Chapter 71: Simple Defense (Patreon)

The soldiers along the wall watch the transformation in wonder while Kranon and Taroc stare with widened eyes.

“Very well.” Kranon collects himself quickly, turning back to the soldiers.

“Gerd, Helt, take your squads and gather the bows and arrows. The rest of you, gather rocks, pots, baskets, and anything else that can be thrown.”

After a second of silence, he slaps his hands together. “NOW!”

The startled soldiers scramble into action, filing down the steps.

Kranon turns his attention to me. “Your crest, do you have one?”

I debate for a second, then give up the act. “No. I’m not from the capital.”

Taroc reaches for his spear, but Kranon holds his arm out to stop him, his gaze still trained on me.

“I won’t be able to pull you out if things get rough.”

I nod. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

He nods back. “We’ll open the gate when our scout, Yammie, returns.”

“Sir! We cannot-” Taroc steps forward, pleading.

Kranon interrupts him. “Taroc, make sure the soldiers don’t miss any bundles from the storeroom.”

“But-”

“Now, Taroc.”

Taroc glances between Kranon and me a few times before saluting and exiting as well.

“I dislike being put in this position, but we will fall without your assistance, lord Kevin.”

The word ‘lord’ makes my heart stutter.

I’ve never been called that before.

“Lord?” I ask.

“I’m no fool.” He glances at my gauntlets. “Weaponry like that is only found off-world.”

They know about other worlds!?

I was under the impression this place was disconnected from the rest of the universe.

“I’m only here to stop the horde. I will be gone once finished.”

He nods.

With nothing left to say, I step to the edge of the platform and gaze over the wall.

Roughly half a mile of grassland separates the village from the forest. 

In other words, a generic defense mission.

Stepping up, I vault the wall and fall to the ground.

“Kevin, fight perfectly and don’t feel pain.”

After walking for a few seconds, a figure darts from the treeline, headed straight for the village.

I tense, but relax when I see humanoid features.

Tight leather, blonde hair, and a small build. A single dagger at her side, and a bow/quiver combo on her back. Her features are hardened, as if she’s more used to living in a forest than a house.

The woman slows to a stop as she comes closer, raising an eyebrow as she looks at me.

“Yammie?”

“Yes? Who are you?”

I stick my hand out, sending mana to deform the gauntlet back to its bracer form.

God, that’s so fun.

She gasps at the transformation, and hesitates, before shaking my hand.

“How long?”

She watches as my gauntlet reforms as we stop touching, completely entranced.

Shaking her head, she pulls her gaze back to me. “Sorry, what was that?”

Yammie, I understand. It’s cool as hell.

Chuckling, I repeat the question. “When will the horde get here?”

She turns, pointing into the forest. “Thirty micro-cycles. I gotta go! We’ll talk after!”

Before I can speak again, she bursts back into motion, running to the village walls.

I stand there, mouth open as she speeds away.

“What the hell is a micro-cycle?” I mumble.

Soldiers line up on the wall.

The gate slowly opens, and Yammie runs in.

I stick my arm up and wave.

Half of the soldiers do the same.

It makes me smile.

The system was spot on.

If I had met this village at random, I would have fought to save them, reward or not.

They’re good people.

A commotion starts on the wall, half of the soldiers equipping bows, while the other half arm themselves with heavy household items.

One man struggles to carry an entire cauldron, which makes me chuckle.

The commotion suddenly grows louder, a couple soldiers pointing over me.

That made me turn to see the threat for the first time.

They stand on all fours, with green scales similar to an alligator.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Their thick, long legs slam on the ground as they run, their feet are similar to an elephant’s stump lined with claws.

Its head is smushed, lined with thick, jagged teeth. 

Without lips.

The sight is horrifying.

Four feet tall and four feet long, these beasts constantly flick their heads left and right as they move.

Identify living being

[   (II) Carish lv. 16   ]

[   Highest stat: Strength   ]

[   Lowest stat: Intelligence   ]

[   (II) Carish lv. 18   ]

[   Highest stat: Strength   ]

[   Lowest stat: Intelligence   ]

[   (II) Carish lv. 13   ]

[   Highest stat: Strength   ]

[   Lowest stat: Intelligence   ]

“Kevin, punch as hard as you can without injuring yourself.”

I pull my arm back and activate the force enchantment.

Energy builds thrice as fast as the first test, likely because I’m pushing mana through the formation instead of exploring it.

When it finishes building, I thrust my fist forward.

At the climax of the punch, my fist collides with the air.

The light grey energy shoots off like a bullet.

It continues in a straight line, angled downward.

Colliding against the ground a few feet in front of the first monster, it kicks up grass and dirt.

The spray of dirt pelts the front ranks, making a few of them stumble and shake their heads.

I wince at the aim.

Going to have to work on that.

The size of the horde increases as more exit from the treeline.

Then more.

And more.

I may have underestimated how much two-hundred is.

A weight pulls my heart down, making me take a step backward.

“Kevin, focus on the fight. Don’t feel fear.”

The command takes effect immediately, flushing fear from my chest and placing a smile on my face.

Mana pumps from my skin, entering the gauntlets and forming a wispy energy on both of them.

My fists fly as I shadowbox the air.

The energy flies into the distance, colliding with the first beast.

Its charge makes the blow hit harder, its head snapping back with the splatter of blood.

Losing control of its momentum, it tumbles over itself and crashes to a stop, its comrades trampling its body.

Chime

Just one blow?

Is it that easy?

Getting into a boxing stance, I send more thrusts.

Force magic shoots out as fast as I can form it.

Many miss, phasing out as they soar into the sky, or bursting the ground apart as they hit too low.

My aim improves with every strike.

It’s a strange feeling, I’ve never had to orient my punches when the enemy was feet in front of me.

Punching an enemy a few hundred feet away, though?

Firing a bow is easier than this.

I debate taking it out, but the carishes would make most of the distance before I would even load the first arrow.

Thus, my blows rain.

Most of them hit against the trunks they call legs, making them slow their approach significantly.

At the edges of the horde, it doesn’t matter much, except to delay part of the fight.

But at the center, weakness is not permitted.

Crammed together, if one of the beasts loses its step for even a second, others will push it over from behind and trample it to death.

The scene makes me question how they survive in the wild.

It doesn’t take long for the first level-up to hit, placing breath in my lungs and removing the ache from my arms.

Sadly, I can’t enjoy the sensation.

After a few dozen punches, I prompt the system.

[Stamina: 1560(1396)]

Nice. The cost seems to be low.

The power may be lower, and the cost still higher than normal punches, but that still makes it worth the extra range.

Gnashing teeth, thudding footsteps, and nonsensical rage all grow louder as they grow closer.

The first arrows start sailing over my head, mostly plinking off the natural armor of the beasts.

Blows become more accurate as the targets come closer, striking heads, shoulders, and joints.

Chimes echo out constantly in my head, but I’ve gotten better at tuning them out.

Strangely enough, it seems like they become quieter when I ignore them.

The lighthearted green of the grass is trampled by a sea of beasts, completely blocking my already limited vision.

I push myself into an overhead hook, bringing my fist down on the first carish to meet me.

With the crunch of bone, the beast’s head caves in and crashes into the ground.

Gnashing teeth consume the world around me.

Pings of danger light up all over my body.

One mind/two bodies

I quickly divert the extra brainpower into assisting my movements.

My arms, legs, hips, waist, and head all jerk around in an indiscernible mess as they react to different stimuli.

I slip to the side to avoid a lunge, then pull back to avoid a bite, my arm slamming into a third enemy and sending it crashing into the ground.

Jerking to the right, I dodge claws, then push off another beast’s hind legs to avoid another lunge.

Observations and actions rocket through my mind.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the reptilians at the edge of the horde running past me to get to the gate.

I need more space.

At the slightest breather, I un-form both gauntlets and reach over my back.

In one motion, I rip the axe from its holster and grip it with both hands, swinging it in a heavy arc.

The head of the axe moves like it’s unstoppable, tearing scales from flesh and shattering bone.

Blood explodes from bodies and follows the motion.

The axe cleaves through six enemies before I stop swinging.

In the gap, I take my chance.

My chest sticks out and I scream into the air as loudly as possible.

It’s FAR louder than I thought.

For a moment, the battle freezes.

The beasts stop and turn, while the soldiers stop shooting, watching with mouths open.

Not you! 

Idiots!

When I burst into motion, the beasts do the same, the ones near the wall flipping on their heels to get to me.

The increased range and area of the axe make every movement much more impactful.

I swing, carving through three more carishes and sending their bodies tumbling to the side.

Flipping, I repeat the action, cleaving two more that are lunging.

Another level-up reinforces my stance and places strength back into my arms.

I don’t even have to move, simply turning to my left and right over and over.

The beasts run to me like a meat grinder.

My breaths are timed with the swings, sweat dripping down my face.

For a moment, I block the command and let the corners of my lips tug upward.

“Hahaha!”

The beasts thin noticeably with every arc of my axe.

Blood rains over my body, covering me from head to toe.

When enough carishes are dead, I ditch the axe and reform my gauntlets.

The axe may be built for range, but my fists are built for speed and power.

I burst forward, slamming my fist into the side of one beast’s head, ripping it halfway from its neck and sending it careening to the side.

Legs bend, and I fly across the ground to the right.

The next beast isn’t ready for my advance, awkwardly changing its stance to get a bite in.

My fist meets it first, blowing out the side of its neck.

The third level-up of the fight courses through my veins.

I turn to meet the next opportunist, but there’s nothing there.

My head whips left and right, but there are no more carishes to be seen.

I… did it.

I’m done.

My mind slows as it catches up to the situation. My hammering heart is forcefully calmed by the command. 

On the wall, all of the soldiers stare at me, mouths open.

With a smile, I push both arms into the air and roar.

They don’t hesitate, cheering and hollering alongside me.

Some of them fall to their knees, while others lift their comrades up and jump with them.

The sight makes my heart grow warm.

I walk over and grab my axe, holstering it on my back.

The gate starts to open, Kranon standing with a slight smile in the opening.

I step forward. “Hey! Did you see how I-”

In an instant, the surroundings change.

The smell of iron disappears, replaced by stale, stagnant air.

Green grass and the brown logs of the walls vanish, with the slate grey of system cobblestone in its place.