Volume 9 Chapter 28 Day One (The Wall Battle)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
It had taken hours for each army of ten thousand to finish deploying. From the top of the wall, I looked out over the battlefield. Even in daylight, the specters’ eyes flickered like wavering flames, their armor reflecting the sun with an uncanny gleam. It should have been an ordinary day, yet everything about it was wrong.
”Well, well… like staring out at a sea of death,” I muttered, swallowing hard.
From the eastern gate, where I commanded, the Ghost Army filled the ground below in dreadful force. We had divided our defenses: I held the east, Kanare the north, Commander Tron of McGaref’s regulars the south, and Councilor Gandolf the west. The Witch of Inferno, Scaya, guarded the south against Cartera, while the Adamantine Witch, Beria, was stationed to the west. Strangely, no ghosts had gathered at the northern gate, leaving the main battlefield concentrated here in the east.
”Listen well, McGaref’s defenders! Hold until reinforcements arrive!”
The walls bristled with hundreds of archers, a handful of spellcasters, and rows of catapults already loaded with stone.
”They’ll be in range soon,” someone reported.
”Enemy vanguard, four hundred paces!”
”Good. When they close to two hundred, unleash the stones. Spellcasters first, then the siege engines. Aim for where they’re thickest!”
My voice, hardened by years as deputy commander of the Order of Knights, carried clearly. Catapults groaned as they were wound taut. Piles of stone were heaped high along the battlements, ready to rain death.
”Well, well. All that stone hauling wasn’t for nothing.”
”Indeed. These past weeks, we’ve been more porters than soldiers.”
”That’s war. Preparation is everything.”
I glanced at Ginga. His face, drawn from a night with Shion, bore weariness, but no fear.
”Your magic blade is our best firepower. Count on you to cut them down.”
”Yes. I can now fully cast three times a day.”
”Enemy closing—two hundred paces!”
”Loose!”
Magic flared and stones hurtled skyward, the impact trembling through the ground. The specters gave no scream, no cry of pain—just collapsed soundlessly into heaps.
”They scatter too easily… a feint, no doubt. Ready another volley—no, wait! Shields up!”
I spotted a towering ghost nocking an enormous bow. My order changed mid-breath. The arrow shrieked through the air, plunging down in a deadly arc. The barrier wards were tuned to magic, not steel. A few men were skewered instantly, their screams chilling the wall.
”All that, from below? What power…! Raise shields!”
”They’re piercing even the shields, sir!”
”Weed, shall we counter with spells?”
”Not yet. Save them. Damn it—they’ve reached the walls!”
While we scrambled against the arrows, the ghost soldiers had pressed close. Their spears struck at the wall’s base where the wards were weakest, especially around the gates. There, barriers could be unraveled, paving the way for rams or spells to tear a breach.
McGaref’s walls spanned eight kilometers, fifteen meters high, the city’s pride and symbol of might. But that pride was now under siege.
”Ginga, no choice. Use your sword skill—clear them out!”
”Yes! Flame tiger, gather to my hand—burn my foes! Roar of fire, blaze of the underworld—one strike! Blazing Tiger Cannon!”
His chant lit the air, the Master Swordsman’s skill blazing. Undead toppled, dissolving into stones, yet from atop the walls the force weakened.
”Weed, should we sortie?”
”Madness. Not with that bow out there. Soldiers, aim stones at its wielder! Catapults, fire!”
Boulders crashed, yet a spectral ward blunted the blows.
”Damn it, they’re hauling materials… if they build overhead cover, our stones won’t touch them. And once their casters anchor barriers at the gate, even Ginga’s blade may not break through…”
I clicked my tongue, watching spectral porters shuttle timber and stone forward, trading hands like players in a cruel game.
”Ginga, burn their wood first.”
”Understood.”
”We might call Scaya for ritual fire… no, too costly. And Cartera still lurks.”
The bow sang again and again. In the first hour alone, twenty men fell at my gate. With only a few thousand defenders in total, every life was precious.
”Healing spells, full rotation!”
”Don’t overdo it, Shion-chan. You’ve been moving too, to use transfer magic.”
”I’m fine, just riding a cart. I’m more worried about you—don’t push too hard.”
Wounded groaned below, tended by healers and noncombatants alike, no respite allowed. Humans grew weary. The dead did not. Balance could not hold forever… and every soldier felt that weight as we fought on.
* * *
”…Damn tedious, isn’t it? Why don’t we just charge all at once?”
The man in blackened armor stroked the greatsword he had driven into the earth. Berhardt, the Black Sword King, lived up to his name, though in his hand now was only a bow—the same bow that tormented Weed’s men.
”General Grano, don’t tell me I’m stuck shooting forever?”
”You are.”
”Ha! Harsh taskmaster. No one else can cover for me?”
”No one else can shoot that far.”
”Even so, it’s tiring.”
”You’re dead. You don’t get tired.”
”The heart does. Bring me wine! Can’t do this sober!”
He gulped from a jug before resuming his grim archery.
”How long we gonna drag this out?”
”Don’t call it dragging. Overwhelming them with numbers is safest, I’ve told you enough times.”
Below the hill, hidden from Weed’s sight, ghostly knights awaited their turn. No horses, but their strength rivaled any living knight.
”I’d rather fight alongside them, not sit up here.”
”Stop whining. The sun hasn’t even set.”
”But For-Elda’s side gets the flashy toys. Not fair.”
From the far west came muffled booms—the thunder of magic cannon fire.
”Each division fights on its own, remember.”
”Raphastia’s probably slacking off again.”
”Likely. His Majesty has Cartera’s company now… or perhaps tormenting the princess by now. Enough talk. Back to it.”
”Fine, fine. The dutiful First Division marches on.”
Berhardt drew and loosed three arrows at once. Shields splintered, screams rose. The plunging arcs gave little room to dodge, hemmed in by siege engines. Hours dragged on. The sun tilted. The Ghost Army pressed endlessly. Berhardt’s arrows and the defenders’ stones clashed in grim rhythm, casualties mounting, barriers thinning.
At last, a messenger brought tidings that lit Berhardt’s eyes.
”Ha! Reinforcements for the enemy? Perfect. We’ve earned our fun. General, let me go!”
”Two thousand from the Gonan Kingdom. I’ll keep half the division here. Take the rest—crush them.”
”Now that’s war! Real war! Come, men, to battle!”
With a roar, Berhardt led his half-division forth. Raphastia’s Second Division stirred as well. But the Gonan troops, shifting westward, met only merciless annihilation—Cartera’s magic fell upon them, and thus the first tragedy began.
Notes:
• McGaref – Fortress city, adventurer hub.
• Cartera – Eternal Witch — The First Emperor’s mistress and a resurrected sorceress of immense power. Cruel and seductive, she takes pleasure in destruction and defilement. Her loyalty to the Emperor is absolute, and she shares his desire to end the world. First appears in v9c3.
• Kanare – The stern battalion commander, who once led Chinatsu, shares a solemn mission, his eyes reflecting battlefield memories.
• Scaya – The ‘Flame Witch,’ employed by the Dark Elves; captured after the battle where the Celon Dukedom army was defeated.
• Shion – Ginga’s GF. Archery, healing.
• Weed – He is a retired knight and martial arts master, appeared as a sword seller, known for his bloodthirsty grin and elite ‘Sword Master’ skill.
• Shion-chan – Ginga’s GF. Archery, healing.
• Grano – The Black Flame General, a legendary figure from Quvar’s past, now resurrected as part of the First Emperor’s ghostly host. Known for his ruthless tactics and unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, Grano commands a significant portion of the undead army. He is disdainful of the living, particularly those who oppose the Emperor’s plans, and shows no mercy in battle. His presence, alongside other legendary generals like Belhart, underscores the immense threat posed by the Emperor’s forces. First mentioned in v9c7.
• Raphastia – A once-renowned general who now serves the First Emperor in the underworld army. He is referred to as a ‘Holy Corpse,’ indicating his undead state. Raphastia retains his self-awareness and will, which is unusual for the undead, and his loyalty to the Emperor remains unwavering. He is described as having a raspy voice and is one of the key figures in the Emperor’s command post. First appearance in v9c8.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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