Barb Utsa
Bam!
I defended the attack with a Shield Brace before breathing out the fire, covering the monster with it.
Puch!
Before materializing to its left with Madam's Grace, I thrust my sword into the Hyena monster's head, delivering a devastating blow with the force of a Heavy Strike.
I removed my blade before taking out a bottle and gulping it down in rapid swigs.
I put the bottle back and breathed out the fire. Covering the three Grade III monsters fighting Hen and Yora.
The monsters are everywhere, and they are a terror.
I had fought them nearly every day, but fighting a small group of them and fighting a massive horde is vastly different.
They are more organized. I need to fight them with a different strategy.
When I was fighting a small group, I would use Intoxicating Smell, which made the monsters drunk before killing them, but I can't do that here.
The skill also requires me to be drunk, which is terrible to be on a battlefield with tens of thousands of monsters.
The battle rages, with monsters attacking us from the ground and the sky.
Still, we are killing them, but it is not without a cost. Our people are dying too.
Barely a second had passed since I killed the monster when two more came at me.
They are two ferret monsters. They are slightly bigger than regular wolves, with dark blue coats and long, sharp claws.
They are such cute animals, but these monsters are fucking terrifying.
Seeing them, I moved toward them.
Doo Doo!
They noticed and let out a sharp noise and increased their speed.
Whoosh!
When they had reached the range, I breathed out fire, with Wide Bloom covering both monsters, increasing my speed to its highest with Madam's Grace.
Clang!!
I appeared beside the monsters and bashed my shield against the nearest monster before dodging the second one's fast attack.
Whoosh!
As I did, I released another breath of fire at the first monster before attacking it with the sword.
Puch!
My enchanted sword pierced through its head. Killing it before I turned with my shield forward.
Clang Bamm!
I raised my shield in defense, exhaling a torrent of fire before smashing it into the monster's head. With a surge of power, I attacked with my sword, pouring all my strength into the strike.
Puch!
The sword pierced through it. Killing the second one.
Fire Breather alone is disadvantageous against the monsters. So, I took the support from the Warrior and Madam Class skills to make up for that.
Using all three, I crafted a strategy that would help me kill the monsters faster.
I quickly drank the healing potion, mending the damage in my arm from the shield bash, and then I replenished my reserves before moving to the other monsters.
They seemed to be endless. The more I kill, the more they appear.
It is happening everywhere. Some people are doing better against the hoard; some are not.
The Army of Greltheaven took me by surprise. I had expected them to be at a disadvantage vs the monsters, but I underestimated them.
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I never doubted their leader— because Carla had warned me not to. There was a reason Master Silver and General Stone had chosen her above so many other capable candidates.
I was worried about their lack of experience as more than half have never fought the monsters.
Their leader is more than making up for that disadvantage.
The woman is a terror.
She dances in the middle of the battlefield, shooting blood-red lightning at the monsters left and right and skillfully commanding the troops.
Most would die in a single attack without leaving any injuries.
I had expected many things, but not this.
Her skill in killing the monsters, especially the powerful ones, was turning the tide of doubt. Each fallen beast fueled her army's morale, raising their confidence in her leadership and making them believe in their victory even more.
Roar!
I was in the heat of battle when a deafening roar echoed through the air. The sound was so powerful it shook my soul, almost freezing me in place for a brief moment.
'Grade V. That's a Grade V!' I thought, terror gripping my heart as the realization struck.
Here, we only have fighters capable of handling Grade IV monsters. A Grade V, though—it's a whole different level. To face such a beast, you'd need warriors at Lv. 40 and above. We don't have anyone like that. The highest-ranked here is Baron Harrods. It's said he's above Lv. 35, but certainly not anywhere near Lv. 40.
"Leave Grade V to us. You all focus on the rest!" shouted Lord Blackwell. The next moment, he jumped from the wall and moved toward the front.
The monsters moved to attack him, but his bow released arrow after arrow.
Killing any monster that moves to stop him.
I turned and saw another man appear beside Baron Harrods. He was Lord Blackwell's second in command, the one who used the chain weapon.
Roar!
Lord Blackwell was halfway when another roar rang out, and a group of monsters came out of the forest.
The group numbered nearly a hundred monsters—just a fraction of what we had been fighting, but they still terrified me. Especially the leader: the Akarin Tiger. It was massive, as large as a rhino, with thick, tree-like limbs that seemed to bend the very earth beneath it. Its fur was pure white, save for the claws—bright red, like they had been soaked in blood.
I have read about it. It is a physical-element monster with massive physical strength and claws powerful enough to shatter enchanted weapons.
With a mighty roar, the Akarin Tiger surged forward, its speed blurring as it closed the vast distance in mere seconds. In an instant, it appeared before Baron Harrods and a bald man. Another deafening roar echoed through the air as the monster launched its attack. Its speed was terrifying—so fast that even the sharpest eyes could barely track its movement.
I nearly closed my eyes, not wanting to see what would happen next, when I saw something shocking happen.
The bald man appeared before Baron Harrods and brought out a shield.
Which instantly becomes as big as him.
Bang!
The moment the shield grew, I heard a massive bang and saw the tiger clashing against it.
I braced myself, expecting the shield to shatter into pieces and the man to be sent flying like a broken doll. But instead, the shield glowed with a brilliant light, and the man only staggered a few steps back. My eyes widened in shock as I realized what was happening.
It must be an artifact. It was the only way the man would have survived.
I was still reeling from the artifact's power when a new sensation washed over me, one that shocked me even further. An aura—radiating from Baron Harrods. He had attacked the monster with it. As his energy surged, I sensed another aura, and in the next moment, a massive arrow streaked toward the Akarin Tiger.
Saying I was shocked would be an understatement. Baron Harrods and Lord Blackwell had awakened auras—something I hadn't heard a whisper of in any of the intel.
They have hid it well.
Clang!
The monster defended the attack of Barron Harrods with its claws before leaping back to dodge the bright azure arrow from Lord Blackwell.
The Akarin Tiger barely managed to dodge, the arrow grazing its side by mere inches.
Roar!
The monster roared its frustration and attacked them again, and once more, the bald man moved to defend while Lord Blackwell and Barron Harrods attacked with their auras.
They could defend the Grade V monster's attacks, but the beast also defended and dodged their attacks.
I wanted to watch more, but I noticed a monster nearby before moving to kill it.
"They are coming,"
I had just finished killing it when I heard Hosk's somber voice and saw the group of Grade IV monsters that came behind the Grade V entering the battlefield.
They breached through the front line, attacking anything in their paths.
A group of them had gone straight toward Colonel Axseer, while another toward a group of powerful Blackwells and Baronies' army officers.
The last group of two came toward us.
"Fuck! Why us!" cursed Host a few seconds later as the massive figures of the powerful monsters drew closer. We were already dealing with the ones we were fighting, and now these new, terrifying creatures were heading straight for us.
"I will deal with the lead one. Yora and Barb, you both deal with the other," He ordered.
He is alone, and it is a Grade IV. He feels the monster's presence. Even he will have a problem dealing with what is coming toward us.
My mood couldn't help but turn somber, and I vomited the liquor I had stored.
It is not powerful enough to deal with what's coming.
As I vomited the liquor, I took out another bottle. It is the same one I had brought first to deal with the monsters, but I changed it.
The only difference with the last one is that it had only been aired in the mist.
This one had a mist artificially inserted into it as much as it could hold by Cresa.
It made the liquor very powerful but very dangerous to me. In the last practice session, I had used this; I had nearly killed myself.
It is oversaturated with the power of emotions. This means I need to keep my emotions calm, or it will be affected by those emotions, making the liquor unstable.
They nearly did when I was practicing in a stress-free environment, and I barely managed to keep control.
Now, I am in the chaos of battle.
The emotion mist may provide immense power, but it could also spell doom if not handled well.
I opened it, took gulps until full, and kept some in my mouth.
Usually, I filled my mouth with it, but this time, I had only filled half before putting the bottle into the bag.
The lightning wolf approached Hosk while the four-meter-tall red bear approached us. The bear is big, and its whole body is covered in a hard clay-like cover.
As I understood its natural defenses, my expression darkened. It was going to make things even harder.