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TWL Chapter 275: Blood and Roars
🕑 Added 2024-12-22 21:55:17 +0000 UTC"Be careful!!!" Eist screamed in terror as he looked at Lugos and Holger.
A deafening roar, so loud it drowned out all other sounds, arose from the midst of the ranks of soldiers.
The Skellige youths who had been saved by Lugos and Holger covered their heads with their hands, as if the rumble of thunder was echoing in their ears.
They screamed, writhed on the ground, roared among the crowd.
Their cries changed from human voices to bestial howls. Their bodies began to grow rapidly, until they became enormous figures.
They were the giant bears of Skellige!
Dozens of giant bears launched an attack on the unsuspecting troop of soldiers.
The dense and compact military formation became like a cage that trapped the soldiers themselves. In an instant, the giant bears unleashed their strength, knocking down dozens of people. Blood began to fly with each blow.
The soldiers never imagined that an attack would come from the forest, so they had no time to defend themselves and could only scream in pain.
The bears, their eyes bulging with blood and fury, fixed their gaze on Lugos and Holger.
"Roar!"
The roar of one of the bears was so deafening that it nearly deafened the two jarls. The hot, nauseating wind of blood passed by them, who still had their backs to the scene, unable to react.
Luckily, Eist acted quickly and without hesitation, he threw himself to the ground, dragging both jarls with him.
But there were too many bears, and the battlefield was in total confusion.
Eist, confused, heard the screams of the soldiers, followed by the unmistakable sound of more uncontrollable roars.
As he looked up, the first thing he saw was the blood-soaked vision. Skellige's warriors were fighting to the death to slow the bears' advance.
The ranks of soldiers from the Dimun and Drummond clans were already completely dispersed.
Lugos, still stunned, reacted quickly. He glanced briefly at Eist, his expression one of confusion, then leapt up with his axe, shouting for his soldiers to regroup. But two of his bodyguards knocked him down, and at that moment, a bear passed by where he had been a second ago.
Holger's situation was much worse. He had lost his hand during the bear attack.
A bear was chewing on something, as Holger screamed. His right shoulder was completely empty, with blood splattering all over the ground, evidence of the loss.
Eist watched as Holger's female bodyguard attempted to drag him to safety among the ranks of soldiers, but a giant bear violently tossed her away with a single paw.
The giant bear then opened its mouth, biting Holger's torso and began swinging its head, tearing its prey apart.
Eist let out a roar of rage, drew his sword and plunged it into the bear's neck.
The sword sank into the flesh, but the thick layer of fur and fat did not allow the sword to cause an immediate death. However, the pain was enough to make the giant bear release its prey and turn towards Eist.
Eist jumped back to avoid the bear's swipe and shouted back: “Gerd! Gerd! I need support!”
However, his call did not bring the expected help.
Taking advantage of the distraction when the Dimun clan soldiers reacted and blocked the giant bear, Eist looked in Gerd's direction and saw that he had grabbed the neck of a giant bear, but strangely this bear was in the middle of his own soldiers.
...
The bear's huge paws beat at Gerd, creating golden waves. And the torn cloth still left on the bear's body was Bill's.
“Boy, I'm giving you one last chance, wake up!”
Gerd, with his left hand on the bear's head, performed a direct hit using the Aard Sign.
It was like an invisible heavy hammer smashed down, causing the giant bear to howl and fall to the ground.
However, in the blink of an eye, the bear was back on its feet, albeit unsteadily. The animal's impressive resilience was evident, and Gerd did not seem to be in the best shape to continue the fight.
The bear began to swing its head, ready to attack again, and Gerd, seeing this, braced himself.
“I sympathize with you, Bill. And it seems those two foolish jarls have been fooled. We will have to rely on you to find the Vildkaarls’ hideout. But if you don’t take this opportunity and wake up soon… I will have to kill you.”
...
Eist, seeing that Gerd could not help any further, looked towards his own men. He knew that at this moment, he could only rely on himself. With determination, he shouted to encourage his soldiers: “Don’t panic! They are just giant bears! And we have more than a thousand men!”
“Katar! Blow the horn!” He ordered his aide. “Don’t let those fleeing break our ranks, close the flanks!”
“Yes, sir!” The aide replied and began to give the orders.
At that moment a roar of war resounded throughout the battlefield.
Eist watched as his aide lunged in front of him, stopping a flying axe coming towards him.
Immediately, dozens of bare-chested warriors, with red war patterns on their bodies, burst into Eist's formation.
They had no armor, and even a dagger was enough to break their flesh and stab their internal organs. But blood and pain made them more fanatic, and the more severely wounded they were, the more they attacked.
Each of these attackers could kill at least two Skellige soldiers. Even if they fell, one by one, their fight was brutal, fighting until their last breath.
Eist recognized the look on the faces of these warriors. It was that of those who only wanted to die.
Eist took a deep breath. This scene, this disaster, transported him back to that morning on the Marnadal Stairs, back then, they had also been ambushed and attacked by surprise. In that battle, he had lost his lioness.
"But this time... I have nothing left to lose but my sword."
With firm steps, Eist launched himself at a Vildkaarl warrior who had just cut down one of his soldiers. With a single blow, he snapped the enemy’s neck, then raised his round shield to block a throwing axe coming straight at him.
His armor was too conspicuous, and he was surrounded by three Vildkaarl warriors at this moment.
"Come! Damned Nilfgaardians!"
Eist struck down one of the warriors with his sword. The thick armor absorbed the blow of the second enemy. As for the third, he had no time to react, but someone unexpected appeared to help him.
Lugos ripped the axe from the third man's skull and plunged it into the second man's back. He pulled it out with force, drawing a jet of blood and a piece of spinal column.
"Are you crazy!?" Lugos shouted at Eist. "What are you doing fighting at the front instead of being with your guard?!"
"Where are the reinforcements? Crach? Lannister? Why aren't they coming to save you?!"
Eist stared at Lugos for two seconds and let out a light laugh. He was about to respond when his body suddenly lit up with an emerald green glow.
...
For the people important to him, Lann always left a mark so that they could be teleported away at any time.
Whether it was protecting or being protected, this would maximize the use of his abilities and even play a role in deciding the outcome of the battle.
So when Geralt mentioned that Eist's group might be in danger, Lann immediately activated his [Teleport] skill.
In Lann's mind, however, the danger Eist might face should have been a conflict with a rival clan, not the chaos of a pitched battle like the one before his eyes.
The situation exceeded Lann's expectations, but his combat experience allowed him to react quickly.
As the light around his body faded, Lann quickly assessed his surroundings. His eyes fixed on Holger, who was lying on the ground along with several of his guards.
At that moment, five Vildkaarl warriors charged towards him.
[Blink]!
Without a moment of hesitation, the emerald light enveloped his body again.
In a flash, Lann appeared in front of Holger.
A shield-wielding warrior raised her longsword, launching a suicidal charge at the Vildkaarl warriors. Lann spun his scimitar and used the back of the blade to deflect the woman's sword, sending her flying through the air with a sharp movement.
With no one else in the way, Lann was left face to face with the Vildkaarl warriors.
At that instant, because he had stopped the woman's suicidal charge, his posture left his back exposed to the five enemies.
However, before anyone could react, Lann's body began to spin in a way that defied all human understanding.
It was a cutting speed impossible for a human being.
[Whirl]!
In the blink of an eye, five heads flew into the sky.
Lann took a deep breath. A flash of light enveloped him before disappearing again.
Lann had returned to Eist's side. "Are they Vildkaarl warriors?"
Eist's response was immediate. With a nod, he confirmed Lann's assumption.
Lann gritted his teeth. The situation was complicated.
This type of chaotic combat between hundreds of enemies and his own soldiers was difficult for Lann to handle if he did not want to cause collateral damage.
Furthermore, [Blink], his teleportation skill, was designed for quick attacks, not for clearing the field. Trying to use it hundreds of times in a row would completely drain his magic energy.
He needed help.
He focused his mind on the system and activated the skill: [Teleport]
Four spheres of light began to shine around him, surrounding him in the center.
