Chapter 89: Sneak
Edgar’s expression turned grim when he heard all the noises from the other side of the Fortress.
He was too preoccupied with the Headless Nightmare that he couldn’t focus on both sides at once.
’I just hope I can finish one of them as quickly as possible.’
Taking in a deep breath, Edgar ordered the two Soul Guardians on the other side to hold their ground.
"Is something wrong?" Gordon asked, walking to his side.
Edgar mumbled, "Those monsters come out of the ground."
"Pardon?"
The blond boy turned and looked at Gordon, who was standing by his side. "Go and keep an eye on the other side."
The veteran looked toward the opposite side of the Fortress and nodded his head.
"As you wish."
At the same time, Edgar asked the two Soul Guardians to listen to whatever Gordon ordered.
He rushed toward the other side while Edgar kept his gaze on the darkness in front of him.
Slowly, from the darkness, the Headless Nightmare emerged on a gruesome horse.
The monster still had the same maniacal presence while its dull armor clanked.
The Nightmare kept its ’gaze’ on Edgar, who was staring back at it.
Slowly, the Nightmare took out its sword and raised it high, aiming at him.
As if it were the cue, Nightmares poured out of the darkness.
Some of them were pale, ghost-looking things, some of them were lizard-type Drakes.
Mixed among the horde were creatures Edgar had never seen before.
Spindly, spider-like Nightmares with human faces crawled over rocks and trees.
Emaciated hounds with exposed ribs sprinted unnaturally fast, their jaws splitting far beyond what should have been possible.
The battlefield transformed into a sea of monsters.
"....."
Edgar tried to count, but their numbers were too many to count quickly.
The Headless Nightmare remained completely still atop its grotesque horse.
It simply held its rusted sword high, as though conducting the horde before it.
’...Wait, those Drakes look familiar.’
Edgar finally remembered where he had seen them.
It was when the Nightmare Commander attacked the Fortress.
’Are you a friend of that lizard bastard?’
Edgar wondered to himself, looking at the Headless Nightmare.
The ground itself began trembling beneath the countless feet charging toward the Fortress.
Boom!!
Boom!!
Before the Nightmare could lower its sword and signal the attack.
"Now!!" Edgar yelled from the top of his lungs.
The Level 4 Watch Towers reacted instantly.
Ten brilliant crimson beams erupted into the night.
BOOOOM!!
The beams ripped through the center of the horde, vaporizing everything in their path.
Ghostly Nightmares screamed as their bodies dissolved.
Several Drakes exploded into showers of black flesh.
For a brief instant, a corridor hundreds of meters long was carved straight through the enemy ranks.
The monster remained still despite the beams rushing right past it.
It simply ’watched’ as the surviving Nightmares rushed forward, climbing over the corpses of the fallen without hesitation.
"...Again," Edgar muttered.
The Watch Towers began gathering crimson light for another shot.
BOOOOOOM!!
Another volley of ten crimson beams erupted into the darkness.
The battlefield exploded in pillars of fire and shattered flesh.
Dozens of charging Nightmares vanished before they could even scream.
A Drake attempting to leap over the first crater was struck midair, its body instantly disintegrating into burning fragments.
The second barrage carved an even wider path through the horde.
Even so, more Nightmares continued pouring from the forest.
They climbed over the burning corpses of their fallen companions without slowing down.
’It’s the same as before... when the Nightmare Commander attacked the Fortress.’
Edgar thought grimly, his hand clenched around the battlement.
’Is he stronger than the lizard or on par with him?’
The Headless Nightmare simply sat upon its grotesque horse, its rusted sword still raised toward the Fortress.
Just as Edgar was focused on the monster, his instincts screamed.
His body shifted slightly, and an arrow whistled past where his heart had been.
Edgar’s eyes widened, and he looked up at the sky.
From the darkness, more and more arrows rained down like broken meteors.
---
On the other side, Gordon’s grim expression couldn’t have been more obvious.
His eyes were glued to the darkness, which was ringing with the constant shouting of the ape-like Nightmares.
’...What the hell are they trying to do?’
The last time those monsters attacked, they hid themselves until the very end.
’Had the Lord not found them, they would have slowly crawled toward the Fortress and launched a surprise attack.’
But now, the same monsters were shouting and howling, making sure their presence was known.
Gordon’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"...They’re announcing themselves."
And it made no sense to him.
His gaze fell on the two Soul Guardians standing ready for any type of attack.
But as Gordon’s mind worked, he began to wonder if he was missing something.
’...Why would they try to get our attention?’
He kept thinking about it until he remembered what Edgar had said a little before.
’Coming out of the ground...’
Gordon’s pupils constricted, and a chill ran down his spine.
"...No."
His gaze fell on the two Soul Guardians, and he yelled,
"Check the ground! See if you can hear anything!"
The two Soul Guardians reacted instantly.
Without the slightest hesitation, both skeletal figures dropped to one knee and pressed a hand against the stone battlements.
Azure soul flames flickered within their hollow eye sockets.
The battle cries of the ape-like Nightmares continued echoing from the darkness, drowning out every sound.
The flames inside one Guardian’s skull suddenly flared.
Its head snapped toward the center of the Fortress. The Guardian immediately pointed downward.
Gordon’s face drained of color. "...They’re underneath us."
A heartbeat later, the second Guardian did the same.
Both pointed toward nearly the same location.
"Fuck."
Gordon yelled softly before he turned around and rushed back toward Edgar.
But as he was about to move, the ground just beside the two Guardians burst open.
Chunks of rock and packed earth were hurled in every direction.
A massive black-furred arm shot out of the crater, followed immediately by another.
"UOOOAAAHHH!!"
An ape-like Nightmare hauled itself onto the wall with a deafening roar.