The villagers were already starting to panic.
“Did you hear? They say there’s an army preparing to attack us!”
“Yeah. Five thousand troops.”
“There’s no way we can survive an attack by five thousand troops! Should we flee?”
“That’s not even the worst of it. Raoul is their commander. You know, the one with the Sword Mastery Gift? I heard he’s just as powerful as the marquess now.”
“Are you serious? This is the end, isn’t it? I really liked this village too...”
“Where would we even go? There’s no way we can return to our old homes and still make a living there.”
“And we’ve got a newborn baby at home...”
Even though there were ten thousand residents now, the prospect of fending off five thousand soldiers seemed grim—especially since most residents had zero combat experience.
Just then, a deafening roar echoed across the land.
Rrrruuummmbbblleeeee...
“What was that?! An earthquake?!”
“Don’t tell me the enemy’s already here!”
“N-No, look over there!”
“What the—?!”
Dant and his people, who had fled from Liesen, were also growing anxious.
“Are you sure this was the right decision, my lord? If the village falls, you and your entire family could be...” Bazara trailed off nervously.
“We’re prepared. But most importantly, I believe in Lord Luke and this village.”
“Lord Dant...”
“I don’t believe for a second that Lord Luke would succumb to something like this. He’s always surpassed our expectations. That’s just who he is. I truly believe he’ll overcome this.”
Rrrruuummmbbblleeeee...
“What was that?!”
The quaking had nearly knocked them off their feet.
“What’s going on?!”
“Look over there, Lord Dant!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Raoul’s army had resumed its advance into the wasteland.
“I still can’t believe there’s really a city worth bringing five thousand troops out here for. The farther we go, the more desolate it looks.”
“Ugh, seriously. We just got back from a war, and now we have to go through it all over again? Let’s crush ’em quickly and get home already.”
Suffice it to say, morale among the soldiers wasn’t exactly sky-high. The abruptness of the original call to arms and the realization that this was some internal power struggle left most feeling uninvested in the fight. It was hard to blame them for their lack of motivation. After all, their lives wouldn’t change much, no matter who won.
However, a rumor had begun spreading that was stirring the troops.
“Hey, did you hear that Lord Luke walked right into the middle of camp last night?”
“Are you serious? Did he come to surrender or something? Why are we still marching?”
“Nah, I heard he just came to talk to Lord Raoul, and then he vanished into thin air!”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure somebody was just seeing things.”
Allowing your enemy to walk right up to the general’s camp undetected—and then letting him leave—right before the climactic battle would’ve been a major embarrassment, which was exactly why the incident had been covered up.
Nevertheless, gossip spread like wildfire through the army.
“Maybe he used some kind of advanced magic?”
“If that’s true, maybe this fight’s gonna be a lot more of a pain than we thought.”
“Didn’t Lord Luke build this town from scratch in just a year? What if he’s an actual threat?”
The unease rippled through the troops, while the officers barked orders to keep them focused, to no avail.
“Ugh, what a bunch of useless cowards,” Raoul said, clicking his tongue in irritation.
He hadn’t really thought it would take this many soldiers to win, but he wanted to show his brother the sheer difference in their power now. He looked forward to grinding that smug face of his into the dirt and scaring the daylights out of him.
What was that stunt last night, though? He just showed up out of nowhere and then disappeared without a trace. I thought he’d be begging me for mercy, but it looked like he couldn’t care less about five thousand soldiers knocking on his door.
Raoul clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood.
“Luke, I’m gonna make you forget the meaning of the word ‘hope.’ First, I’ll crush the idiots who sided with you, one by one. I can already see them sobbing and groveling at my feet...” he muttered.
While he savored that image, he heard a commotion toward the front lines.
“L-Lord Raoul! We’ve got trouble!” one of his men shouted breathlessly as he sprinted over.
“What is it now?”
“Something’s in the wasteland, my lord!”
Whatever it was, it had startled the man. Raoul gave up trying to get a straight answer and urged his horse forward.
Then he saw it.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Huh?!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Phew, all done. Not bad, if I do say so myself,” I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead. As I looked out over the wasteland from the top of a watchtower, I released a satisfied sigh.
I’d gained access to a bunch of new construction options with that last level-up.
New facilities are available for construction!
Bridge (30)
Fortress Wall (100)
Library (300)
Hotel (400)
Palace (500)
Fortress Wall was basically a high-tier upgrade of the old stone walls.
Fortress Wall
>>A powerful defensive structure designed to protect castles and cities. Boosts defenders’ morale and weakens attackers’ morale. Custom shapes are available.
It was still made of stone, but it was much sturdier and larger. One unit was ten meters tall and five meters thick, with a walkway on top surrounded by jagged battlements that shielded defenders from ranged attacks. There was zero risk of falling off unless someone wanted to. All that for one hundred points was a huge deal, so I knew I had to put it to good use. So I used them to build a massive maze to protect the village.
Honestly, it turned out to be kind of a pain.
“Sheesh, building a maze is harder than I thought,” I said after I was done. “But we should be more than ready to handle five thousand troops now, though, right?”
When I turned around, I saw everyone standing there, speechless.
“Huh?” I wondered.
Seren looked completely exasperated. “‘More than ready’? This is straight up cheating.”
“You think so?”
“You’re not just trying to hold them off, you’re trying to break their will completely. If I were their commander, there’s no way I’d want to attack a city like this. I mean, couldn’t we just prevent them from reaching the village altogether?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nah, that’d be a bit too unfair. I mean, it’s a maze—they can still reach their destination.”
She stared at me in disbelief. “Why are you trying to fight fair at a time like this?”
“Ha ha ha... Am I dreaming right now? Someone pinch me,” Sirius said with a nervous laugh. He looked like he was having an existential crisis.
Just a bit ago, he’d been ranting nonstop about having seen Raoul’s strength firsthand, and how Raoul had already mastered his Gift and could turn the tide of a battle with a swing of his sword.
“I don’t care how many Gifted fighters this village has; nobody can stand against him!” Sirius had insisted.
Yet here he was, looking at my maze in utter shock.
“This isn’t a dream, Sirius. I can pinch you, if you’d like,” Philia said.
“Y-Yes, please... Pinch me.”
“There. How’s that? It hurts, right?”
“Mmm, I want to stay in this dream forever... It’s wonderful...”
Well, at least Sirius was happy now. Good for him.
“I’d expect nothing less from Lord Luke! Incredibly, he built something like this in such a short time!” Myria said, absolutely ecstatic.
When Raoul’s army finally arrived at the edge of the wasteland, the soldiers looked visibly shaken when they saw the towering walls ahead. I wouldn’t have minded if they just turned around and went home right then, but I knew Raoul wouldn’t allow that to happen.
And sure enough, he proved me right. A moment later, the army entered the maze.