There were several things that irked me about this new world I had found myself in. Some was about the obvious target of the constant monster attacks. However, it couldn't be compared toward the distaste I had for their traditions.

However, I had to admit that, sometimes, those traditions were quite useful. Watching as their baron bent the knee and declared that I had the right to command the town was all that was needed for the guards to look at me, ready to receive my orders.

"Everyone on the walls, be ready to repel the enemy," I shouted, just to test their attitude. And they immediately followed it.

"Not you, Maell. You follow me," I said. I had no intention of letting him die and deal with the mess afterward. I gestured for him to follow me as I jumped at the nearest tall roof, finally taking stock of the siege.

The most important detail was that the soldiers still defended the outer town, which was a surprisingly good decision under the circumstances. With magic and summoned creatures in the mix, it wasn't a bad idea to maintain an area that could be sacrificed.

However, considering that the civilian population was yet to be evacuated to the inner town, I suspected it was less about deep strategic considerations, and more about none of the remaining leaders daring to take initiative.

Which was good news, asI feared their first decision would have been to abandon the outer town.

While I was trying to come up with a strategy, I noticed two details. One: the cultists had actually started a summoning at the section that I had just bypassed rather than relying on corrupting the captured beasts, showing that they weren't taking their failure in good humor.

Still, considering it was only one section rather than a combined effort across the entire enemy army, it worked to our benefit. I would be able to test myself against one summoned creature to understand its limits and advantages.

More importantly, it showed that their commander didn't have a strong control over them, and the individual sections could easily be goaded into action. This factor might be the difference between victory and defeat.

When I turned my attention to the town, I noticed one of the guard captains walking toward us, accompanied by two familiar figures: Takis and Mahruss, showing that Mahruss had used the signal I had given him.

Good.

Karak was not here, but considering I was able to sense Limenta somewhere in the inner town, I could easily guess his location.

"Lord Crusader, these men are the leaders of a large group of mercenaries that are in the town, and they agreed to help us—" he started.

Before he was interrupted by Takis. "My lord," he said as he knelt in front of me. Mahruss stood straight, which I respected. He clearly didn't want to posterize himself to an unknown man. So, I pushed my Charisma on him, using the same pattern we used as a secret communication, and combined it with a hand sign.

His eyes widened as he realized my identity, and immediately knelt as well, fast enough to avoid suspicion from the others.

"Stand up, we don't have time to waste on such things," I said. "We have a lot of things to address. Takis, I want you to take command of the evacuation effort at the outer town. Move the civilians first, then focus on moving the critical resources. You can use two hundred of your fighters for it. Bring them to the inner town, and come find me once it's finished. " I looked at the guard commander. "Stay with him, and make sure it goes smoothly," I said. I didn't want things to slow down due to people arguing about rank.

I was tempted to stick the Baron to his side, but I had a different plan for him.

"You know them, sir?" Baron Maell asked. A rather silly question considering I referred to him by name, but calling him out wouldn't be helpful.

"You have sharp eyes," I said instead, relying on subtle sarcasm instead. Only Mahruss caught it, since only because he was familiar with my general attitude. "Takis is the leader of a brave group that fights against the cultists I decided to help," I explained while thinking. "And Mahruss belongs to a guild that was gracious enough to volunteer for my holy mission."

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Baron looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but I cut him off. "I have a very important mission for you,".

"Whatever you need, holy crusader," he said.

"I need you to go and defend the dungeon entrance," I said. His distaste was immediate, but I blasted him with the full power of my Charisma to silence him. "It's clear that the dungeon is their real target, and I fear they would use some kind of magical trick to access it directly. Only you, I can trust to defend it bravely, even if it costs your life," I said, using Charisma to reinforce the flattery I shamelessly spewed.

It wasn't entirely a lie, as I was actually afraid of it. Though, I could easily use a lesser commander for the task. But, assigning the Baron meant that I didn't need to worry about him making a suicidal charge against one of the summoned monsters.

Which was already charging toward the town.

"Mahruss, you're with me. The rest of you have your orders!" I said, and they dispersed. When only Mahruss was with me, I activated a sound-blocking ward plate.

"You look good in gold, boss," Mahruss said once the ward activated, though he raised his hand to cover his lips as he spoke just as I taught him.

I doubted I was the only one who could read lips.

"Thanks, I'll make sure to order one for you as well," I answered, not bothering to keep my chuckle hidden. Unfortunately, we had more important things to deal with than bantering. "Give me a quick breakdown of what happened."

"Nothing at first. For the first hour, we found only two cultist cells. One, Limenta destroyed directly. For the other, Karak and I had to take some action as well. However, suddenly, there were a lot of subtle spells that used destruction mana around the inner town, near the dungeon. We raided the places, and found several ritual chambers and destroyed them. Then, the siege started, and I decided that would count as an emergency, and met with Takis."

"How did you manage to convince the guards to let a whole army in?"

"Bribery, threats, and a little Charisma," Mahruss said.

"Good work," I said as we finished climbing the walls. I wanted to ask more questions, but I decided against it. Now was not the time, considering Mahruss was looking at the approaching summoned monster with no small amount of fear.

I didn't blame him. It wasn't the first time I faced such a monster, but its size made me feel uneasy as well. It was easily thirty feet tall and a hundred feet long with the tail — at least whatever passed for tail — included. Its mouth was large enough to swallow a man whole, and its claws left deep marks on the ground.

Unlike Mahruss, whose fear only made him focus on the creature a bit, the rest of the soldiers were already showing signs of true terror. A part of it was the passive fear aura spreading from the monsters, but I knew that could be blocked by Charisma. Unfortunately, those with the Charisma necessary were too occupied with their own fears to remember their mission.

Not exactly an amazing display. Worse, it showed that, if the cultist had actually decided to attack full force before my arrival, the town would have already fallen.

Of course, that raised the question of why they hadn't. A more rational army might have concerns about minimizing their loss, but it was clear that it was not a concern for them.

The most optimistic expectation was that they were still waiting for their cultists to complete the summonings in order to finish the siege even faster.

A more realistic guess was it was part of their trap, one that was even bigger in scale than I expected. They didn't just want the town. They were baiting a reaction, likely from the military. Whatever surprise they had prepared, it must be a nasty one to put in such an effort.

I looked around the army before making a sudden decision, one that cost me quite a bit of my stat points in reserve.

But, it was not for nothing.

[+50 Charisma]

[-50 Stat Points]

Just like that, my Charisma reached three digits, high enough that I could stretch all along the wall. The strain was not small, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. And, as the Charisma settled on the army, their fear was dispelled, replaced by Courage.

That assistance came with a tax.

[+92,291 Experience]

[+67,214 Experience]

…

[+21,210 Experience]

As the soldiers on the outer walls used their ranged attacks against the corrupted monsters, I received a significant burst of Experience. Hundreds of notifications were filling a corner of my vision. Luckily, at this point, I was used to ignoring such a flood.

And, the amount I had received in return was already enough to make it worth it. In less than ten seconds, I already earned more than a million, giving me the hope that I could level up several times, especially if the cultists continued to rely on the corrupted beasts rather than attacking directly.

Which was just right. I had a feeling that, once the trap was triggered, I would need every bit of advantage I could collect.

The only problem was there was no Authority gain. I gestured for a nearby soldier to pass me his bow, and used a mana attack on a monster.

[Invader Slain]

[+71,551 Experience]

[+1 Authority]

It confirmed that the problem was not about the monsters, but the process of sharing the Experience. It didn't extend to Authority.

Bummer. It would have been very useful.

Then, I turned my attention to the lumbering summoned giant monster. One that represented a dangerous threat to the town as it easily shrugged off every ranged attack — and the occasional magic one — showing that it required a more hands-on approach.

"Stop firing arrows at the summoned monster, and focus on the rest," I shouted as I jumped down, charging toward me.

It was time to collect some Authority directly.