Ch.328Deception

As Haschal had vaguely anticipated, the second rally point for the retreating werebeasts was in the middle of a coniferous forest, located roughly halfway between Faelrun Castle and the northern wall.

A place the northerners called the Forest of Needles.

Currently, only a small number of werebeasts who had moved quickly had arrived there.

Just a few purebloods, six Champions, and their king, Rurik.

Since they hadn’t maintained formation and retreated in an orderly manner, but rather scattered individually, the speed at which they reached the rally point naturally varied.

It was only natural that the stronger werebeasts arrived faster.

—-

“Y-Your Majesty! Are you alright?!”

Nazar, who had arrived at the rally point with Oleg, couldn’t hide his shock at the sight of Rurik who had arrived late.

Though he had never doubted that their king would return safely, the actual appearance of Rurik was far from what he had expected.

“No need for such fuss. It’s not a severe injury that prevents me from moving.”

Rurik sat down on an old tree stump, waving off Nazar who was rushing toward him.

Though his head was spinning from the intense pain and blood loss, he wasn’t about to lose consciousness. He couldn’t afford to.

“But…! Your Majesty…!”

Nazar couldn’t continue his words.

Blood was nearly seeping through his clenched teeth from the grief and self-reproach he felt.

“My arm!!”

Rurik chuckled.

Nazar’s expression seemed more pained than his own, despite being the one who had lost an arm.

“Losing an arm is unavoidable. Better than losing my head, wouldn’t you say? I can always attach a gauntlet in place of an arm, but I can’t exactly walk around with a helmet instead of a head.”

It was a joke Nazar found impossible to laugh at.

—-

“That woman was stronger than expected. To think she could inflict such injuries even against the silver-blue blade…”

Vasili, the polar bear werebeast, muttered gravely.

While they had anticipated the retreat itself when Valdemar’s knights arrived faster than expected, even he hadn’t foreseen such losses.

It was an undeniable defeat.

Three of the seven Champions had fallen, and their king had lost his claw.

“Yes… she was beyond human level. Not an opponent I could defeat one-on-one. If she didn’t have that sword, I might have managed somehow… but as you can see, this is the result.”

Rurik slightly lifted his severed arm.

Were Eater. Honestly, he had underestimated her, but fighting her in person revealed she was a monster like no other.

‘I never expected her hidden claws to be that sharp.’

They say unquenchable fire only needs to be kept away from one’s head, but that final slash she showed was truly at a level that could have caused instant death.

A blade accelerating so rapidly it was difficult to perceive. Losing just an arm was truly a stroke of fortune.

—-

Oleg stared intently at Rurik while leaning against a thick tree trunk.

‘…I knew he was being pushed back gradually, but I never expected him to lose an arm.’

His vertically narrowed pupils gazed for a long time at the wolf werebeast’s empty left arm.

The forearm, with barely a span remaining below the elbow. The tightly wrapped bandages were soaked with blood.

Though the bleeding had been stopped, regeneration was impossible since it had been cut by the silver-blue sword.

That cursed blue-silver metal severed the very powers of all non-human races.

While the cut surface itself would eventually heal if stitched and fixed, the severed wrist would never grow back.

Even if they were to cut off the entire left arm to regenerate it.

‘Were Eater… she certainly lives up to her name.’

Oleg shifted his gaze from Rurik’s left arm and surveyed the other Champions.

“That archer bitch… I’ll definitely kill her…!”

Abigeyl, who had been carried on Viktor’s back, ground her molars in rage.

Unlike the other Champions, her anger was directed not at the Were Eater but at the green-haired girl.

The silver arrows that had pierced her entire body. Though they had all been removed, there were so many wounds that even a Champion’s regenerative abilities couldn’t heal them easily.

‘I’m fortunate they were just arrows. If I had been struck by that greatsword…!’

She wouldn’t have even made it here alive.

“Ugh… augh…”

Unlike Abigeyl who was gradually regaining her strength, Lyudmila still hadn’t regained consciousness.

This was understandable. Excluding Rurik, Lyudmila had suffered the most severe injuries among those present.

Silver fragments that had torn and shredded her entire internal organs.

She was barely hanging on with a Champion’s unique vitality; had she been an ordinary warrior, it wouldn’t have been strange if she had died during regeneration.

“Damn it, if only we had broken down the gate sooner…!”

Viktor snorted repeatedly, as if unable to contain his frustration.

Having to retreat right after breaking down the gate meant he had been defeated before he could do anything.

—-

“…Shouldn’t we retreat? It doesn’t seem like pursuers have caught up yet… but it won’t take them long. This is their golden opportunity to annihilate us and reclaim the northern wall.”

“Hmm…”

At Vasili’s question about their future plans, Rurik scratched his chin with his remaining hand, deep in thought.

Completely withdrawing now would mean all their gains would be for nothing, but fighting with their remaining forces seemed to offer too little chance of victory.

‘Then we should reinforce our strength.’

After pondering for a moment, Rurik finally shook his head.

“…No, we won’t retreat. There’s no point in going back. For a warrior of Baryachrus, there is no path other than fighting to win!”

Seeing Rurik’s resolute declaration, Vasili nodded, sighing briefly as if he had expected this response.

“This time for sure!”

“We must have revenge…!”

Viktor and Abigeyl burned with fighting spirit, while Oleg revealed his fangs in a grin. They all seemed to agree with the decision to fight.

“But Your Majesty!”

Only Nazar raised his voice in opposition, as if unable to accept this.

However, changing Rurik’s mind was impossible for Nazar from the start.

“We gained the northern wall with the blood of our warriors. We cannot simply hand it over. How could we face the fallen warriors?”

“Even so, it’s impossible with our current forces!”

An undeniable truth.

If all the retreated werebeasts gathered, they might have a numerical advantage, but the gap in high-level combat power was severe.

They had only five Champions. Even if they were extremely lucky and Lyudmila recovered, that would make just six, whereas the northern army joined by Valdemar would have about ten Masters.

“True. That’s correct. But when did I say we would fight as we are? If the enemy’s numbers have increased, we simply need to call for reinforcements.”

“Are you referring to the reserve forces left in our homeland?”

Oleg, who had been listening from a distance, joined the conversation with interest.

The forces participating in the great invasion weren’t all of Baryachrus’s strength.

Even Rurik hadn’t unified all werebeasts, and there were plenty of werebeast tribes hostile to them.

In such a situation, if they had mobilized all their forces across the mountains, it wouldn’t have been strange if their homeland was plundered like an empty house.

That’s why they had left reserve forces to protect their homeland while going on the expedition… but given the current situation, leaving them in the homeland was a waste of combat power.

“Yes. We’ll send a messenger to the homeland to summon them. We can buy time until they arrive at the northern wall by conducting delaying actions and controlling our retreat speed. And finally, when all our forces gather at the northern wall, we will fight the final battle on the ruins!”

The reserve forces were minimal defensive forces, so they weren’t large in number.

However, despite their small numbers, they included eight Champions.

If they fought with those reinforcements, they would have a sufficient chance of victory.

The homeland’s defense would be weakened accordingly… but that was already unavoidable.

“A messenger… Sending an ordinary warrior wouldn’t make them believe and follow, so one of the Champions will have to go.”

“Indeed. It’s regrettable that our forces here will be further reduced.”

Unless it was a Champion, they wouldn’t believe an ordinary pureblood warrior.

Though they had established a country, they were still a barbaric race. They didn’t have concepts like proving a messenger’s identity with the king’s seal or sword, unlike human nations.

“Vasili and Viktor are too slow, and Abigeyl and Lyudmila are in that condition… How about sending Nazar? He’s quite fast on his feet, like a fox.”

Oleg grinned and pointed at Nazar.

“Me?”

Instead of nodding, Nazar narrowed his eyes and looked at Oleg’s face.

‘Certainly, it’s not an unreasonable suggestion, but… something…’

His twisted, upturned lips looked quite suspicious.

Though Oleg had saved his life on the wall, the hostility they had built up over a long time couldn’t be resolved so easily. Not for him, nor for Oleg.

‘He’s blatantly trying to get rid of me. What is he planning to do while I’m gone?’

Accumulated old memories brought suspicion.

“No. I will stay by His Majesty’s side. To conduct delaying actions, we need a warrior who can calmly coordinate the movement of troops. It’s too much for a beast who only knows how to charge. So, rather than sending me, wouldn’t it be better if you went? You’re not slow either.”

“…You want me to act as a messenger? With so many enemies worth fighting right there?”

Oleg showed obvious displeasure, with an expression that suggested he was desperate to fight right away.

‘…Perhaps I was overly concerned. Come to think of it, that thoughtless fellow couldn’t possibly come up with such schemes. He simply recommended me because being chosen as a messenger would mean fewer fighting opportunities.’

Seeing his usual attitude, Nazar also set aside some of his suspicions.

“You’ll have plenty of fighting on the ruins of the northern wall. Besides, delaying actions require repeated quick strikes followed by immediate withdrawal, which hardly suits your temperament, does it?”

“Hmm… Yes, you’re right. It sounds like a fight that would be boring and frustrating just hearing about it.”

At Nazar’s persuasion, Oleg reluctantly nodded with a sullen expression, as if he had conceded.

—-

And so, Oleg was assigned the role of messenger to the homeland.

The snow tiger sprinted northward with all his might.