Part Ninety-Six

The monsters had begun moving hours ahead of all predictions. We were honestly just lucky this hadn’t happened an hour ago. It would’ve been far worse to get caught by them before the reinforcements arrived.

The NPCs, with their unnatural ability to seamlessly coordinate, had already fully deployed along the walls, but the mercenaries were lagging behind. It made sense since we were spread throughout the fort, and some of us were even preoccupied with other tasks when the war horns sounded. Still, we had all known about this days in advance, so it didn’t actually take all that long for everyone to gather.

“So, it’s finally time?”

“Yep. There’s no backing down now. This may not be the final battle, but it’s not far off. An overwhelming win here will cement the momentum in our favor.”

It had been a long week, one fraught with dangers. Repeated monster attacks, betrayal from within the fort, surprise attacks, and powerful monsters had all threatened us at one point or another. We’d fought hard to still be standing here, so falling at this point would just be sad.

“Lad, lass. It’s been… well, I don’t really know what to say here.”

“Don’t say anything then. We’re so close to the end. Saying the wrong thing is as good as jinxing us at this point.”

“Pfft, Don’t tell me you believe in stuff like that?”

“Hey, I’ve seen enough crap over the last five months to not dismiss the occult out of hand. Though, I’m not sure if there’s a difference between the occult and magic. Hm, could they be the same thing?”

“Uh, Michael? Could we not have a weird philosophical debate right now? We should be focusing on the monsters.”

Alicia was right. There would be time aplenty for philosophy after we were out of the Dungeon.

“Alright then. Serious time. I don’t think I need to ask this, but are both of you ready?”

“Oh yeah. I’m more then ready for this!”

“You can count on me lad.”

I grinned at them, not that they could see it. Come what may, I knew we could handle it.

***

[Kalia’s POV]

Kalia, Braddock, and Grant were actually a short distance from Michael’s group. What was once one of the biggest groups in the Dungeon was now a trio. A skilled trio, but a trio all the same.

Since most of the group had either attempted to betray them or had just left them, they were now slightly isolated from the other mercenaries. Most knew the series of events that led to this situation, and so felt a mild aversion to dealing with them. Seeing how they’d dispassionately planned to corral, capture, and evict their former comrades had spooked them. Especially those who’d actually been involved in the incident.

Even worse was the fact that Jansen had essentially told them he would no longer work with them. He was now currently fighting with Sampson, or so the rumors stated. Braddock had in fact expected this to happen, and took in stride. He’d been acting more and more off ever since Evelyn died, so this wasn’t a complete surprise.

As for Kalia, she still hadn’t learned what really happened. Braddock had somehow managed to pull the wool over her eyes, keeping her in the dark about the whole thing. She currently believed that they’d pulled out after losing the will to continue fighting. And it was unlikely she’d ever learn the truth, so long as no one involved told her.

“They’re coming.”

Something broke through the treeline at that moment. Multiple large, lumbering figures strode clear of the trees, dozens of them all along the edge of the forest. These strange, overly large creatures were soon revealed to be heavily modified Golems. Each one was nearly as tall as the fort's walls, and was composed of a humanoid upper body, and a quadrupedal lower body. They sorta looked like giant stone centaurs.

“What the heck are they doing? Are those Golems?”

“I think so. Though they’re much bigger than any we’ve seen before. They’re closer to some form of makeshift artillery than melee….fighters. Oh no.”

Oh yes. Kalia had inadvertently stumbled upon the true nature of these Golems. For they were C-Rank Golem Howitzers. Their tauric form was merely for transportation. Once the Golems were in position, they began to shift forms, lowering their upper halves to the ground and using them to brace the rest of their bodies. Once in place, the lower half’s front legs would swivel to face upwards, giving each Howitzer two firing points. With five anchoring points, the Howitzers could aim each tube separately without having to worry about the recoil knocking them over. All that was left was for magical ammunition to be loaded.

Which was exactly why groups of Mivians accompanied each Golem. By removing panels in the sides of the Golems, mana crystals with spells engraved into them were loaded into the Howitzers’ firing chambers, and were thus launched towards the fort.

***

*Whooooooosh…….. BAAAANG!*

Explosions rang out all across the fortress. Most of the impacts were along the walls, but a few had arched over them to strike the buildings inside. And a very small minority had struck the top of the wall, blowing away anyone unfortunate enough to be there. Each projectile was only the size of a clenched fist, but contained enough destructive force to blow a person apart, even in a glancing hit.

This was what the monsters had spent the last two days preparing. The most efficient way to conquer a fortress was with siege equipment, and the monsters knew that. By bombarding the fortress, they could soften the remaining defenders up before attacking personally.

“Archmage, everything is in position! We’re ready to begin at your command!”

“Very well. Infuse the arrays.”

But the NPCs were also naturally aware of this. Their espionage had already discovered that the monsters were preparing heavy siege equipment. So while the intensity of the barrage surprised them, they already had a contingency plan in place.

A series of arrays had been placed throughout the fort, starting at the central tower and spreading outwards towards the watchtowers. When taken together, the entire setup was designed for one very specific purpose.

“The arrays are completely infused!”

“Well done. Then I’ll take control of the arrays.”

With the reinforcements now in the fort, there were over a thousand mages present. Two fifths of that total were currently working on powering this massive series of arrays, directing every last drop of their mana into them. All of that accumulated power was then redirected towards the central tower, where it was then placed into the Archmage’s capable hands.

Glyphs began to appear throughout the fort, spreading out from the central tower like lava from a volcano. Hundreds, then thousands of glyphs built upon each other, creating a vast web across the entirety of the fort. And then, as the Archmage slammed his staff down, the ceremonial circle was completed with a flash. The space around the fort rippled with energy, forming a powerful barrier that would repel the projectiles and send them back towards the monsters. This was a extremely high-grade spell, one that would normally require far more mana than what they’d supplied. The only reason they’d pulled it off was because hundreds of skilled mages had offered their mana, and that the Archmage had reluctantly modified the spell so it would allow lifeforms to cross it. Completely isolating the fort would’ve cost magnitudes more mana.

Still, even with those factors, the spell ate up mana like a hungry hippo. Every single D-Rank mage immediately collapsed as the effects of Mana Exhaustion knocked them out. Even the Archmage barely held onto consciousness after having that enormous surge of mana go through him. All his focus was now on operating and maintaining the barrier. The others manning the walls would have to fight.

“Haha, my part is done now. It’s up to them.”

***

[Edwin's POV]

Gaaah! What just happened!?

After struggling overnight with the decision to stay in the fort, Edwin had decided to stay behind in the Dungeon. He figured that the rewards of doing so would outweigh the dangers, but now he was regretting that decision.

It was bad enough that the monsters had brought out giant stone centaurs, but then they’d started shooting fireballs. One of them had landed a few dozen meters to his left, incinerating several NPCs unlucky enough to be standing there. And then, cracks had appeared in space, blocking any further projectiles.

Is, is it over?

It was not. The monsters weren’t just going to give up on their ultimate weapon. They knew that a spell this powerful would need an anchor, something with which to tie its effects down. If they could find and destroy it, then the Howitzers could resume their bombardment. Though, they probably wouldn’t need to do that if it happened.

Anyway, that was why the order for the Army to move out was given. More and more monsters began breaking through the treeline, swarming around the Howitzers like ants on a log. The sheer number of monsters appearing made a shiver of terror run down Edwin's spine. He’d been in a few rough spots even before this Dungeon, but the sheer number of monsters was terrifying.

Even worse, Edwin was alone. The group he’d been a part of had already fled the Dungeon. He was counting on the NPCs to back him up, but who knows if he could trust them.

This, this was a bad idea. I should’ve gotten out while I still could.

***

What happened next was rather shocking, though reasonable if one thought about it. A number of the Howitzers transitioned back into their centaur forms, and joined the rest of the Monster Army as they assaulted the fortress. Of course, as Golems were not technically lifeforms, they couldn’t go through the barrier.

But Golems were also not easily deterred, though that was mostly due to the fact that they couldn’t be deterred. With little regard to their own welfare, the Howitzers slammed into the barrier at a full sprint. The impacts were so great, that a number of the Golems cracked thoroughly enough that they fell apart. But those that remained began to beat on the barrier.

This served a two-fold purpose. Not only could the Golems maybe break the barrier down, but they also shielded the much frailer monsters behind their impressive bulk. The NPC mages on the walls had already begun a magical bombardment of their own, destroying several Howitzers. But for each that fell, another was soon to replace it.

*Tssssh. TSHHHHHHHHHHHH!*

And then it happened. A portion of the barrier gave away, allowing the Howitzer to step inside. While the Archmage had foreseen this possibility and had thus sectioned off the barrier, the damage was already done. Several Howitzers rushed through the opening before it could close up again. The mercenaries on the nearby walls recoiled in fear as they expected to be bombarded again.

However, contrary to their expectations, the Golems did not try to bombard or otherwise attack them. Instead, they moved close to the walls and transformed again, this time becoming a makeshift siege ramp. Without their teams of dedicated Mivians to load their ammunition, the Howitzers could not show their true power. So instead, they defaulted to a backup program, becoming a second means by which the monsters could attack the fort.

That was not to say that things were easy for the defenders. The monsters had breached the barrier in several places, and were even now swarming onto the walls. Melee battles were beginning all along their circumference. And there were still Howitzers outside the barrier, striking and bombarding it, preventing any other helpful features from activating.

The fighting was destined to continue, at least until one side was wiped out.