CHAPTER 51: THE CITADEL – SCAR’S PLANS

A great sound reverberated through the massive hall as one half of the towering double door, completely made out of unknown metal, pulled off its hinges, connected to the doorframe for years unknown, and fell as the roots blocking it broke, splinters flying everywhere.

Mountain leaned his shield against the doorframe and pushed the other still-standing door open with one hand, allowing sunlight to flood the room, making his armour gleam.

His cloak fluttered as he picked his massive shield and led the march, not even giving a glance to Scar, who scowled after frowning hard.

What appeared before them was the forecourt, and three four-feet-tall ants that roamed the court were now attracted toward them.

Two Sword and Shield Knights charged with Mountain, blocking the ants’ sharp mandibles with their shields and plunging their longswords through the ants’ hard carapaces, killing them instantly.

After that, Mountain, leading his twenty, went straight to the damaged portcullis below the twenty-feet-tall wall where Ballista assembled his Bow Knights at the walkway on top.

The sound of armour clinking and ironclad boots striking the stone floor filled the air, attracting the countless numbers of ants lurking far beyond the wall, in the ruins of what looked like an ancient Greek city, with fallen statues and stone houses reduced to rubble.

In the distance stood a towering golden-armoured ant. It was a giant compared to the others, standing at a height of almost fourteen feet, with plated legs strong enough to bring down sturdy buildings made entirely out of ancient bricks.

Chained to its back was a small pulsing red core, the dungeon core, and the dungeon boss!

Godfrey ascended the wall, squinting at the state of it. The wall had numerous holes, obviously made by the ants, and some parts had deep burns as if magma had been splattered against them.

Other than that, the embrasures were heavily damaged, a clear sign that the ants had already conquered the wall before.

He narrowed his eyes and turned back to the forecourt as Mountain tore the steel bars of the portcullis out so he and his men could pass.

The ants were stirring, their antennae waving frantically as if communicating or... receiving orders from the dungeon boss who had already sensed the signs of life on the wall it thought it had claimed.

"Isaac. Stay close to Mountain," Godfrey said, and Isaac responded with a nod before jogging after the towering armoured knights, only to be shocked at the number of ants outside, momentarily freezing at the gate.

"Come up." As if waiting for Godfrey to say that, Joana pulled her sister to the top of the wall, relieved that she was away from the guild party.

At the top, she saw Isaac, looking small and out of place among the knights. "Are you sure it’s safe to leave him out there?" she asked as the Bow Knights began to launch arrows at the charging tide of ants, who must have received the command from their leader.

Her eyes went a little wider as each arrow pierced through its targeted ant’s hard carapace, pinning it into the earth. Some arrows took the lives of two ants at once; others tore off limbs. She had never seen anything like it all throughout her time in college.

Being a respected student back in her school days because of her summon, her worldview suddenly felt small, because Godfrey was clearly still a student and much younger than her.

The saying ’There is always a stronger monster’ came to life right before her eyes, and as if that wasn’t enough, Godfrey pointed at Isaac.

"Look. He’ll be fine."

Her eyes narrowed as Isaac brought out his Mammoth Spider from a portal. The nine-feet-tall summon moved much faster than the knights, piercing the heads of ants and shooting webs that gathered three of them into a white ball with ant legs and heads, which it then withdrew into its mouth!

Moving underneath his summon, Isaac activated Echo, harnessing a variant of his spider’s legs. Instead of eight which lifted him off the ground, there were four, much thicker, as if the eight had joined together to become four.

It didn’t lift him off the ground but moved like arms from his back, able to elongate up to three meters. It made him a killing machine while hiding within the boundaries of his spider.

Godfrey couldn’t hold back his smirk as he watched Isaac fight. The fact that the dungeon beasts were simply giant ants made it easier for the freshman to kill them without thinking twice.

On the other hand, Joana was stunned that it wasn’t just Godfrey who was powerful, Isaac wasn’t weak either.

While the Bow Knights slaughtered ants in the distance, reducing their numbers so the Shield and Sword Knights wouldn’t be swarmed as they bashed and sliced through the horde, Isaac stabbed and webbed them relentlessly.

He shot webs at the feet of an ant, earning a nod from Mountain, which made him smile widely.

"What’s he doing so close to our clients? They should be with us," the woman said to Scar, glancing at Godfrey and Joana as they emerged from the portcullis, her eyes narrowing at Isaac’s feats.

"Forget about them. Our goal here is the dungeon boss. The body of a high-tier boss is valuable and I need that dungeon core. Don’t stress yourselves, let them work, we’ll reap," Scar said, patting the woman’s back and watching as they charged to battle the ants.

The twins took to the sky, their falcons slicing through the ants with their dangerous claws at such speed that the damage was only registered after they’d already left.

The Dragon Snake crushed and bit off the heads of the ants, but Godfrey, who calmly stood atop the wall, could see they were conserving their strength, allowing Isaac and his knights to do the main work.

His eyes met Scar’s, and Scar frowned. ’Why does that kid give the vibe of a commander who overlooks the battlefield?’ he thought, shrugging off the premonition about those calm blue eyes.