Chapter 81: The Southern Deer Gate Mountain Battle at the Border of the Cardero Province – Part Two

"Today is the deadline." On the other side, a half-dragon fixed his cold gaze on the ratman sorcerer and spoke without the slightest pretense.

A chill raced down the ratman sorcerer’s neck. He turned to look at the half-dragon, who was gripping a blade, and broke out in a cold sweat.

"A direct assault will surely take it."

Now that the human army was still alive and rain was falling, it meant all his meticulous planning had failed.

"Tuck."

"Master, I am here."

A giant ratman scurried from the swarm, knelt grandly at the sorcerer's feet, and spoke obsequiously.

"Commit every unit. Seize this earthwork fort."

"Yes, my master."

Tuck scrambled to his feet and hurried off to relay the order.

Half an hour later, over two thousand ratman soldiers stood at the vanguard, with gnolls, lizardfolk, ogres, and more than a dozen other monstrous races forming a motley coalition behind them.

While the ratman soldiers trembled in fear, the rest of the monsters milled about in loose indifference. Whether they took the Deer Gate South Hill fort today or not meant little to them. Their commanders had already told them before setting out: show up, but don’t risk your lives.

The ratman sorcerer watched these monsters preparing to put on a show, gnashing his teeth in impotent fury.

"Attack."

At Tuck's command, the ratman soldiers raised their wooden shields, their hearts heavy with dread, and advanced step by step toward the fort.

When they had covered a hundred meters, the monster troops behind them finally began to move, their chief concern being to appear obedient without risking themselves.

With only the ratmen, the fort could never be taken. The ratman sorcerer gritted his teeth and shouted, "Anyone who slays ten human soldiers will be rewarded with a low-grade magic crystal!"

All eyes turned to him, full of doubt.

"The reward is here. The count is by human heads," he said, stifling his pain, pulling an ornate pouch from his spatial bracelet and scattering its contents on the ground.

The shining allure of magic crystals stirred the monsters to a frenzy.

Even the two half-dragons behind the sorcerer exchanged a glance, their eyes brimming with greed. Should they make a move? In the end, they restrained their urge. There's time enough to strike once this old fool fails to take the fort.

In an instant, the monsters who were ready to loaf about and do nothing became wild with excitement, charging toward the earthwork fort without a care.

On the path to battle, many ratman soldiers perished not at human hands, but at the hands of their supposed allies.

"Filthy vermin, you’re in my way!" A mid-tier silver ogre swung his spiked club, clearing a path for himself at the cost of dozens of ratmen.

"Move! All of you, move!"

Seeing the casualties soar, Tuck, the giant ratman, hurriedly ordered the troops aside.

After the commotion subsided, Tuck looked at the three hundred ratmen who had been trampled to pulp. He was on the verge of tears, but could only regroup his forces and trail behind the monster army.

"The magic crystals belong to us lizardfolk," declared the lizard captain, eyeing the competition and instructing his subordinates.

"Don’t worry, captain. I checked yesterday—these humans are soft, a tough nut for the rats, but for us, they’re easy pickings." A lizardfolk licked his lips, crawling quickly as he spoke.

"Lads, bare your weapons! Harvest human heads!" A gnoll over three meters tall barked at the low earthwork walls.

On the ramparts, Verin looked at the oncoming horde, feeling an unprecedented weight upon him.

"At least two hundred silver-rank monsters," he murmured.

"My lord, let me stand here in your stead," Kael knelt, requesting earnestly.

"I said I would share their fate, and I won't break my word—even if it means dying here." Verin lifted Kael to his feet and removed his helmet.

"My lord, there is no hope. You are our only silver; the enemy has too many. If you leave now, the six thousand men can hold them off, and you will get away safely," Kael pleaded, still not giving up.

Verin’s face grew cold as he stared at Kael. "You want me to flee?"

"I dare not. If I can fulfill your duty, it is also valid in law," Kael replied, meeting Verin’s gaze, ready to die.

As they spoke, the earth ramparts were battered open in several places, and monsters poured into the fort, clashing with the defenders.

A centurion, sword in hand, charged a rampaging ogre. In an instant, he was struck by a spiked club, his body shattered and lifeless.

The battle flag still stood atop the wall. Not one soldier retreated.

Retreat meant death, as did advancing—so why not make one last attack on the monsters?

"Death may not be the end."

As the situation crumbled, Verin drew his knight's sword and leapt down, beheading a gnoll who was butchering the defenders.

"Surround him! Kill him!"

A dozen gnolls saw their comrade fall and closed in, launching wave after wave of attacks.

Facing three silver-ranked gnolls and more than a dozen bronze, Verin could barely hold his ground.

He misjudged a parry and was sent hurtling, crashing into several soldiers.

"That’s the human commander! Bring me his head and the ratman sorcerer will pay handsomely in magic crystals!" the gnoll captain barked, his eyes alight with greed as he casually picked up an iron sword, approaching Verin step by step.

Suddenly, a token flew from Verin’s body, hovering in midair.

"A token... cough, a token! Perhaps there’s hope yet."

Verin recognized the token, recalling how Anastasia had once given it to him, saying it could block three attacks below the legendary level.

The gnoll captain, his desire overpowering him, reached for the floating token.

A world of snow and ice descended. In a heartbeat, every monster within the fort was frozen solid.

At the foot of the hill, the ratman sorcerer and the two half-dragons watched as the entire slope became a frozen wasteland. They fled for their lives.

A familiar sound resounded; every frozen monster shattered into crystal, scattering across the battlefield.

The token lingered in the air, then slowly floated back into Verin’s hand.

The surviving defenders stared in awe, as if witnessing a miracle. They slumped to the ground, overwhelmed by the feeling of having survived death.

Far from Deer Gate South Hill, the ratman sorcerer suddenly struck, ambushing a half-dragon and plunging a sinister shamanic artifact into its back.

"Filthy ratman!"

The other half-dragon swung his blade in fury, severing the ratman sorcerer’s neck in a single blow.

The sorcerer's head sailed high, its expression twisted in a smile as it stared at the half-dragon…

Half an hour later, the unconscious half-dragon awoke, his eyes darting to the sorcerer's corpse nearby, shaken by his narrow escape.

Not long after, the two half-dragons returned, carrying the ratman sorcerer’s head as proof of their deed.