"The lord's carriage will likely be hit directly by the stampede, given the timing."

"Can't they turn back?"

"It seems they're already very close to the city. They've decided it's better to flee into the city than turn back. The knights have already gone to protect them, but if they get caught in the middle of the stampede, I don't think the knights will be unscathed."

"So the emergency quest is to reinforce the knights?"

"That's right. The quest is to rescue the lord and the knights and get them back to the city safely. Only D-rank adventurers and above are eligible to participate."

"But if even the knights can't handle it, how can a few adventurers make a difference?"

"It's true that there aren't many adventurers in this town. But everyone here is an elite, they've all survived Iraira's training. The knights are numerous, but they're just "normal" knights. The adventurers in this town can definitely help the knights. I believe you can succeed in this quest."

"Just one thing to say."

Iraira spoke up.

"Listen up! You're not allowed to die. Come back safely, all of you, after completing the mission. I don't remember teaching you such weak tactics, you should be able to do this!"

"We'll do it!"

"We got a message from the knights. They've successfully joined the lord's carriage, but they're currently engaged with monsters that came out of the dungeon."

There was only one possible route for the carriage to take. The adventurers immediately ran in that direction.

(Iraira) "Don't die..."

The knights surrounded the lord's carriage, protecting it. There were already monsters all around them, but they were all low-level monsters (goblins, orcs, kobolds, etc.). It seemed they could fight their way back to the city.

But there were far more than expected, and as they fought, time kept passing. Soon, the types of monsters changed. They had been caught up by the monsters from the middle levels.

They were no longer surrounded by goblins, orcs, and kobolds, but giants - cyclopes, gigantus, atlases. Giants are surprisingly fast for their size.

The monsters in Wairago differed greatly in strength between floors. Normally, giant monsters would start with trolls, then gradually become stronger, but in Wairago, boss-level cyclopes, gigantus, and atlases appeared in groups.

The cyclopes were fast for their huge size, the gigantus had abnormally tough skin and high defense, and the atlases had extraordinary regenerative abilities. Giants not only swung huge clubs, but they also picked up large rocks and hurled them.

The knights were struggling against the group of giants with superhuman strength. They were almost at the city gates, but their path was blocked by gigantus, and they couldn't get through. They fought bravely, but several were blown away by a single swing of a giant's club.

"Damn it, is this the end?"

At that moment, an arrow shot from the top of the city gates pierced the gigantus' back. It was support fire from a ballista.

And the city gates swung open, and adventurers rushed out at full speed.

The gigantus, hit by the arrow, turned to face the adventurers, but they easily dodged its attack and quickly defeated it.

The path to the city gate was clear.

"Hurry! Run!"

"Thanks! We're saved!"

The coachman whipped his horses, and the carriage surged toward the city gate. The giants tried to stop it, but the adventurers defeated them one by one. One giant tried to throw a rock, but it was attacked before it could throw it.

The adventurers were strong. They dodged the giants' attacks with swift footwork, and they effortlessly tore through the giants' skin that had been impervious to the knights' swords. The adventurers even dodged the invisible shock waves radiating from the cyclopes' huge, single eyes.

That was no surprise. The adventurers trained in Bymark were skilled enough to be B-rank or A-rank in other towns.

They made sure the carriage had safely reached the city and immediately turned back, not taking any unnecessary risks. They helped the injured knights with the knights, and began their retreat.

In the end, the adventurers returned to the city safely, none of them injured.

This showed the lord just how skilled the adventurers of Bymark were.

...

Bymark once again closed its gates and entered a state of siege.

More and more monstrous beasts gathered outside the city.

But after a while, higher-level monsters from the deeper levels appeared, and the lower-level monsters scattered. The stronger monsters were proud and fought instead of fleeing. It was like watching a monster battle royal.

But since the dangerous monsters were fighting each other, their numbers gradually decreased without anyone doing anything. So, even though there was a stampede, not many powerful monsters remained. (Thinking about clearing out the lower-level monsters that had scattered around the city gave them a headache, though.)

But then the situation changed abruptly.

A pack of "Catochrists," monstrous beasts from the deepest depths of the dungeon, overwhelmed all the other monsters. They were the last group to spill out of the dungeon.

Catochrists were monstrous beasts that looked like giant chickens with snake tails. They breathed petrifying gas.

The surrounding monsters were helpless against the Catochrists' petrifying breath, and soon, there were no moving monsters left except the Catochrists.

The Catochrists, staying around the city, pecked at the petrified monsters and plants for a while, but then, as if seeking more prey, they began attacking the city walls.

They pecked at the city walls and gates with their beaks. But the walls and gates, built strong, could withstand that kind of attack. But when they realized the pecking wasn't working, they started to breathe petrifying gas at the gates.

The knights, confidently watching, thought there was no problem with breathing gas at inanimate objects like walls and gates. But they soon realized something was wrong.

It turned out the Catochrists' petrifying gas petrified everything it touched.

Animals, plants, monstrous beasts...and wood, stone, and even metal.

It was strange that even stone could be petrified, but the Catochrists' petrifying gas turned hard stone into fragile pumice.

The gates, which had thick metal plates covering the wooden core, and the sturdy stone walls were all turning into brittle pumice.

The soldiers rushed to attack from the top of the walls, using ballistas and magic, but they were quickly turned to stone by the petrifying gas.

Finally, the Catochrists stopped breathing gas and resumed pecking. The outer walls were ten meters thick, so it would be hard to dig through them. But they had realized the gates were thinner than the walls, so they focused their attacks on the gates.

The walls and gates were reinforced with magic, but for some reason, the magic was deactivated when the Catochrists started attacking.

As a result, the city's gates collapsed easily. (TN: As expected MC is a jinx.)

Next Episode

Bymark faces the threat of annihilation!

Stay tuned!