Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

The originally stable defensive line instantly developed gaps. One after another, defending soldiers were struck down—wounded or even killed. The situation reversed in an instant. The courage the soldiers had only just managed to muster collapsed, and panic began spreading through the ranks once more.

Meanwhile, on the kobold side, rays of light cast jointly by more than a dozen shamans swept across the battlefield. The kobolds' eyes turned blood-red as they entered a berserk state. They threw themselves forward without fear of death. Quite a few kobolds had already climbed onto the walls and begun fighting the soldiers in close combat.

Many panicked soldiers were injured. Some were even bitten to death by the kobolds.

'In the end, they've had far too little training! They've never fought a real battle before! They're only slightly better than hastily assembled militia—nowhere near those who've undergone knight training since childhood!'

Rune let out a silent sigh inwardly. Then, with a furious roar, he drew his longsword and charged toward the section of wall with the highest concentration of kobolds. In just a few swift strikes, he cleaved several kobolds clean in half. After forcing the soldiers back into position to hold the line, he immediately rushed toward other areas overrun by kobolds.

Yalina and the wolf-eared girl Little Red Riding Hood also joined the battle.

Yalina herself was already a Great Knight, and slaughtering kobolds posed no challenge for her at all.

What surprised everyone, however, was the usually inconspicuous wolf-eared girl, Little Red Riding Hood. Excitement gleamed in her eyes as she moved with wind-like speed, no slower than Yalina herself. Several kobolds had already died by her hands.

Yet not only was she unafraid—she grew increasingly exhilarated, like a natural-born killer.

By contrast, Odelle, who had transformed back into human form, was clearly flustered. She truly had no combat ability whatsoever. Although Levi had taught her the meditation method, the time had been far too short for her to achieve any meaningful results. In terms of strength, she was little different from an ordinary person.

Faced with this situation, all she could do was retreat repeatedly and do her best to protect herself.

Fortunately, with Rune, Yalina, and Little Red Riding Hood holding the line, the kobolds were unable to reach her.

The kobold shamans continued casting spells one after another, and control of the wall could never fully stabilize.

The moment Rune realized things could not continue like this—or the walls really might fall—he immediately gave the order to deploy their trump card.

He waved the signal flag, and the long-prepared musketeer unit was swiftly escorted to the western core defensive sector of the wall—the exact area where the kobold shamans were concentrating their assault, and also where the kobold numbers were greatest.

This musketeer unit consisted of one hundred and twenty soldiers. Every single one carried an alchemical musket. Upon receiving the order, they immediately formed up according to their usual training routine, adopting a three-line rotating formation.

Forty men per line, divided into three separate groups.

The first line aimed and fired.

The second line reloaded ammunition.

The third line stood by, ready to rotate in.

The cycle repeated endlessly, maintaining uninterrupted fire so there would never be any shooting gaps, locking down the kobolds ahead with relentless suppressive fire.

In truth, their primary targets were the kobold shamans vaguely visible within the mist farther behind the battlefield.

The shamans stood more than two hundred meters away from the wall.

Although the maximum range of an alchemical musket could theoretically reach three hundred meters, due to technical limitations, the actual effective range was only around one hundred meters—some muskets could not even reliably reach that far.

However, these alchemical muskets had been created by Levi using Synthesis, and their quality was considered top-tier. As a result, their effective firing range could reach two hundred meters.

"Volley fire—FIRE!"

With the command shouted out, deafening musket blasts thundered across the wilderness. The alchemical muskets erupted with blazing muzzle flashes and thick smoke as lead bullets carrying terrifying penetrating force shot straight toward the kobold shamans.

Although accuracy remained an issue, with so many firing together, some shots were bound to hit.

The shamans' spell-like abilities could block arrows and spears, but they were utterly incapable of withstanding the bombardment of alchemical muskets. A single volley brought down several of them immediately.

The second volley.

Then the third.

The rotating lines maintained continuous fire without the slightest pause. The kobold shamans had no time to cast spells or evade before they were struck by bullet after bullet and collapsed to the ground.

Naturally, many kobold warriors protecting them died as well.

In barely any time at all, more than a dozen kobold shamans capable of using spell-like abilities had been killed!

The loss was catastrophic—far worse than losing several hundred or even a thousand ordinary kobolds.

The dragon-headed kobold shaman was overwhelmed with grief and fury. It cast a venomous yet despairing glance toward the enormous wall blocking their advance, then toward the musketeer soldiers atop the battlements.

In the end, all of that emotion turned into a deep sigh.

It raised a horn and blew into it. The bleak sound echoed throughout the battlefield. The kobolds that had previously fallen into a berserk frenzy suddenly froze, clarity returning to their eyes. Like a receding tide, they withdrew back into the Mist Swamp, carrying away the corpses of their fallen kin.

In this battle, the forces of Hornreach had conservatively killed over a thousand kobolds.

More importantly, more than a dozen kobold shamans had also died, dealing a devastating blow to the kobold faction's overall strength.

As for Hornreach's side, thanks to the gigantic walls, even after suffering attacks from dozens of kobold shamans wielding spell-like abilities, their losses remained relatively light.

Only around twenty soldiers died.

More than thirty suffered minor injuries.

Another twenty or so suffered severe wounds.

Among the severely wounded, around ten were beyond saving. The remaining survivors would live, but many had been disfigured or lost limbs. They would never again be able to remain within the combat corps.

It had to be said—this was an overwhelming victory.

But for some people, it was also a burden fate could scarcely bear.

Levi, the lord of the territory, arrived atop the city wall personally. He came carrying several large chests filled with gold coins.

The very first thing he said was that every soldier who died in battle would receive generous compensation. Their wives would be given work capable of supporting both themselves and their families, and their children would be provided for until adulthood.

As for the severely wounded who could no longer return to the front lines, they would be reassigned to second-line units and given other duties they were still capable of performing.

Levi declared, "In short, anyone who sacrifices themselves for Hornreach will be remembered by Hornreach. I, Levi, will remember them as well. They will receive dignity and respect!!!"

His voice spread across the entire walltop, reaching the ears of the soldiers who had fought desperately with their lives on the line, the members of the defensive corps below the walls, and even the gathered townsfolk surrounding the area.

This was an act of generosity no lord had ever implemented before.

When Rune heard these policies from Levi, even his expression changed.

As for the soldiers, after hearing Levi's words, they all fell silent.

Tears uncontrollably glimmered in many of their eyes.

Then, after a brief silence, came thunderous cheers like roaring tidal waves—from both soldiers and civilians alike.

At that moment, Levi's popularity within the territory reached its absolute peak.

And the Greatshield Battle Group, having passed through blood and sand, finally completed its transformation and stepped into the ranks of elite troops. All that remained was a true field battle to prove themselves completely.

Among the crowd farther behind stood the representatives of the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild and the Sword and Flower Caravan. After witnessing the scene, both remained silent for a long time.

"Our lord is truly extraordinary."

"Isn't he just?"

"That wall will record the lord's achievements and pass them down forever."

"What surprises me even more is the lord's musketeer unit. Over a hundred alchemical muskets, and all of them high-end models at that. Every single one costs a fortune. Those hundred-plus alchemical muskets alone are worth more than ten thousand gold coins, and that's not even counting the matching ammunition... What an enormous investment! Your guild must've helped the lord acquire them, right? You hid it well."

"I thought your caravan helped the lord purchase them."

The two representatives instantly fell silent.

After a long while, the representative of the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild spoke again.

"We are not the lord's only option."

The Sword and Flower Caravan representative nodded.

"I'm leaving."

"Why not stay and keep watching?"

"I need to keep an eye on things. We can't let someone else intercept the goods the lord wants. Now that this war has broken out, reselling those supplies could easily earn several times the profit. But doing that would cost us the lord's trust—and the lord's trust is worth far more than that little bit of profit."

Hearing that, the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative's eyes flickered slightly. In truth, he felt exactly the same way.

Both of them thought highly of Levi and believed his future achievements would absolutely not stop at the rank of baron.

Which meant investing in Levi now was extremely necessary.

Especially considering that this lord apparently possessed other commercial channels behind the scenes.

The Sea Serpent Merchant Guild representative felt he needed to write a letter and have a serious discussion with headquarters.

In truth, however, the entire thing was a beautiful misunderstanding.

Those alchemical muskets had not been supplied by some hidden merchant guild at all.

Levi himself had created every single one using Synthesis.

But such a heaven-defying ability was something almost no wizard possessed.

Naturally, none of them would ever think in that direction.

Still, wasn't that actually a good thing for Levi's growing power?

Once merchants realize their target possesses alternative options, they suddenly become very obedient.

But that was another matter entirely.

Returning to Levi's side—

He ordered the prepared gold coins to be distributed by Rune, the Sky Knight, which once again triggered loud cheers from the soldiers.

He then announced several new policies, all of which were accepted by the soldiers without the slightest hesitation.

Levi smiled faintly, his gaze shifting toward the swamp shrouded in mist. Blue light flickered within his eyes.

The soldiers believed driving back the kobold assault meant the crisis had ended.

But Levi could see that the Mist Swamp was becoming increasingly dangerous.

That aura driving kobolds, beasts, and magical creatures alike into madness was growing denser and stronger.

Those kobolds would never simply let things go. They would continue launching attacks until they managed to escape the Mist Swamp.

Levi could already sense that the next assault would be even more frenzied.

But that was not what worried him.

After all, with this enormous wall standing firm, it would be extremely difficult for the kobolds to break through.

Still, reinforcing the defenses remained necessary. At the same time, another wall could be built some distance behind the first one, so that even if the outer wall fell, they could still retreat and defend the second wall.

Levi had already instructed Jeff and Yalina to begin work on that.

What truly concerned him now was the terrifying aura hidden deep within the Mist Swamp.

Even Levi's Detection could not identify it, which meant the owner of that aura had already surpassed the detection limit of his current Third-Ring Detection.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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