Savage Ascension: Starting with God-Tier Plunder Ability-Chapter 113: The Circular Formation Holds

The werewolves ran up the fairly steep valley like horses. Jumping over rocks, jumping while putting hands down, it looked like birds flying. At their unbelievable agility, the soldiers' circular formation stuck closer and became denser.

Commander Gesilian stuck out one step from that formation. He gripped the claymore with both hands instead of shield and longsword.

He had no choice but to take the lead.

"Bulsheben! When battle starts, I leave command of the soldiers to you! Remember that the moment shields lower, everything ends!"

"I receive! Your order!"

"Graaah!!!"

A werewolf that instantly climbed a tree and grabbed a thick branch roared roughly, then kicked off the tree and jumped in. Shot like a thrown spear. The tree tilted and roots popped out a bit as it swayed.

Kwang!

A soldier's teeth made a cracking sound. Blood dripped from his gums. Even putting all his body's strength in, he was pushed back, but firmly planted his feet, and he could roughly hear in his ear the breath of his comrade pressed against his back.

"Chaaang!"

While the 1st and 2nd row soldiers stopped the werewolf, a spearman's long spear in the 3rd row passed by cutting the werewolf's neck. It was shallow.

"This bastard! Do it right!!"

An axeman in the 2nd row with difficulty laid his axe on the shield and sawed back and forth. Because the werewolf tried to grab the shield. The werewolf with cut hands took one big step forward. The spear stabbed again. Blood spurted.

"Kurheong!"

Making a sound like a tiger, joints rang. Cold sweat dripped down, but nobody backed down and instead screamed desperately. The werewolves hesitated at the intense human resistance. They had to.

The strength from shoulders as wide as two men's shoulders combined wasn't decoration. So-and-so endured by putting so much strength in his body that blood flowed from his gums.

They were soldiers. Humans raised only for combat. The werewolves had never fought soldiers before. Even if they fought, it was small numbers of 3 or fewer, all soldiers who were conscripts deployed to small villages or had the nature of militia.

Dawn training was the start of the day for knights. Just looking at Commander Gesilian, dawn training was his habit. What about soldiers then? If the top wakes at dawn, the bottom sleeping in didn't make sense.

Just the commander waking early and doing dawn training meant soldiers had to wake at dawn and do dawn conditioning.

Even if their bodies couldn't be distinguished from complete werewolves, the incomplete werewolves filled more with instinct than reason had to hesitate.

Like a cat cornering a mouse, but the mouse resisting crazily and biting the cat's nose. Should've been shocked. That they weren't was because of the werewolves' fierce nature.

"Urk!"

The werewolf caught the stabbing spear with impossible dynamic vision and pulled. The spearman panicked and made a sound when caught but immediately let go of the spear. A very good move. Humans were very vulnerable to the rear, and if the spearman had held on, he would've fallen forward like dominoes collapsing.

The werewolf who stole the spear and threw it on the ground rushed again. The axe instantly struck the hand, but the werewolf's body pounded the shield as its maw roughly came inside. The spearman then drew his dagger and was pushing as hard as possible, but threw the dagger straight into that maw.

"Kyak!"

The tongue was cut and blood poured out abundantly. Feeling the werewolf backing away, the shield bearer with lowered head screamed and ran while raising the shield diagonally upward.

Thwack!

Hit in the jaw, then hit in the upper chest by the shield, the werewolf toughly endured that attack. The axeman hurriedly raised his shield up to block the werewolf's descending arm.

Thunk!

His knee buckled in one shot.

"Urrp."

Pressure so strong he bit his tongue. And it was admirable that deer-eyed Paenim who always moved together in a team with him was holding out. Because the werewolf's foot had been kicking the shield continuously from before.

Soldiers fighting everywhere were also being pushed back by the werewolves' overwhelming physical abilities. Each individual werewolf came forward with different attack methods.

Some backed away then rushed in to kick shields or body slam, while some werewolves just stuck to shields and aimed for the people behind them.

"Kyahahaha!"

Literally, the fight structure created by the overwhelming difference in specs was very unfavorable to humans.

"Sernik! Let's switch positions!"

Just getting his shield pounded made him breathe roughly, so a soldier armed with shield and axe shouted to the shield bearer in front. Sernik felt like his pride was being scratched, but even the spearman grabbed his neck and pulled, so he had no choice but to fall back.

"Krehak!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The werewolf whose reason completely collapsed and could only make crying sounds couldn't stay still. It intruded between Sernik who didn't want to fall back and the axeman trying to switch front and back. Luckily came in matching timing.

The spearman's thrust stabbed through the chest. While speed slowed a bit, the axeman's axe was thrown straight. Because it was urgent. It stuck precisely in one shoulder.

Even transformed into a werewolf, black leaf drug components kept flowing through the blood, so the werewolf with dulled pain jumped in without hesitation. Stuck to Sernik. Sernik tried to hold out but it was impossible.

When the shield was grabbed, he had to fall to the ground with his body. It happened instantly. Having thrown his axe, the weaponless axeman raised his shield. Fumbling, he drew his dagger.

"Woooo!!!"

The axeman screamed but got pushed back hard by one werewolf punch. While 1st row shield bearers supporting them had good physiques and tough endurance, axemen and spearmen couldn't.

"You bastard!"

Sernik, standing up with only a shortsword because of the trampled shield while cutting the werewolf's lower abdomen, got hit in the head by the werewolf's reflexively swung arm from pain and lost balance greatly like a wooden doll and fell.

In the detailed organization consisting of axeman, spearman, and swordsman in 3-person teams, they weren't ones to watch and stay still. However, they couldn't take revenge.

"Formation! If you rush out, everything collapses!"

Senior soldier Bulsheben struck the axeman's helmet with the flat of his blade, stopping him from going out.

Crack.

He heard teeth grinding but Bulsheben ignored it. The werewolf lifted the swordsman or shield bearer called Sernik by the hair. Pulling out the axe stuck in its bleeding maw, it bit unconscious Sernik's neck with that mouth.

Shook hard. Hideously the spine came out attached and the upper body fell straight to the ground.

The eyes of the axeman watching that whole scene with bloodshot eyes turned red. But he didn't leave his position. Because if those two died too, the circular formation would weaken further.

The 100 soldiers struggled to kill even one of the 25 werewolves. But they kept inflicting wounds and dragged the battle out as long as possible. Endurance was what humans prided themselves on most. There were dying soldiers, but very few.

Meanwhile, Commander Gesilian Faerun, sticking out from the circular formation, fought a werewolf alone.

Graben Windmuhle (Mud Windmill).

Very vulnerable to thrusts, the secret technique Graben Windmuhle was House Faerun's best-known secret. The weakness was clear, but the best part was you got hit even knowing and entering the weakness. It could only be used with a long-handled two-handed sword, because to spin like a windmill it had to be.

Hand strength was most important, so if the handle wasn't long enough, it was hard to cut even one finger.

The viciousness of this secret technique that looked like something from martial arts novels, full of weaknesses with no reality, spinning like a windmill, was because it was in the form of defend-then-attack. Precisely it was divided into two versions—short attack and long attack. One drew a semicircle, the other drew a perfect circle.

Here, defending first didn't mean defending when the opponent attacked then attacking next. Because like a stupid rhino, you go in and even if the opponent doesn't attack, you strike their weapon to ensure your own safety.

Commander Gesilian stepped forward two quick steps and struck the werewolf's elbow with the claymore's flat. Then he bent his knee, pulled his left foot slightly back and sharply lowered his body height. The werewolf's other arm swept over the helmet.

Swish!

While the greatsword fell drawing a half-moon, Commander Gesilian's left hand drew a semicircle and unlike the falling greatsword rose up opposite, preparing to grab the handle.

The werewolf got hit in the elbow and made a wild swing, so had no means to attack Gesilian. To kick with feet, it had to catch its balance that collapsed from the wild swing.

It should've been a greatsword spinning once like a windmill, but had to end drawing a semicircle. Because scraping the dirt while hitting the werewolf's foot, it lost power. But befitting a knight who endlessly trained the secret technique, the muscle above the elbow, the snap of the wrist and grip strength, and the rotational force added by both hands held differently making circles.

That power was no joke and half-cut the foot.

"Kwaaa!!"

Screaming and trying to pull the foot, but Commander Gesilian's hand already raised up was faster.

Crack!

The greatsword struck the ground straight. From the sharp greatsword's tip, the thick blade completely halved the foot. Meanwhile two other werewolves aimed for Commander Gesilian.

"Volcano."

From both shoulder guards, bright red fire surged once and covered the flanks and rear air with flames. Completely covering the werewolves' upper bodies from chest to face.

Multiple magic built into the full plate armor. The type of magic that hit all directions except the knight's front, and magic used while facing many.

Taking the foot-cut werewolf's neck wasn't difficult at all. Just turn toward the cut foot's direction, cut the powerless arm and take the neck.

Slash!

He cut the hand of an annoying werewolf. A werewolf without reason and not holding weapons was nothing but a scarecrow to a knight. But Commander Gesilian's insides were burning black. Because soldiers were dying.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The destructive power of the greatsword's centrifugal force spinning three times was beyond imagination. The arm of the werewolf who couldn't rush in until it spun 3 times was cleanly cut off. Even though cutting the werewolf's thick bones was impossible without a guillotine, the destructive power created by a blade over 170cm drawing circles three times made it possible.

Commander Gesilian quickly processed wounded werewolves from the soldiers, but time flowed helplessly.

All fighting ended, and the last remaining werewolf died very cruelly by Commander Gesilian's greatsword. Because soldiers were watching. Though unfortunate for the werewolf, it was an unavoidable choice for soldiers who lost comrades.

"Five soldiers dead, three soldiers critically wounded."

At Bulsheben's words, Commander Gesilian cleanly gave up pursuit.

"Abandon pursuit. Treating critically wounded soldiers comes first."

His mood was very low, so informal speech came out without consideration for commoner Bulsheben.

"Only five dead against 25 werewolves is a great victory."

Bulsheben comforted the 27-year-old young commander, but Gesilian Faerun nodded while not accepting it. Because he thought his capabilities were definitely not this. Others' standards were useless. His own pride mattered more.

This wasn't feeling responsibility for the soldiers' deaths themselves. No noble deeply mourned commoners' deaths. Gesilian Faerun was making judgments not as commoner and noble, but as soldier and commander.

'Should've retreated to the position when they transformed into werewolves.'

He didn't use the cover and obstacles they'd built. Because he thought about pursuing the ringleader. Commander Gesilian, who majored in military science and learned experience from numerous masters, immediately reviewed and whipped himself.

If he had eyes made of desire, he'd want to cut those eyes out right now. What made him angriest was that he could've killed the werewolves without casualties.

'It was no different from trying to take credit with soldiers. Disgraceful.'

A battle started quickly, made with five soldiers' lives. But paradoxically, because they died and there were critically wounded, he had no choice but to give up pursuit. The more urgent, the more he should've taken the long way around in this battle. Enemy numbers, strength. Knowing that well, he didn't pull troops back.

Because of greed. But he didn't even satisfy that greed.

'Are you planning to brag about killing thousands of soldiers and winning against the enemy. Wake up.'

Commander Gesilian trembled his fist and moved to etch the sight of dead soldiers in his eyes. When Commander Gesilian who killed most of the werewolves passed by, soldiers shouted cheers.

All soldiers thought Commander Gesilian saved them when they were struggling.

"Waaaah!!!"

Inside the helmet, Commander Gesilian didn't smile at all. But his ingrained sociability made his arm rise.

"Waaaaaah!!!"

More cheers rang out. But Commander Gesilian didn't throw his heart into those cheers. He pressed himself inwardly to never forget today's tactical mistake.

He had ambition.