The first day of the subjugation concluded without incident, and Elias retired for the night without anything out of the ordinary occurring.
Then, the disturbance struck—the morning after the subjugation force began their sweep against the monsters.
Suddenly, Elias was roused from his bed by the sound of the alarm bell. Immediately grasping that it signified the appearance of monsters, he leapt up, swiftly prepared himself, and rushed out of his room.
By the time he arrived outside, Nork, the commander of the fortress, had already awoken and was issuing orders to his subordinates. Elias approached him.
“What’s the situation?”
“…A number of monsters have been sighted around the fortress. All of them are the same red wolves that appeared before.”
“All of them, you say?”
“Yes. For now, they are merely loitering around the fortress perimeter. Since we’ve kept the gates sealed, they cannot enter.”
Hearing this, Elias decided to verify the presence of the monsters himself. He immediately dashed to the watchtower and surveyed the area outside.
As expected, he spotted the monsters prowling around the fortress. With this confirmation, he returned to Nork’s side, where he found that Frenn had also arrived.
“I’ve visually confirmed the monsters. There are two points of concern. First, they are merely lingering outside without taking any action.”
“Perhaps they are observing the humans inside the fortress…?”
Nork mused aloud. Elias nodded in agreement.
“If that’s the case, then they must be following orders from their leader… Worse, they may disperse further, increasing the risk of reaching human settlements.”
“That would be disastrous.”
Nork’s expression turned grave.
“We must send word immediately. However, with those monsters outside—”
“That brings me to the second concern. The monsters outside appear to be smaller than the ones we encountered before.”
“…Smaller?”
Nork repeated the word, puzzled. Elias nodded.
“Yes. I suspect that, due to the impact of the subjugation force, the leader attempted to create new ones, but with limited mana, it could only produce smaller, weaker individuals.”
“So, there are many of them, but they’re not as formidable?”
“I haven’t measured their mana directly, so I can’t say for certain, but…”
At this, Nork brought his hand to his chin, deep in thought.
“…Regardless, we cannot leave them be. The fortress remains cut off until they are dealt with.”
“I will take the lead in the attack.”
“Understood. I’ll gather a strike team immediately.”
Nork moved to organize the response, and Elias prepared to join the battle when he turned to Frenn.
“…What about you, Frenn?”
“I’ll remain here, of course. But, if monsters are appearing here, what does that mean for the subjugation force?”
“…From what I can gather, they’re facing quite a struggle themselves.”
“Would it be best if you went to assist them?”
“They should be able to handle it without me. They’re an elite force, after all. However, with the monsters dispersing like this, there’s a high chance that some might slip past and reach us.”
“I see. In that case, providing assistance may indeed be the best option.”
“The real question is how much of a difference my presence would actually make.”
Elias let out a sigh as he rolled his shoulders.
“Well, no point dwelling on it now. First, we deal with the monsters around the fortress. I’m heading out.”
“Understood.”
With their conversation concluded, Elias proceeded to the fortress gate. Though the doors remained closed, knights and soldiers had already assembled under Nork’s orders, prepared for combat.
“Sir Elias.”
Nork approached and called out to him.
“Would you take command of the operation?”
“Understood.”
As soon as Elias nodded, Nork signaled, and the gate was opened slightly.
“Those selected for the strike team, follow me! Lord Nork, once we are out, close the gate behind us.”
“Understood.”
Leading the knights and soldiers, Elias stepped outside. Their expressions were taut with focus, but their resolve was clear.
(The last time they encountered these monsters, they were shaken, but now that they are prepared, they seem far more composed.)
Elias assessed their morale before turning his attention to the enemy. The monsters let out a collective growl.
“They’re coming… Who among us can use magic?”
Several knights stepped forward.
“When the monsters charge, fire off light-based spells. Even if they miss, disrupting their charge is the priority.”
The knights nodded and began chanting. The wolves began their advance toward the fortress.
But the magic was unleashed first.
Bolts of light streaked through the air, accurately targeting the monsters.
Some of the swift creatures dodged, but those that were struck collapsed, their bodies writhing before going still. Witnessing this, Elias muttered to himself,
“They’re significantly weaker than the ones before. As long as the spells connect, they can be taken down…”
One monster, however, evaded the spells and closed in on them. Elias immediately moved to intercept, stepping forward—and in a single motion, cut it down.
His blade sliced cleanly through its body. Feeling the lack of resistance, Elias confirmed his earlier suspicion—their defenses were far weaker.
“Don’t let yourselves get isolated! Work in teams and take them down together! Stop their charge, and they’re easy targets for swords and spears!”
His command rang out as he continued cutting through the oncoming creatures. From the depths of the forest, new monsters emerged. But they were all small, weak variants.
The knights, now confident in their ability to fight them, maintained their battle cries and coordinated their attacks.
Spells slowed the creatures, spears struck down those that faltered, and swords swiftly finished them off.
“Yes! We can do this!”
A knight shouted as the group continued their systematic assault. Meanwhile, Elias cut down more foes on his own.
(These monsters are clearly weak—around Danger Level One. But their sheer numbers… That’s the real issue.)
From the forest, more monsters continued to pour out. But the knights, realizing their advantage, stood firm, striking them down as they emerged.
(This situation… I may need to check on the subjugation force sooner than I thought…!)
Muttering this in his heart, Elias continued to swing his sword.