Novel Full Chapter 228 : Chapter 228
Chapter 228. Now It’s the Real Deal (1)
The Monster Stampede that occurred in the Schneider fiefdom.
This was something that neither Patrick nor the sages of the Tower of Truth, said to be the wisest on the continent, had anticipated at all.
The Rushing Death had sent a survivor to leave a message.
‘You humans who have broken the taboo. Pay the price with your deaths.’
When they heard this, everyone thought that the target of the Rushing Death’s attack was the pioneer city Ava.
Doesn’t that make sense?
After all, it was the pioneer city that had invaded the Great Forest and encroached upon its territory.
But that was when one viewed the opponent as a mere beast.
The Rushing Death was an intelligent being, to the extent that it left a message with a survivor to convey its intentions.
If that was the case.
It meant that with that level of thinking ability, it could fully grasp what the root cause was.
The Schneider fiefdom.
The Rushing Death, which had targeted that place, sent its kin there.
They had been perfectly caught off guard.
* * *
The outer wall of the fiefdom.
There, soldiers were busily moving, carrying rocks and weapons.
“Sir Knight. Where should I take this?”
“Take it to the north wall! We have enough here.”
“Yes, sir!”
Oliver, now called Knight A, looked down at the Great Forest from the top of the wall and gritted his teeth.
“You damn bastards…. Come if you dare.”
As far as Oliver knew, the last time a Monster Stampede had hit the Schneider fiefdom was long before he was born.
At that time, the Schneider fiefdom lost its lord.
The lord at the time died, and they managed to preserve the fiefdom by barely retreating with the young heir and some of the residents.
The lord who survived at that time was none other than Patrick’s grandfather, Baron Antol Schneider.
In other words, this Schneider fiefdom was a fiefdom that had already been destroyed once by a Monster Stampede.
‘Not this time.’
Needless to say, the current Schneider fiefdom was incomparably stronger than it was back then.
Strong knights.
The allied force of the Orc warrior band.
And with the Elves having joined, there were also mages and magic swordsmen dispatched from the Tower of Truth.
Although 90 percent of that military power was currently concentrated in the pioneer city, the remaining 10 percent of the force was still far stronger than in the past.
And there were also high and sturdy walls and siege equipment that could block the advance of most large-type monsters.
‘It’s okay. We can do it. We can do it.’
As Oliver was reassuring himself, someone spoke to him.
“Sir A, what is the situation?”
“My lord.”
The one who had come to ask Oliver about the situation was Baron Schneider himself.
Unlike usual, he was wearing a sword and old armor.
“My lord. This is dangerous.”
“That is why I must be here.”
“My lord.”
“This is my duty as the head of the Schneider family.”
Baron Schneider said firmly, erasing his usual good-natured impression.
His momentum was so firm that even Oliver, who had reached the 4-star level, flinched for a moment.
“What is the current number of troops remaining in the fiefdom?”
“That…. 500 soldiers, 10 knights, and 100 Orc warriors led by Sir Turanta, and 20 Elven warriors are staying. Ah, and ten mages and 20 magic swordsmen from the Tower of Truth are stationed here.”
“The military power is sufficient.”
The soldiers were newly recruited, but the men of the Schneider fiefdom were originally strong.
On top of that, as a result of being trained by the instructor knights who rolled them just as much as they had been rolled by Patrick, they had become strong and robust in a short period of time.
Even though they were new recruits, they would not fall behind the regular armies of other fiefdoms.
And the knightly order, all of whom had achieved a level of 4-star or higher.
Turanta and the strong Orc warriors who followed him.
The Elven warrior band was also a powerful force.
“If it’s the Elven warrior band, it must be a force that includes an Elven Knight.”
“Yes. That is correct. We need at least one person with that ring.”
“I see….”
An Elven Knight was a force comparable to a 7-star knight among humans.
On top of that, there were ten mages and twenty magic swordsmen.
In fact, with this much military power, it was worth a fight.
“Gather them immediately. Hurry.”
“Yes. Understood.”
At Baron Schneider’s command, Oliver moved quickly and gathered the representatives of each force.
Normally, Baron Schneider would have started with greetings and had a calm conversation.
But now was different.
“As you all know, a Monster Stampede has begun. If its direction of advance is this city, then we must fight against it here.”
The gathered people were flustered by the sight of Baron Schneider getting straight to the point.
‘What’s this?’
‘Was he always like this?’
Regardless of whether they were flustered or not, Baron Schneider continued to speak at his own pace.
“Those who will lend their strength, please remain. And if you will not, please lead the refugees and move west.”
“To the west? Where in the west?”
“There is no destination. If a stampede or a national disaster-grade monster comes, we must simply go west. That is the survival rule of the East.”
At that, Lawrence, who was next to Baron Schneider, had a grim expression.
‘Right. It was always like that. It always was.’
That was how the East survived.
They fought and fought fiercely to survive, but when a disaster they couldn’t dare to resist struck, they had always done this.
They would send the family’s heir and the young people of the fiefdom to the west, and the remaining people would all protect the fiefdom.
To fight and win?
No. It was to buy time to increase the survival rate of the children who had been sent to the west, even by a little.
At the cost of their own deaths….
‘That was the East.’
Everyone had lost their sense of it since Patrick had come to the forefront, but the East was originally that kind of land.
A desperate land of survival where blood and death were a part of daily life.
And now, before their eyes, was the head of the Schneider family, who had protected that land of survival for generations.
“There is no time. Even if you leave the fiefdom, as long as you lead the refugees well, no one will blame you. Please decide right now.”
At Baron Schneider’s words, the others were flustered. Right now, neither the Elven king Kirioth nor the Seven Sages were here.
The person who had the capacity to make an arbitrary decision in such an emergency situation was….
“The Red Rock Tribe will remain.”
There was one.
The chief of the Red Rock Tribe, Turanta.
Although he had allowed his son Tutan to become independent and lead the young warriors, he was still the chief of the Red Rock Tribe. And….
“I made a promise with the great warrior. To be a neighbor of the Schneider fiefdom.”
“Sir Turanta.”
“The Orc race does not abandon its neighbors. We are warriors. We will fight until we die.”
“Thank you.”
Baron Schneider bowed his head to Turanta to express his gratitude.
Although their races were different, the two men had lived side by side for the past few years.
The Orcs protected the humans, and the humans accepted the Orcs as friendly neighbors.
Nowhere else on the continent could you find a place where humans and Orcs could get drunk together and sing with their arms around each other’s shoulders, except for this Schneider fiefdom. And….
“The warriors of our Elven race will also remain.”
The Elven Knight, who was participating as the representative of the Elven race, said.
His name was Peioreun.
He was an Elven Knight like Elione and a warrior who could summon two high-level spirits.
Naturally, he had received a Vine Ring from Patrick.
In fact, it would have been very troublesome if he left.
In this situation where Patrick was absent, the current top military power was him, the Elven Knight. However….
“Will you be alright? You could die.”
At Baron Schneider’s words, Peioreun said.
“If it weren’t for Sir Patrick, our Elven race would have been destroyed anyway.”
“…….”
“Elves are not a race that forgets a debt of gratitude. We will gladly shed blood for the sake of our clan’s debt.”
“Thank you for the goodwill of the Elven race.”
And in the Tower of Truth, which was listening to this conversation….
“Are you saying that only we should leave?”
“But we don’t even know the scale of the stampede…”
“We are also allies of the Schneider fiefdom. And the pioneering of the Great Forest is a project officially conducted by the Tower of Truth. Have you forgotten?”
“Ummm….”
It seemed a conflict of opinion had arisen between the mages who wanted to retreat and the magic swordsmen who wanted to fight.
Baron Schneider said to the two of them.
“It would also be troublesome if everyone remained here. Someone has to lead and protect the refugees going west.”
“Then I will do that.”
Seeing the mage who answered promptly, the magic swordsman looked at him as if he were pathetic and then let out a sigh.
And he said to Baron Schneider.
“Not all our forces need to be mobilized for the refugee escort. We will also sort out those who will remain and those who will leave among our group.”
The Tower of Truth.
A fifty-fifty participation?
It was decided more or less like that.
‘Good. It’s possible.’
Baron Schneider clenched his fists.
The countless ancestors of the Schneider fiefdom throughout history had experienced stampedes or similar crises.
But there had rarely been a case where they were as fully prepared as he was at this very moment.
Even the first Baron Schneider, who was said to be a valiant knight, and the knightly order he led would not have had a stronger military force than the Schneider fiefdom at this very moment.
Of course, the scale of the stampede was unknown.
Perhaps even with this military power, it could be hopeless. However….
‘This is my duty.’
A family that had protected the fiefdom for hundreds of years of hardship without ever giving up.
He could not abandon that pride in his generation.
* * *
The residents of the fiefdom, who received Baron Schneider’s order, moved quickly.
When the evacuation order was issued, the residents were at first bewildered.
“Isn’t it safer inside the walls?”
“That’s what I was thinking. To just go west without a plan?”
“This doesn’t seem right…”
They hesitated.
In fact, it was difficult to obediently follow the order to head west without even being given time to pack. However….
“Pack your things and leave at once.”
“But Father…”
“Never mind father or anything, just go quickly! Just take your wife and children and leave right now!”
The natives of the Schneider fiefdom.
Especially the elderly who had lived for a long time quickly urged their children and had their families join the refugee procession.
And as for themselves….
“My lord, I will also lend a hand.”
“Please give me something to do.”
“It will be better than nothing.”
Seeing them come up to the city wall with rusty and clumsy armor, Baron Schneider nodded his head heavily.
“Yes. You are also men of the Schneider fiefdom.”
Status, high or low, was irrelevant.
At a moment like this, the men who had lived on this land all made this decision and acted this way.
Baron Schneider held his sword in front of him in the manner of a knight and said.
“It is an honor to be with you. Please follow the instructions behind the soldiers.”
“Yes. My lord.”
“We will do our best.”
“We will kill all those monster bastards.”
Where did the elderly, who had been living off the support of their children with their strength depleted, get their energy from?
They were deployed on the city wall, exuding a heat that was no less than that of the young men.
And a short while later.
The west gate of the wall opened, and the refugees left through it.
“There aren’t as many as I thought.”
“There were many who wished to remain.”
“Hmm….”
Baron Schneider grunted.
If he were to follow the iron rule of the fiefdom, he should have forcibly evacuated all the residents.
But no matter how hard he tried to be, he was not ruthless enough to do so.
And he didn’t have time to persuade them one by one.
Instead, he looked at the person at the very front of the departing refugee procession.
The beautiful woman leading the refugees at the forefront.
She was the woman he loved most in the world.
‘Ava…’
As soon as he handed over the fiefdom to his son, he wanted to grow old with her in peace.
That was the last thing he wished for in his life.
But just as he was the lord of the Schneider fiefdom, Ava also had her role as the lord’s wife.
To lead the refugees to a safe place and, after everything was over, to come back and rebuild this home.
That was the duty of the lady of the Schneider family.
Baron Schneider squeezed his eyes shut. And he looked at Lawrence next to him and said.
“I would be at ease if you were by my wife’s side to protect her.”
“Hohoho. My lady is someone who will do well even without me.”
“…….”
“And it seems you’ve forgotten, but there was a time when I was called the top knight of the Schneider family.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Before he retired due to an injury from a monster, Lawrence was a 3-star knight and the proud knight commander of the Schneider family.
He was also the one who had taught Baron Schneider the sword.
Lawrence held a longsword instead of a staff, smiled, and said.
“Just watch. I can still handle about ten goblins with ease.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
Thus, all preparations were completed.
In a short time that didn’t even take half a day, Baron Schneider had handled everything he had to do as a lord.
And now….
“Kwoooooooo!”
“Keoheoooong…”
The roars of monsters, heard along with the sound of crushing and destruction, were getting closer.
“It’s time to greet our guests.”
The moment of battle had arrived.