The dagger that looked like a short blade in the eyes of the Order Knight felt almost like a long knife in Selina’s hands, a bit heavy in weight.
But her body wasn’t as frail as in her previous life; on the contrary, it was incredibly healthy.
The dagger was clearly meant for her self-defense. As for why it wasn’t given to Renee, that girl was too timid to use it even if she had the weapon.
Soon, Kante led the soldiers in a charge. Perhaps fueled by morale, their advance was almost unimpeded, and the monster forces blocking them seemed weak in combat.
Even the normally ferocious orcs were cut down. A force of two hundred rushed forward with the momentum of a hundred thousand soldiers.
Selina strapped the dagger to her back and pulled Renee along as she ran. Although both were at Tier-3, they still couldn’t keep up with the soldiers who trained daily.
They were positioned in the middle of the formation, under layers of protection. Selina was in better shape, but Renee was already gasping for breath.
Selina cast a healing spell on her legs and told her to keep running. If they fell behind now, the entire unit would have to slow down for them. With the surrounding monsters numerous and continuous, they could easily be surrounded, and the only outcome would be death.
No one dared to slack off. The reinforcement force cut through the monster army like a swift sword.
The city wall was right ahead, and they could even faintly see the soldiers stationed there.
“I am Kante Airuiba, squad leader of the Order Knights, Third Company, Sixth Regiment, stationed at Liuli City. I am ordered to reinforce. I am exercising my authority to open the gate and let us in!”
Atop the city wall.
A knight in black heavy armor immediately spotted a group of knights in silver-white heavy armor leading ordinary soldiers charging through the monster army. He looked into the distance and saw a squad of elite orcs in armor approaching.
Those were enemies on par with heavy knights. The advantage the knights below had was only temporary. If they got entangled by elite monsters, even Order Knights could fall.
But he couldn’t let the elite orcs enter the city.
Now, this heavy knight of the Death Hall was the commander here. He weighed the pros and cons, and after a moment, he shouted.
“Open the gate! Let them in! Then close it immediately! Heavy crossbows, support! Give them a perfect reception!”
“Yes!”
The well-trained soldiers moved efficiently, with clear division of labor and orderly procedures—a world of difference from the reinforcement unit.
Kante’s team did not disappoint. They rushed to the entrance at top speed. Several Order Knights stopped to let the rear troops enter first, especially the two priests.
After the last person entered, Kante glanced at the heavy orcs being harassed by ballistae, then immediately entered the city.
Both sides seemed to breathe a sigh of relief seeing their brother unit. The situation wasn’t that bad yet, and reinforcements had arrived.
A knight from the Death Hall descended from the city wall to meet Kante.
“Death Hall, Third Company, First Regiment, Company Commander Baer. Pleased to meet you.”
“Before entering the city, I stated it: Order Knights, Sixth Regiment, Third Company, Squad Leader. By rank, you are the superior officer.”
“Let’s skip the formalities. First, let’s each explain our situation,” Baer said calmly. His decisive actions and cool composure left a deep impression on Selina.
Kante glanced at her and said, “You come and listen too.”
Hearing this, Baer deliberately looked at Selina. Beneath his black helmet, a pair of sharp eagle-like eyes seemed to see right through her.
“Take the brother unit to rest,” Baer ordered, then led Kante and Selina up the city wall.
The two removed their helmets. Selina endured the soreness in her legs and listened in beside them.
“What’s the situation?” Kante asked first.
Baer said, “A section of the East Gate city wall was melted by mages, creating a breach. Monster troops pour in endlessly from there. Every two hours, a round of fireball magic bombards the city. Forty percent of the city is a sea of flames, still burning. The garrison is mostly occupied blocking the incoming monsters. Casualties are impossible to tally.”
“The good news is the breach isn’t huge. The other gates have minimal troops to resist the monsters outside. Still, the situation is grim. The monsters outnumber us by over ten times. It’s only a matter of time before the city falls. What about reinforcements? How many people did you bring?”
“About two hundred total, including two priests. Apart from my squad, the rest are soldiers I forcibly conscripted from towns along the way. Their quality isn’t up to the garrison’s, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Also, on the way, we encountered one of your comrades. He had only one breath left.”
Baer instinctively looked toward the reinforcement unit. Of course, there was no black-armored knight he expected.
He still clung to a sliver of hope that he had just missed seeing him.
“Which unit was he from?”
“Steven from First Platoon, Third Company. You should know him.”
Baer sighed. “He made a mistake a few years ago. I transferred him to the north for reflection. As you know, for the Death Hall, not being able to fight on the front lines is a punishment.”
“He was with an airborne unit that got ambushed. The airborne troops couldn’t support in time. According to his account, a second wave of reinforcements will come, but it’ll take time.”
“No matter. The soldiers need hope. We’ll hold as long as we can. By the way, you have quite an eye for this girl?” Baer pointed at Selina, who was listening in.
“She has potential. She can climb. I have a friend in the church who could recommend her. Of course, that’s if we get out of here alive.”
Baer chuckled, then pulled a box out of his waist pouch. Opening it revealed two cigars inside.
“Want one? Might be the last one of our lives.”
“I don’t smoke,” Kante said.
“Is that so? A bit of a letdown.” Baer put one cigar in his mouth, and a small flame ignited at his fingertip to light it.
Kante gently nudged Selina. “You can go down. That’s all.”
Selina did as told. As she descended, she saw that Kante already had a cigar in his mouth.
‘So this world knows secondhand smoke is bad for you too.’
She thought for a moment. After coming down the wall, she looked around but didn’t see Renee.
“Over there—that’s the tent for the wounded. She went to treat the injured,” Paul pointed in a direction.
Selina looked at her hands, then patted her cheeks. It was time to start her own job. She was a priest, after all.
She walked straight over. Within a few steps, she caught a foul stench coming from inside.
A mix of blood, potions, and the smell of something rotting. Pinching her nose, she entered. The moment she lifted the tent flap, a scene like a living hell came into view.
Instinctively, she immediately ran out and vomited profusely in a small corner of the city wall.
The scene inside the tent could only be described as a pool of blood and flesh. One might think it was a morgue.
In comparison, the soldiers she treated at the church—those missing limbs—now seemed lightly injured. This was true half-death.
She calmed her mind. She had never encountered such a shock before. Having lived long in a peaceful era, after reincarnating, eating simple meals, and treating a few soldiers, she had thought the other world was nothing special.
The frontline and the rear were indeed worlds apart.
Wiping the saliva from her mouth with a handkerchief, she took a deep breath and went back into the tent.
As soon as she entered, someone handed her a mask. Selina looked up and saw it was Renee. Renee appeared remarkably calm, wearing a white mask. The medical kit beside her was already half empty. The soldiers lying on the beds had horrifying injuries. If they were ordinary people without mana levels, they would probably have been beyond saving.
But they still had a breath left.
“Selina, you’re here. The soldier on the third bed on the left, with full-body burns, needs your healing spell. The second one on the right, stop the bleeding first, stabilize his life. Do you know medical techniques? Only use healing magic when conventional methods don’t work. Save your mana.”
Renee’s hands were steady. The first aid measures she gave the wounded already had hints of modern surgery. At that moment, Selina regretted not studying medicine properly with Grandpa Laite.
Healing spells had limited uses, so they had to be allocated wisely.
Fighting back the nausea in her stomach, she put on a mask and followed Renee’s directions, quickly and efficiently treating the wounded—not aiming for full recovery, just keeping them alive.
After a busy night, the sky showed a hint of fish-belly white.
Their faces were pale, and their mana was completely drained. Their hands were still trembling.
Selina and Renee sat back-to-back at the entrance of the medical tent, resting. After some time, a young soldier brought two bowls of thick soup, telling them to drink it while it was hot.
She looked at the soup. It was thin, with little oil, and didn’t taste great, but at least it was hot.
After a moment of thought, Selina found her pack, took out all the jerky inside, and asked the young soldier to give it to the mess hall.
The rest time was brief. This tent was for the severely wounded. There were also lightly wounded awaiting treatment.
The wounded came in an endless stream, and men were carried back every minute. But only the two of them could heal.
Although their arrival was a temporary relief, over time they would reach their limits. Moreover, Selina didn’t know medicine, and her mana recovery couldn’t keep up with the rate of injuries.
Just as Selina was at a loss, someone brought the latest news.