Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 15
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The rings that Volmaar wore gave him +1,000 MP and +1,000 Attack, and thanks to his Keen Sight skill, he had especially sharp eyes. There were many others with this skill as well who were now on lookout duty aboard the magic ships.
“Seems like the monsters stationed within the occupied cities won’t come out to attack us,” Allen observed.
“They won’t?”
“Looks like it. Oh, we’re coming up on a few more bats. There and there.” Allen pointed toward the horizon. “A bit too far away right now; we’ll get to them once we’re closer.”
There were several settlements between Tiamo and Lapolka that had fallen to the Demon Lord Army. The monsters inside made no move to attack the passing ships, likely having orders from above to stay put. Still, the elves made sure to fly at a certain distance away; there was no point in unnecessarily provoking them, after all.
“Lord Allen,” Volmaar said abruptly without turning around from his seat in the front.
“Yes?” Allen, who had just refreshed his view once more with a Bird E, looked up from his work.
“May I ask what do you plan on doing with Rohzenheim?”
“What do you mean? We’re gonna wipe out the Demon Lord Army.”
Allen had indeed come to Rohzenheim because he had been ordered to, but now he was also personally invested in protecting this land Sophie and the elves called home.
“I mean afterward.”
“Hm? Didn’t I talk about this before in Academy City? We’ll be heading to the Rank S dungeon in Baukis next. You’re coming too, of course.”
You’re a valuable source of long-range DPS, and you’re guaranteed to get promoted to a four-star class once everything is over. Let’s stay friends for a long time.
“Oh...right.”
Volmaar had been a part of Allen’s group for more than ten months by now. They had eaten at the same table, slept in the same house, braved the dangers of the dungeons together, and were now working in concert to resist the Demon Lord Army’s encroachment upon Rohzenheim. What Volmaar wanted to know was what sort of designs Allen, with all the power he possessed, had for Rohzenheim after the war. However, the conclusion he arrived at was “Oh right, Allen’s been like this from the start,” and that his question had been entirely pointless. Being a serious person, he kicked himself a little for the mistake.
Volmaar apparently had other questions that he had wanted to ask Allen. Every once in a while, one would come to mind and he would bring it up. This, in turn, made Allen realize that he needed to be more proactive as a leader about communicating with his party going forward.
＊ ＊ ＊
Around noon the following day, all the magic ships landed a day’s march away from Castle Lapolka. Due to their proximity to the massive mountains that the fortress was perched on, the ground was already quite sloped and strewn with rocks. The officers barked out orders as the soldiers swiftly disembarked and began hurrying to and fro unloading the supplies ship.
As Allen and the generals watched all the activity going on, a Bird E scouted out the area within a one-hundred-kilometer radius. It found four main groups made up of 10,000 to 30,000 troops each. Allen marked them on a map laid out on the ground and asked his companions to take care of them.
“This one in the northeast only has around 10,000. Can you drop one of your Petit Meteors on it?”
“Sure thing. You’re not coming with us?”
“Not this time. I’ll be escorting the magic ships back with Volmaar.”
The magic ships had been fully unloaded and were ready to take off again. Once Allen and Volmaar saw them all back to Tiamo, they then had Griff use Jet to bring them back to the elven force.
＊ ＊ ＊
“All forces, forward!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
The elven forces had finally come within sight of Castle Lapolka.
Damn, look at how high the cliffs go. This really is the perfect place for a fortress. We need to take it back so badly.
The road had started growing steep not far from where the magic ships had landed. It was wide, though, so the troops were marching with several men abreast. Allen’s group was following along at the rear.
Castle Lapolka was perched in a notch halfway up two massive peaks that thrust up at sharp angles. Everything about the structure itself looked formidable, and the natural environment gave it even more of an edge—creating a fortress of this magnitude within a mountain chain of such towering peaks spoke volumes about the power of a Grand Spirit User. There were only two entrances: gates in the north and in the south. Both were tightly shut at the moment.
Oh, we’ve gotten pretty close. Time to get started.
Allen Summoned a Bird B and flew forward, temporarily leaving his companions behind. Walls three times taller than Tiamo’s loomed ahead as he approached the front lines of the elven force. He already had a Bird E high up in the air, providing him a top-down view of the entire battlefield. Through Hawk Eye, he had confirmed that the walls of Castle Lapolka were fully manned with the maximum number of monsters that could fit on the battlements.
Okay, here’s a wide open space. “Mirrors, come out. Shield the elves.”
When Allen overtook the elves, he Summoned eight Stone Bs, separated into two rows of four. With every step they took, the ground shook.
THUD. THUD.
The elves needed to get close enough to the monsters to attack but did not have very high Endurance. For them, having a good shield was an absolute necessity. The soldiers were surprised for a second at the sudden appearance of the ten-meter-tall statues, but then managed to take it in stride after everything they had seen and heard about Allen’s Summons from previous battles. Some of them just outright decided to stop questioning everything, instead focusing solely on doing what they could to protect their queen and country.
Soon, the elves were in formation. However, they were staying back a little in order to observe how the monsters would react. Of course, the monsters had been aware of their approach for quite a while by now. By the looks of things, however, they were perfectly happy to stay on the defensive for this battle, as they showed no intention of sallying forth.
When Allen returned to his friends, Cecil asked somewhat impatiently, “Well? Aren’t they gonna attack us?”
Allen shook his head. “There’s nothing for them to gain from bringing the fight to us. We’ll probably have to get a bit closer before anything happens.”
Elven bows could reach a maximum range of one kilometer, even in the hands of those with one-star classes, so long as the archer was at max level. Naturally, this was the same for monsters using bows. And the closer the distance, the more accuracy and punching power. As such, both sides were simply staring each other down at the moment.
Wow, look at their numbers, though. They freaking tripled in a single day!
Paying no mind to the tension in the air, Allen occupied himself going over the intel he had learned through the Spirit Bs’ efforts.
There were 300,000 monsters inside Castle Lapolka at the moment. It had been only 100,000 until yesterday, but news of the elves’ approach had prompted the Demon Lord Army to swiftly gather any nearby troops. This was why the castle walls were now chock-full of monsters.
The elven army continued creeping forward, everyone’s nerves at an all-time high. When they passed the one-hundred-meter mark, a gong suddenly rang out, prompting the skeletons on the walls—all Rank B and therefore several times taller than normal humans—to draw their bows in unison. The sight of so many arrows over 150 centimeters long getting nocked was daunting, to put it mildly.
Without further warning, the Demon Lord Army’s bowmen unleashed their first volley, kicking off the battle. Explosive spells followed on the heels of the arrows, keeping the Stone Bs very busy as they tried to block everything with their shields.
“Erect stone walls to protect the Spirit Mages and Spirit Wizards! Hurry!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
Because the monsters were attacking from a much higher position, some of their attacks were still reaching the elves. In addition, the Stone Bs disappeared when they took too much damage, and at that point the monsters could simply aim beyond the Stone Bs. The elves therefore still needed to erect multiple layers of barriers to protect themselves.
“Return fire! Annihilate the monsters that seized our fortress!”
“RAAAAAAHHHH!”
The elven archers and mages fought back against the monsters with equal ferocity. Because the crenellations of the fortress walls had been built for elven proportions, the monsters were completely exposed along the top of the wall, providing the elves with large targets. Other elves also fired arrows high up into the sky so their projectiles would arc to hit the monsters farther in the back. Once again, they did not have to worry about rationing their MP. Allen had passed on more than enough Blessings of Heaven for them to continue spamming their abilities all day long.
At the same time, Allen was busy monitoring the monsters behind the fortress walls and passing along their precise locations to the elves using Bird F’s Transmission. The elves were aiming according to this information, taking care to prioritize any eyeball bats that came into range. Letting the enemy’s scouts through would just be asking for trouble.
“Ballista incoming! Everyone, get behind a wall!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
Large bolt throwers designed for fending off large monsters appeared on the ramparts. The monsters had figured out how to properly use all the equipment the elves had left behind when they abandoned the place, proving that they really did have high Intelligence.
The next moment, a huge boom rang out, accompanied by a large shaft that was flying at the elven army.
Mirror, use Total Reflect!
A Stone B wordlessly braced its shiny metal shield. The projectile made the shield tremble when it collided, but it quickly lost its momentum. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud, its arrowtip completely flattened.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The next instant, the shield unleashed a blinding AoE shock wave based on the damage it had just taken, blasting away all the monsters on an entire section of the wall.
Stone Bs had Reflect and Total Reflect as their Ability and Awakened Ability, respectively. Reflect doubled the Summon’s Endurance and reflected the damage it just took back toward its opponent. Total Reflect tripled the Stone B’s Endurance as well as tripled the damage taken before reflecting it back as a conal attack that blasted everything in front of it. Of course, it had a cooldown time of a full day.
Oh, that killed a few hundred of them. But the walls still look completely unaffected.
The attack just now should have hit the walls too, but based on what Allen could see through Bird E, not a single crack was to be seen.
It was said that a Grand Spirit User, one of whom appears only once in a thousand years, had borrowed the power of an earth spirit to raise a large number of fortresses and fortified walls, with Castle Lapolka being one such place. His power had been so great that these structures were impervious to weathering, standing firm and sound even after a thousand years. Sure enough, although the Demon Lord Army had managed to breach the northernmost fortress, its walls remained largely unharmed. It was because the monsters knew they could not destroy the walls that they had switched to a strategy that involved overwhelming the elves with sheer numbers.
When we get this fortress back, we should be more than capable of putting up a good fight even when the Demon Lord Army’s reserves arrive. Oh? It’s time.
When Allen looked up, he found the sun perched at its zenith. According to his magic tool, it was slightly past noon. Three hours had passed since the elven army began marching this morning.
Field Marshall Lukdraal, whom Allen had met in Nest, hurried over. “Taking Castle Lapolka from the front really is hopeless. Are you sure your strategy will work?”
Even though casualties were being kept to a minimum thanks to Allen’s cooperation, it was clearly impossible for the elves to win this battle any time soon. However, Allen confirmed that everything was still going smoothly and the monsters’ tripled numbers were no issue.
In Allen’s previous life, it was generally believed that an attacking force needed three times the numbers to overwhelm a defending force behind walls. In this world, the defending side having the advantage was considered common sense too. Trying to defeat a force of 300,000 using only 50,000 was absolute folly, and naturally someone had pointed this out at the strategy meeting.
After they heard Allen’s strategy, however, the elves had decided to entrust their 50,000 men to him. Some seemed doubtful whether he could actually pull off what he was proposing, but the queen and Field Marshal Lukdraal, based on all the other miracles they had witnessed him perform, chose to place their faith in him once more. As such, everything was now squarely on Allen’s shoulders.
If I fail, the elves would be losing a very significant part of their main attacking force.
Picking up on the apprehension in the field marshal, Allen said confidently, “Everything is within expectations. It was a bit surprising seeing more monsters here, but it doesn’t make a difference. Keep up the assault until nighttime, then have the troops retreat back here.”
“Very well. We must win.”
“And we will—victory is just around the corner. Oh, one final reminder: please ensure that the troops stop using their Extra Skills.”
Field Marshal Lukdraal looked around and saw in Allen’s companions’ eyes the complete trust they had in him. He resolved himself to look forward to yet another miracle.
＊ ＊ ＊
After entrusting overall command of the troops to Field Marshal Lukdraal, Allen brought his companions back the way they had come.
Now then, we spent the entire day yesterday marching, which should have been enough time for the monsters to the north and south of the fortress to get moving.
Allen’s Bird Es were keeping eagle eyes on the situation in Castle Lapolka’s surroundings. The monsters in the cities that the elven army had passed earlier were now coming out and heading over as a massive force. Obviously, they were aiming to catch the elves now assaulting Lapolka from behind.
The monsters within a day’s walking distance north of Castle Lapolka had already arrived. The ones who had been farther away were now on the road making their way over. In a few days, all the monsters near Castle Lapolka would be gathered in full force.
As usual, the Demon Lord Army sure is quick on its feet. Hmm, those three demons aren’t coming out, though.
The Spirit Bs were still undercover inside the fortress. According to them, Glaster, Neftira, and Yagof were still staying put.
While walking down a mountain path, Allen shared all the info he had with his companions.
“So, yep. The Demon Lord Army’s moving really fast, but everything’s still within expectations.”
“I see. Glad to hear it,” Cecil replied.
“All right, Cecil and Volmaar, keep a lookout for me, please. If you see an eyeball bat, shoot it down right away.”
“You got it.”
“Understood, Lord Allen.”
Allen then called out Beast G, a mole-like Summon the size of a dog. Moley, do your thing!
Although Moley could not talk, it wiggled its body a little to express its happiness at being called out and relied on.
Krena peered at it curiously. “So you’re having this little guy dig. But Allen, the ground here’s really hard.”
“You’re right, it’s bare bedrock here. Even so, Moley, use Dig.”
The Summon shot Allen an uneasy look, then turned to use its Ability where it had been ordered to. However, nothing happened. Even when it used its Awakened Skill, the end result was the same.
“It’s not working, Allen.”
“Krena, Moley’s Ability is ‘Dig.’ Not ‘Dig Dirt.’”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Allen used Strengthening on Beast G. It flexed its claws, feeling the extra thousand Attack points, then attacked the ground once more. Lo and behold, it started digging out a huge hole at astonishing speed. When it used its Awakened Skill, its pace accelerated even faster.
“Incredible...”
Krena’s eyes followed Moley as it continued making a tunnel through what was essentially solid rock, her eyes sparkling. What she was seeing was giving her great reassurance in regard to her own Extra Skill—in the same way it had not been specified in Allen’s grimoire that Moley would not be able to dig through rock, there was nothing saying that she would not be able to use her own skills while Limit Break was active.
Dogora, who was right behind Allen, murmured self-deprecatingly, “In my case, first I’ve gotta manage what is written, though.”
“That’s right,” Allen agreed, taking on a mature air. “The first step is to properly understand the basics of how something works. Then you can explore how to develop it.”
“Basics and development, huh...”
Ever since their Academy days, Allen had frequently gone on and on about skills, levels, and stats. He considered these concepts the fundamentals of how this world worked and believed that adequately understanding them was the key in growing stronger. One who remained bound to the basics would not be able to grow any further; continuously seeking ways to develop oneself was important.
“Dogora, imagine if my power was to make Moley dig. By properly understanding how stats affect what it can do, I was able to come up with a way to help it achieve what it couldn’t before. In the same way, your first order of business is to figure out what you yourself are capable of.”
“What I’m capable of...” Dogora stared at his friend’s back.
Allen had turned back to giving Moley instructions as it was starting to make serious headway. Every once in a while, he also Summoned a Fish D to confirm its location and the most direct route to the fortress. Thanks to the Spirit Bs, Allen knew where the monsters were spread thinnest during the day’s fighting. Combined with the information about the monsters’ formations that he was receiving from the Bird E in the sky, he now had a good idea where he wanted the exit to be.
