The Game Difficulty
Has Gone Crazy
The sound of a trumpet echoed out.
Because it was a sound they had heard several times before, the soldiers on the wall began lifting their heads one by one.
“This sound is…”
“I’ve heard it before.”
“Wait, don’t tell me—!”
At the very moment the fighting soldiers wore confused expressions—
Suddenly, vitality surged through their entire bodies.
Their bodies, which had felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, became light.
Strength filled the hands gripping their swords.
At the same time, their minds cleared.
And at that moment, the soldiers who had been hiding behind the walls, clutching their heads, slowly stood up.
The fear that had been dominating their minds melted away like snow.
“…I can… fight.”
“Hey! Everyone, get up! How long are you going to cower like idiots?!”
One became ten, ten became a hundred, and they began to fill the walls once more.
Soon, all of Avenue shook off its fear and started burning with fighting spirit.
At the same time, the Gray Wolf Knights, who had been fighting a lonely battle surrounded by undead, also raised their voices in a roar.
“Wow… we were really close. If we were any later, it would’ve been bad.”
Watching the scene, Glen let out a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, he had arrived just in time.
‘An 8-star really is something else.’
Of course, the overwhelming difference in numbers had already put them at a huge disadvantage, but under normal circumstances, the battle situation should not have become this disastrous.
Half-Ideal Dystopia.
A large-scale magic that inflicted the Fear state on all targets within a designated area, and Penelope’s signature 8-star spell.
Because of that single large-scale magic she cast, the soldiers of Avenue—who should have been fighting desperately—had been trapped in fear and unable to fight properly.
But now, things were different.
Glen put the black horn back into his inventory.
《Medlerus’s Horn》
《Rank》 : Legendary
《Type》 : Instrument
《Option》
: Can be used when more than 100 allies are gathered. Upon use, all allies’ stats are greatly increased for a certain time and they become immune to the 『Fear』 status effect.
Thanks to the effect of this legendary artifact, the fear afflicting the soldiers was removed, and furthermore, all of their physical abilities were drastically enhanced.
“So from now on, the counterattack begins.”
Glen raised the corner of his lips.
Beside him, Judith and Katrin slowly stepped forward.
“A scene like hell itself, heretics everywhere—and the Saint appearing in such a dramatic moment! Ah…! What a magnificent sight this is!”
Clutching the holy scripture in her arms, Judith muttered with a blissful expression.
“The enemy is no joke, but the fact that the Gray Wolf Knight Order held out against that is impressive too.”
Leaving their own impressions as they observed the battlefield, the two inquisitors drew their swords from their waists.
The air around them instantly turned cold.
And the next moment—
Woooooong—!
Each of their holy rings spun fiercely.
Golden particles of holy power burst forth around them.
“Shall we begin? God’s judgment upon these filthy heretics.”
“They say there’s even an 8-star witch, so don’t let your guard— tch. This is something worth saying only to someone who can actually hear it.”
Judith’s red eyes, filled with madness, swirled violently.
At the same time, Katrin filled her blue eyes with sharp killing intent.
Then the two of them kicked off the ground at the same time, leaving massive cracks behind as they charged into the battlefield at incredible speed.
Paaaang—!
A tremendous gust of wind erupted.
In the next instant, two streaks of golden light split apart and began rampaging across the walls.
“Krrraaaaah!”
“Kiiiiiik!”
Undead that had just climbed up the walls screamed and rushed forward.
But—
Chwa-jajajak—!
Before they could even stretch out their arms toward the enemy, they were torn apart and scattered through the air.
“Kiiiiiik!”
“Ahahahahaha! Judgment!”
On one side, Judith laughed like a madwoman, slaughtering the incoming undead as if she were a fish in water.
“Get lost! You filthy bastards!”
On the other side, Katrin sprayed icy killing intent from her eyes as she butchered the undead charging at her.
“…What are those people?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Watching the massacre carried out by the two inquisitors, the soldiers gaped in shock.
Then a few knights who had been watching closely widened their eyes.
“Golden holy power… could it be 7-star?!”
“That’s it! Reinforcements!”
“7-star holy knights have come as reinforcements!”
The knight’s voice boomed loudly.
The soldiers reacted to his words and let out powerful cheers.
“Wooooah! Reinforcements are coming!”
Soon, they too began pushing back the undead on the walls with fierce momentum.
With a single artifact and two inquisitors, the wind blowing across the battlefield began to change.
“Alright, the groundwork is done.”
Judith and Katrin.
And even Jaber—three 7-star knights gathered in one place.
That should be enough to put out the urgent fire.
‘Then I should start too.’
Glen slowly loosened up his body.
Since the opponent was what they were, simply dealing with the immediate danger would not be enough.
Glen assigned himself the most optimal role to overturn the tide of this battle.
‘Namely, crushing the enemy’s firepower.’
He lifted his head and looked below the walls.
Compared to when the legion’s vanguard had attacked, at least twice as many undead were surging toward the walls like a black wave.
But that was not the real problem.
The true problem was what stood behind them.
The mages and witches.
From the rear, they were launching clustered undead with throwing magic and pouring dangerous curses and spells onto the walls.
And the worst part was that they were positioned just out of arrow range, so they were freely flinging blind magic until their demonic power ran dry.
But in other words, aside from them, there were no particularly threatening elements left in this battle.
‘So I just need to wipe those bastards out.’
A strange light flashed in Glen’s eyes.
If he could reduce the number of mages and witches even a little, allied casualties would drop dramatically.
And recently, Glen had obtained a very good means to deal with them.
“Hoo.”
With a short deep breath, Glen rotated four holy rings and reinforced his body.
Then he pulled Einheria out of his inventory, gripped it tightly, and began running along the wall.
The scenery rushed past his vision.
At the same time, undead that had climbed onto the wall rushed toward Glen.
But—
“Kwaeeeeeek!”
“I’m busy.”
Glen brushed past them without stopping and focused his mind on Einheria.
When a translucent aura wrapped around Einheria’s blade, he swung his sword straight down toward the area below the wall.
Shweeeeeek—
The next moment, following the arc of his swing, the translucent energy flew out in a half-moon shape.
It rushed straight toward the group of mages in the rear who were gathering demonic power.
Kwaaaang—!
Wave of Wailing Souls.
Einheria’s second skill, obtained after defeating Muta, collided with the gathered demonic power and exploded.
Five or six mages caught in the blast were reduced to rags and collapsed onto the ground.
‘Nice shot.’
Shading his eyes with his hand as he looked toward the explosion, Glen whistled.
Then, with a sly smile, he adjusted his grip on Einheria.
One more shot.
Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, Penelope sharply furrowed her brow.
“What is that… those things?”
Out of nowhere, a trumpet sounded from the direction of the wall, and from that moment, the enemy began to counterattack.
It made no sense.
The fear they had been trembling in was not a mere emotion, but the effect of an 8-star magic she herself had cast.
‘And they just shake it off?’
Not only that, but as if they had suddenly gained vitality, they were resisting her assault more fiercely than before.
It seemed the trumpet that had just echoed across the battlefield had triggered some kind of magical effect.
Otherwise, mere foot soldiers—nothing more than ants—could not have shaken off her large-scale magic.
But that was not the only thing irritating Penelope.
Two mysterious knights slaughtering undead as they climbed the walls.
And an unknown human reducing the number of mages and witches in the rear with some incomprehensible power.
“So annoying…”
Penelope’s snake-like red eyes grew cold.
Of course, even with such resistance, the overall flow of the war had not changed in the slightest.
Such desperate struggling would only prolong their lives by a single day at most.
But it irritated her.
Normally, they should have been screaming in despair and fleeing before her overwhelming army.
That was the very reason Penelope had come here—to enjoy such sights.
But instead, they pushed back the undead as if they had hope, shouting at the top of their lungs.
Every one of those actions grated on Penelope’s nerves.
“……”
Thick, black demonic energy violently swirled around her.
“Commander.”
At that moment, a knight in black armor approached Penelope and knelt, his voice deep and heavy.
“If you permit this Meldborn to sortie, I shall wager everything to restore the dignity of the 8th Legion and its commander by crushing those ignorant fools.”
Penelope narrowed her eyes.
“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?”
“I shall take the heads of their commanders, starting with Jaber, and offer them to you.”
Penelope looked down at Meldborn, the knight in black armor.
It seemed he had accurately grasped her displeased mood.
Finding that quite pleasing, Penelope slightly lifted the corner of her lips.
“Hoo…”
Catching his roughened breath, Glen lifted his head and surveyed the battlefield.
Thousands of undead were still wriggling below the walls, but everything that climbed up was being swiftly dealt with thanks to the 7-star holy knights.
The mages and witches firing magic and curses from afar had also taken significant damage due to Glen’s actions.
Naturally, the number of allies being hit by blind spells raining down on the walls rapidly decreased as well.
Thanks to that, the Gray Wolf Knight Order was holding off the enemy’s relentless assault despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage.
If things continued like this, they would be able to safely finish the first battle.
Of course, if the 8-star witch Penelope personally entered the battlefield, the situation would flip very simply.
‘But honestly, if Penelope comes out herself, that’s actually good for us.’
Glen smiled darkly.
Penelope was undoubtedly strong.
She had already plunged everyone in Avenue Fortress into fear with her large-scale status magic.
But among the many 8-stars in this world, Penelope was actually on the weaker side.
Most of the magic she used focused on strengthening allies and weakening opponents—support magic.
In terms of combat support, she was more troublesome than any other legion commander.
But conversely, direct combat was not that difficult.
That was why, if Glen, Judith, Katrin, and Jaber attacked her together, they could defeat Penelope.
Of course, that was only if Penelope personally stepped forward.
If she stayed in the rear, using large-scale magic and forcing a war of attrition, then Glen had no choice but to endure.
‘Then we endure.’
Just as Glen quietly began charging the Wave of Wailing Souls into Einheria—
“Gray Wolf Knight Order, listen!”
Suddenly, someone shouted from the front, pouring demonic energy into their voice.
At the same time, the undead charging forward with shrieks all shut their mouths and stopped moving.
An awkward silence fell over the battlefield that had been so noisy.
“Huh?”
Looking below the wall, a demon knight in black armor stood there.
His face was hidden by a helmet, but demon knights wearing such heavy armor were rare, so it was easy to tell who he was.
“Wait, that old guy is definitely…”
“My name is Meldborn! As a knight, I request an honorable duel with your commander!”
His solemn voice rang loudly, cutting through the silence.
“…Oh?”
At the same time, Glen narrowed his eyes.
