Chapter 356: Surprise Attack

And so, Rest had passed the first trial since arriving at the fortress.
That “trial,” however, hadn’t come from enemy tribes, but rather from allies — specifically, Yuri’s three brothers.

“Count Clover, there’s a war council. I’d like you to attend. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?”

“Lord Clover, might I have a moment? I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

“Sir Clover, how about a quick sparring match? I won’t lose this time!”

“What is with those guys…? Don’t they have anything better to do?”

A few days had passed since Rest’s arrival at the fortress.
In that time, the three Catreya brothers kept finding new excuses to bother him, popping up whenever he thought he could rest.

“At this point, I almost wish the enemy would attack already. Is that too ungrateful to say…?”

Rest muttered a weary sigh from behind a stone parapet.
He was on top of the fortress wall, hiding out from the Catreyas.
A few guards were stationed here and there along the ramparts, but none had noticed him yet.

(Overprotective brothers, huh…? I mean, it’s fine. Really. But being the one they fixate on is exhausting…)

Rest had no younger siblings — not in his past life, nor in this one.
He had a half-brother named Cedric, but that was hardly a true bond.
Sometimes he wondered what it might’ve been like to have a little brother or sister — though maybe it was better that he alone had borne the brunt of their toxic parents.

“How long is this going to keep up, anyway…”

He never would have guessed that his biggest obstacle on the battlefield would be his own allies.
He’d prepared himself for the hardships of war — the chaos, the bloodshed, the exhaustion.
But this kind of struggle? Definitely not what he had expected.

“Well, whatever. The advance unit’s mission is to hold the fortress until the main army arrives. Reinforcements should be here before long—…huh?”

At that moment, the sunlight dimmed.
He thought maybe a cloud had passed overhead — until his ever-active Presence Detection spell picked up something foreign entering its range.

“Above…!? Are those—foreigners!?”

Rest looked up.
The bright blue sky was dotted with clouds drifting like white whales — and from within one of them, figures emerged.

Winged humans — one of the non-human races, the Winged Tribe.

They had used the clouds as cover, flying at high altitude to evade detection.
No one else seemed to have noticed yet; only Rest had sensed them.

(So they hid in the clouds to launch a surprise attack… I have to warn everyone!)

“Burst!”

Rest fired off a spell.

A small explosion detonated high above the fortress, producing a flash of light and a loud crack.
The guards on the walls all looked up at once.

“What was that explosion!?”

“Hey, look—above us! Enemies!”

“The barbarians are attacking! They’re here!!”

Rest’s blast spread the alarm faster than any shouted warning could.

“Soldiers, to arms! Show them the justice of the Iwood Kingdom!”

The commander, Valeya Catreya, appeared and gave the order to engage.

“Mages, use your spells! Warriors, bring down the Winged Ones with arrows! And stay alert — there may be more nearby!”

“““““Yes, sir!!”””””

The fortress soldiers sprang into action at once, casting spells and drawing bows to fire at the sky.

“Thunder Cannon!”

“Gyaaaaaaahhh!!”

Rest too unleashed his magic, striking down a Winged One with a bolt of lightning that sent the creature crashing to the ground, charred black.

The defenders were managing to shoot some down — but not without losses of their own.
Several soldiers were struck by the spears and stones hurled from above, falling where they stood.

“There are more of them than last time…”

Still, if it was only the Winged Tribe, they could handle it.

But just as Rest thought that—his Presence Detection flared again.
Multiple signatures, all at once.

“What the—!?”

He turned toward the sensation.
It came from outside the fortress — across the border river.

Dozens… no, hundreds of signatures, growing rapidly in number.
He couldn’t see anything there — only feel it.

“Thunder Cannon!”

He fired another bolt toward the empty ground.
The lightning struck — and the air rippled.

The landscape wavered like a mirage, distorting — and through the shimmering haze, countless figures began to appear.

“They were… hidden by magic!?”

“It’s the enemy! A massive force is heading our way!”

The sentries finally realized what Rest had already sensed.

The invading army had been cloaked by an illusion spell — and now, over a thousand warriors of the enemy tribes were charging across the border river straight toward them.

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