Chapter 73 : Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Value of Humanity (3)

BOOM…!

At first, it was just a noise that made my ears ring.

But as the sound echoed again, it wasn't long before Artier could feel the air and the ground around him shake.

“What in the world is going on?”

“Up! Look up, sir!”

At Collie’s words, everyone looked up at the sky.

Something sticky was clinging to the barrier.

Barrier durability is rapidly decreasing!

Watching the slowly dripping liquid, Artier muttered in a voice only Gerard next to him could hear.

“That’s blood.”

“What?”

“Hellmorph blood. Something just slammed into the barrier!”

Crack!

As soon as Artier’s words ended, something that broke through the black clouds struck the barrier once more.

The barrier then began to shake unstably, and soon, a large hole was torn in it.

Kraaaaaah…!

Something white began to squeeze through the hole.

Now everyone could see what had struck the barrier.

The Hellmorphs, which had been clustered together like a giant hammer, began to scatter in all directions as soon as they entered.

“Th-They’re coming from the sky!”

“Intercept them immediately!”

The panicked mercenaries immediately began firing magic and arrows into the air.

But most of them failed to reach the Hellmorphs.

As numerous Hellmorphs landed on the ground, the surroundings were instantly transformed into a hellscape.

“What in the world is this!”

Soon, Hellmorphs swarmed around the party as well.

Artier quickly cut down the approaching fiends, but for every two he cut down, three more charged in.

Even with the continued magic, arrows, and axe swings of his companions, the number of Hellmorphs showed no sign of decreasing.

“These bastards are coming in endlessly!”

Jeina held her axe and looked around.

The mercenary formation was already in chaos.

“Aaargh! Help me!”

“Spearmen! Where are the spearmen!”

Their formation was designed to block the Hellmorphs coming over the front walls.

Naturally, the assault troopers and spearmen were all concentrated at the front, while the rear consisted only of mages and archers.

But when Hellmorphs suddenly poured in from all directions out of the air, the low-defense rear was taking heavy damage.

“These bastards!”

“Jeina, get a grip! This isn’t the time to worry about other places!”

Shatter!

At the same time, the shield Gerard had cast on Tersion shattered into pieces.

“Kugh!”

Artier quickly approached and struck the fiend targeting Tersion with his sword.

The fiend staggered and missed its swing, preventing a hole from being torn in Tersion's shoulder.

“If we stay like this, we’ll be pushed back. We need to retreat and regroup!”

Collie shouted.

But where on earth were they supposed to retreat to?

Hellmorphs were still falling from all directions, and they could be seen falling not only on the outer walls but also far off near the lord's castle.

“……”

Artier quickly scanned his surroundings.

As soon as he confirmed that relatively fewer Hellmorphs were falling around the third building he scanned, he turned his body and started running.

“Follow me!”

[Flame Cleave is activated.]

Swoosh!

The burning longsword drew a long line, guiding the way, and all the Hellmorphs in the path were turned to ash in an instant.

As Artier cleared the path at the front, the party immediately followed behind.

“Jeina, cover the side, please!”

“Leave it to me!”

As Jeina swung her axe, cloaked in a red aura, the charging Hellmorphs flinched.

Gerard, even while running, opened his grimoire and extended his hand.

“Fair Wind.”

[Gerard uses a skill.]

Fair Wind (Lv.2): Creates a tailwind behind allies within range, increasing their movement speed.

When a giant Hellmorph appeared before him, Artier felt a gentle breeze push his back and kicked off the ground even faster.

[Perfect Counter is activated!]

Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shuck!

In just two breaths, more than eight sword wounds were carved into the fiend's entire body, and it was only a moment later that flames and blood spurted out.

The fiend thrashed, thrusting its claws and teeth, but the moment it opened its mouth, Tersion's arrow pierced it, and its claws were sliced off by Jeina's axe.

“Get in! Quickly!”

Bang!

A moment later, they were able to take refuge inside a building.

As soon as everyone was inside and the door was closed, Collie created a wall of ice at the entrance, physically preventing the door from being opened.

Thud! Thud-thud!

For a while, the sound of Hellmorphs pounding on the door and the ice wall echoed from outside.

A moment later, when the sound of the fiends moving to another location was heard, the party lowered their weapons.

“What a mess.”

Gerard and Collie collapsed onto the floor to catch their breath.

Tersion looked around and spat out a curse, shaking the blood off herself.

“Breaking a barrier with their bodies, those ignorant fools!”

It was an ignorant sacrificial tactic.

A method that humans could never use and could never even imagine.

“The bigger problem is that they've started falling from the sky.”

“We can no longer trust the castle walls. This is bad.”

It was because of the castle walls that humans could ‘even conduct’ a defensive battle against the Hellmorphs.

This was because an ordinary NPC soldier struggled to even properly dispatch a single Hellmorph grunt at close range.

Humans would wear them down from a distance, and the Hellmorphs would try to close in for close-quarters combat by any means necessary.

The balance between them, which had seemed so obvious, was completely shattered at this moment.

“Artier, are any communications coming through?”

“Ah…”

At Gerard’s words, Artier immediately put a finger to his ear.

But he had to frown and take his finger away right after.

“What is it?”

“The sounds are all jumbled up, it’s hard to make out what they’re saying. Requests for support are coming in from all directions.”

Support request! Requesting support!

A large species has appeared at the north wall!

Casualties inside the lord's castle! Medics!

Battle in progress at the shopping district! Requesting immediate support…!

“This is bad. Should we go and help the nearest ones?”

“No, rather than that…”

Tersion pointed a finger at the ceiling.

“It would be better to reactivate the barrier. Just catching the ones that come in like this is no answer.”

The barrier wasn't completely destroyed. It just had a hole in it.

But Hellmorphs were continuously falling through that hole.

“Right! The idea is to close the lid and clean up the inside?”

“That's right.”

“A good idea. But to do that, we have to head to the power facility inside the lord's castle.”

Gerard unfolded a map and pointed out the route with his finger.

To get from the shopping district where they were to the lord's castle was a long distance that would take at least 20 minutes.

“We should assume that avoiding combat during that time is practically impossible. And given the situation, it’s not like we can rest even when we arrive.”

“We need to find a means of transportation.”

“I have an idea.”

Jeina said triumphantly.

“An idea…? You?”

“What's with you all of a sudden, Jeina.”

“I’m getting scared.”

At her words, everyone stared at Jeina with tense eyes.

“What’s with the reaction? You think I just swing my axe around without thinking?!”

“……”

“L-Let’s hear her out first.”

Artier hurriedly pointed at the map before the atmosphere could get any colder.

“How do you propose we move?”

“There’s a road here, right? I saw it while looking around the shopping district earlier. There was this amazing ride here. It wasn’t pulled by a horse, but the carriage was moving all by itself.”

“You mean the mana-powered carriage.”

Gerard immediately acted as if he knew.

“It's a magical item that uses mana to turn the carriage's wheels. It's still a prototype, so it's only in trial operation in a few cities.”

“But is it even working right now?”

“It’s probably stopped. They would have diverted all the mana to the military equipment for the battle.”

“What, then it's pointless, isn't it?”

“Hehehe… Whether it's moving right now or not isn't that important.”

Jeina smiled triumphantly and suddenly pointed at Collie.

“The important thing is that it's a carriage, right? That means it’ll move if you pull it from the front.”

“Eh?”

***

“I don’t know if this is a good idea, sir…”

A moment later, Collie sighed, his tail and ears drooping.

The boy had returned to the form of a wild dog, the size of a tiger, just as when he had carried Artier and run before.

“Carrying one master is one thing, but pulling four people and a carriage is absolutely impossible, sir!”

That’s right.

The plan Jeina had come up with was… to turn Collie into a horse.

“You can do it! You’re an amazing dog, aren’t you?”

“This is not something that can be done just by cheering, sir.”

“It’s okay, Collie. I’m only trying this because I really think it might work.”

Artier gently stroked the head of the dejected Collie.

When Collie polymorphs, his Strength and Agility stats increase significantly.

Moreover, unlike them who walk on two legs, a four-legged beast also received a bonus to its movement speed.

“It’ll really be doable. The carriage has wheels, so it’s not as hard to pull as you think!”

“Anyone who heard you would think you’ve pulled one before, sir.”

“I have. Back in my hometown, the horse died, so I had to pull it for a while.”

“……”

How is that possible? Is that even normal in the first place?

Several questions rose to the tips of their tongues, but the party decided to quietly let it pass.

“It’s absurd, but… this is the only plan that comes to mind right now.”

“For a barbarian, she was quite clever.”

“Collie, take down the wall.”

“Ugh… I understand.”

A light shone from Collie’s eyes, and the ice wall immediately shattered and scattered.

As a signal, everyone rushed outside and started running towards one place.

“Kyaaaak!”

It wasn't long before Hellmorphs that spotted them popped out from all directions and started charging.

“Break through the front!”

[Tersion uses a skill.]

Wind Gale (Lv.1): Blasts a powerful gust of wind in the desired direction.

Fwoosh!

The wind Tersion blew knocked over the Hellmorphs in front, and Artier swiftly and accurately stabbed only their heads as he passed.

None of the fiends that fell got back up.

“There's the carriage!”

After running for a short while, the party discovered dozens of carriages standing without horses in the direction Jeina had pointed.

Many of the carriages had been smashed by the Hellmorphs taking out their frustration, but fortunately, a few carriages that looked intact remained.

“Collie, please.”

“Ugh! I’ll give it a try, sir!”

Fortunately, the carriage was equipped with shafts and reins, as if prepared for an emergency.

“Uuuuuugh!”

Collie strained with all his might and began to move forward.

Fortunately, as if his efforts paid off, the carriage began to roll forward little by little.

“It’s moving! Everyone on!”

“Haha, I told you! Collie’s an amazing dog!”

The speed of the carriage began to increase.

The distance between them and the charging Hellmorphs gradually widened.

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