Following that, the Trebuchets in the front line were destroyed. Some were smashed by the Iron Club, while others burned.
The mercenaries fought valiantly, but they were no match.
Slash.
"Guh!"
Even in the midst of this, Dong Bong-su was steadily eliminating the Gray Wolf War Squad members one by one.
The Wanderer's Sword moved once and two corpses were created.
Piece by piece.
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
[Player has succeeded in 5 Consecutive Slashes. All abilities increased by 5%.]
[6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
[Player has succeeded in 10 Consecutive Slashes. All abilities increased by 10%.]
It didn't take long for [Consecutive Slash Lv.2] to activate.
Not a single Gray Wolf War Squad member could stop Dong Bong-su.
Crack! Slice!
Once again, a pair of Gray Wolf War Squad member and wolf vomited blood, brain matter, and intestines profusely as they ended their lives.
Meanwhile, dozens more mercenaries and hundreds of Whirlwind Artillery Gunners died. Since the Whirlwind Artillery Gunners had no combat troops to begin with, it was even harder to hold out against the Gray Wolf War Squad. At best, only the shield bearers occasionally succeeded in defense.
Naturally, the Trebuchets they were guarding also fell one by one. Whether burning in flames or crumbling to pieces from Iron Club strikes.
Despite such circumstances, Dong Bong-su steadily held his position and blocked the enemies.
Dong Bong-su, if all the Trebuchets are destroyed... what will you do?
'If they're all destroyed...?'
What to do? Just rebuild them.
But!
It was at that very moment Dong Bong-su thought so.
Flames shot up from the mountain foothills spread wide on both sides of Guisui in the distance.
"...!"
As if mocking Dong Bong-su's thoughts, Timur Khan had set fire to the forest at just the right time.
Autumn in the dry steppe region.
The flames quickly spread across the entire mountain even without strong wind.
Even on Dong Bong-su's face, which rarely showed expression, a very faint smile appeared and spread across his entire face.
Following the combat unit using wolves, he even set fire to the mountains.
As if the opponent was mocking him, staying one step ahead. Dong Bong-su found that so delightful. He might die because of this, but at least for this moment, wasn't it enjoyable?
Facing predators...
Slash.
Crunch-crunch.
It was always something that pleased him.
Dong Bong-su lowered his eyes indifferently and moved his sword mechanically.
At the same time, Mamorota's Iron Club was also moving fiercely, turning mercenaries into bloody pulp.
The two didn't clash but were rapidly dispatching their respective opponents. However, Dong Bong-su was at a distinct disadvantage.
Dong Bong-su was alone, while the Gray Wolf War Squad—not only Mamorota but the other squad members as well—were thoroughly tasting blood.
Dong Bong-su alone was insufficient. Every member of the Gray Wolf War Squad was an elite capable of taking on a hundred opponents, and the mercenaries were inferior to them. Not to mention the Whirlwind Artillery Gunners and soldiers moving corpses. They weren't completely terrible, but compared to the Gray Wolf War Squad members, they were a ragtag mob.
Eventually, even the Trebuchets in the rear line couldn't hold out and crumbled. Now fewer than five Trebuchets remained. And even those were all only around Dong Bong-su.
Despite being overwhelmingly numerous, the mercenaries and gunners were instead surrounded by the Gray Wolf War Squad. They circled around, slaughtering allies.
"Kill that bastard! If we kill him, it's over!"
As that situation continued for a while longer, Dong Bong-su was finally separated from the other allies. Naturally, Dong Bong-su was also surrounded by the Gray Wolf War Squad.
Timur Khan's intention hit perfectly. By sending out the Gray Wolf War Squad, he had destroyed almost all the Huihui Cannons—that is, the Trebuchets—without even opening the fortress gate. A few still remained, but their complete destruction was now only a matter of time.
Slash. Slash.
Dong Bong-su slashed two more Gray Wolf War Squad members.
At that moment, several other Gray Wolf War Squad members swung their Iron Clubs to attack the Trebuchets.
Dong Bong-su's body was one, and his hands and feet were two. Meanwhile, the enemies were hundreds with thousands of hands and feet. He couldn't stop them.
Running east and west. But outnumbered.
Another Trebuchet collapsed.
The enemies, judging it difficult to kill Dong Bong-su directly, were focusing on destroying the Trebuchets.
The battle unfolded fiercely, and finally Li Zi-song's main force, which had gone to the Yellow River bank, appeared in the distance.
'If I can just hold out a little longer...'
Couldn't he at least protect one Trebuchet?
What could be done with just one?
That was a problem to think about later.
'Protect it for now.'
Slash.
Dong Bong-su's sword once again soundlessly slashed a Gray Wolf's throat. Just because it was a wolf didn't make it different from a person. Without even managing a death cry at Dong Bong-su's sword, it departed straight for the Yellow Springs.
Thud. Crash. Crumble.
At the same time, Mamorota's Iron Club toppled the thirty-first Trebuchet.
Immediately after, Gray Wolf War Squad members holding torches set fire to it.
After that, looking at Li Zi-song's main force running toward them raising dust clouds in the distance, he said,
"There's no time. Finish quickly and return to the fortress!"
However, Dong Bong-su was still tenaciously blocking the Gray Wolf War Squad. Regardless of what others thought, everyone here felt he was an Undefeatable General Against Ten Thousand.
Mamorota actually hadn't really thought of stepping forward directly. He knew his subordinates would handle things well on their own anyway, and annihilating the enemy wasn't the objective.
The objective was only one.
Total destruction of the Huihui Cannons.
However, the sight of Dong Bong-su fighting ignited his fighting spirit.
'How can he move like that?'
He had roamed battlefields for decades and met and slain that many generals. Among them, Han Chinese generals were the most numerous.
Their swords were uniformly flashy and full of formality. To put it nicely, they were beautiful swords, and to put it badly, they were formal—no, merely formal swords trapped in forms and styles. In a word, shall we say dead swords?
But that fellow was different. Very, very different. So much so that he wanted to describe it as wrong.
Clearly, there seemed to be some form and style yet there wasn't. Moreover, there wasn't a single superfluous movement within it. When thrusting, he only thrust; when cutting, he only cut. It seemed easy, but it was a realm no one could easily attain.
This wasn't a realm that could be reached simply by handling a sword for a long time.
"Is he... attacking weaknesses?"
Somehow, there was a 'reason' in each and every movement. When the sword was first extended, one couldn't tell, but at its end, it definitely had a certain 'conclusion.'
That precisely struck or slashed the opponent's opening.
Mamorota couldn't do that. No, no one in the Northern Plains could do that. It wasn't a question of whether one could win or not.
A question of whether one could do it or not.
And that developed into contemplation about whether he could win.
However...
'Will there even be time to fight?'
Mamorota's gaze briefly turned toward Li Zi-song's main force. People looked as small as mosquito eyes. They were still far from arriving here. His head turned back toward Dong Bong-su.
He brushed off the blood on his body and loosened up.
"There should be time to tear off a slice or two of meat."
Grrrr—!
As if reading Mamorota's mind, Kaiji was already starting to snort.
Mamorota stroked Kaiji's nape.
'Hmm?'
The creature's fur was standing even more erect than before—no, more than before. Where Kaiji's gaze was directed stood a blood-covered madman. Kaiji was definitely!
Looking at Dong Bong-su.
Only then did Mamorota realize. That the target Kaiji had shown hostility toward earlier beneath the ramparts wasn't the black monster, but Dong Bong-su.
'Was that it...?'
That was it. Yes. I see.
The path from doubt to certainty was instantaneous.
Intense fighting spirit emanated from Mamorota's body.
And.
Having read his yearning, Kaiji charged at Dong Bong-su like lightning.
Dong Bong-su had already known that Mamorota and Kaiji were staring at him.
'Come on then.'
In fact, he had been waiting. To Dong Bong-su, Mamorota was the biggest chunk of experience point here.
Hummmm—
A hazy heat shimmer rose above the Wanderer's Sword. It was the skill [Sword Energy]. He didn't stop there and even used the skill [Circulating Energy] he'd been saving.
Clang—clash!
The Wanderer's Sword and Mamorota's Iron Club clashed, producing an intense bursting sound. The collision was so intense that a circular energy wave formed, flinging all the other Gray Wolf War Squad members nearby several meters away, and the last Trebuchet behind Dong Bong-su tilted slightly.
Though it was only a single collision, Dong Bong-su was certain. That Mamorota was a master one level above Paitan, the Northern Ghost Group leader he had crossed swords with a few days ago.
Clang—
The sword and Iron Club scraped against each other, stimulating both their ears with an unpleasant friction sound.
Mamorota opened his mouth, revealing his yellowed teeth.
"Mamorota. Name?"
Awkward Chinese with context omitted. However, it was sufficient to convey the meaning.
"Ear Ghost."
It wasn't a name, but it was likewise an adequate word choice.
"Name?"
Dong Bong-su said exactly the same as Mamorota. Except his eyes were directed downward.
"Kaiji."
Mamorota understood immediately and answered.
"Kaiji..."
Dong Bong-su repeated Mamorota's words again.
The original Dong Bong-su wouldn't have said something that seemed meaningless like that. If he opened his mouth to say something, that itself meant it had meaning.
The reason he deliberately repeated the pronunciation 'Kaiji' was because the system's 'peculiar error' had now gained substance.
The system, which had been sending only the message [Error! Error...!] for a while, was displaying a different message.
[Spirit Creature ??? discovered.]
[Spirit Creature Quest has been activated.]