The dense smoke cleared.

In the pouring rain, the flames subsided quickly.

Shielding my face with my arms from the heat, I cautiously lowered my hands.

A hulking mass of metal, still glowing hot, came into view. Three archers from the Shadow Squad aimed their bows, murmuring apprehensively.

"Where’s the boss monster?"

"Seems like... it’s dead?"

Writhing.

As those words fell, the metal heap twitched. Everyone on the field tensed, gripping their weapons tighter.

Crrrr...

That... the Gargoyle Chieftain, was still breathing.

Despite being directly hit by a fire spell, half its body melting away, the beast was still moving.

Still aflame, it struggled to rise.

Krrraaa...aahh!

And then it started moving again.

Its target was clear.

The one who had attacked it most powerfully.

It moved towards Lilly. Aggro was fully drawn.

Krraaaaaaa-!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Gargoyle Chieftain bellowed, resuming its charge.

"Danger, Prince!"

Damien pulled me aside, rolling away. His quick action narrowly saved us from the creature’s path.

"This crazy bastard!"

"It won’t stop!"

The archers, busy with their arrows, screamed, dodging its trajectory.

But Lilly.

Unable to use her legs, she could not evade.

If she had any magic power left, she might have been able to avoid it with [Flame Skin], but did Lilly still have that much magic power?

Her face pale, Lilly simply watched the monster charging towards her.

Accepting her inevitable fate with an eerily calm expression.

That’s when it happened.

Whooosh!

Godhand darted between the monster and Lilly.

And caught the beast’s remaining molten hammer, swung with the remaining arm, with both his hands.

Crunch.

An appalling sound echoed nonchalantly.

"Kraaaak...!"

Godhand’s hands and arms were crushed. His blood splattered violently around him.

But even in that situation, Godhand, like a true metal sorcerer, used his skills.

With his crushed hands, he grabbed the Gargoyle Chieftain’s body and...

Ripped it apart.

Inside the beast’s metallic body was a red spirit core.

Godhand, his face pale, glanced at Lilly and asked softly.

"Can you launch one more attack, senior mage?"

"Grr...!"

Instead of replying, Lilly clenched her teeth and stretched out her hand.

Swoosh!magic

The exposed spirit core exploded into sharp flames.

Within moments, the blazing spirit core cracked, and soon shattered. Clang!

Krr...uh...

And finally, the boss monster ceased moving.

Thud! Thump!

Its melted bulk collapsed long to the side.

A moment of silence passed. I was the first to regain my senses.

"Damien! Give emergency treatment to Godhand!"

"Y-yes, Your Highness!"

At my command, Damien hurried off. The other members of the Shadow Squad flocked around Godhand.

"Argh..."

Flesh tore and bone splintered. Damien quickly staunched the grievously injured Godhand’s bleeding arms.

"...Why?"Lilly, who had been rigidly watching the spectacle, asked nervously.

"Why did you save me, elf?"

"I merely made the optimal judgement."

Godhand replied coolly.

"The battle isn’t over yet. And among us here, only you possess the firepower to deal the decisive blow to those gargoyle bastards."

"..."

"It’s as simple as that."

Lilly, gritting her teeth, looked as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed her words and hung her head.

"Lord!"

"Senior!"

At that moment, Lucas and Evangeline came running from the other side of the fortress.

Upon arriving, the two knights bowed at a 90-degree angle.

"We’re sorry, for such a mistake..."

"We have no face to show, Lord. Please take our lives."

No, I won’t do that. However, it’s like these knight characters always try to repay everything with their lives.

"Enough, raise your heads. We’ve taken down this boss monster. We’ve suffered some damage, but..."

While lightly kicking the head of the dead gargoyle chieftain, I turned my gaze towards the end of the fortress.

"What about the rest of the monster bastards?"

What happened to the boss monster affected by my Gaze of Command and the 6 legions of the gargoyle army? It would be best if they destroyed each other.

I couldn’t confirm in time because of the lack of visibility due to the heavy rain.

I narrowed my eyes and focused on seeing the other side.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

And then.

Between the sheets of rain, I heard the heavy footsteps of monsters.

What eventually appeared were dozens of gargoyle monsters.

Deeply scarred and battered as if they had engaged in fierce combat, in their hands, they held fragments of the gargoyle chieftain’s weapons and armor.

The result of their civil war was apparent.

The gargoyle chieftain, whom I had made betray his kind with my Gaze of Command, seemed to have been torn apart by his own subordinates.

"So all we need to do is take down those bastards."

While saying so, I looked around.

Everyone was extremely depleted.

Lucas and Evangeline, who had been continuously fending off monster attacks at the forefront, were no exception, Damien had run out of his devil essence, and Lilly had completely drained her magic power.

The Shadow Squad was no different.

Their leader, Godhand, had her arms smashed, and Bodybag was suffering from magic exhaustion.

The trio of archers were dealing with minor injuries, and now, with Godhand’s combat ability lost, they were even running low on arrows.

Could we really take down the remaining monsters safely under these circumstances?

"Aim!"

Just at that moment.

"Fire-!"

From the left and right of the fortress, there were loud shouts,

Bang! Whoosh!

Boom...!

Cannons and ballistas fired from the wings of the fortress, raining down on the center.

Ka-Boom!

The gargoyle creatures that had been making their way toward us were suddenly swept away in a crossfire.

In normal circumstances, their robust nature would shrug off such attacks, but due to their infighting, they had already been wounded.

They fell, one by one, under the barrage of bullets and artillery.

When the storm of gunfire subsided, there were no monsters left standing.

All that remained were the dead and those crawling with limbs torn apart.

I looked at this scene with widened eyes, and from the corner of my vision, I saw a soldier by the artillery laughing.

"There are no more monsters flying from the south, so there’s no need to keep the defense line anymore!" he exclaimed.

He was the captain of the Twilight Brigade, responsible for commanding the artillery.

"And it’s ridiculous for us to stand here doing nothing while watching the central troops fight. We rotated the cannon, re-aimed, and cleaned out the remaining creatures."

"..."

"Um, did we do something unnecessary, my lord?"

I vigorously shook my head, then raised my thumb in a gesture of approval.

"No, you did a great job."

Waahhhhhhh-!

The soldiers, covered in gunpowder and dust from the continuous cannon firing, despite the rain, erupted in cheers.

Plop, plop...The rain began to lessen from the heavens. In the distant southern sky, the storm clouds began to recede.

"No more gargoyles are approaching."

Lucas, who had been watching the southern sky, turned to me and flashed a broad smile.

"We’ve won, my lord."

"..."

I looked up at the clearing sky. Was it just coincidence that it rained precisely when we were engaged in battle?

"It was a bit of an arbitrary downpour..."

I turned around and met the gaze of my soldiers. They were all looking at me.

"Hmph."

After taking a deep breath, I stretched out my hand and shouted.

"Transport the injured to the temple! Report any equipment and fortress damage, and meticulously record today’s battle report!"

Even if it seemed old-fashioned right after victory, what needed to be said, had to be said.

"If you made any mistakes in today’s battle, make sure to remember and learn from them for the next battle. That’s how you will grow."

I thought back to the mistakes I had made during this defense. I reviewed things that could be improved.

One must engrave the faced crisis into their bones. That’s how the strategy becomes more perfect.

That’s how, people don’t die.

"Each day as you become better soldiers, this place becomes a stronger frontline. And as this place becomes a stronger frontline, I am becoming a more competent commander."

I looked at each of my soldiers and my party members.

The main party members who had crossed the line of death with me today, and the sub-party members who had suffered greatly upon joining.

"You are helping me become complete. Truly, thank you."

After speaking sincerely, I shouted out loud,

"Enough with the stiff formalities! Prepare the meat and drinks! Tonight, the bill’s on me!"

The soldiers cheered as if they’d been waiting for this moment. I chuckled awkwardly.

Well, I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t picked up the tab.

Among the jubilant crowd soaked in the joy of victory, I spotted Godhand, lying on a stretcher and being hastily carried to the temple.

I also saw Lilly, who was sitting dazed on the ground, staring blankly at the scene.

"..."

I turned my head and looked up at the southern sky again.

After the downpour had ceased, a rainbow appeared in the distance.

Thus ended another defensive battle.

***

[STAGE 4 - CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP - Lilly(R)]

[Level-up Characters]

Main Party

- Ash(EX) Lv.24 (↑2)

- Lucas(SSR) Lv.37 (↑1)

- Evangeline(SSR) Lv.39 (↑1)

- Lilly(R) Lv.26 (↑3)

- Damien(N) Lv.32 (↑2)

Sub Party 1

- Godhand(SR) Lv.36 (↑1)

- Bodybag(R) Lv.30 (↑1)

- Oldgirl(R) Lv.29 (↑1)

- Skull(N) Lv.26 (↑1)

- Burnout(SR) Lv.24 (↑2)

[Casualties and Injured Characters]

- Ash(EX) : Lightly injured

- Lilly(R) : Lightly injured

- Godhand(SR) : Seriously injured

- Oldgirl(R) : Lightly injured

- Skull(N) : Lightly injured

- Burnout(SR) : Lightly injured

[Achieved Items]

- Gargoyle Legion’s Magic Stone : 341 pieces

- Gargoyle Chieftain’s Magic Core(SSR) : 2 pieces

[Stage clear rewards have been issued. Please check your inventory.]

- R grade reward boxes : 5 pieces

- SR grade reward boxes : 2 pieces

Get Ready For The Next STAGE

[STAGE 5 : The Unforgiven]

--TL Notes--

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