Athena assessed the situation and realized she could no longer stay on the sidelines. With four Ascended-level beasts approaching, the mercenaries wouldn't stand a chance without her help.
She readied her sword and turned to Vanessa, her face serious. "Princess, stay inside. I need to help hold them off."
Vanessa nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. Athena would only join the battle if she truly thought her life was at risk.
Before leaving, Athena noticed Ash gripping his axe. She gave him a brief look and said, "You stay here too—and try not to get yourself killed."
Ash managed a wry smile. He understood she meant well, but her words still hurt a little, reminding him of his own weakness in the face of danger.
Athena approached the mercenary who was also an Ascended ranker and called out, "Let's hold off the Ascended beasts together. If we work as a team, we can buy enough time for the others to handle the weaker ones."
The mercenary nodded, gripping his sword tightly before charging toward the beasts. The manticores and giant snakes seemed to sense the strength radiating from Athena and him, their eyes locking onto the two as they braced for battle.
Though Athena and the mercenary shared the same rank, her role as a royal protector granted her access to far more advanced skills. A powerful blue aura surged around her as she charged forward, her mana force nearly twice as potent as the mercenary's.
The mercenary noticed this with a mixture of surprise and relief. The stronger she was, the greater their chances of leaving here with their lives. Although he had noticed she was strong, he hadn't expected her strength to exceed his own so dramatically.
Athena took on the two manticores while the mercenary held off the serpents. She quickly noticed he was struggling, often needing to divert her focus to assist him.
If she hadn't needed to keep an eye on his battle, she might have been able to handle the manticores alone. This showed just how vast the gap could be between rankers of the same rank when one possessed superior skills.
The rest of the mercenaries were far from idle; they fought fiercely, fending off the other beasts that came at them. Although these creatures were stronger than the wolves they had faced earlier, they were still no match for the mercenaries' combined strength.
Despite the toll the battle took—many were injured, and three had died—they were gradually gaining ground, cutting down the beasts one by one.
At that moment, Ash's attention wasn't on the battle outside—an Inferior-level hyena had leaped into the carriage! Though Vanessa was an Inferior ranker, she had only healing skills and no combat abilities. Knowing she couldn't fight, Ash stepped forward, his grip tight on his axe.
"Vanessa, stay behind me," he said, his voice steady. "I'll fight for as long as I can. I'll count on you to keep me healed, alright?"
Vanessa nodded quickly. "Okay."
The hyena growled, then charged straight at Ash, jaws snapping as it lunged. Ash swung his axe down, aiming for its head, but the beast was too fast, sidestepping the blow and sinking its teeth into his right arm.
"Argh!" Ash cried out in pain, blood streaming from the wound and dripping onto the floor.
After tearing a piece from Ash's arm, the hyena retreated to the side, its eyes locked onto him, preparing for its next move.
A chunk of his own flesh dangled from the creature's mouth. Ash thought he saw a mocking glint in its eyes but pushed the thought aside, focusing instead on steadying his grip.
Vanessa silently cast her healing magic on Ash's wound, and it quickly closed, stopping the bleeding. At the very least, he wouldn't lose enough blood to risk passing out.
The hyena's gaze shifted to Vanessa as it noticed her healing Ash, a flash of anger in its eyes as it quickly closed the distance toward her. But Ash reacted just in time.
He leaped in front of Vanessa, gripping his axe tightly with both hands. Twisting his torso, he swung with all his strength, aiming a horizontal slash at the charging hyena.
The hyena raised its claws, meeting the axe head-on.
Clang!
Unlike the wolves Ash had seen in battle a few days earlier against the mercenaries, this hyena's claws weren't infused with mana. Even so, they were undeniably tough, their resilience and sharpness were as good as Ash's axe, maybe even better.
The impact rang out with a harsh clang, and Ash's arms throbbed with pain. The force from the Inferior-ranked beast was no joke—the collision's power nearly felt strong enough to snap his bones.
"You fucking dumb beast, why don't you pick on someone your size?" Said Ash, trying to provoke the hyena.
Ash couldn't tell if the hyena understood him, but his taunt seemed to work—the creature turned to him with a furious glare.
Ash swung at the hyena repeatedly, but it was far too quick for him to land a clean hit. The beast moved with the cunning of a fox, darting in and out of his reach, leaving him with a series of small but accumulating wounds. At this rate, Vanessa's healing wouldn't be enough to keep him going for long.
Her mana reserves were already low, and the relentless casting of spells had nearly drained her completely. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as her breathing grew heavier with each passing moment.
"Come here, you ugly motherfucker," as he continued to provoke the hyena, Ash backed up to the wall just before it lunged at him.
As the hyena lunged at him, its razor-sharp claws and gaping maw aimed to tear him apart,
Ash reacted in the nick of time. He threw himself to the ground, his body narrowly avoiding the beast's deadly assault.
The hyena crashed into the wooden wall behind him with a deafening thud, its weight and momentum splintering the planks. For a brief moment, the creature was caught in the wall, struggling to free itself.
Ash didn't waste the opportunity. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he scrambled to his feet, pushing himself upright with hands and knees.
Gripping his axe tightly, he swung the weapon with every ounce of strength he could muster. The blade cleaved through the hyena's back, slicing through muscle and bone, until it sank deep into the beast's body.
A sickening crunch echoed through the air as the hyena let out a final, guttural growl before collapsing to the ground, lifeless. Blood pooled beneath it, staining the wood as Ash stood over the fallen creature, panting from exertion.
Ash let his axe drop to the ground, his hands still trembling from the continuous clashing. He looked at his trembling hands and didn't know if they were trembling because of fear or overexertion.
"Ash! Are you okay?" Vanessa asked, her voice filled with worry as she approached him.
"Yeah, somehow I'm... I can't believe we won," Ash said, relieved to be alive.
Ash knew without Vanessa, he wouldn't be alive now. It was almost impossible for him, an unraked, to kill an Inferior-ranked beast.
Vanessa's continuous healing was the key to their victory.
Vanessa began healing him with her remaining mana, and the wound on his arm closed completely. She hadn't been able to heal him fully during the fight because she wasn't skilled enough to do so while he moved.
Ash focused his hearing on the battle outside and noticed that it seemed to be coming to an end. "Let's go outside, I think the beasts are almost finished," said Ash.
Vanessa nodded and followed him. Just like Ash said, most beasts were dead, and the mercenaries were dealing with the last two manticores alive.