CATB Chapter 21

"Keeaack!!"

"Aaaack!!!"

The place where the most monsters had gathered was the center of the tournament grounds. The once verdant field had long been soaked in red blood. Roughly estimating the number of monsters in the central area, there were about seventy, and the number scattered around the forest and outer areas seemed to easily exceed a hundred. The remaining arrows numbered fifteen. It was regrettable that she had already used quite a few in the forest, leaving so few remaining.

Long-range is the best for this.

"If I had known it would be like this, I should have used them more sparingly."

I muttered to myself as I nocked the bowstring. Since this was close-range, I should use at most five arrows to save the rest for later. A bit troublesome, but it couldn't be helped.

Swoosh!!

The arrowhead that left the string instantly pierced through the neck of a monster that was thrashing soldiers about three meters away.

"Keeaack?"

The monster, unable to grasp the situation, made a questioning sound briefly before its vital point was struck directly, and its massive body slowly collapsed to the ground.

When the soldiers saw the monster before their eyes fall, their gazes followed the direction from which the arrow had flown, and Alexa's arrows continued to fly in succession.

"Keeaack!!"

"Keeaack!!"

Two additional monsters nearby collapsed. The fully armored beasts that dozens of soldiers had desperately clung to, hacking and stabbing with their swords yet failing to fell, died from a single arrow. The joy of having their lives spared was momentary—the soldiers who spotted Alexa had their eyes filled with terror.

"It's the Beast!!!"

"Alexa the Beast has appeared!!!"

The name Alexa the Beast created another sense of terror even amid the monster's feast.

The soldiers stirred restlessly.

They couldn't judge whether her appearance was good or bad. Alexa the Beast, called the savage beast of slaughter even on battlefields, participated in battles to annihilate enemy forces in principle, but sometimes got too intoxicated with excitement and caused damage to allied forces as well.

"You are all safe."

Alexa, who had somehow approached close to the terrified soldiers, spoke.

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Her confident words, along with her flowing black hair and solid body sitting atop a massive brown horse, made her appear larger and stronger.

"Everyone hold tight to your lifelines."

Alexa smiled slightly and turned her horse's head to charge toward the remaining monsters.

In one hand, she held a longsword she had somehow drawn from her waist. The silver blade gleamed brilliantly in the lazy afternoon sunlight. The soldiers would later reminisce about that day's mystery—why her departing figure looked so trustworthy.

"Keeaack!!"

"Kaaaack!"

In the wake of Alexa's passage lay piles of monster corpses stacked like mountains. The soldiers now gazed upon the brown horse and black-haired woman who traversed the battlefield like home as if she were divine.

Alexa's appearance instantly changed the tide of the field. The monsters instinctively began fleeing to avoid Alexa, who was slaughtering them, and the soldiers, relieved to have at least escaped the fear of death, helped by enthusiastically swinging their swords. However, the number of monsters was still overwhelmingly large, and the tournament grounds themselves were too vast for her to cover alone.

"Damn, this is quite difficult."

If I simply struck their necks with one blow, the monsters' hide was so thick it wouldn't cut well. So I had to stab the neck and pull out, but doing that quickly on horseback was quite difficult. I even felt my arms getting slightly numb.

"Ah! Right. Am I an idiot?"

I could have used magic power—why was I suffering through this?

But it's better to leave this alone if possible... If Alexa's magic power keeps getting attention, it becomes troublesome. For now, I decided to see how far I could get without using it, and led my horse toward Berford's knight order. I'm human too—eliminating all of these by myself is impossible.

If there are pawns I can use, it's proper to use them.

"Hiiing!!!"

As I headed toward the remaining knight order, the horse I was riding cried mournfully at the increasingly thick smell of slaughter. I gently patted the horse and assessed the remaining forces.

About seventy men—a number roughly equal to the remaining monsters, completely inadequate.

Ah, that is, if I weren't here.

I smiled coldly and approached Berford, who was struggling with monsters. His handsome face was covered in blood and dust, with only his clear green eyes visible properly. Though this was the urgent midst of battle, I needed to focus their attention in one place to command the soldiers more smoothly.

"Damn it, Captain!! It absolutely won't die!!!"

"All the arrows bounce right off. At this rate, our entire force will be annihilated!"

"Better to give up and take cover!!!"

While avoiding the frantically charging monsters and the green balls they shot in all directions, Berford's face was even more contorted. Even for them, the elite of the kingdom's finest knight order, the monsters were overwhelming opponents. Their thick hide required striking with a sword at least ten times to barely inflict a wound, and the green balls the monsters shot had enough power to tear flesh away with just a brief graze.

Berford gritted his teeth. Watching his soldiers and subordinates fall one by one, this was the first time he had felt such helplessness. This was the first time he had been pushed to such extremes.

The goal was no longer to subjugate the monsters rampaging through the tournament grounds. It was already beyond their capabilities.

His instincts told him he needed to preserve his life as quickly as possible.

He couldn't abandon the knight order and leave.

But these were his limbs, as precious as his own life—he couldn't let them die meaningless deaths in a place like this. He had done his best. Even when the king and nobles had all fled, he had remained until the end. This much was enough—he had done what he could. From the beginning, it was nonsensical to think that such a large number of monsters could be defeated by fewer than a hundred knights. Berford repeated to himself while deliberately turning away from the soldiers still remaining on the field.

Finally, to order a retreat, he grabbed his horse's reins and pulled back two or three steps.

Seeing the miserable scene around him made his mouth fall open even more. Three meters ahead lay knight Alonso, who had been joking with him until yesterday, collapsed with his neck bent at a bizarre angle, and not far to the east, new knight Sybel, who had lost half his shoulder to a green ball, was spitting blood.

He gripped the reins in his hand even tighter in devastation. His nails dug into his flesh and soon created wounds, but he didn't even feel the pain. It was all his fault.

If only he had taken them to the royal palace instead, if only he hadn't declared that they would stay to subdue mere monsters, his knights would still be alive.

These were not lives to be lost meaninglessly in such a trivial hunting tournament.

The bone-deep mistake seemed to tear at his heart, so Berford squeezed his eyes shut. Despair seemed to dangle from his eyelashes, mocking him. So he didn't see the green ball flying straight toward him.

"Captain!!! Watch out!!!"

A knight who belatedly spotted the green ball flying toward him shouted. Berford immediately opened his eyes. But it was too late. The green ball was already just before reaching him. A moment's carelessness was bringing the shadow of death to him as well.

Crack!

There was a sound of cutting through the wind, and the green ball before his eyes changed its trajectory.

The green ball that had been flying in a straight line toward Berford was shattered and disappeared by someone's pressure. The fragments scattering in the air couldn't overcome their speed and scattered in all directions. The speed of the scattering pieces was as fast as their fierce approach.

Berford roughly wiped away the blood drops flowing down his cheek. The fragments had grazed past and wounded his beautiful face. However, the stinging pain lost its presence as his gaze was stolen by the flowing black hair.

"Marquess, pull yourself together. This is a battlefield."

A voice that was low and weighty for a woman reached him.

Berford stared at Alexa with a vacant expression.

"It's Alexa the Beast!!!"

"Alexa has appeared!!!"

The knights who had been looking at the mysterious woman who had instantly sliced the green ball to pieces with her sword cried out in surprise. However, they had to regain their senses again because of the monsters who gave no thought to their circumstances.

Alexa looked around at them thoughtfully, then quickly nocked her bowstring.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh"

As the sound of cutting through wind was heard continuously, the three monsters the knights had been fighting just moments before screamed their death cries and collapsed to the ground.

"Th...this!!!"

Was such a thing even possible?

She had killed monsters that dozens of knights had been clinging to with a single arrow each.

The knights looked at Alexa with eyes full of fear and awe.

"Everyone, attention!!!"

Alexa raised her voice.

"You have worked hard fulfilling the duties of knights in harsh conditions. However..."

Alexa theatrically surveyed the surroundings carefully. At her sharp gaze, the knights unconsciously stepped back and gripped their swords tightly.

"It cannot be denied that it was a considerably inefficient method."

She muttered while looking at the tournament grounds drenched in the blood of humans killed by monsters.

"From now on, we approach with a new method."

"The Royal Knight Order has already done its best. To prevent further damage, the knight order should now withdraw..."

Berford interrupted Alexa's words. Saving his life was one thing, but he still couldn't acknowledge the beast. He knew anyway that he couldn't surpass her in force. However, he was the captain of the royal knight order, and she was merely a useful tool. It had been this way until now and would continue to be so. He couldn't tolerate her using his precious knights like chess pieces while intoxicated with her sense of justice.

"Shut your mouth, Harman. When you return to the royal palace, you'll have much explaining to do about losing this level of forces to deal with mere monsters."

Alexa snapped at him fiercely. She didn't even use the honorifics she usually attached—it was perfect condescension. Moreover, 'mere monsters'—Berford, who had struggled miserably dealing with those very monsters, bristled and faced her directly. Alexa also glared back at him without backing down.

"Is this insubordination? Know your place and mine. Captain Harman. Come to your senses and reorganize the battalion."

"..."

Berford didn't respond. He wasn't someone bound by petty pride.

However, Alexa... that beast had been constantly getting on his nerves lately. It had been better when she was a beast who couldn't say a word and followed him around like a puppy. Back then, she hadn't been this irritating.

"Commander Berford Harman! As military Chief of Staff, I order you. Reorganize the battalion."

Alexa barked at him fiercely. Once she brought up her official position, Berford had no choice.

He hadn't expected her to bring up a title that was merely nominal. Due to the royal image, they couldn't have Alexa fight on the front lines like a servant without giving her any position, so they had thrown her that post saying 'here, take this.' In fact, even though she was called chief of staff, she was someone who didn't attend meetings and only stayed holed up in her villa, so until now she had been completely useless. However, the Chief of Staff position belonged to the military department responsible for Pellipe's national defense. Though it might be less honorable than the Knight Commander who only bore responsibility for the royal family's safety, during wartime, military orders were to be prioritized and followed.

If Alexa went this far, the grounds for officially refusing her orders disappeared. Berford glared at her and finally opened his mouth.

"...Royal Knight Order...full formation!"

The knights who had been watching the confrontation between Alexa and Berford in a daze hesitated at the formation command from Berford's mouth. Did our captain just lose? Their actions were sluggish with disbelieving looks.

"Won't you come to your senses! This is a combat situation! If you want to become one of those scattered corpses over there, I'll be happy to oblige."

Alexa, irritated by the slow formation, shouted angrily and raised her bowstring to aim at the knights.

"Hiiik!!!"

That crazy beast is now going to kill allies too.

Fear settled in the knights' eyes briefly before a silver arrow passed over their heads like wind and pierced a monster that had been charging from behind. The massive body fell to the ground with a thud.

"Don't forget that the only reason you can preserve your lives in this situation is because I just dealt with these things. Do you think this place is safe?"

Indeed, the rest of the tournament grounds except where they stood was still undergoing slaughter.

If Alexa hadn't killed the monsters fighting the knights upon her arrival, they would have met the same fate. The tension of death settled on the knights' shoulders again.

"I ask you gentlemen. Do you wish to retreat?"

Alexa asked them loudly. At her question, she could feel Berford's gaze.

"Those who want to flee and preserve their lives are welcome to do so. I permit it."

There was a moment of stirring among the knights standing in formation.

In truth, they were exhausted to their limits. Having witnessed firsthand their comrades' limbs being torn and fellow soldiers beside them spitting blood, the knights' minds and bodies had grown weak. The fear of death pressing right before their eyes drove them more fiercely than the proud sense of justice as royal knights.

"However, know this. The forest has already lost control of the monsters. If we don't deal with these things here, where do you think they'll go?"

Alexa's voice was neither too loud nor too quiet. Neither authoritative nor weak. Unlike when she had barked in irritation earlier, she knew how to control intensity at important moments.

"The capital."

At her words, the knights' murmuring instantly quieted.

"Monsters instinctively pursue slaughter. Where do you think is the place near here that would best satisfy their instincts?"

"......"

"Who is in the capital?"

"......"

"Do you think your precious ones will be safe?"

"......"

"If you wish to avoid this place now, I won't stop you. However, those who will have to deal with those monsters will be your parents and siblings."

"......"

"Decide. We have no time."

At her cold words, a different light appeared in the knights' eyes. If they fled, their warm parents and beloved siblings would die just like the comrades lying before their eyes now. There was nothing more to think about. It was right to end the painful memories with oneself.

"We won't go!!"

"We'll fight!!"

"We'll kill all the monsters and grind them to powder!"

Hmm... there seems to be someone with excessive enthusiasm, but well, as long as they're motivated, that's enough.

Alexa smiled bitterly.

"Good. You gentlemen are Pellipe's blessing. Everyone, raise your swords!"

She moved theatrically around the knights. She touched her sword against the knights' raised swords as she passed. Clang clang clang - the sound of iron rang around them. The knights firmly steadied their somehow surging, overwhelmed hearts.

"The monsters' weakness is their necks! If you attack the center of the neck below the jaw, you can finish them in one strike! Whether you use swords or bows or whatever means, I don't care! Kill them!"

"Waaaah!!!!"

The knights shouted loudly. The deep fear the knights had been feeling was gradually disappearing.

"Ranks 1 and 2, attack the west! Ranks 3 and 4, attack the east! Rank 5 comes with me!"

"Yes!!!"

"You don't have to fight for the royal family. Fight for yourselves. Fight for those you want to protect!"

"Hooooah!!!"

The war fever that instantly intensified lifted the exhausted knights all at once. The will to muster even their last drop of sweat to deal with those green monsters filled them.

Alexa smiled with satisfaction.

And her eyes met with Berford, who was still looking at her.

"Damn brat."

Seeing Berford's eyes widen made her even more satisfied.

She raised her sword high.

"Everyone, charge!!!"