The blue flame shot into the sky, illuminating the darkness.
The knights standing on the wall immediately noticed it and understood that an attack had occurred. One of them quickly grabbed the horn beside him and blew it.
The deep sound of the horn reached Derland's ears, telling him that reinforcements were on their way.
Derland looked at the creature standing before him.
We have two minutes until the backup arrives. Until then, I can hold them off while keeping the princess safe.
It wasn't that Derland couldn't fight them alone. He was strong enough to defeat them.
But one wrong move could put the princess in danger.
That was why he was holding himself back.
The monster stared directly at Derland. Its large green eyes were fixed on him, while its black mouth looked almost desperate to devour him.
Derland smirked.
"Looks like I found a monster I can use for some sword training. Ahiru... What a strange name."
The Ahiru were monsters that resembled mantises, except their abdomens were shaped almost like those of humans. Their small legs allowed them to move at incredible speeds, while their sword-like arms could deliver slashes at almost blinding speed.
A single swing from an Ahiru could shatter even a massive boulder.
Unless someone was an SSS-Class swordsman, an Ahiru could easily cut down its opponent.
Suddenly, the Ahiru opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek.
The high-pitched cry was enough to leave anyone's ears ringing.
Then the monster stopped.
And the moment its scream ended, nine more Ahiru, almost identical to the first one, emerged from the jungle and gathered behind it.
Derland's expression became slightly tense.
"Get to the princess! Quickly!"
Before the knights could move, one of the Ahiru suddenly rushed toward Derland and attacked him.
Derland noticed it immediately and blocked the strike with his sword.
His expression remained troubled.
The knights standing beside Princess Shakky watched the battle, but none of them moved.
Shakky noticed this and spoke sharply.
"What are you all standing around for? Go and help the others!"
The knight shook his head.
"Forgive us, Princess, but your safety comes first."
Nearby, the knights fighting alongside Derland were taking down the goblins around them.
One knight thrust his spear straight into a goblin's head. Then he pressed the small button near the grip.
Click!
The spearhead buried inside the goblin's skull suddenly opened outward from all sides, crushing its head.
The other knights used the same weapons to eliminate the surrounding goblins.
But then they noticed something.
Several much larger goblins had arrived.
They charged toward the knights, swinging their weapons wildly. The knights managed to dodge the attacks and quickly retreated.
Meanwhile, Derland's sword moved so fast that his hands were almost impossible to see.
He was fighting ten Ahiru at once.
Derland's sword possessed a unique ability that could increase its user's power by up to 200 percent.
When the sword glowed at full strength, it could unleash the complete 200-percent boost upon its wielder.
But Derland's sword was only faintly glowing.
That meant he was currently using only 30 percent of its power.
As the Ahiru's attacks continued to increase, Derland tightened his grip around his sword.
The moment he did—
Red lightning began racing across the blade.
An Ahiru lunged toward him.
Derland instantly dodged its attack.
Then, in the same motion, he swung his sword.
Slash!
The monster was torn apart by the strike.
The remaining Ahiru let out furious shrieks and continued their assault.
But Derland met every attack head-on, rapidly countering each strike while effortlessly avoiding the others.
Derland's gaze shifted behind him.
A large goblin was approaching Shakky.
Seeing it, Derland tried to move toward her, but the monsters around him wouldn't let him leave.
The knights standing beside Shakky shouted,
"Quick! Guard the princess!"
The horse beside them saw the monster and immediately ran away.
Seeing this, one of the knights shouted,
"Quick! Take the princess somewhere safe!"
Hearing that, Shakky said to them,
"Don't worry about me. I'm going to die soon anyway."
As the goblin came closer, the knights began to tremble.
The goblin was as tall as a tree, holding a massive wooden weapon in its hands.
Even so, the knights steeled their hearts.
"We'll die here for our princess! The rest of you, take the princess away!"
Three knights rushed toward the goblin.
They charged forward while shouting with all their strength.
The goblin swung its weapon down at them, but they managed to dodge beforehand.
When they saw the huge crater created by the attack, they became frightened.
The crater looked like a bottomless pit to them.
Their weapons slipped from their hands.
"No... This is beyond us. It's over."
The knights had already given up.
They weren't made to fight monsters like this. They had expected ordinary goblins, but instead, they had encountered a giant goblin that was far beyond their level.
The goblin raised its weapon again to attack them.
Seeing this, the knights standing nearby couldn't even move.
Shakky watched them and said,
"Seriously? You're giving up after doing just this much?"
Shakky drew her sword from its sheath and threw the sheath onto the ground.
She looked at the knight standing in front of her.
"Oi, you."
The knight looked at her in confusion.
"Princess? Me?"
Shakky looked at him and said,
"Kneel in front of me."
The knight didn't understand what she was planning, but he got down on his knees.
"Princess, what are you doing?"
Shakky stepped back slightly.
Then she jumped onto his shoulder and launched herself from there.
The impact sent the knight crashing onto the ground.
The goblin was just about to attack the knights when Shakky came flying through the air.
She blocked the goblin's attack and, with a single slash, cut off its arm.
The remaining knights stared in shock.
They couldn't believe what they had just seen.
Using the severed arm as a foothold, Shakky jumped into the air once again and separated the goblin's head from its body.
Shakky landed on the ground.
The goblin's body fell behind her, and green blood had already spread around her feet.
She walked over it and returned to the knights.
Then she shouted,
"Quick! Pick up your weapons and fight!"
The knights' eyes widened as if they had noticed something behind Shakky.
They shouted to warn her.
But before they could say anything, another large goblin attacked Shakky from behind.
However, just before its weapon could hit her—
Shakky disappeared.
The goblin couldn't understand what had happened.
Then it suddenly lost its balance and fell to the ground.
The goblin looked ahead and began screaming.
It realized that both of its legs had already been cut off.
Shakky walked toward its head.
There was happiness on her face.
She smirked and said,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. A sneak attack from behind, and against someone like me? How dare you little brats?"
Shakky's expression changed.
Anger filled her face.
She took her sword and repeatedly struck the goblin's head.
With every strike, her smile grew wider, as if she was getting satisfaction from doing it.
The knights standing around could do nothing except watch.
After Shakky's attacks, even the ground beneath the goblin had been torn apart, along with its head.
Shakky's clothes were now stained green with the goblin's blood.
She returned to the knights and said,
"I told you. The fight isn't over yet."
Seeing Shakky's angry expression, the knights quickly picked up their spears again.
They looked ahead—
But then their expressions changed.
Shakky had disappeared.
She was now standing beside Derland.
Even Derland was troubled by her sudden appearance.
"Princess, why are you here? You should be with the other knights."
Hearing Derland, Shakky smiled.
"I can't just run away while leaving my people in trouble."
Derland looked at her.
His gaze fell upon the sword in Shakky's hand.
Red lightning was running across its blade.
Seeing that, a smile appeared on Derland's face.
"Alright, Princess. But don't push yourself too hard."
Shakky smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
At that moment, the monsters screamed and charged forward.
Derland also moved forward, blocking the monsters with his sword.
But four Ahiru managed to slip past Derland and attacked Shakky.
Shakky effortlessly dodged their attacks, as if she were simply dodging toys.
Then—
Shakky swung her sword rapidly upward from the ground toward the sky.
A flash burst from her sword.
The attack tore through the ground and reduced the Ahiru monsters in its path into countless pieces.
Shakky looked toward Derland.
Then she disappeared from her position.
In the next instant, she stepped onto Derland's shoulder and launched herself toward the monster standing in front of them.
She struck at its neck.
Her sword reached across the monster's throat—
But suddenly, the sword broke into two pieces.
Shakky looked at it in surprise.
Then she understood.
The attacks she had performed earlier had already reduced her sword to ash.
There was nothing more she could do with it.
At that moment, the monster caught Shakky in midair, giving it the opportunity to kill her.
It raised its sword-like arm and swung it toward Shakky.
But at that exact moment—
CLANG!
Derland blocked the attack with his sword.
He caught Shakky with his arm and pushed the monster backward.
An opening appeared.
Derland immediately took advantage of it.
He raised his sword into the air.
His sword began to glow.
Derland shouted—
"CRUST BUSTER!"