༺ Whose Hand will the God of War Raise (5) ༻
My head was struggling to process what was happening around me anymore.
The giant, who, just mere moments before, had been grabbing me by the collar, looking at me with such ferocious intensity that it made me feel that he was going to devour me whole in just a bite— all of a sudden began rolling on the ground of his own accord.
｢ Y-You wretch! Y-You won’t get away with this…! ｣
After a brief session of rolling on the ground, the gray-colored giant got back on his feet and charged toward me with thunderous steps echoing beneath his feet.
｢ Guaaaaaa! D-Death Rush! ｣
He resembled a barreling truck, charging toward me at full force with all the intention of crashing into me. Fear gripped the entirety of my body at the sight.
Attempting to evade his web-like hand that was reaching out toward me, I twisted my body. However, to my surprise, despite his immense size, the giant was incredibly fast… in fact, he was so fast that I found myself getting caught in his clutches once again.
｢ Prepare to be crushed! Death Squeeze! This is an immensely powerful skill that no one can escape from, a merciless technique of hell! ｣
Kwaaaaak—
His grip intensified, veins and muscles popping out along with his vigorous motion. The veins on the giant’s forehead bulged, indicating that he was exerting all of his strength on this move.
Normally, such pressure would have turned my body into mush, like a squirrel being stepped by a lion’s paw. But oddly, I felt no pressure from his grip at all.
｢ What do you think of my Death Squeeze? ｣
For some reason, I couldn’t feel anything that could be considered ‘pressure’ from the giant’s hand that was holding me.
What the hell is going on here? Did my body get stronger after I leveled up? Or could it be because of my new armor?
Maybe it was because of Luna’s potion?
Various explanations for the current absurd scenario raced through my mind, but they didn’t matter right now.
This giant monster was trying to kill me, so I had no choice but to fight back!
“Kwaaaaaaaa—!”
The giant gnashed his teeth hard as I channeled all my strength into my arms to free myself from his grasp.
｢ I-Impossible! I’m not letting you go-! U-Ugh! Y-You’re too strong! I’m losing my grip! ｣
After straining myself to the point where my eyes felt like they would pop out any second now, I finally managed to break free from the giant’s grip. However, that was just the beginning.
Quickly retrieving my club from my waist, I lunged at the gasping giant that was struggling on the ground.
I didn’t know where I got this confidence from, but something was telling me that I’d definitely be able to deal with this guy right now.
｢ W-Where-?! ｣
The gray giant, however, didn’t seem intent on just giving up and stretched out his arms toward me again. But since his movement was significantly slower this time, I was able to narrowly avoid the weird attack.
Looks like the beating I had gotten from Hippolyte the day before was actually useful.
｢ N-No!? ｣
As I dodged his hands, his wide-open chest and massive head became exposed for me to strike them as I saw fit. Without hesitation, I swung my club with all my might toward his head which was the size of a literal torso.
Raising my Fear Crusher high like a seasoned golfer, I swung it down toward the center of his forehead.
Swoosh— Bam—
｢ Kwaaaaak! It really hurts! How dare you…! ｣
“Uaaaaaagh—”
Confronting a colossal creature whose roar resembled an explosion, I truly experienced the meaning of the phrase “My legs turned to jelly.” My knees trembled so violently that it felt like my legs were about to give out any second now.
Damn, did I get too carried away? I should’ve just run away!
｢ No, no, uaagh, hmmm, it hurts so much! I-I’m gonna die! ｣
Even though I was concerned about a potential counter-attack from the enemy, the giant fortunately collapsed to the ground with a strange shrill scream.
I continued to strike him with my club, thinking that I couldn’t let go of this golden opportunity.
｢ Ugh, argh, gyak! Uuuuarghh-! N-No! I’ll disappear if this continues! ｣
Lord Moros…! Holy damn, this doesn’t make any sense. How can a mortal fight against the power of an ancient God? What are you all doing?! Hurry up and save Lord Moros! Ch-Charge!
As an eerie voice resounded from the skies above, I could feel the earth beginning to rumble.
Dududududu—
There was no better expression to describe the phenomenon other than saying the earth was rumbling.
Kareuaaaaa—!
Kadeudeuk— Kkadeudeuk—!
But I didn’t have any time to relax! The undead forces, which had been idly standing by up until now, began rushing my way.
“We need to rescue the Young Lady! Charge! Charge!”
“Quickly, we must reach her before they do! Gale tactic!”
Moreover, the soldiers who were on standby also began rushing my way. This overwhelming situation left my mind in an utterly blank state.
“Kwaaaaaaa—! Filthy skeleton bastards!”
Clatter—
Kwareuk— Kwadang— Bang— Kachachak—!
And just like that the procession of soldiers and the skeleton army finally clashed with a colossal explosion.
“You fucking bastard!”
Kaldereuk— Kakak— Kadeudeuk—!
The armed soldiers struck the decayed heads of the zombies and skeletons with their swords and clubs.
However, they were soon overwhelmed by the endless rush of the skeletons from behind and quickly found themselves sprawled on the ground. They were then torn apart and ripped to pieces by the monstrous strength of the undead forces pulling them from all directions.
The sickening smell of blood mixed with the sound of metal, screams, and fragments of bones flying around was making it hard for me to concentrate.
Keuruaaaa—!
At that moment, a skeletal figure with sharp, feral fangs lunged at me from the front, snapping me back to my senses. I tightened my grip as much as I possibly could.
Booong—
With a powerful swing of my club, I quickly shattered the skeletal figures in their tracks into countless pieces, scattering them through the air.
Back in the Swamps of Acheron, I could barely handle one skeleton, but now I could defeat two of them with a single blow! It seems my growth over this period of time hadn’t been in vain.
“You fucking bastards! All of you will fall!”
Filled with confidence, I first took down all the skeletons that had attacked me and then swung my club once again with full force, aiming at the head of the fallen giant.
“Earth Crusher!”
Bang—!
｢ Gyaeek! I-I’m going to dieeeee… I’m, I’m really dead now… ｣
And as if the blow containing my full strength had been super effective, the giant slowly fell down like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
And at the same time, the once-divided neck and body of the giant returned to their original state.
Lord Moros…! God damn it, Samaritan, you keep messing with our plans! Baturus, Delmo, Grandesimo!
As words from a bizarre language began bursting out of the ominous clouds in the sky, someone shouted from our ranks.
“Magic! Magic is incoming! Be careful, everyone!
“What are the wizards doing?! Disrupt the spell!”
“Surutab, Omled, Mosidegran—”
As the magicians chanted the spell in reverse, it echoed through the sky, causing Anxious to growl in frustration.
So these are the famous wizards of Margrave Sardich? Ha! Nothing but a bunch of self-proclaimed masters! You can’t beat this Anxious! Meteor!
Pewwwwwwwww— Bang—
I could hear the sound of something quickly slashing through the air, followed by a deafening thud and an all-encompassing explosion.
“Whoa, what the hell’s coming at us!? Is that a real meteor?”
“No, look over there! They have trebuchets on the mountain slope!”
“Darn it, these cultist bastards even thought of bringing trebuchets!”
Kreuuuaaa—!
The situation had gotten far more chaotic. The soldiers were poorly equipped, and the undead showed no signs of fatigue or fear. And as if that wasn’t enough, our soldiers were just a bunch of regular people hurriedly conscripted in a single day.
Our fight for survival continued.
But at this rate, we, the living, were going to quickly get pushed into a disadvantageous position.
Kereuuuuu—!
“What the heck is this?! The dead bodies are moving! They’re rising as undead and attacking us!”
This was the main reason for our tumultuous situation. The corpses of the fallen soldiers were turning and being added to the undead forces. To turn our allies into undead, that’s one of the horrors of Necromancy.
Clatter—
Keuuuugh—!
But there was no room for any kind of sentimentality here. Just fending off the skeletons rushing toward me was enough to keep me busy.
“You half-dead bastards!
The only thing on my mind were swear words and thoughts of surviving this fatal situation.
Perhaps due to the excessive excitement or continuous movement, I could feel my breath getting rougher and rougher by the minute, almost to the point that I could feel my breath on my chin.
“Huuu, haaaa—”
Even my senses were starting to grow dull now and it felt like I was about to faint at any moment.
Kwak— Kwadeuk—
Amidst this hopeless scenario, the skeletons whose torsos had been shattered didn’t give up on attacking me.
Even with their bodies in pieces, these bastards were still all over me.
Pewwwwwwww— Bang—
Moreover, the projectiles from the trebuchets made the ground uneven, making my already awkward movements even clumsier.
Gwaeeeek—!
“Get lost! Leave me alone, you bastards!”
But seriously, why were these damn bastards targeting only me? Screw them all!
And as I struggled to shake off these clinging skeleton bastards…
“Ughyaaaaaak!”
Amidst the battlefield, an unusual, piercing scream, distinctly feminine, penetrated my ears and struck my consciousness like a lightning bolt.
Perhaps it was instinctual, but even in my disoriented state, I turned my head to one of the corners of the battlefield.
There, sitting on the ground and engaged in a struggle with the attacking skeletons, was a woman wearing an owl-shaped helmet.
“I, Enya, am Sodomora’s guardian…! I will not be defeated like this!”
Kadeuk— Snap—
Seeing her handle so many skeletons with her longsword while being forced into a sitting position made me realize just how skilled she actually was.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the seemingly endless swarm of skeletons. She soon had to crouch on the floor, screaming as the skeletons clawed at her skin and bit her body.
“Eek! Y-You vile monsters!”
“Young Lady! Someone, someone save the Young Lady! Quick!”
Many soldiers and knights tried to move their bodies to protect her, but they were hindered by the wall of undead blocking their path, making their progress very sluggish.
“O-Oh, gods! Please, look after your faithful servant, Enya!”
Covered in all sorts of bones, Enya reached her hand toward the sky. But the gods of this world rarely answered one’s prayers.
But I was different from the silent gods.
I was close enough to hear her voice and could reach her in just a few steps.
I didn’t especially like her, but the commander of our platoon dying would make this already chaotic battlefield even worse.
And with that, my chance of going back to that ever-familiar cabin and seeing Luna again would fade away forever.
So, I ran.
I sprinted with all my strength, swinging my club powerfully toward the skeletons that were surrounding the commander’s body.
“Huub—!”
Holding the club with both of my hands, I swung it in a full arc.
Pagagak—
A small group of skeletons was crushed into a pile of fragments in that single swing of mine.
“There are so many of them, damn it!”
However, it still wasn’t easy to rescue her from the skeletons surrounding her, as they were akin to an army of bees trying to squeeze a single wasp to death.
Fuck, what should I do? Maybe I should just leave—
Just as I seriously began entertaining such a possibility.
Bang—
Clutter— Clatter—
The group of skeletons surrounding her suddenly scattered in all directions as though a bomb had exploded there.
Even the Young Lady’s armor wasn’t spared, as I could see her white flesh barely covered by her torn underwear.
I was stunned for a moment, but what was even more bizarre was that the blade of her longsword was emitting a yellow light while making a strange noise.
I’d seen Hippolyte do something like that before. It was a kind of magic that only accomplished warriors used. Was it something like Aura?
Was that how she got out of that siege? However she did it, it was something to rejoice in.
“Young Lady I’m here to save you!”
“H-Hassan of Samaria!”
“Hurry up and run!”
“There’s a problem. M-My legs won’t move at all.”
“Did your legs lose their strength?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s like I can’t feel my lower body at all… I think it’s because of that strange power from earlier.”
Gwaaark—!
Enya swung her sword at a skeleton that was approaching her while she was talking to me. Her sword cut the latter’s bones into two smooth halves as if they had been sliced by a machine.
She then hurriedly added while swinging her sword at some more skeletons that were attacking her.
“Samaritan! B-Be my horse!”
“Your horse?”
“Carry me on your back! Come on! It’s the only way to get out of this battlefield!”
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