Vwoooom─! Vwooom!
A low, gloomy alarm rang ceaselessly throughout the entire kingdom.
Just hearing it was enough to know it was an emergency; the sound made one's skin tingle and heart pound.
[Gather and receive your weapons!]
[What are you standing around blankly for! Gather towards the main gate!]
[Everyone hurry! The wraiths are coming!]
The majority of the mermaids who had arrived in front of the main gate weren't even properly equipped with armor. Fishermen who had managed the kingdom's fish farms all their lives, technicians who tended to the magic-supplying corals, and even merchants who ran shops and restaurants.
The weapons in their hands were all different, too. Some held tridents or harpoons, while others held hammers used for repairing buildings. Maureen, who was looking at them, bit her lip.
[......They're completely a ragtag bunch. We're fighting alongside them?]
[Anyone who can hold a weapon must fight.]
King Sano spoke firmly. At first glance, it might sound cold-hearted, but there was no choice anyway. If they lost this battle, the only future left would be dying while trembling in fear inside their rooms.
[But they don't even look like they have any combat experience.]
[Currently, there are less than five hundred in the kingdom who have received warrior training. The rest are all ordinary citizens. But if they don't step up, we lack the troops to defend the main gate. The wraiths' forces number over 3,000, after all.]
No one could refute those words. There were no children in Atlanta. It had been 400 years since spawning was banned due to the increasingly scarce oxygen and food shortage issues. Even the last mermaid born had already become a young adult in human years. The only ones who couldn't fight were mobility-impaired or sick elderly. However, instead of heading to the shelter, they too came out to the battlefield and were maintaining weapons.
[Why aren't you evacuating?]
At Oscar's question, an old mermaid who was tending to a weapon lifted his head. In his wrinkled hands was a harpoon, rusted in places.
[Wherever we evacuate to, would it be safe?]
[.......]
A wise answer to a foolish question. If the main gate was breached anyway, there was no safe place anywhere in this kingdom. Because everyone knew that fact, no one was running away.
[Once all the warriors die, it will be our turn next. Rather than that, it's better to be of help by stabbing even one more of them.]
It wasn't just that old mermaid. A desperate resolve could be seen in the eyes of those guarding the main gate. As if they all knew the fact that if they lost today, the kingdom would fall. Tesila, who was watching this sight, scratched the bridge of her nose.
[......It's a little pressuring.]
[What is?]
[Because it feels like we absolutely cannot lose today.]
Oscar, looking at her unsmiling face, replied briefly.
[How is your condition?]
[Oscar. You can rejoice.]
Tesila curled up one corner of her mouth.
[Because it's at its peak, to the point even I'm surprised.]
Atlanta's main gate was the sole passage connected to the outside. In front of it, 7,000 mermaids had already gathered and were establishing a defensive line.
Boom! Boom!
Roars could be heard periodically from the main gate. It was the sound of nearly 3,000 wraiths slamming their bodies against the main gate to return to this kingdom.
[.......]
[.......]
Sounds of nervous gulping could be heard from here and there.
That much was unavoidable.
Excluding the five hundred or so regular warriors, the forces were entirely made up of citizens.
King Sano, who was staring at the main gate, slowly opened her mouth.
[As you know, the wraiths are those who once marched out to protect this kingdom.]
Every single one of them was a hero of Atlanta.
Their stories had been made into books and songs, spreading widely within the kingdom. From now on, they had to fight against those heroes.
Booooom!
Just then, the main gate completely collapsed, and the wraiths began to storm in.
[Entire army, prepare for battle!]
Along with the warriors' shouts, worn-out shields locked together.
The spear tips aimed at the surging wraiths.
Even those unaccustomed to combat supported the backs of the people in front of them with clumsy movements.
[Let us gift our heroes eternal rest!]
Along with King Sano's voice, the two forces clashed.
Craaash!
The water currents trembled, and the entire space vibrated.
[Maintain the line!]
[Raise your shields! Never lower your arms!]
[Support the person in front! Don't let them be pushed back!]
The warriors thrust their spears and harpoons wildly from behind at the wraiths blocked by the shieldbearers.
If they were ordinary creatures, they would have fallen from just that.
[They move even if their heads and hearts are burst!]
[Do not let your guard down until they completely stop! Keep attacking!]
Hundreds of weapons pierced the wraiths.
However, even with holes punctured in their bodies and limbs torn off, the bastards did not stop.
Using their kin in front who were skewered on harpoons as shields, they dug into the formation.
[We're being pushed back!]
[Never step back!]
The mermaids held on desperately, but the number of warriors left in this kingdom wasn't very high.
All the elite soldiers had left the kingdom with the previous king some 800 years ago.
[Kugh!]
[I can't hold on......!]
The moment the front line of the mermaids, their expressions distorted, was slowly being pushed back, Maureen flew in from behind.
[How dare you try to come in!]
Gripping her hammer with both hands, she used her whole body to swing with full force.
Whoosh!
The dozens of wraiths lunging forward were sent flying straight backward.
But other wraiths lunged at her when an opening momentarily appeared.
[Split apart, all of you.]
Tristan's rapid current, shooting out in a straight line, burst the bodies of the wraiths. Following that, a golden ring spread out like a wave from the center of the forces.
[May the dead return to where they belong!]
The mermaids touched by Eddie's holy power trembled and stiffened.
Although it couldn't burn their polluted bodies, that was enough.
[.......]
Mary Jane's revolver continuously spewed fire in the deep sea.
The bullets imbued with enhancement magic shot forward without wavering despite the strong currents, piercing the wraiths.
Tesila, observing the state of the battle, muttered.
[At this rate...... there might not even be a need for me to use magic.]
The wraiths weren't exerting as much power as expected.
No, a bigger factor was that the mermaids, who had been evaluated as a ragtag bunch, were putting up a surprisingly good fight.
The level of the wraiths was similar to the ones the party had faced in the emergency exit cave.
[No. It is too early to jump to conclusions.]
But King Sano shook her head.
[Because the real ones haven't even arrived yet.]
[......What do you mean by the real ones?]
[The strength of my father and the general who followed him are on a different level from them.]
No sooner had those words ended.
Rummble!
Riding a rough current, a single black wraith intruded onto the battlefield.
A physique twice as large as a normal mermaid.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
He wore blue armor over blackened, rotting scales, and in one hand, he held a trident almost twice the length of his own body.
The armor, which would have once been radiant, had not withstood the passage of over 800 years and was destroyed in various places.
[......G-General Cardion?]
[The greatest warrior in the kingdom's history is.......]
The pupils of the old soldiers who recognized him wavered.
At that, King Sano shouted sharply.
[Get a grip! That man is no longer the general you once knew!]
The moment those words ended, Cardion, who had been looking at the old soldiers, swung his trident horizontally with a Whoosh!
With just that simple motion, the water currents twisted and a tidal wave surged.
Spinning around the tip of the trident, the compressed water current stretched out long.
[Not so fast!]
Before the trident could claim the necks of the old soldiers, Maureen dashed in and struck it away.
But as soon as the hammer touched the trident, Maureen's body, swept up by the fierce current, spun several times before crashing straight into the ground.
[U-uh?]
[Maureen!]
Seeing this, Tristan quickly chanted a spell to protect her.
Whoooosh!
Cardion threw the trident at him without a shred of hesitation.
[......!]
The moment Tristan's eyes grew as large as saucers, having not expected him to be targeted here.
[Spatial Slash]
Slash! Clang!
Oscar, who had been watching the whole situation, made his move.
Cleanly deflecting the trident, he prepared a new blade of space.
[Certainly. You're an annoying existence. I was going to cut you down.]
[That trident is a magic weapon bestowed directly by my father.]
The weapon was one thing, but his innate martial prowess was also around the level of a mid-tier Level 7.
At that level, he was an unrivaled powerhouse even among the wraiths, who were mostly Level 4 or 5.
Above all, this was the deep sea—a battlefield where Cardion could exert his full strength, unlike himself, who was human.
‘Besides, that attack just now.’
Incapacitating Maureen and interrupting Tristan's chanting was not a simple coincidence.
The bastard was reading the flow of battle better than anyone else.
It meant he was quite different from wraiths that only had instincts left.
‘I'll intercept him while maintaining distance if possible.’
Having made up his mind, Oscar pulled the string of space in a single breath.
[Spatial Slash]
The most terrifying thing about Spatial Slash was that it was drawn without any precursor or warning.
However, the moment the blade was drawn behind his neck, Cardion ducked his body.
‘He dodged this?’
At the same time Oscar was surprised, Cardion struck the ground with his thick tail fin.
Then, a massive tidal wave rose and surged, pulling in the mermaids who were blocking the way.
Vwoooom!
Following that, as he thrust his palm forward, the bodies of the mermaids who were being pulled toward him burst like balloons.
[What kind of monster is.......]
[Damn it!]
Biting his lip tightly, Oscar fired Spatial Slashes wildly.
Pfft, pfft!
Shoulders, flanks, and the like were split open and blood spurted out, but Oscar's expression wasn't good.
‘That guy, on purpose.......’
The bastard knew too that he couldn't dodge everything.
That was why he was taking the hits he couldn't dodge, and only avoiding the attacks aiming for his vital spots.
Furthermore, even the parts severed by Spatial Slash regenerated in the blink of an eye.
Rummble!
The surrounding currents rotated simultaneously with Cardion at the center.
Black magic power flowing from the gaps in his armor mixed with the water, compressing it.
[Raise your shields and everyone fall back!]
Oscar warned, but he was late.
Crunch!
As Cardion struck the ground with his trident, the compressed water was released in all directions like an explosion.
[M-my shield!]
[My weapon is broken!]
[Keugh, cough.]
The majority of the troops blocking the front line couldn't withstand the shock and vomited blood.
The moment Oscar, seeing this, was about to request firepower support from Tesila, the wraiths' forces began to push the battlefield back.
‘Damn it.’
Oscar's face distorted.
The defensive line was rapidly collapsing just from Cardion's presence alone.
He examined the mermaids in whom fear was continuously welling up.
It wasn't a good phenomenon.
If that fear exceeded a certain level, the flow of the battlefield was bound to change.
‘First, I'll quickly dispose of this guy, Cardion.’
It would be troublesome to let him have his fun like a wolf leaping into a flock of sheep any longer.
And fortunately, it seemed that thought wasn't his alone.
[Oscar, duck.]
Along with a message magic that flew in from behind.
Despite being underwater, the fine hairs all over his body stood on end.
Oscar bent his waist down without a moment's delay.
At the same time...
[Mana Piercing Cannon.]
A single beam of magical light swallowed all sound and sight in the area.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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