Chapter 138: Making Their Stand.

While the human towns were consumed by news of the beast attack, the scene deep within the uncharted territory told a different story.

Across a vast grass plain, a terrifying battle raged. The Knight Order’s elite squad stood in tight formation, shields interlocked, boots dug deep into the blood-soaked earth.

Their shields held steady, their hearts pounded heavily, and they swung their weapons with all their might.

“HOLD YOUR GROUND!” a voice boomed across the battlefield. “PUSH BACK!”

“THIS IS OUR CALL!”

“PUSH BACK!”

“NOT ON OUR WATCH WILL WE LET THIS EVILDOER GO!”

“PUSH BACK!”

At the sound of that voice, the exhausted members of the Knight Order felt their blood surge anew. Their morale soared despite their fatigue.

“WHO ARE WE?” the voice roared.

“THE KNIGHT ORDER!” the knights answered in unison, veins bulging across their foreheads.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU! I ASKED…WHO ARE WE?”

“WE ARE THE KNIGHT ORDER! THE PROTECTORS OF THE HUMAN RACE!”

Their courage thundered through the ranks. Strength hidden deep within their battered bodies rose to the surface, and their attacks grew fiercer.

Under their relentless assault, beasts fell one after another. The knights advanced step by step, indifferent to their shattered armor and bleeding wounds.

Their eyes blazed with pride and unyielding resolve.

They fought with everything they had.

Miserable screams from the beasts echoed through the air. Blood sprayed into the sky like crimson rain.

Humans fell.

Beasts fell.

Corpses lay scattered across the battlefield.

Yet the Knight Order’s elite pressed on, their morale unbroken. It was as though they had transcended pain itself. Death seemed to have lost its meaning in their presence.

They were fearless, hurling themselves into the maws of powerful beasts just to halt their advance.

“Die! Die!” a young Level 15 Knight screamed as he leapt onto the back of a boar-like beast and hacked at it repeatedly.

His eyes were bloodshot. Even after the beast collapsed beneath him, his heavy broadsword did not stop rising and falling against its lifeless flesh.

He poured all his rage and grief into every strike.

He had lost many friends in this battle.

For the past hour, they had been locked in combat with the Beast God Sect, striving to prevent them from escaping the uncharted territory and spreading further devastation.

Bang!

Lost in his fury, the young knight failed to notice a powerful tail sweeping toward him. It struck him with devastating force, launching him into the air. His ribs shattered from the impact. Before he even hit the ground, he had already lost consciousness.

Amid the chaos of large-scale combat, no one noticed his fall. Every warrior was desperately fighting for survival.

Bang! Bang!

A Level 17 Knight slammed his shield forward, striking the head of a Level 17 Cyan Wolf. The beast staggered back, momentarily losing focus.

Seizing the brief opening, the knight vanished from his position and reappeared before the stunned beast tamer.

“W-What?!” the beast tamer stammered, his eyes widening in disbelief. He had never expected his Cyan Wolf to falter so easily.

He had no time to react.

The knight’s heavy broadsword flashed downward, severing the man’s head from his shoulders in a single, brutal arc. Still burning with rage, the knight smashed his shield into the headless corpse, reducing it to a mangled heap.

Without pausing, he turned and charged toward his next target.

The battle was merciless.

Blood flowed like streams across the trampled grass.

No one was willing to retreat.

Yet on the broader scale of the battlefield, the Knight Order was losing men at an alarming rate. Though they fought valiantly, they were being steadily overwhelmed.

Tens of meters away from the main clash, Taren was locked in a deadly duel with two Level 18 beasts.

He demonstrated why he was the leader of the Knight Order Guild.

With precise, calculated movements, Taren weaved between a Bronze Armor Rhinoceros and an Angel Cries Toad. Despite the overwhelming pressure, his footing remained flawless.

Bang!

At the last possible moment, he raised his shield to deflect the Angel Cries Toad’s deadly tongue. The force drove him backward, boots carving deep furrows into the earth, but he maintained his stance.

He swung his sword diagonally, intercepting the charge of the Bronze Armor Rhinoceros.

A grunt escaped his lips, but he did not retreat.

He pivoted to the side, using his heavy shield to parry another brutal strike before counterattacking the Angel Cries Toad.

Hiss!

The toad shrieked in agony as a deep gash split open across its bloated belly. Blood spurted from the wound. Enraged, it opened its massive mouth and lashed out again with its lethal tongue.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, the toad released a bone-chilling cry, one of its innate abilities.

The horrifying sound assaulted the minds of all who heard it, capable of shattering the will of those with weak spirits.

Taren froze for a fraction of a second, his mind rattled by the piercing wail, but he quickly regained his composure.

Bang!

He jumped and rolled at the last instant, narrowly avoiding the devastating charge of the Bronze Armor Rhinoceros.

Using the momentum of his roll, he sprang to his feet and leapt into the air. Mid-flight, he twisted his body, positioning his shield to guard his vital points.

Bang!

The toad’s tongue struck the shield with explosive force but failed to penetrate it.

Taren landed behind the Bronze Armor Rhinoceros and swung his sword with every ounce of strength he possessed.

Bang! Bang!

The blade struck deep.

Howl!

The massive rhinoceros let out a miserable, thunderous scream as blood gushed from its wounds like water from a ruptured dam.

Not far away, a young woman stared in horror at the sight of her grievously wounded mount. Shock and fear filled her face.

“Help her!” she screamed at her partner, her voice breaking.

Taren did not remain behind the beast. He leapt backward immediately, narrowly evading another sudden strike from the Angel Cries Toad.

His eyes glimmered with cold determination as they locked onto the young woman who stood frozen in distress over her mount.

Whoosh!

He charged toward her with explosive speed.

Realizing the danger, the young woman trembled and stumbled backward.

She called desperately for her mount to protect her, but the Bronze Armor Rhinoceros was too gravely injured and disoriented to respond.

“H-Help me…” she whispered, her voice barely audible amid the chaos.

Bang!

Taren’s blade descended like divine judgment.

The strike cleaved through her body in one merciless motion. Blood sprayed across his armor and splattered against his face.

He did not flinch.

“One more to go,” he muttered coldly, lifting his gaze toward the remaining enemy.

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