Whoosh!

A terrifying whirlwind struck the center of the fortifications.

The left and right of the defensive line were barricaded with cannons and ballistae, and they launched wind magic at the incoming gargoyles through the breached center, using the whirlwind artifact.

The wind magic wiped out the gargoyles’ wings, robbing them of their lift, and they continued to plummet.

The majority of the first wave of attacking gargoyles fell and shattered beneath the walls.

Growl...!

Crackle!

However, a few resilient ones managed to survive and successfully landed on the walls.

The frontline defense party - our main party, started the battle.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

A monstrous statue made of rock and steel charged towards us.

We had encountered it during our free exploration period, but at that time, we could easily defeat it because we had Jupiter.

But now we lack a wide-area magician.

So, should we just sit back and take it?

No way.

“Damien.”

We may not have our first option, but there were plenty of alternatives.

"Are you ready?"

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Our party’s designated sniper.

My most potent cheat code, Damien was already ready to fire.

There were six magical guns neatly arranged on the platform next to Damien.

Two rifles. One short gun. Three handguns.

Swoosh!

Damien smoothly picked up one of the rifles. It was a long, sleek rifle.

The most potent weapon we had at this point.

The explicit balance breaker.

The SSR-ranked magical gun, Black Queen!

Damien took a competent shooting stance and, after aiming - pulled the trigger.

Boom-!

A sound as if a cannon was fired resonated.

The magic bullet scraped the barrel and sparked at the muzzle.

The bullet that shot out scattering flames pierced through the air and went through the center of the leading gargoyle’s body-

Thud! Thud! Smack! Crash-!

It then sequentially blew off the chest, shoulder, neck, and head of the next four gargoyles charging behind it.

Five in total.

Five of them were pierced by the magic bullet at once and fell backward without even a chance to scream. Thud...!

"...Hoo."

After successfully executing the crazy trick of one-shot-five-kills, Damien slowly put down the magic gun.

The magical residue burning in the overheated muzzle formed a smoky aftermath that spread out.

Looking down at the smoke, Damien took a deep breath.

"I might not be able to handle many enemies as efficiently as Grandma Jupiter..."

Damien’s large eyes shone with a distinct light through his curly brown hair.

"But I’ll do the best I can."

Wait, what you just did seems more than efficient...

Not only our party, but also the two sub-parties waiting in the back, and even the other soldiers responsible for forming the barrier, were stunned by this trick.

I quickly shouted.

"Hey! Is this the time to stand and watch?! Focus on your tasks!"

Anyway, the vanguard of the gargoyles was crushed in a single strike.

Lucas and Evangeline blocked the following wave, pushing them off the ramparts, while Damien made holes in those who managed to breach the knights’ defenses with his sniper fire.

Not long after,

"The vanguard, all annihilated!"

The melodious shout from Lucas echoed.

They had managed to eliminate the first wave of gargoyles completely.

"Don’t let your guard down! This is just the beginning!"

The gargoyles were divided into six squadrons.

What they had just eliminated was the front-running hundred or so.

They had been able to exterminate them in one breath by pouring out two artifacts, but there were still more of them.

Boom! Boom! Boom-!

Immediately following, the second wave of the fiends began pouring into the middle of the wall.

"Huh!"

I also drew my staff, ’Maestro’, and swung it forward.

Three magic swords that had formed behind my back spun and shot forward.

The blades of magic mercilessly sliced off the fingers of the gargoyles climbing up the walls.

"Good!"

I smiled as I retracted the magic swords and placed them back behind me.magic

I had been practicing alone for the past few days.

Thanks to the Commander class debuff, it was damn hard to increase my proficiency, but my practice paid off as I was able to maintain quite a precise control even in battle.

’If it continues like this, we might be able to hold them off quite smoothly...’

Just then,

"Your Highness!"Lilly called me urgently. As I looked her way, Lilly pointed to the artifact.

"The duration of the second whirlwind artifact is ending!"

Already? Time flies too fast.

"Turn on the third one right away!"

"Yes!"

The third whirlwind artifact activated, effectively barricading the center of the wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom...!

The majority of the gargoyles still charging were losing their ability to fly and were falling.

But this line of wind defense would end in five more minutes.

Then, until the cooldown of the first artifact we activated ends. Precisely, the center would be left empty for 5 minutes.

’The turning point of this defense battle is how we hold out for these 5 minutes until the artifact activates again.’

While watching the mass of monsters falling down the wall, I gulped nervously.

’Can we withstand it...?’

Right after, I shook my head fiercely.

No, it’s not ’can we withstand it’.

I clenched my teeth and glared straight ahead.

’We WILL withstand it. I will ensure that we do!’

That’s why I am here.

The next five minutes flew by like an arrow. We annihilated the second wave and managed to cut down about half of the third wave.

Lilly shouted urgently.

"One minute until the Whirlwind Projector ceases operation!"

"All hands, get ready."

During a brief lull on the frontlines, Lucas and Evangeline had retreated in front of me.

Damien, counting the remaining bullets in his magic gun, and Lilly, the alchemist who swallowed nervously as she looked my way from her team.

As I took in each member of the main party, Lucas spoke urgently.

"My Lord! Once the artifact’s effects end, they will rush toward the center. Wouldn’t it be better to redirect the firewall and block the center?"

"No. If we do that, the flanks’ firewalls will weaken, allowing them to invade from those sides."

Our current cannons and ballistas, spreading the firewall, were not prepared for hand-to-hand combat at all.

If we unnecessarily disrupt the firewall and the gargoyles infiltrate from that side, we would be at a disadvantage.

If the cannons and ballistas were attacked, the firewall would weaken further, and the gargoyles would infiltrate various locations.

Eventually, the entire frontline would collapse like dominoes.

"It would be better to draw the enemy’s attention this way."

After all, they were monsters with high resistance to physical attacks. It was better to take them down with the elites here.

"Now, everyone pay attention."

Clapping my hands to focus the main party’s attention, I nodded heavily.

"Everyone, in the next five minutes, the real battle begins."

There was no visible tension on the faces of the party members. Just a cold, refined concentration.

"You all have been honed through past battles, and I believe you can withstand this. But, remember, the battlefield is full of variables. We can’t predict what will happen."

I slowly put my hand into my robe.

"So, before we get into the final battle..."

I took out my staff.

"Let’s start by getting a smack each."

"..."

"..."

"..."

A sudden silence fell.

Among the stunned party members, Lucas asked in a bewildered voice.

"... Excuse me?"

I swung my staff and roared fiercely.

"I said, line up for your smack, you numbskulls!"

***

The staff I’m currently wielding, the ’Maestro,’ has one special feature.

- When attacking directly with this staff, it inflicts 1% fixed damage on the target’s current HP and gives a random buff. (Activates only once a day per target)

The buff from this staff is quite good, even if it’s random. If I can apply it, it will be helpful throughout the battle.

Of course, everyone’s HP is full right now, so starting by shaving off 1% is a bit of a waste... If it really doesn’t work out, they can just drink the standby potions.

The bigger problem is, I have to hit my party members with this staff for the effect to activate.

I gave up trying to explain this bizarre mechanism.

Instead, I decided to make them understand through experience.

"Come on, we don’t have time! Everyone, put out your hand!"

Under my urging, Lucas, Evangeline, and Damien awkwardly extended their hands in front of me.

As I approached Lucas, the nearest to me, staff in hand, Lucas looked at me with a troubled expression on his face.

"My Lord. Have I done something wrong...?"

This child, again. Always wearing the face of a dog caught in the rain.

"If it’s a punishment, I’ll take it willingly, but if you could tell me what I did wrong, I’ll surely correct it next time..."

"Shut it! You did nothing wrong, just take a hit!"

I lightly tapped this Golden Retriever-like fellow’s palm with my staff.

Thwack!

[Superior Buff Acquired!]

[Lucas (SSR) is granted the ’Half MP Consumption for 3 Minutes’ buff!]

Perhaps the sting was sharp, Lucas trembled his big body.

Then, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh?"He followed by looking over his own body, letting out a surprised exclamation.

"Wow, wow...?"

Is he feeling the effects of the Half MP Consumption buff? As he couldn’t buff himself, I couldn’t tell how he felt.

After a moment, Lucas nodded at me, earnestly.

"Your Highness."

"Hmm?"

"Please hit me often in the future."

"Huh, what...?"

Had I, perhaps, opened Lucas’s eyes to that kind of world(?)? A myriad of thoughts flashed through my mind. No way, a protagonist? No way...

Evangeline, who had been looking at us with a flustered face, then reached out her two hands to me.

"I don’t know what kind of perverse conversation that was, but it seems that getting hit by that thing brings good fortune?"

"You catch on quickly, top of the academy."

"Then hit me quickly. We don’t have much time."

I didn’t decline and lightly hit Evangeline’s palm. There was nothing more enjoyable than disciplining a model student!

"Ten penalty points for Gryffindor!"

"What are you talking about...?"

Thwack!

[Minor Buff Acquired!]

[Evangeline (SSR) is granted the ’10% Increase in Defense for 3 Minutes’ buff!]

"Ouch!"

Despite being an SSR-grade tank, it seemed to hurt. Well, it was a fixed amount of damage, so it made sense.

Evangeline, brushing her hand lightly, frowned her beautiful eyebrows.

"Hmm, so this is what it is."

"Do you feel the effect?"

"Yes. It’s definitely good. But next time, please hit somewhere other than my palm. Somewhere it won’t interfere with combat."

"Alright? Then where should I hit next time?"

At my words, Evangeline opened her mouth wide.

Hmm, objectively, the form of the question was a bit strange...

"Why are you asking me that! Decide on your own, senior!"

"Yes, my apologies..."

I turned my body to the side. The last one was Damien.

Damien had his eyes tightly shut, trembling as he held his hands out in front. What was up with him.

"Please... be gentle..."

"..."

I remembered that Damien had spent his childhood in an orphanage.

He had said it was a terrible place. Perhaps he had some bad memories associated with physical punishment.

"I’m sorry, Damien! But this is for your benefit!"

I tapped the staff lightly on my palm. The damage would probably be the same anyway.

Slap!

[Premium Buff Awarded!]

[Damien(N) has been given the ’Unlimited Stamina for 3 minutes’ buff!]

"..."

Damien’s eyes widened as he glanced alternately at his hand and at me.

Why not? You’ve been hit with a premium buff. Let me know how you feel.

"Prince."

"Yeah, what?"

"I... I feel like I can do anything right now."

Good, enjoy that feeling while it lasts. It’ll be gone in three minutes.

I turned my head and shouted to Lilly, a member of the Artifact team.

"Lilly! Want a turn?"

Lilly shook her head vehemently, her face going pale. Did she hate the idea of being hit that much?

But that wasn’t it. Lilly cried out.

"Artifact shutdown! It’s over–!"

"...!"

At the same moment, the wind stopped.

The wind wall that had been blocking the middle of the fortress disappeared, and the very next moment.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Booom–!

Gargoyles began to swoop down one after another.

Their number was different from the occasional few we had seen so far.

Wave 3.

The third wave of gargoyles.

About half of them had crashed, but the number of gargoyles that had made it over the fire net and wind wall, landing safely in the middle of the fortress, was - about fifty in total.

"Five minutes."

I announced calmly to my party members, who were standing in formation.

"Five minutes that will change the world."

vs 5.

In a defense RPG, these numbers are a recipe for defeat.

I swung my staff lightly, controlling the blade of magic power, and tore off the cast still wrapped around my left arm.

Thunk, thunk, thunk...

Though a bit stiff, the sensation in my left arm was perfectly fine.

As I casually scattered pieces of the cast on the ground, I grinned.

"Let’s go. Let’s have some fun."

--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