Chapter 128
Countless corpses lay scattered across the ground.
Every last one of them had died beneath Wayne's blade.
"H-How could you..."
Cough!
"...do this to us...?"
Baron Rahen barely clung to his fading breath.
A pool of blood spread beneath him from the deep wound across his chest.
"Do you really think..."
Cough!
"...you can survive without us...?"
At that moment, Wayne approached while flicking blood from his sword.
With a quiet glance, he signaled that Baron Rahen was the only one left.
Suhyeok looked down at him with a completely indifferent expression.
Then he recalled the conversation he'd had with Wayne inside the carriage before coming here.
Are you asking why I made this decision?
...To be honest, yes, Your Grace.
No matter how disorganized their troops may be, stopping the monster wave without the retainers' forces could prove difficult.
It had been a reasonable concern.
No.
It had been logical.
If they killed only the retainers, the soldiers beneath them would probably obey orders.
Wayne.
From now on, the things I do...
No.
The things that happen around me.
Can you trust them without questioning me?
Ignoring Baron Rahen as he coughed up blood, Suhyeok looked toward the mysterious window floating in the air.
Then he smiled.
[Using ‘Defense Master Shop’.]
"Don't worry."
"I have no need for help from dead men."
Stab.
Wayne pulled his blade from Rahen's body after ending his life.
Then he knelt on one knee.
"As ordered, Your Grace."
"I have dealt with them all."
Wayne's answer earlier had been simple.
A sword follows only its master.
[Time remaining: 16 hours.]
Fourteen hours passed.
The sky had turned black.
The northern cold was more vicious than ever.
In the distance...
Countless monsters stretched all the way to the horizon.
They stood perfectly still, as though waiting for a command.
Holy shit, they look like a swarm of ants ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Aren't those all orcs? There have to be more than 50,000.
One orc is supposed to be worth like four trained soldiers. Isn't 50,000 way too much? How the hell is this only the first Wave??
They could break through with numbers alone. And there are Players mixed in with them too. Is this even possible?
Maybe if Lee Suhyeok could fight, but this time... probably not;;
The chat was filled with pessimistic reactions.
Standing atop the walls, Suhyeok watched the monsters preparing to invade.
"About two hours left."
He recalled the window that had appeared earlier.
[Using ‘Defense Master Shop’.]
Countless items filled the air.
Weapons.
Mana cannons.
Traps.
Repair functions for the walls and gates.
There were even personnel such as blacksmiths and cooks.
It was the ability Suhyeok had received in exchange for being unable to use his own combat power.
He immediately checked the points displayed in the upper-right corner.
[You killed humans rather than monsters.]
[Points obtained are reduced by 50%.]
[Current Points: 150pt]
That was why he'd ordered all of the retainers' soldiers killed.
To gather points immediately.
Of course...
Gathering them wasn't the only reason.
If he had points...
He might as well spend them.
[Player Summon: 45pt]
[99% discount on first summon!]
Using those disorganized soldiers would've done little besides lower morale.
No.
If lowering morale were the only problem, that would've been fortunate.
The moment even a few of them tried to flee...
Others would follow.
The entire line could collapse.
That was why they weren't needed.
And for Wayne, killing them had barely cost any stamina.
What Suhyeok needed now wasn't quantity.
It was quality.
[One Player who selected Lee Suhyeok's faction will be summoned at random.]
[The selected target will join Waven Castle under the title of ‘Mercenary’.]
[Rarity: UR > SSR > SR > R > N]
[Warning! There is a 40% chance that a soldier from this world will be summoned instead of a Player.]
[The first summon guarantees at least R Rank.]
A new window appeared along with the detailed explanation.
A gift box of moderate size shook on the screen.
[Press <Summon> to draw!]
The interface was designed exactly like a gacha game.
Even the 99% first-pull discount felt deliberately manipulative.
Suhyeok could think of two possible culprits.
Ruzian.
Or the System.
It didn't matter which one.
He only needed to exploit the situation.
Press.
Suhyeok tapped the <Summon> button.
Soft white light spilled from the box.
Then a card emerged.
[Congratulations!]
[You have summoned ‘R Rank Seong Hosu’!]
One of the Players who admires Lee Suhyeok.
Highly skilled in spear techniques.
Recently obtained ‘Meteor Spear Art (A)’ on the 50th floor.
Combat ability approximately equivalent to a Low-Level Sword Expert.
As expected...
He couldn't exactly hope for UR on his first pull.
Truthfully, Suhyeok had wanted Lee Yumi.
Or at least a mage with a large-area attack.
This was a defensive battle against overwhelming numbers.
Someone with powerful area-of-effect magic would be far more efficient.
...The draw rates don't seem that generous.
Still...
Seong Hosu wasn't a bad result.
He would definitely help in the current situation.
If anything, he was valuable combat power.
Before coming up here, Suhyeok had inspected the castle's forces.
Fortunately, the quality of the remaining soldiers wasn't terrible.
Unlike the troops under the retainers...
Most had been properly trained by Wayne.
The knights were all seasoned veterans at least around the lower Sword Expert level.
The real problem was the Mana cannons.
And it wasn't only because of their damage.
...So how many times can we actually fire them?
Twice per cannon at most....
With all of them combined, we can probably manage around twenty shots.
Any more than that and they'll break.
Each Mana cannon could easily kill around ten monsters with a single shot.
But firing them consumed enormous amounts of Mana.
