NOVEL NEXT Chapter 231
Otto, who was busy with the recovery efforts in the Cherokee Kingdom, was greatly shocked by the sudden report.
“…Monsters have invaded the homeland?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Camille's expression was grim as he delivered the news.
Indeed, the report indicated that the severity of the situation was far from ordinary.
It reported that tens of thousands of monsters, which had appeared from nowhere, were attacking the border fortress guarded by Helmut, and the situation was extremely urgent.
The situation is so dire that, unless reinforcements are sent immediately, the fortress is unlikely to hold out for more than a day or two.
The problem was that most of the Lota Kingdom's troops were currently engaged in recovery operations in the Cherokee Kingdom, making immediate deployment impossible.
It would take several days just to gather the scattered forces from across the Kingdom.
The problem was that if the border fortress guarded by Helmut fell, the capital of the Lota Kingdom would be at risk."Your Majesty, what should we do?"
“We'll head right over.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Otto urgently called for the mobilization of troops.
After leaving behind only the minimum necessary forces for maintaining order, Otto immediately advanced toward Helmut's Fortress.
Every minute and second was crucial.
"Your Majesty, I will escort you."
Qasim, leading the wyvern group, offered to Otto.
No matter how fast a Tartar breed of horse might be, it couldn’t match the speed of a flying wyvern.
“Very well.”
In a rush, Otto mounted the wyvern, leading the elite of the magic swordsmen.
“Let's go!”
"Guik, Gwiik!"
With Qasim and Peng's shout, the wyvern group took off in unison, heading towards Helmut's fortress.
‘What the hell?'
Meanwhile, Otto's mind was racing.
‘Monsters have appeared? From where?'
Otto racked his brain, trying to recall all possible scenarios where monsters could appear, but nothing specific came to mind.
‘It's a variable.'
Otto concluded that the current situation was something not depicted in any game he had encountered.
There was no apparent reason or basis for the appearance of monsters based on what he knew.
Moreover, this situation was something he couldn’t have prevented even with the utmost caution.
If there had been any clues, Otto would have approached with the mindset of “testing even a stone bridge before crossing it,”¹ but this time, he hadn’t been given the chance.
Even for Otto, it was impossible to predict incidents and accidents that weren't revealed through the game.
It wasn’t as if he had some sort of foresight ability.
‘Why did this happen? For what reason? Where did the monsters come from?'
Otto tried to figure out the cause of the situation as he rode the wyvern.
He reflected once more, wondering if he had missed anything or overlooked any details.
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Thanks to Qasim's assistance in transporting them on the wyverns, Otto and the others arrived at Helmut's fortress very quickly.
A battle was raging in front of the fortress.
‘Why are there so many of them?!'
Otto, looking down from atop Khamak, was astonished by the sheer number of monsters.
"Glup, Gluug!”
“Grrrrr!”
The densely packed monsters appeared to number at least in the tens of thousands.
The problem was that this was not the full extent of the situation.
‘Crazy!'
Otto was astonished to see that the line of monsters stretched endlessly.
The line of monsters stretched endlessly beyond the distant horizon.
The monsters attacking the fortress were only a fraction of the total number.
“Qasim! Put me down!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Qasim commanded the wyverns to drop Otto, Camille, and the magic swordsmen off at the fortress.
“Let's go!”
“Gwiik! Gwiiiik!!"
Qasim once again directed the wyverns and soared back into the sky.
"Khamak! Burn them all!"
"Gwiik! Guic!"
Qasim commanded Khamak.
“ROOOOOOAAARR!!!”
Khamak opened his mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of flames at the monsters charging toward the fortress.
At the same time.
“What's going on?”
Otto quickly moved to the top of the fortress walls to meet with Helmut and discuss the situation.
“I’m not sure either, Your Majesty.”
Helmut wore a troubled expression.
“It’s a sudden attack, so we haven’t been able to ascertain anything yet…”
Then.
“Grrrrrr!”
A monster that had climbed up the wall lunged at Helmut.
*Squelch!*
Helmut demonstrated incredible reflexes and pierced the monster's head.
As a knight with exceptional combat prowess, sending a single monster to its end was a trivial task for Helmut.
But that wasn't the issue.
“Gluuuug!”
“Grrr! Grrrrr!”
The fact that monsters were beginning to climb over the walls indicated that the Lota Kingdom’s defensive capabilities were weakening.
At this rate, the fortress would be overrun, and the monsters would undoubtedly invade the capital.
Everyone defending this place would be devoured by the monsters.
‘The situation is critical.'
Instead of continuing the conversation with Helmut, Otto drew his sword.
This was no time for leisurely conversation.
The monsters crawling up the walls had to be dealt with first.
“Lota Kingdom!”
Otto let out a [Barbarian's Roar].
“Reinforcements are on the way! Hold on a little longer! Stay strong! We will not be defeated!"
"ROOOOOOOAAAARRR-!!!!"
As Otto's battle cry echoed, the Lota Kingdom’s soldiers joined in with their own shouts, starting to slaughter the oncoming monsters relentlessly.
The buff effect of Otto's battle cry was indeed impressive.
The fact that the exhausted soldiers fought valiantly again, as if their fatigue had vanished, was a testament to the immense power of the buff effect.
*Clang!*
*Clang!* *Slash!*
Otto fought directly on top of the fortress walls.
He wielded his sword at the front lines to prevent the monsters from breaching the walls.
[Notification: Experience has increased!]
[Notification: Experience has increased!]
[Notification: Experience has increased!]
[Notification: Experience has increased!]
……..
[Notification: Experience has increased!]
Although the status window was faint and hard to see, it was clear that a significant amount of experience had been gained.
[Notification: Level up!]
[Notification: Level up!]
[Notification: Level up!]
…..
[Notification: Level up!]
The experience gained from the monsters was so substantial that Otto could physically feel the levels rising rapidly.
‘This is totally a goldmine!'
So much so that the current situation felt surprisingly welcome.
‘I wonder how many levels I’ll gain if I defeat all of them.'
In fact, it was no longer possible to accurately determine his level.
However, he could definitely feel the growth from leveling up.
One might say his senses had become more acute.
Before long, Otto had reached a level where he could perceive changes due to his growth without relying on the status window.
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Despite the massive amount of experience and the resulting level-ups, Otto couldn’t bring himself to smile.
“Grrrrrr!”
“Glug! Gguuug!!”
The number of encroaching monsters was overwhelmingly large.
Even as he killed and killed and killed again, there was no end in sight.
Twelve hours later.
“Whew…. Huuu…."
Otto let out a labored breath.
‘This will never end.'
Otto realized.
He realized that victory in this battle was unattainable.
The number of monsters was far too great.
Moreover, the piles of corpses at the base of the walls were providing footholds for the monsters.
The monsters were easily climbing over the walls, using the bodies of their fallen comrades as makeshift ladders.
At this rate, it was highly likely that the walls would become ineffective within a few hours.
The corpses of the monsters had piled up so much that they were almost as high as the fortress walls.
‘There's no helping it.'
Otto finally pulled out the Book of Carnage.
*Shhhh!*
The Book of Carnage, which had absorbed the soul energy, was emitting a green light.
Monsters, being almost devoid of souls, gave off very little soul energy.
However, as the saying goes, a mountain is made of a pile of dust, so the amount of soul energy absorbed by so many dead monsters was extremely high.
It was a perfect example of the saying, "quantity over quality."
‘Anything will do. Just give me a spell that can resolve the current situation.'
Otto's wish seeped into the Book of Carnage.
*Flutter!*
The Book of Carnage opened by itself and recommended a spell to Otto that could resolve the current situation.
Then, from Otto’s mouth flowed an ancient, forbidden spell from the past that had been forgotten.
When the spell finally ended.
*Hiss!*
*Ssssiiizzzle!!*
The city walls seemed to glow red hot.
*Fwooooosh!*
Red flames erupted from the fortress walls, engulfing the approaching monsters.
*FWOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!*
The flames were so intense that even Otto, who cast the spell, had to take hesitant steps back from the heat.
“Gguuuuuugg!!”
“Glug! Ggluuuug!”
The monsters twisted and writhed in agony, letting out screams of pain.
But the flames that burst from the fortress walls ruthlessly burned the monsters, reducing them to mere ashes, with not even charcoal remaining.
The pile of monster corpses that had stacked up beneath the fortress walls was also reduced to ashes and scattered away.
It was truly a tremendous power.
It was a level of spellpower that fully justified being called an Archmage.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
The soldiers of the Lota Kingdom let out a thunderous cheer, as if the heavens were being torn apart, witnessing the miracle accomplished by Otto.
The sight of so many monsters being incinerated in the blink of an eye was so satisfying that it was enough to make one feel completely refreshed just by watching.
That wasn’t all.
*FWOOOOOSH!*
The fortress walls continued to spew flames, burning the monsters that approached.
The magic known as the "Demon's Flame Barrier" was a spell that caused the fortress walls to emit ultra-hot flames.
And it wasn’t just a one-time effect, it continuously emitted flames for several hours.
At least while the magic was maintained, it was the ultimate defensive and offensive spell, preventing enemies from daring to breach the fortress.
Thanks to Otto's remarkable performance, the Lota Kingdom's forces gained a reprieve of several hours from the monsters' attacks.
But Otto could not be satisfied with just this.
‘This is just a temporary measure.'
The line of monsters extended all the way to the horizon.
What had stopped the monsters was merely a temporary solution.
When the magic ended, they would have to fight again. If Otto did not use the forbidden magic from the Book of Carnage as he had now, it was only a matter of time before the fortress would fall.
“Grrrr!”
“GLUGGGG!”
Even at this moment, while the fortress walls were spewing flames, the monsters relentlessly charged towards them.
Even though the flames from the fortress walls turned the monsters into ashes, they did not cease their assault.
As if to prove that they were driven solely by their instincts for aggression and hunger.
"Everyone, take a rest! Conserve your strength as much as possible until the flames stop!"
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Otto gave the order and then summoned Qasim, who had been active in the sky.
“Sir Qasim.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Let's go.”
Otto leaped onto the back of Khamak.
"Where should I take you?"
“We need to find out where the procession of monsters started.”
Otto pointed beyond the horizon.
‘There's definitely something there.'
Otto wanted to find the root cause in order to resolve this situation.
He felt the need to at least determine where those monsters came from.
“I'll take you there, Your Majesty.”
Qasim started flying with Otto and following the procession of the monsters.
Some time later.
While tracking the procession of the monsters, Otto felt as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer.
"Why on earth…?"
Because in the twisted wilderness, now a mudflat landscape, monsters were constantly being born.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. This expression is used to warn someone to be careful and not take things for granted. It emphasizes the importance of being cautious and thorough in decision-making, even in familiar situations.