Chapter 94: Battle at the End of Winter (Part 2)

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a corpse sandworm suddenly burst out from beneath the city wall, appearing right in front of Owen.

“Whoa! Watch out, Owen!”

Winston, who had been watching the last wave of the battle, couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

When had that giant worm gotten here?! Everyone present was taken aback.

Perhaps everyone’s attention had been completely absorbed by the fifty-odd massive undead beasts, and they had overlooked the corpse sandworm tunneling beneath their feet.

In the end, it was the scouts responsible for watching the northern approach who had been negligent.

At that very moment, Mapel—who should have been guarding Owen—was conveniently nowhere nearby.

Owen, believing his area to be relatively safe, had sent her to reinforce another section of the wall that was in danger.

ROAR—

The corpse sandworm opened its abyssal maw and lowered its massive body toward Owen.

“No! Lord Owen!”

Mapel’s voice trembled with panic.

She swung her magic sword, sending an ice blade flying toward it—even though she knew such an attack could never stop the monster.

This was yet another moment of bitter self-reproach for Mapel; the first had been back in the experimental fields when she’d encountered that strange silver sphere.

If only she had disobeyed orders and stayed by Owen’s side.

There was no time. Fireballs would likely fail to repel the sandworm, and turning to run would only lead to a quicker death. It didn’t seem like anyone else could reach him in time.

With no other choice, Owen cast a defensive spell—Flame Shield.

He quickly recited the short incantation, flames erupting around him. With a wave of his staff, the fire gathered in front of him, forming a massive blazing shield.

It might block arrows just fine, but whether it could withstand a corpse sandworm’s strike—Owen wasn’t so sure himself.

At that critical instant, a deafening cannon blast split the air.

BOOM!

An iron ball whistled through the air, slamming straight into the sandworm’s head. Its body split instantly into two parts—the head crashed onto the wall, while the rear half collapsed to the ground.

The severed head twitched a few times before falling still.

Owen turned to look—it was a shot from Blue’s artillery unit.

The iron ball continued flying far beyond, disappearing toward the mountain range.

Blue, who had given the order to fire, let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

That was close—thank goodness they’d hit it. Hopefully, the lord was unharmed.

“That was a close call! The gunner who ordered that shot deserves a great reward.” 

Winston’s voice carried lingering fear.

“That goes without saying.”

Mapel came rushing back at full speed, her voice urgent.

“Lord Owen, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Owen dismissed the magic and glanced down at himself.

The sandworm had been blasted apart right in front of him, showering him in a spray of foul yellow fluid and bits of flesh.

The flame shield had blocked most of it, but some had still splattered onto his clothes.

Feeling a bit disgusted, Owen brushed two small chunks of meat off his chest.

“Lord Owen!”

Mapel, unable to control her emotions, rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Tears streamed down her face.

“I thought… I thought you were going to die… I was so scared…”

“Uh… Mapel, I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Don’t think for a second Owen was enjoying the embrace of a beautiful woman—armor was hard as stone, and he was desperate to wriggle free. But he didn’t want to embarrass her.

Viscount Jarvis and Bray arrived just in time to see the scene. Without a word, they quietly backed away.

They even pulled Lusha along, urging the others to quickly finish off the remaining undead rather than disturb their lord.

Once she calmed down, Mapel let go of Owen as if shocked by an electric current, her face flushing crimson in an instant.

“Uh… Oh… Ah!! What did I just do?!”

Mortified by her own actions, she didn’t dare look Owen in the eye and simply turned and ran.

Could it be that Mapel…?

Owen seemed to have realized something.

Not far away, Viscount Jarvis and Bray were looking at him with a strange, knowing smile.

“Ahem.” 

Owen could only give a forced cough to cover his embarrassment from just now.

After that, the various units continued to coordinate their attacks, eliminating the remaining undead monsters.

When the final undead monster fell, everyone present raised their weapons high and let out a thunderous cheer.

After an entire winter of defensive battles, they had finally won.

It was now proven that Bianshu Town could survive the winter through its own strength.

Inside the infirmary behind the walls, Theresa and other clerics were busily treating soldiers wounded in battle—both human and lizardman.

Withdrawing her healing magic, she smiled and nodded to a human patient.

“Treatment complete. Try moving it a bit.”

The soldier moved his arm experimentally and found that only a faint scar remained—no pain at all. He was instantly overwhelmed with emotion.

“Thank you, Priestess. I’m truly so grateful.”

“You’re welcome. This is simply our duty.”

Once the patient left, Theresa turned toward the north-facing window, her eyes filled with worry.

She had been hearing repeated cannon blasts. How was the fighting on the northern wall? Was Lord Owen still leading the troops in that grueling battle?

Before long, a militiaman burst into the infirmary, beaming with joy, and delivered the news of their victory.

“The battle’s over! In the end, the undead couldn’t breach our defenses—we’ve won!”

“Yeah!!”

“Thank the gods for their protection!”

“And thank our lord for leading us!”

Hearing that the northern wall had successfully repelled the undead assault, even the injured couldn’t help but stand and cheer.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Theresa allowed a relieved smile to bloom on her face. Then she walked to the north window, opened it, and gazed toward the distant walls.

It’s finally over. Bianshu Town has made it safely through the winter. That’s wonderful, Lord Owen.

The news quickly spread throughout the town. Townsfolk poured into the streets, cheering, laughing, and running from house to house to share the good news.

More and more people came to know of their victory.

Clive immediately pulled out the pre-prepared victory announcement and got ready to post it on the bulletin board in the square.

Viru threw back his head in laughter. 

“Hahaha! It’s all thanks to me fixing that breach in the wall. Of course, the marquis’s cement played a big part too.”

Jita remained focused on his blacksmithing, deaf to the world outside. All he wanted was to quickly finish the machine on his design schematics—to serve the lord while exploring the mysterious power of the unknown.

Fanny stretched her shoulder and said to the man beside her.

“Uncle Garcia, I’d say we made a pretty big contribution to Bianshu Town, right?”

“I suppose so.” 

Garcia replied.

In the church, Bishop Flynn stood before the statue of the god, hands clasped tightly, head bowed, and prayed with deep gratitude.

“Thank you, O God, for protecting Bianshu Town and helping us through this hardship.”

Sigh—

A faint sigh seemed to echo in his mind for a brief moment, leaving Bishop Flynn puzzled.

Hmm? What was that? Was that the sigh of the god? Or was it just my imagination?

To be sure, Bishop Flynn prayed again. This time, he heard nothing. Perhaps it really had just been his imagination.

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