I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 11: Siege Warfare (3)

I realized something.

Up until now, the orcs I had been cutting down were weaklings in comparison.

The larger their bodies, the more white tattoos covered their skin—the stronger they became.

I had reached the point where landing three or four clean hits wasn’t enough to kill them.

The thick stench of blood dulled my sense of smell.

Even when I swung my sword horizontally, they didn’t die. Even when I stabbed into their guts, they didn’t die.

So I drew my black javelin and rammed it into their necks, twisting it violently.

"KRAAAAGH!!"

The screams of soldiers rang in my ears.

My gaze and senses had already moved far away from the orc whose throat I had just cut open.

In the distance, a massive orc was staring straight at me.

An orc—carrying a red banner—with a personal attendant.

That bastard had been fixated on me from the moment I started throwing spears from the fortress walls.

He wanted to kill me.

But I needed to kill him first.

I cleaved off another orc’s head before shifting my gaze.

Resellin, the leader of the Lucerna Mercenary Corps, was proving she was no mere extra.

She was still standing, her entire body soaked in blood, fighting relentlessly.

A shield in her left hand.

A spear in her right.

Both weapons were coated in flesh and gore.

With a cold, unreadable expression, she killed an orc and walked toward me.

"Yuseong."

She came to my side, lifting her one-handed shield to cover her torso.

"That orc—the one standing behind the red banner—you shouldn't approach him. He’s the Orc Legion Commander."

Legion Commander.

So that’s what he was.

The massive orc I had just locked eyes with.

The problem was, I had already decided to fight him.

"I’ll kill the Legion Commander. Just help me get through the mob—I’m a bit outnumbered."

Resellin frowned slightly.

"...Did you even listen to what I just said?"

I spoke in a low voice.

"Does this look like a situation where reinforcements are coming?"

Resellin let out a long sigh.

"Of course not. If they were coming, they should've been here by now. If they still haven’t arrived, that means something's gone wrong."

"If I kill that Legion Commander, this whole situation might come to an end. At the very least, it’ll buy us two days."

"You’re not wrong... but the way you say it, like you’re just taking a casual stroll, is what’s throwing me off."

Resellin clicked her tongue and raised her shield forward.

"You’re serious?"

"I am. Do you have a mana potion?"

"I do."

She didn’t seem particularly surprised that I could use mana.

After watching me wreak havoc like this, she probably assumed there was no way I wasn’t using mana.

She handed me a blue liquid-filled potion with an expression somewhere between bewilderment and disapproval.

"You’re strong, Yuseong, I’ll give you that... but you don’t seem strong enough to kill a Legion Commander."

Hmm.

A brutally honest and slightly disappointing assessment.

"You’re right. But I’ll give it a shot anyway."

"Most people don’t bet their lives just to ‘give something a shot’..."

If I stayed put, the rest of the orc horde would eventually overrun us, and we’d all be swept away and slaughtered.

But if I killed the Legion Commander, the Stage 2 battle might end right then and there.

Of course... my instincts told me that wouldn’t be the case.

When I had faced Queen Antsranthrope, a name had appeared over her head.

This time, no name had appeared over the Legion Commander.

Which meant there was likely something stronger above him.

I glanced at the 80 remaining soldiers, barely holding back the orc invasion like a fragile barrier against the tide.

A wall of shields formed a narrow vertical line, pushing against the onslaught.

Through the gaps between the shields, countless spears struck forward.

But none of them could land fatal blows.

The soldiers in the frontlines were dying one by one.

Screams.

The sound of flesh being torn apart.

NPCs.

And I had no idea what would happen when I reached the next floor.

Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I could clear this floor.

But even if this was the last stage in the current chapter,

I didn’t want to watch any more soldiers die.

I admitted it.

I was in an extremely emotional state.

Maybe it was because, after seeing so many NPCs die, I had spent this battle fighting alongside people who were still alive.

GULP—

I chugged the blue mana potion.

I had just reached Player Level 6 by killing another orc.

With the +4 Mana stat increase, my total Mana stat had risen to 16.

As a result, my Mana Body Enhancement skill had also reached Level 2.

I had completely lost count of how many orcs I had killed by now.

I did remember one thing, though.

It had taken over twenty orc kills just to level up from 5 to 6.

"...Are you really going through with this?"

"Yes."

Resellin, still unsure, gave me one last chance to back down.

Then, she ordered fifteen mercenaries to form up around me.

All of them were Lucerna mercenaries.

Despite the chaotic battle, Resellin spoke calmly—like a true commander.

Her voice carried the same firm authority as when she had ordered the mercenaries to charge.

"Formation: Assault Spearhead. Our primary objective—protect Yuseong."

At her words, all fifteen soldiers turned their eyes toward me.

Even Attack Captain Ed, who had spoken to me earlier, was among them.

"I don’t need protection."

Everyone looked at me, dumbfounded.

"I’ll be taking point."

"You’re actually going through with this."

Resellin smirked and pointed forward with her chin.

"Fine. At this point, retreat isn’t an option anymore. If we keep dragging this out, we’ll just get wiped out. We might as well take a reckless gamble."

The Lucerna Mercenary Corps raised their shields in unison.

At the front of the charge, I swung my sword, cutting down the orcs in our way.

"EVERYONE SURVIVES!"

"RAISE YOUR SHIELDS HIGH AND BLOCK THEIR CHARGE COMPLETELY! STRIKE THEIR OPENINGS WITH YOUR SPEARS!"

Attack Captain Ed’s roar echoed across the battlefield.

A well-trained charge formation—systematic, relentless.

Orcs bled and fell, unable to stop the mercenaries’ advance.

I had just finished cutting down a particularly hideous orc.

Then—

A massive shadow loomed over Ed’s body as he took a step forward to intercept another enemy.

A face.

A vicious, monstrous face.

—The Orc Legion Commander.

The Legion Commander had been standing in the back just moments ago.

Yet now, he was right beside me.

KWAANG!

His massive fist crashed into Ed’s torso.

Ed’s body caved inward from the impact, almost as if it had been crushed.

Somewhere behind me, I heard Resellin scream his name in anguish.

Every nerve in my body tensed.

WHOOSH—!

I grabbed Ed’s collar and yanked him back, hurling him away from the immediate danger.

I had no idea if he’d survive, but at least I had bought him a chance.

From that moment on, the only thing in my vision was the Legion Commander.

A towering mass of muscle.

A presence so overwhelming it sent shivers down my spine.

The Orc Legion Commander.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Standing before him, I briefly wondered if I had hit my head somewhere.

[Focused Enhancement Lv.3 – Skill Activated.]

Because instead of fear,

I wanted to see how this would play out.

[Mana Body Enhancement Lv.2 – Skill Activated.]

The Legion Commander slowly raised his arm.

Lifting his massive battle axe, he took a step—then charged forward.

His glowing red eyes gleamed with menace.

For such a gigantic body, his acceleration was absurdly fast.

No wonder Ed had been crushed so easily.

BOOM!

His axe came down in a vertical smash, carrying the full weight of his monstrous body.

I met it with my sword.

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Dragon Slayer Sword Technique – Libra.

The First Form of Sword Defense – Balancing the Blade and Body.

The ground beneath me cracked, but my sword {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} held firm.

The Legion Commander gripped the handle of his axe with both hands.

KROOOAAAAA!!

With a thunderous roar, he began swinging his axe relentlessly.

A storm of gray slashes filled the air, as if trying to erase my existence.

Offense is the best defense.

Rather than blocking with sword defense, I counterattacked with equal force.

Strands of my hair were sliced off, drifting through the air.

A diagonal slash.

If I had twisted my head even slightly less, I would have been beheaded.

I poured every basic technique of the Dragon Slayer Sword Technique into my strikes.

Blood sprayed from the Legion Commander’s throat.

Yet he still didn’t fall.

His neck was too thick.

So was his waist.

The hide and muscles covering his chest acted like natural armor, shielding his heart.

In contrast, my body was still too weak.

Even with Libra, I was barely blocking fatal blows.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

I twisted the trajectory of my straight sword.

But—

SLASH.

It wasn’t enough.

A searing pain erupted in my left shoulder, beyond anything I had felt before.

Blood poured down in thick streams.

CLANG!

Even as consciousness blurred, I swung my sword, deflecting the next axe strike.

[Status Effect – Bleeding!]

Was this... how I died?

It was too absurd to accept.

Had I lost too much blood?

Instead of pain, everything felt numb.

On the brink of unconsciousness, I kept moving, blocking on instinct alone.

One more hit.

If I let just one more hit land, I would die.

[Skill ‘Composure’ has leveled up. Lv.3]

One more chance.

Just one more.

I wasn’t praying for a miracle.

[Skill ‘Fighter’s Movement’ has leveled up. Lv.3]

I just needed to prove—

[Skill ‘Fighter’s Movement’ has triggered a linked skill.]

—that everything I had built up wasn’t meaningless.

[Doombringer Lv.1 – Skill Acquired.]

It had arrived.

[Due to Critical ‘Bleeding’ Status, Doombringer is activating.]

[Your body is temporarily surpassing its limits.]

This was one of the reasons why ‘Sword of Light’ had written in his manual that acquiring ‘Fighter’s Movement’ was crucial.

A special condition-activated skill—Doombringer.

Sword of Light) The ultimate last-ditch effort. The best and final struggle.A skill often seen in fighting games.

A mechanic where a fighter becomes stronger when on the verge of death.

That was how I understood it.

My joints creaked.

But my mind had never been clearer.

I was fully aware—I had at most twenty seconds.

If I exceeded that limit, my life would be forfeit.

I swung my sword.

Horizontal Slash—Thursahogg.

The attack finally landed, piercing through the Legion Commander’s armor.

Hjartagnyr.

Drakabani.

Tres Puncturai.

I unleashed every single sword technique my body remembered.

And then—

Thursahogg, once again.

A flash of steel severed the Legion Commander’s waist.

His massive frame began to tilt sideways.

And then—

THUD.

His body collapsed to the ground.