saiki

ch 23

-Graaaaaaaaah!

A gargantuan specter, swathed in an immense suit of armor.

The stage one boss monster, 'Phantom Knight', bellowed an uncanny roar.

-Kukuwoong-!

The entity that had been hovering in the air descended to the ground, shaking the entire vicinity as if an earthquake had struck. We all teetered simultaneously.

'Damn!'

Confronting the creature on the ground, my fingers twitched involuntarily.

It was gigantic.

Its towering figure was about as tall as a three-story building, just slightly shorter than the fortress walls.

From our position atop the wall, we were nearly eye to eye with the monster stationed on the open ground.

"Ready the cannons! Aim the ballistae!"

I hollered at the soldiers, frozen in awe of the boss monster's overpowering presence.

"We need to take it down before it gets to the wall! Move it-!"

The startled soldiers hurriedly began to load the cannons and ballistae.

However, much of the siege equipment was abandoned during the infantry battle, and by the time they managed to reinstall and reload everything, the Phantom Knight was already upon us.

Blue flames danced ominously within the beast's towering helmet.

'Damn it, keep it together!'

I almost retreated out of fear, barely maintaining my footing.

Don't get spooked by its appearance, damn it! It's just a stage one boss. Even if it's received a boss boost, it's only level 25!

"Fire! Give it everything you've got-!"

At my command, the petrified soldiers ignited the cannons and pulled the ballistae triggers.

-Boom! Brrrrr!

-Thud-thud-thud…!

Cannons belched fire, and arrows flew from the ballistae.

-Kwakwang! Kwakwakwakwang!

Due to the creature's size, our hit rate was astonishingly high. Scores of shells and ballista arrows hammered into the Phantom Knight.

Flames and smoke swirled around its massive armor.

However, its armor was robust. It sustained no significant damage.

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

Despite the relentless attack, the Phantom Knight continued its advance.

'This brute is unbelievably sturdy!'

Still, the main objective of the cannons and ballistae was to impede it as much as possible. I swiftly glanced aside.

"Lilly!"

"Yes, yes?"

Lilly looked drained from casting fire magic just a short while ago. But she had a duty to fulfill.

"The third artifact? Is it adjusted yet?"

"It was tuned just moments ago!"

"Activate it now!"

Lilly signaled the alchemists. They powered up the artifact that had just completed its final tuning.

-Wooooooong-!