Chapter 51

The desperate squad was engaged in fierce combat, but finally reached their limit.

And it was in the worst possible way.

Barbarotto, who had been displaying the strength of a thousand men on the front lines, knelt on one knee.

It wasn't that Barbarotto had given up the fight. After one battle after another, Barbarotto's body had long since exceeded its limits.

However, his body, which had been moving solely on willpower, finally refused to obey his commands.

"Why, why now!

Please!

Just a little more!

Move...!"

Unable to move, Barbarotto struck his own legs, but he had already lost the strength to stand.

With Barbarotto, who had been a pillar of morale, withdrawing, the knights of the desperate squad began to fall into combat incapacity one after another.

"Is this the end...!"

Even though his heart was still shouting to fight, his body would not respond.

The monsters slowly surrounded Barbarotto, who could not move.

But even in such a desperate situation, Barbarotto refused to give up.

"Come on...!

Even if my legs won't move, my arms can still swing!

I'll make your swords rust!!!"

Barbarotto's defiant words meant nothing to the monsters. To them, he was just a dying prey putting up a last show of defiance.

So, the starving monsters pounced on Barbarotto all at once.

"Farewell, Lord Leoard!"

With his last strength, Barbarotto thrust his sword at the pouncing monsters, but the ground beneath him rose up into a pillar, saving him from his dire situation.

"What...?"

Confused, Barbarotto looked around and saw that the other knights were also on pillars of earth.

"This is...!

Could it be!?"

There were only a few people who could perform such a feat: earth element mages. And Barbarotto had a good idea who could save the entire desperate squad.

Looking up, he saw a man with a stocky build and shining golden hair reflecting the sunlight.

It was Leoard Harvest.

"Close call, I'd say."

Leoard was looking down from the fortress. He had initially intended to approach from the front but had to climb the stairs in a hurry to open the gate.

As a result, he was quite late, but he managed to arrive just in time.

"Let's launch a counterattack, then."

Leoard, standing dramatically on the fortress, jumped down with Gilbert.

Thanks to his body enhancement, Leoard was unharmed despite the considerable height of the fortress.

He was about to praise his graceful landing when he heard a tearing sound from his rear.

His pants had probably ripped, but fortunately, he was wearing armor, so it wasn't noticeable. Gilbert, however, had noticed.

Glancing back at Gilbert, Leoard saw him sigh in exasperation. Blushing with embarrassment, Leoard regained his composure and stood up.

"Knights of the desperate squad!

You have held out admirably!

If it weren't for your efforts, Zeato would have fallen by now.

Be proud, for you have achieved a great feat!

I, Leoard Harvest, will bear witness to it!"

How many of the knights were moved by his words?

They had resigned themselves to dying here, never expecting to survive.

But it wasn't over yet. While the desperate squad's lives had been saved, the battle was far from over.

"Many hopes rest on my shoulders.

Many wishes are entrusted to my back.

Then, these hopes, these wishes!

I will fulfill them!!!"

Leoard raised his voice to the sky and began to chant.

"The time of judgment has come, O god of thunder.

With your hammer, pass judgment on my enemies!"

Dark clouds appeared in the clear sky, covering the heavens. Thunder rumbled, but the sky remained eerily calm.

Then, Leoard cast his spell.

"Judgment Thunder!!!"

Lightning descended from the sky.

It was the proof of a divine punishment.

Hundreds, thousands of lightning bolts rained down, annihilating the monsters. The sheer volume and heat of the light were overwhelming, even to Leoard, who had cast the spell. In the game, this spell would rain lightning on all specified enemies within the map, with a bolt for each enemy. Leoard had not expected such a massive scale.

The scene was truly worthy of the term "divine punishment."

Eventually, the lightning ceased, the dark clouds cleared, and the sun illuminated the world.

Before Leoard lay the charred corpses of the monsters. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was over, but his detection spell still showed many magical reactions.

Of course, he couldn't tell if they were human or monster. In the game, he could have distinguished them, but not in the real world.

Leoard, who had been relieved, remained on guard, preparing for the approaching magical reactions.

Then, from the forest, emerged a far more formidable force than he had anticipated.

"It's a General Ogre..."

A General Ogre was dozens of times stronger than a regular Ogre. The difference was like that between an infant and an adult.

In front was the General Ogre, and behind it were armies of Ogres, Orcs, Kobolds, and Goblins.

The monsters, who had been feasting on their fallen kin, spotted their next prey and were delighted to see Leoard.

"I doubt I can cast another one of those."

Despite his words, Leoard still had plenty of magical power. Currently, he shared the magical power of hundreds of knights.

While a large-scale area-of-effect spell would be faster, he couldn't cast it repeatedly.

It could cause significant damage to the land, and in a situation where the monster panic showed no signs of ending, it was unwise to consume so much magical power.

If he continued to cast without thinking, he might lose consciousness from magical exhaustion, as he had before. Moreover, if Leoard were to fall here, the efforts of the desperate squad and the hopes of the knights who had entrusted their wishes to him would be in vain.

That was something that absolutely could not happen.

"Phew... This might be good exercise.

Gil, I'm counting on you to cover my back!"

"Leave it to me. No one will lay a finger on you, sir."

"You're the best!"

Hearing Gilbert's response, Leoard charged forward. Judging that facing the General Ogre directly was too dangerous, he ignored it and plunged into the ranks of the monster army.