OPDSP 34

Aeryl stood at the bedside. In the meantime, another injured person was carried in, and Kyla moved toward that one. The medics laid the wounded man on a bed.

The first patient was a porter. One of his legs had been torn off by a ghost wolf, and his body was covered in bruises.

‘Thrown aside after being bitten? Treat the bleeding first…’

Even as Aeryl made his diagnosis, blood poured out endlessly. His heart pounded from the shock of the situation.

Focus.

He bit his lip and quickly got to work. It wasn’t a clean amputation—it had been chewed off—so it wasn’t simple. He focused, finished the treatment, and finally raised his head.

Too many wounded.

Nearly half the beds were already filled. A wave of dizziness washed over Aeryl. Not all the injuries were as severe as the first, but the pace of incoming patients was overwhelming.

In the distance, monster roars echoed. With a thunderous boom!, screams rang out.

Thud! Boom! Thud! The vibrations reached even the distant infirmary tent.

What’s going on out there? The urgency of the battlefield was palpable—it terrified him.

‘What if the monsters make it all the way here?’

An instinctive fear gripped him.

‘No—no. Don’t think about that. Just focus on treating the wounded…’

But while he hesitated, more injured were brought in.

There’s no time for this.

Even the briefest hesitation couldn’t be afforded. Patients were flooding into the infirmary tent without pause.

Whatever kind of monster was out there, the condition of the patients was worsening. Some had legs shattered beyond recognition, others had bodies impaled by sharp palisades. These terrible cases just kept coming.

‘I have to treat them. But who first…?’

They were all in critical condition. He didn’t know where to begin. If he treated this one, wouldn’t that one die?

A single decision could determine life or death. The fear was suffocating. He couldn’t breathe.

“Aaaagh!”

“P-please… help…!”

Even as he froze, the patients’ lives slipped away.

‘What do I do… where do I start…’

He bit down on his lip, but he couldn’t concentrate. His mind spun in circles. It was his first real emergency, and Aeryl panicked.

But thankfully, Aeryl wasn’t alone.

“Get a hold of yourself!”

Kyla’s sharp voice rang out as she grabbed Aeryl by the collar.

“Look at the ankles! Black! Only follow the black ones! Focus only on the patient in front of you!”

Her piercing voice cut through the chaos in his head. Only then did he notice the cloth strips tied around the patients’ ankles—markers the medics had used to rank the urgency of each wound.

‘The patient in front! Black strip!’

His body moved before he could think. He rushed to the nearest patient with a black cloth. The left shinbone was completely crushed.

‘The leg can’t be saved. Better to amputate quickly.’

He made his decision and reached for a blade. A medic beside him swiftly handed one over. There was no time for a nod of thanks. Aeryl took the blade, steadied his breath, tied off the limb, cut, and completed the procedure. He left the rest to the medic and looked up again.

Another black cloth. Without a second thought, he ran to it. This time, the patient was poisoned and had a deep stab wound.

‘Healing magic? Medicine? Which one’s right?’

“Just stabilize them and move on! Conserve your strength!”

Kyla shouted, giving clear direction. Thanks to her, Aeryl quickly decided.

“Antidote.”

A medic who had joined him handed over a vial. Aeryl administered the cure and handed off the final treatment to the medic before rushing on.

He kept looking for black markers. He stabilized each patient just enough to ensure survival and then moved on.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Aaaargh!”

The battle outside was still raging. Horrific sounds echoed endlessly. There were now so many patients that some had to be laid on the ground—there was no space left.

Even so, Aeryl no longer wavered. Following Kyla’s instructions, he focused solely on the patient before him. He did everything he could.

‘You’re doing well, aren’t you?’

Kyla glanced at Aeryl while continuing to lead the response. She had been worried when he first froze, panicking under the pressure. But he was doing well. Especially impressive was his control of healing magic. While other medical officers were visibly tiring, Aeryl was still going strong.

‘He’s backed by real medical knowledge. That’s why he doesn’t burn out.’

Using just the right amount of healing magic was harder than it sounded. It required precise knowledge of what to treat and how, and fine control over the spell itself. Aeryl had both.

He’s useful. Thanks to him, the situation isn’t so bad.

The crisis was serious, but treatment was moving quickly. That was thanks to Aeryl. Everything now depended on how well they held up at the front. That was the one thing Kyla couldn’t control.

***

From the sky, looking down at the main camp m, it was shaped like a triangle. Rocks were positioned along the base, serving as a natural wall for defense. On both sides, wooden palisades were stacked high to form a defensive barrier.

The entrance at the apex of the camp was the only passage. Naturally, the attack would be focused on the entrance.

To prepare for this, the entrance had been fortified with ditches and large rocks. Behind these defenses, soldiers had erected wooden walls and maintained their formation.

“Focus only on defense! The formation must not break!”

Commander Innis shouted. On the side of the palisades, porters with bows were ready, preparing for any attacks. The black knights, who had been stationed, followed the orders of their commander and concentrated their attacks on the more powerful monsters. The soldiers’ job was to not let the enemy break through.

“Not a single monster gets through!”

In the main camp, the field medics and doctors continued their work. With them, even soldiers with torn flesh and broken bones could rise again.

Innis stared ahead with a tense expression. Monsters were gathering around the entrance. The open ground in front of the entrance was already filled with monsters.

‘How many more monsters are hiding in that forest…?’

Monsters were lurking between the trees, waiting for their chance. It was impossible to know how many enemies were beyond the visible area.

A goblin mage cast an ice spell.

Boom!

The impact hit the first line of soldiers hard.

“Fall back, first line! Second line, respond!”

At Innis’s command, the soldiers moved in perfect coordination.

‘We only need to hold the entrance. We can hold out.’

But at times like this, crises always emerged.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The ground shook. Among the smaller monsters, a giant with green skin appeared. It was an orc.

The orc was large and powerful.

‘If we don’t stop it, the palisades will be broken.’

If the frontlines expanded, reinforcements would need to be fully deployed. At that point, it would be uncertain how long they could hold out.

Grrrrr!

Quickly, knights charged at the prc. With their strength, they could pierce through the orc’s tough hide and land a meaningful strike. But they couldn’t block all of the orc’s movements.

The orc swung its arms, throwing the knights aside, and pulled up a tree.

“Get out of the way!”

Without thinking, Innis dashed between the soldiers. The orc hurled the tree. The soldiers at the front line fell. The palisades were about to be destroyed.

“Lower your stance!”

At the command, Innis summoned magic. A massive shield appeared in the air.

Crash!

With a tremendous impact, the tree was deflected. The shield held! Innis felt a brief moment of exhilaration. However, she didn’t linger on it and immediately gave her next command.

“Third line, cover fire! Bind the orc’s legs!”

Innis backed away, analyzing the overall situation. In the rear, Beryl and the medics were moving tirelessly. The soldier who had been carried to the infirmary earlier was now returning with reinforcements.

Their side is responding without issue. The problem is the monsters’ attack.

The enemy’s attack power was extraordinary. There were at least five types of monsters identified. How could they command so many different kinds?

There must be a leader somewhere.

Even if there was a commanding entity, due to the nature of monsters, they wouldn’t relentlessly target only the camp. Humans weren’t a source of food.

Could the one commanding them hate humans? Or is there some reason for the attack?

In this moment, there was no way to figure it out. Instead, Innis carefully observed the flow of battle. It would be useful once the fight was over.

‘How long has it been since I sent the signal to His Highness?’

As soon as the ambush began, the commander had sent an urgent signal to the Duke. There was supposed to be a magical tool for that purpose.

However, the combat unit had planned to go quite far today. How much longer would it take to return? It was hard to calculate.

Crash!

“Reinforcements, prepare!”

Innis gave the order.

‘Just hold on!’

Innis focused, shaking off the fear of injury, and immersed herself in the battle.

And then, at a critical moment, a familiar sound echoed from beyond the monsters.

The combat unit was back! His Grace the Duke was with them!

A wave of relief spread across everyone at the main camp. We’re going to win. The victor of this battle is us. Everyone shared the same belief, unshakable and strong.