A milky-white ray of destruction flew from beyond the wheat fields and shattered the magical barrier hanging over the city wall.
I forced myself to ignore the ringing in my ears.
Rion and the ordinary farmers in the wheat fields were clutching their ears with dumbfounded expressions.
Bandits stood beyond the wheat fields, where the Destruction Magic had come from.
‘No.’
More precisely, they were novice bandits.
Their ragged clothes, missing teeth, and grime-streaked faces made it obvious that they weren’t veteran bandits who could at least be called elite soldiers.
‘I don’t see the knights and soldiers who became Rebels after being driven from the territory. There are barely any veteran bandits wearing padded armor or chain mail either. Then what is this? Did some Random Event I don’t know about occur?’
There was an event in the game where bandits attacked the territory.
However, it hadn’t included a magical attack of that terrifying power.
‘Did those bandit bastards kill an Ogre or something?’
At this point in the chapter, the only item capable of producing Destruction Magic with that much power was [Giant’s Kick], dropped by an Ogre.
It was the best-performing of the Ogre’s three possible rewards.
But Rebels and bandits were treated as monsters in the game.
‘Did it change because this is reality?’
NPCs in the game were puppets that performed only predetermined actions.
Now that it had become reality, their behavior was difficult to predict.
If the knights and soldiers among the Rebels hunted together with the bandits, defeating the Ogre might not be impossible if they accepted a certain amount of bloodshed.
‘Is that actually possible?’
Unlike in the game, the goblins and Orcs had gathered their own forces and were preparing for war.
Would they really remain still while a large number of humans entered and hunted the Ogre?
Even if the humans failed the boss raid, I would eliminate both the wounded humans and the Ogre together.
“Aaaaaah!”
Had I spent too long thinking alone?
A woman who had regained her senses screamed and ran toward the city wall.
Beginning with her, the farmers fled toward the walls.
Some ran alone, while others grabbed the hands of the children who had been helping beside them.
‘Oh, fuck.’
Which direction was safer?
Should we flee into the forest or head toward the wall?
[Giant’s Kick] consumed an enormous amount of Mana in exchange for its tremendous power.
Every time it was used, the character either became incapacitated from Mana depletion or was reduced to a ruined shell.
That was why I equipped it on a disposable character and used it only to land the final blow on a boss.
“We’re going into the forest.”
One explorer party ahead of us made a quick decision.
Perhaps they believed the attackers had come to assault the territory and therefore wouldn’t target people fleeing into the forest.
Judging by their light-looking baggage, they had left the territory without intending to remain long in the Black Forest or a dungeon.
‘They’re probably thinking that surviving comes first.’
Tap-tap-tap.
The party that chose to flee into the forest ran away from the entrance to Black Forest Region 1-1, where the bandits had appeared, and headed toward the entrance to Region 1-4 on the opposite side.
That region, called the ‘Corpse Road,’ was mainly inhabited by undead monsters such as zombies and skeletons.
“Hyah!”
“Kyahoho!”
But their decision was wrong.
Two mounted bandits urged their horses forward.
They were inferior to veteran bandits, but their levels were higher than those of ordinary bandits.
Unlike the ragged foot soldiers, they carried proper shields, wore chain mail, and wielded halberds.
I could also see iron flails and heavy sabers hanging at their waists as secondary weapons.
The moment I saw them, I grabbed Rion’s hand.
She flinched in surprise, then firmly squeezed mine with a hand that was soft yet strong.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes……!”
The weight of the backpack on my back vanished from my mind.
I couldn’t even smell the warm, nutty scent rising from the wheat grains crushed beneath my feet.
I grabbed the little baggage Rion carried in one hand and ran at full speed.
“Damn it.”
I had known an event where bandits attacked the territory would occur.
Since it was bound to happen eventually, I had set out on the expedition to level up as quickly as possible.
The invasion event occurred between Week 10 at the earliest and Week 12 at the latest after the game began.
‘But it’s only Week 6.’
Had it been a mistake to count from the moment I woke inside the carriage?
Was it because I wasn’t the player, but the Jar Warrior?
I didn’t know.
Whether this had happened because I made a mistake or because of some unknown Bad Event, survival came first.
The magical barrier that should’ve bought the soldiers time to assemble had been destroyed.
Still, even rotten, a prized fish remained prized; the city wall itself hadn’t collapsed.
No matter how numerous those bastards were, taking the wall in a short time would be impossible.
Furthermore—
‘I don’t see any siege equipment, such as ladders or catapults.’
The bandits had eyes and brains.
At first, they might have used [Giant’s Kick] without understanding it.
But once they saw the user wither into a ruined shell, they wouldn’t dare use it carelessly.
Judging by the power, they hadn’t sacrificed only one or two people.
Even if someone put a blade to their throats and ordered them to use it again immediately, no one would volunteer.
That would buy us several minutes.
“Aaargh!”
“You bastards!”
I turned only my head and glanced sideways at the screams.
The rider at the front swung his halberd without slowing his gallop.
The accelerated axe blade split a shield and took the explorer’s head off with it.
The helmet flew away, and something pale sailed through the air.
The fleeing explorers fought back.
Half their faces were filled with fear, and the other half with desperation.
“Hahaha!”
The bandit laughed mockingly.
An Archer’s arrow was stopped by the large shield he carried.
The Warrior who blocked the horse’s path was trampled beneath its raised hooves.
Before even a muffled groan could escape, the bandit swung his weapon again and struck him down.
“Uaaaaah!”
The male Archer abandoned his bow, leapt, and tackled the mounted bandit.
The man holding the halberd tried to draw his iron flail, but the Archer was faster.
Clinging to his back, the Archer wrapped his left arm around the bandit’s neck and wildly stabbed the dagger in his other hand into the man’s side.
THUD.
But the second bandit approached after finishing the remaining explorer.
The heavy saber descended diagonally and struck the back of the Archer’s head while he twisted the dagger embedded in the bandit’s side and spat curses.
The Archer fell from the horse with the blade buried in the back of his skull.
“Aaaaaah-!”
The female healer, the only survivor, ran toward us.
One of the three mounted bandits who had been watching kicked his horse’s side and pursued her.
With a cruel smile, he threw the lasso tied at his waist.
“Ghk-”
The loop caught her precisely around the neck.
The bandit turned his horse and dragged the woman toward their formation like a trophy.
Her legs scraped against the ground as she struggled, then vanished among the ragged bandits.
‘Crazy.’
In the game, bandits and NPC explorers had similar levels and comparable combat power.
With equal numbers, the explorers who fought as a team had a higher chance of winning.
‘Does riding a horse really inflate their combat power that much?’
Mounted bandits were only one or two levels higher than foot soldiers in the game.
It hadn’t made a major difference.
This was far too one-sided.
Was this the power of equipment?
“Open the gate!”
“Please, open it!”
Before I knew it, we had reached the city gate.
But the gate was closed.
***
RATTLE. RATTLE.
The thick wooden gate attached to the wall hadn’t been closed.
Instead, a portcullis made from iron bars roughly two finger joints thick, welded into a grid, had dropped into place.
The portcullis, which seemed meant for defensive battles, had activated the instant the magical barrier broke.
‘Activated’ was an impressive word for it.
In reality, an extremely heavy iron gate had simply fallen.
Through the gaps in the grid, I could see inside the walls.
The guards were running around in confusion.
“Mister! Mister!”
I pushed past the people ahead and called to the guard I knew.
The guard seemed to be following orders shouted by the guard squad leader.
When our eyes met, the bastard turned his head away.
‘That fucking bastard.’
“Move!”
I shouted and cleared the people clinging to the iron gate.
Then I pulled a red jar from my crossbody bag and threw it at the portcullis.
CRASH—!
The iron gate shook violently.
A shallow dent appeared where the jar struck.
At the explosion, the soldiers on the other side stared at me.
“Open the gate!”
“…….”
When they only stared blankly, I took out another jar.
The gaps between the bars were wider than expected.
If I threw it carefully, the jar could probably pass through.
Considering my throwing ability and the power of this [Explosive Jar], it would be more than enough to blow away the bastards ignoring us from the other side.
But I intended to negotiate for the gate to be opened.
I had no intention of becoming the spearhead for the bandits attacking the city.
I thrust my hand between the bars and displayed the jar.
The one I had taken out this time was an ordinary jar with a similar appearance.
‘If this goes off by mistake, it’ll take my hand with it.’
“Open the gate now. Open it unless you want all of us to die together.”
Affinity with NPCs?
Conditions for receiving a Hidden Quest?
None of that was in my mind right now.
Those things mattered only if I survived first.
CREEEAK.
The guards on the other side drew their bowstrings toward me.
Ten arrows aimed at my body.
They only moved quickly at times like this.
“Step back.”
“Open the gate.”
The explorers and farmers beside me backed away in fear.
The bandits still weren’t approaching the wall.
We needed to enter now.
The guard squad leader stepped forward and ordered the soldiers to lower their bows.
“Even if you don’t care about explorers like us, shouldn’t you save the people of your own territory?!”
“…That gate closes automatically when the barrier surrounding the wall is destroyed. There is no separate pulley mechanism, so we cannot open it.”
“…Then you and us can lift it together.”
The people standing behind me nodded.
They would need to reopen the gate after the siege ended, so it had to be possible for people to lift it.
While the squad leader hesitated, several guards who still possessed a conscience looked between him and the portcullis.
Then—
[Karema tal kan ta!]
The incantation resonated through space again.
The same Destruction Magic that had erased the barrier flew toward the wall once more.
‘Oh, fu—’
I hurriedly wrapped Rion in my arms and threw myself aside.
■■■■■■-!
RUMBLE.
The impact of the Destruction Magic striking the wall blasted us away.
Only after rolling across the ground three or four times did my body stop.
The bastards were more ignorant than I had expected.
Or perhaps the victim who had used the item without understanding its side effects and been reduced to a ruined shell had tried to take revenge, only to fail.
-Even if he felt wronged, he was still trash who made a living robbing and murdering people.
I assessed the situation through my shaking vision.
Rion, whom I had held against my chest, seemed uninjured aside from coughing in the dust.
Fortunately, the Destruction Magic had struck a section of wall away from the gate where we had gathered.
I didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened if it had hit the gate directly.
Thankfully, no one had died.
Instead, one section of the wall had collapsed.
Its height had fallen from more than ten meters to only two or three.
‘We can climb over that.’
I grabbed Rion’s hand and approached the collapsed wall.
The bandits who had used the second Destruction Magic were advancing toward us.
I could see them gradually increasing their speed.
“Move quickly. If we don’t go now, it’ll be too late.”
“Wait.”
Green waves spread from Rion’s staff.
The people who had fallen or lost consciousness began to wake.
During her time in the territory, she had apparently learned an area-healing spell from Paradon.
“Please, hurry.”
Rion helped the fallen people.
Only then did I notice those around us.
The people I had always called NPCs were bleeding from torn wounds.
-Stop wasting time and save yourself first, just like you always have.
“Damn it.”
I helped a child lying nearby to stand.
After brushing the dirt from the child’s clothes, I placed them in their mother’s arms.
“We need to move before the bandits arrive!”
-Do you suddenly want to play the hero?
The irritating voice scratched at my nerves again.
I didn’t answer.
I led the people toward the breach.
Within one to twenty seconds, we reached the collapsed section of the wall.
We sent the unarmed people up first.
-Hey. Look over there.
Without realizing it, I turned toward the wheat fields.
The bandits were running toward us.
-Tick-tock! Tick-tock! You’re out of time~ You might survive if you climb up right now~.
STEP.
After all the farmers climbed over, the female explorers following them suddenly stopped.
I felt my irritation rise at the voice inside my head and looked for the reason they had halted.
Ten guards stood atop the collapsed wall with spears aimed downward.
After pulling all the farmers behind them, the guards were preventing only the mercenaries and explorers from climbing over.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The pounding footsteps of the bandits hammered against the back of my skull.