Ch.321Possession

The steel bow, impossible for an ordinary person to even draw, bends as lightly as a reed.

Millia’s strength, already beyond the average of master-level knights since she reached mastery, has now—with rage blackening her mind—reached a level where even top-tier masters couldn’t defeat her in a contest of strength.

Dozens of silver flashes poured down like a torrential rain, with enough force to tear the impudent snow leopard who coveted another woman’s man into pieces.

“What is this?!”

Abigeyl, who had been staring blankly in confusion at the sudden appearance of the girl archer and her fierce killing intent, finally narrowed her pupils in alarm.

Her thinned eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

The continuous rain of arrows sparkled like starlight, completely blocking her front, while from the side, a greatsword larger than her height was being swung with ferocious momentum!

“These…!”

A perfect coordinated attack of silver arrows and the greatsword. Even for someone like her, there was no way to dodge both simultaneously.

Abigeyl gritted her teeth.

‘Better the silver arrows than the greatsword!’

Making her decision in an instant, Abigeyl rolled forward as if throwing herself.

If she had to take one hit, choosing the less dangerous option was only natural.

– Kwaddeuddeuk!

The missed greatsword cut into the castle wall’s uneven surface.

Its power was incomparable to when she couldn’t handle Karma. The severed rock chunks fell toward the ground.

Abigeyl rose to her feet and looked forward again.

The arrowheads had already reached right before her eyes. There was no time left to dodge.

She frantically swung both arms.

– Kagagagagang!

The sound of metal collisions continued without pause.

Deflected arrows embedded themselves in various parts of the castle wall.

“Kyaaaaaaaa!”

Metal fragments flew up each time she deflected an arrow.

The impact was too much for thin steel to withstand. Deep cracks formed in her twin blades.

Then, arrows that penetrated through the trajectory of her twin blades pierced various parts of the snow leopard’s body.

“Keuuk…!”

Her snow-white fur gradually turned red.

Abigeyl’s body began to be pushed back by the impact. The cracked blades twisted and bent.

– Kwachang!

Steel fragments scattered. The twin blades, unable to withstand the impact, shattered like glass. Abigeyl hastily drew in a breath.

“This is nothing…!”

Abigeyl dropped the bladeless hilts and tried to block with her claws, but her short nails couldn’t deflect all the arrows.

There was no time to pick up new weapons.

Six flashes of light penetrated her upper body in succession.

“Kyaaaak!”

Her face contorted with pain and rage.

The silver arrows crushed through muscle and bone, making it impossible to move properly. She could only be pushed back by the impact.

Her claws scraped deep marks into the castle wall floor.

“Damn you brats-!”

Abigeyl’s pupils shook violently.

Her vision flipped. Her legs were suddenly treading air.

“Don’t think this is over!”

A venomous scream filled with rage.

The snow leopard werebeast, now resembling a porcupine, fell from the castle wall.

—-

It was a monumental moment when an ally master had taken down a Champion, but Frider couldn’t rejoice.

The situation on her side was far too grim to smile about.

“Keuuuk…! You, beast…!”

Noah’s expression twisted violently.

His voice trembled with pain. The area around his mouth was covered in overflowing blood, and the corners of his eyes twitched spasmodically.

“Keheuk!”

When he tried to speak, blood erupted from his mouth, staining his face bright red.

His weakened grip lost hold of his sword hilt and trembled helplessly.

Pain like swallowing molten lava. Four claw marks had penetrated his abdomen and lifted him up!

It had happened in an instant, without any chance to respond.

In the brief gap between miracles, when the holy light dimmed, Oleg had thrown his axe.

As Frider, who had barely blocked it, was pushed into a corner of the wall, the snow tiger’s claws were already in front of the paladin’s eyes. Not even giving him time to manifest a miracle of protection.

“Why such an expression? The moment to meet your god has arrived. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Oleg smiled as he brought his face close to Noah, who was skewered and trembling.

“So go with a smile. Like this.”

The smile of a predator before its prey. His muzzle opened wide. Drool dripped between his sharply protruding teeth.

“Sir Noah!”

Frider, who had been knocked down, shouted like a scream as she rushed toward Oleg.

But it was already too late.

“Your god awaits your arrival. In my stomach!”

A shadow fell over Noah’s face.

His complexion turned to despair.

“Stop-!”

Before Frider’s spear, thrust with all her might, could reach Oleg—

– Kwajik!

The tiger’s teeth crushed the paladin’s head like a snack.

—-

A Champion’s bite force was enough to crush a human skull like a cookie.

With a crunching sound, Noah’s entire facial area disappeared as if carved away.

From the cross-section of the skull, with only the back of the head remaining, a fountain of blood spurted up, soaking Oleg’s face.

Oleg licked out what remained of the brain and swallowed it, then used Noah’s faceless body to block the spear flying toward him.

Frider’s spearhead was stopped as it lodged in Noah’s body.

“You, you, you bastard-!”

“Stop barking so loudly. I’m eating.”

Oleg, who had chewed and swallowed Noah’s face, kicked Frider.

Frider blocked Oleg’s leg with her spear shaft, but the difference in strength was evident, and she couldn’t prevent herself from flying backward.

She did manage to swing her serrated blade and leave a torn wound on Oleg’s leg during the clash, but due to her unstable posture, it wasn’t a serious injury.

Frider tumbled across the ground.

Her armor was covered in dust. Blood seeped through her clenched teeth, and her cheek, struck against stone, was torn so deeply that the inside was clearly visible.

In that moment, Oleg turned his gaze to survey the battlefield.

‘…Not exactly a favorable situation.’

A bloody battle where blood washed away blood.

One of the humans’ high priests had lost his life, and countless knights lay dead, but the werebeasts’ losses weren’t small either.

Of the seven Champions, only four remained.

Valentin had lost his life, Lyudmila had suffered wounds too severe to continue fighting, and Abigeyl…

“Kyaaaaaaak!”

She was falling with a scream.

Judging by how Vasili was rushing desperately in that direction, he would somehow catch her, but considering the silver arrows embedded throughout her body and the impact of the fall, it seemed impossible for her to continue fighting.

‘This is as far as we go…’

Oleg sensed they were approaching their limit.

It seemed more time was needed before the gate would break, and only he and Nazar remained as Champions on the wall.

Meanwhile, the enemy’s masters had increased to four again with the addition of the boy.

It was obvious that they could collapse like dominoes before Viktor and Vasili could join them.

‘If it becomes three against one, that fox will just die, and then I’ll have to face four masters alone for a while…’

That was impossible. Strong as he was, he couldn’t face four masters alone.

‘…I should retreat after all.’

Rurik too was unable to overwhelm the Were Eater and was fighting with his feet tied, endlessly consuming his regenerative power.

Oleg’s mind leaned toward retreat.

If he and Nazar died here, even if Viktor and Vasili joined, their chances of victory wouldn’t be high. In the first place, victory after his death would be meaningless to him.

‘The problem is that I don’t have an excuse to withdraw from here… hmm?’

As he looked around, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

‘That…!’

As he narrowed his pupils and stared in that direction, a smile crept onto Oleg’s face.

The perfect justification was approaching on its own.

Oleg leaned his head toward the inside of the wall and took a deep breath.

“Your Majesty-! We must retreat-!!”

A resounding roar.

The snow tiger’s shout suppressed the noise of the battlefield and reached Rurik’s ears.

“What nonsense are you talking, Oleg!”

Rurik, who was busy fending off the greatsword, shouted without even turning his head.

Fighting inside the castle wall, he couldn’t see the situation outside, so it was natural that Oleg’s suggestion to retreat now, after conquering half the wall, sounded like nonsense.

“Reinforcements from Faelrun! You may not believe it, but their support troops are approaching! If we stay, we’ll be caught in a pincer attack and annihilated!”

Oleg shouted, pointing toward the horizon.

Rurik still couldn’t see it, but the werebeast warriors standing on the wall could see clearly.

In the direction Oleg was pointing, a group of knights was charging through the snowstorm.

The raised banner of Faelrun. The sound of galloping hooves cutting through the snow field. And at their head, an irritatingly familiar face.

The Ruler of the North.

Valdemar was approaching.