Ch.312We Have Arrived at Our Destination.

“Archers! Keep firing without rest! We need to weaken the enemy as much as possible! Other soldiers, prepare oil and catapults! Soon they’ll be clinging to the walls!”

Karl shouted without pause. Since Frider had abandoned command to face the Champion, he was the only one left to lead the soldiers.

The knights would be handled by Silvan, who belonged to the Imperial Knights.

“Imperial Knights, prepare for battle! The time has come to avenge our commanders! For the Empire!”

“For the Empire!”

At Silvan’s timely command, the knights drew their swords in unison.

Their faces showed firm resolve and a trace of resentment. While Duverya was one thing, Georg had been the most respected knight in the Imperial Knights after the Ghost Blade.

After the Ghost Blade’s name was dragged through the mud, he had become the most respected knight.

—-

“There are many…”

“Indeed there are.”

Oleg and Valentin muttered as they looked up at the silver arrows pouring down like rain.

It seemed like gathering all those arrowheads would provide enough silver to build a house.

“Such wealthy bastards. Do they own five or six silver mines or something?”

“It would be strange if they didn’t. If they had to buy all that silver, they would have gone bankrupt ten times over.”

The two Werebeasts continued their conversation while constantly swinging their weapons to deflect the arrows.

For Champions like them, simple silver arrows weren’t particularly threatening, but they had no intention of deliberately getting hit.

“But what have you been sniffing at this whole time?”

Even as they charged toward the walls, Valentin kept twitching his nose.

He too was a Champion. This level of running wouldn’t disturb his breathing, so he must have been deliberately inhaling.

“There’s a smell that’s bothering me… Though it’s now masked by the smell of blood. How should I put it, it’s a nostalgic smell.”

“…Nostalgic?”

Oleg slightly furrowed his brow.

Beyond those walls were only enemies. Smelling something nostalgic from them wasn’t a good sign.

‘Hmm… I have a rough idea.’

While Valentin didn’t seem to have realized it yet, Oleg remembered.

What had earned the Were Eater that name.

During the Militia’s surprise attack on the settlement. Among the Werebeasts who lost their lives then… was Valentin’s brother, Boris Ivanov.

But that was already months ago. The fact that Boris’s scent could be detected now meant that Boris hadn’t simply been killed.

‘…There’s no need to tell him.’

Oleg kept his mouth shut. If Valentin discovered the truth about the smell, he would surely go berserk.

So it was better to keep it secret for now.

– KWAOOOOO!

While they were talking, the giant arrow that had destroyed all the catapults mercilessly flew toward a new target. Toward Lyudmila, who was happily destroying ballistae with her javelins.

Lyudmila’s expression stiffened slightly. Her survival instinct was screaming at her to intercept and dodge immediately. However, instead of following her instinct, she chose to trust her king.

“Keep running!”

Rurik shouted firmly as he leaped toward the arrow.

With strength surpassing even a Champion, the ground beneath his feet exploded, spewing fragments mixed with snow. Rurik’s body soared into the air.

The winter wolf’s eyes caught the giant arrow approaching just inches away. The silver arrow spinning like a spiral, carrying swirling air currents. Indeed, it was a difficult attack to defend against even for a Champion.

Rurik crossed his arms and sharpened his fingertips. His muscles, hard as steel, swelled firmly. He needed no weapon. The only weapon he trusted was himself.

“WOOOOOOO!”

Ten claws tore through the air.

A powerful strike spread like carving a cross in the air. The spiral arrow’s air currents scattered, and the arrow shattered like glass upon contact with his claws.

The remaining force couldn’t even scratch Rurik’s flesh.

After perfectly shattering Millia’s shot, Rurik landed on the snow with a grin. With a thud, white dust scattered in all directions.

“Winter Wolf! Winter Wolf!”

The surrounding Werebeasts roared in cheer.

“Your Majesty really does insist on doing the hard work himself.”

“At least it boosts morale.”

Oleg chuckled and shrugged.

—-

Inwardly relieved by Rurik’s perfect defense, Lyudmila threw another spear.

Though all the ballistae had gone into hiding, there were still targets worth aiming at. The archers had to expose their heads to shoot.

‘It’s a waste to use spears just to take out one or two soldiers. I should throw just three or four more and stop.’

That would be enough to break their morale and cause confusion.

‘I can use the rest after climbing the wall.’

She had already decided who to target.

Once she reached the wall, her javelins would reach the watchtower where the sniper was positioned. For that, she needed to save some spears now.

“QUEHEK!”

A thrown javelin pierced through the collarbone of an unfortunate archer.

Like being rammed by a bull, the soldier’s body flew backward. With a horrific appearance, the upper part of his torso had been completely blown away.

His head fell off as his neck, left with only a piece of skin, tore apart, and his arm, barely attached by a few muscle strands, flapped like a piece of cloth.

Intestines flowed out like a tail from the hole in his chest.

His heart and lungs had long disappeared, and his torn stomach rolled around inside his empty abdomen, spraying yellow gastric acid.

The soldier, reduced to rags, floated through the air like a kite before falling toward the ground inside the wall.

With a splat, even the parts that had remained attached were crushed and scattered like they had been mauled by a beast.

His head, with only the upper part remaining, bounced like a ball and rolled along the top of the wall.

“H-HIIIK!”

The surrounding soldiers, covered in blood and flesh, flinched and reflexively backed away.

Though it was weaker than Millia’s arrows, to them, both were equally monstrous in power.

Just as Lyudmila smiled coldly and was about to throw another spear at them, a familiar sound of air being torn reached her ears.

Millia’s arrow was once again flying toward her.

Whether wary of Rurik or to prevent him from intercepting, it flew in a widely curved path.

Impressive archery. Arrows typically fly in straight lines or at most in parabolas. But this one was changing its trajectory like a snake.

Though its power was reduced as a result, it was certainly difficult for even Rurik to leap and block.

“Ah, how annoying!”

Lyudmila frowned and irritably threw her spear toward the arrow.

The javelin, thrown with a violent twist from shoulder to wrist. The master’s arrow and the Champion’s spear tip met.

– KWAAANG!

The two pieces of steel collided and shattered with a thunderous sound.

It might be difficult to attack the sniper from this distance, but offsetting a fired arrow was entirely possible.

No matter how strong, an arrow is still an arrow. If intercepted and reduced to powder, its power would dissipate helplessly.

Lyudmila, drawing a new spear from her subordinate’s back, glared fiercely at the watchtower.

—-

Splattered blood dyed the snow red and released steam.

The beast army, thousands strong, advanced relentlessly, blocking the rain of arrows with shields and deflecting them with weapons.

Stray arrows stuck into the ground like porcupine quills, while fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and lightning spears tore through the surroundings.

The battlefield resounded with thunderous explosions, the roars of Werebeasts, screams, and wails that echoed all the way to the inner fortress.

“Kuheu…! Damn silver arrows…!”

“KYAAAAK! Fire! My body’s on fire!”

Arrows that weren’t blocked pierced through fur and flesh, and fierce flames burned the beasts’ bodies.

Werebeasts unable to endure the pain rolled on the ground.

“Kyaheuuk… Lucky the ground is covered in snow…”

A beast that had been rolling in the snow while ablaze stood up again with a blackened body.

Burnt skin cracked and fell off, revealing new flesh underneath.

Though the real battle hadn’t even begun, the battlefield was already chaotic enough to wake a sleeping dragon.

Giant arrows and javelins repeatedly collided, shaking the air.

Occasional red arrows flew in, blowing off heads of both purebloods and mixed-bloods alike.

Rurik’s army had to suffer considerable damage even before reaching the walls.

Fallen bodies on the snow vomited blood. The residents of Faelrun Castle might have to abstain from bathing for a while.

The overflowing blood would seep in and dye the underground hot springs red.

“Keep firing! We need to inflict as much damage on them as possible!”

“Run! We’re almost there!”

Commanders from both sides shouted until their throats were raw, encouraging their subordinates.

A charge that half-disregarded life. Already, the vanguard of the beasts had approached the walls.

“Climb! Your prey is right before you!”

Rurik pointed at the wall and let out a long howl of joy. The warriors responded in unison and increased their speed.

Perhaps because it was built on hot spring grounds, Faelrun Castle had no moat.

If they had dug incorrectly around the castle, the hot spring water could have seeped into the surface and weakened the foundation, causing it to sink.

Besides, a moat wasn’t much of an obstacle for Werebeasts anyway.

If it was narrow, they could simply jump over it, and even if it was wide enough to prevent them from jumping, it would only buy about ten seconds more.

The utility was too low compared to the effort required.

In fact, there was another main reason, but anyway, thanks to the absence of a moat, the beasts could immediately cling to the walls.

“Go! Sharpen your claws!”

The Werebeasts put away their weapons and dug their hands into the wall.

Sharp claws pierced and dug into the stone of the wall. The beasts began climbing the wall in lines, as fast as cockroaches.

For them, climbing a wall wasn’t much different from running on flat ground.