Chapter 155: The Fallen North

The monsters were relentless.

Kiiieeeek.

Kieek.

They devoured the corpses of the fallen, even preyed on other monsters, and the march continued.

The endless procession kept going even after consuming Helk Castle.

“Oh, they’re coming!”

Next after Helk Castle: Kleeth Castle.

Kleeth Castle’s lord, Viscount Bert Kleeth, steeled himself.

‘I can do this. No, I must.’

It had happened in the previous generation too.

They fought desperately to stop the monsters.

But as history recorded, Kleeth Castle had also been breached before.

Only later did Duke Jisert, having received the ducal house’s power, step in and reclaim it, but—

‘That was too late.’

Once occupied, Kleeth Castle had fallen into utter ruin.

At that time, the Count of Kleeth was demoted to Viscount, and many of the territory’s residents lost their lives.

If the then-Count of Kleeth hadn’t prepared in advance, the damage would have been far worse.

He evacuated those who should live to pre-prepared underground facilities.

Some locations were discovered, but many survived without being found.

Outsiders called him a coward, but that was how he protected them.

If he had driven them out of the castle to flee, more would have died.

So there was no regret.

That was the Kleeth way.

But this time—

‘I wonder…’

He couldn’t tell how long they could hold out.

There were rumors that the monster procession was longer than the invasion of the previous generation.

But he couldn’t back down.

“Young Lord.”

“…Huff. Huu.”

The same scene was playing out as in the previous generation.

The territory residents hadn’t forgotten the Count of Kleeth who had protected them.

Old people, children entrusted with the future—those who needed to be saved had already been evacuated long ago.

Those who remained were the ones staying to protect.

How many of them could be saved?

Even Viscount Kleeth couldn’t guarantee it.

“We must move according to the pre-arranged plan.”

“Understood!”

Nod nod.

At Viscount Kleeth’s words, they bowed their heads solemnly, as if a majestic decision had been made.

Kreuk.

At the viscount’s shout, the monsters seethed.

They were reacting to mana.

Kuuung. Thud.

The march began.

The monsters came with madness, and the humans greeted them with desperate preparations.

“Raise the spears!”

“Prepare the bows! Light them!”

“Oil! Where’s the oil!”

Krararak!

The monsters charged, shaking the earth.

“Fire!”

Shooooosh—

The beginning was a rain of arrows.

“…Kleeth Castle has fallen.”

Despite their desperate struggle, Kleeth Castle ultimately fell.

With Helk Castle, which handled forward defense, also collapsing, it was difficult for a smaller castle like Kleeth to hold out.

They managed an impressive feat, holding for nearly three weeks—twice the expected time.

But that was it.

In the end, Kleeth collapsed.

Fortunately, unlike the Count of Helk Castle, Kleeth managed to escape with quite a few people.

The monsters’ unconditional southward advance—

Viscount Kleeth only belatedly grasped that nature.

The monsters, as if enchanted, headed straight downward.

So he led the remaining territory residents north instead—toward the direction of the ruined Helk Castle.

As if someone were controlling them, the monsters no longer poured in.

Thanks to that—

“Casualties?”

“Similar to the previous generation, it seems.”

“…At least we avoided the worst.”

Compared to Helk, which had been completely annihilated, Kleeth Castle had quite a few survivors.

Even so, with the castle destroyed and infrastructure collapsed, the damage was severe.

Then urgent reports continued.

“Wife Castle has fallen!”

“…Hah.”

Downward, ever downward.

The monsters kept pushing down.

The death march continued, as if it would only end when the last monster was dead.

Helk.

Kleeth.

Wife.

The castles that served as the northern pillars of House Jisert were collapsing.

***

On this side, the situation wasn’t good either.

Opern, who had revealed his power, didn’t know when to retreat.

He was the Silent Knight, the self-proclaimed guardian of the territory.

He—

“Jisert!”

Endlessly provoked Duke Jisert.

Silence had instead fallen on Duke Jisert’s side.

He knew that even if he went out against Opern right now, it would be difficult to overcome him.

If it were a defensive battle, Jisert would have the advantage.

‘He read me.’

Count Opern knew how to exploit House Jisert’s trait—that outside his own domain, combat power plummeted.

He maintained the front line appropriately.

He expanded the front’s size to prevent House Jisert from solidifying its domain.

Thanks to that, a significant part of Marquis Owen’s northern territory had become a battlefield.

Opern alternated between north and south, flipping the battlefield.

He clearly understood how to deal with House Jisert.

‘The problem is that I still can’t overcome it.’

Jisert wasn’t without options.

The wider the territory he had to protect, and the fewer people he could impart his power to, the stronger Duke Jisert became.

After all, Jisert was someone who became a guardian based on the power of his domain.

The limitation was simply that his power was confined to his own territory.

“…Use only the Servants to keep them in check.”

“Yes, my lord!”

In the end, even Duke Jisert had no method.

He had to at least secure Marquis Owen’s northern territory, which he had painstakingly turned into his domain through containment.

Only then could he recover the losses incurred this time.

‘I can reclaim the north when I go up there.’

He thought he could just go up and reclaim the lost north.

For Duke Jisert, that was a form of composure, a kind of patience.

And as if gauging his state, his vassals also remained silent like their duke.

A few showed anxious expressions, but most maintained their patience.

But—

“Your Grace!”

“What now.”

When a messenger brought new news, even the composure he had maintained was inevitably shattered.

“The siege of Delly Castle has begun! And… though it needs confirmation, there are rumors that another territorial army has appeared at the ruined Helk Castle!”

“…Hah.”

Delly Castle of House Jisert was in danger.

Additionally—

‘Somewhere!? Could it be…’

Even Helk, which he had considered lost but reclaimable, seemed to be in crisis.

***

The castle that was collapsing on one side—Helk Castle.

People were entering through the shabbily collapsed gate below that castle.

At the forefront was Rayrn.

Behind him, those who followed him entered in succession.

“We’ll need repairs, but… we can obtain it this way too.”

“It doesn’t always have to be difficult. I just need to protect my people.”

It was virtually a bloodless entry.

As for blood, the monsters had paid that price, and House Jisert’s families had suffered it.

However, Rayrn did not show joy.

Even when undertaking new endeavors, he often smiled, but now he was nearly expressionless.

‘Even if it can’t be helped, I can’t ignore it.’

Opern and Jisert were at war.

He knew well that in war, anything could happen and anything could be made to happen.

When he was Jegal Hyeon, how many times had he provoked heterodox sect martial artists to battle the Demonic Cult?

When he was Kim Seonggeon—

How many times had he seen countries that outwardly cried justice kill hundreds or thousands with the push of a button?

It was just packaged nicely on the outside.

The reality was that people died, and he knew that better than anyone.

‘Because I’ve experienced it firsthand.’

But even knowing that, he carried it out.

That was Rayrn’s way of protecting his people.

Still, refraining from smiling even after obtaining a castle bloodlessly was the minimum courtesy he possessed.

He climbed up to the top of Helk Castle.

Thud, thud.

Debris fell with each step he took, but the framework remained.

Rayrn, who climbed easily without falling, surveyed the surroundings.

As if not to disturb him, everyone, including Gajei, remained silent.

‘This is a good place to defend.’

Helk Castle was indeed a place House Jisert had prepared for defense.

It was perfect for defending the north.

If not for the unexpected monster rampage and sudden large-scale movement, it wouldn’t have been an easy castle to take.

“The south will be hard to defend, but… well, that doesn’t matter.”

After quietly observing the situation, Rayrn gave orders.

He had only delayed briefly to calculate; his commands were swift as lightning.

“Gajei.”

“Yes!”

“Focus repairs on the south. Lead the engineers we brought!”

“As you command!”

“Sian, head to Helk First Fort. And Hoden…”

Rayrn quickly divided and assigned people.

Gajei would temporarily repair Helk Castle, the central point.

Sian and Hoden would move to the forts responsible for Helk’s perimeter defense.

The remaining monsters nearby would be handled by the mercenaries.

“I’ll be off!”

“Leave it to me. The reward will be—”

“Heh heh, of course. We’ll depart immediately.”

Also, the ruined magical facilities within were to be repaired by three mages, including Ruan.

“We’ll be killing ourselves again.”

“It’s a place famous for defense. There’s probably plenty to learn.”

“We’ll see. But I’ll get started right away. It’s something to do anyway.”

As if sensing Rayrn’s heavy mood, Ruan began carrying out orders without further comment.

***

A few days later.

“Block it from here!”

“We’ll need to build this from scratch!”

Before news of Helk Castle even reached Jisert, the inside of Helk was already bustling.

Barracks were built, and repairs began.

Starting with critical facilities, things necessary for the castle’s immediate defense began to be filled.

Since they had to block Jisert, who might come up from the south again instead of monsters, the repair focus was on the south.

Perfect repairs weren’t necessary.

‘If I connect Helk Castle and then take the remaining castles below… the front line will be drawn.’

In Rayrn’s plan, this place was a decoy.

What was important was the plains region of northern House Owen.

He would hold that area hostage, and the real target was northern House Owen.

The area around Helk Castle here was also fertile, but—

‘There’s no need to keep the route monsters invade from as a long front line.’

From Rayrn and House Opern’s perspective, this place was practically a chicken rib—not worth much.

It was a place where monsters might invade from the north at any time.

Taking such a place could result in massive military losses.

Instead—

‘I’ll need to take a few of the castles below. Even if it creates a protruding shape.’

For other places, he was considering long-term control.

He was just temporarily repairing this place to draw a larger picture.

It was suitable as a forward base and a foundation for executing Rayrn’s schemes.

‘If I take Kleeth Castle and connect it with Opern’s territory from there.’

The plan was already set.

Now only execution remained.

As Rayrn stood on the castle wall, continuing to assess his tasks—

“Hm?”

Suddenly, the surroundings grew noisy.

“My lord!”

It was Gajei.

His expression looked quite urgent.

Since his expressions seldom changed, Rayrn couldn’t help but pay attention.

“What is it?”

“There’s something you need to come and see.”

“I’ll go right away.”

Something beyond his calculations seemed to be happening.