“What in the world is going on...”
“Tell me about it. The wave broke out a whole month early...”
“Everyone, please maintain order!”
After the bell announcing an emergency rang, people went back into their homes amid the unsettled atmosphere.
When the bell rang and Arthur ran off, I’d wondered if something serious had happened, but now that I saw it, it didn’t seem like that was the case.
The city’s residents reacted more like, “Ah, the cooldown’s up already?”
The ones startled and floundering were people like me, who were still new to Silvaerin, or outsiders.
“Looks like it’s not as urgent as I thought.”
“Seems that way. But we probably can’t go back, can we?”
“Ah. Right.”
No matter how routine this WWE might be, it was still an all-out offensive by demonic beasts.
All the city gates were shut tight, and guards were keeping strict watch both inside and out.
Just in case, I asked a guard whether we were allowed to leave.
“No.”
Naturally, I was refused.
The guard’s firm, dutiful attitude made me feel like I was the one trying to stir up trouble just for asking.
Anyway, then where were we supposed to stay?
I hadn’t even looked for an inn because I’d planned to go straight back.
Iseria and I knocked on the doors of several inns in search of immediate shelter.
But the answers we got were either that there were no rooms left, or they quoted absurdly high prices.
‘One silver coin for a night? Are you kidding me?’
I’d rather sleep on the street than pay that.
A cheap inn usually cost fifteen to twenty copper coins a day, so this was an utterly insane price.
“To think they only care about money even in a situation like this. Humans truly are ugly.”
“Just this once, you’re right...”
We returned to the square and stood there blankly.
I couldn’t feel any direct threat from the demonic beasts, but according to Iseria, she could sense an enormous force from the direction of the northern wall.
It was probably the shock waves from the mana of the knights clashing with the mana of the demonic beasts.
I couldn’t sense it myself, but I could hear the sounds of battle rolling in like waves, so I did feel some degree of crisis.
The central square, where not a single person remained before long.
It was usually the most crowded place in the city, so the fact that no one was there instead made it feel eerily frightening.
“You two over there. Why haven’t you evacuated?”
At that moment, a guard carrying a spear called out to us.
Thinking the timing was perfect, I briefly explained our situation.
“Hmm... The knight order has prepared shelters for people like you. Follow me.”
“Wow, the welfare here is insane.”
“It is a commotion that happens regularly, after all. We’re well prepared so that outsiders don’t get hurt either.”
We obediently followed behind the guard.
The guard watched Iseria, who had her hood pulled over her head, with suspicion for a while, but perhaps deciding it was needless concern, he lost interest.
Iseria really drew a lot of aggro.
But if she went around with her pointed ears exposed, that would probably draw even more attention, right?
“Iseria. Is the hood uncomfortable?”
“Mm? I’m fine, you know? Would you not worry about me on your own?”
“Ugh.”
Thock.
I lightly hit Iseria on the crown of her head.
Iseria yelped, “Ow!” and glared at me, but she couldn’t really do anything to harm me.
There was a big difference in our height, and if she used magic, things would get way too out of hand.
The knight order’s shelter was near the knights’ garrison in the north.
Inside the shelter were all sorts of people, from ordinary commoners to peddlers and vagrants.
It seemed that not only people without shelters, but anyone who happened to be near the knight order’s shelter when the situation broke out, was allowed to enter.
The guard who had guided us there quickly ran off somewhere again after dropping us off.
“We’re experiencing all kinds of things today, huh?”
“Hmph... That’s true. At least it’s not boring.”
Iseria and I exchanged idle remarks and went to sit under a suitable tent.
Sitting on a platform made in the form of a simple bed, we watched the people working.
“Are preparations for sending dinner up to the wall underway? When that goes out later, send the dry rations for dawn along with it.”
“Hey, over there! You can set the boxes down there!”
The soldiers of the knight order moved busily, sorting supplies.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any wounded yet, so the medical priests and nuns looked relatively idle.
Meal runs, huh. That brings back memories.
Back when I was in the army, if combat rations were handed out during training instead of pouch rice, it was despair itself.
The ready-to-eat types were pretty tasty, but things like japchae rice were basically potential food waste.
I spent the time reminiscing about my military days, while Iseria watched how humans handled their work.
***
It had already been three days since the monster wave in the Kalian Mountains occurred earlier than expected.
Kailan, the lord of Silvaerin, was observing the battle situation atop the wall and felt something was off.
It wasn’t complacency, but everyone in Silvaerin, including Kailan, had never rated the danger of monster waves very highly.
That was because monster waves had never originally remained in a stalemate for this long.
The demonic beasts had not yet reached the wall, but the third defensive line was barely holding on.
It was a defensive line they had managed to defend comfortably during the previous wave.
The soldiers of the knight order were being trained in the best possible environment, so it wasn’t as if their combat power had weakened either.
In Kailan’s eyes as well, the problem was not their allied fighting strength.
‘It’s faint, but the demonic beasts have gotten stronger.’
Only slightly, but the demonic beasts had grown stronger.
If a demonic beast had originally been as strong as 10, now its power was around 12.
One might think, “Only that much?” but the number of demonic beasts that had grown stronger in that way ranged from several hundred to over a thousand.
Their overall combat power was bound to fall behind.
What made him uneasy was that they had only been facing lower-grade demonic beasts so far.
Having become certain that something abnormal was happening, Kailan gave an order to his adjutant, Elak.
“Tell the platoon commanders of each platoon. Change formation from defensive to offensive, and have the platoon commanders join the battle as well.”
“Yes, understood.”
At present, the defensive formation was being held by regular knights and apprentice knights. It was to give troops with relatively little combat experience an opportunity.
However, if things dragged on any longer and middle-grade demonic beasts began to surge in, the third defensive line could fall in an instant.
That was why he judged that now, while only lower-grade demonic beasts were present, they needed to switch to an offensive, defeat the demonic beasts, and reorganize the defensive line.
As if proving Kailan’s judgment accurate, the platoon commanders burned with fighting spirit, saying they could finally draw their swords.
Still, there was just one knight who hesitated: Arthur, the commander of the 1st Platoon.
‘I hope Jinwoo-nim evacuated safely.’
As he inspected his beloved sword before deployment, Arthur thought to himself.
What terrible luck. He had visited the city for the first time in a while, only for the wave to break out.
They had not known each other for very long, but since they had seen each other often, affection had quietly built up before he knew it.
There was also the fact that Kang Jinwoo’s food had been delicious.
‘No, he’ll be fine.’
Arthur shook his head and brushed away his idle thoughts.
Kang Jinwoo’s own combat strength seemed equal to, or perhaps lower than, that of a child having sword fights in the neighborhood.
However, there had been the mysterious elf by his side today.
She seemed to have wanted to conceal her identity with a hood, but she could not deceive the eyes of Arthur, who had one foot in the realm of superhumans.
Judging by both the quantity of mana she possessed and the purity and refinement of its quality, she seemed quite skilled.
He didn’t know who she was, but with such a person beside him, he would most likely be fine.
And so, another two days passed.
“Kieeeek!!”
“Kerek, kererek!”
“Uaaaah!! Die!!!”
Slice—! Spurt—!
The regular knights shouted battle cries as they cut down demonic beasts.
As a result of everyone striving in their respective positions, all the immediate visible threats had been eliminated.
“All troops, return!”
Once the order to return was given, the personnel who had taken part in the battle went back inside for maintenance.
The relief team was immediately deployed to inspect the defensive line and begin keeping watch.
Arthur, who had also participated fiercely in the battle, returned to the garrison and cleaned his dirtied equipment.
After wiping the blood and filth from his armor and sword, Arthur headed to the mess hall.
What was the most important thing in a prolonged battle?
Personnel capable of fighting?
Stronger firepower?
Of course, those weren’t wrong, but the most important thing was logistics. In other words, supplies and food.
Disruptions in the supply of armor, swords, materials for constructing positions, and various consumables had enough impact to make continuing an operation impossible.
And what about food? In battle, the things directly connected to the morale of soldiers were food and luxury items.
A body driven to extremes craved the most basic desire: appetite, energy.
If stones were mixed into that food, or if something even beasts wouldn’t eat was distributed under the name of a meal, it would not end at the level of dissatisfaction.
In the worst case, it could lead to disobedience or even revolt.
In that sense, the knight order’s current food situation was precarious.
The harsh winter had just ended, and just as they were about to buy and stockpile food, the monster wave had broken out early.
Because of that, Silvaerin was currently in an absolute shortage of ingredients.
As not only a platoon commander but also a native of Silvaerin, Arthur knew that fact better than anyone.
‘If the battle drags on any longer, it’ll start getting hard to endure...’
Letting out a quiet sigh, Arthur entered the mess hall.
But then,
“Have I ever seen such an utter traitorous bastard?!”
“J-Jinwoo! Calm down!”
“Let go, Iseria! A bastard like this needs me to just...”
The exhausted soldiers paid no attention to the horrific-looking porridge placed before them and were instead focused on the commotion happening inside the kitchen.
And the main character of that commotion was none other than Kang Jinwoo.
Kang Jinwoo, the cooking master from the East (not really), had grabbed the food service officer by the collar and was unleashing his fury.