"Right now, we have the Nest King in front of us.
"Based on our observations, it doesn't seem to be injured. And to make things worse, there are several other high-level lizardmen knights and mages beside him.
"We aren't in good condition either. The distance between us and the infantry has increased considerably. We're already exhausted, and most of us are injured."
Azpen then shouted another command.
"Verken and I will hold the King! Don't let anyone interfere with our battle!"
The moment those words left his mouth, both of them rushed toward the Nest King.
Azpen held his broad sword in both hands, while Verken raised his sword and charged from the other side.
The Nest King accepted their provocation.
It let out a furious roar and charged toward them.
At the same time, the other high-ranking lizardmen concentrated their attacks on us.
They came at us with everything they had.
I had to deal with them while also watching for any hidden mages.
Then I noticed one.
A lizardman was standing behind a large shield.
The shield bearer wasn't attacking.
His only purpose was defense.
Behind him, a mage was continuously casting spells at me.
My halberd became blocked by the shield, while the mage's attacks kept coming from behind it.
Smoke and dust filled the air around me.
Then I saw a red smoke in the air.
It was coming from Verken.
I couldn't understand what it meant.
At first, I thought it might have been a signal to retreat.
But the Knights didn't move backward.
They didn't fall back.
Instead, they continued fighting.
It seemed that the battle plan was still going forward.
I couldn't waste time thinking about it.
I rushed my horse toward the shield-bearing lizardman.
I killed another normal lizardman on the way and dodged the mage's attack.
The mage needed a moment to recover before casting another spell.
I am using that moment to pressure them
I struck the shield bearer again.
Then fallback.
Now I could focus on only one enemy.
The mage.
As Rany continued to tell battle part that's where I saw the determination in Rany's eyes.
Rany shook his head slightly before continuing.
"The battle began to slowly drag on."
"Both sides started suffering more losses."
"Our momentum was gone, but the lizardmen were losing numbers too."
"At one point, I saw that same mage suddenly move toward my left."
"Even though I was already injured from his attacks, I reacted."
"A lizardman suddenly swung a knife toward my head."
"I moved backward just in time."
"The blade missed my head and left a cut across my face."
Rany touched the scar on his face.
"That's where I got this."
He gave a small smile.
"We continued fighting."
"But by then, I knew something."
"We had lost our momentum."
"We were losing numbers."
"And everyone was exhausted."
Then Rany continued.
"I saw the mage preparing another water attack."
"Before he could release it, an arrow flew from the side."
"It struck the lizardman in the neck."
"Black blood sprayed across the shield behind him."
"The shield-bearing lizardman instinctively looked back."
"That was enough."
"I killed him."
I looked at Rany.
He continued telling the story.
"Then I glanced toward the main battlefield."
"Azpen and Verken were still fighting the Nest King."
"The King was becoming more aggressive."
"Verken's sword struck against its shield, while Azpen attacked from the other side with his broad sword."
"The Nest King didn't even give them enough time to coordinate."
"It kept pressing forward."
"Even when Azpen made a feint, the King reacted immediately."
"Its armor was extremely high quality."
"Then another sword came toward my neck."
"I barely managed to avoid it."
"But when I looked back toward the main battle, I saw something strange."
"The number of high-ranking lizardmen suddenly began to decrease."
"Only the normal lizardmen were still coming toward us."
"The enemy knights and mages were still present, but compared to what we had faced earlier, their numbers were falling quickly."
"Our forces weren't killing them fast enough to explain it."
"But the fighting continued."
"The clash of weapons echoed across the entire battlefield."
"Then..."
I looked at Rany.
"What happened?"
Rany's expression became serious.
"It happened in a single moment."
"Azpen raised his broad sword above his head."
"The blade came down horizontally toward the Nest King."
"The King immediately adjusted its axe to redirect the attack."
"At the same time, it moved its shield to block Verken's strike from the side."
"Verken's sword came toward the gap beneath its shield."
"The King moved quickly enough to block it."
"But that sudden movement exposed its body."
"Azpen pulled hard on his horse's reins and suddenly changed direction."
"The horse turned sharply."
"At the same time, Azpen changed his grip on the broad sword."
"Instead of striking with the edge, he turned the blade flat."
"Then he slammed it into the Nest King's abdomen."
BOOM!
The impact struck with tremendous force.
The Nest King's massive body staggered backward.
Rany stopped speaking.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
I could already imagine what happened next.
The battle had reached its turning point.