Although I could not see it, something deep inside my bones told me that whatever was making the sound coming from the woods, should be feared.
A screen opened on the main wall as if we were all inside a theater watching the next big hit.
I wondered where were the cameras, yet this was stupid of me. By that point, I should know we were all constantly being watched.
At first, it was almost like war drums. The sound increasing, reverberating through the space loud enough to make my heart shake. I started to pay more attention to my surroundings, the two towers standing tall and mighty on both sides of the walls while the imposing castle remained behind us all.
It was like we were the very first line of defense, as if we had suddenly become soldiers in a controlled war.
I never knew war, even though some countries never managed to get rid of it. Yet most of my life, it felt like I was waging war against my culture, my family, and my own self. It felt exhausting, going from one battle to another, not knowing when it would end or if I would ever find peace.
If I would be able to listen to the quiet breeze instead of the raging storms.
However, even though my life felt like a never-ending war, this situation was not the same.
The wind got colder, or my skin got more sensitive, with every hair on my body rising in alert. It did not take long, at all, for those things to come out of the woods. And even though there was a great distance between us, the wind still managed to carry their sounds.
Grunts, moans, wails—growls.
Those creatures were the same size as nine-year-old children, some a bit smaller, others somewhat taller. And even as I stared at them with my eyes wide open, I still struggled to find the right words to describe them.
It was as if they had been born and created from within the shadows and darkness, with perfectly round eyes that glowed and burned like pure fire.
The unsettling thing, however, was not how their flesh looked mended together. It was not how they looked like demonic children with arms, legs, grayish dead hair. It was not the swords and spears they used, nor the small pieces of armor.
It was their smiles.
The smiles that covered their faces from one side to the other, the skin stretching the more open it was as if the lips had once been sealed together. The dried blood could be seen even from the distance of the screen, which only made me take one conclusion no matter how many times my mind tried to think of something else.
Those creatures, whatever they were about to do to us, they were aching for it. The hunger in their eyes, they were desperate to fill it. And no matter how many times I wished their sole purpose was simply to follow the trail and destroy the walls, that expression on their faces told me again and again—
They wanted blood.
I felt as Hildr brushed my leg, her eyes frozen as her lips trembled, her breath uneven. I did not know how but she got even paler, her body shaking the louder the sounds got.
A widower knows a widow’s sorrow…
What kind of war those two had been through?
“It’s alright, Hil. Those things are on the other side of the walls, they can’t touch us here.”
I heard Hal whisper as he stood beside her, his hand going through her hand almost like a charm, a ritual.
As her brother caressed her head, pulling her closer to him, her muscles relaxed, her breathing stabilized and bit by bit, Hildr buried her face on her brother’s shoulder like a broken doll.
Hal and I exchanged glances and the things his eyes communicated were not things I wished to know. It was a reality too far from my own, it knew the war I had never known or lived through. It was rawer, dirtier, bloodier.
A reality I did not want to believe had been scarred into those two children. Yet perhaps that was just me being ignorant. Just me hoping for foolish things.
Unfortunately, reality did not give me much time to “hope”.
The soldiers were not fast; they were practically marching. The moment the creatures came into range, the arrows began to fire one after the other.
The ones responsible for the hammers started to turn the levers, their speed less than what I first predicted. Was it because the structure was too heavy? I didn’t think its speed would depend on the operator’s strength, yet perhaps I had been wrong?
The soldiers made no sound whatsoever as they got hit or killed, the others following the trial and stepping on their comrades' blood and corpses without ever changing their expressions. As if they were simply machines following a command.
Another thing popped above everyone within the walls, the message glowing fiercly.
[Trial’s Vault: 12]
That was right, we would receive coins as we killed the monsters. But as I glanced back and forth, toward the screen and the vault’s number, I was not happy with the results.
Only one point per monster…
Sure, the enemies would not stop coming until the wave was over. But this meant the enemies would not stop coming, and stronger ones would appear after.
Would one point per kill be enough to improve the structures and buy more of them? I had once been confident about my amount of points, yet would what I had left be enough if I had to keep investing in structures and improvements when the Trial’s Vault would not be enough?
Contrary to the first challenge, there was no time limit. We had no idea how long the first wave would last, how many waves there would be, or if there would be breaks between them.
Some monsters began to spread, going towards the structures. Two ballista operators froze as the creatures began to attack the structures, the arrows hitting trees, breaking on the hard ground, or bouncing off rocks.
One of the ballistas on the back changed targets, aiming for the monsters hitting the structures with their swords. Seeing the operators’ expressions, the fear frozen within their eyes as their gaze followed the creatures, made my stomach turn with guilt.
Sending those people to the battlefront while all I was doing was spending points within the walls... Wasn't this unfair?
However, as the seconds passed, I realized we were actually handling the situation pretty well on both sides. The ballistas on the back would make sure the monsters would not destroy the structures in the front, protecting the hammers' operators as well.
If any creature managed to pass through the hammers and the back ballistas had no aim, the front ones would kill them off without too many problems.
“Be honest, not with me but with yourself. Do you believe they will be able to hold on for much longer?”
Kurosawa’s voice reached me from behind, the man looking straight at the big screen with a cold, stern gaze.
“You mean the operators?”
“Yes.”
“Depends on how much longer the wave will continue at this pace. New enemies will appear soon unless the wave finishes before that happens.”
“How long will it take for you to improve the structures? We already have enough points in the Vault for that.”
Although his words and tone annoyed me a little, I knew it was a genuine question. He was testing me even now, that guy.
When the wave started, small windows appeared beside me. They showed how much the structures' upgrades cost.
[Upgrade Ballista: 150]
[Upgrade Hammer: 100]
[Trial’s Vault: 123]
We didn't have enough for a ballista yet, but we could improve one of the hammers.
Still, this would not do.
“Because I don’t know when this wave will end, nor do I know which weapon will need an upgrade the most. So far we are handling things well, it would be foolish to waste the points right now.”
The man chuckled, still not turning his gaze from the screen. “It is funny you say that. In my eyes, a fool is all you are, even now.”
My first instinct was to punch him.
However, was he really wrong?
Kurosawa's expression suddenly changed, his gaze filling with shock as his entire stance changed, a hint of alarm in his voice.
“Slow down, speak properly. What is the situation on your side?”
It didn’t take long for me to realize he was speaking with someone else—one of the operators. I saw no radios or anything alike, so they were likely communicating through an item or skill.
“I cannot see any different enemies on the screens. Are you certain they are not like the others?”
A different monster?
My eyes immediately went for the screen, searching for whatever discrepancy I could find. All the creatures that could be seen from the screen wore the same armor, the same weapons.
I kept looking, searching, my heart racing against my chest. There was something bothering me on that screen, the way it was being shown to us. Yet what was it?
“Can you see their weapons? Or any particular armor to make them stand out? …Are you sure they are wearing robes?”
“Ask him where these enemies are.”
Kurosawa looked surprised by my suggestion, perhaps he did not expect me to be paying attention. As he repeated my question to the operator, something in my mind finally clicked. I finally realized what was bothering me on that screen.
I didn’t need to hear the operator’s response to my question, Kurosawa probably realized the same time I did.
The screen was not showing a good part of the beginning of the trail.
Suddenly something bright shot from nowhere, going straight for one of the ballistas in the front.
It hit the operator right on his face. Fire exploded, a couple of flames raging out of control and spreading through the structure, but it did not take long for the fire to be completely out.
However by then, the operator’s body was already on the ground, his flesh and bones being consumed by the monsters below him.
On my side, Kurosawa Touma clenched his fists, and seeing he said nothing more, I could assume the man being eaten was the one he was communicating with.
The aura inside the walls shifted instantly, some people shouting while others gasped and silently mourned. Only when the new monsters finally came into view that my heart shrank and faltered inside my chest.
They all wore floating robes, some with fire glowing on their dark skin as if it were their veins, while a few held a purple glow in their hands. Mages. And this was not the worst part.
They had shields.
I opened the store, finally seeing the structures that could help us. ‘Ice trap’ and ‘Earth trap’, both only needed to be personally recharged after 20 charges and they both cost the same, 150 points. However…
The traps were still locked.
“Hal, take Hil and stay at the back. Get away from the walls and send me a message if anything happens.” I only heard their steps as they went away, turning to face Kurosawa who had the same expression as I did.
“Now is the time to prove yourself, Park Eun-Woo. Prove you are not a fool, but a man who can use his brains.”
Before I could answer, there was a bright flash in the sky followed by the sound of something ripping.
And then a bolt of lightning struck the wall.