Wasteland Lord: Starting from Thirty Days to Live

About ten minutes later, all the survivors retreated back into the castle and closed the heavy gates.

At this point, monsters began to rush in from the direction of the canyon and started to attack the gate.

Fortunately, the gate was thick and large enough that a mere level one monster could not penetrate it.

Vittorio stood atop the city wall, observing the scene below.

Edmund had already returned to his side, while Isolde was overseeing the defense from below.

"What do we do now?" Edmund asked.

Even Edmund himself didn't realize that at this moment he had come to rely on Vittorio—the young master of the Cornelion family whom he had once looked down upon—as his pillar of support.

"Hold on, just like our planned tactics! Wait for the crimson eyes to fade."

"We can send soldiers skilled in archery up the city walls to wear down the monsters attacking the city gates as much as possible."

Edmund nodded in agreement, but then he noticed that Vittorio's expression remained very serious, so he couldn't help but reassure him, "You don't seem relaxed? You've done enough."

"More than two hundred magical beasts. If those things had directly attacked the city gate, we would have been in grave danger. But now they haven't even managed to breach our gate."

Vittorio nodded, silently calculating in his mind.

"Indeed, judging from the current situation, the advantage lies with me."

Those level-one magical beasts were just severely weakened by our attack and are no longer a threat. It's a pipe dream for them to breach the city gates.

Despite the seemingly excellent situation, he felt a sense of unease, as if he had a bad premonition.

He couldn't help but think of the huge thing he saw stirring up the black fog in the village at the foot of the mountain on his first day up the mountain.

"The attacks are all from level one magical beasts now. Where's that big guy? Is he just staying put?"

"Edmund, have you fought that big guy down the mountain?" Vittorio asked.

Edmund thought about it carefully.

"No, but I've observed it."

Vittorio asked him to explain in detail.

"That's a mutated rock lizard. It's a small lizard that originally lived in underground caves or mines. Its skin is very tough, and it's quite common in the Reach."

"But that huge creature, which is almost at level two, is a rock lizard that has been modified by the power of the rift. Not only has its size increased, but its skin has also completely evolved into an impenetrable exoskeleton."

"Are you only observing and not attacking because you can't defeat it?"

Vittorio asked the question directly.

Some petty people might have become angry about this, but fortunately Edmund was also a straightforward person, and he did not shy away from it.

"It's not that we can't win, it's that we can't win without getting hurt."

"If I were to fight it, I would be 100% certain of killing it, but I would also be severely injured."

Vittorio nodded.

Indeed, before his arrival, Edmund was the absolute heart of the camp.

It would be unwise to kill a monster that poses little threat to them at the cost of crippling or losing Edmund.

But Edmund changed the subject.

"But things are different now, with Isolde's help. I'm confident I can kill it without being seriously injured."

Edmund spoke with a resolute and knowing expression; he was not exaggerating, but rather displaying an absolute confidence in his own power.

Vittorio greatly admired this kind of confidence; he appreciated anyone who was capable or dared to express themselves.

"What if that guy attacks tonight?" Vittorio asked.

Why would you think that?

"It's just a premonition, or rather, it's a very likely event. We're making such a commotion up there, is it just sleeping down there?"

"If it joins the fray, then we'll have no choice but to...fight."

Edmund remained as calm, hard, and rock-solid as ever, remarkably reliable.

As if to confirm what the two had said, a huge roar suddenly came from afar, a roar that shook the mountains and forests.

For a moment, both of them couldn't help but look in the direction from the foot of the mountain.

This was originally just a joke between two people. Little did they expect it to come true.

Could it really be coming?

The next second, the owner of that huge roar appeared from the forest.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Because it wasn't the mutated giant lizard that came.

But at the same time, they both held their breath.

Because what arrived wasn't a mutated giant lizard, but another huge creature!

It was a huge, furry, jet-black bear.

It is several times larger than a normal bear, and the whole bear looks like a small house. When it is lying down, it is already two-thirds the height of a tree. If it were to stand up, its height would probably exceed that of an ordinary tree.

This bear not only had jet-black fur, but its eyes were also jet-black, like deep wells, with no white in them, but entirely black.

That lifeless look in their eyes sent a chill down their spines.

What is most striking is that the bear's head and paws are not covered by the original fur, but by a hard, armor-like skeleton.

Upon seeing the skeleton, Edmund immediately felt a sense of unease, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong with him.

In short, with that roar, everyone's attention was drawn to the bear.

The bear—let's call it the Bone Bear for now—came toward the castle in a very rhythmic, staccato manner.

Facing the canyon, it leaped and landed heavily on the other side.

Just as it was falling, a rotting dog was charging up from the bottom.

The giant bear's paws crushed the rotting dog, turning it into a bloody pulp in an instant.

However, the giant bear showed no expression whatsoever, nor did it change its movements; it simply walked step by step toward the castle.

Edmund's expression changed drastically.

He immediately notified a soldier with a bow and arrow beside him.

"Notify them immediately! Block the door with anything you can!"

However, if the bone bear can break through the gate, then no matter how many humans are blocking it, it will be of no use.

The bone bear stood still not far from the castle gate.

Then it gripped the ground firmly with its front paws and charged toward the castle gate with a powerful impact.

In an instant, a deafening roar resounded both inside and outside the castle!

Vittorio, standing atop the city wall, could feel a tremendous tremor beneath his feet, making him somewhat unsteady.

The old oak door, weathered by time, creaked and groaned under the weight of the weight.

The door certainly wouldn't be breached in one strike, but it was already showing signs of danger.

The bear remained silent, retreated, and decided to launch another attack!