Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 189

The Holy War (3)

Kugung! Kugung!

The siege ram hammered against the castle gate, unleashing a deafening roar.

But even that sound was drowned out by the explosions and screams filling the battlefield.

Hudududuk!

Fragments of the castle walls, shattered by catapults, rained down.

Small pieces struck helmets, and one person was crushed to death by a large fragment.

“Kuh…….”

Amidst the chaotic battlefield, where it was impossible to gather one’s senses, the soldiers guarding the castle gate trembled.

Users with mental buffs were somewhat better, but that didn’t apply to the NPCs [Non-Player Characters].

The guards were completely terrified.

This was supposed to be a rear base, untouched by the fanatics following Ru, but they were now facing an unexpected siege.

The heavily attacked stronghold seemed on the verge of collapse at any moment.

“Get a grip! It’s not over yet!”

Someone shouted at the severely shaken guards.

The garrison commander in charge of the stronghold stepped forward.

He was frantically trying to rally the soldiers whose morale was plummeting as he moved around the castle.

But even he inwardly sensed defeat.

‘Damn it, a siege of this scale when the castle walls haven’t even been properly repaired. The number of soldiers deployed isn’t small, but we won’t last long like this.’

Just a few weeks ago, this place wasn’t a stronghold of Apollyon.

Apollyon, attacking the northeast, had seized Griffin’s castle, and naturally, the fortress was damaged in the process.

However, before the war had even ended, two more of the Six Guilds had joined in, escalating the conflict.

There was no way the rear base’s facilities had been fully repaired.

“Their numbers are too great!”

The adjutant who approached him shouted.

“Hold out! Tell them to defend their positions!”

“But at this rate, we’ll surely…….”

“Even so, we can’t abandon this place. If we hand it over to them, it won’t just end with a headache.”

This place was one of the key strongholds occupying an important passage and held a strategically significant position.

Giving it up so easily would cause major problems for the lower front lines.

“Damn it, where did these monsters come from…….”

The garrison commander cursed at the sounds of the different races echoing from beyond the castle walls.

The races of Eltriss, receiving the goddess’s command, had gathered in an instant and poured out from the deep underground to the surface.

It was like a natural disaster for those who had no idea of their existence.

That was why they failed to notice the surprise attack in advance and didn’t respond properly.

“The Earth Church’s reinforcements are coming. If we can just hold out a little longer…….”

Kwang!

At that moment, a deafening sound echoed, making the garrison commander’s words meaningless.

A large hole had been blown open beneath their feet, of all places.

“Kikkikkikkik!”

Revealing themselves from within, the beastmen of Eltriss, the Ratter, poured out from the tunnels.

Using their specialty, tunneling, they infiltrated the castle in an instant.

“Sto, stop them!”

The guards quickly surrounded the tunnels, trying to stop them.

But the number of Ratter emerging from the tunnels was beyond what they could handle.

It was truly an endless surge.

Moreover, the tunnels that appeared inside the castle weren’t just in one place.

Ratter poured out like waves through the tunnels that had sprung up simultaneously.

The very existence of the Ratter was shocking, and the soldiers, horrified by the gruesome sight, were unable to cope.

Kwaduk!

“Kkeuaaak!”

The soldiers swallowed by the swarm of Ratter were annihilated in an instant.

The only ones who survived where they swept through were those who had completely lost their will to fight and abandoned their weapons.

Once, the Ratter were the biggest nuisance in Eltriss due to their violence and reproductive ability, but the destructive power of those united under a single religion was immense.

Deudeudeudeuk!

The seized castle gate was opened from the inside, and the red orcs in front of the gate rushed in.

“Geuwooooo!”

The heavily armored orcs roared as they entered, and the outer castle area was captured in the blink of an eye.

Then, the only place left was the inner castle within the fortress.

Although smaller than the outer castle, relatively intact walls and a sturdy gate stood in their way.

Huuuung!

At that moment, a catapult’s fire bomb soared through the sky.

The fire bombs, fired all at once, struck the castle gate without missing, causing a massive explosion.

Kwaaaang!

The power to shatter the inner castle gate in an instant.

As many as dozens of catapults accurately struck the inner castle gate, opening it up.

It was truly terrifying accuracy.

The siege weapons crafted by the dwarf artisans of Eltriss were superior to those created by users pouring in countless gold to modify them.

“Uwooooo!”

The red orcs charged straight through the gaping entrance.

Combined with the unfavorable war situation, the inner castle soldiers were hesitant to retreat in the face of their momentum.

But there was one person who pushed the soldiers aside and stepped forward.

Seogeok!

As his spear was swung, the orcs’ corpses were scattered.

They were red orcs wearing heavy armor, but each time his strike extended, several were knocked down.

His name was Huck.

He was an official member of Apollyon and a near-ranker level force.

He had briefly stopped by the rear area for the redistribution of his next mission location, but he had been caught up in this battle.

“I… It’s not over yet!”

“Just hold on a little longer!”

The inner castle soldiers’ morale rose at the sight of Huck stepping forward alone and cutting down the orcs.

Huck silently swung his spear, defending the castle gate.

Rather, it was easier to buy time with the actions of a few in a narrower area.

This stronghold was strategically located, and thanks to that, Griffin, who had occupied this place, had invested quite a bit in defense facilities.

The inner castle was even more fortified, to the point where siege weapons couldn’t easily destroy it.

If reinforcements came at the right time, they might be able to hold out.

Teobeok.

But one person from the Light Church also stepped forward.

A man with a spear raised high.

‘Loden……!’

Huck’s eyes shook as he saw his figure.

Loden, a former high-ranker from Armenia.

It was definitely him.

‘I heard he fought Eile… so it wasn’t a bad relationship.’

The fact that he appeared here and was lending his strength to the Light Church meant that he was close to them.

He had disappeared and appeared late, and hadn’t been mentioned much recently, but he was a big shot whose name alone could shake even the official guild members of the Six Guilds.

But Huck clenched the hand holding the spear again.

‘He’s just a latecomer who started a year later… there’s no way I can lose.’

From his past experience, if he was intimidated by the opponent’s name and cowered, he would lose even a winnable fight.

Objectively speaking, Huck was in a more advantageous position.

Kaaang!

Loden and Huck clashed, lunging forward simultaneously.

Sparks flew as the sharp spears collided.

Both showed excellent movements and aims, leaving the surrounding soldiers in awe.

But if you looked closely, their expressions were contrasting.

Compared to Loden’s relaxed appearance, Huck’s expression was anxiously frowning.

‘How can this be…….’

To others, it would have looked like they were exchanging equal blows.

But all the moves that Huck, who had been relentlessly attacking, had shown were consecutive uses of active skills.

Even so, all of his attacks were blocked.

Huck, who had poured out even the biggest skills, and Loden, who didn’t have any active skills in the first place.

It wasn’t that he used defensive skills, but that he parried or avoided them with just his movements.

They were fiercely exchanging attacks and defenses, but the situation of the two was incomparable.

‘This is what I’ve only heard about…….’

The maximization of specs through a skill composition focused entirely on passive skills.

And a play style unique to Loden, creating variables solely with superior skill.

Kwak!

“Keoeok…….”

Huck looked down at his body in disbelief.

His abdomen had already been pierced by a sharp spear.

His eyes couldn’t even follow the movement of the spear that had extended in an instant.

“Level difference or whatever, the users who have beaten me can be counted on one hand. Only one in Warlord. You’re obviously disqualified.”

Loden, who smirked, withdrew his spear.

Loden, who had been partying in Eltriss, growing at an incredible rate, didn’t have specs that were extremely different from those of near-ranker level users.

Teolseok!

Huck, whose body had collapsed, fell to the floor, and Loden, who had slyly taken his items, turned his gaze.

The soldiers had lost their will to fight when even Huck was defeated, and the races of Eltriss began to enter the inner castle.

“Then, is this side roughly cleaned up?”

Loden hummed, leisurely slinging his spear over his shoulder.

Except for Huck, who had just fallen, there were no significantly threatening forces on the inner castle side, and the outcome was as good as decided.

At that moment, a gnome soldier who had finished capturing the outer castle approached and poked him in the back.

“Hey there.”

“Hmm?”

Due to the short stature of the gnome, Loden’s gaze went down.

But unlike his height, his age was the opposite.

Those lined up behind him were veteran soldiers wearing helmets.

“What’s the matter?”

“Are you perhaps interested in becoming a follower of the goddess?”

“Yes?”

The gnomes were proselytizing him.

Loden had gained the trust of the underground residents by handling various requests in Eltriss, and he had also been of considerable help in directing this battle.

Unlike the residents of Eltriss, Loden’s judgment, who was from a high-ranker background, was accurate in this large-scale war between users.

“It’s okay. I haven’t thought about that kind of thing.”

“Hmm, you’re always such a pity.”

“Never forget the light. There are many ways to follow the goddess’s words, even if you don’t join the church.”

“Yes… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Loden nodded with an effort.

In fact, this wasn’t something he was experiencing for the first time.

Not only them, but all the residents of Eltriss who had witnessed the miracle of God purifying the contaminated land were zealous evangelists.

Still, for Loden, who was staying in Eltriss, the doctrine of the Light Church, which didn’t force him any further once he refused, was a fortunate thing.

“Don’t dawdle, walk!”

“Eueueuk…….”

At that time, a group of prisoners was dragged towards the entrance of the inner castle where they were.

Those among the captured prisoners who were branded with the mark of heresy were sorted out and sent.

Then, the jeers of the surrounding believers poured out, and the attitude of the gnomes who were with Loden changed.

“Burn them!”

“To the goddess’s side!”

Even the old soldiers who had been chuckling changed their attitude and shouted for punishment.

‘I can’t get used to this no matter how many times I see it…….’

Loden, horrified, sweated profusely.

As the occupation of the inner and outer castles was carried out quickly, the execution of sinners with the mark was also carried out.

An act to show an example to all evil on the ground.