand gripping the hilt of the ancient sword tingled.

Some of the soldiers were severely exhausted. The charge of the Giant Rock Apes had greatly damaged their spirits. The demonic beasts would get up and continue attacking even after being shot. They unleashed a terrifying amount of anger and hatred upon humans. For those who knew about demonic beasts but had never fought them, demonic beasts were like demons from hell itself. The reckless charge of the Giant Rock Apes had struck a definite blow to the hearts of the defenders.

And then, there were the growls. The demonic beasts growled at a distance where arrows couldn’t reach, making it seem like they were about to attack at any moment. In the darkness, they appeared as silhouettes floating in the light of the torches on the walls, with their eyes shining brightly. It felt as if this entire castle had been transported to another place that was not of this world. The defenders couldn’t rest and would surely continue to exhaust themselves. The anxiety of the non-combatants inside the castle grew.

“Master, master. I brought some warm soup.”

Bard thanked Jurchaga and took the bowl from him. The soldiers were taking turns resting and having meals. In times like these, it was better to be a little thick-skinned. Jog Ward was a good example. After being brought back inside the walls, Jog said, “It looks like we won’t have any action for a while,” and quickly had his subordinates have their meals. After finishing his own meal, he apparently lay down in his armor and started snoring loudly. His subordinates followed suit and began to relax and rest, taking Jog as their example.

Bard was both amazed and impressed when he heard about this. He then ordered the non-combatants to prepare meals for themselves and distributed them to the soldiers as well. Having something to do would distract their minds, and warm meals would calm their hearts and replenish their energy. It was expected to be a long battle, so it would be better to take turns sleeping. He gave the same order to Seifert and Arflaburne.

Tonight, only one moon was out. It was “Sarie” [Younger Sister Moon]. Sarie was brighter than “Sura” [Elder Sister Moon], but its illuminating power was weaker. Moreover, tonight’s Sarie was a thin crescent. The darkness heightened human anxiety. No, it wasn’t just anxiety. In reality, things were difficult to see, causing human combat abilities to greatly decrease. And there were the Long-eared Wolves and Blue Panthers among the enemies. The night was their time.

While Bard was thinking about such things, numerous eyes glowing red approached the castle at an incredible speed. Seifert warned the soldiers and even those who were resting took up their positions for battle.

4

The ones who arrived were the Long-eared Wolves and Blue Panthers. The Shirozuno didn’t act at night. Oohana also didn’t act much at night. On the other hand, the Long-eared Wolves and Blue Panthers were beasts that truly demonstrated their worth at night.

It was thought that they were attacking, but that wasn’t the case. They spread out near the north gate and began to howl. This would surely wake up even those who were sleeping. It seemed like a tough night for the non-combatants. Arflaburne occasionally shot arrows as a deterrent since there were approaching beasts, but it didn’t have any effective attacks. Most of the demonic beasts didn’t try to enter the effective range of the bows. It was as if they had seen through their tactics.

“Wow, it’s amazing how the howling continues like this,” Bard thought to himself, feeling a strange admiration. Something was bothering him, something was nagging at the back of his mind. He felt like he had overlooked something important.

“Hey, Arfla-niichan,” Jurchaga called out.

“Don’t call me that. What is it?” Arflaburne replied.

Jurchaga and Arflaburne had been having a casual conversation for a while now. Despite the howling of the beasts, Bard could hear them clearly since they were right beside him. Even the nearby soldiers could probably hear them. Bard wondered if Jurchaga’s tone was appropriate in this situation. But Jurchaga was a man who could read the atmosphere terrifyingly well. If he was speaking like this, then it must be fine.

“Arfla-niichan, I heard you used to have a pet monkey.”

“Yes. Monkeys are rare in the capital. When they’re young, they’re incredibly cute, so many noblewomen want them. I received one as a souvenir for Doriatessa, but she wasn’t interested in keeping it as a pet. So, I ended up raising it.”

“Arfla-niichan, you’re quite diligent. Monkeys are smart, aren’t they?”

“Don’t call me that. Yes, they’re intelligent and can learn tricks. They’re also loyal to their owners. When it grew up, I released it into the garden as a guardian monkey.”

“Monkeys can even use tools. Once, a monkey from the forest came and entered a village house. It used a wooden stick to break open a turtle shell and took out the sweet potato inside.”

“Haha. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did that. My monkey could open and close doors.”

“If it was a monkey raised by Arfla-niichan, it must have been really impressive.”

“If you speak any more disrespectfully, I’ll cut you.”

“Wow. You’ve improved enough to be able to cut me. Good job, Arfla-niichan.”

As Bard listened, he realized that his face had turned pale. Monkey. The Owl Monkey was missing. Among the demonic beasts that attacked Corpus Fortress during the day, there was no Owl Monkey. They had wiped out the demonic beasts that attacked the fortress, including the Owl Monkey. It was said that there was an Owl Monkey among the demonic beasts repelled by Jog Ward, but they couldn’t completely eliminate them. So, there might have been Owl Monkeys among the demonic beasts that attacked other forts. And yet, there was not a single one here. So, where was it now?

When the sound of a drum announcing trouble at the west gate reached Bard’s ears, he realized his mistake.

5

The Owl Monkey had infiltrated the castle. They seemed to have climbed the castle walls in a vulnerable area between the west and south gates. Bard regretted not warning and increasing the vigilance in case the monkey came. However, Lordvan Castle was too large, and there weren’t enough people or torches to cover the entire castle walls. The monkey was first spotted by non-combatant residents. Ignoring their screams, about twenty monkeys ran towards the west gate. In this castle, the north and south gates were large, with triple-layered doors that provided a sense of security even against demonic beasts. The west and east gates were smaller, with wooden doors secured with latches and reinforced with bars. The monkeys opened the west gate. The Long-eared Wolves and Blue Panthers that were displaying threatening behavior in front of the north gate suddenly ran towards the west gate, as if they had coordinated it.

Bard and the others descended from the castle walls and moved on horseback. They ran along the castle walls where torches were placed. The demonic beasts, the Long-eared Wolves, and Blue Panthers that had started moving earlier had already begun infiltrating through the west gate. However, Jog Ward had arrived quickly and successfully closed the west gate. This was a great achievement.

When Bard arrived at the west gate, the first thing he saw was Jog’s fierce battle. Several soldiers were desperately holding the west gate, placing logs, sandbags, and stones. Colin Kruizer and several knights were protecting the soldiers working on the fortifications, restraining the demonic beasts. Jog was single-handedly fighting against numerous demonic beasts.

No, it wasn’t just him alone. The knights around him were also fighting against the demonic beasts. But no one could approach Jog, as an astonishing number of demonic beasts surrounded him. Jog was clad in black armor, without a helmet on his head, and swung his black greatsword freely in all directions. Demonic beasts leaped at him one after another, but he effortlessly sent them flying.

Truly, he was a “Panzer” (Tempest). (t/n: his nickname previously is “Storm General”.)

Some demonic beasts bit into Jog’s body or clawed at him, but he easily evaded them with his rotational force and deflected them with his sword. The demonic beasts that were sent flying let out cries of pain as they crashed into the ground, but quickly got back up and attacked Jog again. Like moths drawn to flames, the demonic beasts naturally formed a circle of attack, all targeting Jog. The black greatsword, swung with tremendous acceleration, blew away the demonic beasts without discrimination. Some demonic beasts had their heads crushed, while others had their legs broken. The Blue Panther, which had just been struck directly by the black sword in front of Bard, crashed into the outer wall and let out a cry. For a moment, Bard couldn’t help but feel sorry for it, forgetting that it was a demonic beast.

The demonic beasts that had invaded at this time were probably about twenty Long-eared Wolves and ten Blue Panthers. Jog’s reckless fighting style, without considering the consequences, would of course only last for a short time. But it bought them valuable time.

Bard dismounted his horse, drew his ancient sword, and attacked the demonic beasts. His hand gripping the ancient sword trembled. Other knights arrived one after another and joined the battle. Bard, who could kill demonic beasts with a single swing of his ancient sword, astonished onlookers. However, the most fearsome performance at this time was by Karz Rowen. Drawing his magic sword “Van Fleur,” Karz swiftly and decisively cut down the beasts in the darkness. With precise swordsmanship that usually aimed for the neck or heart, he quickly buried the demonic beasts. This feat would become a legendary tale among the Frontier Knights for years to come. Arflaburne also wielded his magic sword “Black Roar” and slaughtered the enemies with powerful and accurate slashes. Seifert, who had followed Bard after finishing his instructions at the North Gate and arrived late, quickly assessed the situation and led his subordinates to the point of entry for the monkeys. This was to prevent any more monkeys from entering the inside of the walls and to kill the monkeys that had already entered. The attacking power of the Owl Monkeys themselves was not much of a threat, but it was unbearable for non-combatants to be attacked. Seifert also ordered to pour oil on the demonic beasts howling around the West Gate and burn them to death.

The situation was gradually calming down, and Bard was about to catch his breath. But at that moment, the sound of a bell rang from the direction of the North Gate, signaling an abnormality. Shirozuno and the others had begun their assault on the North Gate.

6

When Bard returned to the North Gate, under the command of Knight Maitalp, the archers had started their attack. However, it was dark, and the archers were also fatigued from the daytime battle, so their attack lacked strength. The tough skin of Shirozuno’s demonic beasts couldn’t be seriously injured by a few arrows. Nevertheless, fortunately, there were still arrows with poison. Bard instructed Maitalp to shoot the arrows with the intention of injecting poison into all hundred of the Shirozuno, rather than trying to defeat Shirozuno with arrows. And although it was an impossible order in this darkness, he ordered them to aim for the body as much as possible, rather than the hard head.

It was still a terrifying sound and vibration. Near the North Gate, the bodies of the Great Rock Apes were piled up. Those bodies should be quite obstructive. Shirozuno should have poor visibility at night, making it even worse. Indeed, many Shirozuno stumbled and fell over the bodies of the Great Rock Apes. Nevertheless, Shirozuno continued to charge as if they didn’t care if their legs were broken. Regardless of doors or stone walls, a hundred Shirozuno repeatedly launched frenzied assaults. Their footsteps were like a raging torrent, and the sound of their collisions was an incessant hammering from hell. It was a terrifying sound that even seasoned warriors couldn’t help but be frightened. Soon, a report came that the first gate had been breached.

For a moment, Bard considered sending out a squad of knight equipped with spear from the East Gate to attack the Shirozuno. But it wouldn’t work. The Oohana that should be waiting behind would surely attack. Oohana were large boars with extremely sturdy noses and sharp fangs, and their charging speed was abnormally fast. They were difficult opponents to fight while on horseback. As the commotion outside the West Gate grew louder, the Long-eared Wolves and Blue Panthers arrived. If they were to encounter the commotion outside the gate, the knight squad that was sent out would be wiped out.

Seifert had stacked stones on the inside of the North Gate and positioned knights with large shields. It was a good decision. Stones were also stacked between the second and third gate, so the Shirozunos and the others couldn’t enter all at once. Bard made up his mind and gave instructions to Seifert. Instead of trying to stop Shirozuno, they would line up the large shields and guide their direction of attack. They prepared as many spears as possible and created a spear wall in front of the North Gate. That’s how they should set up their formation.

Once the poison arrows ran out, they stopped the archer’s attacks. Since they didn’t know when the upper part of the North Gate would collapse, they evacuated to the left and right. The non-combatants who couldn’t engage in close combat were ordered to climb the city walls with bows. The young men among the non-combatants were asked to help transport arrows. The rest of the non-combatants were ordered to stay inside the castle and tightly close the doors.

At that moment, they received a report that the second gate had also been breached. Bard ordered oil to be spread outside the city walls. They didn’t have any small jars left from noon, so they had to carry large jars. One of the jars broke on the city wall due to the onslaught of demonic beasts, but they didn’t mind and poured the contents of the jar onto the Shirozunos and the others who were trying to break through the city gate. After moving away the soldiers who had been covered in oil, they shot fire arrows. Flames erupted in the darkness of the night. The demonic beasts let out furious roars. Their screaming figures, engulfed in flames, were befitting of messengers from the king of hell.

Bard descended to the square. He thought that it would have been good to have a spiked fence in this square. Good ideas always come too late. He drank the water that Jurchaga offered. His strength returned to his body.

Jog arrived. His armor was tattered. There were numerous claw marks from demonic beasts on his face, and the blood that had been roughly wiped away mixed with fresh blood, making it vivid. He was also drinking water. No, it wasn’t water. It seemed like he had put distilled liquor in his canteen, as there was a strong smell of alcohol. Jog misunderstood Bard’s gaze and said, “Old man, you want some too?” as he offered his canteen. Bard accepted it and drank it down. It was strong liquor. His throat burned. His stomach felt hot. When he returned the canteen to Jog, he heard a voice saying that the last gate had been breached.

It was finally the final battle. However, the demonic beasts outnumbered humans that’s capable of fighting. Winning this battle would be difficult. But even if they were to be defeated and die, their mission was to reduce the number of demonic beasts as much as possible. Bard thought that was his current purpose.

And then, a hellish battle began.

Shirozuno kept jumping in one after another, guided by the large shields. Jog, Karz, Arflaburne, and Seifert were waiting and striking at their front legs. Shirozuno, who had invaded by pushing through the narrow gap of the city gate, lacked speed in their charge. However, in front of their huge and violent figures, only these four could stand calmly and inflict damage with a single blow to their legs. Demonic beasts with injured legs were surrounded by numerous spear units and attacked simultaneously. Natz, who wielded a magic spear, was active. There were only six magic spears in total. Bard thought that if they had a few more magic spears, it would be unexpected. Battle hammers were surprisingly effective in delivering powerful blows.

The first ten or so were fine, but when the injured Shirozuno started writhing around, the footing became worse and some began to fall or miss the attacks from demonic beasts. Karz’s technique visibly dulled due to fatigue. Jog was blown away by Shirozuno once, but when he got up, he returned to the front lines as if nothing had happened. Seifert injured his leg and retreated to the back. One after another, their allies were sent flying by demonic beasts, trampled, and crushed to death. Nevertheless, the brave warriors continued to fight without hesitation and held back the demonic beasts.

Bard also descended to the square and commanded the formation from the rear while confronting the demonic beasts. The ancient sword gave him tremendous attacking power, but his defense was that of an ordinary old man. Fortunately, his excellent armor protected him from fatal wounds, but he repeatedly failed to avoid the charges of demonic beasts and fell. The armor gradually twisted and became damaged. The hand gripping the ancient sword trembled. Eventually, the effects of the poison began to show, and the movements of the demonic beasts dulled. They must have been weakened by the flames as well. As Shirozuno’s attacks reached their climax, the upper part of the northern gate’s wall collapsed. This prevented Shirozuno from entering.

Someone was shouting something, but Bard could barely hear anything due to the previous chaos. Climbing up the wall, he saw a swarm of Riverbears approaching. The archers and their arrows on both wings of the wall were there, but there was no commander. Bard ordered them to shoot as many arrows as they could. He recognized a few familiar faces, including Babata, so he ordered them to bring more arrows from the warehouse.

The piled-up bodies of Shirozuno and the debris blocked the Riverbears from entering. They were good targets. However, the fur of the Riverbears was tough, and the arrows didn’t penetrate easily. Just then, a Long-eared Wolf and a Blue Panther came running over the debris from the left side. Heavy. His body felt heavy. This armor had high defense, but it was too heavy for Bard to fight a prolonged battle. Someone offered him a shield as he tried to descend the stairs, but he declined. He no longer had the strength to hold up a shield. Nevertheless, Bard continued to cut down the Long-eared Wolves and Blue Panthers with his ancient sword. The situation had turned into complete chaos, and at this point, there was no need for or ability to command. Knights were defeating demonic beasts and being killed by them everywhere.

He doesn’t remember much after this. In the midst of hell, Bard continued to fight.

How much time had passed? When he came to his senses, there were no more enemies to defeat. The square was filled with blood and corpses. Bard’s body was covered in the entrails and blood of the slain demonic beasts.

‘Did we win? Did we really win?’

Someone pulled Bard’s arm as he stood there dumbfounded. As he was urged to look towards the wall, he saw a lookout soldier making big gestures and causing a commotion. With support on both sides, Bard climbed up the wall. And then, he looked in the direction the lookout soldier was pointing. There, he saw a sight that shattered all hope.

Something was coming towards them from the horizon at daybreak. Riverbear demonic beasts. There would be well over two hundred of them. Had the slow-moving Riverbears arrived late?

There was nothing as formidable as the Riverbear demonic beasts. Their tough skin and difficulty to penetrate with attacks. Their destructive power and the terrifying strength of their jaws. With the collapsed northern gate, they couldn’t stop this new horde. After all, Riverbears were skilled climbers. They would easily overcome this level of debris. The knights no longer had the strength to fight. Karz, Jog, Arflaburne, Seifert, all of them were exhausted and could barely stand. There was no fighting force left in this castle.

Furthermore, the surviving Riverbears below were gleaming with anticipation. Despite having arrows sticking out of their bodies, their resilient vitality remained, waiting for the moment to kill humans.

‘It’s not over. We’ve done everything we could.’

That’s what Bard thought at that moment. Flames ignited within him. It couldn’t end like this. Even if it meant sacrificing his own life, he would bury these creatures.

Without any basis, only that thought surged up from the depths of his being. At that moment, his hand gripping the ancient sword throbbed like never before. Come to think of it, when did his hand holding the ancient sword start to throb like this?

As if it was trying to convey something. As if it was seeking something.

Instinctively, Bard lifted the ancient sword. He had thought he no longer had the strength to lift it, but the sword rose effortlessly, as if it had a will of its own. Bard pointed the flat, severed tip of the sword towards the approaching Riverbear demonic beasts and shouted as if his throat would tear.

“Stavrooooooos!!”

It is said that even those on the opposite side of the castle heard his voice. In response to Bard’s shout, the ancient magic sword lit up. The light quickly turned into a massive ball of light, radiating a brilliance that overshadowed the rising sun. And something enormous flew out of the sword, heading straight for the demonic beasts. Some say it was a dragon, while others say it was a horse. Regardless, those present at the scene saw it. The pillar of light emitted by Bard struck the demonic beasts directly, causing an explosive flash.

As the flash subsided, Bard desperately tried to maintain his fading consciousness and assess what had become of the demonic beasts. To his surprise, the demonic beasts remained unscathed, still standing there. Bard’s consciousness plunged into darkness. He felt as if someone had supported his crumbling body, but he couldn’t remember what happened next. However, as he lost his senses and collapsed, he distinctly remembered a voiceless voice echoing in his mind.

《Found you》

Bard was not the only one who heard that voice. People and demi-humans all across the continent heard it too.