I never imagined I would see fireballs and arrows covering the sky because they only appeared in movies, but the monsters charging toward the castle walls was an even more unrealistic sight.

“Roooooooar!”

‘Why are there so many of them?’

It was true that I hadn’t gone hunting a lot, but there were still many types of monsters I was seeing for the first time. Small monsters were being crushed by mid-sized monsters about five times bigger than humans. Even though they were all different, they all had the same goal—climbing over the walls. It was a frightening sight. As the troops continued firing arrows and spells, we heard a brief, but loud roar.

Roooooar!

Craaaack!

Cruuuuuumble!

An explosion ensued, and as debris started falling, the smaller monsters were caught in the net of fire. Not only did the mid-sized monsters die from the arrows, but the arrows filled with magic landed on the smaller monsters’ heads and made their heads explode. However, there were too many of them, and it was ridiculous how they kept coming out from the forest.

‘Where have they been all this time?’

I was sure monsters living deep in the forest had also come out, and since the forest was big, there would naturally be a lot of monsters.

“Fire!” I shouted.

The second volley of arrows flew over the walls and into the ground and the same thing happened as before. When the monsters fell and the monsters behind them tripped, I raised my hand slightly, and the mages specializing in the earth element activated a spell that created a spear out of dirt and rocks. The stupid, charging monsters cried out when the spear pierced through them.

‘Nice…’

The situation was great and even though it wasn’t noticeable, the current attacks were getting rid of the weak monsters.

‘It’s not very noticeable…’

The only thing I could do was efficiently use the arrows and the spells. I thought about casting a spell for experience points purposes, but I decided not to. For the efficiency of the regressor’s plan, I had to let the troops take care of the average and rare-ranked monsters.

‘I need to save my mana.’

It was all for the enormous experience points I would get later.

“This is easy…” Cha Hee-Ra commented.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked.

“Yes, darling. This is a pretty smooth start. It’s impressive how they used earth magic to put a brake on the monsters. Since there aren’t a lot of monsters here that can fly, if we continue blocking the entrance, they’ll eventually retreat,” she explained.

“That’s good news,” I said.

“I suggest you save your mana, darling. Situations like this don't come often.” Cha Hee-Ra suggested.

“I know…”

It seemed that even in this world, the powerful cared more about their own benefits than those without power. Unlike those who followed orders and fired at the average and rare-ranked monsters for survival, the commanders saved their mana and stamina.

“They’ve reached the first wall,” she remarked.

“Yeah, it seems…” I nodded.

During the castle defense, the monsters during the first wave started crashing into the castle walls. They seemed strong, but the walls that protected Castle Rock for over 100 years wouldn’t break down so easily. The monsters in position started climbing the walls by stepping on each other.

“Stop them!”

“Rooooooar!”

“Fire the arrows! Shit! The arrows!”

“Stop them with magic!”

It was very impressive how the Small Stone Guild was defending the first wall.

‘Wow… they’re desperate.’

They knew they would die if they didn’t act desperately, and I honestly wanted to leave them to die, but I couldn’t do that. The monster wave had just started, and they were necessary for us to endure the wave. I teared up a little when I saw Song Jung-Wook doing his best to protect his guild members.

‘What noble bastards...’

They were protecting their hometown, but they couldn’t protect themselves. Now that was what I call sacrifice. The archers kept shooting arrows while the mages were already exhausted. The priests were on high alert while the soldiers were toppling over the monsters climbing the walls. Song Jung-Wook was among those soldiers.

“No matter what, don’t let them climb up!”

I knew for sure he wanted to run away, but he simply couldn’t do so because Red Mercenary Guild members were stationed all over the place. Even I would find it difficult to run away, so of course, he wouldn’t be able to make that decision after considering the guild he had built and his influence over Castle Rock. Sure, I talked about this place being our hometown earlier, but he definitely considered this place more valuable than his actual hometown.

‘Wow…’

They were standing their ground unlike what I expected, and as their commander, I felt proud of them.

“Support at the first wall!” Song Jung-Wook requested.

“Understood, We’ll support the first wall. The reserve squad will immediately head to the first wall!” I ordered.

This war could last a long time, so it was important to properly manage the troops’ stamina and the reserve forces. It was a bit burdensome to think that hundreds and thousands of lives rested in my hands, but thinking of them as numbers rather than lives made things more efficient. Loving mankind here would only put me in a bad situation.

I was sure the other walls would experience some damage, but giving the first wall some room to breathe would make the situation more manageable.

“Hm…”

“What’s wrong, Hee-Ra noona?” I asked.

“It’s just… I think you’ll become a competent commander, darling,” she replied.

“...”

I didn’t bother to answer since it seemed like she knew what I was thinking.

“You seem to like giving hope,” she added.

I continued looking at Song Jung-Wook, and as the reserve forces arrived, his exhausted face turned into a hopeful one. This would make it seem like I hadn’t given up on the first wall.

“Support is here! Hang on just a little longer, guys!” Song Jung-Wook yelled.

“Yes, Guildmaster!”

I wasn’t sure what Song Jung-Wook was thinking, but it was impressive how he was giving it his all. When the reserve force started supporting the first wall, the monsters’ ascent slowed down.

“It’s not because I like giving hope, Hee-Ra noona. I just think that using them as much as I can is the best thing to do,” I explained.

“Alright…”

“The first wall will eventually fall. When I looked at Castle Rock’s defense war records, there hasn’t been a time when the first wall didn’t break during the wars they had in the last century. Of course, there had been times when the walls were never fully demolished, but the first wall always broke down during the many wars this place had experienced,” I told her.

“You studied hard,” she complimented me.

“You can easily find this information if you just read the records. I don’t know what Castle Rock’s wall architect had in mind when they built this, but I’m sure they were kind of crazy,” I added.

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“They built it so that sacrifices are necessary during a defense war. The guy who built this wall designed it so that the people on the first wall wouldn’t be able to survive, and… hm… that’s the reason why the remaining bases are surrounding the first wall. Basically, Castle Rock never fell because so many people had sacrificed themselves for this city,” I explained.

“And you’re saying that the Small Stone Guild is the sacrifice?” she asked.

“Of course, and I’m sure they can endure a bit longer. I’ll use them until they’re no longer needed and after they run out of mana, I can just dispose of them. After all, I’m sure they’ll feel wronged if they die while still having mana, and it’ll be a loss for us as well,” I replied.

“That sounds like a really shitty move…” Cha Hee-Ra couldn’t help but say.

“I thought this was the reason why you called me a competent commander?” I riposted.

“That’s true, but… you’re still a piece of crap.”

“They’re criminals who had to die anyway. They should be thankful since I gave them the chance to die in a war. It’ll basically be an honorable death.”

Even though there wasn’t proof that Song Jung-Wook had committed a crime, finding evidence wasn’t difficult to do and if he became lucky and survived this place, he would still eventually die. Dying in the monsters’ hands was a lot better than being tortured by us, and he would also be a temporary role model to everyone. As such, I was sure he would still be useful to me even after he died.

“Fight back!” Song Jung-Wook yelled.

“Don’t let them climb up! Never! Soldiers, what are you doing?!” he yelled once again.

‘They’re holding out better than I thought...’

The fact that the first wall’s defense was still being maintained was a miracle, and even though there were only rare-ranked monsters for now, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the first wall defense group was doing their part. If they managed to stop a higher-ranked monster, it wouldn’t be bad to send them more support since the Small Stone Guild were doing more than what they were worth.

When the arrows landed on the monsters below the first wall, they screamed and the situation started to slow down a bit. Song Jung-Wook looked hopeful, and he looked at me as if he completely trusted me.

‘Idiot...’

He probably thought that I had placed his guild there to give them an active role.

All of a sudden, monsters above the rare-rank started to appear from behind the wave. Epic-ranked monsters that could only be killed with a party were starting to climb the walls as well.

‘This is only the beginning…’

A four-legged monster jumped a long distance at once and started climbing the wall. Based on the manual, we had to focus our spells on that monster, and our first goal was to send the reserve forces and tire it out. When I saw how Jung Ha-Yan and Hwang Jung-Yeon’s spells were falling on the monster, I thought we had to use some of our powers as well. However, I noticed the Small Stone Guild fighting the monsters with their swords when support no longer arrived.

‘Sending support is meaningless…’

I thought it was time to abandon the Small Stone Guild, so I made the remaining soldiers slowly retreat, and I had them support the first wall from afar. I could already hear screaming in some areas on the first wall.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

“Save me! Save…!”

Song Jung-Wook was probably anxious, as I saw him looking at me with a desperate look. When he turned his head, however, he must have noticed the retreat of the reserve forces as he started yelling.

“Lee Ki-Young, you bastard! R-Retreat! Move back…!”

Of course, they couldn’t retreat because turning their backs toward the monsters was impossible. I could barely hear his scream because of the monsters’ cries.

“Lee Ki-Young! You bastard! Lee Ki-Young!! Lee Ki-Youuuuung!!!”

‘Goodbye…’

“Lee Ki-Youuuuung!”

When I could no longer hear Song Jung-Wook’s voice, as too many monsters had invaded the first wall, I spoke with tears in my eyes.

“We can’t let the Small Stone Guild’s sacrifice be in vain!”