A series of roars echoed from the forest, growing louder as the Beast Tide drew closer.
Val turned his gaze towards the origin of the noise, as did the others around him.
A sight of destruction met their eyes as countless trees toppled over, making way for an onrush of beast-type dungeon monsters swarming out from the depth of the forest.
The beasts’ eyes shone with an intense bloodlust upon spotting the humans. It was as if they had sighted their natural enemies.
Without wasting a second, the monsters moved forward on all fours, churning up clouds of dust as they charged straight towards the humans and the city they were protecting.
“The Beast Tide has arrived,” someone muttered, casting a grim gaze over the ocean of beasts. 𝗈𝚟𝓵ℯxt.𝕔𝑂𝔪
“Damn, there are too many of them. The dungeon break must be at least of danger level 3,” another chimed in.
“Their numbers are significantly greater than ours. This fight… It seems unwinnable!”
The beast tide was far more formidable than they had imagined. It was comprised of several thousand beasts. Facing such an adversary, their morale dropped before the battle had even begun.
The healer of the Shield Team began to feel hopeless, while the expression of the warriors hardened. Oliver’s expression also took a grim turn.
So many beasts… It would be hard to handle them with just their numbers. Maybe reinforcement from the Upper Haven would be needed to deal with this Beast Tide.
Alex looked as chill as always. ‘Although there are a lot of them, with me here, they won’t be entering the city today.’
Just then, Val’s powerful voice resounded through the crowd gathered outside the city.
“Don’t falter! They are just level 20 to 40 beasts. Nothing special. Even if they are ten times our number, so what? We can still take them down if we work together!” Val exclaimed before he charged towards the approaching beast tide all alone.
A collective gasp echoed through the crowd. Was this man fearless and brave or just a fool seeking his own death?
“This fool! Why is rushing towards his death?!” Marshall grumbled. But he really didn’t want Val to die.
Worry creased his forehead as he watched the gap between Val and the beasts close rapidly.
“I hope he survives,’ he muttered.
Meanwhile, as soon as the beasts entered his attack range, Val uttered, “Rage, Voidslayer!”
Everyone watched as Val’s sword glowed an intense and fiery red before emitting a crimson arc towards the Beast Tide.
Their eyes were drawn to it as it hurtled through the air like a ferocious dragon.
Ignorant of its might, the beasts didn’t bother dodging it, thinking that with their strong body, they should be able to easily block it.
However, expectations were often times different than reality!
The crimson arc sliced through the beasts at the forefront of the Beast Tide as if their thick hide and meat, harder than wood, and bones, tougher than steel, were mere tofu, chopping them in two halves, instantly yanking the life of them.
And it didn’t stop there. It continued its destructive path, mowing down the beasts in the second line as well. At this moment, even if they were cat monsters with 9 lives, they would have still met their end!
Their bodies dropped to the ground with a dull thud, raising clouds of dust that stained the air a dirty brown.
What happened next was even more amazing!
The beasts behind them couldn’t halt their charge in time, and they tripped over the fresh carcasses, toppling headfirst to the ground. It was a domino effect that saw hundreds of beasts trip and fall, creating chaos in the Beast Tide’s ranks.
+250
…
…
…
+370
…
…
…
+280
Val’s contribution points surged rapidly.
The majority of the onlookers stood in dumbfounded silence as they watched Val single-handedly disrupt the charge of the entire Beast Tide with one masterful move. For a moment, they did nothing but stare.
Hundred of people stood as still as statues.
It was a funny scene.
It was as if the scene before them had stolen their ability to react.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” Someone managed to stutter out. It was Oliver. His eyes were widened in astonishment and his mouth was gaping open as he was shocked to see his student but also master take down dozens of enemies with a single move.
‘Is this how strong he truly is? If we ever fought for real and he used that move on me, I would definitely die,’ Oliver gulped in fear.
“He stopped the beast tide by himself?” Alex’s eyes bulged, nearly popping out of their sockets as if he’d witnessed a ghost rather than a man flipping the majority of the beast tide on its head. Even he as a mid-rank wizard couldn’t pull that off so simply! “Damn, he is smart.”
Alfred’s jaw went slack, his mouth forming a perfect ‘O’ of astonishment. “Val… He is like a one-man army. Holy cow!”
Marshall and the leaders of the two teams were so surprised their eyebrows shot up to their hairline, and their mouths hung open as though disconnected from the rest of his face. “This kid is surprisingly good!”
Val shouted to them, “Don’t just stand there! Take advantage of this chaos. Strike while they’re vulnerable and disoriented!”
Recognizing the opportunity Val had created, Marshall shouted, “You heard the man! Charge!”
Without missing a beat, the warriors of Team Shield broke into a run, heading straight towards the disoriented beasts that were struggling to regain their footing.
Before the beasts could stand up, they brought their weapons down on their necks, but their strikes only created shallow wounds on the beasts.
“The beasts’ hides and flesh are too thick and strong. They won’t be easily pierced…” Oliver muttered under his breath.
Hearing Oliver’s concern, Alex turned to the healers at the rear and shouted, “Provide us with buffs!”
“Alright,” the healers responded in unison before casting their skills to buff the warriors.