The Battle for the Fortress (4)

"...Sorry! Let's go!"

"Tch! Lightning Arrow!"

I clicked my tongue and cast magic at the people who had escaped the fortress. I deliberately aimed so that the trajectory would barely miss them. I had to make absolutely certain not to hit them directly. After all, the key to our plan was to have the commander, or someone of equivalent importance, make it back alive.

"Not if I can help it!"

"Prepare yourself!"

The knight who had stayed behind as the rearguard acted immediately. One of them leaped out with a shield raised into the path of my magic, while the other charged forward with a sword raised overhead. They coordinated without even making eye contact... I suppose that's what you can expect from professional soldiers.

"What a shame, really."

Of course, I hadn't been lying in ambush all by myself. It was Shishu's thread that had caught them in the first place, and Wool's cry that had put them to sleep. So what had the remaining two people and two monsters been doing?

"Stone Pillar!"

"Your flank's wide open! Impact Strike!"

"Woooooooon!"

To the right of the knight who had blocked Lightning Arrow with a shield, a gigantic stone pillar came rushing in; from the left, a huge ape riding a horned wolf and carrying a fairy on its shoulder charged. Since the knight had to defend against the magic approaching from the front, the shield couldn't be used to block attacks from both sides.

The knight took the stone pillar coming from the right on the flat of the sword to reduce the impact, and blocked Tess's magic with the shield. However, the full brunt of Sei's staff technique from the left, along with the force of Fil's horns, hit the knight head-on. I had already cast 【Imbuement】 on everyone, and Sei's martial art had an effect that pierced a fixed percentage of damage through even sturdy armor. I didn't know how effective that armor was, but we should have been able to deal definite damage.

"Gah!?"

"There were still more of them!?"

While I was talking, Shiitake and Sei had been hiding on either side of the group. I had kindly explained our strategy, like some idiot villain in an American comic book explaining a scheme—albeit with some details obscured—to buy time.

Of course, I also wanted to do the obligatory villain's big reveal!

"Is worrying about others all you have time for?"

"Wha...!?"

The knight who had been charging toward me must have had incredibly bad luck. At precisely the moment the knight was distracted by the comrades behind, the knight stepped on the 【Trap Magic】 I had prepared. I had set it up before launching our surprise attack from the trees.

"Earth Hole... Magic sure is convenient; it can make a pitfall in an instant."

"You bastard! That's cowardly!"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, Star Magic Circle, activate. Spell Adjustment: Paralysis."

"Guuuuh...!"

The unfortunate knight had fallen into the pit, so I afflicted the knight with the Paralysis status ailment using 【Curse Arts】. I had cast it five times over, taking into account the possibility that the knight might resist. Perhaps that was what did the trick, because the knight, who was surely a higher level than me, stopped moving.

"Finish the knight off. I'm going to help the others over there."

"Clack, clack, clack..."

I rose into the air with the effect of 'Moon's Feather Robe' and gave an order to Ushi-oni, my new servant. As always, Ushi-oni clicked its teeth together before silently descending into the hole.

"Eek... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...!"

The knight was probably being turned into mince inside the pit by saw-toothed sickles and thick needles piercing vital points. No matter how high one's level rose, if one's head and body parted ways, one died. Even though it had been my order, I supposed I should offer my condolences. Rest in peace, rest in peace.

"Oh, right. Holy Shield."

The other knight, who had been caught by our opening ambush, hadn't been defeated by that alone. Well, even though the ambush had succeeded, the knight's level was higher than mine. There was no way Sei and Shiitake's attacks alone could take the knight down.

In the end, it had apparently been one against everyone except me, but it seemed they had been barely managing not to die. If my Holy Shield hadn't arrived in time, either Sei or Fil would have been cut down by now.

"Thanks!"

"Insolent whelp!"

That was only natural, since no one except Sei could serve as a tank. Shishu was technically a frontline class, but the fighting style was closer to Ruby's, with assassination as its main focus. In practice, Sei was the only one who could truly engage the knight in melee.

Everyone, starting with Tess, the Fairy who was always at Sei's side, had been supporting Sei with magic and Skills, but even so, the gap in their basic stats had apparently been far too great. But I was joining the fight now, so there was no need to worry.

"Summon: Skeleton Guardian. Defense Boost, Defense Boost, Defense Boost... That should do it, right?"

What I summoned with 【Summoning】 was a Skeleton Guardian clad in heavy armor. It was an evolved form of the Skeleton Shield Warrior, a monster with defense-focused stats that became summonable once I learned three-stage evolution.

"And Undead Boost. Go."

With the defense-specialized Skeleton Guardian further strengthened by 【Imbuement】 and 【Necromancy】, it ought to hold out with more than enough durability to serve as our tank in Sei's place.

"Gnnngh! It's too tough to be a monster from 【Summoning】!"

The Skeleton Guardian lived up to my expectations with its impressive toughness. It caught every one of the knight's sword strikes on its shield. Even with the level difference, it seemed that the defense of a monster with every point invested in defense wasn't something that could be pierced so easily.

"Good, good. Now let's gang up on the knight."

"Roger!"

"Whoa, we're totally the villains."

"...Yeah, numbers really are power."

While the Skeleton Guardian kept the knight occupied, our magic chipped away at the knight's health from a distance, while Sei and Fil attacked from behind at close range. On top of that, Shishu periodically sprayed the knight with highly viscous thread to restrict movement.

I felt as though we were fighting a boss in a party. Well, I suppose it was something similar.

"Guuuh...! At least I'll take you with me!"

Exposed to our relentless assault, the knight forced a battered body onward and charged toward me. Apparently, the knight intended to kill me even if it meant trading a life for mine.

"Clack, clack, clack!"

"Damn, is that a taunt!? But...!"

The Skeleton Guardian had apparently used Taunt, a martial art from 【Shield Arts】. It forced enemies to concentrate their attacks on the user, making it the defining martial art of a tank. In the gaming terminology I had learned about recently, it was probably what they called "drawing aggro."

"Nuooh!"

"Huh!?"

But the knight took an astonishing action. Taunt should have forcibly turned the knight's gaze and stance toward the Skeleton Guardian, yet after slamming the shield into the Skeleton Guardian's shield, the knight turned back toward me at that very instant, as if the effect of Taunt had worn off!

I learned later that the trick lay in the specifications of Taunt. This martial art could forcibly draw an enemy's attacks, but its effect grew weaker the more the taunted target attacked. That might work on a simple AI acting on instinct, but players and pseudo-personality AIs could apparently resist it after attacking several times. The greater the level difference, the higher their chance of successfully resisting, too.

Incidentally, after these specifications became widely known among players, it became an essential Skill for dealing with tanks in party-versus-party combat. Conversely, parties with tanks who knew exactly when to use Taunt began enjoying extremely high win rates.

But enough of that. In other words, the knight had weakened Taunt's effect with a single attack, resisted it, and escaped its effect. The problem now wasn't how it had been done, but that the knight was already right in front of me. Oh crap, what do I do?

"Die! Shield Bash!"

"Gwooh!?"

Realizing that my defensive magic wouldn't make it in time, I reflexively raised my staff to defend myself. The knight used the momentum of the charge to swing the shield with all its might. I avoided a direct hit, but the impact that ran through my arm was still incredibly powerful!

Gah, I took a ridiculous amount of damage! I'm already below half health!? The shield attack must have counted as blunt damage, and the knight had used a martial art on top of that. I really need to learn how to parry. I have to become capable of properly deflecting attacks even in situations like this...

"For now, I'll escape into the sky."

"Don't run, coward! Flying Slash!"

Taking on a dangerous opponent head-on would be foolish. I simply flew up into the sky to escape. However, the knight pursued me with a flying slash. I immediately dove behind one of the trees growing nearby to evade it, but the tree it struck was left with a deep gash.

What the knight used seemed to be an upgraded version of Flying Cut, which I also had in my 【Scythe Arts】. It must be a generic martial art for bladed-weapon Skills. Ugh, if I took something like that in my current condition, I'd die. Don't underestimate a mage's paper-thin durability!

"Don't ignore me!"

"Take careful aim... Hup!"

"Gah... Is that poison...?"

However, that was the end of the knight's counterattack. Sei, who had chased after the knight from behind, struck the knight hard with the staff, and Shiitake's poisonous needle slipped neatly through a gap in the armor and pierced the knight.

"How unfortunate..."

The knight, who had failed to kill even one of us in an all-or-nothing charge, collapsed where the knight stood. Our win rate just went up.

――――――――――

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your 【Lightning Magic】 level has increased.

You learned a new spell: Lightning Rod.

――――――――――

Mmm, experience points are delicious! I got to carry out the final stage of the plan with my own hands, gained a huge amount of experience, and even acquired a new spell. Everything was going very smoothly so far.

"This is exactly when I need to be most careful. Winning the battle is no reason to let my guard down."

"Izam, what happened?"

"Nothing. Well, let's head back to the hideout. Everyone who went to the fortress should be back by now."

I tossed the body of the knight who had fought to the end into the pit, then filled it in using Earth Change, a spell from 【Earth Magic】. I stripped the knight of the equipment, but the only reason I went out of my way to bury the body was personal satisfaction.

I'm not going around killing indiscriminately, but I have no intention of shying away from necessary killings. That doesn't mean I lack guilt or anything of the sort.

Well, getting sentimental isn't like me. Time to head back to the hideout.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Around the time Izam and the others were attacking Lord Bakkeshoof's group, fierce battles were taking place at the other fortresses as well. The guards and wanderers fought bravely, but defeat seemed imminent at every fortress. Some commanders had already prepared to escape, while others intended to make their last stand and fight to the bitter end. Their decisions varied.

Aaaaaaah!?

Hahaha... What is this impossible game?

Amid all this, there was one fortress where they had been allowed almost no chance to put up a resistance. It was the central one of the five fortresses.

They hadn't employed a strategy like Izam's, nor did they possess a unique individual who had undergone an outlandish evolution like Izam. Neither had they been joined by a player with superhuman prowess like Jigorou or Usuba. In terms of numbers, they were actually fewer than the other groups.

Even so, why were they being so one-sidedly crushed? The sole and greatest reason was that this group contained the leader of the monster horde currently marching south—in other words, their King—and the King's retinue.

"Go! Slaughter every last one of these weaklings!"

"Gggoooogaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

The monsters led by their King had incredibly high morale. Every last one of them seemed possessed by madness, advancing without the slightest fear of injury, let alone death.

But if it had been nothing more than a charge by ordinary monsters, it probably wouldn't have seemed all that threatening. There was a monster that made those creatures look cute by comparison.

"Gwahahahaha! Wipe out the weak!"

"Ugh!?"

"T-the tank died instantly, shield and all...?"

The greatest threat was the King. This monster was nearly twice the size of an ordinary Troll and wielded a gigantic ax proportionate to its height. It even wore armor made from the hides and scales of monsters, and was rampaging through the battlefield. At the present stage, dozens of the strongest players would have to fight it together to stand a chance.

"What the hell is a Troll King to us!?"

"Screw it! I'm charging in—aaah!?"

The players who bravely challenged it died one after another, scattering effects everywhere. They were casually cut down as if the King were merely brushing away a nuisance like dust.

The fortress fell in less than five minutes. All but a few of the players were wiped out, and most of the guards were killed as well. The players who later respawned in Ilevus were forced to realize the true strength of the monsters.

And they came to understand one thing: if they didn't get serious about defending themselves, an entire city would be wiped out.