Chapter 158: 157

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Chapter 157

Finally Returned (2)

Swords slashed, and the stones were shattered.

“You idiots! You’re just staring blankly! Fire! Shoot some of them!” Jordan shouted, some of the powdered stone having entered his mouth.

‘Spcha,’ he spat it out and strode forward to kick a ranger’s ass.

“Do something with your hands, man!”

The motivated rangers clutched their bows and aimed at the sky.

“Fuck! What job do I get after being promoted? I’m doing the same fucking thing!”

Jordan had been promoted from Ranger Platoon Leader to Ranger Company Commander, but the work did not differ much: He had to kick the arses of the rangers serving under him.

The only difference was that he now had to kick two-hundred asses, up from ten.

“They promoted me to do this!? I wanted to be pampered like a cow!” While Jordan complained about his new job description, he continued to push the rangers.

Knights had prevented the bombardment, but they could not kill the harpies. In the end, the harpies had to be dealt with by the rangers.

However, their kill ratio was slow.

“Fucking new recruits! Two winters have passed, and none of you have improved!”

They had quite a bit of experience, enough to not be called recruits, but in Jordan’s eyes, they were still young chicks. If they had been veteran rangers, they would’ve wiped out the harpies before they had even approached.

But what could Jordan do?

Very few of the veterans had survived, and they had all become commanders. Heavy curse words rang all across the walls.

“At least they know my heart!” As Jordan thought about the fact that the platoon leaders were also struggling with the foolish recruits, he felt a bit better.

But that relief only lasted a while, only until he opened his eyes.

‘Kree~ kree~ kree~’ Jordan watched how a harpy, which had dropped her stone, swooped down and picked up an orc.

“Incoming!” Jordan immediately divined the harpies’ intentions. They have decided that, since rocks were hard to come by on the snowfield, monsters would serve their purposes just fine. It was a rapid change of tactic, such a phenomenal, wonderful improvisation – If the Jordan wasn’t to be the target of it, he would’ve applauded the harpies heartily.

“Here it comes!”

An orc fell from the sky. Jordan had no need to draw his sword; he didn’t even have to consider it.

‘Pluch!’ the orc could not overcome the workings of gravity and became a lump of twisted flesh as it slammed into the wall.

Similar scenes were playing out all over. Countless monsters were dropped by the harpies and fell to the walls.

Most were killed by the swords of knights before they even thudded into the wall. Luckily, those not killed by the knights became broken sacks of meat due to their innate lack of wings.

The harpies were little bothered by whether the monsters lived or died – they constantly kept on snatching monsters up and throwing them to the walls.

Some did survive, and these were the large monsters dropped by the griffons.

“Target them!” Jordan exclaimed urgently.

Most of the monsters quickly died, yet the arrows fired by the rangers could do little against the griffons. Jordan knew that if one of the large monsters crashed into him, his corpse would not be in a recognizable shape.

“I hate these fucking recruits!” Jordan swore as he ran toward a recruit.

‘Blach!’ the monster fell, just after Jordan had tackled the ranger from under its flight path.

Jordan stood as he drew his sword, seeing the vicious monster shake its head, a monster called the King of the Mountain.

Even with luck, there wasn’t much he could do against this beast.

“Uh… Uh…”

Some rangers groaned as they took in the menace of the ogre, while others simply looked at the beast blankly as if their souls had gone out of their bodies.

The knights could not deal with the ogre, instead having to contend with a heap of trolls that had been dropped in the distance.

Jordan looked at the ogre once more.

One of the beast’s shoulders had collapsed after its fall, and it was shaking its head, still unable to get a good sense of what and where it was. It didn’t seem long before the beast would snap awake.

“Ha, these recruits won’t do a thing,” Jordan muttered with some regret and fixed his sword.

There was a tragic cast to his expression, yet no fear was seen. This was nothing special for Jordan, and he now his time had come.

Jordan rushed at the ogre.

He didn’t even care to stab into the beast. All he wanted to do was crash into it and let it topple from the wall. That would be enough. They could clean his corpse up later.

Jordan ran as hard as he could and slammed into the ogre.

‘Thud!’

The ogre staggered – very, very little.

“Hey pal, it’s not what you think it is,” Jordan said with a friendly face as he looked at the ogre. An eerie light shone in the beast’s eyes. In the brief moment that the ogre hesitated, Jordan could sense its murderous intent. The ogre reached out its hand, a hand that could pulp a man’s head with a single squeeze.

Jordan’s eyes widened as something suddenly flew at the ogre.

‘Dwak!’

The ogre stumbled back, taking a step toward the edge of the wall.

“Don’t pretend to be a hero alone!” Jordan’s eyes were now very wide, for he saw rangers holding shields and pushing against the ogre. They were all veterans.

“What are you doing!”

“When we saw you charge it like a mad fella, we had to help. This thing is strong!”

“You with us?”

Jordan snapped awake as he heard such insane talk and cried, “Why are you here!? What about your platoons!?”

“I know my boys are fighting well! Unlike you, I am a very capable commander.

“Hey now. stop taking, and let’s all push together!”

Jordan hastily lent his strength to that of the veterans.

‘Thsud!’ the ogre now staggered back and had been driven to the very edge of the wall. With just a single step more, the rangers would be able to make it drop.

They almost did it.

‘Groor!’ in the next moment, the ogre snapped awake.

‘Quap,’ the ogre grabbed onto an iron shield, and it crumbled like a sheet of paper. The ranger, his arm buckled into the shield, was lifted into the air.

“Oh, I knew it wouldn’t work! Rushing at a mighty ogre- Does that make any sense?” cried one veteran.

“I’ll be the first one to die, lads! You don’t have to follow me too early, so be sure to-” and the ranger, with a defeated voice, his arm stuck in the shield, said no more as the ogre threw him off the wall.

“You bald fucking bastard!” Jordan shouted as he jumped into the air and clung to the ogre. In an instant, he had climbed to the beast’s shoulder, the one which had been crushed in the impact, and started stabbing into it with his dagger. Such a weak dagger would normally not be able to scratch the thing, but Jordan skillfully stabbed into its existing wounds.

‘Grar!’ the ogre roared, more in anger than in pain.

“Die! Die!” cried Jordan as she stabbed into the ogre without pause.

‘Shrk~ Shrk~’ the dagger cut against one of the ogre’s bones, and it began roaring like crazy. Unable to overcome the fierce hand of the ogre swiping over its head, Jordan was thrown to the battlements.

‘Grrra~’ the ogre gave a low growl. It was no longer an ogre dizzied by the fall; now, it was a true, hungry ogre. Jordan saw the knights who had dealt with the trolls come running from afar. Now, it was time to get out – but Jordan could not stand. He sank to the floor, and it felt as if his leg had broken.

“Flee! Quickly!” a man shouted at Jordan.

“I want to, guys. But I can’t,” Jordan muttered as he stared at the ogre, which was approaching him with a vicious smile.

Jordan gave a small whimper, for he had always wanted a beautiful death – now he wouldn’t even leave a body behind. Jordan wished he rather tried pushing an orc from the wall – they say that those who die fighting an ogre can’t act like veterans when it crunches on their bones.

Jordan prepared himself for the coming pain, clenching his teeth – but no matter how long he waited for it, there was no pain. Jordan looked at the ogre, and the thing had stiffened, stopped moving.

Its mouth was agape, and blood trickled from its vicious snout. A faint red line appeared on its neck. The line gradually thickened, and then blood fountained from it.

‘Duk,’ the ogre’s head fell, and only then could Jordan see who had stepped in front of the beast. A knight in a suit of iron armor which had the symbol of a golden, crouching lion on its breastplate, and the heads of silver lions engraved upon each pauldron.

Both symbols were familiar to Jordan: The golden lion was allowed to be worn only by knights of the royal family, while the silver head of a lion could only be engraved upon the shoulder of a knight who has reached the highest level.

And Jordan knew of a knight who had could wear both those symbols.

“Sir Arwen?”

It was the prince’s knight, Arwen Kirgayen.

Arwen lifted the visor of her helm, and the radiant glow that shined from the edge of her sword embraced her like a halo.

“I pay homage to your brave fight,” said Arwen in a clear voice that ill-matched the noise of the battlefield, with its cursed and bloody screams.

Arwen lowered her visor once more and started running along the walls.

“For his Highness, the prince!” Arwen’s roar echoed in all directions.

“For Winter Castle!” the knights battling monsters upon the walls suddenly shouted along with her.

Morale soared, and the momentum of the monsters was broken.

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‘Doof!’ and the iron cannons began to breathe fire once more.

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“The monsters are falling back!”

The monsters that had been swarming beneath the walls were retreating as they started running towards the mountains. The hordes of and griffons that had gathered in their black swarms also disappeared.

“We won!”

“Victory is ours!”

Rangers and knights cheered, and Jordan looked at them with gloom in his eyes.

“I am still alive,” said he, not in joy or in relief but in a dry voice.

Jordan straightened his shoulders, and the movement tired him as if he was carrying a heavy load.

“Commander,” one of the rangers came to Jordan, and he struck the man across the back of his head.

“Are you crazy, man?” Jordan shouted. “Leaving me to risk my life like that!”

“It’s insane to go pushing an ogre with your body, commander,” complained the ranger.

“Maybe it would be for the best,” said Jordan with a grim face after thinking for a while. “Then I can really die. There are only three of us left from the 17th platoon, and you put all of us old guys together, we’re less than thirty,” Jordan continued, his face deadly serious, which was rare for him. “Ah, but don’t worry! I’m not dying until I make you bloodsacks real ranges of Winter Castle, in honor of those who have come before you.”

“It’s funny, commander. Even today, most of us survived.”

Jordan quickly became less serious as he said, “Oh, that’s it for you, you’re here not to die? Get the battle over and the job done? Go to your post, quickly, and get to work.”

“I know, commander, and I’m sure you also have to change your pants. It seems like you’ve pissed yourself.”

“Are you cubs gossiping about your company commander!?”

The rangers giggled, and no one talked of the deaths that had taken place today. They laughed and talked with cheer.

“Huh? Here comes the count,” muttered Jordan with a stern face after he wiped the grin off of it.

“Why are you so angry- Ouch!” Jordan screamed as he grabbed his shin. “Stop! Stop! This one’s broken!”

“You want me to break your other leg?” asked Vincent, then exclaimed, “Balahard First Ranger Company Commander!”

Ranger Jordan, first company commander, present!” replied Jordan, forgetting his pain as he stood at attention.

“You seem to know that you are a company commander. Here I thought that you were one of the rank and file, the way you ran at that ogre.”

“Well, see here, it’s because the situation was urgent- Ouch!”

Count Balahard kicked Jordan’s leg again.

“Don’t you know that if a company commander is killed, the burden of command on the platoon commanders is increased? Putting your entire company at risk for a single ogre? Are you even an officer?”

“I say again: The situation was- Aouch!”

“Well, was it an ogre or an orc? Was it something to push, or to avoid?”

“We almost did it- Sorry!” exclaimed Jordan as he saw Vincent ready his foot.

“Have you drunk too much, Jordan, that you are behaving so? What the hell do you want to teach the hatchlings under your command?” came the count’s rebuke.

“Sorry.”

“If you want to wet your blade, just tell me. I’ll throw you down the wall myself. You can fight without end down there. Sound exciting? Do you really want that?”

Two hundred rangers were not a big force to defend the wall, and since such a force had almost been bereft of their commander, there was nothing more to say.

“Sorry,” Jordan said, bowing his head in reticence.

“The same counts for you platoon commanders. If the platoon commander dies, you all die. If the rangers are annihilated due to a gap in the command structure, who will be responsible?”

“We apologize, m’lord.”

“Don’t die too easily. Survive and do your part, honoring those who came before. They deserve our remembrance,” Vincent said in a heavy tone after clucking his tongue.

“We will keep that in mind.”

Jordan and his platoon leaders bowed their heads in respect.

Once more, Count Balahard clucked his tongue and turned around.

“We have to know how to be commanders now, boys. Not how to cut things up close with swords,” muttered Jordan as he watched Vincent’s retreating back.

“It looks like you really wanted to fight.”

The platoon commanders also looked across the castle grounds, and they nodded as they expressed sympathy with Jordan’s words.

* * *

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The number of monsters was terrible, indeed.

Winter Castle’s rangers had to fight day and night, and no matter how many of the things they killed, there was no end. If a thousand were killed in a day, there would be more the following morning. It was a state that reminded everyone of the war against the Warlord.

But Winter Castle was strong, and they were no longer alone. Once the rangers became tired, the troops of the two gathered legions would climb the wall. Even the knights took turns with the soldiers.

Wizards of the White Night Tower also helped defend Winter Castle.

Even if they were only novices who had very few spells that could be used, with the spells dissipating at once, they were able to prevent mass casualties many a time.

There were also the iron cannons provided by the dwarves.

Moreover, reinforcements would have started marching upon the royal road by now.

Even then, it still remained impossible to throw open the castle gates and annihilate the monsters beyond. And no one was truly optimistic about the war, as they did not know the reason for so many monsters flocking in front of the castle. The monsters that had pushed out of the mountain range now formed a large army approaching 10,000.

And none of the monsters returned to the mountains. They stayed out of arrow range and attacked the fortress from time to time.

At first, they just rushed at the walls and tried to crudely climb them. However, as time passed, the attacks of the monsters changed systematically.

Dozens of monster species attacked the castle like a united army.

Orcs climbed the walls as they bestrode ladders or used crude ropes made by goblins. Ogres and trolls added their might to the siege as they battered at the gates. Swarms of harpies and griffons appeared from time to time, dropping monsters or stones upon the walls.

“It’s obvious that something is controlling the monsters,” said Arwen Kirgayen as she studied their behavior. Otherwise, monsters that killed and ate each other would never have shown such mutual cooperation in attacking the walls.

The problem was the identity of that something – was there a king of the monsters born to the world, something akin to the Warlord?

Was it something like him, or something new? Arwen didn’t know.

If the prince was here, he could have told her something. And as the battle raged on, so too did Arwen’s slaughter. She ran wild over the wall as she slew monsters, sometimes hundreds of the things, all by herself.

The rangers were impressed by her remarkable performance and called her ‘The Knight of Steel.’

There was no special reason for the name: Unlike the Winter Knights, who wore leather iron armor with iron plating, they gave Arwen the name because she was fully armored in iron.

The reasoning behind the nickname was crude, yet Arwen liked the title very much. She had always wished to be evaluated by her ability, not her appearance and gender, so being the Knight of Steel made her happy to the extreme.

“Here comes the knight of steel!”

Whenever the rangers on the wall cheered her on like this, Arwen secretly smiled behind the visor of her helm. And she paid enough of a price for the soldiers to keep on using her favorite nickname. She paid them with the blood and lives of monsters, over and over again.

Her actions were worthy of the name Knight of Steel, yet, the number of monsters did not decrease. No longer did they remain 10,000. A group of orcs appeared from out of the mountain range and joined the army, and they could be called a proper orc legion. Arwen frowned as she saw the orcish legion’s red flag fluttering in the wind.

An unpleasant feeling overcame her, and the war that had swept through the north flashed through her mind.

The dark green waves that had followed the Warlord floated before her eyes like a fantasy.

“Surely…”

Arwen denied it again and again, but the more she did, the stronger grew the ominous premonition. And then she believed it without a doubt. The army of monsters that had flocked to Winter Castle now numbered 30,000.

‘Auh uh uh uh uh!’ a terrible roar sounded through the mountain range.

“Sir Arwen!” Vincent called her with a hard voice. She immediately drew her sword. She raised the momentum of her rings to the maximum so that the newer, more brittle soldiers of Balahard managed to overcome their fear.

A ray of light as luminescent as starlight burst from her sword.

‘Gwoo-wooh-ooh-ooh~’ a clear energy settled over the castle walls.

The rangers had seemed to have lost their souls, yet they now snapped awake.

But that was it – once they woke up, they still existed in the nightmare.

Arwen’s energy could not completely drive away the great power of the beast which had roared so deep from within the mountains. She rotated her rings even more.

‘Oah oh oh oh!’ the presence in the mountains cried out as if laughing at her.

This great enemy had not appeared, merely cried out, yet Arwen’s energy wavered – as if it would disappear immediately.

“Silent are the snowy peaks”

Just then, Arwen heard a familiar song ring out.

“Silent the frozen, bloody walls”

The voice, as if whispering in Arwen’s ear, began to resonate.

‘Woo~’

The inside of her helmet was hot as if it was aflame. Arwen could bear it no longer as she ripped off her helmet and caught her breath.

Her gaze swept over the wall, and there he was – wielding a sword that shone so brightly with the twilight which banishes the night. The first prince was reciting a war poem.

“Only the sound of the horn is heard, for we advance at dawn.”

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The energy of Arwen Kirgayen, no longer a knight in danger, soared to the ends of the sky.

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