Chapter 329

After running all day, Valdemar’s pursuit squad finally arrived at the entrance of a massive coniferous forest.

It wasn’t easy, though.

Even though I could see flaws in the northerners’ horsemanship, and we slowed down accordingly, knights still slipped on the ice and fell off their horses from time to time.

Luckily, none of the knights were weak enough to get seriously injured from just falling, and the horses that tumbled rarely suffered major injuries since they landed on the snow.

As long as the horse’s leg wasn’t broken, we could calm them down and resume the chase.

“Shouldn’t the northern army train their horsemanship? If the northern wall has fallen, we’ll be fighting more battles of pursuit and maneuver rather than sieges until it’s rebuilt. If this keeps happening…”

“…I’ll consider it positively.”

Duke Pailoon nodded. He didn’t seem too pleased with the constant delays in the pursuit either.

Though, to be fair, it was his own fault, so he couldn’t really say much.

—

The Needle-Leaf Forest was, as the name suggested, a vast forest made up of countless coniferous trees.

Tall, sharp trees filled the area, their snow-covered branches drooping down like a middle-aged man bowing his head.

“I expected as much, but of all places, it had to be here…”

Freide clicked her tongue and glared into the dark forest.

It was clear that the fleeing beastmen had passed through this forest.

Countless animal tracks were left on the pure white snow, and a faint animal scent wafted from within.

Whether they were hiding in the forest or had already passed through was unclear.

[This isn’t a good terrain to charge into.]

‘I know.’

As Hersela said, it was a tricky terrain to recklessly push the pursuit squad into.

Even sending a regular cavalry unit into an ordinary forest was ill-advised, let alone a clumsy cavalry unit into a snow-covered forest.

Sending guys who fall off their horses on flat ground into a snow-covered forest? That’s suicide.

They’d all trip over branches or rocks and end up flat on their backs.

And falling off wasn’t the only problem.

If the enemy was hiding here—no, they were definitely hiding here—we’d have to fight.

But the forest terrain was overwhelmingly advantageous for the beastmen.

Unlike humans, whose vision is limited by the trees, they could pinpoint human locations by scent alone. And with these massive trees, they could even climb up and attack from above.

‘But we have to go in. If they’re hiding in the forest, waiting to recover, going around the forest would be pointless.’

[Right. That’s obvious.]

If this were a regular forest and not a snowy one, we could’ve set it on fire, but with all the snow piled up, fire attacks would be useless.

Any fire we started would be extinguished before it could properly spread. We didn’t even bring fire oil since we used it all up in the wall battle.

Up-hwa wouldn’t be extinguished even if the melted snow overflowed, but covering this huge forest with Up-hwa was beyond even my capabilities.

I’d exhaust all my Life Force before I could properly burn it down, and if Ryurik attacked in that state, there’d be no way to win.

So, charging in was the only option.

[You can’t retreat just because the terrain is unfavorable when the enemy is right in front of you. A warrior must overcome unfavorable conditions with their own strength.]

…Is that so?

That’s a doctrine that’s perfect for getting lured into annihilation.

Anyway, we had no choice but to enter the forest.

Duke Pailoon seemed to think the same, as he shouted to the knights who had stopped to look at the forest.

“Everyone, dismount! Lead your horses and walk through the forest! Be wary of ambushes!”

“Yes!”

If we had to enter, at least we could avoid falling off our horses.

The knights responded in unison, dismounted, and began walking, holding their reins.

Into the darkening forest.

—

What awaited us in the forest was exactly what we had expected.

“They’re coming again! Prepare yourselves!”

“Were you waiting for me?!”

As soon as I shouted, sensing the thick presence of beasts, a white mass charged at us from beyond the bushes.

– Kaaaang!

Durandal clashed with five claws, emitting a dazzling flash.

Unable to withstand the force, my body was pushed back, plowing through the snow.

“Ugh…!”

I gritted my teeth, anchoring myself with Life Force tendrils dug into the ground.

I had to hold on. If the distance widened, dozens would die.

“Woooooo!”

Ryurik.

A wolf with a blade-equipped gauntlet grafted onto his empty arm like a prosthetic roared at the sky.

Even with one arm missing, his ferocity was unmatched.

The knights distanced themselves from him.

Even the seasoned ones had realized how reckless it was to face him directly.

“You one-armed bastard!”

As soon as my heels stopped scraping the ground, I gripped Durandal tightly and charged at him.

The air swirled behind me, creating a blizzard as I rushed forward.

“This time, I’ll cut your head off!”

“That won’t happen!”

Jin was—

The clash of blades and beastly claws echoed once more.

—

While I was holding off Ryurik, the other knights weren’t just sitting around. Enemies surrounded them from all sides.

“Above us!”

“From the trees again!”

The knights looked up as enemies appeared. Beastmen, claws gripping the dense coniferous trees, had climbed up and were now perched on the trunks.

“Throw!”

A rough roar mixed with growls. Following the command of the fox warlord, the beastmen hurled what they were holding.

Dozens of wooden spears and boulders larger than a human head rained down. Even though they were simple natural objects, combined with the beastmen’s strength, they could easily crush a human body.

“Incoming projectiles! Defensive stance!”

Knights raised their shields toward the sky. Those without shields lifted their weapons instead. The beastmen’s weapons fell like hail.

“Ugh!”

An unlucky knight took a direct hit to the head, his neck snapping back so far it touched his back. Sadly, the human neck isn’t flexible enough to withstand such force.

Hot blood gushed from his torn neck. His head dangled by a strip of skin, his crushed eyeballs rolling inside his helmet. His optic nerve hung limply over his mangled face.

His limp body staggered and collapsed into the snow, twitching.

“Jack! How dare these vile beasts—!”

A furious knight hurled his spear with all his might. The spear flew like a bolt of light, piercing a hybrid beastman and bringing him down.

“Kreeeek!”

The fallen beastman let out a shrill scream as he tumbled to the ground. Thanks to the snow and his regenerative abilities, he survived the fall, but he was barely alive. The knight’s spear, coated in silver, had torn through his abdomen, making recovery impossible.

A nearby knight swiftly beheaded him.

—

The knights fought back by smashing tree trunks and throwing spears, but the beastmen leaped from branch to branch, stubbornly resisting. And the attacks weren’t just coming from above.

“Now, charge! Take advantage of their disarray!”

While I clashed with Ryurik, the other masters had to face the beastmen’s warlord. Not just the warlord, but a flood of pureblood warriors as well.

The warlord, masters, pureblood warriors, and knights collided, scattering blood across the snowy field.

“Filthy humans! Without your walls, you’re nothing!”

An elephant beastman, who had been pounding on the gates earlier, now rampaged wildly, wielding five deadly weapons. In his hands were massive curved swords, and another hung from the tip of his trunk.

They say an elephant’s trunk is like a hand, but facing one, it was far more terrifying. Without joints, it twisted at impossible angles, slashing in all directions.

Not just the trunk, but the pair of tusks on either side of his mouth were deadly weapons too. A single thrust could pierce both flesh and armor.

—

“Archers! Where’s that archer?! Show yourself!”

“I don’t care about the Beastman Devourer, but that archer… I’ll kill her for sure!”

The snow leopard beastman Milia had taken down earlier had apparently recovered and was now rampaging like mad. Beside him, the hyena beastman, barely clinging to life, was also back in action.

“These rabid beasts. Back for more arrows, huh?”

“This time…!”

Milia and Damien aimed their weapons at them.

“Two warlords. It’ll be tough for just you two.”

One of the northern army’s masters drew his sword and joined the fight.

“Don’t call it cowardly. Using numerical advantage is basic tactics.”

In a one-on-one fight, the warlords had the upper hand, but with three against two, the advantage shifted to our side. Especially since the hyena beastman was still not fully recovered.

“What now?!”

“Three of them…! But that archer… I’ll kill her for sure!”

The two warlords snarled in frustration.