Neigh!
Alex turned to his men, whose horses were expressing their discomfort by neighing loudly. He looked at his own horse, which still had a calm state of mind.
The cold northwind of the night tousled Asher’s hair, but it brought no stench, causing his brows to knit.
“This slaughter happened not too long ago,” he said, peering at the red-skinned humanoid creature in the midst of the dead beasts.
This creature wore black armor and had a massive sword plunged into the ground. The blood of beasts stained the sword, but Asher’s keen eyes noticed that all the beasts were killed by that sword, and there was no damage to the creature’s armor, so what killed it?
“Your Lordship, that is an abyss creature. The species is called ogres.” Alex said solemnly.
Ogres were known for their disaster-level strength and brutality. Not even Orcs were their match when it came to personal strength, and the force Alex felt from this ogre made him feel cautious, even though it seemed to be dead.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s a lie!”
The high-pitched tone made Asher look back, and he saw a soldier glaring at the scout.
“What is it?”
“Your Lordship, this scout is hiding something.”
The castle guard grabbed the barbarian scout, revealing a small red vein before the barbarian scout freed himself and tried to create a safe distance, but other guards left their horses and pinned him down.
His leather vest was removed, and the sight of his torso made everyone distance themselves except Asher, whose eyes narrowed.
“He’s corrupted!”
“Let me kill this thing, Your Lordship.”
Several guards offered, but Asher remained silent.
“What do you think is the cause?” He asked Alex.
Alex looked at the barbarian, who had fear written over his face and turned his back. Right there, at his left shoulder, a black wound was found. It was the source of the corruption.
“He was attacked, probably by an arrow.”
Asher’s eyebrows knit together.
‘That means-‘
Swoosh!
An arrow came out of nowhere, heading for Asher, but Sirius deflected it and growled at the top of the hill on the other side of the valley.
“We’re not alone, shields!”
Alex roared, and the castle guards lifted their shields above their heads; one covered the barbarian, but it seemed as if something snapped in the barbarian, causing him to lunge toward the soldier like a lion.
Luckily, Alex’s sword was right at the barbarian’s back. He pierced through the scout and pulled out his sword.
Unlike other kills, he felt sympathy for the scout.
The scout wasn’t an enemy; he was forced to be one.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Instead of arrows, the next thing that came flying down the hill were purple flame balls!
Boom!
A soldier was sent flying backward when a flame ball hit his shield.
Asher skillfully dodged a flameball by rolling forward. As he got back to his feet, two more flameballs came for him. Grinding his teeth, he unsheathed his sword, unleashed his battle force, and everything around him seemed to slow.
Badum Badum!
He could hear his heartbeat. Each beat resonated with the gentle pulse he felt from the air. This was the second stage of his battle force technique. Since it was a blood element battle force, it focused on maximizing his current strength.
His adrenaline was consciously activated!
He leaned to the side and swung his sword upward with the entire strength of his body, causing the flameball to scatter mid-air. As his sword came down with reducing momentum, he gathered his strength again and unleashed another slash that destroyed the second ball.
Fire sparks flew about, but it couldn’t even burn his furry coat because the red light, which was his battle force, acted as a shield.
Asher saw Sirius helping the soldiers.
‘Sirius, go up!’
He ordered.
Awoo!
As Sirius covered a short distance, it suddenly stopped and began to growl. The hairs on its body stood up as it turned back.
The blood of the beasts all flowed into the ogre, causing its fingers to twitch.
“Your Lordship, it’s alive!”
A castle guard shouted.
Before their very eyes, the ogre they thought dead got back to its feet and roared so mightily that their hair fluttered backward.
Alex held his sword with both hands.
“Your Lordship, it would be advisable you leave with Sirius and get reinforcements.”
Alex wasn’t joking; they were facing a being beyond their rank. From its aura, they knew it was much stronger than a gold-ranked entity.
The ogre was a diamond-ranked warrior!
Roar!
It roared as Alex ran toward it.
Bam!
When their swords clashed, Alex was flung twenty meters away, tossing and rolling on the uneven ground.
“For Nineveh and Lord Asher!”
Asher’s castle guards roared and dashed toward the ogre.
All it took was a single swing, and a bronze-ranked loyal soldier lost his life. Asher’s eyes trembled.
Awoo!
Sirius clashed with the ogre. Its claws cut through the ogre’s metal armor, but it received a blow that caused shockwaves.
As Sirius staggered backward, Alex was already behind the ogre. He slashed its back, rolled to the front from under its legs, and was about to deliver another slash when it kicked him away.
Asher stood there, watching the battle with two minds. Go or run.
If he ran, there might be a chance to gather forces and fight back, but how much more would he lose? And who knew what level the ogre would become if it absorbed the blood of Alex and Sirius?
‘Ashbournes, do not fear!’
He charged himself. However, the moment he saw a flame ball hit one of his men, Asher did not need to mentally charge himself as anger took over.
He sprinted toward the beast while flame balls exploded behind him. Upon arriving at the intense battlefield, he stepped on Sirius, launching himself several feet into the air.
Channeling all his force into his sword, Asher swung down, but before his sword touched the ogre’s head, its large palm covered by a metal gauntlet slammed him into the distance.
Boom!
His back slammed a hill, and the edge of a rock opened a small cut at his right cheek. His vision was blurry, but he could see Alex falling to his knees and being slammed to the side with Sirius fighting intensely despite the sword wounds.
At that moment, he felt a sting more piercing than the pain coming from his bones. Asher lifted his hand, touched his right cheek, and stared at his blood-stained palm.
