Earlier, while carrying Baldon’s body to find a place where he could lay him to rest, Luke noticed something ominous. Something that genuinely caught him off guard.
Men loyal to Regath had spread throughout the village, steadily encircling its entire perimeter.
His earlier estimate of Regath possessing three hundred men might be wrong. He had more and he has utilised them according to his plan.
Their numbers were so great that they were already positioned at nearly every point of entry and escape, leaving not a single stretch of ground unchecked.
The village might not be anywhere as huge as the town he recently visited but the village was still quite wide and yet, as far as Luke could sense...they were everywhere.
Now that the village guards had moved to the front, those hidden throughout the village were no longer waiting. Weapons were drawn, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
Their presence told Luke everything he needed to know. Regardless of how this challenge ended, whichever side emerged victorious, Regath intended to trample this village beneath his feet and slaughter everyone within it.
A chill ran down Luke’s spine.
Yes, his house was heavily guarded. It was laced with traps, practically a killing machine waiting to be triggered, while Dart remained inside, ready to tear into anyone foolish enough to trespass.
But against numbers like these, there were no guarantees. One mistake, one enemy slipping through the defenses, and everything could go wrong.
Luke knew he could not take that risk. He needed to draw every man’s attention away from the rest of the village and onto himself. And the challenger had given him the perfect opportunity to do exactly that.
He decided to turn the challenge into a catalyst, forcing the entire battlefield into chaos with one decisive blow.
And... he had succeeded.
"Surround them!"
"Kill every one of them!"
"Raaaah!"
The response was immediate.
By drawing the guards into the conflict, Luke had managed to involve nearly every warrior from both sides in the ensuing mayhem.
His dagger flashed again and again, slipping through flesh and finding bone before most could even register the movement.
Anyone who came within his reach fell moments later, blood spraying across the ground as Luke cut his way through the gathering crowd.
But the more he killed, the more men arrived.
The numbers continued to swell around him, and with them came an increasingly formidable challenge.
The battlefield had become a slaughterhouse.
Men from both sides crashed into one another with no formation left between them. Swords struck swords, shields splintered under heavy blows, and bodies stumbled through the mud only to be trampled beneath the feet of those still fighting.
Every few seconds, another scream tore through the chaos before being swallowed by the roar of steel and enraged voices.
Luke moved through it all like a blade given human form.
His dagger flashed beneath a man’s guard, cutting through his throat before Luke twisted aside and let the falling body crash behind him.
Another warrior swung at his head. Luke ducked, drove his shoulder into the man’s chest, and buried his dagger beneath his ribs. He barely had time to pull it free before another sword came crashing toward him.
Clang!
Luke caught the strike against his dagger, his arm trembling from the impact.
He kicked the man’s knee.
The warrior buckled.
Luke stepped forward and drove the dagger straight into his eye.
"Raaaah!"
Someone charged from behind.
Luke turned just in time to see the man’s sword coming down. He raised his forearm, allowing the blade to scrape across his sleeve instead of splitting his skull, then seized the man’s wrist and dragged him forward.
His dagger entered beneath the man’s jaw.
Blood sprayed across Luke’s cheek.
He shoved the corpse away.
But there was already another man behind him.
Then another.
And another.
"What the hell!"
"They’re pushing through!"
"Don’t let them reach the village!"
The shouts overlapped until they became little more than noise.
Kalish was caught in the middle of it.
The old warrior swung his weapon in a brutal arc, smashing one man’s jaw before turning and driving the pommel into another’s nose.
Blood burst from the man’s face, but Kalish did not even pause. He grabbed the warrior by his collar and hurled him into two others, sending all three crashing into the dirt.
"Hold the line!" Kalish roared.
The command barely mattered anymore.
There was no line.
Only chaos, steel and blood.
A burst of flames suddenly erupted several steps away.
Ilya walked through it.
Her blade was already dripping red, and fire curled around her body like a living beast. One warrior lunged toward her, screaming as he thrust his sword forward.
Ilya tilted her body aside.
Her blade flashed.
The man’s arm fell first.
He stared at the stump in disbelief before Ilya stepped forward and drove her sword through his chest. Flames immediately climbed over his body, consuming cloth and flesh as he collapsed.
Another three rushed her.
"Kill her!"
Ilya’s eyes narrowed.
The flames around her suddenly exploded outward.
"AHHH!"
The warriors were engulfed.
One fell to his knees, desperately beating at his burning clothes. Another stumbled blindly through the fire before Ilya appeared beside him and severed his throat. The third managed to escape the flames, only for her blade to carve across his stomach.
His intestines spilled into the mud.
Ilya didn’t have the leisure to look back as she moved toward the next target.
"She’s a monster!"
"Stay away from her!"
"Surround her! Get the bitch!"
The warning came too late.
She was already among them.
Her sword moved with frightening precision while the flames turned every opening into another death sentence. Men who tried to surround her were burned before they could close in. Those who avoided the fire were cut down by her blade.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though she alone could hold back the tide.
But there were simply too many.
Every warrior Luke killed seemed to be replaced by two more.
He noticed it.
Even while fighting, even while blood continued to drip from his dagger, he noticed it.
Their numbers were thinning.
His side was being swallowed.
"Agh!"
Kalish’s voice reached him.
Luke turned.
Kalish had three men on him.
He smashed one aside, but another sword slipped past his defense and cut deep into his shoulder.
Blood immediately soaked his clothes.
Kalish gritted his teeth and slammed his forehead into the attacker’s face.
Crack!
The man’s nose shattered.
Kalish ripped the sword from his wounded shoulder and buried his own weapon into the man’s stomach.
But the third warrior was already behind him.
Luke moved.
His dagger left his hand.
It crossed the short distance between them and sank into the man’s throat.
The warrior froze.
Luke rushed forward and caught his dagger as the man collapsed.
"Move!" Luke shouted.
Kalish glanced around. His expression hardened.
There were bodies everywhere.
Some belonged to Regath’s men.
Some belonged to the villagers.
And many belonged to warriors who had come here believing they could win.
Yet despite the growing pile of corpses, the enemy kept coming.
Despite the growing pile and roaring flames, they didn’t stop as if they were purely savages living only to kill or get killed.
Luke’s breathing became heavier.
His dagger was slick with so much blood that his grip was becoming difficult to maintain.
He wiped it against the corpse beside him, but another warrior immediately charged.
Luke was preparing to attack when suddenly,
*Shuank*
A massive volley of flames landed on him, and burned a few more advancing men around him.
Luke utilised the chance and summoned his hammer.
Using <Concentrated Burst> he slammed the hammer on the ground,
**BOOOOOOM**
The explosion from the strike caused many men to fall dead on the spot, many blocked it using magic however, over twenty more bodies littered on the ground.
For a moment, silence descended over the battlefield, as though the roar of the hammer had become the temporary stopper of the carnage.
Then Regath stepped forward. His men had gathered behind him, forming a formidable line as they faced Luke and the few who remained on his side.
Ilya looked ready to resume the fight at any moment, but Kalish and Grum were visibly injured and exhausted. Around twenty men still remained on their side, despite Luke and Ilya’s efforts to keep the fighting away from the village entrance.
Regath’s gaze swept over them before he spoke.
"You’ve eased the guilt I felt over betraying Kalish. After all, I slaughtered every villager right before his eyes, even after losing the challenge."
Kalish’s expression darkened, and he let out a low growl. "So you really did plan to betray me, huh?"
Regath chuckled, his expression carrying not the slightest hint of remorse. "Did you honestly think my men would simply return to their homes without breaking bones and spilling blood?"
Regath growled, his eyes containing maddening excitement. "Now, what’s your next move, boy?"
Luke’s eyes darkened. This...might be not as easy as he initially believed.
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