What Do You Wish For With Murky Eyes: Record of Highserk War - Chapter 61

“Wartime Battalion Commander Walm!”

Walm, still unaccustomed to the title, was addressed with a rank he hadn’t heard before. While twisting and slashing through the entrails of a stabbed hobgoblin, he called out to the soldiers on both sides.

“Create some space.”

“Yes, leave it to us!”

Receiving a reassuring response, Walm shifted his focus to the soldier who seemed to be a messenger, panting heavily and with a face pale enough to collapse any moment.

“What happened?”

Static noises, like a broken radio, emanated from the damp ground. Disappear, Walm thought, driving the spearhead even further. Hobgoblins, despite their large size, had voices not much different from regular goblins when on the brink of death. With most comapny leaders and above having fallen, Walm found himself, albeit reluctantly, bestowed with the rank of Wartime Battalion Commander, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted by monsters alone. The messenger continued in a trembling voice.

“Urgent orders from Wartime Brigade Commander Justus. During the Flame Emperor Dragon’s attack, he is now in command. The situation is dire.”

Justus, who had taken command of the brigade on the city walls during the Flame Emperor Dragon’s attack, narrowly escaping its breath, was now the Commander of the Wartime Brigade. Having lost the officers attached to the headquarters, who were supposed to be the mainstay supporting the brigade, Walm was still relatively fortunate amidst the bustling and complex exchange of supplies and personnel around the makeshift castle walls.

“From the brigade commander? Tell me right away.”

Walm, initially prepared for anything, couldn’t calm the palpitations as he understood the content. The harsh reality he didn’t want to acknowledge was thrust upon him.

“Request for urgent reinforcements at the northern castle walls. The demon horde has breached the walls. Many casualties among both soldiers and refugees. They possess «Skills» and «Magic»!”

“The northern city walls breached…”

If a wall were to fall first, it should have been the makeshift castle walls. Walm, who felt the increasing presence of minor monsters, didn’t anticipate the horde attacking the partially damaged walls as the main assault. The large number of monsters attacking the disadvantageous position of the damaged walls served more as assistance, and the recently evacuated northern castle walls, where the main force was expected, were not the primary target.

Even with a considerable number of soldiers stationed on the walls, if they were breached in a short time, there was undoubtedly a possibility of the most elite human forces, along with a commanding figure. Immediate mobilization of reinforcements was necessary, but the problem was how Walm would maintain the makeshift castle walls he was responsible for.

Despite the reduced numbers, a significant number of monsters, still reaching thousands, were attempting to breach. If personnel were withdrawn haphazardly, both sides of the walls could fall. In that case, Dandurg Castle would be completely trapped.

Gathered under his command, Walm had 500 regular soldiers and 1300 militia. Many showed signs of injury and fatigue, especially among the militia, and fewer of them wore armor. For the recapture of the walls and the pushback within the city, relying on the militia, who were ill-equipped for frontal engagement and relied on defensive walls, would be futile. What was needed were disciplined regular soldiers capable of handling chaotic situations.

“Where is Commander Friug?”

The name Walm shouted belonged to the commander of one platoon he received from Commander of the Wartime Brigade Justus.

“Right here.”

Though worn out and covered in grime, Commander Friug’s eyes retained sharpness.

“The northern city walls have been breached by a powerful horde of ogres. We need to redirect troops from the makeshift castle walls for the sweep inside the city and the recapture of the castle ramparts.”

“What? The northern city walls…”

Friug was left speechless, but he quickly immersed himself in thought.

“The command here will be left to Commander Friug. I’ll lead the unit to reclaim it. So, how many regular soldiers do we need to maintain the defense?”

Friug hesitated for a moment and then returned a question.

“For the skilled ones, who should I leave behind?”

“Commander Nepolc, Amy, and the Deborah family will stay behind.”

“Are you kidding? We’re just civilians.”

About to blurt out his objection to a citizen like Deborah, who carried two twisted horns of a Bicorn under her arm, Walm swallowed his words just in time.

“They are already militia. Deborah, many refer to you as wartime platoon leader.”

Dandurg Castle has no more strength than the militia can offer as platoon and squad leaders if they are capable, and it doesn’t matter if they are dogs or cats if they can be used.

“Hahaha, Highserk is insane!”

Deborah laughs heartily, but there is no explicit refusal.

Friug, deriving an answer from the exchange with Deborah, speaks out.

“With half of the regular soldiers, 250 people, I can maintain it for half a day.”

Having obtained a clear answer, Walm calls out the names of the commanders under his command.

“Wake, assemble your platoon. Head for the rescue of the northern city walls. Yorl, your platoon too.”

Wake’s platoon is already depleted, and by adding Yorl’s platoon, they finally reach 250 people. The commanders of both units take charge of gathering the scattered soldiers.

Walm further calls out the names of two adventurers who have been demonstrating their prowess on the front lines.

“Al, Fleck, you guys too. We need experts in close combat.”

“Am I staying behind?”

“Amy’s «Strong Bow» shines in defensive battles. It can’t be helped.”

“However, now it’s a swarm of ogres in rapid succession.”

“So busy. I might die of overwork.”

The adventurers seem weary of encounters with monsters. Nevertheless, they have adapted to the battlefield to some extent, as they exchange light banter.

After completing the assembly of Wake and Yorl’s squads, Walm heads out to reclaim the northern city walls.

————-

As they approach the northern castle walls, the chaos intensifies. Guided through the fleeing civilians, Walm raises his voice above the turmoil.

“Don’t stop, we must reclaim the breakthrough point at all costs!”

Thrusting his spear into a wolf that looms over the backs of evacuees, Walm twists and slams it onto the cobblestone. The figures of the defenders who guarded the northern castle walls have mostly disappeared, leaving only a few. Monsters are slipping down from the walls into the city one after another.

The damage to the densely packed civilians is severe, and the cobblestone is overflowing with fresh blood. The entire area looks like a slaughterhouse, with soldiers almost falling as they trample over entrails. In places where corpses don’t exist, the number is small, and it has become a massacre site by the monsters. The rescue forces, burying monsters indiscriminately, begin to attract the attention of the monsters.

Walm is no exception; four goblins that were molesting corpses approach him. Using his rough dagger, a goblin presses forward. Walm lifts it with his halberd’s spearhead from the lower position, crushing its lower jaw and stirring its brain. Repositioning his feet he, reverses, and delivers a powerful blow to the side of the head of the second goblin that stepped into his range with a pommel thrust. The eyeballs tremble, and the gaze shifts in the wrong direction.

Taking a small backstep, Walm thrusts his halberd spearhead. Meanwhile, a third goblin is smashing a club into the spot where Walm was just standing, a fist-sized hole opens in its throat. The last goblin brandishes a hatchet and jumps at Walm, but Walm extends his spearhead aiming at its torso, piercing it in midair. It is carelessly slammed onto the cobblestone and its head is crushed under Walm’s foot.

“York Squad, along with the remaining defenders of the northern castle walls, secure the rampart. The rest of the units, with me, will sweep through the monsters inside the castle.”

The castle is a mix of soldiers, civilians, and monsters, and the widespread attacks of «Ignis Fatuus» are unusable. If Walm were to use «Ignis Fatuus», there would be more human casualties than monsters.

There was no choice but to kill each individual monster. The surrounding soldiers also started sweeping through monsters that hindered Walm. Three ogres blocked his path. The armor they wore, while rough, had some processing done, and their behavior conveyed a certain level of intelligence.

Without a doubt, these were the entourage led by the main monster, the elite on the monster side. Walm narrowed his eyes. He wanted to choose the option of overwhelming them with numbers, but the soldiers were already occupied with a powerful group of ogres, and the seasoned adventurers, Al and Fleck, were engaging in a fierce battle with six ogres skillfully wielding large swords.

Walm cast a fireball at the ogre approaching with a round shield. The leading one couldn’t dodge and was engulfed in flames, its limbs severed, writhing in the azure flames. The problem was the other two ogres that scattered to the left and right. One raised a large sword, and the other swung a war hammer, both advancing towards Walm. He moved his upper body slightly forward and backward, narrowly avoiding the large sword and dodging the war hammer with a step.

The ogre with the large sword attempted to pursue, and the ogre with the war hammer closed the distance accordingly. While facing the ogre with the large sword head-on, Walm also kept an eye on the ogre approaching from the side.

“«Burst»!”

In an instant acceleration, Walm used «Burst» to slash off the forearm with magical power consumption. He thrust the halberd into the vacant space, and the axe-like blade extending from the side cut the ogre’s throat. The remaining ogre roared, approached, and cautiously manipulated the large sword with small, choppy movements, seemingly wary of the halberd.

Despite avoiding the thrust, the ogre had its hamstring torn by the halberd’s claw during the withdrawal. With the muscle severed, the ogre’s posture collapsed. Walm turned his wrist during the retraction and delivered a strong blow to the side of the head with the stone tip. Without missing a beat, Walm struck down with the halberd from above as the ogre momentarily stopped moving. The ogre, whose helmet was split by the axe head of the halberd, scattered brain matter and fell to the ground. The oni mask trembled with delight. Not because he buried three ogres. The surroundings were filled with a murderous aura, and countless sounds erupted.

“What are you looking at?”

Armed ogres were surrounding the area. The soldiers Walm brought with him continued to fight, but still, over a dozen ogres had their heated gaze fixed on Walm.

“You big useless ogres, are you scared? I’ll kill every single one of you!!”

Responding to Walm’s provocation, the ogres roared in unison. There was no turning back now. Walm also shouted from the depths of his core and prepared to confront them.

——————-

A two-handed sword grazed the neck, blood oozing. The handguard, struck by the war hammer, weakened the grip on his left hand due to the unavoidable impact. The armor was covered in wounds, and blood seeped from the bleeding abdomen. Walm felt neither pessimism nor lamentation. He simply engaged his brain in full operation, moving his body intuitively based on the experiences that supported him. Even in blind spots, he perceived with sound, the touch of air on his skin, and magic, evading at the last moment.

Outnumbered and unable to use the widespread attack of «Ignis Fatuus» to avoid friendly fire, Walm continued to bury one armed ogre after another. An ogre burned from feet to head by a pillar of fire exposed its bones and began convulsing. Another ogre, severed from shoulder to hip, was still moving its left hand slightly.

Walm cut down the ogre that rushed to approach, hooking its ankle with the claw of the halberd and circling around to the side. The ogre, attempting to respond to the encirclement with one leg, saw its head soaring into the void. He pierced the ogre’s abdomen with the stone pommel as it approached from behind, but the ogre, without faltering, grabbed Walm. Walm drew the longsword from his waist while cutting off the ogre’s left hand, swung it over his head, and cut off the right hand by turning his wrist.

The ogre, having lost both hands, tried to bite Walm’s throat with its fangs, but he was quicker to stab the neck artery and spine with the sword. Walm swiftly withdrew the halberd from the corpse with his left hand and pointed it at the approaching ogre.

“«Release».”

Walm used magic once employed by an assassin to shoot out the halberd. It pierced the ogre’s right shoulder, causing the great ogre to flinch from pain and impact.

“«Burst».”

Due to the momentary acceleration from the wind attribute magic, the ogre reacted slowly to Walm’s movement. In passing, Walm beheaded the ogre, then thrust the longsword into the ogre’s side, just pulled out from the halberd. Blue flames emanated from the blade, burning the ogre from the inside. The wail of the great ogre didn’t last long.

Accompanied by a faint light, a war club approached from the side. Walm lowered his center of gravity to deflect the «Heavy Strike» infused with magic in the weapon. He caught the slight sound of the wind and a sliding foot. Twisting his neck, he observed a shadow at the edge of his vision. A spear in the shape of a cross swung from the powerful arm was approaching his throat.

Instinctively, Walm lowered his head. The saber-toothed chain scraped while carving deep wounds into the conical cervelliere helmet. The armor prevented the slash, but it couldn’t defend against the impact. His brain shook, and the two ogres tried to finish off the swaying Walm.

The retracted spear once again aimed its blade at Walm, but he intertwined the halberd, hooking the side claw. The remaining ogre, seeing the entwined halberd, swung the war hammer. Although Walm’s brain was still unsettled, his clouded eyes didn’t miss the movement.

Casually releasing the halberd, Walm drew the longsword and aligned its blade with the war hammer, sliding it along the surface. The ogre, who had hastily jumped backward, was a step too slow compared to Walm, who had solidified his resolve.

Walm cut off the ogre’s fingers that gripped the handle, causing the weapon to slip from its hand. Despite losing its fingertips, the ogre swung its fist, but Walm severed the head of the great ogre along with the arm. Immediately reversing, Walm faced the remaining ogre. Untangling the entwined halberd haphazardly, the ogre attempted to thrust with the cross spear.

The sword tip and spear tip engaged in several rounds of attack and defense. Seizing the moment when the ogre’s fully extended spear was retracted, Walm lunged forward. The ogre twisted its face, intending to use the reversed handle to create distance with a strike from the stone tip. In an instant, Walm curled his arm and intercepted the blow with his vambrace. Though his arm tingled as if electrified, he thrust the longsword with his remaining hand.

The sword tip caught the knee, causing the half of the ogre’s body to tilt on the cobblestone. Nevertheless, the great ogre’s fighting spirit remained unyielding, and the spear extended along the trajectory, crawling on the ground. Walm escaped from the reach and circled around to the side. The ogre, in response, used its remaining leg as a pivot and reversed.

Walm rapidly tilted his leaning body in the opposite direction and kicked off the ground. The great ogre, who tried to parry with the spear’s handle, was slower than the sword tip thrusting at its throat. Witnessing the ogre spewing blood, Walm twisted and withdrew the sword. The massive body sank like a cut puppet.

Five minutes passed, and before he knew it, only the sound of his own breathing remained. Swinging the sword into the void to scatter blood, Walm took a deep breath to compose himself. A slight sense of relief caused the tension in Walm to begin to dissipate. It was at that moment.

A palpable intimidation, a chilling sweat streaming down his back. Spitting out saliva mixed with blood from his cut mouth, Walm faced it. It stood at the center of the ogre’s corpse.