Chapter 309

=====[ Paleun Castle ]=====

‘That guy is Ryurik…? No, it can’t be. He’s a fake!’

Ironically, the first one to notice the identity of the thing flying towards the castle walls was Ha-shal-leur, who had never seen Ryurik before.

A white-furred wolf beastman. The description matched what Freide had told her about Ryurik, but there was a crucial difference between the image of Ryurik in Ha-shal-leur’s mind and the beastman flying towards them.

‘A guy who’s supposed to have surpassed the great warrior, and his aura is just that weak?!’

To Ha-shal-leur, who could gauge an enemy’s strength by their aura, the flying guy’s aura was far from what one would expect from the king of the beastmen. At best, he was just a mixed-blood warrior. If he landed on the castle walls like that, he wouldn’t even be able to fight—he’d just die on the spot, a mere foot soldier.

Moreover, he was clearly smaller in size. A pure-blooded male would be much larger than that. Due to the distance and speed, others couldn’t notice the difference in size, but her eyes caught it clearly.

She could even see the wolf beastman’s expression, twisted with a mix of determination and fear of death.

‘Definitely not Ryurik. A decoy? Then, the purpose of this attack is…’

To check our defenses and make us waste our resources, perhaps.

It seemed like a plausible strategy to her. After all, the magician’s mana and the throwing spears weren’t something they could use repeatedly.

Except for Ha-shal-leur, the others hadn’t realized it was a fake yet. Considering how those who had fought at the northern wall were extremely wary of Ryurik, there was a good chance they’d waste their mana and spears on this decoy.

They might even pour all their defenses into taking him down, thinking that defeating him here would mean victory.

As soon as she reached that conclusion, Ha-shal-leur immediately nocked an arrow.

Her movements were lightning-fast. There was no time to explain that it was a fake. The knights had already raised their spears, and the magicians were gathering their mana.

Luckily, her hands were faster than her mouth. As always.

– Sssshhhhkkk!

The sound of the arrow tearing through the air. Those who were about to shoot down the flying beastman froze in surprise.

Before they could react, a crimson comet embedded itself into the beast’s body.

A red flower blooming on the canvas of the night sky.

“Gaaahhh!”

The wolf beastman let out a single scream, writhing in agony as his body was torn apart. Well, for about a second.

After that, he couldn’t even scream.

The swirling blade of life force mercilessly dismantled the beast’s body. Amid the pouring crimson rain, chunks of flesh scattered like winter cherry blossoms.

“W-what the… Did that monster just explode and die? From a single spell?!”

“Did we… win…?”

The soldiers, dumbfounded, leaned over the castle walls, muttering to themselves.

It was too bewildering a sight to cheer. To their eyes, it looked like Ryurik had flown in and been obliterated in a single strike.

“Median Princess, what just…!”

A knight who had been preparing to throw a spear turned to Ha-shal-leur, unable to hide his confusion. Shooting down Ryurik was their task, not hers, so what had just happened was completely unexpected.

“Snap out of it! Do you really think the king of the beastmen would die from such a weak attack? That was a fake. Look over there!”

Ha-shal-leur shouted at the soldiers, raising her bow and pointing below the castle walls.

“A fake…? A fake?”

“Over there! Look over there! It’s him! Just like Median said!”

The soldiers’ eyes widened. The knights, now understanding the situation, clicked their tongues in frustration.

Ha-shal-leur was right. They could see it too. The beastman who had just flown in wasn’t Ryurik.

The real Ryurik, the one responsible for the collapse of the northern wall, was standing unharmed below. Right in the middle of the beastmen’s formation, looking up at the castle walls with interest, baring his teeth and casually scratching his chin with sharp claws.

—-

“Hmm… Indeed. It was a good idea to send a volunteer as a test. So that’s the Beastman Devourer.”

Ryurik licked his lips as he looked at Ha-shal-leur, as if she were a delicious prey.

She was quite an impressive female.

That strange arrow that tore its target to shreds. Even to his eyes, it looked like magic.

And then there was her quick reaction to their deception, her sharp eyesight that could pinpoint his location from that distance.

Her overwhelming aura and the scent, more beast than human.

‘No, maybe the scent is from her outfit?’

His subordinates hadn’t noticed yet, but Ryurik could tell at a glance. The material of the fur she was wearing.

‘They call her the Beastman Devourer, but she’s more of an imitator.’

A female wearing beastman fur, emitting a beastman-like scent, with senses as sharp as a beastman’s.

She looked more like a beastman than a human.

Ha-shal-leur, meeting his gaze, smirked provocatively.

“What are you looking at, you little white brat?”

The gaze looking down was openly sarcastic. The cold eyes clearly showed arrogance, as if such things were beneath their notice.

Ryurik bared his fangs and laughed. It had been a long time since he faced a worthy opponent worth hunting.

Following that, four ice bullets collided with the fortress wall, shattering into pieces.

The sound of thunder tore through the sky.

—-

– Rumble!

Paelun Castle shook violently as if struck by an earthquake. Dust and snow piled up poured down like rain.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

The sturdy fortress wall didn’t even flinch at such an attack, but the soldiers, unable to ignore the shock, staggered and fell.

Some unlucky ones got caught on the fortress railing and plummeted helplessly to the ground.

“Ahhhhh!”

The screams echoed like a reverberation. Then, a splat—like a water pouch bursting—seeped through the lingering sound of the collision.

“…So they did prepare countermeasures. It seems we’ll have to give up on the aerial assault.”

Nazar, who had approached Ryurik after confirming the power of the catapult, shook his head regretfully.

Nazar had opposed the aerial assault from the start due to its danger, and the recent interception proved his concerns right. However, his expression wasn’t particularly bright. Deep down, he had held onto a sliver of hope.

Even if it was a one in a million chance, if the enemy hadn’t prepared, they could have secured victory with minimal losses.

“Impressive, but it’s just one arrow, right? If we throw something to counter it before it hits, that should do the trick.”

Lyudmila, who had been watching the falling humans, retorted to Nazar.

Indeed, it was a powerful attack, but it seemed to explode upon impact. If they could detonate it mid-air before it hit, that would be enough. She didn’t think her king would fail at something so simple.

“Or maybe launch four other wolves? One-fifth the effort would be worth it, right? By the way, is that woman the Beastman Devourer? She’s smaller than I thought!”

Abigail chattered frivolously, her eyes sparkling.

Preparing four decoys to confuse the enemy. It wasn’t a deeply thought-out plan, but… it might just work. At least, that’s what Abigail thought.

“Well, they probably didn’t prepare just that one arrow.”

“Basil’s right. Those guys were up to something even before the Beastman Devourer fired her bow. They must have other plans ready.”

Lyudmila and Abigail murmured regretfully.

“If you say so, Nazar… you’re probably right.”

“Aren’t you being too regretful, Lyudmila?”

“Of course. That just means more work for us.”

Lyudmila let out a deep sigh. She didn’t dislike battle, but climbing the fortress wall and taking hits wasn’t exactly her idea of fun.

While she could dodge most attacks, the density of attacks would differ depending on whether the enemy was in chaos or not. Even a great warrior would have to endure some injuries.

“Ha! Complaining about climbing a measly wall? You sound like those humans.”

“You only say that because you don’t have to climb it. Must be nice being so big.”

Lyudmila shot a glare at Viktor.

As she said, Viktor, an elephant beastman, couldn’t climb the fortress wall. His massive frame was more than twice Lyudmila’s size.

So, he planned to target the gate directly. Though the humans might have blocked the area behind the wall in anticipation of their attack.

“Viktor doesn’t have claws. Even if he did, he’d probably fall while climbing.”

Abigail covered her mouth and laughed frivolously. Viktor just snorted, showing his discomfort but not refuting her. After all, she wasn’t wrong.

—-

While the five great warriors engaged in a strategy meeting disguised as small talk, the other two great warriors silently gazed at the fortress wall. Their reasons were different.

“That smell… it’s familiar somehow…”

Valentin Ivanov, the black wolf beastman, sniffed the air and furrowed his brow. Among the scents carried by the wind, there was a strangely familiar one. He couldn’t quite place it.

In fact, it might have been better if he couldn’t remember. No matter how calm Valentin was, knowing the source of that smell would surely make him lose his composure.