Chương 256: Chapter 254 – Help Is Here.

"I said hold the line!"

"S-sir, we can't. The orcs are getting through. We need to retreat!"

"No retreat or surrender. We either kill them here or die trying!" The guard captain's voice cracked as he shouted at the guards and adventurers struggling to hold the line. They were packed together along one side of the wall, bracing their spears and pikes in a desperate effort to keep the orcs from pouring through the breach. Things looked grim. The formation was already starting to break. The barricade they had thrown together from shattered carts and splintered beams groaned under another heavy impact.

A massive orc slammed into it, followed by two more. Their combined weight forced the entire structure back half a step.

"Oliver, what should we do? If this keeps up…" A girl with a bow loosed an arrow toward the orcs climbing the wall on the far side. Beside her, a young man drove his spear into a creature trying to scale the wall from their side.

"B-but if we run, the knights might execute us…" Another girl spoke in a hushed voice. She also carried a bow, with a dagger strapped at her hip. Her aim was not as steady as the other girl's, the one with the distinctive cat ears.

"I don't know. If this continues, we might not have a choice. Rika, Tally… if they break through, just run." The young man spoke quietly to his party as he took in the situation. They had only recently reached E-rank. Their equipment had improved, and their skills had grown, but they were still no match for D-rank monsters on their own. Most of the defenders were F and E rank adventurers or guards.

A handful of D-rank fighters stood among them, with the guard captain the strongest of all, still shouting for everyone to stand strong. Even so, they were being overwhelmed. It was clear that without reinforcements, the line would collapse within minutes. Another impact shook the barricade. Wood cracked, and ropes snapped. One of the beams splintered as an orc forced its arm through the gap, seized a guard, and dragged him back.

The man screamed as he was pulled toward the writhing mass of green monsters beyond, but before he vanished, several spears struck the creature's arm.

"Hold it together!" The captain shouted again, but more gaps opened in the barricade as the monsters continued to push through. Oliver tightened his grip on his spear. His hands trembled. He had fought monsters before, goblins, even hobgoblins. He had defended this wall in the past. But this was different. The situation was far worse now, and he knew that in a few moments, it would turn into chaos, everyone fighting for their own survival. A decision needed to be made, and soon he turned to his friends.

"Rika… Tally… stay behind me."

"Are we really going to…" Rika trailed off as she glanced away from the wall and the small horde of orcs still gathered on the other side. The situation looked grim, and before they could decide whether escaping and becoming deserters was worth it, she noticed something.

"Wait… look. Something is coming… and it is coming really fast." She pointed toward the main road. There, something reflected the red light of the setting sun. At first, it was only a flicker in the distance, enough to make Rika think she was imagining things, but soon she saw clear movement. A figure was sprinting toward them, fully armored and holding a large, glowing halberd.

"Wait… there is a person… that armor, it looks like… Mister Edmund?"

"Edmund?" Oliver reacted immediately to the name and looked in the direction Rika was pointing. He saw the figure too, someone all of them recognized. Their weapons and armor came from his store, and they knew he was a senior adventurer far above their level.

"I thought all the D-ranked adventurers were at the southern wall. What is he doing here? Did they send reinforcements?" Oliver muttered as he watched the approaching figure.

"D-did he come to help us? Are reinforcements actually coming?" Tally asked, but when the group looked behind the charging Edmund, their hearts sank. There was no one else. No adventurers, no mercenaries, just a single man charging straight into the orcs.

"But… even if he is alone, isn't he not doing incredibly well?" Rika pointed as she saw two orcs cut down by a glowing sweep of his halberd before they could react. A roar of thunder followed, and the battlefield seemed to shift. Just as the blockade was about to break, the armored man plunged directly into the orc ranks. His halberd spun in wide arcs, slicing through limbs on every side. The monsters noticed him too late, their attention fixed on the collapsing barricade and the defenders behind it.

By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late. As what happened next, no one could foresee. BOOM A massive explosion thundered across the battlefield as the armored man hurled something into the clustered orcs. White and dark energy surged outward in a violent shockwave that tore through the tightly packed creatures. Bodies were flung in every direction, some crashing into shattered barricades, others hurled over the wall into the stunned defenders.

Everyone froze for a moment as a buzzing sound filled their ears. They turned to the Orcs, who struggled in confusion as they tried to get back on their feet. Their regenerative abilities could not keep up as halberd strikes rained down on them. At the center of the carnage stood a lone man in an armored suit glowing with layered enchantments. Each swing of his weapon ended another monster, heads severed or bodies crushed in an instant.

The tide of battle shifted just as quickly, and for the first time, the defenders had a moment to breathe. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"W… what are you looking at? Push back, you idiots. Don't waste this chance!" The guard captain finally regained control of himself. Realizing the opportunity, he gripped his longsword and charged forward into the chaos unfolding before him. With the Orcs stunned, the defenders had a rare opening that could not be wasted.

"Forward! Aid that mercenary!" The captain roared, his voice steady again as he vaulted over the shattered barricade. It was time for a counteroffensive, and with the Orcs reeling from the recent explosion, it came more easily than expected. Edmund pressed on toward the breached section, scaling the wall as he carved a path ahead. He was not alone. Soon, arrows flew from the other side of the wall, striking the disoriented Orcs as they tried to regroup.

"Rika, help Mister Edmund!" Oliver shouted, all thoughts of retreat gone.

"I'm trying, but he's moving too fast!" Rika called back, struggling to aim. Some of the other adventurers released their arrows as well, a few striking their own savior in the shoulder and back. Luckily, his armor proved too strong to pierce. He did not even flinch, continuing forward toward the ladders the Orcs used to scale the wall. The scene brought back memories for the three adventurers of the last Orc siege.

Back then, this man had displayed similar strength, but what they witnessed now was on an entirely different level. Before, he had seemed like a capable E-rank adventurer. Now, his power appeared to reach the peak of D-rank, perhaps even beyond.

"Was he hiding his true strength all this time? How did he grow this strong so quickly?" They watched in astonishment as their senior cut through the enemy. Even when Orcs grabbed him or struck his armor, he showed no reaction. He absorbed every blow and returned them tenfold. He knew exactly what to target. If the ladders were not destroyed, the Orcs would keep pouring in. Another explosion followed as he hurled something that looked like metal plates fused together.

Rika could clearly see them glowing in black and white before they erupted with violent force after touching each other. This explosion erupted just beyond where the ladders were placed, bursting between them. Sections of the upper wall crumbled, and the orcs climbing upward were torn apart mid ascent. Their bodies were flung back like broken dolls as the blast ripped through the structure that held the ladders in place.

The entire charge lasted less than five minutes, yet the hopeless situation had somehow turned around. It had only taken one person to change everything, the armored man named Edmund. He remained atop the wall, swinging his halberd at the remaining orcs as they turned toward him, but it was already too late for them. Guards and adventurers surged forward. Spears and pikes struck green flesh and drove into it from every direction.

The monsters roared in rage, but their formation had collapsed, and the strange explosions had wiped out a third of their numbers. The rest were stunned, left disoriented by the sound and shockwave. Now the adventurers and guards only needed to clear out the stragglers as the counteroffensive began.

"Push them back. Do not let any of them survive!" The guard leader shouted as he drove his blade into an orc. Thanks to Edmund's intervention, only E-ranked orcs remained, leaving the soldiers with little more than cleanup duty. The battlefield was drenched in the monsters' blood. Their screams filled the air as they were skewered by the defenders' weapons, and after about ten minutes, the stronghold side of the wall finally fell silent.

"W-we did it…" One of the adventurers cried out before stumbling back and collapsing to his knees from exhaustion. Others leaned on each other or their spears, but they could not rest for long. More ladders slammed against the walls, and the orcs began their assault again.

"Back to your posts now. Drive them back!" Despite the exhaustion, one person remained relentless. The man who had led the charge continued to swing his halberd, cutting down every green-skinned creature that came within reach. His stamina seemed endless as he slew one monster after another, as if driven by a tremendous will for victory.

'Almost there… I am so close. Should I have waited and let more of them climb up? Damn it.' Rusty, known to the others as Edmund, pressed on, cutting down more orcs. He had rushed here to stop the horde from breaching the wall, using his old technique of combining dark and light elements to create explosions. He could control this magic to some extent by assembling metal plates joined loosely by a rivet at one end.

When he threw them, the loose connection snapped the plates together, triggering the unstable reaction that caused the explosion. This gave him enough time to hurl them safely without risking injury. Using this method, he had managed to level up again and was now close to reaching level twenty-five. It was a risky move, but the only one he could use and still justify. He could enchant his gear, and it was possible to mimic explosions with magic.

If anyone asked, that would be his explanation: that he had used pre-prepared spells to drive the monsters back. While the danger had been real, once he was in the thick of battle, he realized there was nothing to fear. The D-rank monsters in the orc group were relatively weak, so cutting them down was easy, and the experience points quickly added up. For a moment, he considered repeating what he had done during the first siege and jumping over the wall to fight the monsters outside.

There were still many approaching, but not enough to scale the walls again now that they had been reclaimed.

'If I leave the city, they will definitely accuse me of desertion…' Rusty decided against it. He still was not sure how the knights would react to his decision to come here in the first place. Although he had been a great help, leaving now was not an option. Instead, he switched to a bow he had taken from one of the fallen humans and began firing.

"Take that, you stinking orcs!"

"Go to hell, you monsters!"

"Kill them all!" Soon, other adventurers, mercenaries, and even guards who usually stayed in the back joined in, firing bows and crossbows at the enemy. Arrows cut through the darkening sky, and the battlefield glowed with flashes of red light mixed with blood. The monsters kept advancing, but they were even more disorganized than before.

"They lost most of their leaders. This seems to be over. Boring…" Aburdon remarked, noting that almost no D-rank orcs remained. Rusty had made it his priority to eliminate them first. Without commanders to rally them, the remaining orcs acted more like a scattered mob than an invading force. Some still tried to climb the walls, driven by instinct or rage, but many hesitated, snarling and pushing each other at the base. More importantly, Rusty wanted the experience points they provided.

The E-rank monsters were not enough to push him toward his next evolution. The battle continued into the night. It was not easy, but it became clear that the orcs' plan had failed.

"What's that?" A few hours later, a loud horn echoed from the distance. It was not a signal to charge, but to retreat. The scattered monster forces halted, then began to withdraw. The defenders stopped firing, confused for a moment, and for good reason. These monsters usually followed a set pattern, but this time they had attacked the western gate with greater force and were now retreating much sooner than expected.

"They might be planning something…" This time, it was Alexander who spoke, and Rusty simply nodded. It did seem strange. The monsters were beginning to change their tactics.

"What could that plan be?" He lowered his bow and straightened up. Around him, adventurers and mercenaries cheered, though many soon dropped to their knees in exhaustion. From Rusty's perspective, the attack had been dangerous.

"Someone out there is starting to think. They are trying new tactics. Next time, it could be on a completely different scale." Those words stayed with him, giving him something to consider. He was no longer an inexperienced monster and understood basic battlefield strategy. These repeated orc assaults felt like preparation for something larger, a final push that might use all of their resources. For now, no C-rank enemies had appeared. They remained at a distance, watching.

Rusty did not understand the full plan, but the number of D-rank monsters had been increasing. If this continued, and the next attack came with every orc in the forest at once, he was not sure the walls would hold. The nobles, he suspected, would not come to their aid, and the life he had built here would come to an end.

'So what should I do…'