NSE-Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dragons are strong.

An exceedingly tough outer hide.

Not only the power backed by a huge frame, but they even use a multitude of magic.

They even fly through the sky.

Even high-tier Awakened wouldn’t dare hunt one easily unless several gathered to run a raid.

Cedric was relentlessly pressing such a strong dragon.

‘Not a bad strategy.’

A knight goes on foot.

As one’s skill rises, a few means of staying in midair do appear, but that time is by no means long.

Unless it’s something like crudely hurling a barrage of javelins, there aren’t many ways to catch a flying dragon.

The Bone Dragon was making up for that mobility.

It tenaciously holds onto the dragon’s body.

Though made of bone, its weight was no small matter.

And as the Bone Dragon blocked its mobility like that……

Squelch!

Cedric’s spear tears through the dragon’s hide.

‘And he fights well, too.’

A nerve-racking feat of skill performed in midair. One slip of the foot, and it’s a fatal fall.

Even so, Cedric, as if walking a tightrope, kept stabbing all over the dragon’s body.

Perhaps because he was Undead, he was fearless and bold.

Was it to shake Cedric off?

The dragon tenaciously gained altitude. While the two Undead and the dragon fought a bloody battle like that.

The monster horde that had been watching the battle from behind the Orcs began to move.

Kodos, which in charging power alone were close to the best even among monsters of their rank.

The guys leapt toward the castle gate with all their might.

Whooo!

Boom!

Boom!

The gate far away shook heavily.

Mage Classes including the Liches chanted spells, but because they had exhausted their Mana pouring it out on the Orcs, the firepower was weaker than expected.

The giants didn’t stay idle either.

The giants’ huge weapons collided with the gate that the Kodos had shocked.

Wyverns dove from the sky and snatched up spell-chanting Undead, and Witches of Death chanted spells to pin down the feet of Dullahans and Death Knights.

‘This is getting breached.’

Even if he had somehow handled Orcs, those high-ranking monsters were different.

The specs themselves were too far behind.

There was no way to do anything.

On top of that, perhaps because Supreme Commander Cedric had flown into the sky, the Undead’s movements weren’t coordinated.

It felt somehow more flustered than before.

When they’d barely have enough time even uniting as one to stall, acting like that left no answer.

‘Retreat for now.’

The gate was precarious.

If that got breached, monsters would pour in like packs of dogs.

If he stayed atop the wall, he’d clearly end up with a pointless death ending, with Orc hordes pouring in from above and below.

Even so, he couldn’t pull out only his own group. What could he do by fleeing with just one Lich and one Death Knight?

And if he bolted to save only himself, the whole wall was likely to be quickly overrun by the pouring Orcs.

“Hey! Hans!”

―Yes, Commander.

“Don’t you have something like a crystal ball? The kind for passing word to the Commanders!”

―I do.

“Take it out, quickly!”

He picked up the crystal ball Hans took out.

When he injected a little Mana, the crystal ball glowed.

“This is Commander 16! All Commanders, leave only some Skeletons behind, retreat from the wall, and gather at the Inner Castle! This is an order the Supreme Commander gave me in person!”

―……!

Hans’s eyes rolled around.

‘Sir Cedric definitely flew off without saying a word, though?’

Even so, he couldn’t tactlessly spoil it here.

For the time being, the human before him had become, if only temporarily, his direct superior, and as far as he himself could tell, now was the only chance to retreat.

A murmuring sound came through the crystal ball.

Soon, one spoke as representative.

―……This is Commander 1. Is that true? I received no separate instructions from Sir Cedric.

“It’s true. When he saved me from the dragon’s attack earlier, he mentioned it separately!”

Yes, their Supreme Commander had saved ‘me personally.’

Whether he had saved this side because he truly thought of him as special, or because it would have been troublesome if the dragon had crashed into the wall, was unknown.

Anyway, at times like this, the best thing was to act as if there was something going on with a superior.

―……This is Commander 15. When the dragon flew in, Sir Cedric protected that one. It’s likely true.

A Commander who had suddenly come in as a parachute appointee.

On top of that, Cedric had even protected him personally.

His relationship with the Supreme Commander looked far from ordinary.

Moreover, the order he supposedly gave was reasonable. Wasn’t the wall on the verge of being breached?

Even if they had been the Supreme Commander, they would have ordered a retreat.

―……Very well, we will follow.

‘Good!’

This way, they could hold out even a little longer.

And so, leaving a special squad behind, the Undead carried out a retreat from the wall.

Not even three minutes had passed before the gate collapsed with a rumble.

The Orc horde that surged in like a tidal wave looked around.

Clatter.

Clack.

There were only trivial Undead, and the strong ones they had secretly been hoping for didn’t show so much as a nose.

Graaagh!

The heads of the Skeletons guarding the entrance were shattered to pieces.

Grrr.

The Orcs’ gazes turned to the small Inner Castle far away.

* * *

He looked at the Undead who had climbed onto the Inner Castle wall. Ten Liches and nine Death Knights.

On top of that, about a hundred mid-tier Undead and a thousand Skeletons.

The numbers had shrunk miserably compared to what he’d seen at the very start.

What was even more dreadful was that the enemy’s real horde hadn’t even moved yet.

The Orc Royal Guards led by the Orc Hero. On top of that, the high-ranking monsters, still plentiful.

The Inner Castle’s scale was far smaller than the Outer Castle’s. The wall’s size and the gate’s sturdiness were also far weaker.

‘If only Orcs charge like before, maybe we could hold out for about thirty minutes……’

If even the high-ranking monsters moved, at best it’d be ten minutes.

But it looked like they’d do exactly that.

‘These guys were waiting until our side’s Mana ran out.’

If they had sent out the high-ranking monsters from the very beginning, the sacrifice would have been great.

Because the defenders’ Mana would have been full.

By contrast, now?

In breaking through the Outer Castle, only about twenty Kodos and giants had died. It was fine to say there was no sacrifice.

A completely surrounded situation.

If there was just one piece of good news.

“Prepare for battle! We go as I said beforehand!”

It was only that, on the strength of Cedric’s prestige, he had been handed overall command by the Death Knights who were Commanders.

Whooo!

Charging Kodos.

“Grease! Use Grease!”

The Liches and Skeleton Mages gathered Mana.

[Lich ‘Edmond’ activates Grease(D)!]

[Lich ‘Hans’ activates Grease(D)!]

.

.

A basic spell that makes the ground slippery. The Kodo and giant hordes were plastered with defensive magic.

Also, since their magic resistance was high, direct attack magic had little effect.

But with a spell like Grease……

Slip!

Waaargh!

One Kodo sat down hard.

The Kodos and giants following behind began to fall one after another.

Monsters tumbling down in a crash.

Screeech!

“Block the Wyverns! Protect only the Liches, no matter what!”

He blocked a Wyvern descending with his sword drawn.

Clang!

‘Ugh!’

His body was pushed back, and then flew outright from the tremendous force.

His wrist seemed twisted, and throbbed.

He hurriedly took out a Potion and poured it over his hand. Ladders were hooked on and the Orcs swarmed in.

Amid the continuous melee, messages appeared.

[Skeleton 1 hunts an Orc Warrior! Battle experience greatly…….]

[Skeleton 223 hunts an Orc Fighter…….]

Where before they had only killed by falls, this time the Skeletons occasionally took down Orcs too. Perhaps because of Death Lord’s effect, the Skeletons were growing in real time as they gained experience.

The problem was that they couldn’t turn the tide of the battle.

Little by little, they were pushed back.

The Inner Castle gate was breached.

The top of the wall filled with Orcs.

A Death Knight was snapped helplessly in a giant’s grip.

The Orcs’ encirclement gradually tightened.

A hopeless situation.

Just then.

A dragon fell from the sky.

A group of giants and Kodos were crushed flat under the dragon.

The dragon gasped roughly.

Its body was covered in wounds.

Soon, in front of the Undead.

Thud.

The Bone Dragon settled in like a great mountain.

‘You came! My love!’

Cedric!

At that moment, time stopped.

[You have endured on the battlefield for a certain amount of time!]

[The basic condition for escape has been met!]

[You can escape from the battlefield!]

[Would you like to escape now?]

[If you refuse, escape will be deactivated again.]

All he could see was the messages.

His first guess had been right to some extent.

A structure where you could escape if you held out for a certain time. Of course, even this alone had been Hell difficulty, but it wasn’t at a level where clearing was impossible.

‘But the message feels off.’

This battlefield was a place built from Cedric’s regret.

Was simply holding out until the time ran out and escaping the way to obtain the authority the Death Lord had spoken of?

‘No way.’

He didn’t even know what the regret was.

He hadn’t resolved it, either.

That couldn’t possibly be the full clearing condition.

‘If I leave now, it’d be about a 30 out of 100 answer.’

The reason it was only the basic condition for escape was probably that.

‘Judging by the fact that he regretted, the Undead side is likely to lose this war.’

It was right to assume that something regretful remained in Cedric’s heart during that process.

‘The progress hasn’t reached that point yet, I suppose.’

What he regretted, he’d only find out by advancing a bit further.

Staying was certainly dangerous.

That was why the reward was that much greater.

Conclusion.

‘Yeah, I’m absolutely not leaving.’

He’d take the risk and see more.

Because it wasn’t a stage set up to make him die outright.

A way to clear always exists.

Clearly.

[You refuse to escape!]

[Time begins to flow again!]

Cedric looked this way.

Had the battle with the dragon been fierce?

His golden bones were dented in places.

―Why are you still here? You could clearly have left.

“I still don’t know what you regret.”

―……You risk your life just to learn that?

“It’s not trivial at all. It’s a huge deal.”

―……The Lord must have told you. The words about being trapped for an eternity are no joke.

“I didn’t stay as a joke either.”

He cut off the neck of an approaching Orc.

He was drenched in foul-smelling green blood.

“I’m always serious. When it comes to strategy.”

―……I see. I will respect your choice.

With those words, Cedric and the Bone Dragon moved.

The Orc horde and the high-ranking monsters were lightly swept away with a single attack.

Graaagh!

Thud, thud!

The Orc Hero, pounding his chest like a drum.

Delight began to fill the guy’s eyes as he looked at Cedric.

Orcs are an extremely bellicose race. Especially when facing a strong opponent, it was the race whose blood boiled most intensely.

The guy began to move in earnest toward Cedric.

‘Oh, shit.’

The problem was that the Orc Royal Guards around him had also begun to move.

Graaagh!

Two Orc Royal Guards latched onto each Death Knight. The blades of the Death Knights, who had been slicing ordinary Orcs like radishes, dulled in an instant.

The Death Knights were driven onto the defensive.

The problem was……

‘……They’re coming for me too?’

An Orc Royal Guard was snorting and running toward him.

Usually they stick to the strong ones.

Probably impressed by the sight of him slicing lower Orcs like radishes.

[The Orc Royal Guard designates you as ‘Prey’!]

[The Orc Royal Guard’s attack power against you increases by 20%!]

[You are struck directly by the Orc Royal Guard’s war cry! All Stats decrease by 10%!]

With his current state, he absolutely couldn’t win.

The Death Knights and Liches around him were all fighting frantically.

‘Then I’ll have to go all out too.’

He decided to use the last secret Art he had been saving.

[You consume the Strength Enhancement Potion(Top-Grade)!]

[Strength increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume the Agility Enhancement Potion(Top-Grade)!]

[Agility increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume the Health Enhancement Potion(Top-Grade)!]

[Health increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume the Magic Power Enhancement Potion(Top-Grade)!]

[Magic Power increases by 50 for one hour!]

[You consume the Health Potion(Top-Grade)!]

[Wounds are rapidly healed!]

[You consume the Mana Potion(Top-Grade)!]

[Mana is rapidly recovered!]

He chugged Top-Grade Potions like water, each easily fetching hundreds of millions of won.

[Warning!]

[You have consumed too many Potions in a short period! You become addicted to Potions!]

[Potion effects will be greatly reduced from now on!]

[You have acquired the Title ‘One Who Lives Only for Today’!]

Potion Addiction.

A phenomenon in which the body, unable to forget the Potions’ recovery and doping, suffers withdrawal symptoms.

Those withdrawal symptoms are quite severe.

‘It’s dangerous, but……’

Much better than dying without taking them now.

On top of that, this wasn’t even his real body. It was a Virtual Body, so he’d manage somehow when he got back.

“And if not, too bad!”

For now, it was time to survive.