The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 176: Two Gates (3)

"Is this the best you can do? Are you sure?"

Xiao Yu, who was leading the Black Dragon guild's Wizard division, was at a loss for words in response to Kai's question.

The place Kai wanted to teleport to, Castle Baden, already had boss monsters present. Naturally, teleporting there was impossible.

Castle Baden has two Hard level Gates, with bosses coming out from both.

The no-teleport zone was much wider than in other cities. Thus, they had quickly calculated and teleported to the nearest city to Castle Baden, but...

"It-it’s the best we can do. We can't go any further. The boss monsters’ interference is too strong..."

"Then how am I supposed to get to Castle Baden from here?"

"Huh? Well, I’m not so sure about that..."

Xiao Yu wondered why Kai asked her that.

As Kai stared at the puzzled Xiao Yu, he let out a sigh. "Call whoever is responsible."

"Pardon? I'm the one leading the Wizard division, so I would be responsible for..."

"Really? So, you're saying that if I were to go to war with the Black Dragon guild, you'd be fully responsible?"

"Ha... haha... What a deadly joke you're making..."

Xiao Yu laughed awkwardly, but Kai's gaze grew cold.

"A joke? Does this sound like a joke to you?"

"W-what?"

Xiao Yu wondered why Kai was so intent on making things difficult for her. If it were any other player treating her like this, she would have frozen them with magic by now. However, her opponent was none other than Kai.

The monster who crushed Black Bees and Titan. And the guild master told us...

They had been instructed to avoid provoking him at all costs.

With no way out, Xiao Yu put on the most pitiful expression she could muster, one that would have left most men speechless with sympathy. However, unfortunately for her, it didn’t work on Kai in the slightest.

"Oh, do you feel wronged?"

"Not exactly, but..."

"Not exactly? Your face says otherwise... You know what?" Kai stepped forward as he continued speaking. "If the Black Dragon guild hadn't orchestrated that fight between me and Titan, I would already be at Castle Baden fighting by now. Am I wrong?"

It was true.

Xiao Yu hesitated, unable to give a response.

"Nevertheless, I showed consideration for the Black Dragon guild. I didn't hold you accountable for anything and just asked for teleportation because getting to Castle Baden is more urgent than anything else. But if you can't handle something as simple as this, then things change."

"But that's not our fault, it's a system restriction..."

"So, it’s my fault then?"

Faced with Kai's icy stare, Xiao Yu bit her lower lip and shook her head. "Then how should we compensate..."

"Hmm. So, realistically, it’s impossible for me to get to Castle Baden right now, correct?"

"Y-yes..."

"Alright, let's do this then." Kai suddenly smiled, as if the coldness in his eyes and face had been a lie, and gently patted her shoulder. "Make sure Castle Baden doesn’t fall until I get there.”

"What? But I don’t have the authority to..."

"Which is why I told you to bring your superior, didn’t I?"

After finishing his words, Kai stretched his neck, shoulders, back, and knees in sequence before turning away.

"Well, I guess if I run at full speed, it'll take about thirty minutes to get from here to Castle Baden. If the castle falls before then, I guarantee that what happens next won't be fun."

***

Crash!

The building struck by the ogre's massive club shattered, scattering debris in all directions.

Thud, thud!

Though there were no catapults, giant boulders flew across the battlefield!

Surveying the chaotic battlefield, Minerva bit her lower lip.

This is better than fighting outside, but still...

The monsters that had steadily forced their way through the western gate had strong momentum, but the streets of Castle Baden were built to human scale.

Therefore, it was only natural for the medium and large-sized monsters that came from the gates to have restricted movement. As a result, hundreds of monsters were still outside the castle, waiting their turn in line!

But since the northern gate was just breached, the southern gate will likely fall soon.

For now, they were barely holding off the monsters in the narrow streets. However, even that would become impossible once the monsters attacked from three directions, forcing another retreat.

"Are reinforcements even coming?"

"Damn it, my friends said they’re on their way... but they said they have to run here because teleportation isn’t working!"

"How are we supposed to wait for that?!"

In the relentless warzone, the players were under immense mental stress. The troll’s regenerative body kept healing no matter how many times it was cut, and the ogre’s attacks left them near death if even one hit landed.

Just managing all these factors drained their mental strength more than ever before.

"Th-the eastern gate is opening!"

"What!? It was said there were no monsters at the eastern gate... Wait, it wasn’t breached, and it’s opening?" the knight commander, who had just severed one of the ogre’s heads, shouted in fury at the report from his subordinate.

"A-adventurers! Reinforcements!"

"Reinforcements?"

At that one word, the faces of the players and NPCs brightened.

"They're not many, but the ones wearing the symbol of the black dragon on their chest are..."

"The adventurers' faction, the Black Dragon!"

"The Black Dragon guild!"

"A guild from the world’s top ten has sent reinforcements!"

While everyone else rejoiced, Minerva couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

... Xao Lin sent reinforcements to Castle Baden? That’s impossible.

He was not someone who engaged in losing battles. In other words, he never involved himself in fights where the odds of losing were high. Unfortunately, it was clear to anyone that the monsters had the upper hand in the current battle for Castle Baden.

"Minerva, something about this feels...”

"It feels strange, doesn’t it?"

Vice master Razley sensed the oddness as well and spoke up. "Well, they’ve come to help for now... so they won’t stab us in the back."

If the Black Dragon guild betrayed them in this situation, it would not only destroy their reputation but also stir up hostility from NPCs, and Xao Lin wouldn’t make such a mistake.

"The reason doesn’t matter right now."

"Yes, ma’am."

As the scout had reported, the number of Black Dragon guild reinforcements wasn’t large—around 150 at most. Yet, they fought more bravely than anyone else on the battlefield.

"Castle Baden must not fall, no matter what!"

"Hold out for just fifteen minutes! After that, it's not our problem if it falls!"

"We only need to hold for fifteen minutes!"

The Black Dragon guild members shouted as they cut down monsters, their voices echoing across the battlefield!

The players tilted their heads at the Black Dragon guild members' shouts.

Fifteen minutes? Why fifteen minutes?

Did more information about the gate get revealed while we were fighting?

Maybe if we hold out for a certain time, the gate will disappear...

While the players were imagining such wild possibilities, a massive rumble shook the castle.

Crash!

It was the sound of the western fortress collapsing.

Through the crumbled fortress, the dazzling light of the setting sun streamed in.

"My God! I can understand the castle gate being broken, but..."

"Monsters breaking down the fortress? Come on, Pegasus, this is just too much!"

"The sun is setting..."

To make matters worse, the Troll Hero trampled over the fallen stones and entered Castle Baden.

"Damn it. Hey! What exactly happens if we hold out for fifteen minutes?"

"Does the gate vanish? Or will the Black Dragon elite forces arrive?"

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?" One of the Black Dragon guild members scowled and said, "There won’t be any more reinforcements from our guild."

"W-what? Then what were you guys talking about when you said to hold out for fifteen minutes...?"

"You’ll still have to fight like hell even after that, so if you’re hoping for a miracle, I’d say wake up. But..." He glanced at the three-meter-tall Troll Hero and muttered, "In fifteen minutes, someone will arrive who can easily deal with that monster, so just try and hold out."

***

"Hmm. This is more pleasant than I expected."

If Kai had sprinted to Castle Baden alone, he might have arrived even faster, but even a game character had basic Stamina limits. There was no one in the world who could face two Gates after exhausting all their Stamina. That was why Kai had hitched a ride on the back of a dullahan.

One of the undead’s advantages is that their Stamina is always maxed out.

After dismounting from the dullahan, Kai looked toward the distant Castle Baden. If it were autumn, the plains surrounding Baden would have swayed like a golden sea. However, the post-harvest plains looked desolate, as if they were witnessing a land of death. Moreover, the fields were filled with hideous monsters instead of wheat or rice, making the scene even more grim.

"Let’s see..."

Kai scanned the battlefield with a sharp gaze.

The western fortress has completely collapsed. The northern gate is breached, and the southern gate is still holding. And the eastern gate... Huh? Only a few dozen monsters there.

If he were to join the others in defending the inner castle, entering through the eastern gate would have been the easiest route, but Kai saw no need for that.

"This is exactly the kind of situation mentioned in The Art of War that I read a few days ago."

The Art of War: Strategy 2—Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao. This strategy explained that when allies were trapped in a siege, instead of blindly joining them, it was much more effective to circle around and attack the enemy from behind.

So, the action I should take here is...

Attack the rear. Specifically, attacking the monsters at the western gate where the fiercest assault was taking place. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Kai glanced at the half-set sun.

"Unfortunately, the time of the sun has ended."

As the sun hanging just above the horizon finally set, darkness descended over the land.

[Night has fallen, and the sun has disappeared. The effects of Solarain Body are no longer active.]

It was a sweet passive skill that increased all of his stats by 20%! He could feel a significant drop in his abilities, as his stats had drastically decreased. However, Kai showed no sign of frustration.

Clatter, clatter, thump, thump!

When the sun set, all monsters' stats increased by 30%. Of course, the monsters summoned by players didn’t receive this benefit, but the undead were different.

There’s a reason why all Necromancer rankers have pitch-black skies in their videos.

Just as the Solaris Cleric grew stronger during the day, the Necromancer class became powerful at night. And although Kai didn’t have a single Necromancer skill, he did have undead.

[Night has fallen. The stats of your controlled undead have increased by 30%.]

“Let’s go.”

Clatter, clatter.

Commanding twenty-three dullahans and fifty-nine skeletons, Kai charged straight down the hillside.