I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 160

Jereuth, he had been to countless battlefields.

Of course, he had also experienced defensive battles many times, defending a castle or fortress from the enemy.

Even desperate defensive battles where he had to hold off an overwhelming enemy with an endlessly insufficient number of soldiers.

‘But… I can confidently say that I have never felt this much pressure.’

Even that Jereuth was feeling the pressure. At the number of the monster army pouring out from the Monster Mountains in front of the fortress.

The monster army that filled the gorge the fortress was blocking looked like ‘land’ at a glance.

To that extent, the monsters completely covered the ground.

Literally, the enemy was swarming in 'endlessly'.

Deoldeoldeoldeol—.

He could feel the trembling of a soldier next to him. The soldier, trembling as he held his spear, looked quite young just by his face.

It was probably his first time on a battlefield like this.

Tak—.

Jereuth placed a hand on the shoulder of the soldier who was barely holding back his fear.

Then, he spoke so that the other soldiers could also hear clearly.

“It's okay to tremble if you're scared. Being able to tremble is also a form of courage.”

“Ah… Ah, no! I’m sorry!”

“What are you sorry for. It’s natural to be scared.”

“…”

“It's okay to be scared. But don't worry. We will definitely stop those bastards here.”

Jereuth spoke forcefully and then added with a light smile.

“We will go beyond stopping them here and crush them. We have prepared such a strategy for that.”

“I-Is that so?”

“It is. And my king, our king, has said. That we will absolutely win this war.”

“…!”

“So be scared, but don't worry. Those bastards will never cross the walls of this fortress.”

Jereuth's words were only heard by the knights and soldiers around him.

But the power of those words quickly spread throughout the entire fortress.

On the battlefield, 'atmosphere' is something that spreads very quickly. Like an epidemic.

‘Even so… there are really a lot of enemies.’

Jereuth put on his helmet and called for the mage behind him.

“Use the prepared magic now.”

“…Are you saying to use that already? Ah, yes! I understand!”

The mage was about to question Jereuth's instruction but immediately nodded his head.

Because he shouldn't question the judgment of Jereuth, the supreme commander and the greatest hero.

Wooooong—.

The mage who received the instruction from Jereuth raised his hands high and began to cast a spell.

A blue light enveloped the mage's hands.

Wooooong—.

Wooooong—.

Wooooong—.

The other mages in the fortress also began to cast spells upon seeing that signal. All the mages in the fortress were linking up to cast a grand magic spell.

Kung— Kung— Kung— Kung— Kung—!

—Charge!!

—Anyone who stops will die by my hand! Forward, forward!!

—Kieeeeek!

—Kyaaaaaaah!!

Even amidst that, the monster army was approaching the fortress walls in real-time.

In just another minute or two, they would hit the walls.

As they got closer, siege weapons also came into view.

From relatively ordinary things like ladders, to a battering ram that was hard to imagine how monsters could have made it.

And even three siege towers.

They weren't just crudely made. It was unknown who helped them, but the monster army's siege equipment was no small matter.

“That… that’s something that’s hard even for us to make?”

A veteran soldier who knew the power and difficulty of making siege weapons muttered.

Because of that, a weak atmosphere was about to spread through the fortress like an epidemic again.

But Jereuth's judgment was faster.

“Cast the magic now.”

“Yes!”

Hwaek!

The mage forcefully lowered his arms and began the incantation using the gathered mana.

“O silent earth! Awaken the primordial wrath!”

The other mages in the fortress who heard the beginning of the incantation followed suit.

—O deep-rooted rock, break your chains and free yourself!

—O stagnant river, vent your fury with the breath of the earth!

—O earth that sees no light, the light…!

As even the mages in the far parts of the fortress continued the incantation.

Deureuk… Kung… Kung…….

A strange vibration echoed in the gorge in front of the fortress. The ground was shaking.

But it was not a natural vibration. This was clearly an artificial vibration.

Kuluck—!

Keok…!

Eueup…!

The mages who had been chanting for a long time coughed, and some even vomited blood as they finished the incantation to the very end.

—I am the one who hears the voice of the land…!

—We are the ones who call upon the wrath of the earth…!

—Respond to the call of mana, O primordial fissure!

The incantation shouted by the mages in the distance was heard.

And the mage who had started the incantation first, the one behind Jereuth, completed the magic with his eyes turned bloodshot—gritting his teeth and enduring.

“…Awaken now! O earth, swallow everything! Collapse! ‘Requiem Spreading Underground’!”

The moment the magic was completed.

Ttuuuuuk—!

The sound of something breaking pierced the gorge.

It was not a trivial sound like a twig breaking.

It was a sound like some huge rock that supported the mountain range—like the spine of a living creature breaking.

—…Kireuk?

—W-What? What is this sound?

—What are you doing! Ch-Charge! Forward!!

—Chwi, chweeeeek!!

At that unusual sound, the advance of the monster army gradually slowed down. The commanders brandished their whips and ordered them to advance, but they too knew.

That their lives were in danger.

“I-I said go forward!!!’

—It was the moment a certain commander monster shouted that.

Chwareurrrrreuk…….

The gorge began to collapse.

Pieces of rock fell, and dust clouds rose.

And then, finally.

Kukukukukukukukug—!

Kwakwakwakwakwa—!

The gorge shook like a giant scream.

Rocks shattered with a roar, and a landslide began.

Like a tsunami that destroys the sea, the two walls of the gorge poured down.

—T-The sky is falling!!

—Retreat! Retreat!!

—Back! Back!!

—I-I said go forward!!

To the monsters in the lead and in the center, the collapsing gorge truly looked like ‘the sky was falling.’

And they tried to retreat to save their lives.

But the commanders, those who had received orders from commanders stronger than themselves, would not give way.

In the end—.

—E-E-Euaaaaaaah!!

First, a certain goblin was crushed to death by a rock twice its size.

And the monsters next to it, behind it, and in front of it were also swept away by the landslide and buried in earth and rock.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The soldiers in the fortress who were watching that scene didn't know how to react.

It was a great victory. It was a magnificent sight. They were happy.

It was so magnificent that everyone just stared blankly at the gruesome glory.

A silence fell over the gorge and the fortress.

But that silence was not long.

Everyone in the fortress, everyone who saw that great sight, came to their senses and began to cheer.

—Waaaaaaaaaah!!

—Uaaaaaaaaaah!!

—Those sons of bitches! Serves them right!!

—Hahahahaha!!

The soldiers cheered as if they had already won.

That wasn't a bad thing, but Jereuth watched the battlefield more calmly.

‘This must be the beginning. The really strong ones are still—.’

While Jereuth was thinking.

Kung— Kung— Kung— Kung— Kung—!

Ppiririririririri—!

Again, from the other side of the gorge, from the direction of the Monster Mountains, the sound of the monster army's instruments was heard.

And beyond the dust of the landslide, numerous shadows began to appear.

“The main force of the monster army is coming. The ones who just died were the weak ones among them. Stay alert.”

At that single remark from Jereuth, the atmosphere of celebrating victory disappeared in an instant, and everyone began to tense up again.

“You said it would take about two days for the mages to recover before they can cast the next spell, right?”

“…Yes, it will probably take about that long. The mana consumption was much greater than expected… I’m sorry.”

“No. You have done excellently. Rest easy.”

A grand magic spell that took 2 days to recover mana from.

There was a reason Jereuth used it as soon as the battle began.

‘It’s better to use magic even one more time when you can. There are countless cases where you save it and can't use it at all.’

Thinking, Jereuth picked up a bow.

It was a bow given to him by his wife, Silvia.

“Prepare! It begins now!!”

Jereuth resolved that he would absolutely not die.

Absolutely.

***

Krokas.

The chieftain of the Black Orcs and the commander of the monster army… or rather, the 'tyrant'.

He was currently in a very foul mood about the situation unfolding on the battlefield.

“Chieftains!!”

Kwang—!

As Krokas slammed his giant greatsword into the ground and shouted, the chieftains who were watching the battlefield nearby gathered.

Glaring at each chieftain one by one, Krokas shouted.

“What is that!! You haven't managed to kill a single human!! Can you break through the fortress by fighting like that?!”

—….

—….

—….

“Say something, you bastards!!”

The rage of a monster overwhelmingly stronger than them.

No matter how much they were the heads of their respective tribes, they were ultimately monsters who lived by the law of the jungle, so the chieftains were intimidated by Krokas.

In the midst of that, the Cyclops chieftain spoke to Krokas.

“Khmm, Krokas. Losing our army to their trap right at the start was too big of a blow. Our original strategy was to send the weaker monsters first to reduce their stamina and the mages’ mana, and then—”

“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know that?!”

“…”

“If the strategy failed, shouldn't you come up with another one!! Are you just going to charge in like this until everyone is dead?!”

At Krokas's roar, the Cyclops chieftain fell silent.

But inwardly, the Cyclops chieftain also had many complaints.

‘That bastard Krokas… he was the one who ordered an unconditional charge.’

Furthermore, Krokas had placed his own tribe, the Black Orcs, in the safe rear.

The strongest tribe, the Black Orcs, was holding back in this fierce battle of slaughter.

It wasn't just the Cyclops who had such complaints. From strong tribes like the Ogres and Trolls to weak monsters like the Goblins, everyone had many complaints.

But since their lives were precious, no one openly rebelled against Krokas.

“We must first devastate the north and south of the Plank Kingdom! Only then can we attack and destroy the center of the kingdom from both the north and south! Don't you know?!”

How could they not know? Everyone knew.

But what could they do if the fortress wouldn't fall.

‘…Who on earth is the commander?’

The Cyclops turned its large eye towards the fortress.

‘It’s too stable. We’re pushing with such large numbers, but there’s no sign of them faltering at all. That tiny fortress.’

It was so stable that the ladders couldn't even properly reach the walls. Even considering that the painstakingly made siege equipment was destroyed by the landslide at the start of the battle, this progress was too ridiculous.

It was as if the humans were immortal.

A Poison Goblin cautiously offered an opinion.

“Um… Krokas. Our morale has dropped a lot after being hit by the landslide at the beginning, so let's retreat for now and—”

Peo-eok—!

As soon as the word ‘retreat’ came out, Krokas's fist smashed the goblin's skull.

Brain matter and blood scattered in all directions, and the goblin's body, having lost its master, stood blankly for a moment before collapsing.

Teolseok—.

“‘Retreat’? There is no retreat in this war. It’s only forward, forward!!”

—….

—….

—….

“Is there anyone else besides this bastard who wants to talk about retreating?! I will kill the cowards and the gutless ones myself first!!”

At that Krokas, the surrounding monsters took a half step back. It meant that they would follow his order to ‘unconditionally charge.’

But then, a monster with the voice of a beautiful woman spoke.

“Hoho… Krokas-nim.”

As beautiful as her voice, with a beautiful face and body.

But with the lower body of a snake, the chieftain of the ‘Lamia,’ spoke with a seductive eye-smile.

“Seeing how the resistance of the humans in that fortress is so formidable, it is likely that ‘Jereuth’ is in that fortress. He is the Knight Commander of the Plank Kingdom and a great knight known as a human hero.”

“Jereuth? …Hmm.”

Of course, Krokas had heard that name. Of course.

“So?”

“Yes. Therefore, it will not be easy to break through that fortress. Of course, we will eventually break through, but there will be great losses.”

“…”

“So how about changing our thinking a little and attacking the center of the kingdom first? We can go down the central path of the Monster Mountains, cross the Ness Plains, and attack the royal capital directly.”

Attack the royal capital directly.

—At those words, the Troll elder shook his head strongly in annoyance.

“Nonsense! The walls of the human royal capital are high and sturdy! It's hard to even surround it! Besides, if we attack the royal capital first and the forces in that fortress attack us from behind and join up with the royal capital, we could be surrounded in turn! Why do you think the human bastards built fortresses in the south and north but left the center alone! They're trying to lure us into a siege battle at the royal capital!!”

“…”

“Be grateful that we even let an inferior wench like you, who can only lure humans with your eye-smile, join us, and shut up!!”

“Hoho… I wonder? Does Krokas-nim think so too?”

The Lamia had the ability to analyze the change in an opponent's expression. Simply put, she was quick-witted.

As a tribe with weak physical abilities and poor magic skills, they had learned such things to survive.

‘I can see it. Right now, Krokas wants to avoid Jereuth as much as possible.’

The Lamia chieftain had seized that moment and spoken to Krokas. To go somewhere else.

Because—

‘…If this stupid war of attrition continues, our tribe will be sent there too. To that ridiculous, senseless siege.’

Look. Right now, another wall was being built in front of the fortress.

A wall was being built with the corpses of monsters.

‘I can't let my children suffer that fate.’

Hoho—.

Smiling with her eyes again, the Lamia chieftain spoke to Krokas.

“What do you think, Krokas-nim? How about leaving this place to the Cyclops and Trolls and leading the ‘true elite,’ the Black Orcs, to attack the royal capital directly?”

“…Hmm.”

“If Jereuth is here, the royal capital in the center might be surprisingly lax. Because besides Jereuth, there are no other knights in the Plank Kingdom who can command an army. There is no one else respected by the kingdom's army.”

There was a strange magical quality to the Lamia's voice. A magical quality that persuaded.

Even without using magic, she basically had that ability.

“…”

After pondering for a while, Krokas stood up and said.

“Troll! Cyclops!!”

—Yes, yes!

“I will leave 70,000 of you and go. I will personally lead the remaining 40,000 and attack the center of the Monster Mountains, the royal capital.”

—….

—….

“Any complaints?!”

—N-None!

—We will do so.

Having made his decision, Krokas immediately tried to leave the barracks. He didn't want to watch this pathetic fight any longer.

The Lamia chieftain slowly followed behind Krokas. She was trying to sneak out of this place by following Krokas.

‘If I stay here, the Trolls will kill me right away. For laughing at them. It would be a relief if I just died. I might suffer a terrible fate.’

“Then, Troll, Cyclops, and the other tribes, please continue to struggle here. I wish you certain victory. I will go to assist Krokas-nim.”

The Lamia chieftain said with an eye-smile. That eye-smile clearly contained a sense of ridicule.

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“Why are you following me?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked why you are following me. The Lamia tribe is not to come. I will only take the strong who can follow me to the siege of the royal capital.”

“…?”

“The Lamia are to stay here and help the other monsters capture that fortress.”

“Ho, hoho… Krokas-nim? Our tribe is not very helpful in sieges. We can’t climb high walls—”

“Then there’s no need for you to follow to the conquest of the royal capital either. The walls of the royal capital are even higher.”

“…”

“The Lamia tribe is not needed. You will stay here and… let the Trolls and Cyclops use you as they see fit.”

‘Use you as they see fit.’

For a weak tribe like the Lamia, which was also composed entirely of females, those were very frightening words.

It was even more frightening since she had just given a condescending eye-smile to the Trolls a moment ago.

“W-Wait a minute! K-Krokas-nim!”

The Lamia chieftain called out, but.

Chwarak—!

Krokas acted as if he didn't hear the Lamia's words and roughly pushed aside the tent flap and went out.

As soon as he went outside, the Lamia chieftain's scream was heard.

—N-No!!! P-Please…! Kyaaaaaaah!!

Without even paying attention to the Lamia chieftain's screams.

Krokas glared at the fortress.

‘…I will conquer the royal capital and strike the fortress from behind. And Jereuth, I will have a one-on-one duel with you. And I will personally capture you, take out your heart while you are still alive, and show it to you before your very eyes.’

Gooooo—.

When a wicked monster like Krokas becomes truly enraged, a dark energy is bound to flow out.

Without hiding that energy, Krokas shouted to where his tribe was gathered.

“Prepare to move!! We will go to the center of the mountains, cross the Ness Plains, and directly attack the royal capital!!!”

Krokas was confident.

That if he led the army himself, they would not fall into any traps, and they would eventually be able to break through the high and thick walls of the royal capital.

Thus, Krokas thought.

Then, as if something was missing—

“…Gargoyles! You will follow as well!!”

For his certain victory, Krokas decided to mobilize even the gargoyles.