There was only one of me, and there were many people that needed saving. I had already saved over 40 healers, but the number I couldn't save was exponentially larger than that.
If at least some of the long-range users or the close-range users had stayed behind to form a line of defense so that the retreat could be done safely, then most of the mercenaries could have escaped, but that wasn't the case.
"W.. When did you…? You're cheating!"
"You're the one cheating…"
As I cut down the last frontline soldiers of the Shining guild that was retaliating to his very last breath, I looked around. I saw that there were allied healers who had already run far away into the castle grounds. They had plenty of range and space to keep themselves safe from any attack that could happen.
I wasn't sure if they knew our current situation, but the main forces of the Shining guild leisurely marched towards us as if they were a cat slowly forcing mice into a corner.
It made me grind my teeth in anger.
That kind of action was to show off that they're confident in their absolute superiority in numbers. Glaring at those walking towards us, I quickly moved into the insides of the castle's hallways.
"It's all over… We're all going to die."
"There's no hope."
When I arrived into the hallways, everyone was in absolute despair. It was because even though they survived, they definitely knew that it wouldn't last long.
The number of survivors that could reach here was only 300, even if I was being generous. The number of enemies was…
Sigh.
I shook my head and tried to get rid of any negative thoughts.
"Ellie! You're safe."
Before I realized it, Katalina had come towards me and looked very relieved to see that I was still alive.
"Of course. It's not like I went out there to die, right?"
"But still…"
"I'm still alive and kicking, so it's fine. Before that, I think this place needs a little livening up, don't you think?"
"Yeah. I think at this rate they wouldn't last even for a few minutes."
Katalina nodded as if she was agreeing with my opinion.
"You'd be more fit to persuade them than me, don't you think? As the leader of a giant guild, you had more experience in leading a huge group of people after all."
Hearing my words, Katalina shook her head.
"No, not really. I don't have a way to show my real identity here without having a problem after all. If it's a short-term goal of boosting morale, I think you are more suitable for the position though."
"Wait, I'm the suitable one?"
Confused by Katalina's statement, I asked while pointing a finger at myself.
"Yeah, you, Ellie."
Katalina confirmed again as if she was serious about it.
"But I…"
In the past, I had dreamed of setting up a small guild for myself and taking part in endless siege wars and guild battles to one day have enough power to set up a powerful guild myself. But there was no way that Katalina would know about my secret.
Since I knew that she thinks I lost most of my memories.
"As someone who has saved many of the mercenaries here now, I think you have earned more trust than anyone else here. Can't you see them looking at you with hope in their eyes?"
Only then I realized that there were several mercenaries, particularly healers, looking in my direction. Although my face was covered, it wasn't like my ID was hidden either. It wasn't farfetched that they would recognize the ID of the person who had saved their life, even if temporarily.
Then the answer is already set.
"Everyone, please gather your attention here."
It was with a subdued voice, but the voice carried like a lion's roar throughout the whole hallway since I had put a bit of my mana into it.
"What is it?"
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"
Just as I expected, a few mercenaries caused a disturbance. Most of them were users that are rebellious. It's natural to be annoyed if you were suddenly ordered to follow someone that you don't know and never heard of. I would have reacted the same way as well after all.
"Who I am is not important. I'm sure as you all can see from my temporary ID, I'm just like one of you, trapped in this place. Right now I'm simply… 'Random Unit… 1.'"
"Pfft…"
"Heh."
I was doing well until the careless ID I made up, which made my face feel hot. Even though thankfully it's covered from everyone's eyes.
But, seeing that there weren't any cries of disagreement coming from them, it showed that they were ready to listen to what I had to say.
"Right now, it is time for all of us to unite. As you all know, this place is the hallway of a castle. It is the only place that is connected through many narrow passages within the castle. Even if the Shining guild outnumbers us several times, we can easily block all of them."
"So what is it you're trying to say?"
A rude question was thrown at me. But instead of being regarded as a single person's question, I realized he was questioning me on behalf of all the mercenaries.
I also didn't want to make the introduction too long and waste time when every second is crucial right now. I smiled and opened my mouth once more.
"It's simple. Just follow my orders."
However, I knew more than anyone else that it's not simple. Words from someone that none of them ever met or knew before. And it wasn't like that voice was very trustworthy or anything. If you consider it from the men's point of view, those words are from a woman that they weren't trusting .
"Don't make me laugh."
"You bitch, you're planning to buy as much time as you can until the siege battle finishes by staying far in the backline, aren't you?"
"Then I'll lead everyone instead!"
"Oh yeah, no, I'll lead everyone!"
Just as I worried, many people started shouting that they will be the leader of this group. Though I wished it would happen somewhat…
"We will follow her."
It was subdued but a loud voice came from one corner. With a high pitch yet trustworthy voice, it sounded calming and elegant.
"All the healers that I represent here will follow her."
"…"
Even at a glance, I could see that most of the healer that had gathered here were nodding along as if they were agreeing with her. The men that had been clamoring and shouting for the position as the leader all became quiet.
"Is there anyone here that stayed behind and came to save us, the healers, when we were dying out there?"
"…"
"I did save them."
Many were silent, but one of them answered.
"The person standing in the front saved at least 40 healers… How many have you saved?"
"Uh… Just one."
It seemed like he was embarrassed to say it.
"If that person really is selfish, would she really have done something like jumping into a dangerous battlefield to save the healers?"
As she asked the question, no one answered.
Well actually, I was feeling guilty because I really was being selfish in trying to maximize the chances of my survival by saving as many healers I could. But there would be no idiot in the world who would admit to that guilt in this situation right now.
"Thank you for your kind words."
I thanked the healer who had calmed the assembly down, and the user bowed her head in return.
"I understand the reason all of you are worried. As you can see, I am a close-range combatant. A type of user that should stand in the front line. I do not lead people."
"?"
Before people could start asking questions, I spoke again.
"Instead, this user who's in the 8th circle will lead in my stead."
"8… 8th circle?"
"Y.. You're joking, right…?"
I turned my head towards Katalina, and she cast a spell she had memorized as if she knew I was going to do that.
[Mass Haste]
A group of users had their bodies glow bright blue, with their legs flashing before returning to normal.
"Wha, my movement speed has gone up!"
"You're right, me too!"
"Haste magic is 7th circle magic, right? Then that means that's Mass Haste!"
"Mass Haste? That's the 8th circle!"
"She's a top-ranking user."
"Top-ranking user! Then is it Merlin?"
"Are you Merlin?"
Well, they were right to assume that since there weren't that many mages that had reached the 8th circle in the whole server. Having her identity outed here meant that her reputation was on the line, since it was improbable that they would be a mercenary for a rival giant guild.
"Everyone, we're mercenaries. Even if this person was Merlin or not, why would that matter? Can you just forget that and trust this person since you now know that they're an 8th circle mage?"
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. I was satisfied.
"Then everyone, please follow our orders."
And right away, Katalina divided up the numbers into teams. She split the 300 users into 3 different teams and assigned members appropriately. Perhaps thanks to her being swiftly recognized as a leader, when the Shining guild's main forces entered the hallways, we were all ready to face them.
"My oh my, where could the little mice be hiding?"
"Heheh…"
Someone that was leading the Shining guild troops who looked to be a general spoke sarcastically, and the guild members that were around him snickered.
"Being a mouse is better than a bat!1"
This time, someone from our side shouted at them.
"Yeah, you little fairweather bats!"
"Dirty bastards."
Since the remarks were completely true in that the Shining guild members had betrayed them, they didn't respond. It seemed like they were feeling guilty for their unfair actions. Their provocation had failed and only showed their guilt.
"You're all going to die soon anyway… 1st advance group, charge in. Kill all the enemies!"
"1st Advance Group, standing by to charge!"
"Standing by!"
"Standing by!"
Although they couldn't make use of their superior numbers because of the hallways, as the best soldiers in the guild, their morale was high. Seeing as how they followed the orders to a T and formed a squad ready to charge in, it proved that they had a lot of experience in siege battles.
"Hm…"
A low hum rang out across the corridor, though I didn't know who it was from. I tried to form a group that would deal with the enemy squad by prioritizing the highest level mercenaries, but I was pretty sure there weren't many people among them that had much experience in siege battles.
It wasn't like I was expecting a lot from them either. They were simply there to cover for me. If they gave me at least enough time to create a chance to escape, that was enough. I had plenty of potions stocked up in case I needed to personally battle, so there was no need to worry. I decided that if I were to die here, I would at least build up enough experience points to make up for my death.
"Everyone…"
Hearing the start of the command, the mercenaries all froze in fear. Everyone knew it. The moment the leader swung his hand, the battle would really begin.
"Charge!"
Finally, the hand fell, and the Shining guild's 1st advance group ran in.
Sword and shield. Shortened to S&S, they were tanker characters that made up the 1st advance group. And the 2nd advance group would be made up of ranged users that included healers, while the 3rd advance group would be made up of close-range damage dealers. This was the common setup of formation for any enemy fortification within hallways in a massive siege battle.
As I already have experience of hundreds of skirmishes throughout my time in the game, I knew that there was no other formation and tactic that was more destructive and brutal when wiping out enemies than the one Shining guild was using now.
"Following the procedure exactly."
It was understandable since you'd only try to think of different strategies and tactics if the number of your enemies were similar to yours, but since they have overwhelming numbers, there was no need to conjure up any unique tactic when clearing us out.
But… A skilled leader should consider even the worst of the worst possible situations. Thankfully, the opposing leader wasn't that kind of person.
"Everyone is on standby, maintaining their formation."
Katalina controlled her ally mercenaries with a calm voice.
"I forbid all and any attacks against the enemies, even if they are within range."
Our allies must have been extremely confused about why they couldn't attack. But since they decided to follow Artoria's orders, they obliged.
"What the, why isn't there any magic flying towards us?"
"You're right, are they giving up?"
The S&S users that made up the front line of the 1st advance group talked amongst themselves with a confused expression. Soon, the S&S formation came within a very short distance.
And the magic shields that were applied to their shields waned and thin out. Without a doubt, 'Great Magic Shield' was cast on them.
"2nd and 3rd advance group, move in!"
In that time, the rear line that had secured enough distance moved. As the S&S line had secured enough grounds already, it was an obvious thing to do to make the backline move forward.
And finally, the magic shield that was applied to their shields disappeared.
[Anti Magic]
Waiting for that moment to come, Katalina chanted the magic she had memorized in that exact moment. It was the most basic magic given to mages, but when it was cast by a powerful mage that had the 8th circle of magic unlocked, it became a different story.
"Ugh…! My mana has been locked up."
"My casting was canceled! I have a 1 minute cooldown time before I can cast it again!"
Sounds of panic rang out from behind the 1st advance group.
It was time for me to move in. With my Excalibur pulled out, I put one foot forward and bent down the knee of my other leg slightly. I held the Excalibur with both of my hands and shifted the center of gravity to the back. My back was bent slightly in a natural movement, and my shoulders faced forward.
Vrmmm…
My maxed out mana become endlessly consumed. Originally this skill could be activated even if I had spent only one-third of my total mana, but some rare S-tier skills have the option to increase the amount of damage you dish out directly proportional to the mana you invest.
"Wh.. What are you all doing! Stop gawking and attack! Attack!"
As the enemies stared in shock and confusion, the leader in the back shouted.
Hearing that shout, the enemies regained their senses and tried to hurriedly charge in, but my skill had already been completed.
[Moonlight Strike]
The powerful force emanating from the Excalibur enhanced with the Force Blade skill drew a long arc line across the 1st advance group soldiers.
Together with Excalibur's attack power, my level, skill proficiency, and the amount of mana invested, numerous variables were all combined to end up with an unbelievably powerful result.
"Aaargh…"
Without even being able to let out a proper scream, the entire 1st advance group line dissipated. The shields which were cut in half were destroyed along with the characters holding them.
"Charge!"
But the enemy's panic was not over. As the enemy healers and mages watched with confused and panicked expressions on their faces, they saw that our allied forces were charging in towards them and made them realize the situation they were in.
"C… Change formation!"
"3rd advance group, save us!"
"Q… Quick…"
As numerous close-range mercenaries poured in endlessly from our side to the exposed ranged soldiers, many of them were killed without being able to fight back properly and all hastily tried to move to the back to save their lives. It was a pitiful sight, but also looked just the same as how the ally mercenaries were retreating from them previously.
"Ngh…! Everyone, regain your senses, and change your formation!"
Watching the advanced groups fall into near-complete disarray and collapse, the enemy leader shouted. But there weren't many soldiers on their side that could regain their senses when they were being slaughtered.
"Hey! You're blocking my line of sight."
"Get out of my way, you can't retreat. You're just getting in my way!"
As the formations had collapsed, the retreating enemies became tangled with soldiers in the backline, ending up with a chaotic scene where they could not effectively tell friend or foe.
The one who was having the most fun in that chaos was me.
"36th kill. 37th kill."
While killing enemy users that were easier to take down than AI monsters, I found myself counting out loud just how many I was taking down. As none of them were powerful enough to actually go against me, I aimed to just count how many I was taking down. But it affected the enemy group unintentionally.
"It's a top-ranking user…"
"A ranker…!"
Only a few enemies that couldn't deduce how powerful I was blindly tried to counterattack, but those that realized my power immediately tried to stay away from me as they knew how dangerous I was.
That only served to further collapse the formation that they set up. The enemy users in the formations were supposed to be in lockstep, with one attacking and the other supporting them by the side, but my presence had completely ruined their morale and caused them to break formation more, causing a chain reaction of more formations breaking apart.
"Calm down! I said calm down!!!"
The enemy leader did all he could to settle the soldiers down, but the situation had already deteriorated. And while he was distracted from all the chaos, I moved all the way to where he was standing and stabbed my sword right in his chest straight away.
Stab.
"Ahh…"
And so the enemy leader had met his sudden and disappointing death. More soldiers continued to pour into the interior as if they didn't receive the message that the leader had fallen.
The enemies had their escape route cut off, and they were quickly and easily taken down.
The battle which was closer to an absolute massacre had continued until the enemy's advance group had become completely decimated.