Chapter 143: Surrounded on All Sides
After lining up, we entered the portal into the tenth scenario. The world twisted, and a familiar weightless sensation washed over me as the ground vanished from beneath my feet. Moments later, my boots struck solid dirt again as I staggered forward. The landscape that greeted us was unmistakably familiar, and I recognized the place instantly. We had been transported right outside the same ruined town from the eighth scenario.
However, unlike before—when the walls were crumbling, the watchtowers half-collapsed, and the buildings abandoned and scattered through the dust—the town had changed into a proper settlement. The walls stood repaired, the structures looked reinforced, and signs of recent activity were visible.
But we quickly noticed something was amiss.
The ground vibrated as countless heavy footsteps pounded against the earth. The sound grew louder with every passing second. Michelle quickly scanned the surroundings with narrowed eyes. “There’s movement all around us… It must be from an army of monsters.”
As soon as she said that, the tenth scenario’s details popped up in front of our eyes.
Scenario #10 [Defense of Graythorn]
After the restoration of the ruined settlement known in the past as Graythorn, the frontier town has become a strategic stronghold protecting nearby trade routes and human refuges. Unfortunately, its reconstruction has drawn attention from the monster tribes in the badlands as they unite into a single large army. And now, that same army, led by a mysterious masked figure, has surrounded the settlement, intent on razing it to the ground.
Mission Type: Defense
Difficulty: C+
Main Objective: Repel the monster army’s assault on Graythorn. (0/1)
Time Limit: None
Reward: 10,000 Soul Coins
Penalty for Failure: Death
Extra Conditions:
1. Keep civilian casualties below 30%. (0%/30%)
Reward: Daleth-Tier General Lootbox
2. Keep civilian casualties below 20%. (0%/20%)
Reward: Two Daleth-Tier General Lootboxes
3. Keep civilian casualties below 10%. (0%/10%)
Reward: Three Daleth-Tier General Lootboxes
3. Eliminate the monster army’s strongest boss monster. (0/1)
Reward: Epic-Grade Armament Voucher
Rank C+ difficulty scenario!
That sure was a huge leap in difficulty, considering that the last scenario was only D+. I was certain this had been affected by Istellise’s presence in the recent scenarios. Rumors said the tenth scenario was supposed to be simple C difficulty.
If even a C-difficulty scenario could send someone like Graham into deep trauma, then one could only imagine what a higher-difficulty one was capable of.
As if to prove my point, the new recruits—Korr, Grun, Liora, and even Arlen—were staring at the floating scenario window with stiff expressions.
Unfortunately, before we could discuss the scenario in detail, dust clouds rose on the horizon. A massive monster army poured out from every direction, surrounding us completely—goblins, gnolls, direwolves, ogres, and even a massive mammoth-like beast I had never seen in the ninth scenario. The numbers were far greater than the three camps combined, easily more than two thousand in number. Even a small fraction of the forces encircling us was over a few hundred, which was already terrifying enough.
[Goblin Scout – Lv.46]
[Goblin Archer – Lv.45]
[Gnoll Rider – Lv.83]
[Dire Wolf – Lv.61]
[Gnoll Warrior – Lv.66]
[Red Ogre – Lv.91]
[Gnoll Chief – Lv.104]
[Goblin Chief – Lv.87]
[War Mammoth – Lv.124]
A colossal, heavily armored beast bred specifically for frontline destruction. Standing over four meters tall and weighing more than ten tons, the War Mammoth serves as the living battering ram of monster armies. Its hide is reinforced with thick, stone-like plates of hardened skin that function as natural armor, capable of shrugging off arrows, low-tier spells, and most physical attacks from Gimmel-rank divine warriors. Once, a foolish goblin tried to provoke it by throwing its dung at it and was trampled into meat paste.
Threat Level: High
…
“By the gods… that’s a whole horde.” Korr drew a war hammer and a large tower shield from his inventory, bracing himself.
Grun, on the other hand, grinned like a maniac and hoisted a massive war axe onto his shoulder. “Heh. Looks fun.”
Erika’s eyes sharpened, calm as ever, as she unsheathed her twin katanas. Liora slipped into a shadow without a sound. Arlen drew his sword, grounding his stance like an immovable boulder.
Boris was cracking his knuckles already, laughing in pure anticipation. “Hahahaha! A monster welcoming party!”
Before entering the scenario, we had divided the group into two teams—Party A and Party B. Party A consisted of me and the usual members, whereas Party B was led by Erika and included the new recruits. By doing this, we could maximize command efficiency. Of course, everyone agreed that I would take command of this scenario, as both Boris and Erika vouched for me.
“There’s no point fighting them in the open! Let’s rush into the town!” I shouted to all of them.
Immediately, we launched toward the town’s wall. Although the town had a gate, it was firmly shut, and opening it would risk allowing the monsters to surge in and attack the civilians. In this situation, the safest and fastest tactic was to leap over the wall ourselves. Since the wall was barely seven meters tall, which was nothing compared to the ten-meter-tall Saharan city wall, especially with all of us being at peak Gimmel rank.
As we advanced, a towering gnoll—similar to the gnoll great chieftain Kharzug I had fought in the past but noticeably stronger—raised its war axe and barked an order. The entire monster army roared back in unison. A horn blared in the distance, and the horde surged toward us or maybe the wall, charging from every direction.
The distance between us and the wall was only twenty meters, but that didn’t make it easy. Monsters closest to us immediately rushed forward to block our path, while those farther away fired arrows or hurled javelins. We had no choice but to engage the ones ahead in direct confrontation.
“Go, go, go!” I shouted as I deflected a spear thrown at my chest with my sword.
Boris crashed into a pair of ogres, smashing them aside with brute force. Michelle shot down incoming projectiles with rapid, precise arrows. Lucian cast a {Mana Shield} spell, shielding us from a volley of crude arrows. Tuilë fired her magic cannon in return, blasting several monsters into smithereens.
Behind us, Erika and Party B tore through the flanks. Erika sliced a gnoll cleanly down the middle, splitting it perfectly in two, while Grun did the same horizontally with his war axe, sending both halves flying. Liora slipped between enemies like a shadow, disabling archers before they could take aim. Arlen and Korr held the rear line, deflecting javelins with perfectly timed parries as they maintained formation.
Clearly, the newcomers handpicked by Boris and Erika were no pushovers.
In almost no time at all, we reached the wall. It loomed only a few meters away, and the real challenge of jumping over it was about to begin.
The guards stationed above quickly noticed our approach and leaned over the battlements. “Who are you people?!”
“Don’t worry about us!” Tuilë shouted back. “We’re your allies!”
“Wh-What?”
There was no time to explain.
“Get ready to jump!” I shouted. At the same time, I cast {Gravity Field}, lightening the gravitational pull under our feet. A ripple of mana spread through the air, making everyone’s bodies feel lighter.
“Now jump!”
Party A and Party B immediately sprang forward. Michelle vaulted upward with an agile leap, landing cleanly on the battlement. Erika followed right behind her, slicing through a stray arrow mid-air before landing perfectly. Tuilë, with her digitigrade feet, had it the easiest as she flipped over the wall with almost no effort at all.
Everyone else soon followed until it was just four of us still on the ground—me, Boris, Korr, and Grun.
“Alright, big guy, you first,” I told Boris.
“Hah! Don’t worry about me. You go up first while I hold the line.” Boris grinned confidently as he smashed aside an approaching gnoll.
Since that was the case, I leapt onto the wall easily with the help of {Gravity Field}. Korr and Grun followed immediately after, each pushing off the ground with enough force to clear the battlements without trouble.
Boris came up last, jumping with a powerful kick that sent a small shockwave through the dirt. Thanks to the cover fire from everyone already on top, all four of us managed to reach the wall without any difficulty.
Finding that we were now out of reach, safely hiding behind the battlements of the wall, the monsters retreated and regrouped before the town. From above, I could finally see just how massive the monster army truly was—there were easily more than three thousand of them forming a dense ring around the walls.
One of the guards stared at us like we were aliens. “What… what kind of monsters are you people?”
I sheathed my sword. “We’re here to help. Where’s Istellise?”
“You mean the saintess?” the guard asked, brows creasing. “What business do you have with the saintess?”
Before I could respond, another guard hurried over, eyes widening. “Wait, I know these people! They’re the heroes who saved Lady Istellise and the first group of refugees months ago!”
The tension along the wall immediately eased. Several guards who had been gripping their weapons warily relaxed, whispering among themselves as recognition spread.
“So they’re those heroes?”
“No wonder they jumped the wall like that…”
“Thank the heavens they came.”
With their suspicion reduced, I quickly continued, “There’s no time. We need to speak to her, and it’s important. It concerns the town’s survival.”
“I understand. I’ll inform her right away,” the guard said before sprinting along the battlement toward a stairway leading down into the town.
While he dashed off, the others—especially everyone in Party B—exchanged confused glances.
Erika stepped toward me and asked, “So, who’s this Istellise, the so-called saintess?”
Korr leaned on his shield and added, “Is she important in this scenario?”
Well, it was only natural that they wouldn’t know about her. After all, Istellise had never appeared in anyone else’s scenarios except for the five of us. This entire scenario was an anomaly, and the difficulty was greater than it was supposed to be, which made me feel a little guilty for dragging them into it. Still, there was no need to tell them that grim detail.
Thankfully, Michelle and Tuilë answered their questions in my stead, explaining everything starting from the seventh scenario.
“I see. To think there was an alternative target to protect at that time…” Erika said, nodding thoughtfully.
As we were discussing the differences in our previous scenarios, footsteps approached from the stairway. The guard returned, accompanied by a familiar silver-haired figure.
“Saintess Istellise, it’s not safe here,” one of the guards said in concern.
Despite the warning, Istellise stepped onto the wall, her white robe fluttering in the wind. The moment her crimson eyes landed on me, they widened in recognition.
“Maxim!” she exclaimed, relief and astonishment mixing in her voice. “You’re here… all of you are here.”