Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 122: Iron Rain Fortress
Floor 21 did not open with silence.
It opened with thunder.
Not Qin Yuheng’s thunder, but the roar of iron falling from the sky.
The moment the team appeared, a black spear crashed into the ground less than twenty meters away. The impact shattered stone, sending metal fragments across a muddy battlefield. Above them, dark clouds churned like a furnace lid, and from those clouds fell endless streaks of black light.
Iron rain.
Each falling spear, blade, nail, and broken weapon fragment struck the earth with enough force to kill an ordinary climber instantly. Some buried themselves into the battlefield. Others shattered against old walls. Far ahead stood a fortress of dark iron and stone, its outer walls cracked, its banners torn, and its towers burning with dull red flames.
A mission panel appeared before Qin Yuheng’s eyes.
[Floor 21: Iron Rain Fortress]
[Main Mission]
Defend Iron Rain Fortress until the storm siege ends.
[Duration: 36 hours]
[Sub-Missions]
1. Repair fortress defense formations.
2. Keep fortress integrity above 30%.
3. Protect at least 50% of fortress defenders.
4. Prevent the command tower from falling.
5. Defeat the siege commander if it appears.
[Special Condition]
Commander-class climber detected.
[Iron Rain Fortress Command Authority available.]
[Warning]
Accepting command authority increases reward potential and responsibility burden.
Qin Mo read the warning and immediately looked at Qin Yuheng.
"There it is."
Qin Yuchen’s gaze moved toward the fortress.
"Commander’s Burden."
Qin Lian looked at the sky. "We need shelter first."
Another iron spear screamed down.
Qin Yuheng raised his sword, struck the falling weapon sideways with thunder, and sent it spinning into the mud.
The force numbed his wrist.
These were not ordinary projectiles.
"Move," he ordered.
They ran toward the fortress.
The open battlefield was broken by trenches, shattered siege engines, dead trees, and piles of old shields. Some shields still carried faint formation light, but most were broken. Iron rain fell in irregular waves. Every few breaths, the sky screamed, and everyone had to dodge or block.
Qin Mo activated a temporary deflection talisman above his head. It blocked two smaller iron shards before cracking.
"This floor hates roofs," he shouted.
Qin Lian moved lightly between impact zones, using her cloak to blur through smoke and rain. Qin Yuchen guarded Qin Mo’s flank, cutting away smaller falling blades. Qin Yuheng took the front, reading the rhythm of the storm.
The fortress gate opened only halfway when they reached it.
Inside, soldiers in dark iron armor aimed crossbows at them.
They were Tower remnants, but more solid than the villagers in Dreaming Stone Village and more organized than the frontier defenders of Floor 11.
A bearded officer with a bloodied forehead stepped forward.
"Climbers?"
Qin Yuheng nodded. "We were sent by the Tower."
The officer’s eyes shifted to the sky, then to the battlefield behind them.
"Then choose quickly. Fight as guests or take command. Our commander died when the first iron storm broke the tower."
The panel appeared again.
[Iron Rain Fortress Command Authority offered.]
[Accepting authority will allow:
- Direct command over fortress defenders.
- Access to repair priorities.
- Activation of emergency defense systems.
- Increased final evaluation potential.
[Failure under accepted authority may reduce evaluation heavily.]
[Accept / Decline]
Qin Mo whispered, "This is exactly the kind of thing your class warned about."
Qin Yuheng did not answer immediately.
He looked beyond the gate.
Inside the fortress courtyard, wounded soldiers carried stones, arrows, and oil jars. A group of young remnant defenders dragged a broken ballista wheel through mud. Several bodies lay covered beneath torn banners. The command tower, rising at the center of the fortress, had a deep crack running from its base to the second level.
If he declined, they could still fight.
They could defend a section, repair some mechanisms, and perhaps clear the floor.
But the fortress was already disorganized. Without central command, the defenders would bleed away in scattered resistance.
If he accepted, their lives became his responsibility.
Qin Zhengyuan’s words echoed in his mind.
Burden is different from missions.
Qin Yuheng selected accept.
[Iron Rain Fortress Command Authority accepted.]
[Temporary Role Granted:
Acting Fortress Commander]
[Commander’s Burden activated.]
[Fortress defenders will follow reasonable battlefield orders.]
[Current Fortress Status:]
Fortress Integrity: 41%
Command Tower Integrity: 54%
Defenders Alive: 186 / 240
Wall Formation: 22%
Ballista Units: 2 / 8 functional
Medical Post: Overloaded
Iron Rain Shield Array: Damaged
Enemy Siege Wave: Approaching
The officer’s posture changed. He placed one fist against his chest.
"Acting Commander."
Qin Mo closed his eyes.
"It became official."
Qin Yuheng’s expression remained calm.
"Name."
"Deputy Captain Hao Jun."
"Good. Hao Jun, gather all section leaders in the command tower courtyard. Qin Mo, inspect the Iron Rain Shield Array. Qin Yuchen, take twenty defenders and stabilize the gate. Qin Lian, scout wall breaches and enemy movement. No deep pursuit. Report through jade pulse if possible."
The commands came naturally.
Not because the class controlled him.
Because the situation needed shape.
Qin Mo hurried toward the formation core with two fortress technicians. Qin Yuchen moved to the gate with disciplined steps. Qin Lian vanished into smoke. Hao Jun shouted orders, and within minutes, exhausted section leaders gathered.
Qin Yuheng stood beneath the cracked command tower and looked at the fortress map carved into an iron table.
The fortress had four walls.
North wall: damaged but still strong.
East wall: two breaches.
South wall: facing the main battlefield.
West wall: supply yard and medical post.
Enemy forces approached from south and east.
Iron rain made open movement dangerous for both sides, but the enemy seemed adapted. Dark-armored siege beasts crawled through the storm, metal plates on their backs deflecting falling fragments.
Hao Jun pointed at the map.
"The first wave will hit south. Second usually comes east. If the Iron Rain Shield Array fails, the courtyard becomes a killing ground." freёweɓnovel.com
Qin Yuheng asked, "How long until first wave?"
A horn sounded in the distance.
Hao Jun’s face hardened.
"Less than one hour."
Qin Yuheng looked at the status panel.
Fortress Integrity 41%.
Too low.
He activated Gate Thunder Command Field, but only lightly, covering the section leaders closest to him. The gate-shaped thunder aura spread beneath his feet. The remnant commanders stiffened, then their eyes cleared. They did not become puppets. They became connected to the battlefield rhythm.
Qin Yuheng felt their fear, fatigue, and readiness as pressure points.
He did not push too hard.
"Listen carefully. We do not defend every stone equally. South wall receives main reinforcement. East breaches become kill zones, not repair priorities. Medical post moves under west tower. All spare shields go to courtyard routes. Ballista units target siege beasts, not infantry. Archers conserve arrows until enemies cross the broken spear line."
A section leader hesitated.
"If east breaches are not repaired—"
"They will enter through them," Qin Yuheng said. "That is why we prepare to kill them there."
The man swallowed and nodded.
Qin Yuheng continued.
"Any defender unable to hold a weapon moves supplies or wounded. No one stands idle. Hao Jun, enforce rotation. Exhausted soldiers die faster than wounded ones."
"Yes, Acting Commander."
Qin Lian returned twenty minutes later.
"South wave: heavy beasts, shield infantry, two siege towers. East: smaller force moving through broken trenches. Hidden unit likely behind smoke."
Qin Mo’s jade pulsed.
Shield Array damaged. Repair possible. Need cores.
Qin Yuheng sent back.
Use puppet cores?
Qin Mo answered.
Yes. Painful but yes.
Qin Yuheng gave permission.
Some rewards existed to be spent.
The first hour became preparation.
The second became war.
The south battlefield shook as siege beasts charged. They were huge creatures covered in riveted black armor, their heads hidden behind metal plates. Behind them marched dark soldiers carrying hooked ladders and iron shields.
The iron rain intensified.
Qin Mo activated the repaired shield array at the last moment.
A translucent dark-gold dome flickered above the central courtyard, not strong enough to block everything, but enough to deflect smaller falling weapons.
[Iron Rain Shield Array restored to 48%.]
Qin Yuheng stood on the south wall.
Hao Jun stood beside him.
The defenders waited.
Qin Yuheng raised his hand.
The enemy crossed the broken spear line.
"Archers."
Arrows fell.
Not at shields.
At legs.
The first enemy rank stumbled.
"Oil."
Burning oil poured from murder holes.
"Ballista."
Two repaired ballistas fired.
One bolt struck a siege beast’s neck joint. The beast crashed into the mud. The second bolt missed its target but broke a siege tower wheel.
The defenders roared.
The first impact hit the wall.
Stone shook.
Qin Yuheng felt the fortress through the command authority panel.
[South Wall Integrity: 63% → 55%]
He moved.
War Thunder Advance carried him along the wall as the first armored beast’s head rose over the battlement. His sword pierced through the exposed eye slit. Thunder exploded inside its skull. The beast fell backward, crushing several soldiers below.
Qin Yuchen held the gate.
Qin Lian eliminated ladder climbers.
Qin Mo cursed at the formation core while forcing more shield power through cracked channels.
The first wave lasted three hours.
By the time the horns retreated, the south wall still stood.
But the fortress paid for it.
[Fortress Integrity: 41% → 36%]
[Defenders Alive: 186 → 169]
[Command Tower Integrity: 54%]
[Iron Rain Shield Array: 39%]
Hao Jun looked at the fallen defenders and clenched his fists.
Qin Yuheng’s expression was calm, but his chest felt heavy.
This was Commander’s Burden.
Numbers on a panel.
Bodies under torn banners.
Both were real inside the trial.
And the siege had only begun.
