The rumbling of hundreds of monster footsteps blended with the howls of starvation. The muddy ground vibrated violently beneath our feet. The metallic stench of carrion blood and wet earth filled the narrow air inside the trench.
Hearing the wave of monsters brought by Ragnar from behind, Henry Percy tensed rigidly. His military brain instantly realized that this was an absolute kill zone. The knight's composure shattered into pieces at that very second.
"This is a death trap!" shouted Henry, slicing through his troops' panic. His baritone voice cracked with deadly urgency.
"Ignore Draven! Climb these trench walls right now! Get out of this filthy hole as fast as possible!" commanded Henry while pointing upward with the tip of his spear.
The elite troops immediately threw their swords into the mud in panic. They clawed at the earthen walls to climb.
Before those Upper Class cadets could sink their muddy fingers into the dirt walls, I gave a signal. I raised my right hand in a single, soundless motion.
Selena Lune, who had deliberately held back from casting offensive spells to conserve mana, finally made her move. Now, she released her magic with a subtle smile.
Silver light glowed brightly from her pale palms. Silver light tendrils shaped like roots shot out quickly from the trench walls.
Those magical roots tightly wrapped around the ankles of the Nightbane cadets. The magic restrained their bodies as they desperately tried to climb up to safety.
At the same time, Virelith slammed the base of her staff into the bottom of the trench with all her might.
"Earth Grinder Elevation!" exclaimed Virelith with her fading remaining strength.
The earth pillar where Selena, Virelith, and I stood was abruptly severed and rose three meters high. We distanced ourselves from the bottom of the trench that was about to become a sea of blood.
Simultaneously, the ground beneath Henry's troops sank deeper due to Virelith's earth manipulation. The trench walls instantly became too high and incredibly slippery for anyone to climb.
"Help! I do not want to die."
"M-My legs are tied, I cannot go up."
"Bastard, the walls are getting higher. We cannot climb."
Various screams of panic and despair over impending death filled the bottom of the trench. Meanwhile, from the end of the corridor, Ragnar leaped through the air from behind the trapped elite troops. He dodged the pounce of the foremost monster with rough acrobatic movements.
The giant man landed hard on the edge of the fragile wall. I lowered my body and grabbed Ragnar's hand. I pulled him up onto our protective earth pillar just in time.
The black wave of Grave Hound monsters and other forest beasts spilled over. They fell into the trench like a flood filled with venomous fangs.
Because the trench walls had been raised by Virelith, those monsters crashed directly onto the bodies of the Nightbane Faction troops. The nobles' legs were still bound tightly by Selena's root magic.
The sound of flesh being forcefully torn dominated the cold night air. The crunching of dented armor caused by the bite of large savage monsters echoed clearly.
The hysterical shrieks and cries of the Upper Class cadets echoed back and forth. The sounds of suffering bounced off the clay walls imprisoning them.
Fresh blood spurted into the air, dyeing the mud puddles a deep red. The expensive silk armor they were so proud of was utterly useless when attacked from all directions in that confined space. They were bitten and torn apart alive without mercy.
The four of us watched the bloody slaughter from atop the earth pillar. We stood side by side like gods of death staring at helpless gladiators in an underground arena.
Selena offered a sweet yet incredibly horrifying smile. Her crystal blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm at the sight of fresh blood spilling to soak the mud.
The girl in the dirty dress looked down with intense interest. She acted as if she were watching a beautifully poetic tragic theater performance.
Conversely, Virelith turned her face away toward the wall. She covered her mouth with both trembling hands. The engineer's face was as pale as parchment paper.
Virelith's body shook violently seeing her own handiwork. She fought a strong urge to empty her stomach contents upon seeing a cadet's head severed.
This was the very first time the girl had seen the naked horror of war. The brutal deaths caused by her own architectural magic struck her logic hard.
"Do not close your eyes, Engineer," I said with a flat and grounding tone. My eyes stared sharply at the slaughter below without blinking.
"Swallow that nausea back into your stomach right now," I continued warningly. "If you pity them at this moment, you will die. You will hesitate when it is their turn to point a sword at your neck."
"The Commander is right, Bookworm," snorted Ragnar, agreeing with my words. The giant man flicked the remaining monster blood from his sword blade into the air.
"At least these wild dogs die with full stomachs tonight. We are doing a good deed for this forest ecosystem." Ragnar chuckled softly without guilt.
Right as the screams of pain at the bottom of the trench began to subside, a strange energy emerged. Incredibly dense and destructive Mana energy accumulated in the air.
That energy originated from the bottom of the trench, which was now filled with piles of monster carcasses and human corpses. The air felt crackling from extremely strong static electricity friction.
A blinding blue lightning spear exploded from the pile of corpses. The spear shot upward like heavy artillery fired from a cannon.
That pure lightning struck the earth pillar where our squad stood. Its explosion caused the earthen foundation to crack and split in the blink of an eye.
"Scatter! Get down now!" I shouted, warning my squad to jump immediately.
The earth pillar exploded, shattering into pieces of dust. Ragnar, Virelith, Selena, and I jumped down separately through the smoke.
We landed rolling safely on the hard ground surface at the edge of the ancient ruins. We were now out of the muddy trench area that had become a death zone.
From the bottom of the trench, now filled with charred ash and piles of corpses, six figures crawled up to the surface. They coughed, gasping for fresh air.
They were drenched in fresh blood mixed with black mud and the remnants of monster flesh. Their armor was completely deformed.
They were Henry Percy, Darius Greyvein, and four remaining Upper Class cadets. The other cadets had died, torn apart and burned down there.
Henry had apparently used area explosion lightning magic recklessly. He sacrificed his mana reserves to the critical limit to create a safe space.
Henry was forced to burn the remaining monsters and the bodies of his own friends while simultaneously destroying Selena's binding magic. He did that to save the remainder of his platoon who were still breathing.
Darius's aristocratic face had been totally distorted by anger and residual fear. His silk armor was severely torn in various places, revealing his pale skin.
Darius's face was covered in the blood splatters of his own friends. The arrogant noble had truly lost his sanity tonight.
"I am going to kill you!" shrieked Darius, pointing at me with his violently trembling sword.
"I swear I will flay the four of you alive!" roared Darius, his shrill voice shattering the silence. "You filthy trash from the trenches! You dare slaughter the Nightbane Faction in front of me?!"
Unlike Darius, Henry Percy did not shout at all. However, the knight's breathing was ragged, bearing an incredibly heavy physical and mental burden.
His silver spear crackled wildly, emitting residual, uncontrollable lightning. The absolute composure he always displayed finally cracked tonight.
Henry cursed harshly in his heart. He cursed his fate of having to lose half of his elite platoon in just a matter of minutes.
This crushing defeat was purely due to the dirty tactics of four outcast cadets. The cadets they had underestimated from the very beginning actually buried them alive.
"You turned me into a slaughterer of my own men just to save the remainder of this platoon, Draven," hissed Henry, glaring at me with blazing eyes behind his helmet.
Henry's voice was extremely heavy and laden with absolute killing intent. His hands gripped his silver spear so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Your trench tactics are truly extraordinary," praised Henry with a terrifying, bitter smile. "But you forgot one crucial thing in war."
Henry spun his spear and took a step forward. "Cornering a knight who no longer has any reason to hold back is absolute foolishness."
I took a calm step forward, responding to his threat. I drew my black Blood-Iron sword from my back with a single, smooth swing.
"I never cornered any of you," I replied, cold as ice. My red eyes stared straight at Henry, who was preparing to attack.
"I was purely just getting rid of useless trash inside that hole," I said with a condescending smile, returning his gaze.
"That way, I can freely focus on cutting off the snake's head up here without annoying flies buzzing around me." I touched the ground with the tip of my sword.
Facing six remaining elite enemies on flat ground, I immediately divided the battlefield. I utilized the military precision I had honed for years.
I refused to let this fight turn into an undirected street brawl. A brawl would only get us killed by random attacks.
"Selena! Virelith! You two take over the four remaining cadets behind them!" I commanded absolutely, without looking back in the slightest.
"Use control magic and earth traps," I continued, establishing their roles. "Hold off those four lackeys from a distance and do not let them get an inch closer to us!"
Virelith tapped her staff on the ground as a sign she was ready to sacrifice her remaining energy tonight. Selena ignited a deadly silver glow in both her hands while smiling and nodding in understanding.
"Ragnar! That noble who keeps screaming hysterically like a baby is your share," I said, pointing at Darius with my chin. "Cut out his tongue right now."
"I will ensure his head is separated from his neck, Commander," smirked Ragnar very widely, revealing his savage and terrifying teeth.
The giant northern man raised his greatsword high. The sword now radiated a burning golden Aura, ready to slash. Ragnar glared at Darius, who was now growling, holding back his fear.
I turned my body to face the main threat of the night. I raised the Blood-Iron sword with my Troll-muscled arm.
I aimed the tip of the black steel blade right at Henry Percy's face. The air around me suddenly became freezing cold, pressing against the lungs.
Pure killing intent from a war veteran exploded from my body. I was a man who had survived ten years in the hell of slaughter.
That bloodthirsty aura was so dense it pressured the air around those ancient ruins. The atmosphere felt incredibly heavy, choking the throat of anyone breathing.
Henry Percy responded to that silent challenge by spinning his lightning spear in front of his chest. The knight channeled all his remaining deadly magic into his heirloom weapon.
Blue lightning enveloped Henry's entire body, creating a bright shield of light. His eyes met my gaze without the slightest flinch.
Two absolute powers finally stood face to face, with no more barriers of earth walls or mud swamps between us. The Imperial Executioner against the Architect of Death.
Lightning crackled, striking the dry ground we stood on, leaving scorched marks. My black steel blade resonated softly, demanding fresh blood tonight. The true bloodshed in the Forbidden Forest finally began.