The Runesmith-Chapter 563: Automated Defenses.

The sun sank low over the horizon, painting the sky with hues of deep purple and fiery red. The last rays of light moved over the battlements and the weary faces of those gathered. Some of the soldiers and civilians began to murmur in soft, anxious tones. Their voices blended with the rustling wind as one of them whispered.

"Maybe the High Knight Commander was wrong. Maybe those creatures aren’t coming."

"Has the High Commander ever been wrong before?"

"No, but... what if this is just a drill? Some kind of test?"

They shifted uneasily. They had been standing there for hours. The threat of a dungeon break had loomed for some time, but no one could ever predict exactly when it would happen. Yet their leader had gathered them here as if they had known almost the precise moment it would begin.

As the final sliver of sunlight faded, a heavy silence settled over the defenders. Then, suddenly, strange and distant sounds broke through the still air. A low, rumbling vibration trembled beneath the ground and rippled along the fortified walls. Hesitation turned to alertness as the watchmen strained to identify the source.

*Crk... crk... shhhk.*

A sound like bones splintering echoed across the open field, followed by a piercing wail that brought every soldier to a standstill. The fog beyond the walls churned as if something massive moved within it.

"S-something’s coming. Look!"

Scouts in the towers pointed toward the distance. The magical haze, once invisible, shimmered into view for all to see. A burst of blue light surged from the mist as the ground cracked and heaved. Roars filled the air. Some were deep and menacing, others high and piercing. Some figures were vaguely human in shape. Others resembled beasts. The dungeon break had begun.

And in that moment, no one doubted the High Commander ever again. For a heartbeat, silence returned. Then came the footsteps. Not from a single creature, but from hundreds. The sound echoed further with each passing moment. As the monsters emerged, their growls rose, growing louder with every second. Soldiers along the wall instinctively raised their weapons. Automated turrets stirred to life, their cannons swiveling toward the distance from where the creatures advanced.

The fog parted slowly, revealing the first wave. Large beasts made of twisted stone and chitin stomped forward, their limbs bent at unnatural angles. Their eyes glowed faintly with nothing but malice. Behind them, skittering shapes crawled like giant insects, forming a grotesque carpet of armored bodies that stretched in all directions.

Robert was the first one to step forward. His hand rested on the pommel of his runic blade which he was eager to use.

“They’ve started to emerge. Just give the order, and my troops will make short work of them.”

His voice brimmed with confidence, but Roland stepped in quickly, cutting him off before he did anything reckless.

“There’s no need. We’ll let the automated turrets handle it for now. These monsters shouldn’t be a problem…”

Most people wouldn’t be able to gauge the strength of such creatures, but for Roland, it was simple. The larger ones were a type of golem, crudely formed from a mix of insect parts and stone. They looked like something cobbled together by a deranged scientist, a patchwork of chitin and rock.

Behind them came a swarm of smaller creatures—scarabs, centipedes, and beetles. Insectoid monsters not commonly found within the Albrook dungeon. Still, they shared one notable trait: none of them were above level one hundred. Roland raised his hand. The moment had come.

“Activate the runic turret systems.”

While he could have done this task by himself, he wished to give the people here a chance to learn how the defenses worked. A few people were operating a console hidden in one of the nearby towers, once he gave the command they activated the turrets through a series of commands. Gears shifted, runes flared, and barrels began to swivel and lock onto their targets.

Then came the roar of arcane-powered destruction. The first volley struck like thunder. Bolts of searing light flew in a straight line to strike a golem straight in its chest. The creature exploded in a shower of stone, its glowing eyes fading into oblivion. Another beam followed, then another, each one striking a monster and devastating it into oblivion. The sky above the city flared with energy as turret after turret discharged volleys of condensed mana at the oncoming horde.

The creatures never had a chance. Explosions of light and fire blanketed the battlefield. Stone and insect-bodied abominations shattered like porcelain, their legs buckling as they fell under the relentless fire. The smaller insectoids didn’t fare any better as they were incinerated by runic pulses that cleaved through their ranks in blazing arcs. The battlefield turned into a glowing furnace of runic magic.

"By the gods..."

Lucille whispered as she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

"This... this is extraordinary."

She wasn’t the only one left speechless. All around her, people stood with mouths agape, captivated by the spectacle unfolding before them. The turrets lining the walls had been there, silent and still, their power only theoretical in the minds of most. But now, as every single one fired in perfect unison, their true strength was revealed.

Roland remained silent as the battlefield lit up with fire and smoke. The mechanical hum of the turrets filled the air as they continued tearing the monsters apart, spraying the ground with gore. Their cannons, forged from various alloys, prevented them from overheating too quickly. Still, there was a limit to how long they could fire without pause. Soon, a third of the turrets entered a cooldown phase. Once they recovered, another third would shut down to begin the same process, assisted by ice runes that had been placed nearby, though they weren’t part of the turrets themselves.

With a third of the automated defenses offline, the monsters managed to push farther into the fray. Yet Roland didn’t move. He stood still, unmoving as ever. The archers on the walls held their positions, waiting for the signal that still hadn’t come.

‘A bit more…’

A distant boom echoed across the plain, like the cracking of ancient ice. From the fog of mana came movement, slow at first, then faster than any of the monsters before it. The earth trembled beneath the weight of something immense. And then they saw it.

A creature the size of a two-story building emerged from the haze. Its body was covered in uneven, dark green plates, fused with writhing limbs of pulsating flesh. Dozens of eyes blinked in a sickening rhythm as it charged forward, heading straight into Roland’s next trap: a field packed with mines.

BOOM!

Several mines erupted beneath the titan’s left foreleg, tearing through its strange biological armor. It roared in pain but kept moving. Another explosion hit, then another, each blast piercing its defenses and forcing it to stagger. The mines had been buried a quarter kilometer from the walls, set precisely to intercept the approaching monsters.

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More creatures followed behind it. Dozens, maybe hundreds. Twisted beasts, malformed horrors with too many limbs and far too many mouths. They poured into the minefield, and what followed was a symphony of destruction.

The mines detonated in controlled intervals, one after another, triggered by mana-sensitive enchantments. Blasts of earth and shrapnel filled the air. Limbs flew. Screeches echoed across the battlefield. Smoke rose in thick columns as crater after crater tore through the charging horde. The monsters slowed, then faltered, their momentum shattered by the relentless barrage.

The delay worked. The pressure on the turrets eased, allowing their runic systems to cool and recover. Roland could already feel the energy levels balancing out, returning closer to where they had started.

‘It saved us a lot of time and money to know which side they would be coming from.’

As the carnage unfolded, Roland could not help but feel a touch of pride. This defense had been in the making for many months. In addition to the array of turrets that had been relocated from the opposite side of the walls to reinforce this section, he had planted numerous explosive devices underground. Some were simple rune scrolls he had prepared long ago, while others were crafted by alchemists like Rastix. Together, they created the explosive spectacle now unfolding as hundreds of beasts were torn apart.

‘Their numbers are dwindling fast.’

Before long, a few tier-three monsters began to emerge. These were far more resistant to turret fire and explosions, but the constant barrage wore them down. Even their toughened hides and regenerative abilities could not withstand the accumulated damage. One by one, they fell.

“It’s going well enough…”

Roland stepped forward. Those around him were astonished by the spectacle of the monster horde being pushed back so easily. With this much preparation, the outcome was hardly surprising. The real issue now lay with the waiting troops and the adventurers who had gathered in hopes of loot. They remained near the gates, ready to push forward if any monsters broke through the first line of defense.

Still, the monsters continued to press on. Though the turrets and explosions had wiped out a large portion of them, a few began slipping through. The growing pile of corpses eventually started to interfere with the blast radius of the explosives. Some of the monsters were small and agile, darting through the gaps and closing in on the main wall where the defenders stood.

The archers raised their bows, ready to eliminate the insect-like creatures weaving through the tall grass. But they were difficult to spot. It was time to deploy one of their newer units.

"Exoskeletal Division, you're up. I want you to torch them."

A small group stepped forward, moving with heavy strides. They wore suits similar to the one Robert had used during his trial, though these lacked the full exterior armor. Only twenty of them stood ready, and each one was distinct in that none held a proper battle class. Leading them was someone Roland knew well, his assistant, Bernir.

"Alright you lot, let’s go!"

Bernir called out his voice indicating excitement. The group in exoskeletal armor responded with a synchronized hiss of pressurized pistons and the low hum of runic circuits activating. Their armor, unlike traditional knight plating, was sleek and angular, covered in engraved runes that pulsed with a dull orange light. Cables along their spines connected to tanks containing mana fluid on some units, and rune batteries on others.

The ten units advanced to the edge of the wall, their towering forms making the pilots inside appear small by comparison. Instead of hands, each unit featured a cylindrical extension covered in glowing runes that were now beginning to activate. Through mana phantom technology, the pilots controlled these limbs with precision, guiding their movements as if they were their own.

As the mechanisms came to life, the cylindrical arms began to radiate intense heat. Within moments, bursts of flame erupted from them, sweeping across the battlefield below. Fire rained down, engulfing the monsters that had slipped through the outer defenses.

The insect-like creatures screeched in agony as the flames consumed them. They writhed and thrashed, the fire clinging to their limbs and burning through their shells and joints within seconds. This was no ordinary fire. Each burst latched onto their bodies, immune to water and unaffected by a lack of air. It would continue to burn indefinitely unless extinguished by magical means.

None of the creatures attempted to flee. Their instincts were not their own, guided instead by the will of the dungeon. They behaved more like mindless golems than living beings. That made things easier. They simply hurled themselves into the inferno until nothing remained but ash.

"Burn, you crawling bastards!"

Bernir shouted from within his unit, which stood out from the others with its superior design. His morale was high. He wore a custom Silvergrace suit, complete with a helmet to shield him from the rising heat. Behind the wall, the soldiers could feel the temperature spiking on the other side, but nothing was breaking through. Not a single monster had managed to scale the walls. It was beginning to seem like they had over-prepared for this assault.

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"Aye, Boss... I mean, High Commander!"

A few of the nearby soldiers glanced at Bernir with wide eyes. Many of them were wary of him and wouldn’t dare speak so casually. But because of his familiarity with Roland, they viewed him in a different light. Bernir wasn’t just another officer as he was the High Commander’s personal assistant, someone who had stood beside him for years. That connection alone earned him a level of respect and reverence few others enjoyed.

Roland gave Bernir a nod, and with a quick flick of a switch inside the exosuit, the magical flames ceased. Within the large arms of the exoskeleton were several switches, each corresponding to a different spell. Fire wasn’t the only element they could unleash as the suits were also capable of producing ice and discharging bolts of lightning.

‘Is this enough…?’

He asked himself as he observed the field littered with scorched and broken monsters. None had managed to breach even the first line of defense. Their forces, along with the hired adventurers, remained ready, but given how things were unfolding, they might not be needed at all. Time was ticking, and Roland had other missions in mind, but the safety of this city and the people close to him took priority. Still, he couldn’t help but feel his skills could be put to better use elsewhere.

"It’s the Lord!"

As he stood deep in thought, Arthur arrived, clad in a full suit of gleaming mithril armor. His long white hair fell over his half-elven ears, and paired with his vivid green eyes, it gave him an ethereal presence. The crowd instinctively lowered their heads, and even Roland had to act as though Arthur were his superior.

"How is it?"

Arthur asked, his gaze fixed on the ongoing spectacle of light and fire. The runic defenses were still firing relentlessly, and the screams of the monsters echoed without pause.

"Their numbers are dwindling, same with the concentration of mana."

"As expected?"

Roland nodded. Everything was going according to plan. Months of siphoning mana from the dungeon tunnels had weakened the dungeon break significantly. The number of tier-3 monsters was minimal, and even if a few managed to reach the city walls, they would be swiftly dealt with by the defenders.

"I see. Then go. Leave the rest to me. Once this is over, I’ll join you as we discussed."

"..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, it should be fine. It’s just..."

Arthur chuckled.

"Don’t worry. Trust in your plan. And even if something goes wrong, look."

He turned his head, gesturing toward the large crowd gathered behind them. Soldiers stood ready, including Mary, the two knights Roland had helped reach tier 3, and a host of experienced adventurers prepared to defend the city. Roland knew there was little to fear. The preparations were thorough, the defenses strong. But still, he couldn't help but worry.

"As you wish, Lord Arthur."

After confirming that nothing unusual was occurring on the battlefield, Roland turned his attention to Robert and Lucille.

"Sir Durendal, Lady Curtana, please follow me."

"Yes, High Commander!"

They responded in unison, already briefed on the plan ahead. This mission wasn’t one he could carry out alone. Besides these two, he would be gathering three more individuals. Some soldiers looked on with mild confusion as their High Commander began to walk away, but none voiced a word. They simply watched him head toward the adventurer encampment.

"Come with me, you two."

"Hm?"

Armand blinked, clearly puzzled by the sudden order, but Lobelia quickly smacked him on the back of the head.

"Don’t question the High Commander. Just move your ass, idiot."

"Don’t call me an idiot!"

"Then stop acting like one!"

Roland rolled his eyes behind his helmet and continued toward the final person he had in mind. His options for this mission were limited, but this last recruit was by far the strongest. The man’s large bald head gleamed in the glow of magical attacks, and he already looked annoyed before Roland even reached him. Still, he wouldn’t refuse—not after everything he had gained through Roland’s support.

"Guild Master."

"High Commander Wayland..."