"Everyone, stay in your rooms."

"Roger! You must not leave the room!"

Rozie tried to dissuade me, but I left the room.

On the wall's stairs, soldiers were rushing down in chaos. Then came the shouts of Russell and the soldiers.

"Monsters? What kind of monsters are you talking about?"

"I don't know! They're monsters I've never seen before!"

"Bring a resident who knows what those monsters are! And among the monsters, are there any giants?"

"There didn't seem to be any big ones!"

"Understood! Everyone, hold your positions!"

Russell quickly jumped up onto the wall. I, too, quickly climbed up with Donnie.

Looking down, I could only sense that something was swarming towards us, but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

Kwa-gwang-

Kuwwooo-

With the sound of something crashing, the ice wall quivered. Countless howls of monsters then echoed up.

Whatever they were, we could also hear the monsters madly pounding on the gate of the wall.

Russell shouted,

"Are you sure they're not human?"

"Absolutely sure!"

"All soldiers! Prepare to fire!"

"To the first oil pit!"

At Russell's command, the soldiers simultaneously lit their arrows on fire and bent their bowstrings.

As Russell lowered his hand, the flaming arrows rained down below the wall.

With a boom, flames shot up.

Only then could we see clearly below.

They were rather small in stature, but their forms resembled humans. Some were holding clubs in their hands. These creatures were engulfed in flames.

"What are all those things?!"

"Does anyone know what those monsters are?"

"They're trying to break down the gate!"

"Fire flaming arrows again!"

Tdadadak- tdatdadak-

I don't know where these things came from, but they showed some intelligence.

They were pounding on the door with clubs like maniacs.

"Shoot at the second oil pit!"

"Fire at will!"

As flaming arrows flew again, flames soared blazing over the area. Dozens of monsters were engulfed in the inferno, painting a hellish scene.

Just what were these human-like monsters?

"Will the gate hold?"

"There are many of them, but they won't be able to break through! We've reinforced it so thoroughly it wouldn't budge even if two giants struck it at once!"

At that moment, an old man came up accompanied by a soldier.

The old man, just by hearing the sounds, immediately knew what the monsters were.

"They're dwarf demons!"

"Dwarf demons?"

"No doubt about it. Those things originally dwell deep beneath the eastern volcano and are infamous for their speed and savagery. For such creatures to come all the way here..."

"Why have they come? Is there a reason?"

The old man tensed.

He just swallowed dryly, unable to continue speaking.

"It means this cold snap is truly immense."

"Enough to drive them out from deep underground?"

"That's right. They ran away because the cold descended even into the depths. From what I can tell, the cold wave will reach here soon."

"Should we just leave them alone, then?"

"If the gate isn't broken, those things will climb the ice wall. They're creatures that know how to break and carve steps into the ice wall."

"Damn."

Russell looked down, then turned around.

"Do not let a single one cross the wall! Stop them with arrows! If any climb the wall, immediately respond with swords and spears!"

"Understood!"

Russell and the others started shooting arrows again.

At that moment, the old man approached Russell. He seemed to have more to say, but Russell was too busy fighting.

"Is something wrong?"

"About those demons."

"Russell, listen to what he has to say for a moment!"

"Is there another problem?"

After shooting an arrow, Russell looked at the old man.

The old man spoke again.

"Those wretched demons... they'll keep coming."

"Why is that?"

"They're particularly obsessed with revenge."

"Are you saying we shouldn't have attacked them?"

"No, that's not it. I just wanted to let you know."

"Alright."

"And also..."

"Say it all at once, all at once."

"Let the residents fight too. Though most are old, some are former soldiers and could be of help."

"No. That would just mean more meaningless deaths."

"Their numbers exceed a million."

"A million?"

"If, by any chance, they all swarm here..."

"I'll make a decision after assessing the situation. For now, go back down."

"Very well... I'll take my leave...."

The old man bowed respectfully and went down.

Russell watched the old man depart, then looked at me. He wore a distraught expression, as if he'd made a terrible mistake.

"Don't worry. Let's think about tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

I patted Russell on the back.

Even if we'd known in advance, we couldn't have opened the gate. There was no guarantee these creatures wouldn't attack humans.

Trolls would come, too.

Those dwarf demons.

They live underground beneath a volcano, are savage, and obsessed with revenge.

They're like the red goblins I know.

Red goblins are truly persistent creatures.

There was once a guild that gave up its territory after being constantly harassed by their unending attacks.

Moreover, their numbers aren't just a million.

There are tens of millions just on this continent, and throughout the entire continent, their numbers are in the hundreds of millions.

They don't attack first only because they understand how frightening humans are.

Red goblins are obsessive when it comes to revenge, but only when they're in a group.

So, when dealing with goblins, you shouldn't just focus on defense; you must be thorough—scorched earth or massacre.

"They're climbing up!"

"All weapons, switch!"

"Too many are climbing the ice wall!"

"Donnie! Go down and tell the residents that demons will break in, so they must not open the gates no matter what!"

"Understood!"

Russell looked at the soldiers, their faces flushed red.

There was little chance my soldiers would be wiped out, but some of them might die.

Their throats could be torn out.

Russell planted his sword onto the ground.

He was about to open his mouth with a solemn expression—

I shouted, almost to stop Russell from speaking.

"Everyone, go down! Soldiers, take shelter at home with the residents! As long as no one comes out until the dwarf demons leave the village, everyone will survive!"

At those words, Russell looked at me.

It was something that neither Russell nor the soldiers, in their pride, could bring themselves to say.

Maybe this is the downside of being the tough guy type.

"We can't die over something like this! There's still so much to do!"

"Die? We won't die!"

"That's right! Dwarves, of all things!"

"Damn! They're getting over!"

"Young master! Hurry and go down!"

There was no time to argue.

At first, just a few climbed over the wall. The soldiers stabbed and kicked them back out.

Since dwarf demons were small, one or two were handled easily. But as time went on, more started coming over the wall.

Three or four at a time could be knocked or kicked off without much trouble.

But when dozens started coming over at once, things escalated.

In the brief moments when soldiers tried to save their fallen comrades, even more goblins crossed over and clung to the soldiers.

"Damn! I can't hold out much longer!"

"They're going down!"

"It's too late! Check your comrades first!"

"Stand back to back and support each other!"

They held out better than expected, but it was truly chaos. Russell alone knocked out three or four goblins in an instant.

Even with one biting down on his forearm, he didn't flinch. The soldiers weren't any different.

Nineteen goblins managed to get down.

The soldiers were so busy fighting that they probably lost track of how many slipped by.

Regardless, I watched on to gauge my soldiers' skills.

Russell finally saw me at the landing.

"Young master! Why did you come back up?!"

"Wow! You all fight really well!"

"Hurry, go down! Hurry!"

The difference between guild members and the warriors here—

The desperation to survive is different.

If you die in this Rac, it's really over.

My soldiers weren't mere rank-and-file. Lacking only in magic power, their fighting prowess was at the level of knights.

Still, that's only as long as their stamina holds. Once they start dropping, annihilation is certain.

And as expected, the inevitable occurred.

Goblins that once came up the wall in twos and threes suddenly started swarming in droves.

Their bodies were like living ladders!

"They're piling on insanely!"

"You like us that much, you dwarf bastards?!"

"Ahahaha! I'm bleeding!"

"You crazy bastards! Hahaha!"

Over a hundred have already come down from the wall. The top of the wall was quickly filled with goblins.

Three or four clung to each person, savagely biting at their armor.

I walked lightly up the wall's stairs.

Kyaak—

One screamed and charged at me.

Jjeoong—

The charging goblin instantly froze solid in midair, then thumped down the stairs.

Others launched themselves at me, and even those leaping like fiends—every single one within five steps of me froze solid without exception.

The ones frozen midair hit the ground here and there with a thud, thud, thud—

Not a single one escaped.

Those coming down from above all turned to blocks of ice, rolling down the stairs.

I was just spectating, emitting the power of freezing.

From my experience—

When the freezing skill meets ice, amplification occurs.

So—

Just as I was about to climb the wall and unleash the power of freezing—

Kukung—a sound rumbled as the wall shook.

Then came a roar!

Uwwoooo—

Even the goblins were startled by the roar.

At the same time, the soldiers' faces went rigid.

And in the midst of all this, a giant had arrived.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=For readers that are confused, Roger is calling the dwarf demons goblins...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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