Ch.332Support Request

======[ Northern Army ]======

The gallop cut through the forest in a straight line.

A terribly grueling march began for the knights.

“Projectiles incoming! Shields up-!”

The knights responsible for defense raised their shields in unison.

Stones and wooden spears thrown by the werebeasts pounded violently against the shield wall.

“Kugh…!”

Despite feeling pain as if their arms would break, the knights didn’t let go of their shields.

If they couldn’t hold, it wouldn’t be their arms that would break, but their necks. Their own, and those of their comrades running alongside them.

“Keep running! Don’t let them get close!”

Valdemar, running at the front, shouted as he deflected a stone with his greatsword.

“Fire! It doesn’t matter if you miss! Just slowing them down is enough!”

Karl’s commands followed.

Since the Master-level knights were far too busy, it fell to him to command the knights on the inside.

“Damn beasts!”

“Get away!”

Knights without shields continuously counterattacked while running without rest.

They threw spears that pierced through trees and drew bowstrings toward the barely visible air.

Werebeasts who were unlucky enough to be hit fell with short screams.

There wasn’t time to aim carefully, so not many were hit, but it was enough to slow the barrage of projectiles raining down on them.

While the knights fought back, the Masters were also busy engaging in battle.

Their role was crucial in breaking through the forest full of werebeasts.

They had to block Champions charging in to disrupt their formation while simultaneously clearing a path forward.

There was no luxury of having two or three Masters gang up on a single Champion like before.

“Don’t you dare stoooop!”

“I refuse!”

Abigeyl, who was charging while kicking off trees, was knocked back by Aingen’s counterattack.

Though Aingen’s skill was inferior to Abigeyl’s, his lightning-infused saw blade was enough to create a momentary opening to repel her.

“Are you running away, Valdemar!”

“No, my lord is advancing. Are you too beastly to understand that?”

The greatsword of Rihart, Faelrun’s Master, deflected and redirected the polar bear werebeast’s fist attack.

Even with perfect form, it felt like his arm would break from the residual force, but Rihart showed no sign of strain as he swung his greatsword.

“Think I’ll let you go so easily?”

“You know it! I won’t let you go easily!”

As Lyudmila’s throwing spear and Millia’s arrow collided, the ruptured air scattered snowflakes.

Unlike when she was sniping from a watchtower with a heavy bow, Millia now wielded a short steel bow, making her arrows less powerful than the throwing spears.

However, if one shot wasn’t enough, she could fire two or three more.

While Lyudmila threw one spear, Millia could draw her bowstring at least three times.

Most arrows flew toward the spears to neutralize them, but some were shot straight at Lyudmila.

Because of this, Lyudmila had to occasionally stop throwing spears and hurriedly dodge.

“That damn archer…!”

Lyudmila, who had just rolled on the ground again, gritted her teeth.

She had no choice but to dodge when arrows came flying. Taking a direct hit from those arrows would be quite dangerous, especially with her body not fully healed.

“I’ll crush you, humans!”

The elephant werebeast, Viktor, rampaged while wielding three curved blades.

Due to his exceptionally large build and wide attack range, one Master wasn’t enough to stop him.

“How dare a mere beast!”

Excluding Valdemar, Faelrun had six Masters.

Originally there were seven, but one had died fighting monsters in the Benes territory, leaving only six.

“I’ll carve out that snout of yours!”

Two of them took on Viktor, while the remaining two cut down the werebeasts blocking the path beside Valdemar.

Leonore, Demian, and Frider moved flexibly within the formation.

Whenever he had a chance, Demian would leap up to strike down werebeasts attacking from above, while Leonore and Frider rushed around reinforcing areas that were being pushed back.

—-

“This is…! We can’t stop them…!”

The fox werebeast, Nazar, bristled his tail fur in dismay.

He had been certain that the humans would eventually figure out the purpose of their delaying tactics, but their response was too quick.

They were charging forward with the sole purpose of escaping the forest, even at the cost of some sacrifices.

Even as some fell with broken necks from projectiles they couldn’t block, and others bled from the warriors’ attacks.

The werebeasts were equally weakened from continuous battle, making it impossible to stop the humans.

Even with ambushes and hit-and-run tactics using the terrain, casualties were inevitable, and the wounds inflicted by the enemy’s attacks weren’t easily regenerated.

‘At this rate, they’ll be out of the forest by tomorrow!’

His perked ears trembled with dismay. From that point on, delaying tactics like these would be impossible.

Fighting on open plains would mean countless sacrifices for each attack.

‘In that case…!’

Nazar gritted his teeth and launched himself off a tree.

Toward the king, who was engaged in a desperate struggle against the Were Eater.

The Winter Wolf and the Were Eater.

Only those two had completely detached from the formation.

They couldn’t fight near allies because the aftermath of each collision would sweep away everything around them.

Of course, Rurik, who would benefit just from breaking the enemy formation, tried to rush toward the clustered humans whenever he saw an opening, but Haschal was thoroughly blocking him even at some risk to herself.

“Where do you think you’re going with one arm!”

“Grrrr…!”

Facing an opponent who had gained the upper hand since his arm was cut off, Rurik couldn’t find an opportunity.

Even if he cut off his own head and threw it toward the enemy lines, Haschal would rush over faster than he could regenerate and land.

The forest terrain offered no advantage against her.

She extended crimson tentacles like spider legs to grab branches in all directions, and leaped by kicking off the ground or tree trunks, moving through the air in a way reminiscent of Abigeyl’s tactics.

If there were monkey werebeasts, would they be like her?

She was displaying werebeast-specific tactics even better than the werebeasts themselves.

“You were boasting about winter coming, but has spring arrived already? I don’t feel cold at all!”

“Good for you!”

The true silver sword swung as she flipped upside down.

Rurik avoided it by arching his back, then spun around and kicked Haschal.

[How dare you!]

A curtain of murder karma bloomed like a flower bud, blocking Rurik’s claws before shattering.

The weakened tip of his foot slammed into Haschal’s armor.

“Kuhak!”

Though weakened, it was still a strike that concentrated the Winter Wolf’s leg strength, weight, and momentum into a single point. The armor that received his toe shattered.

Haschal, who had been floating in the air, exhaled violently as she flew backward. Or rather, tried to fly backward.

– Chwararuk!

A crimson tentacle sprouting from her left arm wrapped around Rurik’s leg like a chain.

Ignoring the excruciating pain as if her entire side had ruptured, Haschal pulled her left arm with all her might.

Her body, which had been flying backward, came to an abrupt halt.

Her shoulder ached as if it would dislocate from absorbing the sudden stop, but at least she had prevented the distance between them from widening.

“If you want to kill me, you should have kicked my head!”

Haschal smiled, baring her fangs, and leaped forward while pulling on the tentacle that was still entangled.

Her body shot toward Rurik like lightning.

“Next time I will!”

Rurik roared fiercely as he cut the karma chain binding his leg with his left arm’s blade.

A stinging pain contorted his face. Blood was dripping from his calf, perhaps cut at the moment of his kick.

======[ Baryachrus ]======

Baryachrus, the nation of werebeasts founded by Rurik.

Six Champions were now gathered at the fortress located at its frontline.

Oleg, who had arrived at the fortress after running at full speed, and five of the eight Champions who had remained in Baryachrus.

They were waiting there, preparing for any contingency, while the remaining three were guarding the capital, Novgorod.

And now, the contingency they had been waiting for had just arrived.

“His Majesty needs us?”

“Yes. We could have destroyed Faelrun Castle with just a little more fighting, but Valdemar’s reinforcements came too quickly. Regrettably, we had no choice but to retreat.”

The jaguar werebeast, Arseniy, tilted his head as he looked at Oleg.

His attitude suggested disbelief.

“Hard to believe. I didn’t know there was anyone who could stop His Majesty.”

The lioness werebeast standing next to Arseniy muttered while striking the ground with her tail.

The Rurik she had known was a monster, far removed from the word “defeat.”

“But it’s true, Kseniya. You’ve heard of the Were Eater, haven’t you? The human hero—indeed, she lived up to her reputation. Enough to withstand His Majesty. Above all, we had too few Champions. With human Masters ganging up two or three at a time, it was inevitable that we would be pushed back even with His Majesty present.”

In reality, she had gone beyond withstanding to cutting off one of his arms.

Oleg deliberately didn’t reveal Haschal’s exact level of skill. It was obvious they wouldn’t believe it until they saw it themselves.

“The main force is currently retreating toward the northern wall. The pursuit force is following, but they’re not that numerous either. If you join, our chances should be sufficient.”

Oleg’s words were true.

Four hundred pureblooded warriors plus five Champions would be enough to handle the pursuit force.

“Hmm… it seems His Majesty is indeed in danger.”

The gray bear werebeast, Yevgeniy, stroked his chin.

The saber-toothed tiger werebeast, Lavrentiy, standing beside him, stared intently at Yevgeniy.

When their eyes met, Yevgeniy nodded slightly.

“What do you think will happen if our support is delayed, Oleg?”

The final question came from the rhinoceros werebeast, Maksim.

“…Even His Majesty cannot win without your support. Baryachrus will lose its king.”

“I see… so that’s how it is.”

Maksim sighed after hearing Oleg’s answer.

Meanwhile, Arseniy and Kseniya were also exchanging peculiar glances with Yevgeniy.