Episode 44. Northern Fortress Defense (3)
The time had come.
I looked back at the two soldiers who had been participating in this madness with me for the past few days.
The soldiers who had been beating the drums in sync with my strange noises.
Even if it was under the command of Airen, the supreme commander, being conscripted to do such things could lead anyone to question their sanity. Yet, they silently followed all my nonsensical orders.
“Everyone. You’ve worked hard until today. Everything we’ve practiced until now was for this moment. I ask for your best until the end.”
“Yes! Understood!”
“We will follow the practice thoroughly!”
Hearing their responses, I smiled, turned towards the enemies, and shouted.
“Now! The enemies have started to approach. Everyone, please be ready!”
“Yes!”
The two soldiers who had been practicing the bizarre performance with me every day took their places beside the drums on either side of the altar.
“Just follow the practice. Today is the most important! Think of it as knocking on the door of heaven and give it your all!”
“Understood!”
At my command, the two soldiers, instead of their usual weapons, lifted their drumsticks.
And then-
They began to beat the crudely made temporary drums furiously.
Beating the drums on either side of the altar, it felt as if I was performing some strange sorcery or acting like a bizarre cult shaman, elevating my excitement.
Yes.
It will work out.
If my prediction is correct, this is the answer.
“Haaaah…ah…ahhh…!!”
I closed my eyes and made movements as if gathering energy.
I knew that to an outsider, all these actions might seem insane.
“If it’s going to work, I need to fully embrace being insane.”
From now on, I was to become a man who summoned lightning.
To become such a person, I needed to clearly appear insane to everyone.
Otherwise, if I was embarrassed and didn’t fully commit to the performance, it would just seem like a natural disaster occurred, not something I summoned.
This absurd act was suitable to invoke fear in the enemies.
Now, I couldn’t just be any madman.
I had to be a notorious lunatic, even among lunatics!
Who else but a madman would claim to summon lightning?
So.
“…Heavens!!!! Hear my voice!!!! Respond!!!!!”
I screamed towards the sky, louder than the sound of the drums.
But… it was strange.
The enemy was approaching, and it should be about time, but…
Why aren’t the raindrops falling?
—
The task of leading 33,000 troops and siege engines to destroy the fortress was assigned to Julian, a general of the Serpina army.
Though his suggestion to “attack the fortress” had been rejected once, his lord had called him again after the situation changed.
Despite the sudden command, Julian’s mood was far from bad; in fact, he felt quite pleased.
“I was right after all.”
Julian, a middle-aged man with brown hair who had rolled through battlefields, thought to himself with a satisfied smile.
Although he wasn’t the brightest, he had his share of experience in combat, so Serpina somewhat respected him as a subject.
However, Julian wanted more than that.
A position in the Serpina army that no one else could replace.
A wish shared by all commanders who desired to rise through the ranks by achieving feats.
“With the fortress under our control, we can use it as a base to attack Kelstein Castle once more. I can do it.”
With big dreams, Julian was nearing the Brans army’s fortress when suddenly.
“General Julian!”
“What’s the matter?”
His aide approached him with a serious expression.
“Sir… There’s a man on the fortress wall, seemingly from the Brans army, performing bizarre actions…”
“What?”
Julian, mounted on his horse, rushed to the front and observed the fortress.
An unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.
A young man with white hair, perfectly healthy, was screaming with his arms wide open.
It was hard to tell exactly what he was shouting due to the distance, but it seemed like he was waving his arms around and pointing in our direction.
And, the soldiers beside him weren’t standing guard but were instead beating something that looked like drums.
“What is that?”
Although Julian was perplexed by this strange scene he had never seen before-
When he really thought about it, there was nothing alarming about it.
Simply put, one man was screaming and dancing strangely in the middle, and the soldiers beside him were beating drums.
Engaging in such pointless acts instead of focusing on defense in a battle with no chance of victory?
If this was some kind of ‘ritual’ intended to summon something.
From Julian’s perspective, there couldn’t be an easier opponent.
“There’s nothing easier than defeating those who rely on the power of religion on the battlefield.”
God will protect us, God will give us strength…
The sweet rhetoric of religion had lost its appeal after the world plunged into chaos.
The fact that the preachers who used to shout their beliefs everywhere had vanished was proof enough.
Julian preferred to make decisions based on objective numbers rather than the power of religion.
According to the latest information, the fortress had about 10,000 available troops.
With those numbers, it was impossible to defeat the 33,000 troops equipped with siege engines.
Moreover, it wasn’t just any stronghold. It was a fortress. Given the difference in troop numbers in attacking a fortress, it was a battle we were bound to win no matter what.
“What a bunch of lunatics.”
Yes.
That’s what he lightly thought.
After all, capturing the fortress was just a step, and the real goal was Kelstein Castle.
If he succeeded in retaking Kelstein Castle using this fortress as a base, he would catch Serpina’s eye.
It would lead to his rise. His opinion had contributed to Serpina’s army’s desire to advance into the central regions.
He was getting older. Though he enjoyed the tranquility of the battlefield, he couldn’t always risk his life there.
He wanted to step back and watch his family prosper.
“What should we do?”
“It’s not worth our concern.”
Hearing his aide’s question, Julian murmured in a decisive tone, turned his head, and shouted loudly.
“Everyone! We’ve worked hard to get here, but nothing is more precious than time! Let’s capture the fortress as quickly as possible! Tell all the soldiers responsible for the siege engines to get ready!”
“Yes!”
At Julian’s command, the soldiers began their assault on the fortress one by one.
In this dire situation.
Up to this moment, Julian was confident in his victory.
Actually, it didn’t even feel like a victory. This was merely a process.
—
And, to give a lesson to those who thought this was just a process.
I continued to scream and adopt convincing poses.
“Heavens!!!!!”
“The raindrops will fall soon! Surely!”
I didn’t know when the lightning would strike.
In the game, lightning only struck when it rained- so rain had to come first.
But no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of rain.
The sky was troubled, and dark clouds were gathered, but… strangely, not even a small raindrop fell.
I murmured to myself as if to calm down.
“Don’t panic!”
At this moment, the enemy soldiers, our fortress’s soldiers
, and Airen beside me were all watching me.
Airen might understand, but the soldiers following her orders to hold the siege were probably feeling increasingly anxious.
If I showed any sign of anxiety, it would cause various problems.
“Haaaat!!!!”
I tried to change the atmosphere with a convincing shout.
But.
The sky remained silent.
It was time for the rain to pour to ensure the timing for lightning, yet there was still no news.
“No!”
I couldn’t have been wrong.
A natural disaster. And the appearance of me using a natural disaster. There could be no other answer.
The prediction of a brain with an intelligence of 100. The inference based on 10,000 hours of gameplay experience.
Wasn’t every compass pointing to this being correct?
“It’s okay! The rain will come! If it were an earthquake, it wouldn’t make sense to stay in the fortress! It has to be lightning!”
I whispered to myself, continuing to repeat convincing motions and shouting.
In the meantime, the shouts of Serpina’s soldiers began to pierce through the loud drumming sounds.
The siege engines were almost ready to launch their attack.
If those catapult stones were to fly towards the wall where I stood, I could die on the spot.
It’s okay.
Then the prediction of “hold a siege in a visible place” wouldn’t have appeared.
At the moment my life was endangered, that answer wouldn’t have been the most efficient solution.
Besides, if it was about retreating suddenly, whether the enemy saw me or not wouldn’t have mattered.
It had been like this in the past.
In a situation where everyone thought negotiations with Lynn had failed, a messenger burst in.
As soon as our troops arrived at Kelstein Castle, a rebellion broke out in Cherien Castle.
Everything had gone according to my prediction.
But why am I feeling so anxious?
Why am I… starting to think that perhaps I made a wrong decision for the first time?
Because not even a raindrop fell, let alone lightning?
Because no matter how long I waited, nothing happened?
“Haaaaaaat!!!!”
I let out an even louder pointless shout.
“No!”
No.
I mustn’t doubt myself.
Believe.
I am right.
My words are always correct.
Because my intelligence is 100!
“Heavens!!!!!!!!”
And then.
Finally, at that moment.
“Wait, what?!”
“What’s happening?!”
Shouts of surprise and confusion came from the soldiers.
“That, that is…!”
Even Airen beside me was shocked into silence.
The sky was troubled, but it didn’t seem like a situation for lightning to strike?
However, oddly… a shadow seemed to fall over the area where Serpina’s army was gathered.
“…Huh?”
Realizing something was off, I finally looked up.
Only after looking at the sky did I sense that I had failed in my perfect deduction for the first time.
No lightning had struck.
The “real event” predicted by the brain with an intelligence of 100 was——
A giant meteorite falling from the sky.
