How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 60
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 60】
Swoosh!
The surrounding castle wall, or more precisely the wooden palisade, was imbued with a green aura.
Ding!
Notification windows appeared in a stream before Carlisle’s eyes.
[Notification: 【Iron Fortress】 effect has been activated!]
[Notification: Structure defense increased by 200%!]
[Notification: Allied Forces morale increased by 150%!]
[Notification: All Allied Forces stats increased by 30%!]
[Notification: 【Iron Fortress】 effect has been activated!]
[Notification: Structure defense increased by 200%!]
[Notification: Allied Forces morale increased by 150%!]
[Notification: All Allied Forces stats increased by 30%!]
[Notification: 【Iron Fortress】 effect has been activated!]
[Notification: Structure defense increased by 200%!]
[Notification: Allied Forces morale increased by 150%!]
[Notification: All Allied Forces stats increased by 30%!]
[Notification: 【Iron Fortress】 effect has been activated!]
[Notification: Structure defense increased by 200%!]
[Notification: Allied Forces morale increased by 150%!]
[Notification: All Allied Forces stats increased by 30%!]
[Notification: 【Iron Fortress】 effect has been activated!]
[Notification: Structure defense increased by 200%!]
[Notification: Allied Forces morale increased by 150%!]
[Notification: All Allied Forces stats increased by 30%!]
‘If only the castle wall had been made of brick.’
Carlisle bit his lower lip tightly in regret.
[Iron Fortress] was an item that could increase structure defense by up to 300% when embedded in castle walls.
However, Bowden Fortress was built by surrounding an earthen mound with a wooden palisade, making it difficult for [Iron Fortress] to demonstrate its full potential.
Even so, it had sent seven Barbarian Warriors who had cast [Destruction Chariot] flying far away.
“Private Carlisle…?”
“Yes?”
“That just now… what was it? Was that the effect of the brick you embedded?”
“Yes, well. Something like that.”
Carlisle shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing special.
“Puhahahaha!”
“Serves them right!”
“They must have died from the fall!”
In this amazing situation, the soldiers of Bowden Fortress burst into laughter.
“Hey you bastards! How does it taste!”
“Try ramming again!”
As if they had never been trembling, the soldiers’ faces were filled with fighting spirit and confidence.
This was a completely different reaction from being terrified just moments before.
That too was the effect of [Iron Fortress].
It raised not only Allied Forces morale but also their stats.
“Private Carlisle.”
“Yes.”
“What happens now?”
“Well.”
Carlisle answered Helen’s question as if he wasn’t sure.
“For now, we hold out. We don’t know how long the castle wall will last.”
“I see.”
“Still, it won’t break easily, so maybe we can hold out for a couple hours at least?”
“A couple hours won’t be enough.”
Helen’s expression darkened somewhat.
For reinforcements to arrive, they needed at least several hours to as much as a full day more.
“What choice do we have? If we can’t hold out, then there’s nothing we can do.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“You… aren’t you afraid of death? That didn’t seem to be your image.”
What kind of image was that supposed to be…
Carlisle was slightly dumbfounded, but he decided to accept it as karma for possessing a scoundrel.
“What’s the big deal about dying? If you die, you die. Living is what’s tiresome.”
“Living is tiresome…”
“What about you, Sir Helen?”
“Me? I… I’m also not afraid of dying. This is a place where people die every other day. If I had been afraid of death, I couldn’t have served here for several years. However…”
“However?”
“Due to my incompetence, having my subordinates die because of my orders – that’s truly not easy to bear. That too is probably a responsibility and duty that a commander must shoulder, but…”
Carlisle understood Helen’s words with his head but didn’t understand them at all with his heart.
If he said he understood that, it would likely be a lie.
Why?
Because Carlisle had no experience being responsible for someone’s life.
“At least today you don’t need to worry about that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Since we’re all going to die together anyway, would there be time to feel guilt?”
“…”
Helen frowned as if dumbfounded.
However, since Carlisle’s words weren’t wrong either, Helen didn’t bother to nitpick his words.
Right, if you die anyway, it’s all over, isn’t it?
“Yes, perhaps your words might be right. Guilt is something I can only feel if I’m alive. Your words about living being tiresome – I can somewhat relate to them.”
Carlisle couldn’t answer Helen’s words in time.
“Valhallaaaaa!”
“Guwaaaaak!”
The enemies were advancing – warriors of the Butcher Tribe and undead monsters.
* * *
“Fire!”
Swoooosh!
At Helen’s command, the soldiers poured arrows toward the enemies.
“Come on! You bastards!”
“I’ll kill you all!”
The soldiers gripped their respective military weapons and unleashed fierce attacks on the enemies climbing over the castle wall – that is, the wooden palisade.
“Val, Valhal… Kheuk!”
“Guwaak!”
The warriors of the Butcher Tribe and undead monsters fell one by one, unable to cross the wooden palisade.
This was possible thanks to Bowden Fortress’s geographical advantage and the effect of [Iron Fortress].
Generally, fortresses are positioned in strategically and tactically advantageous locations.
Bowden Fortress was no exception to this rule.
Though it was a small fortress made by surrounding a mound with wooden palisades, Bowden Fortress’s position was specialized for defense.
With the added effect of [Iron Fortress], the warriors of the Butcher Tribe and undead monsters couldn’t easily cross the wooden palisade.
When they tried to climb over the palisade, they would slip as if by magic, and when they tried to break it, its strength was harder than stone or steel, making it impossible to penetrate.
“So they did have something to rely on.”
Zarkan, the chief of the Butcher Tribe, frowned as he watched the battle situation.
He had found it strange that such a tiny fortress wouldn’t retreat, so he made that judgment.
In reality, the Decaron 2nd Army Command had ordered them to continue the mining operation, but Zarkan had no way of knowing this fact.
“Our warriors’ casualties are accumulating. Isn’t there some method? Dark Mage?”
Zarkan turned to look at the old mage who had been watching the battle beside him.
The gaunt old mage, reminiscent of a skeleton, frowned as if asking why he was being asked such a thing.
“Listen well, Barbarian chief. I am a scholar who pursues the truth of darkness. Do you think it’s reasonable to ask me to do something with physical force?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I was saying that I have no proper way to bring down the castle wall.”
“So you’re saying you’re weak.”
“Heh heh.”
Crowley just let out a hollow laugh.
Dark Mages are a profession specialized in anti-personnel magic such as necromancy, spirit magic, and curses.
Whether one can use area magic with great destructive power isn’t that important a factor in evaluating Dark Mages, is it?
Yet to ignore such characteristics and simply define it as [weak]…
‘Ignorant Barbarian.’
Though Crowley inwardly cursed Zarkan’s ignorance, he didn’t bother to nitpick his words.
Barbarians had not even a speck of magical knowledge and weren’t inclined to try to understand it either.
“Anyway, breaking through the castle wall is your role, not mine, so handle it yourself.”
“Hmm.”
“Once you bring down the castle wall, I’ll handle the rest as promised.”
“Then there’s no choice. Well, our warriors will somehow break through the castle wall. But after that, you must keep your promise.”
Zarkan’s gaze turned to the undead warrior standing right beside Crowley.
This undead warrior had a massive build, and his lifeless, rotting skin was covered with liver spots, suggesting he hadn’t been dead for long.
Also, his bluish dead skin was covered with tattoos carved by Barbarian shamans, revealing that he had been a Barbarian Warrior in life.
And at his severed neck area, a gruesome cross-section was exposed, while his head was held in his left hand.
[Dullahan].
A warrior of death whose head had been severed or who carries around his severed head.
It was an undead that novice Dark Mages wouldn’t even dare attempt to create.
“The promise to let my brother finally go to Valhalla, you must keep it. Do you understand?”
“Of course. If I can just have Sigmund’s corpse, couldn’t I keep such a promise a hundred or even a thousand times?”
Crowley readily nodded his head.
“If you just hand over Sigmund’s corpse to me, the promise will definitely be kept.”
“Good.”
Zarkan nodded and looked at his brother Bjornsen, who had now become a Dullahan.
If they had been Continentals, sitting face to face and talking with a Dark Mage who had turned one’s brother into a Dullahan would have been unimaginable.
For Continentals, turning a person, especially blood relatives, into undead was considered desecration of the deceased and corpse defilement.
However, Barbarians were a people with different culture and customs from Continentals, so this wasn’t much of a problem.
Rather, in Zarkan’s case, he greatly welcomed Crowley turning Bjornsen into a Dullahan.
“My brother. I will somehow wash away your dishonor. Though you’ve become undead, if you succeed in revenge even in death and fight honorably, our ancestors in Valhalla will greatly welcome you.”
“Val… halla… Val hal… laaa…”
The head held in Bjornsen’s left hand muttered [Valhalla] like a parrot.
Perhaps because he had become a wandering spirit, his obsession with Valhalla, where only honorable warriors are said to go, seemed tremendous.
Meanwhile, Crowley couldn’t hide his excitement at the thought of turning Sigmund’s direct blood relative into undead.
“Making Sigmund my minion… to think such fortune would come… Was it Carlisle van Sigmund…? I’ve never seen such a handsome man in my life… Haaa…!”
“Ugh.”
Zarkan was disgusted.
The dreamy moans flowing from the old man’s mouth were very unpleasant even to Barbarians who were tolerant of sexual desires.
And that wasn’t all.
“Haa, haaa…”
Crowley’s wrinkled hands caressed around his neck and chest.
‘Disgusting mage.’
Zarkan couldn’t bear to look at Crowley immersed in perverted lust any longer and turned his head away.
He wanted to cut off his neck right then and there out of disgust, but Zarkan wasn’t foolish enough to do that.
Moreover, they were currently allied on the premise of restoring his brother Bjornsen’s honor and territorial control.
Zarkan couldn’t create conflict with Crowley just because he didn’t like him.
Besides, even the most ignorant Barbarian knew how dangerous Dark Mages were and what kind of schemes they might be armed with…
* * *
Bowden Fortress showed remarkable resilience, holding out for a full 2 hours against the enemy’s total offensive.
Despite attacks from the Butcher Tribe warriors and undead monsters, they defended the fortress without major damage.
This was entirely thanks to [Iron Fortress].
But even that had its limits…
“The enemies are coming over!”
“What are you doing! You bastards! Block them there! Block them!”
As corpses piled up, enemies began crossing into the fortress using allied corpses as stepping stones.
Kwaang!
Craaack!
Moreover, under continued attacks from [Destruction Chariots], the wooden palisade’s durability was gradually decreasing.
This was the expected sequence of events.
The difference in military strength was too great, so no matter how well they fought, it was natural that they would eventually collapse.
‘This is the limit.’
Carlisle thought this would be the end of fully benefiting from [Iron Fortress]’s effects.
Of course, the morale boost and ability increases would continue, but if the wooden palisade serving as the castle wall collapsed, the fortress would be annihilated in the blink of an eye.
And Carlisle’s prediction became reality before long.
‘At this rate, we won’t last even 30 minutes…’
Crash!
The wooden castle gates shattered into pieces and enemies began pouring in.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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