Chapter 54 : Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Back to the Main Story (1)

“W-what is it, sir?”

The soldier couldn't come to his senses.

It was only natural, with a Supreme-Grade Mercenary glaring at him with fearsome eyes.

“Artier, calm down.”

“Ah.”

Artier only realized he had gotten excited after Gerard grabbed his arm.

“I'm sorry. Could you tell me about the bandits and robbers who caused a commotion in the city?”

“Why are you…… curious about that?”

At the soldier's question, Artier glanced at Gerard.

Although he said nothing, Gerard's gaze was not much different from the soldier's in front of him.

‘Hmm… To avoid Gerard's suspicion, I'll need a plausible reason.’

In fact, from the side, it was enough to think that Artier was being nosy.

This was a city with which they had no connection, a place they had only come to in order to carry out a quest.

In the end, Artier had no choice but to make up a suitable excuse.

“It's not right to just leave those guys be, is it? This place will soon become a battlefield.”

“I-if that's what you're worried about, it's fine. Those bastards caused a bit of a commotion and then all ran away.”

“What? They ran away?”

“Some supplies were stolen from the market and the back alleys, but they fled when we pursued them.”

If I hadn't been suspicious, I might not have thought much of it, but now that I had started to doubt, the fact that they had run away also felt suspicious.

‘They broke through the guards to get into the castle, only to steal a few supplies?’

It was common sense for security to be tightened during wartime.

Although many supplies, including food, would be gathered for a long battle, forging a mercenary identity and entering a heavily guarded castle just to steal them was too great a risk.

“Did they all run away?”

“Not all of them, we managed to capture a few.”

“By any chance, could we meet those bandits?”

“What?”

The soldier's eyes narrowed.

His gaze practically screamed, ‘Why?’

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Are you also interested in dealing with bandits?”

“……Hmm.”

Only after hearing Gerard's words did Artier realize he had gone too far ahead.

He had come here to proceed with the main quest. There was no way he could accept a new quest before that one was finished.

“It's nothing. Thank you for telling me.”

Muttering, Artier expressed his gratitude and went back inside the castle.

“Is something on your mind?”

“Yes, a little.”

Artier was lost in thought.

Why did the bandits and robbers cause a commotion here?

‘There was nothing to be gained from causing a commotion, and for what they did, the damage was minimal…….’

It was either a disguise to hide something, or someone had spread false information. Either way, it seemed clear that some kind of trickery was involved.

“That part bothers me too.”

Tersion approached and said.

“Even if they had identification cards, it means they had equipment good enough for the soldiers to mistake them for mercenaries, right? Bandits like that aren't common.”

Usually, bandits' equipment is poor.

This was because they were often organized by ordinary people who had been starving for a long time, just to survive.

In the first place, if they had proper equipment, why would they become bandits instead of mercenaries?

Gerard shrugged and crossed his arms.

“But since they've already run away, there's no need to worry about it now. For the time being, wouldn't it be more helpful to prepare for the siege?”

“That's true.”

Tersion also nodded and looked at Artier.

In the end, the rascals had already fled long ago.

There was no way they could leave the castle they had worked so hard to enter just to find them.

“You're right. For now, let's do what we have to do.”

Artier headed to the operational command headquarters with his party.

There, numerous knights and soldiers were already moving busily, bustling about.

“Are you the Supreme-Grade Mercenary Artier?”

The one who greeted them there was the lord of Kelta Castle, Taskerben.

“I hear you've dealt with the monsters twice? I expect great things from you.”

Now that he was a Supreme-Grade Mercenary, even an imperial knight showed him a certain degree of respect.

It was still hard to get used to, but there was no reason to refuse when they were treating him well.

“There are no common mountains or even hills around Kelta Castle. The only thing we have is the Yukra River, which cuts through the center of the castle.”

Taskerben began to explain various things to Artier, but since he was just rattling off things he already knew, it was unlikely to register properly.

Because of this, Artier's mind was elsewhere.

‘In this siege, this is the only route the Hellmorphs can use to infiltrate.’

Artier's gaze lingered on the west side of Kelta Castle.

There was no underground waterway there like the ones the Hellmorphs had infiltrated before, but Artier was confident that the Hellmorphs would infiltrate through here.

‘If it's the ability of this special type, they will definitely aim for this side.’

However, it wasn't at a level that required a warning. This was because the forces on this side were already powerful.

……Under normal circumstances, that would have been the case.

“Artier?”

“Yes, please speak.”

“I asked how we should station the troops.”

“Ah, the north… you can deploy them based on the west side.”

Artier pointed only at the upper part before hastily moving his finger to the left.

Whatever it was, he needed to put up at least a minimal defense.

“I understand the north, but may I know the reason for deploying personnel to the west?”

“It's because of the river flowing from the west.”

“If it's the river, wouldn't it be enough to deploy them only at the entrance?”

“Through repeated battles, the Hellmorphs have likely given up on simple infiltration to some extent.”

The monsters could think, and they continued to evolve.

There was no way they would mindlessly try a failed strategy again.

“There will probably be various disruptive maneuvers along with the infiltration. We must prepare for this.”

“That makes sense. I will do so.”

Afterward, Artier was able to use his knowledge to the fullest to adjust the deployment of the soldiers.

Places where the Hellmorphs were likely to infiltrate, places where the special types could be active.

Having finished all the adjustments, Artier left the command headquarters and massaged his already aching shoulder.

“Dealing with the nobles is tiring……”

“It's time you felt the hardships of a party leader.”

For some reason, Gerard looked pleased.

It must be my imagination……?

“What should we do now?”

“We'll have to register for our trooper type.”

Registering for a trooper type meant being assigned a role suitable for a siege, such as archer, magic trooper, or spearman.

‘Come to think of it, we have to conduct a proper siege defense now.’

Up until Dorman, it was more like a battle where the militia defended the city, but from Kelta Castle, it was different.

As hired hands, they had to participate in the siege defense according to set rules.

“Collie and I will be magic troopers, Bow will be an archer, and Jeina and Artier can register as assault troopers.”

“No, I think I'm a spearman, right? There's a spear at the end of this axe.”

Jeina said with a confident expression, but Gerard shook his head.

“The trooper type is not determined by the weapon you use.”

“Huh? It's not?”

The types of troopers were divided into five, regardless of the type of weapon.

Assault Trooper, Archer, Spearman, Magic Trooper, and Medic.

First, the Assault Trooper simply referred to all warriors who engaged in close-quarters combat.

“Their role is to handle hand-to-hand combat when the castle gate is breached or opened. It's a role that's perfect for you and Artier.”

“Then what about the Spearman?”

“The role of the Spearman is to guard the castle walls and intercept enemies.”

Spearmen block enemies trying to climb the walls or attack from over the walls.

For this reason, they had the characteristic of being deployed on the walls despite carrying melee weapons.

“They are commonly granted a magic called Return Grab. It resonates with the weapon, allowing them to retrieve a thrown weapon.”

“Then it doesn't necessarily have to be a spear, right?”

“That's right. Anything that is easy to throw can be used. But to simultaneously perform the role of protecting allies, a long weapon like a spear is the most suitable.”

“Hmm, hearing that, it doesn't seem like my role.”

Jeina had no talent for throwing, though she was good at swinging her axe around.

She quickly gave up on switching to a spearman.

“Why am I a magic trooper?”

Collie asked, raising his hand.

As the party's healer, it would have made sense for Collie to be assigned as a medic.

Gerard nodded and continued his explanation.

“The skill required of a medic is to quickly heal a patient's injuries. Most of the patients arriving at the rear are in critical condition.”

“Ah……”

“Collie's healing magic is certainly useful, but while it's helpful in battle, it won't be of much help in the rear.”

If a healer's role was to keep allies from falling, a medic's role was to forcibly drag souls back from the brink of hell.

Collie, seeming to understand the role precisely, nodded without another word.

“Then shall we go register for our trooper types?”

Artier led the party to the barracks on the outskirts of the castle walls.

After a few verification procedures, they went inside to find a book floating above a quaint lectern.

When Artier placed his hand on it, incomprehensible letters flashed and flowed out of the book.

‘So these are rune letters.’

Despite it being just a single character, Artier couldn't even begin to grasp how much thought and memory the character encapsulated.

As the rune seeped into Artier's wrist, a stinging sensation was felt, and a number of information windows appeared before his eyes.

[The Assault Trooper type has been assigned.]

[Attack power and defense power increase by 10%.]

[You can use Sprinter, which increases movement speed by 30% for 15 seconds. (Cooldown: 30 seconds)]

Pat! Pat!

The runes engraved on the back of Gerard's, Bow's, and Collie's hands had a different shape from Artier's.

Each had been granted a special skill suited to their trooper type.

“Ooh, this is amazing! Can I use a skill by infusing mana into this rune?”

“Yes. If you lose the rune, you lose the ability, so make sure to wear your protective gear well.”

“It's attached to my arm, how can I lose it?”

“It's more common than you think for an arm to be blown off.”

“……”

Ignoring Collie, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, Gerard put on his gauntlet with a practiced hand.

Strangely, even with the protective gear on, the rune made its presence known through the glove.

Whoosh!

Tersion suddenly leaped into the air.

Soaring above Jeina's head in a single leap, Tersion turned her body in mid-air and landed on the ground without a sound.

“Hmm, this is useful.”

She checked the back of her hand with a satisfied expression, then took out a gauntlet like Gerard and put it on.

Bwoooooo…….

While they were talking, a loud, throbbing sound echoed from the top of the castle walls.

It was the drumbeat signaling the start of the battle.

“Artier, we're heading up.”

“Be careful.”

There were signs that the quest was about to begin.

As Gerard, Bow, and finally Collie went up, a quest window appeared above Artier's head as if it had been waiting.

[A quest has been generated.]

A large-scale invasion of Hell Soldiers has been detected heading for Kelta Castle. Their strategy is unknown, but you have been summoned and must join the fight.

Quite a few people are now expecting great things from you.

For each ally death: Reward ratio decreases by 0.01% (Total allies: 7,595)

Quest will be automatically aborted if the reward ratio drops below 50%

Reward: Experience Points (+Additional Rewards)

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