Chapter 43: Battle on the Ice (Part 1)

When the White Wolf Knight burst out of the tower, this was the scene he beheld.

From beyond the mountain, accompanied by the furious and violent sound of horns, hordes of beastmen appeared on the horizon. Minotaurs advanced in orderly steps, dozens of gors moved their muscular bodies, and Chaos Warhounds rampaged through the caravan's camp, tearing apart mercenaries and guards.

The leading Beastlord had a massive pair of bull horns, one of which was adorned with a human head. Ryan recognized it as the head of Grayblade Birger.

Splitting forces was a foolish idea.

Under the Beastlord's command, the beastmen swarmed the battlefield, breaking through the mercenaries' fragile defenses. Rusty axes were drenched in human blood, and the already dwindling caravan of twenty or thirty people suffered even greater losses. The endless tide of beastmen brought despair to everyone.

Mather felt the barrel of his gun heating up, his spirit growing dim. After a sleepless night and continuous battles, the ordinary high-ranking guard felt his limbs turn to lead and his body weaken. Just as he raised his firearm, a charging minotaur sent him flying.

Oliver's bodyguard landed like a rag doll some distance away, his long rifle falling nearby. Mather felt like his body was falling apart, filled with pain, but he knew he couldn't collapse now. Struggling, he crawled towards his rifle, reaching out with gloved hands.

His hand stretched closer to the rifle.

As he exerted his last bit of strength to grasp it, a black, sturdy hoof stomped down, shattering the rifle and breaking Mather's hand with a sickening crack.

It was the Beastlord! The Beastlord with massive bull horns crushed the rifle underfoot, grinning wickedly as he twisted his hoof, pulverizing the bones and eliciting a scream from the guard. The Beastlord grabbed Mather's body like a toy and tore him in half, the hot blood sizzling on the ground, shocking the humans present.

Human morale was collapsing, but rationality told them not to flee, as that would lead to an even swifter death. They fought and retreated, crossing the frozen river, trying not to be swallowed by the filthy tide of beastmen.

"Stupid... humans!" The Beastlord flung the corpse into the horde, where razorgors and Chaos Warhounds devoured the remains, sending fragments of flesh and bone into the air.

And Mather's still-gaping head.

"Lady Trovick, flee, I'll cover you," the young mercenary Banda desperately swung his greatsword, barely deflecting a gor's attack, and kicked it away, turning to speak.

"Flee? To where?" Teresa's face was pale. She quickly took out a potion, hastily drank it, then raised her staff. Blue magical energy summoned a powerful blizzard, tearing apart several gors and dozens of ungors, and forcing the minotaurs to temporarily retreat.

Icicles fell like rain, and the fierce snowstorm grew stronger in the winter air.

This temporarily halted the battle, but Teresa knew her magic was limited. After yesterday's Mind Howl, she barely had enough power left for one more blizzard.

Ryan, where are you?

After a moment of hesitation, the sorceress softly said, "Flee."

"Huh?" The caravan members looked at her in disbelief. Oliver asked incredulously, "Lady Trovick, what did you say?"

"I said, I will raise an ice barrier. Use this time to flee!" Teresa's expression was resolute. She glanced back at Wilt of the Bloodaxe Mercenaries. "Wilt, I promised you an explanation, and here it is. I can't abandon Ryan in the tower. Leave this to me!"

"But—" The caravan members hesitated, but their darting eyes revealed their thoughts.

"Stop wasting time! If you're going, go now! My blizzard is ending!" Teresa said calmly. "I have a way to escape."

As soon as the sorceress spoke, the entire caravan fled, even the admiring young mercenary Banda was forcefully dragged away by Wilt. They rode their horses at full speed, abandoning their cargo, except for Rost, who carried the box of Heartstones.

Their figures shrank into the distance, and as the last one vanished from Teresa's sight, the blizzard ceased with a howl.

"Charge! Charge! Kill them all!" The Beastlord swung his weapon, the beastmen's faces alight with bloodlust.

Teresa chanted a spell, and a massive ice wall rose along the frozen river. Beastmen crashed into the wall, impaled by its spikes, while others used axes and spears to frantically assault it. The Beastlord's every swing caused more cracks to appear.

"Why aren't you fleeing?" Teresa cautiously took out a scroll, its powerful magic ensuring her instant return to Sky Castle. She was about to tear it open when she noticed Emilia standing behind her, the mercenary's long, golden hair fluttering in the storm's remnants like plum blossoms in winter.

The cracks in the ice wall grew larger.

"I'm tired of running. All these years, I've been fleeing. My father died under a beastman's axe; maybe this is my family's fate." Emilia handed her longsword to Teresa, then drew her rapier. "If I die, please take this sword, and don't let it fall into beastman hands. You must have a way to escape, right?"

The ice wall started to wobble.

"...If you insist." Teresa reached out, but a sharp noise from the upper river caught her attention. Ryan, riding his horse, slid down the ice, dual hammers in hand, stopping in front of the two women. "Get on my horse, now!"

"Ryan?! What about you?" Teresa's initial joy at seeing Ryan turned to hesitation and reluctance.

"Hurry! What can you do now?" Ryan roughly lifted the two women onto his horse, thrusting the reins into Teresa's hand. "Go! I'll hold them off as long as I can. Go now!"

People are like this: faced with a glimmer of hope, even those ready to die, like Emilia, wavered.

"Alright! Promise me, Ryan! Come back alive!" Teresa urged the horse on, pulling Emilia close, and shouted back.

"I promise, now go!" Several parts of the ice wall had already shattered. The Beastlord, wielding his axe, charged at them. Teresa spurred the horse, which quickly disappeared from Ryan's sight with the two women.

Ryan nodded, turning to face the Beastlord, who now stood before him.

"You are... White Wolf Knight, best... sacrifice! Khorne tells me... to take you down!" The Beastlord signaled the beastmen to retreat. The eight-pointed star on its body flashed a blinding red.

The Blood God was urging it. This human would be the perfect sacrifice. Offer his skull to me!

At the same time, Ryan scrutinized his opponent.

This Beastlord was unlike any other he had seen. Besides the two large bull horns on its head, it had four more horns growing from its face and the back of its head, making its visage a grotesque mass of corrupted growth. It held a battle axe in one hand and a scimitar in the other, its massive muscles and towering form exerting tremendous pressure on Ryan.

Its horns and chest were adorned with numerous human skulls, all offerings to the Blood God. The eight-pointed star glowed red, casting its light on Ryan.

The White Wolf emblem in Ryan's mind also flickered.

So that's it. I don't even need to search. The head my lord wants is right in front of me.

A fair yet unfair battle awaited Ryan, alone against at least five hundred beastmen. But based on his father's teachings and past experience, Ryan knew he only needed to defeat one enemy.

The Beastlord wouldn't allow any other beastmen to interrupt its ritual.

The Beastlord raised its battle axe, signaling all beastmen to withdraw. It wanted to claim the knight's skull alone, as the finest sacrifice to Khorne. It had heard of this human's story and knew the former mighty Beastlord, "Fang" Gor, had died at his hands. Obtaining his skull would bring unparalleled pleasure.

The beastmen eyed Ryan's skull greedily but reluctantly retreated. Soon, only Ryan and the Doombull remained in front of the mountain fortress.

"I... am Doombull Taulos. You... White Wolf Knight... name?" The Beastlord stood in the freezing wind, towering over Ryan.

So it's a Doombull. The highest-ranking and most powerful minotaurs. It's said each Doombull is born from endless filth and evil, existing solely to kill all cloven ones.

Even the weakest Doombull had a challenge rating above Legendary. This one might be even stronger.

"Ryan, the Hammer, son of Norman, Lord of Ortne." Ryan gripped his hammer, silently adding: son of my father.

"A worthy... opponent..." The Beastlord, or rather, the Doombull Taulos, didn't rush to attack. It opened its blood-stained maw, revealing its fangs, and took out a necklace-like string from its waist. "You... will be, the next."

Ryan's eyes widened in pain and shock as he saw the string wasn't a necklace but a collection of knightly badges.

Among them, he saw the Empire's golden double-headed eagle, Bretonnia's lion head, and many Nord knight badges.

"These... were the best sacrifices before." Taulos took a skull from its chest and showed it to Ryan. "This is... from

 one of those knights of that fake goddess in the lake... I cut off his limbs before killing him, watched him beg his lady for salvation. Hahaha~ I could feel the helpless gaze of that fake goddess on me... It was delightful. And you... are next."

"Heh~" Ryan took a large horn from his ring, showing it to the Doombull with an unyielding expression. "This is Fang Gor's horn. Unfortunately, I crushed his head like garbage, but no matter. Your horns will join my collection soon."

Thick steam puffed from Taulos's bull nostrils, engulfing its face in mist. Its blood-red eyes told Ryan it was enraged. The ice surface fell silent. Ryan raised his head, staring at the fearsome Doombull, while Taulos looked down at the young White Wolf Knight.

"Raaaargh!!!" The Doombull attacked first, its massive cloven hooves trampling the frozen ground, kicking up blood and mud. Ryan took a deep breath and charged.

His father and foster father had taught him never to be weak or cowardly.

Taulos arrived first, its powerful battle axe sweeping horizontally. Ryan ducked, the axe's wind slicing his face like a blade, but he ignored the pain. The White Wolf Knight's hammer met the Doombull's scimitar, sparks flying from the clash. The force made Ryan's hands tremble, and he retreated two steps.

But his efforts were not in vain. Taulos, surprised by the young knight's inhuman strength, also stepped back, its huge eyes filled with disbelief. It had never seen a human of this age possess such power.

"Phew... you... are strong... your skull... valuable!" Taulos licked the air greedily, savoring the scent of blood and the sweet fragrance in it.

Ryan said nothing. He wiped his hammer, electricity crackling around the golden weapon. His blue eyes shone with brilliant white light, enveloped by his powerful psychic energy, forming a hexagonal shield around him.

This was the second gift from his father after their meeting—Psychic Shield.

He was ready.

"Raaaargh!!! Human!!!"

"Die, filthy beast!!!"

The battle resumed.