Chương 672: Chapter 671: Wildlander II

"Now, you all will die, and nothing and no one will be able to save you from it!" he said, laughing again, before attacking me once more. Seeing my people dying, I want to put my ax down and give up. It's my duty to protect them—yet I'm failing, utterly and painfully. They're falling, one by one, every second slipping through my fingers like blood. And all I can do is watch. Helpless. This crushing powerlessness... it's like nothing I've ever known.

Not even in the heart of the forest did I feel so broken, so utterly lost.

'Colonel, you have to save us!' came a cry from Captain Donil. I had handed him command of the battalion before I moved to deal with the two. I needed to focus on my duel with these two, not that it did any good.

"I can't!" I spat the words, heavy with defeat. I hated myself for saying it, but the darkness ahead seemed endless—no way forward, no hope left.

"You have to!" Captain Yregh's voice cut through the despair. One of the forest orcs, his eyes burning with fierce conviction.

"You are our leader. Chosen for a reason. If you fail now, it's not just us you'll betray—it's everyone who believed in you. You'll prove the old men right."

"That you are Craizan—the great misfortune." That word… Craizan. A curse I'd carried all my life like a scar etched deep into my soul. It made them see me as less than a beast, and slowly, I started to believe it, too. Until I came here and met these people. They have treated me as an equal and given me respect. Now, they are dying, and there is only one thing I can do to pay it all back.

"I will protect you all!" I roared in pain and gripped my ax tightly, making long cracks appear on my frost-covered arms, and swung it, making the frost fly away"Hah!" The man laughed, but his laugh stopped midway, and he increased the speed of his sword. Clang! My ax clashed against his sword, shaking me, forcing me to step back, but it shocked the enemy more.

"How?" he asked. I didn't reply to his question and swung my ax at him, with even greater power than I had. I could see my frozen skin tearing apart, but I didn't care. Clang! He reacted fast, and his shining green sword defended against my attack. This time, it only shook me. It didn't push me back.

"I like this burst of strength, I wonder, how long you will be able to continue with it?" he said, and attacked. That very moment, the rain intensified. It seemed to have become even colder, but it didn't stop me from pushing my ax toward him even harder. I could feel the mage attacking my men, and I want to do nothing more than to save them, but it won't be possible until I deal with this bastard. If I tried to move toward the mage, this bastard would stop me. So, I have to deal with him first. Clang!

I defend against his attack, this time barely shaking before attacking again. Digging deeper into my strength. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Only recently did I discover that I have greater physical attributes than the average person at my level. I did not get this from the level-ups. Nor were they natural, like some people born with greater strength. I got them through my experiences and what I ate in the forest. Things had become very hard for me after my father had died.

Sometimes, I had to fight the monsters daily; sometimes against the monsters and people. I would go days without eating before resorting to things I shouldn't. Now, I am using those attributes and the weight of Wildlander Survivalist to make my attacks as strong as possible. Clang! Our weapons clashed, and there was not even a shake this time.

'Not enough!' I said in my heart and dug deeper into myself. Into the skills for more power. Clang! We clashed once more, and this time, it was he who shook. It shocked him enough that it made his eyes widen, and he opened his mouth, but I didn't wait to listen. I moved forward and swung my ax at him, digging deeper into my skills. It put such pressure on me that my very skills started shaking, but right now, I didn't care about anything other than strength; I want to harness it. Clang!

My sword clashed, and he shook before taking a step back.

"How is the spell not affecting you?" he asked, but I didn't reply and moved with another attack. Hun! Our weapons moved closer, and soon, when they were about to clash, I flicked my wrist and avoided his sword by inches. I didn't plan to do this, but I saw the chance and took it. I saw the alarm in his eyes as he retreated to dodge the attack. Rip! My axe crashed into his armor and cut through it. Giving an extended cut across his chest.

"You," he said, and fear appeared in his eyes for the first time. Even with my increasingly powerful attack, he was only surprised and shocked, but never scared, until now. I didn't spare his emotions for a moment and was about to attack when Rhythem spiked. I didn't have to look back to see that the Mage had attacked me; even the Freezing Rain spell had stopped as he chose to attack me more directly. So, I moved. Now, I could move left and right, but I moved toward the enemy.

Activating Wild Dash and Officer's Run, before digging into them. Harnessing more power than I had ever done before from these skills. It was overwhelming, especially at Officer's Run, which started shaking wildly, affecting the class. That didn't stop me from digging even deeper for more power. Seeing me moving, the enemy saw the chance, and a smile appeared on his face as he attacked. His sword glowed hard, making it very hard to track, but I didn't move my eyes away from him.

I kept pushing till there was only a few inches of distance between his blade and me, when I moved left. He had been expecting it as his blade followed. Rip! It cut through my arm, giving me a deep cut; at the same time, an icy beam flew past my ear. Seeing that, I felt relieved, but the next moment, I turned and swung my ax at him with all the momentum of my speed skills. It put immense strain on my body, but I bore it. Seeing the attack, his eyes widened. He realised the trouble he was in.

"Lu!" he shouted, while moving his sword defensively. I was hoping for a clean attack, but the bastard is Lv. 30, and seeing his life in danger, he could move his sword incredibly fast. Clang! My axe fell across his blade like a Warhammer, shaking him before sending him back. I followed immediately, while the Rhythm spiked like never before. I glanced and saw not one, but three ice beams coming toward me. One is enough to kill, and there are three. I should retreat.

If one of them hits me, it would be game over, but if I did, I might not have a chance. This time, the enemy was pushed back. He hadn't fully absorbed the force of my earlier attack; this was my best chance to finish him. I might not get that next time. Still, the beams complicated things, and I drew back my attack, but I didn't retreat. Instead, I dug deep into my speed skills, trying to increase my speed even further. As I said, it's the only chance I have. If I miss it, I might not get another.

I am betting my life here, but it is better than the lives of my people. So, I pushed myself till my very veins began to pop and frozen skin began to split. Crack! It was when I heard the faint crack. My skill, Officer's Run, had cracked. Sending the pain I had never felt before through my body. I should stop, but I didn't. Instead, I pushed my skills even harder, feeling the torturous pain. My speed increased, making me incredibly fast. Sup Sup!

The beams reached me, and I avoided two with my speed, but the third came at me, and there was no avoiding it. It is going to strike my face directly. It came closer and closer till there were only inches remaining between it and me. I could see the joy in the enemy's face, but a moment later, it disappeared as the ax blade appeared beside my face, blazing in the full power of anti-magic enchantment. Clang! The beam crashed against the blade, and its coldness seeped into it.

The anti-magic was able to destroy most of it, but some spread into my arm. It didn't stop me; I kept moving, avoiding the enemy's sword, before finally stopping behind them. As I did, I attacked. The enemy tried to stop it, but he was retreating. Still, he was able to move his sword to defend, but my ax avoided it, going straight toward him.

"Lus" Pachac! He was halfway to his plea when my ax cut through his neck—separating his head from his body. I could see the shock in his eyes as his head fell. My body wished to do the same, but I had pushed myself too hard. Many veins had popped, and my skills were strained and cracked. It had brought such pressure on me that I felt like my body would shut off, and it is trying to do that.