Let Me Handle It

Before long, the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder, and everyone's hearts tightened. After all, it was their first time facing such a massive number of monsters.

Roar—!!

Accompanied by the monsters' furious roars, countless monsters burst out of the forest and charged wildly toward the city walls.

"So many of them!"

The many swordsmen were all startled by the sheer scale of the monster horde.

"Attack—!!"

With the order given, the soldiers standing atop the walls lit the cannons.

Boom boom boom!!!

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

A large number of shells shot toward the monsters and exploded amid the horde.

"Woooar—!!"...

Large numbers of monsters were blasted into the air, with only a small portion reaching the foot of the walls.

"Move—!!"

The swordsmen below the walls immediately rushed forward to fight the monsters.

"Keep firing—!!"

The soldiers atop the walls continued loading shells and firing at the distant monster horde, clearing the area below the walls for the army and swordsmen to handle.

Qi Yan found the scene before him deeply shocking. Was this war? It was his first time experiencing it firsthand. For someone born in a peaceful era, it was far too exhilarating.

Suddenly!

"Ooooooh—!!"

A strange cry rang out as a gigantic monster seven or eight meters tall emerged from the forest. It looked like a monkey, yet also somewhat like a gorilla. Its entire body was covered in red fur, and a single horn protruded from its forehead.

"Oh no! It's the Nine-Star Monster One-Horned Blood Ape!!!"

At the sight of the enormous creature, many people cried out in alarm.

A Nine-Star Monster was generally something only a Nine-Star Swordsman could barely contend with. No matter how many Eight-Star Swordsmen went up against one, it would make little difference from throwing their lives away.

Buzz—!

Blood-red energy gathered around the One-Horned Blood Ape's horn.

"Damn it! It's about to attack!!"

Whoosh—!

A beam of blood-red energy shot toward the swordsmen beneath the city walls.

Blazing Slash!!

A flaming slash shot forth directly to meet the beam.

Boom—!!

The two forces collided, erupting with a violent shockwave.

A young man stepped forward with a sword in hand. "I'll handle it!"

"It's the Nine-Star Swordsman, 'Flame Sword' Alan!"

Qi Yan was taken aback when he saw him. Wasn't this the unlucky guy he had instantly defeated during the preliminaries?

Hiss hiss—!

A scalp-crawling sound rang out as a huge serpent with nine heads slithered out of the forest.

"Another one!! It's the Nine-Star Monster Nine-Headed Serpent!!"

"I'll handle it!!"

Crackle!!

A bolt of lightning streaked through the crowd, charging straight at the Nine-Headed Serpent and engaging it in battle.

"The Nine-Star Swordsman, 'Thunder Sword' Clay!!"

The newcomer was another unlucky fellow Qi Yan had defeated. However, Qi Yan had held back at the time, so both Alan and Clay had suffered only superficial injuries and still retained their peak combat strength.

Roar—!

With an earth-shaking roar, a lion with massive wings on its back flew out of the forest and dove from the sky toward the top of the city walls.

"It's the Nine-Star Monster Kui Lion!!"

Flash: Cross Slash!!

A cross-shaped slash of light shot straight toward the lion in the sky.

Bang—!!

The Kui Lion was knocked out of the air by the cross slash.

That signature attack made everyone recognize its wielder at once.

"Arthur!!"

Arthur planted his sword into the ground and stared at the Kui Lion. "Don't even think about getting through here!!"

However, the Kui Lion soon shook its head and stood back up, seemingly unharmed.

Roar—!!

The Kui Lion roared furiously at Arthur, and the powerful sound waves tore up the surrounding ground.

Some of the weaker monsters were even shaken unconscious.

Many humans clutched their ears in agony as well.

Flash Sword!!

Only when Arthur charged forward did the Kui Lion finally stop roaring.

"Why are there so many Nine-Star Monsters this time?!"

"Yeah! During previous Monster Tides, even if there was a Nine-Star Monster, there would only be one at most. Three have appeared now. Could it be that this Monster Tide wasn't caused by a Nine-Star Monster?"

In the past, most Monster Tides had been caused by Nine-Star Monsters, which forced the other monsters to attack the city. But this time seemed different. With three Nine-Star Monsters appearing together, there were likely even more terrifying creatures behind them.

Awooo—!!

A tall giant wolf with silver fur charged out of the forest.

"Oh no! It's a Nine-Star Monster, the Silver Moon Wolf!!!"

Erza's expression turned grave. "Qi Yan, protect His Majesty the King. I'll deal with this thing!"

Requip: Black Wing Armor!!

After speaking, Erza did not wait for Qi Yan's reply. She swiftly completed her requip and leaped directly from the city wall. Three Nine-Star Swordsmen were already dealing with three Nine-Star Monsters. If this giant wolf broke into the human ranks, it would undoubtedly cause immeasurable casualties, so she chose to act.

"Wonderful! It's Miss Erza!"

Erza was now extremely famous in Sword City. Anyone who had watched the tournament knew this beautiful woman with exceptional swordsmanship.

But just as Erza faced off against the Silver Moon Wolf—

One enormous monster after another emerged from the forest, and the faces of the humans immediately turned deathly pale.

"The Mammoth King! The Dark Panther King! The Hellfire Tiger! The Three-Headed Frost Bird! The Earthshaking Bear!!"

"How could this be?! How could this happen?! Why have all these overlords of the Great Monster Forest gathered here?!"

"Nine Nine-Star Monsters?! Do they want to destroy this country?!"

Nearly everyone panicked at the sight.

Even the king, who had remained calm all along, suddenly changed expression, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

He had expected the Demon Dragon's counterattack to be fierce, but he had never imagined it would send nine Nine-Star Monsters.

There were only five Nine-Star Swordsmen in the city right now, counting himself along with the four below. Of course, if Qi Yan was included, that made six.

They were still short by three. Three Nine-Star Monsters were enough to destroy the entire city.

Unless that person acted.

"Where is Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni?! Where is Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni?!"

The king hurriedly asked. Now, only Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni could save this country.

The people around him all shook their heads. No one had seen Yoriichi Tsugikuni. It seemed that after the Swordsmanship Tournament ended, Yoriichi Tsugikuni had vanished.

At that moment, seeing so many powerful monsters appear, Qi Yan knew he could not slack off any longer. If this country was destroyed, who would he collect his money from? He had not even redeemed his prize money yet.

"Let me handle it!!"