812 Battle In Fortress City

[The Next Day]

"Haaa…"

Councilman Finn stood right among his subordinates atop the Fortress City's innermost battlement as he looked ahead at the other two that served to protect him and the rest of the city from what was expected to arrive on that dreary day.

His loud sigh properly encapsulated how he felt about the matter.

—Not good.

'My Sector is internal security management. I shouldn't be doing this, but…' Someone among the members of the Senate had to stand up, and apparently, he was the only one with a backbone when it came to actual warfare with the Giants.

The rest of the Senate had chosen to stay in the Central City and coordinate their troops from that safe distance.

Councilman Finn wasn't complaining too much, though.

'If this leads to victory, it will be a good opportunity to weed out some of the useless members of the Senate and consolidate a lot of powers into only a select few offices.'

Most importantly, he could finally be President.

'All of that has to be suspended, though. Right now, I should focus on the battle…' Looking around him, the Councilman took a good look at the Fortress City and its current condition.

This place remained a marvel of Dwarven engineering and resilience. It was a sprawling stronghold with walls of deep metallic stone so thick and tall they seemed an extension of a mountain itself. The architecture was both functional and awe-inspiring, with every stone meticulously placed by master stonemasons. The outermost circular battlement wall encircled the city like a protective embrace, its ramparts bristling with war machines and guarded by vigilant Dwarven soldiers.

Within the main wall, two inner battlements rose, each offering another layer of defense. The first inner wall, slightly lower than the main wall, was heavily fortified with towers at regular intervals. These towers, square and robust, housed ballistae and catapults, ready to unleash a rain of projectiles on any approaching enemy. The second inner wall was the final bastion, enclosing the heart of the city where the Great Hall and forges lay. This wall was the tallest and most impenetrable, with battlements so high they provided a commanding view of the surrounding plains.

This was where Councilman Finn stood, watching from a distance what would come to attack this highly strategic stronghold of the Dwarves.

'This place is instrumental in creating our weapons and machines of war. If it goes down, not only would the Giants be able to advance further into the Central City, but the loss would badly affect us in our war with the Dragons.'

There was a reason this was the most fortified city in the entire Dwarven Republic.

'I can't allow it to fall… no matter what!'

On the main battlement wall, a line of Dwarves stood, their silhouettes stark against the evening sky. Clad in gleaming mechanical armor, each soldier held powerful ranged weapons like Mana Blasters, while having an Ax stuck to their side, and Shield stationed behind them… just in case they needed to go into melee. All their bearded faces were set with grim determination as they waited for the enemy.

None of their stances wavered as they gazed out over the plains that stretched endlessly before them. The sky was tinged with the deep red of sunset, casting long shadows across the land and highlighting the tension in the air.

Beyond the battlements, the plains were vast and open, a natural killing field for any advancing army. The Dwarves could see any distant campfire, or even the slightest advance from the enemy from miles away.

As such, even if the number of Giants were absurdly high, they were confident enough to whittle down the number before the army could get too close.

'Just to be safe, we upscaled our estimation of their numbers to fifty thousand.' Councilman Finn leaked out another sigh as he finished observing everything and everyone around him.

'I've left the command of certain aspects of the battle to the few competent Councilmen I trust… though they'll be doing it remotely.'

It was unfortunate that their competence did not help at all with their cowardice.

'In any case, we've made all the preparations we could possibly make in such a limited span of time. Thankfully, this place remains an optimal place to take on an army—no matter the size.'

The walkways of the battlement were very wide, allowing troops to move swiftly to reinforce any section under threat. Enchanted Torches mounted on the walls cast a warm, flickering light, illuminating the determined faces of the defenders.

Not only that, but the very material of every structure was made of the highest grade.

They spared no expense.

In the center of the battlements, an enormous gatehouse loomed, its iron-bound doors shut tight.

All in all, the Fortress stood ready, its walls and defenders ready for the coming storm.

Unfortunately… no amount of preparation could have prepared them for what their eyes were about to witness.

~SHUUUU!~

The brilliant evening suddenly began to darken at a rapid rate thanks to the dark clouds that began to cluster before the Dwarves.

These dark clouds were so thick that no light could penetrate their dense canopy, and not only did the cluster seem to be growing larger, but it was advancing towards the city at a frighteningly fast pace.

In no time, it would have completely consumed the skies above the city and engulfed everything in darkness.

However—

"I-it stopped…?!" Councilman Finn's eyes widened as he witnessed the approaching dark clouds suddenly halt.

The cluster simply hovered above the battlefield, stagnantly painting the grounds with sheer blackness—devoid of light or color.

Before anyone, including Finn, could process why this happened, or what this darkness really was, they were bombarded with yet another strangely ominous sight.

~VWUUUUUUUUUM!~

On the ground, beneath the blackened skies, a purplish black pool swelled. Its contents spilled over the earth, like a dark swamp.

It looked obscene, and it felt even worse.

Almost like the very definition of corruption, this blackened pool of purple completely covered the ground before the first battlement, with all the Dwarves there holding their breath, not blinking their bloodshot eyes as they waited for what would come next.

And, what exactly came next?

Well… it was DEATH.

"M-my goodness…! T-this… this is…?!" Councilman Finn could not believe his eyes as he watched the whole thing from his distance.

He was currently seeing through an Enchanted Item, so he could witness everything in great detail, and even he doubted what he was seeing.

Could such a thing be? Absolutely not!

It couldn't be allowed.

After all, emerging from the depths of the dark swamp were creatures of death, who had been granted some kind of twisted false life.

Undead Giants and Monsters—all in various forms and sizes—began to appear in their thousands. They seemingly poured out without end… like a swarm of insects that didn't seem to stop.

Councilman Finn was stunned for a moment, even going as far as gulping once he realized he was already shivering.

However, he quickly took a hold of himself.

He wasn't like the cowards whom he had criticized—both internally and externally—so many times.

He was better!

"Attack! Attack now!" He roared, his voice amplified by yet another Enchanted Item.

After he said this, there was a second of silence—a delay in the response time of the equally stunned Dwarves who were still trying to get their wits about them.

However…

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!~

… This decorum was soon shattered by the deafening eruptions of blasters and canons—all fired at the enemies that were spawning.

This resulted in explosions that permeated the air, getting rid of the stale silence.

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!~

More…

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!~

… More and more…

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!~

… And even more explosions were dealt to the enemy.

The spawning Undead were torn asunder by the heavy blasts that rushed upon them. Their arms, legs, chests, heads, etc, were all blown away as the constant barrage consistently fired and kept devastating the enemies.

Smoke and flames littered the ground, and the constant vibrations—both from the air and earth surface—showed just how much devastation was being caused.

Still… the blasts went on and on.

After about a minute of constant firing, though, the battlefield slowly began to fall silent.

Once another minute passed, it went completely quiet..

Why? Well, the weapons were either on cooldown, or they needed to be reloaded.

As a result of this, other than the clearing smoke and vanishing flames in the battlefield, no sound was being made.

Everyone simply did their best to reload and wait for the cooldown to elapse.

Unfortunately…

"W-WHAT?!"

… The Undead Giants and Monsters that emerged from the dissipating smoke were even more than before. Not just that, but even more were emerging from the black swamp.

Then—

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!"

—They began their charge.

In their massive horde, the monstrosities raced towards the walls of the battlement, causing constant rumbles to echo into the air as they lifelessly commenced assault.

Their glowing eyes teemed with bloodlust, and their soulless faces screamed of impending destruction.

Then, before long… they made their first impact!