The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 30:

Chapter 30

Aaaaaah!!

A scream mixed with a roar that shook the heavens and earth echoed.

“Stop them! Squeeze out all the strength you have left from drinking milk!”

“This is the end if we let them through! Show them what we’ve got, you filthy Ottoman bastards!”

Those who desperately defended the wall.

“Break through! For the Sultan!”

“The time has come to end this tedious war!”

Those who tried to jump over the wall.

Two giant groups collided and the surroundings turned into a hell in an instant.

Spears and swords clashed, arrows rained like a storm.

Blood, screams, death were rampant.

“We have to break through! This is the last chance!”

“Hold on! Just a little longer!”

As if to end the stalemate that had been going on until now, the Ottomans launched a total offensive. 

In response, the Eastern Roman defenders fought back with all their might.

Especially, the activities of more than 50 collectors on the wall were dazzling.

“Hydro!”

“Die, all of you!”

Every time the collectors used a skill, the Ottoman Empire’s soldiers who tried to climb the wall were swept away.

The collectors gathered here were all confident in their abilities. 

There was no one who showed less than expected performance.

‘Besides, there is no need to compete with each other because the situation is so busy.’

Yu-hyun, who was watching the situation, judged quickly while looking at the collectors.

The wall was so wide and there were so many enemies that the collectors did not need to compete with each other for glory. 

Rather, it felt like they were overwhelmed by themselves.

“What the hell! They don’t die even if we kill them!”

“And they don’t even give us any text?! Is this really right?”

“If you have time to blabber, use your skill one more time!”

The initial offensive of the collectors was fierce like a summer typhoon.

The spirits liked it when they showed off their brilliant appearance, and the points they received as support increased.

It was a place where they had to show their best to succeed, and the collectors did their best without exception.

“Huff! Huff! When will this end?”

“Damn. Look over there. There’s still no end.”

However, as the battle continued.

The collectors began to feel exhausted.

“Damn it. I wasted too much energy at first. I should have looked at it longer.”

“No, spirits! No! I’m not tired yet! I can do more!”

They ran too fast at first because of the pressure to do well. 

It was the price of using skills recklessly while emphasizing only flamboyance.

Yu-hyun shook his head as he looked at them.

‘They are already out of the game. On the other hand…’

Kang Hye-rim was still running around without showing any signs of fatigue. 

She moved around the wall and focused on dealing with those who came over.

She didn’t even need to use skills. 

One sword for one person. 

She was very efficient in killing enemies while not losing her flamboyance to other collectors.

She just swung her sword, but she had a charm that caught everyone’s attention.

‘She’s fine so far. I wonder how the other libraries are doing.’

Yu-hyun left the observer’s room and moved to [Joint Library Area].

Usually, tellers watch from their own rooms, but in cases like this where multiple libraries are simultaneously activated, such special areas are created.

There were already some tellers in that joint area. 

They watched their collectors with serious eyes.

“Haah. I told him not to waste his energy from the beginning.”

“Ah. Really frustrating. I have to keep this contract with this guy.”

“No, spirits! It’s not over yet!”

Some still had some leeway, while others were already facing the risk of elimination with pale faces.

The teller with a tiger head and long teeth, Gerigus regular member, belonged to the latter group.

‘Damn it! He said he was confident and wasted his energy from the beginning, and this is what happened!’

He wanted to curse at his collector who was whining on the other side of the screen.

But he couldn’t do that. 

His library’s spirits’ opinion was already at its worst, and he couldn’t afford to add fuel to it.

[Tsk tsk looks like this is his limit.]

[I thought he was a decent guy, but I guess he’s too weak?]

[There are still some fine guys left, let’s go somewhere else.]

Gerigus’s face crumpled as he saw the number of viewers decreasing in real time.

The remaining viewers also left one by one.

[What about Sword Master’s library?]

[I heard he’s still doing well.]

[OK let’s go there.]

‘Sword Master!’

Gerigus knew Sword Master too.

He was the dark horse of this joint activation, not an exaggeration.

His eyes scanned the [Joint Area]. 

And he soon found Kang Yu-hyun’s figure.

‘Damn. He’s so relaxed. He’s been doing well lately!’

He glared at Yu-hyun with jealous eyes. 

But he couldn’t keep looking at him. 

He had to hold on to the remaining spirits.

“You idiot! Fight! Don’t you see the spirits leaving?!”

-What the hell! You think I don’t want to? What can I do when I’m exhausted!

“I knew it from the moment you ran at first!”

-What? Who told you to act flashy in the first place!

The discord between the contracted collector and teller. 

This was not something that only happened in Gerigus’s library.

As the war dragged on, more and more collectors became exhausted and tellers nagged them to fight harder.

‘From here on out, it’s real.’

Unlike other collectors who fell exhausted, Kang Hye-rim was still fighting vigorously. 

She had distributed her stamina well and she was still able to fight.

Thanks to her widening gap with other collectors, new spirits began to flow into Yu-hyun’s library.

[The Beast of White Hair enters your library.]

[The Practitioner Who Never Gives Up enters your library.]

[The Princess Forged by Jealousy enters your library.]

[…]

…

The number of viewers soared in an instant.

When Kang Hye-rim entered her mind world, there were only about 300 viewers. 

But soon, they surpassed 500.

[Current viewers: 512]

“Welcome, spirits. Thank you for coming to the Story of the Sword Emperor Chronicles.”

[The new spirits like the atmosphere here.]

[Some spirits are annoyed by the crowd.]

The message window became noisy as the number of viewers increased. 

Yu-hyun apologized and switched the message to slow mode, then focused on the painting again.

He should have been happy that the viewers and donations increased, but his expression became more serious.

‘She’s holding on well for now, but she’ll eventually reach her limit. Even now, her movements are becoming sluggish compared to the beginning. The other collectors are helping her for now, but as soon as the balance is broken, the situation will change drastically.’

The difference in military strength was too great. 

They barely managed to hold on for now.

“What would you choose if you faced a hopeless moment where you couldn’t do anything?”

Yu-hyun muttered to himself, unheard by anyone.

The battle dragged on. 

Among the exhausted collectors, the number of wounded began to increase, and the collectors who had teamed up for their own sake became busy looking for their own way out.

“Argh! Damn it! Someone help me heal!”

“Shit! There’s no time for that! If you can’t fight, get out of here!”

“What, you bastard?! You said we’d share the loot!”

A collector who had his arm slashed by a sword asked for help, but none of the nearby collectors reached out.

They didn’t mind if their competitors decreased, but they didn’t have any room to help in the first place.

Yu-hyun watched the scene calmly.

“Are you okay, Ms. Hye-rim?”

-Hoo. I’m still okay.

“You don’t have to push yourself.”

-No. I’m fine. I can do more… I can do more.

Kang Hye-rim said so, but she looked increasingly out of breath.

It had been an hour since the battle started. 

It would have been strange if she was fine.

That was when it happened.

A huge roar echoed from beyond the wall.

***

Boom!

“Aaaah!”

“Help me!”

Kang Hye-rim felt a tremor in the world. 

The wall she was standing on shook violently, and a part of it collapsed with a loud noise not far from her.

The desperate screams of the soldiers swept away by the collapsing wall were buried with the debris of the wall without leaking outside.

Her ears that had been momentarily blocked returned to normal.

What on earth is going on? 

Kang Hye-rim couldn’t understand what had happened.

“The wall, the wall…”

The wall that had been blocking the enemies had collapsed.

“What happened…”

-It’s a cannon.

Yu-hyun’s voice came into Kang Hye-rim’s ear.

“A cannon?”

-Yes. The Urban Cannon. In real history, too, the Ottoman Empire brought a cannon with an unbelievable power to attack the wall. That’s what they fired just now. It’s a weapon that can’t be used many times, but it was enough to destroy the wall. They won’t be able to fire it again, but the wall is already…

As Yu-hyun said,

The Ottoman regulars poured in through the gap in the wall like a flood.

“Stop them! Stop them!!!”

“Reinforcements! Hurry up and block this entrance!!!”

The defensive commanders shouted with their throats torn. 

The Ottoman soldiers who rushed in through the broken wall clashed with the Roman soldiers who tried to defend it, creating a new chaos. 

But without the wall between them, the difference in strength between the two groups was clear.

It was the moment when the balance of the battlefield that had barely been maintained tilted to one side.

“Hey, hey what do we do?”

“Ha, shit. We’re all going to die if we stay here.”

The collectors who saw that scene rolled their eyes and looked around.

They had barely held on with the wall between them, but now that it was gone, there was no hope left.

“Do not be afraid. Descendants of Rome! Fight until the last man!! We can win!”

The emperor who had been blocking the enemies with his guards stood at the front line and shouted.

He could have given up in this desperate moment as a commander, but he clenched his teeth and held his sword. 

The Roman soldiers who were encouraged by him shouted loudly.

But why did that scene look like nothing but a weak beast trying to puff up its body in a desperate struggle?

“Mercenaries! Please lend us your strength!”

Dragasis wiped off his sweat mixed with blood from his forehead and shouted at the collectors. 

His eyes were more desperate than anyone else’s.

“If you help us, we can stop them! Please, save my people! My homeland!”

Dragasis shouted with his throat torn.

But, there was no collector who stepped forward rashly. 

They only looked around.

They came here to earn points, not to fight with their lives on the line.

Roar!

“Ahh! Help me!”

The slaughter continued even as he screamed. 

The area near the collapsed wall was stained with corpses and red blood. 

Even the strong spring wind couldn’t wash away the smell of blood completely.

Kang Hye-rim took a deep breath and surveyed the situation around her.

“Die! Die, damn it!”

“Sa, save me!”

Blood and death were rampant.

She couldn’t keep her sanity in this fierce battlefield.

The fights she had done in her mind world until now were like child’s play, compared to the large-scale war that was on a different level.

‘But, still… there’s still a chance!’

If the collectors joined forces, they could drive out the enemies from the broken wall and rebuild the defense line. 

She was about to shout something as she thought that far.

“I, I can’t do this! I’m done here!”

One collector shouted that and disappeared through the exit that was still connected to the outside.

Kang Hye-rim felt her head turn white as she saw that scene.

If they ran away without joining forces in this situation…!

“I, I give up too!”

“Me too!”

“Me too! Damn it! I never intended to risk my life! Who knew it would be this hard!”

As soon as one pulled the trigger, the other collectors started to run away one after another.

“What are you doing!”

Kang Hye-rim grabbed one of the collectors who passed by her and shouted.

“If you all leave now, the defense will!”

“Defense? What defense! Don’t you see we’re all going to die?!”

“What…”

“Look. You seem to be new to being a collector, so you don’t know much, but this place is like this from the start! Do you think they all failed for nothing? Just hold on until you can’t and then run away. That’s it.”

“But… what about the soldiers who are defending this place…”

“Soldiers? Ha! You’re kidding me. The people here are just part of a made-up story! They’re all fake! What do I care if they die or live fighting?! Get out of my way! If you want to die, die alone!”

Kang Hye-rim couldn’t stop the collector who shook off her hand.

She felt an indescribable emptiness as she saw the mass desertion.

They gave up so easily? 

Didn’t they all become collectors and fight in their mind worlds for their own goals?

Kang Hye-rim looked at the battlefield with a blank expression.

The front line… was starting to fall back.

“Mercenaries! Hurry up and support us!”

Dragasis’s pitiful cry came from below.

Kang Hye-rim’s eyes alternated between the gate leading to the exit and the broken wall below.

Her eyes trembled without finding a clue.

‘What should I do?’