Chapter 253 One Human

For two relentless weeks, Asher trained his men with minimal breaks. After lifting ice boulders, they began hauling massive piles of tree trunks—some of them carrying the same amount of load a truck from modern Earth could! One of such some was Levi.

It had been a month since Levi joined the Hundred and now, although his muscle mass hadn’t visibly increased, his strength and endurance had grown by several folds. With a single thrust, he could topple a tree large enough to be wrapped around by three men. A stomp could lift him over 12 meters into the air and his stamina had reached a monstrous level.

They marched from dawn till nightfall and toiling from dawn to nightfall endlessly. There were times when Levi thought he might just collapse and die from exhaustion, but he didn’t—not with Asher watching, ever-present and unyielding.

The men feared their captain’s ominous force. Looking into Asher’s eyes was like staring into the eyes of a giant ravenous wolf that was ready to devour them whole at any moment.

Now, all hundred of them were marching up a steep hill, dragging piles of tree trunks strapped to their bodies with thick ropes. Levi gritted his teeth, sweat trickling down with each greuling step he took.

He dropped to his knees, panting heavily when he heard someone getting closer. Turning his head, Levi’s eyes widened.

It was Simon—dragging a pile of trunks even larger than his own! Simon barely spared him a glance before walking past, his movements calm and steady.

Determined not to fall behind, Levi pushed himself harder and began to move, trying to catch up with Simon. But no matter how he strained, Simon stayed ahead until they finally reached the camp.

Moses, clad in his armor, loosened the ropes and patted their shoulders. “Go take a bath.”

As they descended the wide clear path carved into the terrain from the weeks of new training of dragging such long tree trunks, Levi frowned at Simon.

“I thought you were supposed to be our inspector. Since when did you join the paladin.”

Simon glanced at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “My former self was too weak for the plans the captain had for me.” After saying this, Simon smiled softly, leaving Levi with more questions than answers.

“Plans?” Levi repeated, furrowing his brows.

He lifted his head and then gazed at the highest hill in sight. There, silhouetted against the blinding rays of the sun, stood a man. The brilliant light behind him made his figure dark, like a human shadow brought to life. Though Levi couldn’t see the figure’s face, he knew it was their cold-hearted captain.

‘He’s always watching,’ Levi thought grimly.

Shortly after their bath, the Hundred—now joined by Simon—clad in their leather armor gathered, sharpening their spears against a whetstone.

“Did you hear? The captain said we will soon face another attack from those rats,” one paladin murmured to his comrade beside Levi.

Hearing that, Levi turned to Simon, who was now sharpening his spear, clad in the same armor as the rest of them.

“Finally,” Simon said with a chuckle, rising to his feet. “It’s been three weeks since the last one.”

With practised ease, Simon picked up his spear, spinning it once before attaching it to his back and falling into line with the others.

After a while, all the paladins stood in a disciplined formation before Asher.

“Our enemies finally acknowledge us as a threat,” he announced, his voice steady yet commanding. “They have sent a force of 500 Obsidian Order knights and 10 noble mage rats. Even as I speak, they are ascending the hill, preparing to enter our forest.”

Asher paused, his gaze sweeping across the assembled warriors. Their helmet only covered the forehead and the sides of their faces, exposing their eyes, nose and mouth, meaning their expressions couldn’t be hidden from him.

“Do you fear them?”

The men chuckled at his question, their confidence evident. Pleased by their reactions, Asher turned and began to walk toward the exit.

“Then, let’s welcome them.”

_____

“Commander Ivar, they should be around here,” the pink-horned rat whom Asher had spared after the squirmish, pointed a claw toward the forest beyond the snowy plains.

Ivar turned to face the 500 Obsidian Order Knights, who stood in a neat formation behind him and pointed at the forest.

Boom!

The army marched as one, their feet sinking deep into the snow with each step they took. Above them, 10 pink-horned rats soared, their sharp eyes keeping a close watch on the landscape from above.

Continue your adventure with empire

When they reached the edge of the forest, Ivar raised a hand, bringing the troop to a halt.

“Humans!” Ivar bellowed, his voice cutting through the still air.

The trees rustled, but no response came.

“They are waiting for us,” Ivar said, his eyes narrowing.

“How do you know that?” asked one of the rat mages, its tone wary.

“Because it’s completely silent,” Ivar replied. “I can’t hear the sound of any beast. Not even the scuttling of the common snow rabbit.” He unsheathed his sword, its blade glinting coldly.

“Unleash the Fang troop!”

He bellowed and nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds but the next instant, massive spiders, each 1.5 meters tall, climbed the hill, moved past the rat army and headed into the forest.

About 50 spiders scuttled into the forest before Ivar motioned for his troop to continue. The moment they entered the forest, it felt as if they had stepped into a different domain.

The trees had good spacing so they could still see clearly but Ivar suspected the human soldiers were hiding behind trees, which was why he sent the clan’s special beast troop.

The Tiger Spider were renowned fighters. Their numerous eyes and powerful eight legs were strong enough to pierce through armor, making them even more dangerous on a battlefield.

Though their soft bodies were a weakness, the Edom Clan had equipped them with Legion! With these additions, the Tiger Spiders were now turned into lethal predators.

All of a sudden, they saw a figure emerging from the shadows—a lone man, walking towards them.

Ivar frowned. “One human?”

“It’s him!” the pink-horned rat cried out, alarmed by the man’s presence. “Once he appears, the others are never far off!”

“White hair?” Ivar muttered, his brow furrowing.

In Bashan, white hair drew a lot of attention, a mark of the ancient White Clan that once birthed Kryos vessels. Seeing how pure Asher’s hair was, Ivar couldn’t help but think that capturing him and handing him over to his superiors would bring him great achievement.

The Tiger Spiders rushed toward Asher, their sharp legs piercing deep into the snow-covered ground as they closed in. All 50 of them surrounded him and dived in at once.

But before they could land a blow, long ice spikes erupted from the ground, piercing through their prized Legion armor, which Edom was proud of, slaying 20 at once!

Those twenty spiders fell instantly, their bodies falling lifeless in the snow.

Shing!

Asher unsheathed Euodias and used output in an instant. Crimson light flared around him, swirling like an ominous storm while his hair fluttered in the surge of power.

His imposing form was reflected in Ivar’s wide eyes.

In the next moment, Ivar frowned deeply.

“Kill him!” he snarled, his voice heavy with urgency.