Chapter 320

“Kwoooargh!”

The polar bear Suin’s punch and the elephant Suin’s shoulder slam into the castle gate. The massive impacts cause the steel gate to crack and warp. Only two siege units remain, but the two great warriors are steadily breaking down the gate as if they never needed the strength of their subordinates in the first place.

“But, does this even make sense? Even if we break the gate, we don’t have any troops to charge in.”

Victor, as if suddenly realizing something, straightened his long trunk and asked. As he said, there were no troops left below the wall. The gate assault team had been wiped out by a single volley of javelins, and the other warriors were already scaling the wall, almost reaching the top while they were busy regenerating their leg injuries.

“What are you talking about? We’re the troops.”

Vasily replied, slamming his fist into the gate. His eyes glanced up at the wall. The situation was clearly at a stalemate. Despite the losses from scaling the wall, Valentin’s death, and Lyudmila’s retreat, their forces were still holding their own against the humans without giving an inch.

A precarious balance can easily be tipped by the smallest variable. And with the arrival of two great warriors, that variable was no longer small. It was clear that the tide of battle would turn the moment they broke through the gate and joined the fight.

And that moment wasn’t far off.

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

Victor chuckled and rammed his shoulder into the gate again. The heavily twisted gate began to creak open.

—

As Vasily had thought, the collapse of the balance began with a small variable.

Though it wasn’t the development he had hoped for.

—

The battle between the masters and the great warriors on the wall.

Perhaps the duel that could decide the outcome of this war was already nearing its end.

“Damn it, that cursed archer…!”

Abigail’s face twisted in frustration. She felt like she was going to go mad. Her irritation and anger had reached their limit, like a starving beast.

Even though her torn arm had already healed, she still hadn’t managed to take down the boy in front of her. She kept lunging at him, dodging his greatsword with flips and rolls, but each time, an arrow from the watchtower blocked her path.

“Haaah!”

A spinning leap, followed by a thunderous downward strike from the greatsword. Abigail rolled to the side to dodge and was about to thrust with her left sword when the familiar sound of an arrow whistled past her ear again.

“I’m going to tear you apart! Just you wait-!”

Abigail roared and swung her right sword to deflect the arrow. The small silver arrow twisted upon impact and pierced the wall instead of her.

‘How many arrows does he have?! Seriously, why did it have to be Lyudmila who got taken out?!’

Abigail cursed inwardly, wincing at the sharp pain in her arm. Even though she had only deflected it, her arm was tingling. The arrows had become much smaller than before, but their speed and penetration had increased.

And so had the rate of fire.

The moment Abigail paused, a barrage of arrows rained down on her like a storm. Each one had enough power to pierce through her body. She had no choice but to frantically roll on the ground to avoid them.

“I won’t miss!”

Damien’s greatsword came flying at her. A greatsword mixed with Jin. It was several times more dangerous than the arrows.

Though it was much slower compared to her movements, dodging it wasn’t too difficult. But if she took even one hit, it would be over. Whether in terms of strength or weight, it wasn’t something that could be blocked with mere steel twin swords.

“You weakling, where do you think you’re going?!”

Abigail bent her waist backward to dodge the greatsword and kicked Damien. The force was enough to deal significant damage even through armor.

But it didn’t work.

Damien forcibly twisted the momentum of the greatsword and blocked the kick with the hilt. The difference in strength still pushed him back, but he took no real damage.

Damien exhaled lightly and glared coldly at Abigail.

‘It’s not just that archer. This little brat, he’s getting…’

Stronger.

Abigail swallowed dryly.

—

It was incomprehensible.

Combat should drain stamina.

For any living creature, the longer a fight goes on, the weaker and slower they should become. Especially if they’re injured.

Pain tires the mind, and blood loss saps energy.

But the boy in front of her was different.

Over ten minutes of intense combat. His armor was battered, and his body was covered in blood.

By all accounts, he should have weakened to the point of being no different from a child.

But the reality unfolding before her was the opposite.

The human who had struggled to keep up with her movements at first was now blocking her attacks with ease!

“I think I understand now. What I was lacking.”

Damien muttered softly. His calm voice grated on Abigail’s nerves.

“Of course it’s skill! You little brat who only cares about looks!”

Abigail shouted sharply and charged at Damien like a wild beast. The two swords in her hands traced complex trajectories. A barrage of strikes that no one below the level of a master could block. Damien jumped back to create distance, but…

Relying on Abigail’s restraint was the best option.

But Damien charged straight at Abigail instead. A confidence he had never felt before pounded in his heart.

‘Yeah. This is it. This is what it was all along…’

The power he had been accumulating without knowing how to handle it finally moved according to his will.

Jin’s greatsword unleashed a storm of slashes.

“What the…!”

Abigail’s pupils narrowed in shock. The suddenly faster greatsword. The intense sense of danger made her tail puff up stiffly.

She threw her sword away and leaped backward.

– Crash!

Two steel swords shattered like mud as they grazed the greatsword.

Abigail, swept by the wind pressure, rolled along the castle wall. The tail that barely grazed the blade was half severed.

“This… brat…!”

Abigail gritted her teeth and glared at Damien with hatred.

For a beastman, the tail is like a human’s hair. Losing half of it is akin to shaving off the forehead to the crown of the head!

Not that Damien cared.

Damien stared at the furiously burning Abigail and recalled Hachalur’s training.

She had said that the fear of death would awaken the power of a master.

‘It was impossible from the start.’

Her idea of a ‘life-threatening crisis’ wasn’t wrong, but what was needed wasn’t fear.

Rather, the opposite.

“If I die by Hachalur’s hand, then so be it. Look over there, how can I beat someone like that?”

Damien pointed at Hachalur, who was fighting as if she were turning the castle into ruins, and spoke to Abigail.

“That’s why no matter how much we sparred, it was meaningless. I had already accepted that dying was inevitable.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you bastard!”

Abigail completely abandoned her usual demeanor and revealed fierce hostility.

The earlier slash was undoubtedly a master-level attack, and Jin, a master with a mixed sword, was not someone she could take lightly.

“But the thought of dying by your hand… I just couldn’t accept it.”

I can’t accept it.

Dying to someone like you is unacceptable.

That mindset was the final piece Damien needed to reach the level of a master.

“Arrogant brat…! ‘Can’t accept it?’ What kind of nonsense are you spouting!”

Abigail charged at Damien with the agility unique to a leopard beastman. In her hands were new swords, replacing the ones she had thrown away.

Her broken weapons were no issue. Ownerless swords were scattered all over the castle wall.

“You! Becoming a master! You think you can get stronger than me? Just barely reaching the edge of being a master, and you dare talk big!”

Abigail darted around like a rubber ball, relentlessly pressuring Damien.

Every time a sword broke against the greatsword, she picked up another and swung it, using claws and teeth as well.

“Ugh… She’s really tough…!”

Damien swung his greatsword and stood his ground, but he was gradually being pushed back.

He was still a novice master, while his opponent was a seasoned warrior with years of experience. The gap had narrowed, but he hadn’t surpassed her yet.

“I’ll slice off your limbs and drag you away! Get ready to be punished, brat!”

Abigail roared fiercely.

She planned to cut off his limbs, drag him down the castle wall, and violate him until he begged for forgiveness.

She knew the consequences of deserting the battlefield, but her rage had long pushed such concerns aside.

“Don’t even dream about it, you bitch-!!”

At that moment, a piercing scream echoed through the night sky.

A voice filled with endless hatred and venom, beyond mere anger.

Milia, who had rushed out of the watchtower, aimed a steel bow with three arrows at Abigail.

Her gaze was so filled with killing intent that her eyes seemed to burn like Hachalur’s.

“How dare a beast like you wag your tail-!”

Milia pulled the bowstring taut and began firing silver arrows like mad.

“Damien is mine! Do you understand? Do you understand, you beast?!”

Milia, radiating murderous intent, declared her ownership of Damien.

Everyone who knew her usual demeanor was shocked by her ferocity and glanced at Damien.

Their eyes were filled with questions about what he had done.

Damien decided to remain silent.