Chapter 164 A Dire Situation . . .
[BONUS]
Meanwhile, a new horror befell those creatures at the gates. Due to fear or panic, the men stationed to lure the gates no longer cared if the soldiers and inhabitants died from its crushing weight. The pointy end of the ironed gates stabbed their skulls and went passed to the other side of their body.
"Close the bridge!"
"We can't! It's too heavy!"
They couldn't close that bridge, for there were still a lot of soldiers and inhabitants trying to go past the gap in the ironed gates, even if it meant they would lose a limb in the process.
"At this rate, the goblins would get in!"
I didn't know who had given the command. But the arrows and spells that were aimed at the goblins were now aimed at the creatures on the drawbridge.
When the cannons and ballista bolts were fired, the drawbridge cracked under pressure, and everyone fell onto the mote, where they were swallowed into its depth.
It was a necessary sacrifice to save the few who were left inside the castle.
"Closed the bridge. NOW!"
The metal chains rustled as they were pulled down, and with it, the giant double metal doors were closed tight, barged by multiple thick metal planks.
However, everyone knew that this was everyone's last attempt to preserve their lives. The goblins might not enter, but the Grendelkin could very well cross the mote and pummelled these walls.
Or . . . it could just throw boulders in this direction until all the walls were reduced to nothing but rubbles, like what it was doing right now.
"Take cover!"
The loud whooshing sounds of boulders, trees, and even goblins were heard next while all the thousands of goblins down there were throwing everything that they could throw just to reach our height. Sadly their attacks fell short.
The real threat came from the Grendelkin, and fortunately, it had run out of boulders to throw and could only make do with the tree trunks in the area. Those trunks didn't pack a punch like the boulders, so we were safe for now.
Not until the Grendelkin lost its patience and stormed this very walls. I mused to myself.
I used this time to meet up with Thomas. Walking down the steps, I passed by a lot of injured creatures. Some were missing a limb, some had a hole in their stomach, some were crushed to paste, and some were dead.
It was chaos wherever I looked, with dead bodies loitering here and there. Unlike with the players, the inhabitants' bodies didn't burst into particles. They remained a corpse and rotting at the side.
I even saw Jin and Lina in the corner of my eye. Jin was pierced with a dagger on his right eye and even lost his right hand. In comparison, Lina lost both limbs and was currently unconscious.
Jin must have saved her somehow. Both were being healed, so they would be fine. His lost hand and eye were already regenerating at a fast rate, thanks to the healer.
"Cross!"
I found Thomas, together with Amara, at what once used to be the marketplace. Now it was just a pile of rubbles with crumpled bodies.
"Let's not stay here in the open," I said and didn't finish my sentence when Amara ran over to me and embraced me tight.
"I'm glad you're okay," she choked. The hardness on her face gone.
Of course, I was okay. I didn't do much but stood there like a bystander and leaped from side to side whenever a boulder was heading in my direction.
"What are we going to do now?" Amara questioned, voice strained and faced full of tears, sweat, and dirt.
I couldn't blame her if her façade broke and she was reduced to a helpless little girl. A life and death-situation really change a person.
I wiped her cheeks and assured her. "Everything is going to be alright."
"How could you say that with a calm face? Do you have a way to get out of here?" she asked, a bit hopeful.
I opened my mouth to answer her but stopped when noises stole my attention. It was the soldiers who were yelling and screaming in the battlements.
"Stay here," I said to Amara.
Amara held my arm with both of her hands. "Where are you going? It's not safe out there."
Neither is here. I thought.
"I'm just going to check what's happening." I looked over at Thomas and said, "Take care of her."
Thomas merely nodded in reply, and I bolted back to the castle walls walkway to see what was happening.
"Cross!"
I heard Amara scream my name, but I didn't stop, and neither did I look back. The moment I reached the battlement, I was stunned at what I saw.
Thousands and thousands of Goblins were now climbing the walls. They used the fallen boulders, rubbles, trunks, and even dead bodies on the mote as stepping stones.
And using their numbers, they climb on top of each other until they reach the height of the walls.
My skin was eruptive with hives, for they were climbing in every direction like a bunch of ants.
This was bad.
Arrows, fires, cannons, and ballista bolts lit the sky and rained down on the goblins below. The walls were breached in a dozen places, for the goblins were swift to climb, and the archers and spell casters were too few in numbers.
"Lit up the mote!"
"Bring in the oils!"
It was their last attempt to stop the goblins' advance, but there were just too few soldiers left to heed the command.
A great many of the defenders had been killed or wounded by then, but they still held their ground. The attackers' numbers were greater than theirs, though, and they pressed forward with renewed vigor to kill.
The battle raged on for an hour until there was no more mana to conjure spells and no more bullets to fire the artilleries.
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A/N
I don't know if I mentioned that an inhabitant burst into particles when they die.
To clarify, they don't. Only the players burst into particles and disappear because they aren't initially from this word.
Sorry for the confusion. �