Ch.320Awakening

“KUWOOOOO!”

The polar bear Werebeast’s fist and the elephant Werebeast’s shoulder hammered against the castle gate. Under the continuous massive impacts, the steel gate began to crack and warp. The siege team was down to just two members. However, the two Champions seemed to be methodically destroying 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 troops to storm in.”

Viktor asked, raising his long trunk straight up as if suddenly remembering something. As he said, there were no troops left below the castle wall. The gate assault team had been annihilated by a single javelin throw, and while they were regenerating their leg injuries, the other warriors had all clung to the wall and nearly climbed up.

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

Vasili responded while delivering another punch to the gate. His eyes briefly scanned the top of the wall. The situation appeared to be at a stalemate. Despite the casualties suffered while climbing the wall, Valentin’s death, and Lyudmila’s retreat, their forces were holding their ground against the humans without giving an inch.

A delicate balance could easily be disrupted by a small variable. And the intervention of two Champions was far beyond a small variable. It was clear that the tide of battle would completely turn if they broke through the gate and joined the fight on the ramparts.

And that moment was not far away.

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

Viktor grinned and rammed his shoulder into the gate again.

The twisted gate slowly began to give way.

—-

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

Though not the development he would have wanted.

—-

On top of the wall, the battle between Masters and Champions continued.

The duel that might determine the outcome of this war was approaching its end.

“Damn that cursed archer…!”

Abigeyl’s expression twisted in frustration. She felt like she was going mad with irritation. Her anger and frustration had reached their limit, like a starving beast.

Although her torn arm had already regenerated, she still hadn’t managed to finish off the boy in front of her.

She had repeatedly dodged his great sword by somersaulting through the air and looking for openings to strike, but each time, arrows shot from the watchtower had blocked her path.

“Haaaah!”

A lightning-fast downward strike with the great sword after a spinning leap.

As Abigeyl rolled sideways to dodge and tried to thrust with her left sword, the familiar whistling sound of an arrow cutting through air reached her ears once again.

“I’ll tear you to pieces! Just you wait-!”

Abigeyl shouted fiercely as she swung her right sword to deflect the arrow.

The small silver arrow twisted upon hitting her sword and pierced only the castle wall instead of her.

‘How many arrows does she have?! And of all people, Lyudmila had to be the one taken down!’

Abigeyl inwardly vented her frustration as she winced at the stinging pain. Despite merely deflecting the arrow, her arm felt numb.

The arrows had become much smaller than before, but their speed and penetrating power had actually increased.

Their rate of fire had increased as well.

The moment Abigeyl paused, a shower of arrows rained down on her.

Each silver arrow had enough power to penetrate her flesh. Abigeyl had no choice but to desperately roll across the ground to avoid them.

“I won’t miss!”

Demian’s great sword came flying toward her.

The silver-infused great sword was several times more dangerous than the arrows.

It wasn’t particularly difficult for Abigeyl to dodge, given how much slower it was compared to her own movements, but allowing even a single hit would mean the end. Judging by both its hardness and weight, it wasn’t something that could be blocked with mere steel twin swords.

“Where does a weakling like you get off!”

After bending her waist backward to avoid the great sword, Abigeyl kicked at Demian. It was a powerful blow that would cause significant damage even through armor.

But it didn’t work.

Demian forcibly twisted the momentum of his great sword and blocked her claws with the hilt.

Though the difference in strength remained and he was pushed back, he suffered no real damage.

Demian exhaled lightly and gave Abigeyl a cold stare.

‘It’s not just that archer. This little male is somehow getting…’

Stronger.

Abigeyl swallowed hard.

—-

It was incomprehensible.

Fighting is supposed to drain one’s stamina.

For any living creature, the longer a battle continues, the more strength and speed should naturally diminish. Especially if one has been injured.

Pain exhausts the mind, and bleeding saps one’s energy.

However, the boy before her eyes was somehow different.

The fierce battle had gone on for well over ten minutes. His armor was damaged all over, and his body was covered in blood.

By all logic, he should have been weakened to the point of being no different from a child by now.

But the reality unfolding before her was quite the opposite.

The human who initially struggled just to keep up with her movements was now blocking even her properly executed attacks!

“I understand now. What I was lacking.”

Demian murmured quietly. His utterly calm voice grated on Abigeyl’s nerves.

“Obviously it’s skill! You pretty-faced brat!”

Abigeyl shouted sharply as she charged at Demian like a wild beast.

The two swords in her hands traced complex trajectories. It was a combination attack that couldn’t be blocked without Master-level skill. The best option would be to jump back to create distance and rely on Millia’s covering fire.

However, Demian instead charged toward Abigeyl. A certainty he had never felt before pounded in his heart.

‘Yes. This was it. This is…’

Karma.

The power he had only been accumulating, not knowing how to wield it, finally moved according to his will.

The silver-infused great sword created a storm of slashes.

“What…!”

Abigeyl’s pupils contracted in shock. The great sword had suddenly accelerated. Her tail hair bristled stiffly with the intense sense of danger.

She threw away her swords and leaped backward with a spring-like motion.

– Kwadeuk!

The two steel swords brushed by the great sword and shattered like clay.

Caught in the pressure wave, Abigeyl tumbled across the top of the wall. Her tail hair, which had barely been grazed, was half cut off.

“This… little brat…!”

Abigeyl ground her molars as she got up and glared at Demian with hatred.

For Werebeasts, tail hair was like human head hair. Having half of it cut off was equivalent to having one’s hair shaved from forehead to crown!

Not that Demian cared.

Demian gazed at the furiously enraged Abigeyl and recalled Haschal’s training.

Wasn’t she trying to awaken the power of a Master through the fear of death?

‘That was impossible from the beginning.’

Her claim about “the crisis of death” wasn’t a wrong idea, but what was needed wasn’t fear.

Rather, the opposite.

“If I die to Haschal, that’s unavoidable. Look over there, how could anyone defeat an opponent like that?”

Demian pointed at Haschal, who was fighting while practically reducing the castle to ruins, as he spoke to Abigeyl.

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

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

Abigeyl completely abandoned her usual manner of speech and revealed intense hostility.

The slash just now was undoubtedly a Master-level attack, and a Master wielding a silver-infused sword was not an opponent she could take lightly.

“But the idea of possibly dying to you—I just couldn’t accept that.”

Unacceptable.

The notion of dying to an opponent of this level was simply unacceptable.

That very mindset was the final piece Demian needed to reach the realm of Masters.

“How dare you…! ‘Couldn’t accept?’ What bullshit!”

Abigeyl kicked off the ground and charged toward Demian. A dash infused with the characteristic agility of a leopard Werebeast. In her hands were new swords instead of the twin blades she had discarded.

Breaking her weapons was no problem at all. Masterless swords were scattered all over the wall.

“You think! Becoming a Master! Makes you stronger than me? You’ve barely reached the edge of Masterhood, and you’re acting so smug!”

Abigeyl pressured Demian by bouncing around like a rubber ball.

Each time a sword broke upon colliding with the great sword, she would pick up another and swing it, employing even her claws and fangs.

“Ugh… You’re still troublesome…!”

Demian also swung his great sword to meet her head-on, but he couldn’t help being pushed back little by little.

He was still just a fledgling Master, while his opponent was a Werebeast Champion with much experience. The skill gap had narrowed significantly, but not enough to completely overcome it.

“I’ll cut off your limbs and drag you away! Get ready to breed!”

Abigeyl roared fiercely.

She intended to incapacitate him by cutting off his limbs, drag him down from the wall, and violate him until he begged for forgiveness with that smug mouth of hers.

She knew she might face punishment later for deserting the battlefield during war, but such concerns had long been pushed aside by the rage that had risen to the top of her head.

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

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

A voice filled with boundless disgust and viscous hatred that couldn’t be fully explained by the word “anger” alone.

Millia, who had completely abandoned her post in the watchtower, glared at Abigeyl while nocking three arrows to her steel bow.

Her gaze contained such intense killing intent that her eyes seemed to burn like Haschal’s.

“How dare a mere beast wag its tail-!”

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

“Demian is mine! Do you understand? Do you understand, you beast bitch?!”

Millia declared her ownership of Demian while emanating murderous intent.

Everyone familiar with her usual demeanor looked at Demian with shock, unable to hide their astonishment at her aggressiveness.

Their gazes contained an accusation: what on earth did you do?

Demian chose to maintain his silence.