Barrier (1)
The invasion of the monsters continued.
It was a natural consequence given the monsters' objective to disrupt the repair of the wall.
Despite being prepared, the human side's casualties kept accumulating.
The enemy was the monsters outside. No matter how few in number, casualties were unavoidable.
Humans could feel their spirits gradually eroding just by witnessing the death of another human nearby.
Above all, these people had been fighting before Frondier arrived.
Their fatigue had reached its peak, and their spirits were crumbling.
Yet, those who seemed about to fall any moment were still holding on.
The reason was Frondier.
"Hold on!! Focus only on what's in front of you! Dismiss the 'birds' from your mind! They're nothing but packs of dogs!"
With Frondier's participation, the tide of battle changed, most notably in aerial combat.
For knights and soldiers who were not slaves, the damage caused by 'things with wings' was severe. These creatures could attack by flying over the rampart.
Regular arrows could hardly penetrate the tough skin of the monsters, and hitting them was already a challenge.
When such creatures attacked the knights and soldiers stationed on the barrier, it resulted in total chaos.
Even if they were all suppressed before reaching the barrier, there was no guarantee it would always be so.
In other words, all the fighters were not only fighting the monsters in front of them but also constantly nervous about the possibility of an attack from above.
Thwack! Thump!
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})However, Frondier alone crushed all the troublesome wings.
He handled almost all the flying monsters by himself, and even if he missed some, the remaining forces could easily suppress them.
"Frondier! Move to the left! Try to make the monsters fall where there are other monsters!"
"I'll try."
With the situation like this, Sanders specifically instructed Frondier.
It was also a recognition of Frondier's abilities, and Sanders' loud command was meant for the prisoners and soldiers below to hear.
To issue commands to Frondier meant that he was still in action.
The ground forces gradually became confident. At least while Frondier was participating, they were sure there would be no attacks from above.
And one more thing.
“For as long as I’m in Tyburn, none of knights will die.”
Frondier’s words carried more weight with the knights than he thought.
Most of those who died in this war were prisoners, but the life of even one knight was worth more than all of them combined. They could lead soldiers and prisoners to an extent, fight numerous monsters alone, and their morale on the battlefield did not easily waver like that of prisoners or soldiers. If there was a gap in the knights’ ranks, it meant that the balance of the war itself would be shaken.
But surprisingly, Frondier’s words, which had begun as a bet, were still holding true.
It had been 10 days since Frondier arrived in Tyburn. Among the knights, there were still 0 casualties.
‘Hmm, I guess that guy woke up the knights.’
Hector, who used to jabber incessantly by Frondier’s side, thought to himself. Before Frondier arrived, the knights were also beginning to lose hope. They assumed that it was natural for some of them to die.
Then Frondier asked,
“Who among you thinks they’ll die? Any of you desperately want to die?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Someone would die. In this battlefield, it was certain.
Then who would it be?
When faced with that question, they would come to know, even if they didn’t want to.
That it could be them.
“Kill them! Cut down every last one of them! The monsters outside are skilled in deception!”
But today,
“Crush the heads of those who have fallen! Don’t turn your backs on them!”
And even now,
“Those of you who can still walk, come this way! Quickly dispose of their corpses! Find anyone who’s still alive!”
Among the knights, there were no casualties.
* * *
A Knights’ meeting attended by Lord Ludwig and Princess Aten.
“‘Outside’ or not, it’s nothing special!”
“Before, we were just holding them back at the gate, but now we’re actually trying to push them out!”
“I thought we were going to advance.”
“Hahahaha!”
Of course, before the meeting, the knights were feeling excited about this battle.
“Frondier was great. He took care of all those annoying things!”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})“I thought it was weird when that greenhorn showed up.”
“Well, he was green, but isn’t that why he fights better! When your blood’s boiling, you fight better, right?”
Praises for Frondier continued to pour in.
Since Frondier's arrival, fewer people had died.
That simple fact was enough to completely overturn Frondier's evaluation.
Frondier was still winning the bet, and frankly, the bet didn't matter anymore.
"…Hmm, yes. Today could be considered a successful defense. What do you think, Frondier?"
Sanders asked after quietly listening to the knights' discussion, finally giving Frondier a chance to speak.
This was also a recognition of Frondier's contributions over the past ten days.
He had minimized casualties among the prisoners and soldiers, and not a single knight had died or even been seriously injured.
It had been a tough fight, but it wasn't too bad. Frondier, who had made significant achievements, slowly opened his mouth in front of those whose morale was greatly boosted.
"The situation is not good."
"…"
Frondier's remark shattered the mood like cold water.
It was too serious to simply attribute to a lack of tact.
"Under Commander Sanders' orders, I've examined the entire barrier from the left."
Frondier pointed to the map on the central table.
"Here, the right corner is already in a situation where it can't hold up."
This was almost certain, based on Frondier's 'analysis'.
The right side of the barrier was as precarious as the last block of a Jenga tower. [T/N: Jenga is a game where players take turns removing blocks from a wobbly tower without making it fall.]
