Pain! So much pain!
As the Lion Misbegotten's corpse crashed to the ground and the Grafted Greatsword fell aside, Zhao Si felt every muscle and bone in his body groan in agony.
"Pfft!"
Zhao Si's body split open, spraying blood. His hands went limp and dropped his weapons, and the ghostflame dissipated.
He knelt on one knee, gulping air as he tried to suppress the pain and regain his strength. But his injuries were too severe for that alone to work. Both arms hung at unnatural angles, clearly badly damaged.
The Lion Misbegotten's monstrous strength had been overwhelming. The improvised Flowing Sword Zhao Si had come up with on the spot couldn't fully neutralize it. Managing to turn that strength back against it and chop off its head was already a respectable result.
-Was it because I was too weak after all? I couldn't even do this properly.
Zhao Si retched up a mouthful of blood. There was so much of it that he looked ready to die.
Suddenly, a warm sensation filled his entire body, as comforting as sunlight. He could distinctly feel his cells becoming more active; the light carried a surging vitality.
A simple Healing Incantation could infuse Zhao Si with life, healing his wounds and restoring him. His injuries closed at a visible speed, and his broken bones rejoined, becoming whole again.
The power of incantations was nothing short of miraculous. It seemed that as long as someone hadn't breathed their last, they could be brought back.
Even so, Zhao Si needed several minutes to fully pull back from death's door. He let out a long breath, stood, and looked at Helena, who had emerged from the Lord's Manor. His gratitude was heartfelt. "Thank goodness you were here. Thank you."
Helena waved a hand. "That's a Witch's job."
Zhao Si nodded. Nothing more needed saying. He looked behind Helena. "Are you all okay?"
"We're fine. Go do what you need to do. Alberich's here to protect us." Helena pointed behind her.
Alberich held the Sinner's Staff, with a great scythe resting on her shoulder. Blood covered her, so she had evidently been through a fierce fight herself.
"Was there something else besides the Lion Misbegotten?" Zhao Si asked.
"Yes. The Lion Misbegotten must have coordinated with the demi-humans outside. Some of them slipped into the castle by water during the chaos, waiting for a chance to attack. Luckily, Alberich killed them," Helena said, still shaken.
Using a great scythe she had picked up by the roadside, Alberich had combined close-range and ranged attacks to drive off the demi-humans.
That explained it. Zhao Si remembered seeing demi-human corpses on his way here, along with fully armed soldiers.
"I'm no delicate academy-trained mage," Alberich said, curling her lip.
Academy-trained mages weren't delicate at all, but Alberich was at odds with them, so naturally she did her best to disparage the Academy of Magic.
"Lock the door. I'll be right back." Still worried, Zhao Si left them that reminder, then wasted no more time and sprinted toward the castle gate again.
Blaidd? was over there alone. Powerful as he was, he was still mortal and could die at any moment amid the chaos. Anyone who had played the Souls series or read A Song of Ice and Fire knew that Hidetaka Miyazaki and Martin had no hearts.
Zhao Si couldn't feel at ease without checking on him. Even knowing that the demi-humans posed no threat to Blaidd?, there was only so much one man could do against a crowd.
When Zhao Si returned to the gate, he saw that Misbegotten and demi-humans had already poured inside and were fighting the soldiers crammed into the streets.
They were packed together, shoulder to shoulder. At that moment, the soldiers' shields and spears showed their true worth. They thrust and thrust and thrust, repeating that single motion as they skewered the enemies charging at them.
For the Misbegotten, whether they fought on the humans' side or the demi-humans' side, they were nothing but cannon fodder. They would never have normal lives.
Zhao Si felt no sympathy for these little monsters. Or rather, his compassion wasn't so indiscriminate that he would worry about his enemies on a battlefield. He didn't even intend to ask the soldiers to make way, because he could climb over the walls.
He leaped up, pushed off a soldier's shoulder, and caught the eaves with both hands. Hauling himself onto the roof, he used it to launch himself onto the castle wall. That was the heart of the battle, where Edgar was directing the soldiers as they fought the demi-humans.
Misbegotten and demi-humans climbed up the elevator shaft in an endless stream. Holding them back alone really was too much even for Blaidd?.
The Sacrificial Axe swept left and right in Zhao Si's hands. In moments, he cut down a swath of demi-humans and fought his way toward Edgar.
"Where's Blaidd?" Zhao Si shouted.
Edgar shouted back, "Where's Irina?"
"She's safe!" Zhao Si replied.
Edgar's expression eased slightly. "The White Wolf War-Witch is still down below. Thanks to him, we're under a lot less pressure."
"Got any good ideas?" Zhao Si hacked down several demi-humans trying to ambush them.
"The demi-humans have leaders..." Before Edgar could finish, Zhao Si jumped off the battlements.
"Got it!"
Zhao Si's voice hung in the air, but he had already dropped to the foot of the wall. Using a demi-human to cushion his fall and the force-dispersing principles of Flowing Sword, he rolled across the ground to absorb the impact.
Ghostflame ignited on the Sacrificial Axe again. He spotted Blaidd? darting about the battlefield. A five-meter radius around him was an outright dead zone; no living thing could approach. Any demi-human that ventured too close was cut in two.
Zhao Si wove through the demi-humans with nimble footwork, performing Flowing Sword with the Sacrificial Axe as he crossed the battlefield like a stream flowing through gaps in the rocks.
"They have leaders, and they go berserk at night!" Once Zhao Si was close enough to Blaidd?, he shouted what he knew about the demi-humans.
"This battle won't last until nightfall," Blaidd? said.
Zhao Si joined Blaidd?, and the two united their forces, fighting their way toward the center of the demi-human host.
Keep running. They had to stay moving within the enemy formation. If they were surrounded, they were finished. Blaidd? could carve out an empty zone around himself only because of the Twinblade's unusual design. It had a long grip with a blade at each end, striking both on the outward swing and the return. Spinning like a propeller, it kept these demi-humans from breaking through his ring of blades.
The demi-humans were a disorganized mob, throwing their numbers at Blaidd? to wear him down, then planning to kill him once he weakened. That was their simple strategy. Looked at that way, they were rather like goblins.
Fortunately, Zhao Si joined the battle in time, giving Blaidd? a much-needed boost. Watching each other's backs greatly improved both their chances of survival.
"I never thought I'd entrust my back to you," Blaidd? said, sounding a little wistful.
Zhao Si laughed and snatched up
a crude wooden shield, blocking an enemy's weapon. "I'm your apprentice, after all. Isn't protecting my master what I'm supposed to do?"
"But which ones are their leaders?" Blaidd? asked.
Zhao Si scanned the vast demi-human host, sharpening all his senses to their utmost as he searched for the most dangerous presences among the enemy.
"Over there. Those two especially brawny ones are the leaders." Zhao Si pointed at a pair of towering demi-humans behind the horde.
They were heavily built and a little taller than humans. Wearing ragged cloaks and carrying great blades on their shoulders, they were baring their teeth as they directed the demi-humans.
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