Chapter 130
Countless orc corpses littered the battlefield.
The surviving orc warriors could barely resist.
Strength kept draining from their bodies, and one after another, they were slaughtered.
They died.
And died.
And kept dying.
By the time some time had passed...
The madness that once filled their eyes had long since turned into the terror of frightened children.
For orcs who lived solely by pride in their own strength, this helplessness was more than enough to break them.
K-Kuuuugh...!!
When two legs failed them, they crawled on all fours.
The remaining orc warriors desperately fled toward the Beast Forest, trying to survive.
But...
Slash!
"Kill every orc that comes this way."
"Yes, Commander!"
Wayne and the knights were already blocking the Beast Forest behind them.
And if the orcs turned back toward the castle...
Seong Hosu and the soldiers were charging from the other side.
They were completely trapped.
Bwooooooo!
After some more time passed...
A horn sounded from the castle.
It was the signal of victory.
Not a single defender had died.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Beast Forest...
Lee Baekho watched everything through a screen.
His face twisted grotesquely from the humiliation of such a complete defeat.
Grind.
"Never thought he'd pull something like this."
"This is the first time I've felt this fucking pissed off."
At first, he'd wondered why Suhyeok had split his forces and wasted manpower.
The monster side had tens of thousands.
The other side had sent only four knights.
Even if those knights circled around and blocked the retreat, it shouldn't have mattered.
The orc warriors only needed to break through the castle gate.
"That item..."
"What the hell was that?"
"Where did something like that suddenly come from?"
He had admittedly underestimated the traps and Mana cannons.
But even those had been within expectations.
Without that strange item, the battle wouldn't have turned this completely.
According to the System, Lee Suhyeok couldn't use the Hidden Shop while participating in this stage.
Meaning he couldn't spend all those Coins he had accumulated.
"Hey."
"Explain."
Ding!
[The System is investigating, but states that it was most likely the work of one of the Constellations.]
Lee Baekho let out an incredulous laugh.
"Hah."
"Those fucking Constellations."
"They're useless no matter where you go."
"So what?"
"Can't you punish them or something?"
"What if they pull this shit again next time?"
[The relevant logs were cleverly erased, so punishment cannot be imposed based on this incident alone.]
[The System states that direct intervention will no longer be possible.]
[It advises you to target the ‘Second Wave’.]
"Next time, huh...."
Lee Baekho clicked his tongue.
"I don't like it, but whatever."
"What was I supposed to do with a bunch of instinct-driven monsters anyway?"
"I'll just consider this reconnaissance."
Then...
He spotted a single orc shaman staggering toward him from the distance.
The creature barely made it back alive.
It collapsed before Lee Baekho and began begging desperately for mercy.
Lee Baekho smirked.
Then grabbed its head with one hand.
K-Kuk...?
"So you're asking me to spare you?"
"That's why you ran back here alone?"
He laughed.
"What a funny bastard."
"You abandoned your comrades so you could live?"
K-Kukkuuuugh...!!
CRUNCH!
Lee Baekho crushed the shaman's skull.
Red liquid dripped from his hand like wine spilling from a shattered bottle.
[The Second Wave is now being prepared.]
[Time until the next Wave: 7 days.]
[Maximum number of summonable Players: 20.]
"Kuhuhu."
"Fine."
"Maybe this time I'll actually try using my brain."
He grinned toward the distant castle.
"Look forward to it, Lee Suhyeok."
Night had already fallen over the north.
A freezing blizzard raged outside.
The cold was harsh enough that not a single person wandered the streets.
"Kuhahaha!"
"Another drink over here!"
"Hey, don't drink by yourself!"
"Pour me one too!"
In complete contrast to the weather outside...
The Waven Grand Duchy residence was filled with celebration.
And who could blame them?
Everyone had entered the battle prepared to die.
Some had even written wills beforehand.
"Keuh!"
"I actually survived."
"God must've saved me!"
"What are you talking about?"
"It wasn't God."
"His Grace saved your sorry ass."
"Ah."
"Well, that's true."
"Anyway..."
"Long live His Grace!"
There were plenty of wounded soldiers.
But in the end...
Not a single person had died.
They had defended the castle.
Everyone who survived raised their cups and repeatedly shouted praise for the Grand Duke.
Vice Commander Raymond looked around curiously.
"Hmm."
"Why hasn't His Grace come?"
"No matter how you look at it, he's the main reason we won this Wave."
Wayne calmly took a sip of water.
"His Grace said he would remain in his office to prepare for the Waves still ahead."
"Hah."
"Then shouldn't we be doing something too?"
Raymond frowned.
"The walls need repairs."
"Honestly, even if we started immediately, it'd still be tight."
He wasn't wrong.
But repairing the castle in this weather was nearly impossible.
And most of the soldiers were exhausted from the battle.
"His Grace ordered everyone to rest properly tonight."
"You'll all be busy starting tomorrow morning."
"Understood."
Raymond stood.
"Then I'll head back first."
"My lovely wife and children are waiting."
Another knight suddenly looked at the time.
"Oh."
"It's already this late?"
