Ch.322Reverse Charge

Objectively speaking, the horsemanship of the northern knights wasn’t particularly impressive.

This was only natural. Skills improve with the time invested in them.

For the hunters of the north, fighting on horseback wasn’t worth spending time to master.

In the snow-covered plains and icy terrain of the north, mounted combat was excessively dangerous, and their actual enemies, the Werebeasts, weren’t suitable opponents for mounted combat. Horses were timid creatures, after all.

No matter how thoroughly trained, there was no way to overcome their instinctive terror when facing predators.

Therefore, attempting a mounted charge against Werebeast forces was practically suicide. Even the mere growl of a Werebeast would cause horses to panic and throw their riders.

Valdemar had no intention of charging toward the Werebeasts on horseback either.

To begin with, there were only three or four Werebeasts remaining on the ground.

The other beasts had all climbed up onto the castle walls. Slaughtering and devouring the Empire’s knights and soldiers.

Valdemar glared at his castle, his already grim face contorting into something even more ferocious.

The northern lands he cherished and loved. Faelrun Castle, which could be called its heart, was bleeding and crumbling in the hands of beasts. It was unacceptable.

Moreover, his daughter was in there!

“Hunters of Faelrun! Charge! We must tear those beasts to pieces! It’s time to teach them the terror of being hunted!”

“Ooooohhh!”

The knights galloping behind him roared in unison.

Their numbers weren’t great. Perhaps three or four hundred at most.

Following Valdemar were knights alone, without a single soldier in sight.

That was precisely how they had managed to arrive so quickly.

Valdemar had left the slower soldiers behind and raced to the castle with only mounted knights!

It was a gamble for him.

If Faelrun Castle had already fallen by the time they arrived, or if the enemy forces were more numerous than expected, it could have meant death for all the knights of Faelrun, including himself.

But the imperial forces at Faelrun Castle were still holding out despite suffering numerous casualties, and the enemies appeared to have taken greater damage than anticipated.

‘We’re fortunate. Is this the blessing of Menes?’

Even while openly displaying his rage toward the Werebeasts, Valdemar didn’t forget to thank the gods.

It seemed possible that they might eradicate Baryachrus right here.

—-

‘Reinforcements? How could they arrive so quickly…!’

Rurik instinctively wanted to deny Oleg’s words, but he too could clearly hear the commotion of Werebeasts on the castle walls and the humans’ battle cries.

Rurik suppressed the urge to look toward the walls.

Taking his eyes off his opponent for even a moment could cost him his life. His enemy was stronger than he had imagined.

Aishan-Gioro seemed exasperated by his regenerative abilities, but fighting this way—sacrificing his body—wasn’t particularly efficient to begin with.

It was a desperate measure adopted because wounds inflicted by pure Jin-silver were nearly impossible to regenerate, but even regenerative abilities weren’t unlimited. Full-body regeneration consumed considerable stamina.

In reality, though he didn’t show it, he was quite exhausted. His limbs felt increasingly heavy, and his fur was covered with cuts and tears.

He had simply endured the smaller slashes rather than neutralizing them through self-harm and regeneration.

Meanwhile, his opponent…

“What’s this? You’ve gotten slower than before!”

Aishan-Gioro kicked off the wall and flew toward him like a meteor.

Tattered armor, blood streaming down her body. She was just as covered in wounds from the prolonged battle.

Yet, there wasn’t the slightest hint of fatigue in her expression.

It made no sense.

His stamina, which far surpassed not only humans but even the Werebeast champions, was gradually being depleted.

‘There’s a limit to endurance, how is this even possible…!’

A Werebeast and a human were fighting, yet the Werebeast was losing in terms of stamina.

Even accounting for the stamina drain from regeneration, it was bizarrely inexplicable.

How could he possibly have imagined the source of Haschal’s seemingly infinite vitality?

Durandal.

Had he known that such power resided in a mere sword, even Rurik, who had prided himself on needing only claws and fangs as weapons, would have writhed in frustration.

—-

In any case, if reinforcements had truly arrived, continuing the battle would only lead to pointless death.

Rurik’s mind also leaned toward retreat.

Though they had lost Valentin, they had inflicted significant damage on the enemy, so the battle wasn’t a complete loss yet.

For now, they could withdraw, wait for the severely wounded to recover, and bide their time.

“Just die already!”

Of course, he’d have to shake off this woman first.

“Who would grant such a request!”

Rurik blocked Durandal with the claws of both arms, kicked Haschal in the abdomen when her sword was blocked, sending her flying, then raised his head.

He had almost no margin for error.

The moment he kicked her stomach, he clearly saw the crimson veil protecting Haschal’s body, just as it had done throughout their battle.

She was thrown back by the force but hadn’t taken any real damage.

‘She’ll jump right back up and come at me.’

Before that happened, he needed to relay his orders. Rurik took a deep breath, filling his lungs.

“To all Baryachrus forces! Retreat! Descend the walls and run north! Regroup at the second assembly point!”

The wolf Werebeast’s roar thundered like rolling thunder.

—-

No Werebeast failed to hear the king’s command.

All surviving Werebeasts decided to retreat without a moment’s hesitation.

Viktor, who had been pounding on the gate and finally managed to break it down with a final blow, looked utterly indignant.

“Don’t let them escape! Hold them back until the Duke arrives! We must reduce their numbers as much as possible while we have the chance!”

Karl shouted urgently.

Karl too was exhausted from swinging his sword and shouting without rest.

A fierce sense of fatigue weighed heavily on his shoulders, making him want to collapse and rest immediately.

However, he had no time to rest leisurely.

In the middle of the battlefield where Noah and Silvan had fallen, he was effectively the last remaining commander.

Karl’s mind, heated by the battle’s intensity, raced quickly.

‘To recapture the north wall, we’ll ultimately have to engage in battle on the plains. This surely can’t be all of Baryachrus’s forces. We need to strike before their reinforcements arrive… but I don’t think we have the luxury of waiting for our soldiers to join us.’

He could tell immediately how the Duke of Faelrun had arrived so quickly upon seeing his forces.

He had rushed here with only knights, which meant the foot soldiers were still trudging along somewhere far behind.

It would take at least three or four days for them to reach Faelrun Castle, perhaps even longer.

‘That means we have to defeat them on the plains with just these forces… The ones that escape from here will fully recover before long. Even the two champions that Lord Median and Lady Millia defeated. So we must reduce their numbers as much as possible now!’

Karl also charged at a Werebeast in front of him, swinging his saw-toothed sword.

The saw, stained red with blood and oil, had teeth missing in places and most of its silver plating had worn off, but thanks to regular maintenance, it still retained its sharpness.

“Keuheuk!”

A Werebeast warrior whose back was severely torn fell with a scream.

Its shattered spine caught on the saw teeth and was pulled out. It was a critical wound that would prevent movement until fully regenerated.

Of course, Karl had no intention of allowing it to regenerate.

Beheading wasn’t particularly difficult, even with a damaged saw.

“Where do you think you’re running, you beasts!”

The knights who heard Karl’s orders also clung desperately to the Werebeasts.

The knights knew well that once the Werebeasts crossed over the castle walls, they would have no way to pursue them.

They lacked the ability to dig their claws into the walls and slide down like the Werebeasts, and the archers had already suffered devastating casualties, so they couldn’t be relied upon anymore.

Therefore, they had to somehow defeat the beasts on the walls or hold them back.

—-

Frider and Leonore were equally desperate.

In fact, they could be said to be in the most desperate situation of all.

Catching and killing a few pureblooded warriors was entirely different in both difficulty and importance from catching and killing a champion.

“Retreat? Retreat?! Don’t make me laugh! You’ll fight here until you die!”

Frider roared fiercely, clutching a saw-toothed sword in her right hand and an awl-like dagger in her left.

Her face was contorted almost like a mad dog’s, and her bloodshot eyes were stained red like blood.

Oleg let out a mocking laugh.

“A youngster who can’t even block a single strike has quite the mouth. Do you think I’m here because I can’t kill one like you?”

Oleg mocked Frider as he swung his axe behind his back.

With a thunderous collision, Millia’s arrow, shot to exploit an opening, shattered against the axe blade.

“Three young Masters… Unless you all attack at once, individually you’re just chicks.”

“Let’s see if you can die at the hands of a chick!”

Frider charged toward Oleg.

As she roughly swung her left arm, three awls were launched in an arc.

The pointed daggers with pump-like mechanisms attached to their ends. The Jin-silver mixed blades gleamed palely.

Awls targeting both thighs and the head. Followed by Frider’s charging saw-toothed sword.

All were weapons mixed with Jin-silver, each carrying the power worthy of a Master’s attack.

‘So, exactly at the Master level, is what you’re saying.’

Oleg snorted and raised his axe, bringing it down vertically.

– KWAAAANG!

A thunderous sound like lightning forged from steel striking down.

The stones on the castle wall exploded like a volcano.

Shattered rock fragments embedded themselves everywhere, including in Frider’s abdomen as she charged toward Oleg.

“Keheuk…!”

Frider groaned at the impact transmitted even through her armor and was thrown backward by the aftershock.

By the time she got back on her feet, Oleg had already fled below.

He was carrying the brown fox Werebeast who had been fighting Leonore tucked under his arm.