The fighting around the fortress walls grew increasingly brutal.
A scaled lizard the size of a horse burst through the frontline, its thick hide glistening beneath the fading sunlight as it charged straight toward the rear lines. Before it could reach the healers, a young female hunter stepped forward with a spear clutched tightly in both hands.
She let out a sharp cry and thrust.
The spear punched cleanly into the creature’s eye.
The beast shrieked in agony, but it didn’t stop.
Its massive tail whipped through the air with terrifying speed.
BANG!
The blow slammed directly into the woman’s chest.
Several ribs cracked instantly as her body was flung backwards like a ragdoll, crashing heavily against the fortress wall. Blood spilled from the corner of her lips as she struggled to breathe, every breath sending waves of agony through her broken ribs.
The lizard roared and lunged again, intending to finish her before she could recover.
It never got the chance.
Another hunter intercepted it, his sword flashing as he stepped into its path while two others hurriedly dragged the injured woman toward the waiting medics.
Scenes like that unfolded across the entire battlefield.
One hunter fell.
Another immediately stepped forward to fill the gap.
The number of wounded continued to climb.
The healers had long abandoned any thought of conserving their mana. Spell after spell flowed from their staffs as glowing light enveloped battered soldiers and hunters alike, knitting flesh together as quickly as they could.
Even so...
There were simply too many injured.
"Cover fire!"
"Don’t let them establish a foothold!"
Victor Smith’s voice boomed across the walls without pause.
Crossbows released another deadly volley.
Bolts tore through the air before disappearing into the charging monsters. The scent of burning chitin mixed with fresh blood until the battlefield became saturated with the nauseating smell of death.
The screams of injured men and dying beasts intertwined until it became impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Meanwhile, far ahead of the fortress...
Kael had completely settled into his rhythm.
His breathing became slow.
Steady.
Controlled.
With every breath he drew, more earth energy surged through his body.
He could feel it.
That strange primordial power flowing through him.
The power of a world that had never fully come into existence.
Raw.
Violent.
Untamed.
It pulsed through every muscle, every bone and every drop of blood, eagerly waiting to be unleashed.
Kael clenched both fists.
The accumulated energy exploded outward.
A dome of faint amber light expanded from his body in every direction.
The air seemed to collapse beneath the overwhelming force.
A concussive shockwave erupted outward like an invisible tsunami.
Everything within nearly fifty feet of him was caught in the blast.
Monsters were ripped off their feet before being hurled violently through the air. Bones snapped. Organs ruptured. Some creatures exploded outright while others crashed back to the earth as mangled corpses.
The pulse continued travelling beyond them.
Like ripples spreading across the surface of a lake.
The beasts farther back staggered violently as the kinetic force swept through the horde, throwing their formations into complete disorder.
When the dust finally settled...
Kael stood alone once again.
Around him stretched another circle of devastation.
Broken bodies lay piled atop one another.
The earth had collapsed inward.
Large chunks of stone jutted from the crater like shattered teeth.
It looked less like a battlefield...
And more like the impact site of a fallen meteor.
Unfortunately...
The beast horde didn’t care.
Fresh monsters immediately surged over the corpses of the dead, filling the empty space as though nothing had happened.
Kael welcomed them.
He shot forward once again.
His body had become the perfect weapon.
Every movement flowed naturally into the next.
Every punch carried enough force to shatter mountains.
Every kick crashed down like a meteor tearing through the sky.
Earth energy constantly reinforced his flesh.
His skin felt tougher than forged iron.
His bones denser than tempered steel.
The attacks of ordinary monsters no longer deserved his attention.
He simply allowed them to reach him.
Then ended them with a single strike.
A hulking beast suddenly burst from the horde.
It resembled a grotesque fusion between a massive bull and a giant scorpion. Thick scales covered its body while a venomous tail swayed behind it. Lowering its enormous horn, it charged directly toward Kael with unstoppable momentum.
The ground trembled beneath its advance.
Kael didn’t move aside.
Instead...
He stepped forward.
Both hands shot out.
His fingers wrapped firmly around the incoming horn.
BOOM!
The collision shook the battlefield.
The beast pushed with all its strength, its muscles bulging violently as it desperately attempted to drive him backwards.
Kael didn’t move an inch.
The tremendous momentum poured into his body before being completely absorbed by his reinforced frame.
The creature’s own legs buckled beneath the opposing force.
Without hesitation, Kael twisted.
A sickening crack echoed through the battlefield.
The massive horn turned sideways.
Its neck followed.
The beast’s spine snapped instantly.
Its enormous body collapsed lifelessly onto the blood-soaked earth.
Kael had already shifted his attention elsewhere.
A feline monster used that brief exchange to leap toward him from above, believing it had found an opening.
It never reached him.
Kael spun.
His backhand blurred through the air before colliding with the creature’s skull.
The impact folded its head inward.
Its body instantly lost every trace of life before crashing limply to the ground.
He continued moving.
There was no pause.
No wasted motion.
No unnecessary flourish.
Only slaughtering.
Two wolf-like monsters attacked together from opposite directions, perfectly synchronising their movements in an attempt to overwhelm him.
Kael answered with a single punch.
The resulting shockwave tore through both beasts simultaneously, reducing them to broken corpses before they even realised what had happened.
He pressed deeper into the horde.
The slaughter continued.
Yet...
Something slowly began to change.
The monsters weren’t mindless.
At least...
Not entirely.
Their animal instincts had begun adapting.
Rather than throwing themselves directly at the blood-soaked human standing before them, more and more beasts started circling around him, searching for openings to bypass him altogether.
The overwhelming scent of blood clinging to Kael had become a warning.
A predator.
A creature even more terrifying than themselves.
Their instincts screamed at them to avoid him.
To go around him.
To reach the fortress behind.
Kael immediately saw through their intentions.
His eyes narrowed.
Behind those walls...
Was Lyra.
As long as he remained standing...
He would make sure that fewer of these monsters made it to the wall.
# #
[AN_GUYS!! Good news!!
My device issue is settled. Well, temporarily, but it’s working enough to post. So expect the bonus Chapters anytime between today and tomorrow.
Thank you for all your support and patience.
P.S: Join the Discord server if you haven’t yet]