Chapter 26: Before the Cruel Wave (3)

“A-A monster got our captain!”

“Aaaah! Everyone, run for your lives!”

The Knights had just been reveling in their victory, convinced that they had once again held back the waves. But that triumph shattered in an instant when a massive, three-headed demonic hound suddenly emerged, plunging the battlefield into sheer terror.

“That’s… No way. That thing shouldn’t be here yet!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

A gigantic, three-headed hunting hound—known as “Cerberus”.

It wasn’t as if I had never fought Cerberus in my previous life.

At first, there had only been one. But after that, they just kept appearing—one after another, countless times.

But this was only the 63rd wave.

Normally, it should have taken at least ten more waves before a three-headed hunting hound showed up.

“R-Run! Hurry!”

“H-He’s chasing us…!”

And to make things worse, there were still plenty of lesser demonic hounds left on the battlefield.

“Grrraaaah!”

“Aaargh…!”

“P-Please, someone save me!”

In their desperate attempt to flee, the panicked knights had turned their backs to the enemy—making them nothing more than helpless prey to the demonic hounds.

Thankfully, not everyone had lost their composure.

The captains, realizing the gravity of the situation, quickly rallied the archers into formation.

“Stay calm! It may be big, but it’s still just a wild beast!”

“Aim—fire!”

Arrows rained down toward Cerberus, darkening the sky as they fell.

But Cerberus didn’t flinch. It didn’t lower its head, didn’t even curl up its body in defense—hell, it didn’t even blink.

Arrows showered down on its massive form.

Not a single one pierced its skin.

Even the ones that struck its seemingly vulnerable eyes fell limply to the ground.

“T-The arrows aren’t working?!”

“If arrows won’t work, then we’ll drive our spears into it! Defense unit, advance!”

At the command of the captains, the defense unit formed up with shields and spears at the ready.

But I stepped in front of them.

“No! Stop right there!”

“Sir Kayron? Why are you stopping us?! That thing is a demon! We have to kill it!”

“I know that! But think about it for a second. If arrows bounced off like that, do you really think spears are going to do anything?”

“We won’t know unless we try! We are the Knights of Crusader! Defense unit, forward!”

“Hey, you idiots! I said stop!”

I kept shouting for them to halt, but the Crusader Knights in this life had no idea.

Cerberus was a high-tier demon—the kind that only appeared a few at a time, even in the most brutal waves.

And high-tier demons…

“Defense unit, thrust!”

“Hyaaaah!!”

The soldiers cautiously approached Cerberus, their grips tightening on their spears. Then, in perfect unison, they drove their weapons straight into its body.

CLANG—

“H-Huh? What was that sound?”

“Its… its hide is tougher than steel…”

The first rule of high-tier demons.

Ordinary weapons don’t work on them.

Only attacks imbued with mana could damage a high-tier demon—beasts with bodies so tough they defied imagination.

And now, Cerberus had realized it.

The pitiful spears and arrows of these humans posed no threat to it whatsoever.

“KRRRAAAAAAH!!”

With a deafening roar, Cerberus unleashed its full might. The sheer force of its sonic blast sent the surrounding soldiers flying, their bodies crashing to the ground like ragdolls.

“W-What the hell was that?!”

“Ugh… M-My ears… I can’t hear… I can’t—”

SQUELCH—

One of the knights, groaning in agony as blood trickled from his ears, never got to finish his sentence.

Cerberus’ massive paw came crashing down.

And he was crushed. Flattened. Reduced to nothing.

“R-Run!”

“We… We can’t fight this! How the hell are we supposed to kill that?!”

Among the absolute rules of the Crusader Knights, one stood above all:

When encountering an unknown entity, proceed with caution.

This tragedy was the price of breaking that rule.

“Awooo—”

A long, bone-rattling howl echoed through the battlefield.

Hearing their leader’s call, the remaining demonic hounds quickly gathered around Cerberus.

“Damn it…”

Anyone could tell that the situation was dire.

But only I understood just how disastrous it truly was.

The second defining trait of high-tier demons:

They possess intelligence. Enough to command and lead lesser demons.

Until now, we had simply been hunting mindless, bloodthirsty beasts.

But now?

Now, we were facing a small army.

“W-What do we do?! We’ve never dealt with anything like this before!”

“Captain!!”

Desperate soldiers screamed for their superiors, pleading for orders. But the captains, consumed by shock, stood frozen in place, their minds utterly blank.

Because deep down, those with experience already knew.

The fact that a captain had been killed instantly, without even putting up a fight—

Meant that Cerberus was in a league beyond them.

“KRRRAAAAHH!!”

And then, it lunged.

With terrifying speed, Cerberus swung its massive forelegs, swatting soldiers like insects—sending them soaring into the air before they plummeted back down, their bones shattering on impact.

It bit.

It tore.

It ripped through flesh as if savoring the taste of pure carnage.

The knights, gripped by terror, scattered blindly. Most didn’t even make it ten steps before death caught up to them.

“T-This… What the hell is this…?”

Even Avelin, the strongest among the captains, was frozen in place.

Among them, she stood above the rest in sheer combat ability—

And yet, this was the first time in her life she had witnessed such a massacre.

If she could still think rationally amidst this bloodbath…

That alone would be a miracle.

But I had no time for shock.

I had to act.

This situation was beyond reason, beyond comprehension—

But I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“Black Iron Brigade.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Answer me properly, Black Iron Brigade!”

“H-Hah…! YES, SIR!”

At my sharp command, the Black Iron Brigade—who had been cowering just moments ago—snapped to attention and responded with a loud, unified voice.

“Who are we?”

“T-The Crusader Knights!”

“And within the Knights, who are you?”

“The Black Iron Brigade, the strongest defense unit!”

“Exactly. And that’s why—we advance.”

“W-What…? But Captain, that demon is—it’s terrifying…”

“Hey.”

My voice was low, almost calm.

The soldier who had spoken immediately shut his mouth.

“You are the Black Iron Brigade. And who am I?”

“Y-You are Captain Kayron, sir!”

“That’s right. And yet, you’re telling me you don’t trust your own captain?”

“I-It’s not that, it’s just—”

“Damn it.”

Disappointment surged through me.

I had trained the Black Iron Brigade to be the strongest unit in the Crusader Knights—but now, in the face of a true crisis, they had become nothing more than spineless cowards.

But.

“C-Captain?”

“Captain! Where are you going?!”

“Don’t call me ‘Captain,’ you bastards! I never raised cowards like you!”

If my men were frozen in fear, it was my duty as their leader to show them the way forward.

Knights fled in terror.

Demonic hounds ran wild, hunting them down without mercy.

And in the middle of it all—

I moved forward.

I gripped my sword tighter.

“Follow me if you want. If not—then stay the hell out of my way!”

As everyone retreated, I alone charged into battle.

“Grrrr…”

“N-No, get away! Aaaah—!”

SLASH—

“Wha…?”

“Get up! If you’re not going to fight, then at least run!”

“Y-Yes! Thank you!”

With a single swing, I sliced a demonic hound in half—just before its fangs could sink into a fallen soldier’s neck.

Another beast lunged at me from the side, aiming for an opening.

I kicked it with full force.

Its ribs shattered with a sickening crack.

“Whine…?”

As expected, Cerberus—who had been focusing solely on leading its pack—let out a startled growl at the sudden shift in the battlefield.

“Grrr… KRRRAAH!!”

But true to its nature as a high-tier demon, it quickly recovered and gave a command.

The scattered demonic hounds instantly regrouped—this time, focusing all their attacks on me.

As expected from a breed built for speed, they encircled me in an instant.

“Tch… You bastards.”

If it was just this many, I could handle them.

But what I was truly wary of…

Was something else.

Fighting off this many enemies at once would require a significant amount of mana.

And if I exhausted too much of it now—then when the real fight against Cerberus began, I’d be at a disadvantage.

“Not bad. I was planning to rest for a month after this anyway, so I might as well go all out. Come at me if you dare—”

“Uwaaaaaahhh!!”

“Huh…?”

A sudden, deafening battle cry rang through the battlefield.

“Protect the Captain!”

“We are not cowards!”

My men—my Black Iron Brigade—had shaken off their fear.

With shields raised and spears held firm, they charged toward me, determined to fight by my side.

The demonic hounds hesitated for the first time, momentarily thrown off by the soldiers’ sudden burst of courage.

And in that fleeting moment—

SPLURT!

The razor-sharp tips of the vanguard’s spears pierced through the stunned beasts, impaling their necks and torsos.

With unstoppable momentum, the Black Iron Brigade fought their way through and finally reached me.

“Captain! Are you all right? We’re here!”

“Hah! You didn’t come when I called you earlier, but now you show up? Still… you made it. That’s more like my men.”

“Uh, but, Captain…”

“What now? Why do you suddenly sound so hesitant again?”

“We… we’re surrounded. Again.”

“…”

I turned my gaze.

They weren’t wrong.

The Black Iron Brigade had successfully regrouped with me—

But the demonic hounds had already formed another circle around us.

“Grrrr…!!”

This time, their snarls were filled with even more rage.

“Are you afraid of them?”

“No, sir!”

“Be honest. Are you scared?”

“W-Well, maybe just a little—”

“I SAID—ARE YOU SCARED?!”

“NO, SIR!!”

Their voices roared in unison, shaking the battlefield.

The demonic hounds flinched once more.

Even under Cerberus’ command, these creatures were still just overgrown, savage mutts.

“Enough with the panic. We trained for this exact situation, remember? Isn’t that right, Plymouth?”

“Yes, Captain! You had us drill for this scenario countless times!”

“Exactly. Now it’s time to put it to the test. Form up—Circular Formation!”

“YES, SIR!!”

With renewed determination, the Black Iron Brigade swiftly moved into formation.

Backs pressed together, shields raised, spears positioned outward—

A perfect defensive circle.

“Not bad. Now, listen up. The key to this formation is trust. You trust your comrades and focus only on the enemy in front of you. Got it?”

“YES, SIR!”

“They think they’ve trapped us.

But they’re wrong.

We’re the ones luring them in.”

As our formation locked into place, Cerberus let out a bone-rattling roar.

“KRRRRAAAAAH!!”

At its command, the demonic hounds charged all at once.

“SPEARS—”

“THRUST!!”

The first wave of hounds lunged—

Only to impale themselves onto our spear wall.

Their own speed and weight drove the weapons even deeper into their bodies, causing them to erupt into flames as they perished.

The remaining hounds hesitated, now wary of attacking recklessly.

“Guess it’s my turn now?”

I leapt high into the air—

And in a single downward swing, unleashed a devastating sword strike, shattering the bodies of the clustered hounds below.

The survivors, witnessing their kin crushed into pieces, hesitated.

Charge? Flee?

They were frozen in indecision.

This formation was the pinnacle of offense and defense in one.

As long as it held strong, it was unbreakable.

A strategy that only the elite of the Crusader Knights—our Black Iron Brigade— could execute.

“Hah! This is the power of the Black Iron, you brainless mutts!”

“Come at us if you dare! Or die by our Captain’s blade!”

Morale surged as the Black Iron Brigade laughed and taunted the enemy.

“Heh… Now that’s more like it.”

Yes—

This was what I wanted.

Not fear. Not hesitation.

But men who stood together as one, unshaken before the enemy.

That—was the true power of humanity.

-- The End OF The Chapter --

 

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