Overwhelming Firepower

Dyr was no longer defending itself as it went all in on offense. There was no rhythm left in its movements. No restraint, no hesitation. It had abandoned everything except destruction.

It rampaged around the area, attacking Alexander and his group, giving them no time to counter. All they could do right now was not to get hit.

The only good thing about this was that there were no more civilians present in the area, and the destroyed building could be repaired.

The second Dyr started raging, Alexander’s group could no longer counter-attack as they focused on dodging. The cleaver came down again.

Alexander shouted, ”Scatter!”

Everyone moved at once. Nina vanished in a streak of lightning-like aura. Mina leapt back with her spear held close to her body. Cael stepped aside with the smallest movement possible, while Ryan rolled across the broken stone with both short swords raised.

The cleaver smashed into the street. The impact sent broken stone flying in every direction.

Ryan clicked his tongue and crossed his blades in front of him. Several fragments struck his swords, forcing his arms back.

”Okay, this is getting a bit hard.” Before he could regain his stance, Dyr’s ram head suddenly lowered.

Alexander noticed it first. ”Ryan!”

Ryan’s eyes widened. The ram head charged forward, not with its full body, but with a sudden twist of Dyr’s upper torso. Its horns tore through the air like twin spears.

Ryan crossed his short swords and coated them with his aura mantle. The horns slammed into him. The sound was sharp and heavy.

Ryan’s feet left the ground as he was launched backward. The impact knocked the breath out of him instantly. His body crashed through the remains of a broken wooden stall before rolling across the stone road.

”Ryan!” Alexander shouted again.

Ryan tried to push himself up, but his arms trembled. One of his short swords slipped from his grip and clattered against the ground.

He forced a strained smile. ”Heh, still alive...”

But the moment he said those words, he coughed and collapsed onto one knee. Alexander’s jaw tightened.

Dyr did not stop, as its momentum was rising. Dyr’s lion head roared, and the monster swung its mace toward Ryan’s direction, intending to crush him while he was still unable to move.

Mina, who was the closest, moved. Her spear struck the ground, and she pushed herself forward with everything she had. She arrived in front of Ryan and raised her spear horizontally.

”Mina, don’t block it head-on!” Alexander shouted.

Mina knew that. She had no intention of stopping the attack completely. She only needed to change its direction the same way Alexander did.

Her aura mantle wrapped around her spear as the mace came crashing down. The moment the two weapons collided, Mina twisted her body and guided the force away.

She had succeeded; the mace shifted slightly and struck the ground beside Ryan instead of crushing him directly.

Unfortunately, the force was still too much. The shockwave slammed into Mina’s body. Her spear bent slightly, and her hands tore open from the pressure. Blood splattered across the shaft as she was thrown backward. The pain shot through her arms like fire.

Alexander moved and caught her before she could hit the ground. ”Mina!”

Mina’s face was pale. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but only a weak breath came out.

”I’m fine...” she muttered weakly.

It was obvious to anyone who saw her that she was not fine. Her hands were trembling so badly that she could barely hold her spear.

Alexander carefully lowered her to the ground and turned back toward Dyr. His grip tightened around his broadsword.

Now the only ones standing and able to fight in the group were Alexander, Cael, and Nina. Dyr roared as it charged at them.

The speed of its charge was not faster than before, but Alexander’s group felt their bodies aching and could not move like before.

So since they were unable to dodge, the three immediately knew that they had no choice but to redirect the incoming attack.

Dyr slashed down its heavy cleaver, and Alexander, who had gotten used to the timing, was able to redirect the incoming attack better than before.

This was a chance; both Cael and Nina attacked at the same time. Nina aimed for the gaps in Dyr’s body, while Cael was ready to cut off Dyr’s ram head.

Nina’s rapier flashed forward, wrapped in her lightning-like aura mantle as she pierced toward the opening beneath Dyr’s arm. Cael stepped in at the same time, his sword moving in a clean arc toward the ram head’s neck.

It was the perfect timing. At least, it should have been. Dyr suddenly twisted its entire body. It did not try to dodge. It did not try to defend. It simply moved with such violent force.

Nina’s rapier pierced into Dyr’s side, but the blade did not go as deep as she wanted. The monster’s muscles tightened around the weapon, trapping it for the briefest moment.

”Nina!” Alexander shouted as he tried to sprint forward, but his body was heavy at the moment, and he could not reach in time.

Dyr’s massive arm holding the mace swept outward. Nina immediately let go of her rapier and tried to retreat, but the monster’s arm struck her before she could fully escape.

Her aura mantle flashed brightly as she crossed her arms in front of her body. The impact sent her flying. She coughed up blood, making her almost lose consciousness.

Nina crashed into the side of a ruined building, breaking through the remaining wooden wall before disappearing into the dust.

It was also at this moment that Cael’s strike cleanly slashed down at Dyr’s ram head. The blade bit deep.

The ram head let out a horrible cry as Cael’s sword cut through its thick neck. Frost-like aura spread along the wound, and blood sprayed across the broken street.

The lion head turned toward Cael, and instead of pulling away, Dyr pushed forward. Despite the situation, Cael’s face remained ever neutral.

The ram head was not fully severed yet, but Dyr did not care. It forced its own body forward, making the blade sink even deeper into its flesh.

The sight was so reckless that even Cael was a bit surprised. It was using its own body to trap his sword. It was doing the same thing it did to Nina.

Alexander, who had placed Nina beside Mina and Ryan, quickly joined the battle with Cael. Seeing Cael’s current situation, he sped up his movement.

However, Cael had already understood the danger. The moment Dyr used its own flesh to trap his sword, Cael’s fingers loosened.

There was no hesitation. Some people would say that no swordsman would ever let go of his sword even in death, but more than a swordsman, Cael was a warrior, and a warrior’s job was to survive and win.

Cael released the hilt and stepped back, his movements clean and efficient. At the same time, his free hand reached for the dagger at his waist. But Dyr was faster than expected.

Dyr slammed its entire body weight onto Cael. There was no time to dodge completely.

He twisted his body, lowered his center of gravity, and crossed his arms in front of his chest as his aura mantle wrapped around him.

It was the correct response. If he tried to leap away, to mitigate some of the damage, he would be crushed before his feet left the ground. So the only option left for him was to take it head-on.

The impact struck him like a cannonball. This was the strongest attack he had received head-on.

Cael’s feet dug into the broken stone beneath him. Cracks spread outward from where he stood, and the ground behind him broke apart from the force passing through his body.

His aura mantle flared around him, cold and sharp, it was sky blue spreading across steel. Even after being struck by Dyr’s full weight, his posture did not collapse immediately.

Cael’s eyes remained calm. His feet slid back half a step, then another. The stone beneath him cracked, but his body did not bend.

Alexander finally arrived and made a downward slash, which Dyr avoided. ”Cael, are you alright?”

Cael did not respond. No matter what, even if it was only a few words, Cael always responded. That was when Alexander looked; he saw Cael still standing, still in that defensive position, his aura mantle still enveloped around him, but he was no longer conscious.

Dyr charged at Alexander, who quickly avoided the charge and tried to counter, but Dyr moved first and swung its mace sideward.

Alexander blocked the mace and jumped backward to mitigate some of the force, but that strike made him crash into a nearby building.

***

”Leader! Are you still not going to do anything?!” Harlik asked as he was ready to shoot at Dyr. Even the Royal knights were ready to strike.

”No, there’s no need. Everyone, bear witness to the one who will accept all challenges, the first steps of a true hero.”

The second Lucen said those words, Alexander, who was bleeding all over, stood up; his aura, which was at the second mantle, seemed to be covered by something; it was like the sun’s halo was covering Alexander’s body.

Alexander took a step, and the sun-like halo that overlapped with his aura mantle released an incredible burst of power within him.

Alexander dashed forward, and for a moment, everyone lost track of him. He was moving so fast that the third mantle knights could barely see his movement.

Alexander, with a clean sweeping motion with his sword, cut off Dyr’s already hanging ram head. It was at that moment that the raging Dyr seemed to have calmed down, as fear was starting to creep in.

His senses were telling him that the human before him had become extremely dangerous.

Despite the madness given by the dark red pill, his instincts to survive overwrote the madness and made Dyr take a step back. Dyr felt its body tremble as it no longer hesitated and fled.

Unfortunately for Dyr, it would have been better if he had fought head-on. The second it turned its back on Alexander, it was over.

Alexander dashed forward with such incredible speed that the air cracked behind him. Dyr swung the cleaver and mace in a desperate attempt to stop Alexander; unfortunately, that too was in vain.

In the next second, Dyr’s final head, the lion head, fell to the ground, its massive body still trying to flee, until finally it stopped as if the strings pulling it up were cut.

Alexander, who had done something incredible, knelt on the ground using his sword like a cane.

”He did it!”

”Those young ones defeated that monster!”

”They won!”

The people watching the fight suddenly celebrated. Lucen, who watched the entire fight, could not help but smile as his heart beat faster due to the excitement.

’As expected, watching your progress up close is truly exciting.’ It was as if he were back in his old world, looking at Alexander through the screen.