Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival charged at the very front of the army, cutting down enemies as they advanced.
The repeating crossbow proved extremely effective at this moment, greatly weakening the castle's outer defenses.
The only thing that puzzled Cyan was that the enemy hadn't used the repeating crossbow against them.
Was there only one repeating crossbow in the entire Arlon Castle?
Or was it that Arlon Castle lacked the ability to produce them… and the repeating crossbow had been supplied to Arlon by the evil Archduke Garibaldi?
After Percival violently smashed through the sharpened wooden barricades outside Arlon Castle, the three men led the army into the outer grounds.
What a rundown castle…
Having stayed for a while in Bowser's castle, Nishi couldn't help but compare this place to it. In her eyes, Arlon Castle looked like a complete dump.
"There's danger."
Cyan dismounted from Unabi and looked warily toward the walls. She could sense danger coming from above.
"Boom!"
The heavy wooden gate suddenly dropped shut. Light flashed, and mages appeared on the walls. At the command of one mage whose robes were a different color from the others, they began chanting. Fiery red orbs formed in their hands and became fireballs.
"Boom! Boom! Boom——!"
The blazing fireballs exploded among the soldiers. Clothing caught fire, and men screamed in pain as they rolled on the ground. Even the armored knights weren't spared — the flames heated their plate armor, turning them into living ovens.
Asuka raised her greatshield and blocked the falling fireballs. Taking advantage of the chaos, she pointed a finger at one of the mages.
Finger Lightning!
A bolt of lightning shot from her fingertip.
With a flash, one mage felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see a large hole where the lightning had struck.
Unabi let out a frightened neigh at the sight of the falling fireballs.
Cyan kicked off the ground and leapt into the air. The demon blade left its sheath as she swung it, dispersing the incoming fireballs.
Infinite Style: Gale Slash!
Sharp sword energy cut into a mage who failed to dodge in time. Blood stained his robes as he coughed up blood and fell from the wall.
After losing two mages in quick succession, the mage in the differently colored robes gave an order. The mages turned into light and vanished from the rooftop.
The sound of chains echoed as the castle gates opened. Greatsword knights, soldiers, shield-axe knights, swordsmen, and bull-horned knights marched out in an orderly formation.
Faced with the hostile enemy forces, a large-scale melee became inevitable.
Seeing so many enemies, Orlov's eyes lit up. Even if his cooperation with the blue-clothed ninja failed to kill Cyan, he could still farm a large amount of Survival Points in this world!
Orlov charged forward with his steel gauntlets. Every punch took an enemy's life. The heavy arm armor not only protected him but also allowed him to easily punch through thick plate armor.
Like a ferocious predator that had wandered into a flock of sheep, Orlov greedily devoured the enemies who seemed as fragile as harmless lambs before him!
Blood stained Orlov's face as he grinned savagely. He picked up the cards that dropped from enemy corpses, and his smile grew even brighter. Grabbing a bull-horned knight by the arm with one hand, he hurled him like a shot put, smashing down a group of enemies.
Of course, he also accidentally injured some soldiers and knights on his own side.
Orlov smiled awkwardly and decided not to do that again.
His Strength is very high…
Cyan observed Orlov while fighting. She noticed that his Strength far exceeded her own.
His Strength was high, but his speed was slow. As long as she wasn't hit directly and he didn't have any sudden burst of speed, his threat to her remained low.
While killing enemies, Cyan continued watching Orlov. The more she knew about someone who held malice toward her, the better prepared she would be if conflict broke out.
One bull-horned knight saw the枣-red warhorse standing riderless and approached it. Just as he stepped into the stirrup to mount, he met strong resistance.
"Bang!"
Unabi's hoof struck the round shield the bull-horned knight instinctively raised, forcing him back half a step.
"Courting death!"
The bull-horned knight hadn't expected the warhorse to dare resist him. Enraged, he raised his spiked mace.
Suddenly, a black shadow jumped onto his face, completely blocking his vision. It was the black widow spider. She sprayed silk across the knight's entire face, then leapt backward onto Unabi's back.
Unabi seized the chance and delivered a powerful rear kick to the knight who had tried to ride it. Its strong hind leg slammed into his chest.
The bull-horned knight frantically clawed at his face, tore off his helmet, and threw it to the ground.
In the next instant, a figure flashed past him.
The next thing he saw was his own headless body spraying blood. Only then did he realize he was already dead.
"Mas… Master~!"
The black widow spider jumped onto Cyan's shoulder like she was showing off, looking at her expectantly with wine-red eyes.
"Well done."
Cyan gently patted the black widow spider's small head with her finger.
This little one is much easier to understand than Nishi.
Unabi brought its horse face closer to Cyan, also wanting to be petted.
However, there wasn't much time for affection in the middle of a battlefield.
"Hah——!"
Orlov shouted as he slammed both gauntleted fists into the ground. A visible shockwave spread outward, knocking back the enemies surrounding him.
Was that a weapon skill?
Asuka glanced at Orlov after hearing his shout. She noticed that his gauntlets had flashed when he struck the ground, sending the shockwave into the earth.
Trying to ambush me?
From the corner of her eye, Asuka spotted a swordsman leaping toward her. She raised her shield and blocked the attack.
Shield Bash!
Her greatshield glowed and shook violently. The swordsman's body stiffened momentarily from the impact. Before he could retreat, Asuka thrust her lance through his chest, ending his life.
Nishi and Asama Ai worked together to kill enemies. They had already discussed how to split the spoils.
Cyan, as their temporary leader, had no objections to their arrangement.
Asama Ai would control the enemies while Nishi used her extreme speed to deliver fatal strikes to vital points.
This woman is going to be troublesome. Should I take the chance to kill her?
In the chaotic battlefield, a 'knight' coldly stared at Asama Ai, considering whether to risk exposing his identity to eliminate her — someone who could become a problem for his plans.
After a moment of hesitation, he gave up. With Nishi guarding Asama Ai, there were too many unknowns. If he failed, he would become the target of everyone — not only Cyan but also the story characters. It wasn't worth the risk.
There would be other opportunities. No need to rush.
After the extremely chaotic battle finally ended, Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival held a brief discussion. They left the injured knights and soldiers behind with some people to watch over them, then led the remaining forces to the castle gates.
Just as they were figuring out how to open the gates, they opened on their own — as if inviting them inside.
Arlon's gloomy voice echoed through magical means:
"Come in, Arthur, Lancelot, Percival! Foolish rebels who dare oppose Archduke Garibaldi! This Arlon Castle, which I built with my own hands, will be your grave!"
"Arlon! From the moment you pledged loyalty to Archduke Garibaldi, your defeat was already decided!" Arthur raised the Sword in the Stone high and shouted, "Brave warriors, charge with me!!!"
"OHHH!!!"
The soldiers roared with fighting spirit and charged into the castle following Arthur. Lancelot and Percival followed right behind.
In order to farm favorability with the three story characters, Orlov stuck close to Lancelot and Percival.
"Wait here for me."
Cyan patted Unabi's mane and walked toward the castle gates.
She couldn't ride Unabi inside the castle. Besides, she didn't particularly like fighting on horseback anyway.
Light flashed, and Unabi transformed into a chess piece representing a knight, flying into Cyan's hand.
[Warhorse]
[Type: Special Item]
[Function: Summon the warhorse Unabi to assist in battle.]
[Remark: Unabi is a proud warhorse, even after changing owners several times.]
[Note: If the warhorse dies, it must be revived using Survival Points.]
It turned into a chess piece?
Cyan looked at the piece in her hand.
Nishi, who had finished splitting the spoils with Asama Ai, walked over and hugged Cyan's arm while curiously looking around.
"Master, where's Unabi?"
"Here."
Cyan opened her hand to show Nishi the chess piece.
"Does that mean you can bring Unabi out of this world, Master?"
"…Seems like it."
Cyan nodded and put the chess piece into her inventory.
Inside the Castle
Because there were multiple paths inside the castle, Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival split up and attacked from three different routes.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, there were no enemies on the first floor at all!
When they reached the second floor, they regrouped. What awaited them there were tigers that had been starved to the point of madness. Thick saliva dripped from their gaping maws onto the floor as they stared hungrily at the people coming up the stairs.
"ROAR——!!!"
Smelling human scent, the starving predators pounced. Their sharp claws could tear through the armor protecting the knights.
The unarmored soldiers were like lambs to the slaughter before these maddened tigers!
Several soldiers and knights who failed to react in time were knocked down and had their necks bitten through while screaming.
Large chunks of flesh and neck bone were torn off while the victims were still alive. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere. The soldiers' bodies twitched violently — death was only a matter of time.
The sound of bones being crunched echoed. The smell of blood drove the tigers, who had been deliberately starved for a long time to heighten their ferocity, into an even greater frenzy.
"Kill these beasts!!!"
Percival's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He roared as he cleaved off a tiger's head with his axe. Blood splattered across him, making him look especially ferocious.
Faced with a pouncing tiger, Nishi slid underneath it and slashed open its stomach with her short blade!
It was a perfect sliding kill — no delivery service for the tiger.
The tiger let out a pained yowl as its guts spilled onto the ground. It struggled to stand, roaring at the approaching people.
"Crack!"
Cyan stomped down and broke the tiger's neck.
After the tiger died, it dropped a Bronze Card. Cyan picked it up and turned around, punching the claws of another tiger that had leapt at her.
The sound of bones breaking rang out. A white bone pierced through flesh and fur.
The tiger landed and tried to stand, but when its injured paw touched the ground, its body trembled. It quickly lifted the paw as blood flowed down. Trembling, it roared at Cyan in warning.
Cyan drove her knee into the tiger's jaw and slammed her elbow down from above.
With a loud crack, the tiger's eyes widened. Blood flowed from its mouth as it collapsed and died after a few final struggles.
In a short time, more than a dozen tigers were completely wiped out. Most were killed by Arthur and his men, while only a few fell to the survivors.
Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival looked at the mangled corpses with heavy hearts, their eyes burning with anger.