"I feel like I'm in better condition than usual?"

Evangeline spoke as she hopped up from her seat.

The other party members also nodded their heads with bright expressions, seeming to feel the same way.

'Come to think of it, all the buff skills and traits I have are fully activated within this fortress.'

Lately, I hadn't been able to apply traits like [Attack Totem] or [Defense Totem] due to lack of free slots. But now, they were active.

Maybe my buffs had some effect, considering everyone was spry and flying around?

I informed my party members that various buffs were active in this fortress area, and we briefly prepared for the next wave.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

From a distance, the sound of the ground shaking reverberated. Without a doubt, it was the next monster wave.

"Alright! Next round, let's go!"

Just then, the cheerful Evangeline raised her hand and—

Clang!

Swatted Lucas's tin helmet lightly.

Timed with the cheerful clang, the second wave of monsters began to flood in.

Lucas's eyes flashed menacingly from within his now-dented helmet.

"See you later."

"Even If I wanted to see you, I couldn't because of this helmet, you know~?"

Spear and shield in hand, Evangeline gave a sly smile as she adjusted her stance. Lucas clenched his teeth and turned his body toward the outside of the fortress.

Watching the cheerful pair of knights, I leaned back and laughed softly. They work well together.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Monsters poured in front of the squabbling knights—giant beasts with the heads of birds of prey and the bodies of bears.

Hawkbear.

A monster with a name that straightforwardly described its appearance.

In a fantasy world, it's common sense that a fusion of animals usually results in something stronger; these creatures boasted both the bear's brute strength and the raptor's agility.

'Wait, bears are already agile enough... and birds of prey are also plenty powerful...'

Anyway, that's the monster's profile. And true to the description, they were disgustingly fast and robust.

Krooooa!

Dozens of charging Hawkbears poured toward the fortress.

They split into three main groups, targeting the center, left, and right sides of the fortress to begin their assault.

"I'll take the right~!"

"I will defend the left!"

Evangeline rushed to defend the right side of the fortress, while Lucas took the left.

The Hawkbears charging from both sides were effectively stopped by the knights.

"Hawkbears have valuable ingredients for magic potions! Try to capture them intact!"

Junior, who was in charge of the right-side defense, released a bolt of lightning magic.

Pachichichich!

The Hawkbears were pierced all at once by the lightning.

"It's electrifyingggg!"

Standing in the middle of it all, Evangeline held up her shield, either enjoying or enduring the lightning storm, letting out an ambiguous scream.

Naturally, Damien, who was assisting in the defense of the left wall, broke into a cold sweat.

"Won't the lightning damage ruin the chances of capturing them intact?"

Bang! Thud-!

Damien's sniping precisely pierced the hearts and heads of the Hawkbears.

Lucas also gracefully sliced through the monsters' necks with his sword.

The Hawkbears were indeed fast and sturdy, but our party was even better. We had the leisure to hold casual conversations while fending them off.

And for those charging from the front,

Thwack-!

Thuthuthuthu-!magic

The shield turrets blocked them, and the automated defense turrets showered them with magical bullets.

I, standing on the ramparts, also repeatedly swung my magic staff [Maestro], sending blades of magical energy flying.

Krooooa!

Krooooa...!

One by one, the Hawkbears fell.

Given their typical stats, they were the type to overwhelm with sheer numbers. If regular soldiers had joined the defense, we would have likely sustained damage.

However, our side had come prepared with higher specs, managing to repel them without much damage.

"Hmm?"

About halfway through knocking them down, I squinted, surveying the surroundings.

"Where's the boss monster?"

The field was filled only with regular Hawkbears.

They said that every monster wave in this siege would include a boss-level monster.

So there should be a boss-level monster among these Hawkbears too...

'Usually, at times like this...'

I swiftly turned around."There you are!"

Sure enough, I saw a shadow stealthily approaching from behind the fortress.

"Predictable, you monstrous brats!"

Yelling, I extended my staff in its direction. Three blades of magical power spun and flew toward the shadow.

But,

Whoosh-!

The shadow easily leapt into the air, dodging all the magical blades I'd shot at it.

'What the hell? This Hawkbear is too nimble...'

No, it was more than nimble.

The creature in mid-air suddenly spread both its arms—skin between its arms and torso stretching like wings, unveiling its wing membranes.

And then, it just glided over the fortress walls and swooped in!

"Holy shit!"

I couldn't help but exclaim.

"It's a flying Hawkbear!"

Literally, a Hawkbear capable of flying.

The fastest and most agile among the Hawkbears—Hawkbear Assassin!

'So this is the substitute boss monster for this wave!'

In the game, players simply called it Flying Hawkbear.

It was the only one among these bear-headed birds with the ability to fly!

"Is today's theme aviation or what?!"

Unlike other bulky Hawkbears, this Assassin had a streamlined body.

Around its neck was a morbid necklace made of skulls from its previous victims.

'It's a high-spec Hawkbear with not just the ability to fly but also to stealth!'

An annoying opponent had shown up, one way or another!

Screeeek!

Having cleared the walls, the Hawkbear Assassin glided into the heart of the fortress.

Its target was the flag fluttering in the center of the fortress—the flag I had used for the 'Imperial Edict,' which served as the core of this fortress.

What's the rule that holds true in most siege games?

Obviously, it's 'Capture the Flag!'

Whether you defend or capture the flag determines the victory in a siege.

So—

"Defend it with your lives! Gansomi Brothers!"

I yelled, and the Gansomi Brothers, who had been waiting as a reserve force, rushed to the flag and took up their defensive positions.

Troll Royal Guard! Skeleton Knight! Scorpion Warrior!

All were melee warrior classes.

Even if the Hawkbear Assassin was a boss-enhanced elite monster, they should be able to hold it off for a bit!

Kuoooo-!

The next moment, the Hawkbear Assassin and the Gansomi Brothers clashed.

Crash! Boom!

The troll was torn to shreds and hurled away.

It's okay! It's a troll! It'll recover!

Smash! Clang-!

The skeleton scattered across the floor.

It's okay! It's a skeleton! Just assemble it back!

Ripppp!

The scorpion's torso and tail were severed.

It's, it's okay... it's a scorpion... umm...

"I'll pour some potion on you! Hold on!"

The battered Gansomi Brothers seemed to be giving me resentful looks, but at least you had bought some time!

I, who had run all the way to the center of the fortress, shouted.

"Hey! Bird-headed bear! Look at me!"

Our eyes met, and I immediately activated 'Gaze of Command.'

"Freeze right there! The Rose of Sharon has bloomed-!"

[Command Difficulty: Easy]

[Comparing the user's Intelligence stat with the target's Magic Power stat.]

[Determining success rate. Rolling for resistance...]

Ding!

As soon as the resistance roll began, a completion sound rang out along with a burst of azure light before my eyes.

Inside the fortress area, my [Gaze of Command] skill was also amplified. So, of course.

[Evaluation Complete!]

Success: 1 target

[Executing Forced Command.]

Naturally, it's a success!Kwoo...?

Immediately, the Hawkbear Assassin stopped in its tracks. Its posture, frozen mid-charge, looked rather amusing.

"Hawkbear Assassin!"

I immediately activated my second skill, [Become Mine!].

"Become Mine!"

A thick chain collar materialized out of thin air and tightly latched onto the Hawkbear Assassin's neck.

Ding!

[You have successfully recruited Hawkbear Assassin (SR) to your side!]

- Current Loyalty: 10(+50)/100

- Absolute Command: 1 use

Hell yeah! I've got myself an Elite-tier monster!

Although the boss modifiers would disappear after the capture, turning it into just an elite monster, I had still succeeded in catching quite a useful one.

"New entry in the monster compendium... One more step closer to becoming the ultimate trainer..."

As I was mumbling to myself, I saw Evangeline and Lucas waving from the ramparts.

"Senior! We're done over here too~!"

"We've repelled all the Hawkbear fiends, my lord!"

"Good job, everyone! I'll be right there!"

I quickly poured a potion on the Wounded Brothers and assembled the skeleton.

After greeting the Hawkbear Assassin and instructing it to get acquainted with the others, I ran back towards the ramparts.

"..."

"..."

The captured monsters left behind eyed each other awkwardly. But hey, awkwardness only lasts so long. They'd become friends eventually, right? Working together tends to do that.

Once I reached the top of the ramparts, I took a moment to catch my breath as I prepared for the next wave.

Just one more wave and this takeover battle would be over.

Then it happened.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"...Huh?"

An irritatingly high-pitched alarm began to ring in my ears.

[ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!]

Upon checking the system window, my [Boss Detection Radar] was active.

I had set it to only alert me to Nightmare Legion-level bosses since normal monsters didn't warrant such a warning.

Which meant...

"Damn it, don't tell me, right now...?!"

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

Even if the five of us were among the best of the best, Nightmare Legion bosses were a threat on a whole different level.

Could the five of us really win this...?!

And then.

Boom!

The next moment, a thick cloud of pink smoke burst forth before the fortress, and out of it emerged a group of monsters muttering among themselves.

Those who had emerged were...

"Wow, wow, wait, wait, hey, how does my makeup look?"

A Succubus Queen hurriedly touching up her makeup.

And in front of her, her underling succubi, breaking a sweat while holding up a full-length mirror...

"...?"

For a moment, I was dumbfounded and stared blankly at the spectacle.

Oblivious to my gaze, the Succubus Queen—Salome—continued to fix her makeup and adjust her outfit.

"How's the outfit? Decent? Last time I wore something modest and got no reaction, so I told them to prepare the raciest thing this time. How is it? Hot enough?"

Her underling succubi simultaneously gave her a thumbs up.

Salome, who had been striking various poses in front of the mirror, satisfied, narrowed her eyes as she looked into her own.

"Ah, just look at these puffy eyes after sleeping for a whole week... This is why it's hard for succubi to maintain their real-world beauty. Of course my eyes would be puffy when my job is in a dream but I clock out in reality. Should I do a cold compress? Any succubi here got some ice? Anyone?"

Salome and her subordinate succubi all shook their heads vehemently. Salome let out a heavy sigh.

'Well, considering the sudden summoning, I did prepare diligently. With this much, Ash would surely look at me differen-- Huh!'

She seemed to have just realized that they had already been dropped in front of enemy lines.

Panicked, Salome and the succubi screamed, hurriedly putting away their mirrors and tossing their makeup aside.

"Uh, umm, hey there..."

Sweating bullets, Salome awkwardly waved her hand at me.

"Ah, hello, Ash?"

Poof-!

Her subordinate succubi belatedly scattered flower petals and pink smoke. They even diligently fanned it to spread it with the wind.

"..."

Watching this spectacle, I couldn't hold back and exploded.

"What the hell are you doing popping up again, damn it!"

I swear I'm going to kill her this time, this stalker-like succubus!

--TL Notes--

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading

; Previous ;; ToC ; Next