Thanks to the Rune of Vitality, my internal injuries were completely healed within two days. But because of the System’s 50% physical stat debuff, I was practically bedridden during that ti.
Either way, my crazy stunt had worked. The monster attacks beca much less consistent.
With the golden bedrock spikes acting as a physical shield, the engineers finally had the ti they desperately needed. They worked around the clock to strengthen the crumbling walls. Even Princess Celestia stepped up, using her massive mana pool to reinforce the outer layers with dense, unlting glacial ice.
Two days later, my magic lockout finally ended. I managed to drag my sluggish body out of the dical ward and joined the garrison for dinner around the courtyard campfire.
The atmosphere had completely shifted.
I was basically treated like a hero. The penal soldiers bowed their heads when I walked past, and the knights eagerly offered the best cuts of roasted at. Even Commander Arthur, who had been hell-bent on sending back south when I first arrived, gave appreciative, respectful nods.
Not a single person addressed as ’Madman’ anymore.
I was quietly eating my stew when a shadow fell over .
"Mind if I join you?"
I looked up. Princess Celestia was standing there, her white fur hood pulled back, holding a wooden bowl of soup.
"Feel free," I said, scooting over on the log to make room.
She sat down gracefully, warming her hands near the fire. For a few minutes, we just ate in comfortable silence, listening to the loud, boisterous laughter of the knights celebrating another day of survival.
"You know," Celestia started, a small smile playing on her lips, "never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we would be having such a pleasant conversation. Let alone watching people cheer for you out of genuine respect rather than fear or coercion."
I chuckled bitterly, staring at the flas. "Well, my past self was definitely an asshole."
Celestia laughed out loud, a clear, ringing sound. "You are certainly right about that. You were an absolute terror. Tornting commoners, beating up squires for looking at you wrong, constantly using your noble status to—"
"Stop, stop right there," I raised a hand, wincing. "I know exactly what I did. There’s no need to recount my entire criminal record."
Celestia chuckled again, her ice-blue eyes softening. "Who knew you would change so much? So suddenly, too. Going all out and nearly dying for penal soldiers you don’t even know... it’s surprising."
"Sigh... people change," I replied simply. "That’s the basic nature of humanity. Good people beco bad when pushed. But sotis, bad people realize they need to be better."
She humd in agreent, gracefully shifting the topic. She was a curious classmate, after all.
We spent the rest of the night casually chatting. It was a rare, peaceful mont in a frozen hell.
******
The peace didn’t last.
The very next morning, I was violently jolted awake by a terribly familiar sound.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The heavy bronze bells signaling a monster attack rang out loudly across the fortress. Only two days had gone by since the last major battle.
I grabbed my Blackwood rifle and rushed up to the battlents.
I imdiately went to work, firing into the incoming horde of beasts. But everyone on the wall could clearly see the change in my performance.
The 50% status debuff was still active for another few hours, and its effect clearly showed.
Bang! I missed a gargoyle’s core, only clipping its wing. I racked the bolt, my arms feeling like they were filled with lead. I was panting heavily, sweat freezing to my forehead.
The knights watching imdiately drew their own conclusions. They thought I hadn’t fully healed. They assud that unleashing that level of apocalyptic, ’single-use’ magic had taken a permanent, crippling toll on my body.
"...This is bad," Lucien muttered to himself, gritting his teeth as he barely managed to shoot down a diving gargoyle.
Though it seed to the soldiers that he was still dealing with the monsters effectively, a critical problem had arisen for him. His arms felt like dead weight, his vision occasionally blurred from the system penalty, and his fatigue was compounding rapidly.
But given the dire situation, such excuses were aningless. He had to hold the line.
"Lucien."
A heavy hand rested on his shoulder. It was Commander Viktor.
Lucien lowered his smoking rifle, wiping the freezing sweat from his brow. "Sir Viktor."
"Don’t you think the frequency of these monster attacks is too rapid this cycle?" Viktor asked, his voice low and tense over the sounds of the ongoing skirmish. "Even considering how often they usually strike during this season."
"...You’re right," Lucien breathed heavily.
Viktor had noticed the anomaly, just as Lucien had feared. Probably all the veteran knights had noticed it by now. The cycle of major attacks happening again after just a two-day break was completely abnormal, even for Winterguard.
"We might have been discovered," Lucien said grimly.
"Discovered... you don’t think—" Viktor’s grizzled face went completely pale.
Lucien nodded, confirming the Commander’s darkest fear.
"It’s highly likely their commander has realized the barrier is still deeply vulnerable, and that my attack two days ago was a desperate final move," Lucien explained, leaning against the cold stone to support his weakened legs.
The sudden, catastrophic change in the battlefield—summoning holy spikes that prevented the monsters from even approaching the walls—had undoubtedly shocked the enemy. But because no further holy magic was deployed during the wall’s reconstruction, the intelligent beast leading the horde had deduced the truth.
"...Then, their commander..." Viktor started, his grip tightening on his sword hilt.
"Will probably launch a full-scale, all-out assault," Lucien finished coldly.
The Primordial Earth Crown had its hard limits. Just a single use alongside the Rosary had left Lucien bedridden, completely drained of magic, and physically handicapped for three days. Furthermore, he had publicly declared to the Commanders that the relic was a single-use item that turned to dust. He couldn’t magically pull it out again without exposing his lies.
Until now, the enemy had only sent minions and mid-tier beasts to hinder the barrier’s repair. The fact that the entire vanguard was swept away by a single "firework" proved they were holding their true forces back.
But if the real monsters of the Wilderness—the ancient, colossal beasts of considerable size and terrifying rank—attacked now, it would be a completely different story.
Winterguard would be vastly outnumbered, and the monsters that erged from the fog would not be beasts that Lucien could simply pierce with standard rifle fire.
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