2-47 Defence

Night had descended, along with a cloud of dread over the town. Torches were lit all over the town, more than usual, making it look like a pillar of light from a distance. Despite the Guild’s best efforts, the news of the Razor Grizzly’s sighting was quickly spread to the townsfolk. After all, adventurers loved to talk and boast. The Razor Grizzly was said to be approaching the town slowly but by dusk, its daunting large physique could be clearly seen from the rampart of the town’s stone wall borders. The soldiers were called to arm and adventurers were mandated to defend the town from the colossal beast. 

The merchants, at their own whim as the official reason, had decided to offer their assistance. They supply the adventurers with adequate tools and weapons for the defence of the town and also send their own fighters to join the fray. By the beckon of night, a perimeter was formed around the town with a focus on the west gate, where the Razor Grizzly stood and gazed menacingly from a distance away.

Lines of soldiers and adventurers alike stood in lines outside of the town’s walls as they prepared for the battle. A force of more than two hundred. The soldiers were all armed with the finest steel the town could offer. There was the matter of cost but ultimately, the town’s nobles would cover the cost. Many unruly individuals took advantage of the situation but upon being overseen by the merchants, the unruly individuals lost their audacity.

Speaking of unruly individuals, the Paladins were the only forces not only participating in the defence as people were needed to prevent the unruly individuals from taking advantage of the situation, especially the indicted officials and nobles. If the guard duty was left to the adventurers or soldiers, they could easily be bribed but not the Paladins. For once, Edith Rosemary was grateful for their zealotry.

With that problem out of her mind, for now, she focused all of her attention on this battle. 

The defenders cast their vigilant yet unease gaze towards the dark sea of trees. The night was without stars but even so, the figure of the Razor Grizzly could be seen by everyone. Even if one couldn’t see the best, its growl was loud enough to reach the inside of the walls.

“What are those looming near the Razor Grizzly?” the Guild Master, Rosemary asked from the post set up just in front of the west gate. She was scouring the borders through a spyglass made of silver.

“It is as we fear… Ghouls… remnants of their victims,” answered Lyra who stood by Rosemary’s side, armed to the teeth with the finest leather and iron armour with a bow fashioned by one of the merchants’ personal smith. All paid for by Iris. Lyra was reluctant at first to leave Celia’s side but being the one with the most experience against the Necromancer’s thralls, she joined the defence. 

All non-combatants were held up inside the borders of the town, save for two, Iris and Joshua. Iris, despite not being a combatant, was in fact level seventy-three. Her level and experience were accumulated through her long life instead of taking the lives of men and monsters. Joshua was level fifty-six and at his command, was a golem puppet in the shape of a human. It had two arms but if needed, it could sprout out an additional pair, or so Joshua claimed. The puppet’s name was Silva. Though it didn’t have a level, it was believed Silva was the equivalent of the average level fifties. Its combat abilities would be a good addition to the defence force.

“Some of those Ghouls are using weapons,” Rosemary said, still looking through the spyglass.

“Wights. Be careful of them. They aren’t complete dullards like the Ghouls. They have some semblance of their living self, only a little though.”

“It’s good that we are prepared for these abominations,” said the Guild Master’s adjutant who was standing by her side.

“Do Wights possess the abilities of their former self?” It was Joshua who asked.

“Only the techniques but then again, the Wight Erin and I fought was a fighter. Who knows, maybe a Magic Arts can be retained. So best be on our toes.”

Rosemary turned to her adjutant by her side and asked her to relay the new information to every fighter in the fray.

“I say we have more than enough fighters for that big ol’ beast. Wouldn’t you say, Guild Master?” Iris said. The Umbrum had formed a circle of shadows around the town. If anything crossed the circle, she would know. And she could also use the shadows to bind the monsters in place. Her resourcefulness and her mastery over her Magic Arts were the reasons she was on the field.

“I would say yes if the Razor Grizzly was the only monster we’re facing,” Rosemary replied. “Our true opponent is a Necromancer. Plenty of unseen tricks will be waiting for us. You should know that. I didn’t expect you to be remiss, Lady Iris.”

“I’m not being remiss. I’m just trying to lighten the air.” Iris tittered. “Look around you, Rosemary. Everyone’s nervous. They have all heard the stories of the Razor Grizzly. It had killed adventurers with levels higher than itself. I wager the average levels our adventurers are in the twenties. This might as well as be the last night of their lives,” smiling all the way, Iris explained.

“Don’t forget the undead,” Joshua added.

“And those too,” Iris muttered with a shrug.

“Then this is no different from their usual quest,” Rosemary remarked. “The adventurers know the dangers accompanying their work. This kind of fear is nothing new to them. The soldiers are dutifully bound. Even if they are afraid, they still have to fight.”

Iris chuckled. “Such an iron tongue. I bet ladies swooned over you when you were young.”

Rosemary offered no response to that remark. 

“The Grizzly’s moving,” Lyra said. 

“Movements!” shouted an adventurer and that sent everyone to their stations. They were briefed on the general situation and they all know their positions. Although there was anxiety, there was no disorder as they scuttled to their respective positions. Lumps of gulps could be on the fighters’ throats. No doubt many wanted to lay down arms and run but that would forever stain their future livelihood.

“So it has begun,” Rosemary said and pocketed her spyglass. “Miss Lyra, go to your position.”

Lyra nodded and ran to the newly built watchtower just beside the entrance. Similar towers were erected around the wall solely for archers to support the ground fighters. Lyra, who was good with the bow and had the Innate Skill, Eagle Eye, was designated to a tower. There were plenty of arrows in the nest of the tower.

A loud roar pierced the air and trembled the earth. The fighters flinched with gasps but they stayed in position. Lightning burst forth from the Razor Grizzly, charring its surroundings and also some of the Ghouls. Since the Undeads were in the hundreds and most likely nearing a thousand, the few who were seared to the bones were a meagre loss to the Necromancer.

“Uncaring toward their own allies,” Iris mused. “How quaint.”

“Good.” Rosemary nodded. “It’ll save the fighters’ stamina.”

“This could be bad. It means our enemies will never be perturbed by the odds. Seeing their allies fallen would never discourage them. And their undeads, they would fight on until their bones become brittle but our fighters will be exhausted before that happens.”

Rosemary groaned in response. She didn’t want to admit it but she agreed with the Umbrum. “Then let’s hope it won’t come to that.”

The aimlessly wandering Ghouls and Wights snapped their sights to the town in front of them after the Grizzly’s roar. With screeches and growls of their own, the Undead horde charged. The Razor Grizzly, shrouded in red lightning, fired off a huge lightning bolt towards the gate.

“Mages, barriers!” Rosemary shouted with great volume.

Barriers from all manners of Magic Arts were conjured up in front of the gate. The lightning bolt tore through half of the erected barriers but the other half successfully stopped the attack magic. The people cheered.

“Focus! The Undeads are coming! Steady! Don’t let your mind wander! Remember your training!” Rosemary’s voice gathered the fighter’s attention to the Ghouls and Wights which had run past the shadow circle of Iris. Iris managed to stop quite a few of the Undeads by coiling shadow tendrils around their legs. However, they were Undeads, fear and pain had become a foreign thing to their senses. Even with their legs bound, they struggled to advance forward. They tore their bodies apart from their legs. Even if they needed to crawl, they pressed forward.

“Tenacious bastards,” Lyra muttered to no one as she nocked an arrow in preparation.

There were two defence lines. The first was about two hundred meters away from the gate. Before the first line was crossed, the mages beset the Undeads with large-scale attack spells. In a town with more than a thousand people. The numbers of mages were less than a hundred. They stood fifty meters from the second line and launched barrages of attack spells. The second line was a hundred meters away from the gate and should more than a dozen Undeads crossed this line, the gates were ordered to be shut then as good measure. It was the Archers’ main job to make sure that would not happen. Once again, easier said than done.

The spells took out quite a handful of the Undeads but there were still more. Fireballs were thrown. Lightning Bolts were shot. Rock Spears were tossed. The Undeads were razed by the incessant offences but they were unperturbed, true to their undead nature. The terrible part was the ineffectiveness of the attack spells landed on the Razor Grizzly, who was striding forward slowly. The red lightning covering served as a defensive layer that protected it from the spells.

“That’s unnerving...” Lyra muttered.

The Undeads eventually broke through the first line despite the onslaught of the mages’ attack spells. Now, it was the fighters’ turn.

The adventurers and soldiers were told in the briefing to aim for the heads but that was easier than done. They were already having a hard time trying to slash the Undeads without getting grabbed and trying to aim for their heads was simply a near-impossible task. There were a few fighters who were grabbed while trying their damndest to lop the Undeads’ heads. Some were too eager but ended up committing a folly and became the Undeads’ meal. There were also some who were much too overconfident in their abilities and skills. They were the first to die among the many fighters.

Erin saw all of these happening from where she nested. Even though she wasn’t acquainted with any of the fallen allies, she was still terrified. Memories from the time she fought in the village of Ghouls surface. Her fingers loosened and a terribly aimed arrow grazed a Wight’s neck. Lyra cursed and forced her hands to steady. She thought of Celia to calm her nerves. “For Celia,” she told herself. “For Erin.” She nocked another arrow and released the string, sending an arrow through the head of a Ghoul who was about to maul a random adventurer to death. She quickly nocked another arrow and killed another Ghoul that had trod too close to the first defence line.

The first Wight Lyra took down required three arrows to the head. She fired seven but only three hits. She wasn’t a poor shot. It was simply the state of the battle. As time went on, it was becoming harder to aim for the archers but if the enemies were close to the second line of defence, the archers were instructed to fend the Undeads off regardless of the collateral. The fighters knew about that and they were working their bones to make sure the Undeads never reached the second line.

While most of the fighters struggled even against one or two Ghouls, the golem puppet, Silva, was making quick work of the Undeads. It wielded the two swords like a dancer of death on the battlefield. It slashed with precision and dodged the Undeads’ grasp with grace. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Silva was the reason the fighters were able to hold the Undeads back. Iris was also doing her part by slowing the Undeads down. She also tried to slow the Razor Grizzly down by coiling its huge body with shadow tendrils but the colossal beast easily flailed the dark chains off.

“Fuck off,” Iris cursed. “That’s not fair.” Her complaints went unheard as everyone’s focus was on the dire battle.

As Lyra was focused on taking down a steel armoured Wight she had set her sights on, she heard a yell from below. 

“The Grizzly has crossed the first line!”

Lyra clicked her tongue and aimed an arrow at the Razor’s Grizzly right eye. Per her expectation, her arrow bounced off the thick hide of the Razor Grizzly. These arrowheads were made of good steel but even then, it wasn’t enough to pierce through the Razor Grizzly’s natural defence. Lyra quickly switched her focus back to the Undeads, which were much easier to kill with her arrows.

The Mages shifted their attention to the approaching Razor Grizzly. The Grizzly was a huge target and with their training, it was impossible to miss. The attacks didn’t hurt the giant bear of a beast but its pace was hindered by the incessant attack spells.  

For now, the battle was still at an even ground with a clear victor. The Undeads were tenacious but they were easy to be cut down. Their brittle claws couldn’t hope to penetrate the armours of the fighters. Their strength was their numbers and they could swarm. Still, circumstances weren’t bleak for the town but that could change as time went on. The Undeads had no need for sleep or rest. Lyra understood that fact well.

Lyra did not stop her hands. With every arrow released, she quickly nocked another, drew the bowstring, and released. Exhaustion began to seep into her but she didn’t relent on shooting down the Undeads. The only reason she could keep up was the increments of her level, which kept happening as she slew the Undeads. The Undeads didn’t give much experience but they were plenty.

Just as Lyra was looking to the bright side of things, the Razor Grizzly howled to the sky, the red lightning around it flared up. It launched the red lightning bolts not towards the town walls but at the fighters on the field.

Lyra gasped. “Oh shit… Erin… whatever you’re doing… you better do it quick… or morning will not come for us all...” she prayed in her heart.