Etos Magen, B-Rank Adventurer, Leader of the Iron Fortress Guild
Moments after the emergency declaration
With no high-ranking guild leaders present, all command authority falls to me.
Upon hearing the announcement, I order everyone to move forward as quickly as possible. We don' t know where Calika' s sister is in the slums, so we need to secure and protect the area first.
Under martial law, all adventurers are required to follow my orders.
But there are those who don' t listen—lagging behind, wandering off to loot, or exploring on their own. I let them be. We' re adventurers, not soldiers; there' s no ironclad discipline.
Truthfully, I could execute them for defiance, but the adventurer network is tightly knit. Kill one, and someday you' ll face their friends seeking revenge during a mission. Too much hassle, so I let it slide.
Along the way, if we encounter slum dwellers or slaves, I send them to the front to clear traps.
Any black-haired girls are brought to me for inspection. If they' re not Calika' s sister, they' re sent back to the frontline.
Soon, combat erupts. Archers on our wall unleash a storm of arrows at a swarm of monsters swimming in from a distance.
I order a halt to set up a defensive line, but after observing for a bit, I change the command.
"Advance and regroup with the soldiers in the center! Leave the wall' s perimeter to them!"
From what I can see, the monsters are dying from their own explosions. Some may survive, but the stragglers who don' t follow orders will clean them up on their own.
Those fools are already itching to loot corpses.
As we advance, we spot soldiers fighting monsters out of the archers' range.
"Fire at will once in range! Watch out for the soldiers!"
I position mid- and long-range attackers at the front.
Fighting these creatures up close is daunting, but as fish, they' re at a disadvantage once out of water.
The ground here is dry and barren, fitting for the slums. They can only flop forward with their fins, far less mobile than in water.
Pummeled from both sides, the monsters are wiped out before they can reach us.
The real threat is their explosive bubbles. These four-armed fish leave behind bubble-shrimp that launch explosive orbs into the air, which then rain down. They' re so small, some miss them without sharp eyes or detection skills.
Even with random shots fired into the sky, some bubbles slip through.
A single hit on someone without heavy armor or a sturdy shield tears them apart.
Those still alive are carried out by tanks who can withstand the blasts for healers to treat.
Crippled fighters unable to continue are sent to rear support roles.
The situation feels tense, but I don' t need to step in yet. Some areas hold a clear advantage—thanks to large guilds with numbers, quality weapons, good armor, and versatile roles that rotate seamlessly. The standout is the Savage Fang guild.
Then, a cavalryman gallops toward me in a hurry.
"Are you Etos?"
"Yes. What' s up?"
He claims to carry a message from Calika and reveals a golden strand of hair beneath her cloak.
Hair this radiant, shimmering even when cut, paired with that cloak—it' s definitely Calika' s.
Her message is simple: find and protect her sister, and she' ll marry me.
To cut her hair and send it as a plea shows her sincerity. I' ll have to search for the sister myself to prove mine.
But there are too many black-haired slum girls, and some brazenly lie, claiming to be Calika' s sister.
It' s wasting so much time, and I still haven' t found her.
I reach for the hair to keep as a charm, but the soldier quickly tucks it away, dodging my hand.
"Sorry, I need it for the other two guilds. Calika' s orders."
Oh, the Savage Hag and the Chain Freak.
" [Blazing Chains] fled back to the city. [Radiant Fang] is over there."
"Thank you."
He bows and heads in the opposite direction of [Radiant Fang] . That buys me some time.
I glance at the battlefield. Mid-tier guilds are holding their own with some losses, but small guilds and unaffiliated adventurers are taking heavy casualties—almost too gruesome to watch.
I need to hurry before word reaches the Savage Hag' s people.
I stride into the weaker groups' area, pushing past them to the frontline, stunning everyone except my guildmates.
"Iron Fortress!"
The Iron Fortress skill ensures no one in its radius takes damage until my energy runs dry or I' m hit hard enough to break the skill, canceling it instantly.
Normally, after activating it, I' d stay in the rear with guards. As long as I' m unharmed, those under the skill' s effect are near-invincible.
"Earth Dominion!"
A bronze-gold aura envelops me. From now on, my attacks and defenses mimic earth magic.
I swing my sword upward, and the ground surges like a tidal wave, burying the monsters alive.
When I raise my shield, the earth forms a multi-layered spherical barrier around me. Bubble explosions can' t even scratch it.
Once the blasts stop, I slam my shield down. The earthen wall shatters into sharp stone shards, piercing and killing the monsters.
Seeing their commander fight at the front, the others rally, charging fearlessly.
As long as Iron Fortress holds, they can' t die.
The downside of both skills is their massive energy cost. After deactivating, I' m exhausted, barely able to stand.
I fight on but soon release the skills. I' ve passed out for nearly a week before from overusing them.
The moment I deactivate, I' m overwhelmed with fatigue. My team drags me back, forcing a stamina potion down my throat.
It doesn' t take long to clear the area.
The Savage Hag' s main team is brutally efficient, barely needing my skills. They finish their side first and help the others.
This battle ended quickly, partly thanks to them.
In the distance, I spot one last monster. At first, I mistake it for a fishman, but when other monsters ignore it, I realize it' s one of them.
It' s gaunt, frail-looking, and hideous. Strangely, it doesn' t attack humans recklessly. Instead, it slowly retreats from the disobedient adventurers hunting it.
I dismiss it as a stray. Surrounded like that, it' ll die soon.
After commanding and aiding the frontline a bit longer, I glance back. The hunters are dead, and the monster is devouring their corpses.
It' s even wielding their gear and weapons.
When it locks eyes with me, it licks its lips and beckons, taunting me.
What an infuriating beast.
Some hotheads want to chase it down. I allow it—letting it live could be trouble later.
But when multiple groups swarm it, the monster bolts into a dungeon.
That' s too dangerous. I order a retreat. We don' t know when the next wave will hit, and these reckless low-ranks are brainless.
Letting them die like this could accelerate the monster' s evolution, making it even stronger.
We' ll deal with it later, with the full force of soldiers and adventurers. It won' t survive that.
For now, I need to find Calika' s sister.
Winning a battle and a beautiful wife—what a reward.
After cleanup, I order a withdrawal to regroup with the other adventurers en route.
Before deactivating my skills, I urge my guild to find Calika' s sister before the Savage Hag' s people do.
The moment I release the skills, everything goes black.
*****
Slum Frontline, Adventurer Side
After regrouping, command shifts.
Leaders of major guilds divide zones among themselves, but the area is vast, so mid-tier guilds are delegated to oversee smaller guilds and unaffiliated adventurers.
For scouting, they send winged races or those with flight or levitation abilities ahead.
The frontmost line consists of slaves and slum dwellers. Adventurers fare slightly better, lent basic shields or weapons for defense.
Next are tanks and mages with barrier skills, accompanied by those with lifeform or trap detection abilities.
Their main strategy: tanks with taunt skills lure monsters, then low- to mid-tier archers and mages thin their numbers.
If monsters breach the barriers, mid-range fighters—spearmen, whip-users, or throwers—engage.
When barriers falter, standard tanks and melee fighters rotate in to let the others retreat.
Injured fighters are sent to the rear for healers, who are spread across all lines for timely treatment.
High-tier mages with wide-area attack skills are reserved for larger monsters. Reports from the bureau indicate several house-sized or larger creatures remain.
Adventurers advance slowly, inspecting everything for safety, unlike the soldiers who rush forward.
Any slaves or slum dwellers found hiding are herded to the frontline, just as the soldiers do.
*****
Roja, Dismantling Team Leader, Unit 5 Sub-Team, Radiant Fang Guild
I use stealth to hide near the adventurer-side wall. When Etos orders everyone to regroup in the center, I seize the chance.
I smear monster blood on myself, bash my body with rocks to bruise it, snap a stick in two, and scrape my skin with the splintered end. Finally, I break my left arm.
Then, I lie in wait until the adventurers ignoring Etos' s orders reach my spot. Only then do I crawl out.
"Found an injured guy!"
"Which group?"
"What' s your name? Slave or slum dweller?"
A team of adventurers approaches but doesn' t help immediately.
"Ro… ja…" I gasp.
After I give my name:
"I know him! He' s with [Radiant Fang]!"
"Can you walk?"
"Don' t worry, you' re safe now."
"I… can' t…"
"We' ll carry you, but it might…"
He gestures, mimicking flipping a coin.
I nod in agreement.
"I' ll pay."
They carefully carry me to the rear for treatment.