Chapter 23 《 Attack on Royal Capital》– (2)
(I)
In the Avilia Kingdom, children decide their path in life when they turn 14. During a grand coming-of-age ceremony, they share their dreams and the goals they hope to achieve, surrounded by family and friends.
Some follow their father’s profession as carpenters.
Others become bakers, crafting delicious bread.
And some become adventurers, setting off on thrilling journeys.
Under the banner of ‘Avilia,’ where freedom and equality are celebrated, everyone chooses their career and walks the path illuminated by their decisions.
One such boy was ‘Phillips,’ the son of a humble cook, who dreamed of becoming a knight of the kingdom.
—”I will become a knight and protect everyone!”
It was a bold and noble dream—to become a strong and dependable knight who would keep everyone safe. But for Phillips, a commoner, the path to knighthood was long and difficult.
Unlike the children of noble families who could easily enter the Royal Knight Academy and graduate to become knights, Phillips, the son of a cook, had to claw his way up from the very bottom.
He would have to start in the military as a lowly soldier, climb the ranks to become an officer, and then perform remarkable deeds to earn the title of knight from the royal family.
Even in the best-case scenario, that could take 20 years—or it might never happen at all. Although ‘opportunities’ were equally available to all, not everyone started from the same point.
It was a gamble, risking his entire life for a dream.
There was a safer option: following in his father’s footsteps to become a cook. But Phillips refused to give up on his ambition.
He envisioned the day he would stand as a great knight, protecting his loved ones. And so, at 14 years old, with his dream in his heart, Phillips enlisted in the military.
…It wasn’t easy.
The competition was fierce. Many others had come with the same determination, and even earning a promotion was like reaching for the stars. The process wasn’t as fair as he had imagined.
There were rumors that with a hefty bribe to the kingdom’s Prime Minister, ‘Lilianel Greenfield,’ one could secure a knighthood overnight.
But as the second son of a lowly cook, Phillips had no money to gain favor with the chancellor.
All he had was effort. He could only keep working harder.
—”I volunteer for the demon extermination mission.”
—”I’ll volunteer for the monster eradication mission.”
Building a resume of achievements that made him stand out was crucial. Phillips volunteered for combat missions time and time again, accumulating field experience.
The battlefield was brutal. The demons’ fury and blades were merciless, and the strength of the monsters was overwhelming.
Yet, Phillips survived every encounter, and over time, he developed combat skills and experience that no training could ever provide.
After 10 years had passed, Phillips had become the most experienced soldier in the capital and one of its strongest fighters. But despite his hard work, he had only risen three ranks.
—”Damn it!”
He had risked his life on the battlefield countless times, doing everything he could. He hadn’t expected to become a knight right away, but he thought he would at least be an officer by now.
But the constant bribery and connections among the ministers and nobles kept blocking his promotions.
At this rate, it didn’t matter if 20 or 30 years passed—he would still be stuck as a soldier. And since he didn’t have the power to overturn the rampant corruption, he realized he needed to achieve something so remarkable that no amount of bribery or connections could outshine him.
—”The Progenitor Vampire is coming to the capital!”
—”What?!”
And so, the news of the Progenitor Vampire’s invasion seemed like another opportunity to Phillips.
—”A legendary monster…”
A creature from a thousand years ago that had wiped out ‘Ermaile.’ If Phillips could distinguish himself in battle against such a creature, he might finally secure an officer’s position.
Of course, he didn’t think he could capture the Progenitor Vampire itself. A monster powerful enough to destroy cities was beyond him.
His goal was simpler: to defeat the skeleton soldiers raised by the vampire, who was said to be a master of necromancy.
Phillips had fought skeletons before during a previous monster extermination mission. They were weak. Their brittle bones, slow movements, and shaky sword swings made them the easiest enemies he had ever faced.
—”Alright.”
There wasn’t much known about the Progenitor Vampire, and there hadn’t been any reports about how it fought during the destruction of Ermaile. But Phillips was confident that he could at least handle its summoned skeletons.
The Progenitor Vampire itself would be dealt with by the kingdom’s most promising knight, ‘Maiden Alice,’ the swordmaster and close companion of the hero ‘Vellius Grandius.’
If anyone could defeat a legendary monster, it was Alice. After all, she was said to be strong enough to destroy a small city on her own, just like the vampire.
Phillips’ plan was simple: he would defeat as many skeleton soldiers as possible, while Alice took care of the Progenitor Vampire.
By killing the undead soldiers, Phillips would not only contribute to the battle but also give Alice the opportunity to fight without interference.
…In his mind, Phillips could already see the glory and recognition his achievements would bring him.
—”This is it, Phillips. This time, you’ll rise.”
He was sure of it. He just had to kill as many skeletons as possible and contribute to the victory. This was his chance to soar.
—”Let’s go.”
Phillips knew this was his golden opportunity to end his soldier’s life and rise through the ranks.
…Or so he thought.
************
(II)
“Wh-what’s happening…?”
But reality was different.
Far too different.
Phillips had imagined weak and trembling skeletons, but the skeletons now rampaging across the battlefield were clad in better armor and wielded superior weapons than his own comrades.
These monsters looked more like skeletal knights than soldiers.
—”Kraaaah!”
—”Save meeee!!”
“What…?”
And they were strong.
Incredibly, terrifyingly strong. Despite being mere undead, they slaughtered the kingdom’s elite soldiers like leaves being cut down in the wind.
“Clatter.”
-“Ugh, no!”
The battlefield of the 3rd fortress had become a nightmare. Phillips barely dodged the swing of a skeleton’s sword, crouching low.
—”Damn it!”
No matter how he looked at it, these skeletons didn’t seem like mere monsters.
What kind of being was this vampire that it could summon such monsters—each one nearly as powerful as an S-rank warrior?
The sheer scale of the army, along with the vampire’s unfathomable magic, shattered Phillips’ understanding of the world.
In retrospect, ‘Mizael’ had warned them not to underestimate the Progenitor Vampire. At the time, Phillips had dismissed the warning as needless worry, but now he realized Mizael had been right.
Phillips could instinctively feel that this vampire was a being entirely different from the things of this era.
-“D-Die, you monster bastard!”
But with the battle already underway, there was no option to flee. Dodging the Skeleton’s sword, Phillips barely mustered the courage to thrust his spear forward. His attack was aimed precisely at the core, located at the monster’s heart.
Clang.
-“W-What…?!”
However, the monster swung its sword with such speed that it was barely visible, slicing through the spear’s shaft. Phillips’ once sharp spear was now no more than a useless stick.
Clang.
-“Damn it, I’m too late…!”
The monster then swiftly closed in, preparing to plunge its sword into Phillips’ abdomen. It left him no time to react, to evade or block. Phillips instinctively knew that death was now staring him in the face.
-“Urgh!”
As he imagined the pain that would come, Phillips clenched his eyes shut. What does it feel like to have a sword pierce your heart? Is this how I will end, so miserably? Without ever reaching the title of ‘knight’?
-“Dieeeeeeeeeeee!”
Clang!
But instead of pain, new sounds reached Phillips’ ears. A woman’s powerful battle cry, the sound of a sword being swung, and the intense clash of metal on metal.
“….”
Phillips cautiously opened his eyes, and before him stood a golden-haired female knight, engaged in a fierce struggle with the Skeleton that had almost killed him.
It was the sword maiden, Maiden Alice.
“Ughhhhh!”
Clang.
Alice, using every ounce of her strength, barely managed to shove the Skeleton back. Phillips couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
‘No way… Alice, matching a mere Skeleton?’
Maiden Alice, who was known as the ally of the hero and had been acknowledged as possessing power greater than that of an S-rank adventurer, should have been fighting the Progenitor Vampire herself. Yet here she was, struggling to hold her own against a Skeleton.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
The fact that a lowly minion of the vampire could match their strongest warrior shattered Phillips’ reasoning. A deep, indescribable fear crept into his heart.
If this minion of the Progenitor Vampire is this powerful, then just how strong is the vampire herself?
-“Hey, are you okay?”
Alice, who had miraculously saved him by pushing the Skeleton back, asked. Phillips nodded weakly, his expression still dazed.
-“Yes, I’m… fine…”
-“That’s good.”
Alice gave him a brief nod in return.
-“Damn it…”
She wiped the sweat from her brow and quickly surveyed the battlefield. Blood splattered in every direction, and the horrific cries of the dying filled the night sky. Soldiers of Avilia Kingdom were being slaughtered all around.
‘This isn’t working.’
This was far beyond what they had anticipated. They hadn’t expected an easy victory, but they also hadn’t imagined they would be so overwhelmingly outmatched.
The Skeletons were far too strong.
‘Everything’s falling apart…’
From the very beginning, their plans had gone awry.
They had predicted that the vampire would summon an army of Skeletons through necromancy, and in response, they had brought cavalry to quickly crush the brittle undead. But who could have guessed that the enemy would also have mounted Skeletons?
‘Mounted Skeletons riding ghostly horses… I’ve never even heard of such a thing.’
These Skeletons were unlike anything they had ever encountered before. They felt as powerful as S-rank adventurers, far beyond the typical undead foes. The sight of skeletal knights mounted on ghostly steeds was something straight out of fairy tales.
And yet, the Progenitor Vampire wielded these forces as if it were nothing, casually and effortlessly.
‘…We’re doomed.’
If things continued this way, they would be annihilated.
Even though they had brought elite soldiers, their level would barely qualify as B-rank at best. They stood no chance in a close-quarters fight against these skeletal warriors.
To destroy the entire Skeleton army, they would need a massive explosion to obliterate them all at once or somehow kill the vampire who summoned them. The first option would risk wiping out their own forces as well, and as for the second, they couldn’t even reach the vampire, let alone be sure they could defeat her.
They had to find another way, quickly.
-“…We retreat.”
In the end, Alice muttered softly to Phillips. The word “retreat” made Phillips’ eyes widen in shock.
-“R-Retreat, ma’am?”
-“Yes. If we keep this up, we’ll be wiped out. We’ll regroup and hold the second wall.”
Fortunately, the enemy didn’t seem to have siege weapons or a magic unit. And given that the vampire was primarily a necromancer, it was unlikely she possessed powerful offensive magic.
-“We’ll defend from the wall, using our mages and archers to wipe them out from above.”
It was a risky plan, but it was better than the hellish melee they were trapped in now. The fact that the enemy lacked the firepower to breach the thick second wall was a small advantage.
They would have to rely on a siege defense now.
Alice raised her voice, her throat straining as she yelled to her soldiers.
-“Fall back! Retreat to the second wall, nowwwww!”
(III)
“Oh?”
The enemy’s movement had suddenly changed. The troops tangled up with my Skeletons were now hastily forming ranks and retreating into the walls.
—”Use magic and arrows! Cover the soldiers as they fall back!”
—”Blow them to bits with fire magic before they get too close!”
“….”
And the mages and archers stationed atop the walls unleashed all their attacks, desperately trying to prevent the skeleton soldiers from approaching the fortress.
The ground they stood on shattered, and fireballs flew in like missiles. Even though my skeleton soldiers were tireless, it was too much to ignore such an onslaught and advance toward the walls.
— “Close the gates!”
— “Hurry, now!”
In less than two minutes, most of the enemies had managed to retreat inside the fortress. A few soldiers who hadn’t been able to escape were left outside, but unfortunately, their comrades inside had no time to go back for them.
Clang, clang.
A hundred thousand skeleton soldiers surrounded the fortress like an army of ants. But they had no archers, no mages—only the clatter of bones as they looked up at the towering walls.
“…”
Even as I approached the walls from the rear, the skeleton soldiers parted like the Red Sea, making way for me.
I too, gazed up at the towering, sturdy walls.
“A siege, is it…”
Realizing they stood no chance in direct combat, they had decided to switch tactics and hole up inside the fortress. It wasn’t a bad strategy.
Among my summoned skeletons, there were no archers or mages. I didn’t even have siege weapons capable of breaking through the fortress gate.
They likely planned to hold the gate, pouring down spells and arrows until we were obliterated, hoping to buy enough time.
“…”
On top of the central wall stood a knight who had introduced herself as “Maiden Alice,” looking down at us. She glanced at me with a smirk as though mocking my helplessness against their fortress.
-“Well, vampire… What now?”
Her lips seemed to silently mouth these words. Seeing how confident they’d become now that they were hiding behind their walls, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Hah…”
I could understand their cockiness.
I had no siege weapons, no mages, and no way to unleash a spell powerful enough to blow the walls to dust. It was clear that my skeleton soldiers, armed with nothing but swords and spears, couldn’t break through those gates.
They must have thought that as long as they kept sniping at us from the safety of the walls, victory would be theirs.
However…
Siege weapons were something that could be made.
“This is getting annoying…”
I was tired of dragging this out and didn’t feel like playing with opponents so far beneath me. I visualized a scene in my mind and issued a command to the skeletons.
“…Kill them all.”
Clatter.
Suddenly, the skeletons surrounding the fortress walls began to convulse wildly. It was as if they were overloading, their bones shaking and rattling before they began to form something new.
The skeletons in the front line lay down on the ground.
The second row of skeletons climbed on top of them and crouched down.
The third row followed, clambering up and lying flat on top of them.
Then the fourth row repeated the process, climbing up.
Like a ladder.
Like a siege weapon.
Clang, clang.
“…”
In their quest to fulfill my command of “climb the walls and kill the enemy,” the skeletons trampled each other, creating a mountain of bones as they ascended the fortress walls.
In the game Avalon’s Tower, I could only give them simple commands like “charge” or “attack.” But now, in this reality, I could issue far more complex orders with just a thought.
…They climbed the walls using each other as stepping stones.
It was something the living, the humans, could never do.
Only the dead, who felt no pain and were utterly loyal to me, could achieve such a feat.
— “What, what is that?!”
— “They’re using each other as a ladder?”
— “That’s… that’s disgusting…”
The faces of the soldiers atop the walls froze as they beheld the scene. It was clear that they hadn’t expected to see such a thing from the undead, having assumed they were safe behind their fortifications.
— “Damn it! Don’t let them reach the walls!”
— “Burn them down with fire magic!”
Panicking, the enemies unleashed a barrage of spells, hoping to topple the grotesque ladder of skeletons. But I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“…Alfred?”
“Yes, my lady.”
At my call, Alfred, the elderly butler, stepped forward and began to weave his magic.
“…Barrier.”
— “…?”
— “What? The attack bounced off?”
— “What the hell! What is this barrier?!”
Alfred had conjured a protective barrier around the climbing skeletons, repelling the enemies’ magic attacks without leaving so much as a scratch.
The skeletons climbed the wall with terrifying speed.
There would be no second chance for the defenders.
Before long, the once-impenetrable walls were now overrun by the white bones of the undead.
— “Draw your swords, men!”
— “Drive them off the walls, no matter what!”
Having fled from close combat only to seek refuge atop the walls, the defenders now found themselves once again engaged in fierce melee combat. Screams and the clatter of armor rang out from atop the walls. Watching from below, I called out to Tina.
“Tina.”
“Yes, Master!”
“…Break the gate.”
“…Understood.”
I wasn’t about to wait idly for the skeletons to open the gate.
With my command to shatter the thick iron doors, Tina sheathed her massive sword and charged at the gate with astonishing speed.
“Hmph!”
Leaping high into the air, she gathered strength into her entire body, from her hips to her shoulders, and finally into her fist as she hurled it at the gate.
Clang!
The delicate fist of Tina collided with the gate, and a bell-like resonance echoed across the night sky.
“Hah…”
As Tina gracefully landed back on the ground, the enormous gate, which seemed unmovable, creaked and slowly began to collapse with a deafening crash.
…With a single punch, the gate was utterly destroyed.
Nothing stood between us and the royal capital now.
“…”
I extended my hand, pointing into the darkness beyond the shattered gate, and the skeleton soldiers, their red eyes glowing, stormed into the city with terrifying speed.
— “The gate is downnnnn!!”
One of the enemy soldiers’ desperate cries rang out from the top of the wall. But they were already too busy holding off the skeletons that had swarmed the walls to recapture the gate or set up any barricades.
Screeech!
Screaaam!
A thousand years into the future.
Tonight, the royal capital was overrun by the dead.
“…”
I took a slow, deliberate step toward the city, which was now destined to become a city of the undead.
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