Chapter 1517. Extinction (27)

Sometimes, a single line could be more effective than hundreds of strategies. This was one of those times. Of course, I never really completely believed in the power of words, but watching them raise their shields, adjust their helmets, and head into battle made me realize that what they needed right now wasn’t tactics.

Of course, it would be a lie to say there wasn’t a part of me that simply didn’t want to spend any more holy power...

‘In the end, it all worked out.’

It wasn’t that I was moved by them and wanted to grant them victory. As I said, I just knew that one line from me would give them more strength than any useless speech.

“Advance! Advaaaance!!”

“

Aaaaaaaahhh!!

”

“Move forward! Move forward! God desires victory! He commands us to advance!”

“Victory! For victory!!”

“For victory! For the continent and justice!!”

“

Heuk

... for victory!”

“Stop crying, you bastards.”

The tug-of-war between the soldiers descending from the ark and the pigeons trying to keep them out of the nest continued. Above them, magic and arrows rained down across both sides, painting a scene far too brutal and savage to be called a holy war.

The battle had taken on the shape of a siege. The difference was that this wasn’t about defending a fortress, but breaking out of one.

Normally, in this kind of battle, the defenders would have the advantage, but that didn’t seem to be the case here. If anything, it was

our

side that held the high ground.

Using the ark as a shield, the soldiers fired arrows nonstop, while the pigeons trapped inside the nest had lost their mobility as if they were birds caged in a coop.

The most decisive factor, however, was the atmosphere hanging over the battlefield. In the end, wars were fought by people, and they were all swept up by

that

atmosphere.

The atmosphere that a victory was inevitable and that they would see this through was spreading among the soldiers. They were fundamentally different from the pigeons, who allowed the enemy to reach their very doorstep. Moreover, the soldiers could think and make decisions for themselves.

A war they had once taken lightly had dragged on endlessly, and those beside them were dying. The humans they dismissed as mere insects had pushed all the way into their domain while wielding spears and swords.

On some of their faces, there was confusion, even fear. Whether out of pride or because they knew retreat meant the end, they didn’t step back, but they understood that this had already strayed far from the holy war they had imagined.

“Break through!! Break through!!”

“Don’t let them regroup! Shoot down the ones taking flight first!!”

“

Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!

”

“Magic support! Magic support!!”

“Pull the wounded back! Treat them and send them back in!”

“Don’t forget that light and victory are with us!! Never forget that the God of light and victory is with us!!”

Whenever the mind wavered, the body would follow. Soon, cracks formed in the pigeons’ lines. It didn’t matter what kind of orders First Life Ki-Young had given them, as they had already lost the sense of reason and judgement needed to carry those orders out.

“Puuuuush!! Force your way in!!”

Whether Ha Yeon-Soo, Alps, and Ryu Han were mixed in among the troops didn’t really matter. Of course, their presence gave us an advantage, but the breach was already inevitable.

“We broke through! We broke through!!” Alex shouted.

Just as he said himself, the troops finally shattered the pigeons’ lines and were pushing inside the nest. Ha Yeon-Soo, who had been waiting for her chance, slipped into the gap and was tearing through their formation.

A senior pigeon spotted her and spread their wings to block the breach, but their head was severed by Ryu Han’s blade.

When the dozen or so pigeons lost their commander and fell into confusion, our forces devoured them whole. It was no surprise that more and more pigeons retreated. Even those with no understanding of tactics would be able to tell what state they were in now.

‘If they don’t retreat...’

They were all going to die.

Our forces were relentlessly pouring into the hole. The lines blurred as our troops mixed with the pigeons. Now, it felt like I was staring at the faces of condemned prisoners waiting for their turn to die.

Whatever orders First Life Ki-Young had given them at this point didn’t matter anymore, and I couldn’t have known about those orders, anyway. Those orders wouldn’t properly register in their minds anymore, and in the end...

“R-retreat!”

“...”

“Fall back!”

“...”

“Retreat and reform the lines!”

I could see them reaching for that humiliating choice. The pigeons pulled back like a receding tide, but naturally, those already on the front lines had no way to escape.

Spears and swords pierced them. Those who tried to take to the air too hastily were instantly riddled with arrows. These weren’t amateurs to war, so they understood that the moment of retreat was when the enemy suffered the most devastating losses.

‘That’s it.’

“The God of Victory is with us!”

Of course, the war wasn’t over yet. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it had just begun, but it was fair to say that the hardest part was already over.

‘From here on, it’s guerrilla warfare.’

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

They would now be fighting inside the pigeon's urban area, where large groups couldn't properly clash. There were main roads, sure, but there were also countless narrow alleys, and even multiple layers to the terrain.

Our troops, who had been fighting all day, seemed to understand how they needed to act. Since there wasn’t enough space to accommodate large groups of people at once, the troops naturally split whenever the paths branched.

Of course, there were those who instinctively didn’t want to be separated from the group, so the forces divided like branches growing from a large tree, but once I split them using quests, I saw them naturally grouping up with their people.

“See you in a bit!”

“Don’t die!”

“We can actually win this...”

At this point, our forces had occupied the pigeon nest. Of course, the pigeons would try to reclaim it in their own way, and small skirmishes would break out all over the nest, but it had nothing to do with me.

‘Where’s First Life Ki-Young, damn it?’

Finding him was my top priority. Naturally, he wasn’t anywhere in the office I had been observing through the Telescope before. The moment the ark struck the nest—no, even before that, he had to have decided to run away and hide.

Even if he were to reveal himself, it would only be after the situation had settled down.

Of course, that was the most rational choice to make here, after all.

“Yeon-Soo,” I said.

“Yes?”

“Can you find someone for me?” I requested.

“Yes, sir,” Ha Yeon-Soo replied.

It went without saying, but a commander appearing in a chaotic battlefield like this was practically the same as begging to be killed. In fact, I could already see pigeons rushing at me with their spears.

‘They’re not even trying to hide the fact they want me dead.’

Even ranged attacks seemed to be targeting me now. Some pigeons were flapping toward me, seemingly drooling as if under some kind of confusion spell, and there were even members of the undead in sight.

‘What a complete mess. So they’ve decided there’s no point hiding anymore, huh?’

Since the situation had already escalated to this point, the battlefield was naturally devolving into total chaos.

“O God! Please destroy those abominations!”

‘I don't have that feature.’

“It’s a confusion spell! Cast purification! Priests, cast purification, damn it!”

“Great Warrior! Greaaat Warrior! Please deal with those abominations at once!!” Kennen shouted.

‘You guys are still alive, huh?’

“Hey! George! This way! Alex! Damn it!!” Kennen said.

“Don’t fall back! Not a single step! Break through if you want to live! Remember, there’s no retreat anymore!”

“Damn it... damn it!! My leg!”

‘This really is a mess.’

I could say with certainty that, without Ryu Han, we could have been in serious trouble. The pigeons were by no means weak. Even if humanity had the advantage when grouped together, in terms of pure combat ability, they were still a species at a fundamentally higher level.

Moreover, even a rat would bite a cat when cornered. Unfortunately, these pigeons weren’t cornered rats. Instead, they were cornered cats. The longer the war dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would become for our forces. The pigeons we thought were dead were getting back up, and on top of that, there were far too many things to worry about beyond just the fighting itself.

If this had just been an ordinary war, it wouldn’t have been strange for our forces to collapse one after another.

“Move forward!”

“Move forward! Advance! And you will see the light!!”

“Move forward! And you will see the light!” shouted the female warrior who had lost her comrade named Jeanne. She coughed up blood with spears sticking out of her.

“Move forward! Move forward! Adva—”

“...”

"A-advance... Move forward...” Even as she was dying, she kept moving forward while muttering, “Go... move... forward—

ah

... I see... I see the light... Jeanne...”

A barbarian with his shoulder torn off swung his axe wildly with one hand and roared, “Move forward! And you’ll see the light! Valhalla!”

‘Valhalla's not here. Come on.’

“Valhallaaaaaaa!”

A wounded veteran and refugees who had never even held a spear before threw themselves into the inferno despite knowing the risk.

“Move forward! And you’ll see the light!!”

‘Alps, what’s wrong with you now?’

Even Alps was shouting, showing the direness of the situation. Covered in wounds, she fought at the very front with Shiro, swinging her sword as she led the soldiers in the holy war.

The sight made me realize that the only thing sustaining them right now was the promise I had given to them—"move forward, and you’ll see the light."

They were consumed by that one sentence; they were captivated by it, and it held them together, which made this fight between rats and cats possible. Their breathing had grown ragged, their arms no longer had strength, and their voices barely came out, but they still moved forward, swinging their weapons while screaming until their throats tore open.

“Move forward! And you’ll see the light!”

What sustained them was faith and conviction. Just then, a spell was fired, and the spells filling the sky were all sliced apart. Even though I wasn’t the target, Ryu Han had swung his sword amidst the battlefield.

‘Ah, come on... Don’t awaken all of a sudden... This really isn’t welcoming...’

He wasn’t just slicing them; he was cutting down the pigeons rushing toward everyone. The soldiers were about to collapse, but the tables had turned once again. It was still too early to judge whether this would benefit me or not, but the one who had been passive until now had finally become active, and it happened all of a sudden.

The problem was...

“...”

“...”

‘You’re going to die.’

He wasn’t trying to kill the pigeons; he was trying to protect all of those people. I could say with certainty that he would be dead in a few hours.

‘Stupid bastard. Damn it.’