Chapter 186: Will of the Fortress

(As many of you have witnessed, our home has been infiltrated by demonic humans—those who used vile means, deception, and cruelty to slip past our gates.)

In a certain street, blacksmiths could be seen putting down their hammers.

"So the situation’s gotten that worse, eh?"

Without changing his attire, an old man threw his forging hammer and went towards a greatsword mounted on the wall.

"It’s been a while since I used my hammer for other things..."

Another old man started swinging his smithing hammer in various ways.

"Since the commander himself is personally asking for help, then I guess it can’t be helped."

An old blacksmith with a peg leg limped as he reached for a long bow in a pile of trash.

(They have blackmailed, tortured, and threatened the innocent. And now, their intent is clear: to bring this fortress—our fortress—down into ruin.)

Larkson’s voice rang through another street.

"So that’s why there have been many strange people lately, huh?"

An old woman who was knitting on her rocking chair stood up with a click of her tongue.

As she walked slowly towards the door, she slightly lifted her floral house dress.

Seeing the leather sheaths containing throwing daggers and needles that looked like snakes crawling on her leg, she nodded in satisfaction.

After she exited her house, she was surprised to see some of her old friends and other old women leaving their homes, each with a weapon in hand.

(But I stand before you not to mourn, but to rise)

Inside a run-down library that had each of its bookshelves covered with layers of dust and webs...

An old man who was snoring suddenly woke up upon hearing a voice in his mind.

"Commander!?"

He listened for a while and got a gist of what was happening.

"Ha... and here I thought I could retire in peace..."

He stood up and held his lower back for a while, "This back pain is killing me! I should make this quick..."

Grabbing a dusty staff and a worn-down pointy hat on his way, he soon made his way to the door.

"To think that there’s a mage in this fortress that can cast Mist Communication on this scale... I’ve got to meet them."

The old man’s mutters echoed in the empty library as he left.

However, four six-pointed blue stars could be seen glowing on his chest.

This scene happened all across Bakurad Fortress as Larkson’s voice, which had a hint of guilt and dignity, was heard by its citizens

(I ask you now, not as your commander, but as a fellow defender of this land— Let us cast these wretched invaders back into the depths of hell where they belong!)

(At this very moment, enemies march upon all gates of the fortress.)

(We are surrounded—but we are not broken.)

(And so, I come to you once more, humbly yet firmly.)

(Lend us your strength.)

(Forgive me, for I have failed to protect you from within.)

(It was never my wish to trouble you with war again.)

(But the time calls for unity, for courage, for defiance.)

(Raise your weapons, steel your hearts—for Bakurad Fortress, for our home!)

"That will be all, thank you." Larkson bowed towards Pandora in gratitude.

Soon after, the mist that surrounded the fortress gradually dissipated.

Killian commented from the side, "Damn, I guess being a commander really is something, huh? Even I felt my blood surge hearing your speech, and mind you, I wasn’t even born here."

"Haha, you’re friend is quite funny, Sweetie." Larkson chuckled as he ruffled Aurelia’s head.

His eyes turned serious as he looked at the swarm of demonic humans approaching them.

"You little ones rest for a while. I’ll need to pay them for ambushing me..."

Pandora and Killian did not protest since they still felt exhausted, thus taking this opportunity to recover and see just how strong the fortress commander really was.

On the other hand, Aurely had a worried gaze, "Be careful, Uncle!"

"Don’t worry, Sweetie. I’m feeling much better now, thanks to the way you looked after me earlier."

Larkson cracked his neck as he looked at the demonic humans, "My beloved niece and her friends are here. So, I guess I should show off a bit, right?"

"Grrrrr—-"

The demonic humans only let out beastly, inhumane sounds before they pounced towards him.

"Hu..."

Taking a deep breath, Larkson chanted.

[Crater Force]

Woooo—

A transparent energy that seemed to distort space surrounded his body.

The aura manual that he had studied since he was a child was named the Crater Series.

It was a straightforward, yet extremely powerful aura art that nurtures one’s aura into developing a complex formula that multiplies the impact of one’s actions.

In a nutshell, the aura of the Crater Series makes it so that even the smallest action would generate enough force to form a crater, hence its name.

Earlier, Larkson used Crater Fist and Crater Kick, which applied the principle to specific body parts.

This lessened the aura consumption, but also weakened the enhancement of impact.

With Crater Force, the principle of the aura art was currently being applied to every single muscle, tissue, fiber, and cell of Larkson’s body.

"This is a pretty taxing aura art, but a second will be enough."

Seeing the dozens of demonic humans in mid-air, each with a ferocious expression on their faces, he did not waste any more time.

Larkson leaned forward and kicked the floor.

BOOM—

Dust filled the air as a massive crater could be seen where he had been standing.

The scene that happened afterward made Killian, Pandora, and Aurelia’s eyes widen in unison.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The fortress commander had just been standing in one spot.

All he did was lean forward, then all they saw were the dozens of demonic humans in mid-air with their chests caved in.

"What happened...?" Aurelia muttered absentmindedly.

Pandora kept silent, surprise evident in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Killian could not help but smile in shock, "What the... Is it speed? No, it’s..."

As someone who pursued the path of aura and was hailed as a genius, he could somewhat see some of the underlying principles of the fortress commander’s movement.

This was in addition to the fact that he was someone who specialized in speed.

Killian muttered, "...overwhelming strength. His efficiency in killing is also unbelievable."

Pandora and Aurelia both listened to his mutters.

Being fast meant that one would be more attuned to their speed.

This meant that one’s mind would work at the same speed that the body was going, making it easier to be in control at a certain speed.

One would describe it as the world slowing down in their eyes.

However, what Larkson did was achieve overwhelming speed with sheer strength.

Its difference from being fast was that his mind would not be attuned to the speed of his body.

In simpler terms, the world did not slow down in Larkson’s perspective despite him achieving such speed.

It was like being in a high-speed vehicle while trying to accurately knock down bottles on the side of the road with one’s hand.

But despite this, he was still able to accurately strike the chests of dozens of demonic humans, thereby killing them in the most efficient manner possible.

This feature was a testament to Larkson’s strength and experience.

"...truly unbelievable." Killian sucked in a mouthful of cold breath.

At this moment, Larkson walked towards them, "Hmmm, the potions you gave me are really high quality, huh? To think that I’ll recover this much in a short time."

RUMBLE— RUMBLE— BOOM!!!!

At this moment, the sound of thunder reverberated throughout the entire fortress.

"What’s that!?" Aurelia asked with a worried expression.

Meanwhile, Killian and Pandora frowned as they gripped their weapons tightly.

Seeing this, Larkson chuckled, "Haha, don’t worry. Those guys are with us."

"Do you know them, Uncle?"

"Yes. That must be the work of the only Master Magician in the fortress."

Upon hearing the words ’Master Magician’, Pandora’s eyes shone curiously.

Larkson noticed this and said, "Let’s go and regroup with them. We need to do so if we want to meet Regis’s demand of clearing up the fortress in less than an hour."

They did not waste any more time as they ran towards the source of the commotion..

***

Meanwhile, outside the North Gate...

A lone youth could be seen fighting through an endless horde of monsters and beasts...

His snow-white hair danced freely as his long steel swords danced along the red dots that appeared on his opponents’ bodies.

A trail of corpses could be seen behind him, filling the air with the stench of blood.

With every swing of his swords, he took a step towards the skeletal wyvern, who seemed to be watching him silently.

His blood-red eyes, which looked like jewels under the moonlight, radiated endless potent bloodthirst.

This image of him bore a striking resemblance to when he was still a demonic human.

As if in a trance, a smile crept its way on his lips as he went on a blood-crazed slaughter.