I'll kill you until no bones remain!" Dozla spat, saliva scattered from his mouth. He kicked his horse and charged towards the group of rogues together with his soldiers, his broadsword in hand.
"Garet, go for the carriage. Asad and I will take the big oaf," Eoi instructed while mana was gathering on his hand and formed into arrows.
"Kyakyakyakyak! You don't have to tell me twice!" Garet sprinted towards the carriage at top speed while all the men in black garbs charged at the same time towards the royal guards.
"Like I would let you! Scum!" Dozla barked, and with the flipped off his hand, the broadsword that weighed hundreds of pounds felt like air as he swung it towards Garet's direction.
Earths and rocks erupted together with the force as they flew towards Garet's path.
[Devastator]
Garet cast a barrier around him, but upon contact with that force together with the high-speed flying rocks and earth, he still flew meters away from the impact as his barrier exploded from Dozla's sword skill. He came crushing on the dirt, and he trashed on the ground before he struck his ax against the earth to stop his momentum.
Garet smirked and licked the blood that flew freely from the cut on his head, eyes full of madness. His hood fell from his head, revealing a human face with rainbow-colored hair that stuck out like metal spikes. His skin was ornate with metal piercings.
Though Garet came out unscathed except for the small cut in his forehead, he couldn't say the same for the rest of the men cloaked in black that were hit with high speed flying rocks which made multiple holes on their body. While the others who were not so lucky that got hit straight on with the force from Dozla's sword were now just broken bones and corpses.
"Heh. He's strong." Garet snorted while eying the dead bodies from their side of the group. The battle hadn't even lasted for a minute, but half of their men were already dead.
"He wouldn't be a royal guard if he weren't," Asad said while he watched the approaching soldiers in rapt attention. His gaze narrowed at Dozla, who was now twenty meters from them. "A worthy opponent for Gawtar!"
"Die vermin's!" Dozla bellowed as he was nearing the group of bandits. His broadsword raised while his other arm held his horse's rein.
Just as Dozla was about to strike, a glint flashed across his eyes, and before he knew it, his horse tumbled to the ground with a loud crash! All his horse's limbs were cut clean that it took seconds for the blood to burst out.
Dozla was unfazed and jumped at the right moment. His weapon raised as he used all his might to smash it down towards Asad while Eoi took a step back, avoiding the blow.
BOOM!
The impact caused an extensive crevice to form on the earth to where Asad was standing as dust flew everywhere, enveloping the area in a dirty blur.
Dozla's eyebrows twitched when the dust settled, and the view became clear.
"Heh! Not bad old man," Asad snorted, his sword raised as his two hands supported his blade against Dozla's gigantic broadsword.
Dozla overpowered Asad in both heights and built, but he didn't understand how could the puny little man resisted his attack head-on. And alas, all questions were answered when Asad's hood flew off from his face.
A demon!
Asad was not human but a demon! And with a small horn on the forehead signifying that he was not just any ordinary demon, but a Rank-B demon, same as Agatha!
"Y-you! How dare a demon encroached these lands!"
"And why would I not dare? Not like you weaklings can do anything about it." Asad flung his sword, and Dozla stumbled back. His strength was on par with Dozla ––even greater.
Asad swung his sword in succession. His hand was so fast that all saw were blurs. His sword snake around Dozla's defense, and blood spewed everywhere.
Dozla tried hard to defend with his word, his speed and Asad's were equal, but Asad's sword seemed to bend. Every strike, Dozla managed to evade. But Asad's sword crawled its way towards him. Like no matter how hard he blocked, Asad's blade would still cut his flesh.
At the same time, Dozla was thinking about something. Like the reason why this group suddenly attacked in broad daylight, not to mention attacking the royal family. They could either have a lot of brawns or have little brains.
"How did you manage to break your way? The barriers should keep you all out. Unless you're those monsters that were trapped here after the war?" Dozla questioned, hoping it was the latter as he stroked his sword to defend, but it was hopeless as Gawtar still sliced his flesh. Though not deep, it was enough to drenched Dozla in his blood.
"Ahahaha. You mean those puny barriers that you humans are so proud of? Hmp! Do you think some messily arrays are a match to our Lord? Keep on dreaming, mortals!" Asad never cared about the secret of breaching the barriers. To him, these people were already dead. Telling or not wouldn't make any difference.
They're all going to die!
Asad swung his sword, which caused Dozla to stumble back. Asad took the opportunity and kicked Dozla in the stomach, and the older man flew meters away.
Dozla struck his blade on the ground to regain his momentum. His one knee knelled on the dirt while he clutched his stomach.
After a second, he spat a mouthful of blood. His lower ribs were shattered!
But he didn't mind as his thoughts were occupied. I must inform the King that the barriers are breached!
At this moment, hundreds of arrows rained from the sky, their target –– the royal soldiers.
[Arrow Rain]
Upon seeing this, Dozla bellowed in frantic. He wanted to save his soldier, but he was flung meters away from them. He could only give out a warning.
"Everyone! Cast shield. NOW!"
It was too late as thousands of arrows dropped on the ground like meteors, killing enemies and foes alike. Some made it in time and managed to cast shields, while some tried to deflect the projectiles using their weapons. But deflecting thousands of arrows was near impossible. A significant number still made its marks against the soldiers' skin, piercing even the bones.
Dozla fumed in rage at the sight of his fallen soldiers. His bloodshot eyes darted towards Eoi, who was at the very back, hundreds of meters away from the fighting, bow in hand.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
"Eyes on your opponent." Asad appeared in front of Dozla.
Dozla barely managed to raise his word when Asad's blade struck him. This time, the blow was so heavy that it caused Dozla's body to bend to the side. Even if Dozla's sword absorbed half of the force, the blow still sent him flying a few meters away.
Dozla's bone in his left arm was crushed from the impact, and he came tumbling down on the dirt with a loud bang! Blood was spurting from his mouth as he struck his sword on the rocks to break his momentum once more.
By this time, Dozla was drenched in both blood and cold sweat. He realized that the demon in front of him was not his match. Even the best armors couldn't stop the blows from that demon's sword.
Asad smirked and licked the blood from his blade. "Gawtar is a special kind of weapon with a soul imbued to it. The more it is fed with blood, the more powerful its blows."
Dozla stood to his feet and glared at Asad. He might be no match to him, but it didn't mean that he would just fall without a fight.
Dozla was about to charge again when he saw a blurry black closing in the carriage at the corner of his eyes. Apprehension dawned on him that the whole reason why he was being flung away by the demon was so he could be kept away from the carriage.
But Dozla's realization was already too late. "Not Good! Everyone, protect the carriage!"
The soldiers who were near the carriage scurried together and barged Garet's way.
Garet, with his speed and strength he could not easily defeat those soldiers. Just as the royal soldiers raised their weapons to strike, multiple arrows hit their bodies.
"Damn you!" Dozla roared towards the direction of Eoi, who was releasing arrows after arrows. But he couldn't do anything as he was too far away. He could only watch in helplessness as Garet zoomed in the carriage –– unstoppable.
"Kyakyakyakyak! I got you now!"
Garet raised his ax and flung it towards the carriage. But at this moment, a blurry shadow pounced on him, and he flew meters back.
Garet spat out a mouthful of blood as he crushed on the ground. He kneeled against the dirt while his hand clutched his stomach. A significant number of his ribs were shattered.
"The fuck?!" Garet howled at the man standing ten meters in front of him.
Ryu tilted his head to the side as he sized his opponent. His eyes were glowing amber while his claws were protruding from his fingers. Though he didn't understand why they were attacked, he did know that these men dressed in black shouldn't reach the wagon.
Ryu could have killed Garet in that one strike. His real aim was Garet's heart, clawing it out from the man's body before crushing it to bits. However, the image from four days ago when Cecily was so mad at him kept replaying in his mind.
The reason why Beastmen fought with unparalleled strength was that they didn't hold anything back. They let their inner beast took over. But if they suddenly suppressed their inner instincts, their power would gradually half.
Arrows zoomed from all sides once more, but Ryu didn't even try to avoid them as they disappeared upon contact on his skin like burning stones that fell on ice-cold water. It didn't even leave a scar, just a sizzling sound before it dispersed into particles.
This left Eoi at a loss.
A halfbreed?