Chapter 420 - 289: The Coming Storm

"It’s just a broken sword. So what if it shattered?" The Lord hadn’t yet realized the gravity of the situation, his eyes fixed on the charging Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors. "I’ve broken dozens of swords, if not a hundred. Looks like I’ll have to add a few more to the list."

"Lord, General Mandela’s Blood Sword was forged from crimson Fine Steel by the Legendary Dwarf, Dugan the Wild Hammer, in Iron Forge Castle. It has endured for a thousand years without a hint of decay. It was said that no one short of a Legendary Powerhouse could ever hope to break it, even using all their strength."

"’When the horizon bleeds, that is when the mightiest Blood Sword will shatter,’" Fujero said with conviction.

"Where’d you learn all that?" Levi asked casually.

"When the horizon bleeds, it is not the end of days,

But valiant Swordsmen facing a mighty foe.

The Blood Sword shatters, the Warrior wails,

Flee from this place, the farther the better."

"Lord, that poem is known throughout all of Debei. Any child could tell it to you," Fujero said with a helpless look. "Sometimes I truly wonder if you’re a Debei person at all."

"So, it means that not only are we in trouble here, but General Mandela and his forces in the Hengduan Mountain Range are likely in dire straits, too. They might even have been completely wiped out."

A bitter look crossed his face as he finished.

"Fuck."

For the first time, Levi felt the situation beginning to spiral out of control.

"If I find out who opened the city gates, I’ll skin them alive," he cursed viciously.

’If the gates hadn’t fallen, the situation wouldn’t have become so desperate.’

Just as they spoke, the vanguard of Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors crashed into them.

There was no need for feints or parleys. Everyone was fighting for their lives.

HISSS!

The leading Six-armed Snake Demon was clearly an elite of its kind, about a Quadruple Blade in height with a crimson-red body. It threw its head back with a piercing shriek as its six arms swung a motley collection of weapons down at him.

Levi had no intention of retreating; he met the attack head-on. With a roar, he swung his Broadsword in a wide arc, slashing toward the creature’s body.

A shower of sparks erupted as metal met metal under the night sky.

The outcome was never in doubt. As merely an elite of its kind, it hadn’t yet transcended the limits of its Race. Against the Lord, who was far more powerful than before, it was a completely unremarkable foe.

The demon’s six weapons cut halfway into his Fine Steel Broadsword, but the Six-armed Snake Demon Warrior had it far worse. It was powerless to stop the returning blow from the massive blade. Like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot, it could only watch as the Giant Sword plunged deep into its chest. The impact sent it flying backward into the crowd, blood and shattered organs pouring from its mouth.

The giant, burly demon warrior crashed through more than a dozen of its kin before finally coming to a stop. Even at the moment of its death, it couldn’t understand how the runt it had randomly targeted could possess the irresistible Power of a Giant.

The Heathers finished chanting their Spell, and four Meteorites formed from Molding Magic plummeted from the sky. They smashed into the rear ranks of the Six-armed Snake Demons. Amidst earth-shaking tremors and a sky lit by fire, countless Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors were instantly crushed to a pulp or pierced by flying shards of rock.

The magic of these Zor Priests was remarkably effective. That single attack had cost the enemy nearly a fifth of their number, and their charge faltered for an instant.

Unfortunately, the more powerful the Magic, the more severe the casting’s toll. After that one spell, several of the Zor Elves had to stop casting to recover their Magic Power.

At their rate of recovery, it was unlikely they could be counted on again for the rest of the battle.

"Lord, your men... they seem somehow stronger than before?" Fujero asked, a look of confusion on his face as he watched the High Cliff Castle battalion in the fray.

Levi was in no mood to answer. With a roar, he swung his Broadsword in a full circle, felling an entire arc of Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors in front of him.

In a massive melee, the advantage granted by overwhelming personal might is something that nothing else can make up for.

As soon as the two sides clashed, they roared and threw themselves into a brutal melee of clashing metal and flying flesh. A moment later, the only ones left standing were, astonishingly, the Beastman Warriors.

After all, the High Cliff Castle battalion had already crushed this horde of Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors before. Having collectively ascended a Tier after that last battle, the gap between them had widened even further. It was no exaggeration to say that every Tier-up from the system brought about a world-shaking transformation.

The two sides were no longer in the same league.

This was especially true for the twelve Beastman Berserkers; it was no exaggeration to call them peerless fiends. After activating their conscious Berserk state, the special red energy coating their Axes allowed them to cleave a Six-armed Snake Demon in half as easily as slicing through tofu.

These twelve Beastman Berserkers charged into the enemy ranks, hacking and slashing wildly, and ended up killing even more of the demons than the Lord himself.

Each one of them took down at least a dozen Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors.

If this were a video game, these twelve Beastman Berserkers were like Nord Royal Guards charging into a mob of barefoot peasants.

A constant stream of kill notifications would have been scrolling in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Back when he only had two Berserkers, their performance had been outstanding, but their small number was nothing compared to the glorious spectacle unfolding now.

Levi didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if all three hundred of his Beastman Barbarians were promoted to Berserkers. ’At that point,’ he thought, ’I’m afraid even the Blood Swordsmen would be no match for them.’