—!!!
In the distance, the roars of at least thousands of monsters echoed, their cries loud enough to shake the ground all the way to our fortress.
[The Territorial Conquest has begun!]
Soon, a message appeared before me:
[Engaged Factions]
[Greenmane Tribe VS Steel Legion]
[Commanders]
[Greenmane Tribe Warchief Haraval VS Steel Legion Commander Lieutenant Kim Hyun-seok]
[Battlefield]
[Metropolis (Zone 3)]
[The victorious faction will gain control over Metropolis (Zone 3)!]
[Show no mercy to your enemies!]
“A territorial conquest, huh?”
Right. This “game” that overlays our world was built on conquest.
Until now, we’d only taken land unclaimed by anyone. Those were merely the tutorial stages of conquest. The real thing is when factions clash, like in this upcoming battle.
Standing atop the fortress wall, I looked out at the mass of monsters gathering below.
[Enhanced Ingredient Identification]
[Chef’s Eye]
[Species: Orc - Greenmane Variant]
[Freshness - High]
Details about the monsters filled my view.
[Greenmane Warriors]
[A warrior of the Greenmane Tribe, one of the numerous branches of the orc race.]
[Orcs are a species bred for war, and the Greenmane Tribe is renowned for its numbers.]
[Their pregnancy cycle is only one month, producing dozens of offspring at a time, and these young grow into warriors within six months.]
[With dense, elastic flesh from their constant life in the wild, they offer a distinct savory flavor-]
“Unbelievable.”
The description made it clear these creatures were literally born for war.
‘A rapid pregnancy cycle, high offspring count, and fast growth?’
Their species was optimized for increasing their numbers, which explained the sea of monsters filling the horizon. If anything, it looked like they’d brought fewer than they could have.
But...
‘We’re no pushovers either.’
A species bred for war? So what? We’re an army, trained and structured for combat.
“Hmm...?”
In the midst of the approaching monsters, I noticed something strangely familiar.
“Suhyuk.”
“Yes, Sergeant Shin?”
“I’m not seeing things, right? You’ve got the best eyesight here.”
“Yes, I see it too. You’re not mistaken.”
Among the monsters, scattered throughout their formation, were massive metal objects.
“Monsters bringing tanks with them.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, those were indeed tanks mixed in with the monsters.
---
“This is insane. How are they even operating those?”
“If you look closely, you can see some humans near them,” Corporal Suhyeok commented, focusing on the tanks.
“They’re probably being controlled by humans.”
“And not willingly, I bet.”
“Right. There are other monsters around them. Likely, they’re using human tank operators as slaves.”
“...Slaves, huh.”
I clenched my teeth. “The audacity.”
Gangwon Province houses a significant portion of South Korea’s military strength. The western part, where these creatures had taken over, would’ve had numerous army units as well.
‘So, they’ve looted one of those military bases?’
Just because there are many bases doesn’t mean they’re easy to reclaim. Powerful monsters have occupied each one.
Still, we’d successfully reclaimed more than two military bases, which meant these creatures had a comparable level of strength.
I hadn’t expected them to enslave humans to operate stolen military assets, though.
‘Calm down.’
Seeing monsters use humans as slaves made my blood boil, but there was no use in losing my cool now.
“Our mission doesn’t change.”
Whether they bring tanks or whatever else, we’re here to fend them off. Watching the monsters approach, I took out a dish I’d prepared.
[Intermediate Chef’s Special Monster Feast]
[Consumption drastically increases all stats.]
[Bonuses applied to all traits upon consumption.]
[Intermediate Damage Resistance granted upon consumption.]
[Intermediate Damage Boost granted upon consumption.]
This meal was packed with only the finest ingredients, prepared specifically for this battle. I placed my hand over it and murmured:
“Five Loaves and Two Fish.”
The dish multiplied in front of the soldiers and awakeners.
“What...what is this?”
“Whoa...!”
The sudden appearance of the food startled the awakeners. The soldiers, familiar with my ability, calmly instructed them to eat.
I took a bite as well.
[Absolute Taste increases effect...]
With that, we were ready.
Soon enough, the monsters and our troops entered each other’s firing range, and the battle commenced.
---
[Battery No.1 Lv.2 is now active.]
[Battery No.2 Lv.2 is now active.]
The artillery we’d constructed on the fortress walls with our points adjusted their aim toward the enemy. Nearby, sharpshooters, mages, and even tanks from the Ammo Battalion were ready.
The moment everyone was locked on, Lieutenant Kim’s shout echoed across the battlefield.
“Commence firing!!!”
[Command Shout - ‘Fire Command’ resounds across the field.]
Messages flashed in front of me, indicating buffs to our ranged attacks.
Then...
*BOOM!*
*CRACKLE!*
*RATATATATATATA...*
Our unit unleashed every bit of firepower toward the advancing horde. The deafening roar of artillery and magic blasts hitting the ground could be felt even from our position.
“Oh my god...”
“That’s insane firepower...”
Awakeners with limited combat experience were left speechless. They couldn’t believe such destructive force could come from human hands. Many thought this first strike would decimate the enemy.
“Tch.”
“Looks like they’re tougher than we thought.”
But the Legion’s soldiers weren’t surprised.
Just before our shells landed, the green-skinned monsters started a low, steady beat.
*Thud...thud thud.*
Amid the dust from the explosions, the sound of drums began to resonate, accompanied by the guttural roars of the monsters, matching the drumbeat rhythmically.
It wasn’t just a war cry.
[The War Song of the Greenmane Tribe resounds!]
[All stats of the Greenmane Tribe increase.]
[Stats of non-Greenmane creatures in the battlefield slightly decrease.]
[All Greenmane Tribe members gain temporary ‘Ranged Attack Resistance’.]
[Title: King Slayer effect activates.]
[The apex of races, slayer of kings.]
[The song’s effects are nullified in your presence.]
It was a kind of fear-inducing aura, though disguised as a song.
“A war song?”
“Shall we respond with a military chant of our own?”
“Heh, no need.”
This was an aura created by multiple creatures working together, even stronger than the typical effect of a boss monster.
As the dust cleared, the monsters stood mostly unharmed.
“Keep up the bombardment!”
Even as the monsters advanced under their war song’s protection, raising their shields to defend against our attacks, some suffered damage.
“Unbelievable.”
“They came fully prepared.”
Among the advancing monsters, I noticed siege weapons slowly moving forward. They looked crude, but I doubted their effectiveness matched their appearance.
Among them, some tanks operated by enslaved humans advanced with an imposing presence.
“Nothing to worry about,” Minjae reassured me as he launched spells at the enemy. “They still have to cross the river.”
Our fortress, Vimana, was perched above the river, meaning the monsters would have to breach this natural moat to reach us. Even if they tried to circle around, our long-range firepower, including tanks and sharpshooters, would inflict steady damage.
‘This is the strength of a fortress.’
A defensive battle with fortified positions gave us the upper hand.
The Steel Legion grew strong defending Battalion 423 in the mountains. In the early days, we had many skilled long-range attackers among our elite awakened, including sharpshooters and mages.
Though we’d fought mostly offensive battles lately, the truth was that our unit excelled at defense.
*BOOM!*
“One of the siege engines is down!”
The first slow-moving siege engine was obliterated, and more monsters began to fall.
The war song seemed to be helping them hold their ground, but they couldn’t sustain it forever. Eventually, our firepower would break through.
At that moment, I spotted something unusual among the advancing siege weapons.
“A wall?”
It was a moving wall of sorts, clearly intended as a siege device.
It made sense that they’d bring siege engines to assault a fortress, but I was puzzled.
‘What could they possibly do with that wall?’
Their goal was still to cross the river, and their previous siege engines had all been designed to take out our artillery on the walls. This wall didn’t seem like a bridge to span the river.
‘It’s not like it can cross water...’
As I watched, monsters resembling wiry, skeletal giants started running toward the wall.
“Private Suhyeok!”
“Yes, Corporal Suhyeok here!”
I turned back and called out, a sudden instinct telling me not to let those creatures take cover behind the wall.
“Shoot them down!”
“Understood!”
The sharpshooters, led by Private Suhyeok, immediately opened fire without a second’s delay.
*Crack, splat...!*
Bullets tore into the strange monsters. Unlike the mages’ area attacks, the sharpshooters excelled in precision, delivering lethal blows despite the monsters’ buffs.
More than half of the scrawny creatures had their heads
blown off, while the rest writhed in pain, but...
It wasn’t a complete success.
“Sorry, we didn’t get them all.”
Seeing them writhe in pain only meant one thing.
“They’re still alive?”
“No, given the song’s effect, it’s understandable.”
We’d managed to take down half of them, but the rest scrambled behind the wall despite their injuries.
“Focus fire on that wall!”
Realizing something was wrong, Lieutenant Kim urgently ordered everyone to fire at the wall. Our artillery opened fire, but...
‘A bit too late.’
Just before the wall collapsed from our attack, an enormous wave of magical energy surged from behind it.
“What the...!?”
“What is that!?”
*WHOOOSH!*
The ground under the creatures began to shift, the soil and sand forming a path as if alive.
So that’s what the wall was for. It wasn’t just a siege engine.
Only an idiot would have thought their strategy was as primitive as medieval warfare.
Our natural moat, the river that protected us...
“It’s...a road?”
The monsters had created a massive earthen bridge right across the river.
---
‘So, they could do something like this.’
This wasn’t just a simple bridge like we’d made during the supply run. They’d created a massive earthen road spanning the river.
*KA-AAAAAH!!!*
The monsters roared in delight as they surged across their new path, neutralizing the protective advantage our river moat once provided.
*THUD!*
And it wasn’t just monsters crossing the bridge.
Siege engines thundered against our gates, while catapults launched projectiles at our artillery on the walls.
“Keep firing!”
We continued our counterattack, but the monsters’ war song still held. At this rate, it was clear the gates wouldn’t hold for long.
“They really went all out, huh?”
Creating a bridge over the river was something I never would have expected, but...
I wasn’t panicking.
‘I didn’t foresee the bridge, but...’
We’d prepared for a breach scenario.
*BOOM!!!*
[Warning!]
[South Gate Lv.2 has been destroyed.]
After repeated strikes from the siege ram, the fortress’s main gate finally gave way.
“The gate’s been breached!”
“Damn it, what do we do now—”
The city’s awakeners were visibly panicking, and understandably so. In a typical siege, once the gates fell, the defenders usually lost the battle.
But just as the monsters’ strategy wasn’t typical of medieval warfare, our defenses weren’t ordinary either.
*KA-AAAAH!*
The monsters roared triumphantly, rushing toward the broken gate, but...
The slaughter they expected never came.
*Krah...?*
Through the shattered gate, the sound ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) of clanking armor echoed.
*Clank...*
[Lesser Dragon Soldiers]
A line of steel-clad knights, fully armored, emerged to face them.
