The fortress wall.
The section positioned at the center of the first wall had been built slightly taller.
This was partly so that everyone could see me directing from there, but in principle, I would have preferred to command from the rear.
That would have been more efficient—by placing allies connected via the Jewel's lines at key positions, information could travel faster.
Still, there was a meaning to this.
Facing the massive army of Monsters closing in before us, I thrust my right hand forward and raised my voice.
"Fire!"
The wall was manned by more than just soldiers. Knights and mages had been stationed there as well—roughly three thousand in total.
Magic was unleashed toward the Monsters charging at us from the wall's crest.
Powerful spells struck one after another, the space before us blinding with light and explosions. The thunder of detonations and clouds of dust rose up, staining the surrounding sand a murky brown.
But May, standing beside me in her Kirin form, lifted her head slightly.
"They're coming."
Sure enough, the Monsters that had been blown away and left motionless were now being trampled over as fresh waves of Monsters surged forward. The cannons positioned along the wall's midpoint fired round after round into those that broke through the dust clouds.
Up on the wall, the mages were pulled back, replaced by soldiers bearing bows and crossbows lined up in their stead.
As the field commanders issued volley after volley of fire commands, arrows sank into the Monsters' hides.
From the Jewel came the voice of the Fifth Generation.
*"This is a situation where anything you shoot hits. Don't bother aiming—just have them fire continuously. Let the mages loose at a reasonable pace too. Before the next round of spells, the enemy will also—"*
Before the Fifth Generation could finish, figures emerged from the Monsters' ranks: Goblins and Orcs clutching staffs, and a sinister, robed creature floating in midair. Reptilian-type Monsters opened their massive jaws, preparing to unleash magic or breath attacks.
Sweeping my left hand from front to side, I issued orders to Miranda and Eva.
"Prepare defenses. The points of attack are—"
We divided the wall into several large sections and planned to deploy Magic Shields to guard them. Covering the entire wall would require more mages than we had, and more importantly, would be exhausting.
Magic and long-range attacks launched from the Monster army came hurtling toward the wall.
Magic Shields intercepted them pinpoint. Even if an attack broke through, the wall's surface had been coated with a special material treated to resist magic.
A single or two blows were easy to withstand.
Looking up at the sky, I called out to May.
"May, I'm counting on you. I'll provide support from below as well."
"Haha! My turn!"
May, in her Kirin form, dashed skyward and headed straight for the swarm of Monsters descending from above.
Hippogriffs, Griffons, and smaller, bird-like Monsters converged on her.
I gripped the Jewel in my left hand, transforming it into the Silver Bow, and took aim.
Firing an arrow skyward, a swarm of small projectiles shot forth, targeting the troublesome flying Monsters. With May there, I could focus on the weaker ones.
However, even with just May and me, we couldn't hold them all back. The flying Monsters began to scale the wall one after another.
Above, May was generating pale blue lightning from the golden horns that extended from both sides of her head, blasting away the Monsters around her.
As more and more Monsters plummeted to the ground, Eva's voice reached me.
'Lyle, preparations on this side are complete. We're ready whenever you are.'
I checked with Miranda.
'Miranda?'
Miranda replied, asking for a little more time.
'We were being targeted specifically from this side just a moment ago. Wait just a bit.'
I was stationed in the center, with Miranda handling the right side and Eva handling the left. Just as I was about to wait, the Fifth Generation immediately spoke up.
"Take turns firing. Have them come one after another. Respond as the situation demands."
Following that advice, I turned to Eva, who was relaying information on the left side.
"Fire first. I'll have Miranda follow up after."
On the left side, mages and knights stepped forward and unleashed their signature spells. They lacked the impact of the previous volley.
However, once Miranda's side finished their preparations, they managed to bombard the enemy with a series of reasonably powerful spells in quick succession.
That said, some enemy monsters were deploying Magic Shields, so the damage appeared to be less than before.
"I'd considered alternating attacks from both flanks, but I suppose the firepower still isn't enough."
Thinking we hadn't managed to blow them away, I noticed the enemy was preparing a ranged attack and immediately issued defensive orders.
—The Second Wall.
At that position, roughly centered relative to the fortress ahead, Aria was standing by.
Battle had already begun on the front line, and the sounds of magical bombardment had reached even Aria's position. Spotting the sky light up overhead, she confirmed that May had let a few monsters slip through.
Slinging her spear over her shoulder, Aria stood atop the wall.
"That Laiel guy got broken through already, didn't he?"
Beside Aria, Alette Baye, dispatched from Rolfis, stood in full armor with her helmet removed.
"Really now. A commander shouldn't let emotions show like that. You should watch your words too."
Aria was chided into silence. After reflecting, she closed her mouth and gazed at the scene between the First and Second Walls. The distance was considerable, but the enemy had their preparations in place.
However, dealing with the aerial monsters wasn't Aria's job.
"This is your cue, Monica."
Turning around and saying that to Monica, Aria studied her appearance.
Monica was carrying on her back something metallic and unsettling — a thing with white, spider-like legs.
Monica, having been told to do this, dropped her shoulders despite being dressed in that manner.
"I'd be much more useful, though... *sigh*, time to get to work."
Looking up at the sky, Monica spread both arms wide and puffed out her chest. The eight limb-like appendages on her back — whether legs or arms, it was impossible to tell — sprang to life, and a red light began blinking.
And the monsters that had been in the sky started dropping to the ground one after another.
Alette watched the sight.
"Why not deploy her on the front lines?"
She was genuinely puzzled. However, Monica merely dropped her shoulders again.
"And that's a wrap. I'll leave dealing with the remaining monsters to you."
With that, she lost all motivation.
Aria looked up at the sky and saw roughly three Hippogriffs still lingering.
"She's great for clearing out the grubs, but she's practically useless once they put up any kind of resistance. Plus, overusing her would cause problems for Laiel."
When Aria explained to Alette that there were limitations, Alette looked at Monica.
"So that's why she's been posted in the rear. Still, that's incredibly impressive."
There was also the matter of distance. Above all, she was taking down flying monsters in an instant. Monica's performance was unbelievable from Alette's perspective.
A Hippogriff charged toward Monica, who had just felled its companions. As soldiers bearing guns gathered below, Damian appeared atop the wall.
"Oh my, looking good! Three of them is just right for a little test run, wouldn't you say?"
Damian was grinning from ear to ear, dressed in civilian clothes and flanked by three maids. It was an absurd sight for a battlefield, but everyone had long since given up trying to make sense of it — if it was Damian, there was nothing to be done.
Automaton Maids Number One through Three carried what looked like coffins up onto the wall.
Aria fixed Damian with a suspicious look.
"That thing is actually useful, right?"
Aria and Damian weren't particularly close, but Damian was all smiles.
"I guarantee it's more useful than you and more beautiful than you, too. Well then, preparations should be done. The line with Rael should be set up as well, so let's activate them here."
Monica, looking none too enthusiastic, approached when she saw the coffins the maids had placed on the floor. She touched one and scoffed.
"A downgrade of me? One Chicken is more than enough, but I suppose I'll put this one to work as an errand girl here. Though, it's a problem that they don't have names. That's it! Starting today, you're Poyopoyo Number Two, Number Three, and Number Four! Now get your asses up—"
—Get your asses up.
She was about to say that, but a mechanical fist burst through the coffin lid and struck her square in the head, sending her reeling back.
"Y-you pieces of junk!!"
Aria watched with a deadpan expression as Monica pulled a wrench from between her skirt and apron and began swinging it wildly.
Damian's Maid Number Two stood in front of Monica with a faint smirk, blocking her from attacking, and from within the coffins, three Golems emerged.
Their heads and torsos were just like those of human girls. From the shoulders to the thighs, they were entirely human. Beyond that, they had metallic limbs and were clad in rather flashy white-and-blue armor.
Aria had seen their living forms in the manor's warehouse and couldn't believe it.
"So these are really Golems, huh."
Alette was also staring in astonishment.
"It's kind of hard to believe. They look just like people."
Damian said cheerfully.
"That was the goal! This time, I managed to achieve some truly meaningful results. I can't thank Rael enough! Now then, you three—it's time to work."
When Damian said it was time to work, the three Golems—no, the three [Valkyries]—raised their heads.
The central Valkyrie had golden hair styled in twin tails and red eyes.
In contrast to the other Golems, who all had straight black hair, her appearance was strikingly different.
After all, her chest was small and practically nonexistent. The other two had properly developed chests, but not her.
But the Golems—
"We have no need to follow your orders."
"Bring out our Master. Our Master."
"We firmly refuse this kind of awakening."
Unlike Monika and the others, the Valkyries spoke in a somewhat stiff tone and flat-out rejected Damian's commands.
Seeing this scene, Monika covered her mouth with her hand.
"What are these pieces of junk? They're nothing but completely useless scrap. I'll report this to Chicken. Chicken, your trump card refused to fight."
The golden-haired twin-tailed Valkyrie — the one who resembled Monika — strode up to the happily reporting Monika and drove her fist into her.
"My hand slipped. It's a malfunction. A malfunction."
"Y-you piece of junk!! You're getting scrapped right here and now!"
When Monika raised her wrench, the Valkyries lifted their heads.
"Based on the earlier conversation, the enemy is a Hippogriff — very well. Let us demonstrate our capabilities."
Their blue-and-white armor had what looked like mechanical wings mounted on the back.
Alette watched with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
"Th-they can fly?!"
Damian scoffed.
"Ha. As if they could fly. Are you stupid?"
As Alette looked at Damian with an indescribable expression, the Valkyries checked their right arms.
The twin-tailed unit appeared to be the leader of the three.
"It seems there are no malfunctions. Then—let's go."
"Yes."
"This is our first battle. Let's do our best, believing our Master is surely watching."
(Just now, something about malfunctions... whatever.)
The three Valkyries extended their right arms toward the sky, and from just above the bicep, the arms shot out, seizing the Hippogriffs airborne.
Wires were attached to the arms, and the Valkyries on the ground began reeling them in.
The claw-like devices on their feet dug into the ground.
"Calmly come down, now."
As she spoke, the Hippogriffs were pulled helplessly toward the Valkyries—whom then drew weapons from the Box-like compartments on their backs, resembling wings.
Taking a spear, she thrust it straight into the Hippogriff she had pulled over. Splattered with blood, the three Valkyries withdrew their spears from the downed beast.
Aria saw that.
"Wow, no way~"
That's what she said. Monica looked at Aria—
"You're pretty much the same as those guys, though."
Over by the second wall, the Valkyrie seemed to be handling things well.
I had previously registered the Core to me as its master, and because of that, a Line was formed and information was flowing through.
"Damian and the others did their job. With this, letting a few more through shouldn't be a problem..."
As I looked at the scene before me, I felt a sigh escaping.
"They really don't seem to have decreased in number at all."
Then, a voice came from the Jewel. It was the Third Generation.
"We've only just gotten started, really. From here on out, it's going to be a matter of dealing with things steadily. The flashy stuff will have to wait for another time."
I had several strategies prepared. But it didn't seem like the time to use any of them just yet.
Arrows and magic flew one after another.
And from the enemy side, too, spells and ranged attacks came hurtling back — the battlefield began with both sides unleashing everything they had at each other.
Monsters that didn't so much as flinch from magical attacks came charging at the wall.
It was a troll. The shaggy giant swung a massive log as it barreled forward, trying to smash through the wall. Undaunted by the arrows and spells striking it, I drew Silver Bow into longbow form and took aim.
I sighted on the troll's head and let the arrow fly. The troll's head was blown clean off and it crumbled to the ground. In the process, it crushed several smaller Monsters beneath it, but the surrounding Monsters simply stepped over the fallen troll and kept pushing toward the wall.
No ordinary humans could possess that kind of breakthrough force.
"So this is a Dungeon rampage?"
The Fifth Generation had heard my murmur.
"That's about the size of it. Plenty of kingdoms have been wiped out by this kind of force alone. Though, if you ask me, the thing I find most frightening is still humans."
Listening to the Fifth Generation's words, I checked my own magic reserves.
If I, the command tower, ran out of magic, we would be at an immediate disadvantage. That was the one thing I had to avoid, which meant I couldn't go all out against the massive army before me.
That was when I heard Miranda's voice.
"Lail, I'm ready whenever you are."
I heard Eva's voice as well.
"Same here."
Before I could give the signal to begin—
"Wait — the enemy is making its move first. I can't block everything. I'll focus on protecting only the critical points."
A blinding light emanated from the enemy's forces, and multiple powerful spells came hurtling toward the fortress.
Maybe sensing the danger, May descended in front of me, shielding me with her body.
An explosion erupted right before us, and the Magic Shield I'd deployed was blown away in an instant. The impact reached us as well.
A section of the wall had begun to crumble. The soldiers who'd been stationed on top of it had taken damage too.
I pointed my right hand forward.
"Time to return the favor. ……Fire!!"
Our spells, launched as a counterattack, struck the massive army of Monsters. The first day of battle drew to a close in this exchange of magical firepower.