Although Axel said as such, their usual pattern didn't really change.

First, they would shoot the zombies that had approached on or beyond the red line he marked. This included both the crossbow units and the ballistas. This way, they could reduce enemy numbers safely without risking much of anything.

"Giant Zombies within sight! Changing targets!"

"Confirming sighting of a Goblin!"

"A Goatman has appeared!"

They planned to continue this as long as possible.

If this much was enough to handle the new threat, then that was great. But if not, then they simply had to move to the next step of the plan.

Axel inspected the map and noticed that upon reaching the zombies' zone, ignoring the Goblins that remained as one big group, the others began to scatter—almost as if they planned to encircle the camp.

"Everyone, stay sharp! The Goatmen have scattered!" he shouted as a reminder.

But of course, the one he was tracking was none other than the devil. The only blip on the map that wasn't red, but rather black.

"Navi..."

Axel had already heard of the color coding from Navi before. However, the black color wasn't included in that. Although he could guess, he still decided to ask.

"What does black mean?"

[Instant death~!]

"..."

And the expected answer returned.

Even the Giant Zombies were marked as red on the map. This meant that the devil was much stronger than even that!

"I'm getting anxious now... Can we win this?"

If the devil were that strong, wouldn't it be able to wipe them out even without other monsters' help? Such thoughts circled Axel's mind until—

"...?! Everyone, take cover!"

Without warning, he saw a large ball of fire flying their way.

Of course, the others saw this too, as it was too glaring against the night sky.

Thus, everyone moved, crouching, hiding behind the merlons. But the next moment, everyone raised a loud shriek.

"Kyaaah!"

A powerful explosion, enough that the wall almost toppled over, was felt.

Thankfully, it wasn't aimed higher and hit the middle of the wall. If not, then the shockwave alone could've injured all of them on top!

"Damage report!" Axel shouted, worried.

"S-Sustained minor injuries! Still battle-ready!"

"Same here! No casualties!"

But thankfully, with the protection of their armor, none of them were harmed. At most, their ears were rattled or cheeks scratched by flying fragments, but nothing life-threatening. Axel sighed in relief before gritting his teeth.

"Damn it. That's over a hundred meters, you know?! How long is its fucking range..."

Of course, Axel had already heard from Arianne about the devil's abilities. And this one, a magic ball of flame, was the nastiest of all. The problem was that he hadn't anticipated the enemy could shoot from beyond the wall of monsters!

Axel scanned the battlefield again, and thankfully, the Giant Zombies were already down. Their sources of headaches were at least reduced by a few.

"No choice!" he grumbled, assessing the situation. "Let's start phase 2 early! Arianne!"

"Roger!"

With the signal given, Arianne jumped down the wall with little to no hesitation.

Along with her, the eight bandits manning the western wall jumped down too. And behind them, three other girls followed. Without delay, they drew their swords and rushed forward.

Axel quickly turned beside him and signaled. "Teruria!"

"Already casting!"

She already had her staff raised, along with a couple of Voodoo Dolls in her other hand. A combo of curses was about to hit them!

"Now! Curse of Slow! Curse of Blindness! Curse of Weakening!"

Three curses exploded right where Arianne stood.

Oh, of course, this wasn't a misfire, but rather, as intended.

With how large her new AOE was, the curses hit almost all of those present on the west side—allies, enemies, all... but only the enemies exhibited the curses' effects.

"Good. The Substitute Dolls are working!"

The reason was that Axel had given everyone a Substitute Doll beforehand.

This allowed them to stay safe even in the off chance they got hit by curses—not just from allies, but from enemies all the same.

"Don't miss this chance! Valkyrie Knights, charge!!!"

Arianne wasted no time, rushing forward and swinging her sword. Behind her, the girls and the bandits moved along too. They formed a straight line, ensuring they wouldn't hit each other while keeping no gaps between their formation.

Of course, other than Arianne, the rest were swinging their swords without skill.

Still, with the Low Quality Divinity Sword in their hands, anything "evil" that they hit—even if the blade didn't sink past an inch—was quickly purified!

Just like that, Arianne's group started to thin the herd quickly.

They moved one step forward at a time, killing the zombies that blocked their path.

"...!"

But that stopped when Arianne hit a Goatman. To her surprise, the monster used a crude axe to block her blade!

"How dare you...!"

But of course, she wouldn't become a former Knight Order Captain if that much was enough to stop her. She twisted her blade, causing the edge to slip and hit the axe, causing it to fly out of the monster's hand.

Then, without missing a beat, she stabbed her blade through the now unprotected enemy. It involved multiple actions, but in the end, even a Goatman was killed in one hit!

Arianne, surprised, stared at her blade for a moment before showing a fierce grin.

"As expected of Sir Axel's weapons!"

"Ahh!"

"...!"

But unlike her, who was skilled enough with the blade, the rest weren't faring well.

When they encountered a Goatman, just like Arianne did, they ended up losing in the exchange and received a solid hit! Arianne saw one axe hit a bandit's shoulder, opening a deep wound that continued until he was split in two!

"No!"

Worried, she quickly rushed to help the three girls who came with her—Angela in particular. However, to her surprise...

"H-Huh...? I'm not hurt...?"

The axe, upon hitting her armor, simply bounced off!

The Goatman, losing its weapon so unexpectedly, ended up showing an opening that the girls couldn't miss even if they wanted to. With careful precision and a determined strike, they stabbed and slashed, slaying the enemy before them in one strike!

"...Sir Axel..."

Arianne gasped, staring at the man on top of the wall, shouting commands nonstop—the man who made all this possible.

"What sort of priceless treasures have you made us wear..."

She whispered in a mix of awe and fear.

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