Chapter 296

‘I ask You, Father in Heaven.’

Audin knelt and quietly prayed.

From that position, he saw Encrid’s ridiculous neck twist.

Then came the impossible sprint, charge, sword strike, scroll, incantation, and explosion.

Kyaak!

As soon as she saw it, Esther bolted out, but Audin didn’t stop her.

She wasn’t a panther who could handle herself.

After that, he saw Ragna step forward too.

The dim-witted swordsman who often lost his way ran in a straight line toward where Encrid was.

His steps looked incredibly light.

‘Jealous?’

Of that blond dimwit dashing ahead?

“Wandering Teresa speaks. When do we fight?”

She was like a sheep thirsty for battle.

Even so, Audin didn’t ignore what stirred in his heart.

“It is said that unripe fruit is sour and bitter, and the Father has spoken: waiting ripens both fruit and heart, and He wishes to give you what is good, so He tells us to endure and endure again.”

“Endure. Got it.”

Teresa quietly knelt beside him.

Despite that, she wasn’t small compared to the other soldiers. The same could be said of Audin.

Two bears waiting patiently for the right time.

‘May you learn patience and go forth.’

Audin offered a brief blessing to Teresa in his heart and calmly resumed his prayer.

‘What is the shepherd, the mad lamb, and leader of the Madman Platoon doing right now?’

The scriptures say to help the young and weak. To be a shepherd to the flock, God commands us to protect and lead them.

Right now, it looked like his commander was doing just that.

He saved a child and, somehow realizing it, cut off and detonated the ominous thing clinging to his body.

‘Father.’

As he recited his quiet prayer, far off in the distance, beasts began raising their heads and then surged forward.

Beneath the dark sky, clouds of yellowish dust rose.

“If the beasts break through, we’re all dead! Block them!”

At Graham’s shout, the heavy infantry unit deployed.

Audin began a new prayer. A short but forceful one.

‘I ask You, Father in Heaven. Might You need a dog to guard Your side?’

There was no answer. But he believed one was needed.

For beasts, being sent to God’s side was the greatest blessing.

Audin stood up.

“I shall personally deliver His blessing.”

“Wandering Teresa will go with you.”

Audin stepped out, and Teresa followed behind.

The two of them marched toward the beast horde. The allied soldiers waiting in the rear instinctively made way.

The two hulking figures walked through the path that opened.

—

Awoooo! Grrrr! Bark!

Several wolves, swollen from beastification, charged to block the soldiers’ path.

“Hold!”

Wham!

A wolf slammed its front paw onto the square shield covering more than half the soldier’s body. The impact sent a sting through his forearm.

“Stab!”

Block and thrust. The most basic of heavy infantry tactics.

Several beasts were skewered by the spears of strong soldiers. Their heads burst with a thud, or their chests were punctured.

There were too many beasts. It was dizzying. It could only be described as a wave of beasts.

Paul, a soldier from a coastal village, knew well the terror of the sea.

He often joked with his comrades, saying a real seaman is one who stands tall even when a towering wave crashes overhead.

That’s what this was.

This wasn’t the sea, nor a shoreline.

But monsters were crashing over them like waves.

“Aaaaaah!”

Paul drew strength from deep within.

Back in his village, he was considered second strongest.

Had he not lost his temper and half-crippled the mayor’s son, he wouldn’t have ended up here.

But now, that very strength—the one that half-crippled the mayor’s son—was the tool and shield that would keep him alive.

He swung the hunk of iron in his hand with every ounce of strength he had.

It was a flail with a round iron ball at the end.

Whoosh, smack!

The head of a wolf, riding the crest of the wave, was struck and sent flying.

Blood and brain matter spattered onto his face through the shattered skull.

Paul blinked once, pulled back his flail, and swung again.

“Hrah!”

With a shout, he brought it down from above.

Boom! Crunch!

The flail shattered the beast’s shoulder and slipped off to the side. He then drove it upward from below.

Smack!

This time it struck the jaw of another beast that had leapt in from below.

Yelp!

The beast with the broken jaw tumbled aside. Another one immediately took its place.

“Aaaaaah!”

Paul shouted after taking down three beasts with sheer force.

“Shit, Paul!”

“Nice work, country boy!”

“Hold the line!”

Paul was now even fighting without a shield.

Some comrades nearby filled in his gaps with their own shields.

Just as he steadied his breathing and decided to repeat this hellish process several more times—

“Mom!”

One of his usually quiet and brave comrades flew through the air, screaming for his mother.

Half his body had been torn apart.

Thud thud thud. Intestines and blood rained down, mixed with drizzle.

What the hell was this now?

Grrrr.

Among the beasts, Paul saw something horrifying.

What the hell is that?

It was twice as large as the others. No—there was no comparison. Even crouching, their eyes didn’t meet. He had to look up to see its face. A large beast?

No.

It wasn’t just any beast.

Beasts are animals tainted by demonic energy.

What he saw now was a monster. A creature bearing ancient demonic energy—natural enemy of mankind.

A monster—Dire Wolf.

The gray-furred monster glared down at Paul with red eyes.

One of the soldiers blocking the way trembled.

Just looking at it brought fear. The desire to run surged uncontrollably.

Yet they held their ground and raised their shields.

Their years of grueling training let them endure.

And that alone deserved praise.

Grrrr.

The Dire Wolf let out a low, heavy growl, and the soldiers’ legs began to shake faster.

Even if they resisted, the primal fear could not be overcome, and their entire bodies trembled.

Paul, too.

His hand holding the flail shook. His knees buckled. Goosebumps rose on his skin. Darkness clouded his vision with fear.

‘Am I going to die?’

Paul thought of the weaver girl.

‘I loved her.’

He had planned to propose once he returned.

If she was okay with a guy like him, he wanted to ask her to live together.

To settle here and live a peaceful life.

He wanted to show her the ocean one day.

He wanted to have children.

He wanted to teach them how to fish.

There were so many things he wanted to do.

Paul sensed death.

He was going to die.

Had it not been for the human-shaped bear walking up behind him, he would have.

The bear-like man’s hand touched Paul’s shoulder.

“The Lord protects.”

Oddly enough, those words alone lifted the crushing pressure from Paul’s body.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

He panted and sweat poured down. Then the bear spoke again.

“Even the wretched beasts tainted by evil receive blessings.”

Blessings? What blessings?

The question barely formed before the hulking mad soldier Audin charged forward.

Despite his size, he moved fast. So fast that Paul could barely follow him with his eyes—it was like he disappeared.

A dozen beastified wolves stood between him and the Dire Wolf, but they were useless.

Boom! Clang! Bark! Crack! Snap! Thud!

What is that?

Paul’s eyes filled with confusion—and for good reason.

Audin now stood in the middle of the beasts.

Only then did his movements become visible.

He threw punches and kicks as he ran.

It was like watching a combat chariot.

Like a chariot reinforced with armor for ramming.

The two clubs extending from that chariot turned the beasts into mere mutts—no, stray mongrels scurrying through a marketplace.

Their heads were like tomatoes—smashed, burst, crushed.

Paul had taken out three with brute force, but Audin killed six or more just by passing through.

Some even flew into the air.

Then Audin’s body blurred again.

As if trying to show someone what speed really meant, he accelerated in a single instant.

Thump, boom!

A footprint remained where he had stood. The yellow earth sank, leaving behind the trace of his absence.

It was a charge accompanied by monstrous strength.

The Dire Wolf’s eyes followed Audin’s vanished form.

Its front paw swiped through the air. Even the monster moved with unnatural speed.

Its massive paw lashed out dynamically.

Then beast disguised as man and wolf disguised as beast clashed.

Clang!

A shockwave erupted as the two monsters collided.

Dust spiraled out in a circular pattern.

Everyone saw it—man beast vs. wolf beast, facing off.

In that moment, what emotion replaced their fear and dread?

There are people who are difficult to approach in daily life but feel incredibly reassuring when standing by your side in battle.

The same was true for Encrid’s Madman Platoon.

“Blessings!”

Audin shouted again, swinging his fist.

The Dire Wolf dodged with surprisingly nimble footwork and lunged to bite.

Clang.

Fist and claw clashed. The clubs were long discarded. But how did a fist clashing with a monster’s claw make a sound like that?

And what was the blessing?

The blessing Audin spoke of, of course, was sending the wolf up to heaven.

What was now in his hand.

Violence, based on brute strength.

For the greatest blessing to a monster was to die and dwell beside God.

Audin was determined to grant it personally.

“Are you just going to watch?!”

The commanding officer of the infantry shouted.

Paul raised his flail.

“Let’s wipe them out!”

“Shut up! Form ranks! Anyone charges out on their own is dead!”

“Paul, you damn hick! If you want to go back and finish things with Desiang, shut up and hold formation!”

The squad leader yelled.

Paul obeyed.

The joy of being alive surged anew.

But it wasn’t time to celebrate yet.

The battle raged on, and he was still in the middle of it.

But Paul no longer thought he would die.

He had just survived while facing a Dire Wolf.

Why would he die to some mutt?

“Raise shields!”

“Raise shields!”

The heavy infantry—the Border Guards’ standing force—once again formed an impenetrable wall.

Though they weren’t the most powerful attackers, holding the line was their best strategy now.

Their effort was soon rewarded.

“Use everything you’ve got.”

That was what Krys had said in the third battle.

Graham followed that to the letter.

“Charge.”

At his word, spearheads flew into the beasts’ flanks.

“You’re not the only ones with tricks up your sleeve.”

Neighhhh!

A cavalry unit that hadn’t been shown until now.

Whistles blew.

A mercenary at the front let out a long whistle.

At the signal, horses charged.

Those who had hidden within the fortress walls now rushed out in a line.

Dududududu!

The pounding hooves shook the earth.

They were a hastily formed unit made up of mercenaries confident in their riding skills.

Though hastily assembled, they hadn’t lost their mobility.

Lacking training and skill, but still capable of slamming into the enemy.

More importantly—

Neigh!

A wild horse larger than the others took the lead and did something insane.

‘What the hell is that?’

The mercenary was stunned, but his veteran hands and feet moved on their own.

Timing his swing with the wild horse’s charge, he slashed diagonally with his greatsword.

Smack!

A beast’s head was severed and flew off.

The wild horse, excited for some reason, slammed a beast with its forehead, then retreated and charged again.

It repeated the process several times.

What the hell?

The mercenary was baffled, but knowing it was one of Encrid’s horses, he let it go.

Trying to make sense of it would only give him a headache.

In the chaos, Teresa slipped past the beast horde and headed to the rear.

A few beasts, underestimating her alone, rushed in.

Teresa calmly dealt with them.

She blocked with her shield and gripped her sword by the blade like a club, swinging it to drive them off.

Clang!

Some of the hit beasts stumbled in circles nearby. They were fearless bastards.

Should she kill them?

Teresa considered it briefly but realized she was already too late.

“You.”

Standing before her was the Wolf Bishop. When had he arrived? Was he truly born and raised in the Demon Realm, as rumors said?

A sudden question crossed her mind.

More importantly, he was the one who sent her here.

“Heretic wench.”

The bishop said.

Teresa replied—

“I’m Wandering Teresa. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She denied knowing him. Teresa was more brazen than expected. At least, she wasn’t the Teresa the bishop had known. That one was dead.

So being brazen was allowed.

“What?”

“I don’t know you, so I really don’t get why you’re saying that.”

The Wolf Bishop was furious.

“You bitch!”