Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

The howling gale was mixed with a nauseating stench as the ogres, bulky and corpulent, surrounded the city like a black tide; no matter which side of the wall you stood on, you could only see the terrifying monsters, each resembling a small hill fortress.

These ogres were all over three meters tall, with coarse blue-black skin beneath which lay thick fat and muscles brimming with astounding power.

When such monsters charge, even a galloping warhorse would be overturned, and fully armored knights would be trampled into mud.

Thus, even a lone wandering ogre could become a major threat to towns, requiring missions to invite adventurers and mercenary corps to deal with them. When ogres gather in groups, they pose a genuine threat to cities.

But now, the ogres gathered outside the city numbered in the thousands, with the leading ogre chief being utterly terrifying, standing nearly eight meters tall like a towering iron fortress on the move.

This dreadful monster leader left deep pits in the ground with each step, and even if it merely walked around the city, soldiers on the walls could feel the tremors from the ground.

"Damn it, where did this ogre tribe come from?"

"I just want to know, when will reinforcements arrive? We can't hold out for much longer."

Two knights clad in rune armor, covered in blood, looked anxiously at the hideous ogres outside the city, their expressions tense.

The wall beneath their feet was already riddled with holes, everywhere bearing pits created by ogre strikes, especially near the gate, which was particularly horrifying.

"Normal knight orders are useless. Only the Royal Knight Order and the elite knight orders trained by the legendary families have any chance of defeating this ogre tribe."

"I remember the nearest is the Samen family; they have a demon rune knight order..."

"Stop dreaming, you are a noble yourself. Don't you know what kind of choices those legendary families make when faced with situations unrelated to them? Our only hope lies in the main battle royal knight order."

"We're too far from the Royal City!"

"Our call for assistance has already been sent out. Now, all we can do is hold on, hold on until the royal knights arrive!"

"The Augustus family would never abandon us."

"Let's hope so!"

Even though the two noble knights were worried sick, they could only grit their teeth and persevere because there was no option to surrender. Outside lie human-eating monsters impossible to coexist with, and the only outcome of surrender is to be eaten.

For monsters, the difference between noble and common folk is merely the quality and taste of the food; aside from that, there is no distinction in status or identity.

There were fools suggesting to offer the city for their own safety, but as soon as such a proposal appeared, its proponent and their family were exterminated by the City Lord and ruling elves working together.

"Dodge the flying rocks!"

"The ogres are starting to siege again!"

Screams rang out, and the two rune knights looked up to see stones flying above the city—rocks hurled collectively by ogres.

For the transcendent within the city, with their reflexes, as long as they could see them, they could mostly dodge them. But for the ordinary folk, especially the commoners cowering in their homes, all they could do was pray for the Luck Goddess to lift the hem of her skirt for them.

Boom—Boom—Boom—

The millstone-sized rocks smashed the castle crest, and the immense impact instantly shattered it, stone splintering and shards raining down like droplets.

The weary eyes of the soldiers defending the city brimmed with terror. Yet even so, they had no choice but to step out from cover and, under their officer's orders, go to meet the ogres climbing the walls.

These monsters possessed agility inconsistent with their seemingly bulky corpulent forms; their stout fingers could easily dig into the crevices of bricks and stones in the walls and climb without tools.

Sadly, even when the soldiers risked their lives to attack the wall-climbing ogres, those knocked down would simply dust themselves off and continue climbing. In the face of the overwhelming superiority of the ogres, the ordinary soldiers' resistance seemed so insignificant.

Only the nobles possessing extraordinary weapons could inflict damage on the ogres, but it had to hit vital spots; otherwise, it wouldn't surpass the ogres' regenerative speed.

Compared to the number of ogres, the casualties inflicted by the transcendent nobles could be completely ignored. Thus, not long after, some ogres wielding giant wooden clubs reached the walls.

Those seemingly primitive weapons, under the exaggerated strength of the ogres, could cause terrifying damage. Ordinary soldiers under ogre weaponry were as fragile as leaf paper, shattering upon contact.

Yet even if the soldiers fearlessly charged forward, giving their all, their weapons could only leave shallow marks on the thick, resilient ogre skin. They couldn't even break through their flesh.

"Defend the city!"

"For the glory of Atlas!"

At this desperate moment, the nobles standing on the walls erupted once again; these nobles gained their titles through military merit, representing the foundation of the Atlas Kingdom.

When there's only one choice left, this group of nobles who usually indulged in pleasure and lived a lavish lifestyle would prove their noble honor with their lives and blood.

Unfortunately, under the wave-like assaults of the ogres, too many military merit nobles in this border city had already fallen in battle. This city was already on the brink of collapse.