The Runic Alchemist

With the pugilist down, Damian and Royce joined the others, quickly helping them finish their fights. They then turned their focus to the numerous first-rankers and monsters, which had gone into a frenzy upon the death of the second-rankers, attacking everyone indiscriminately. Some of the monsters fled to the forest, which was fortunate. Finally, with the chaos subsiding, they had a moment to catch their breath.

"You guys should form a team like theirs. Break the first-rankers and mundane fighters\' morale," Damian suggested. Royce nodded, teaming up with the blonde captain and the beastman. The beastman had been fighting alone anyway, so backup was welcome.

Leaving his own unit with them, Damian set off to hunt down the remaining second-rankers. Sam also took off to continue his own assault. The battle didn\'t become easier right away, but the tides were turning. Slowly, their relentless attacks wore down the enemy. Kazak returned with his white tiger, which was a terror among the enemy ranks. One by one, Damian took down the remaining second-rankers from Ashenvale, whether they were fighting other captains or hiding behind their forces as backup.

The death of each captain sent the monsters into a wild frenzy, attacking all nearby allies and hacking their way through the battlefield into the forest. Many monsters were slain by both sides in the chaos, but some managed to escape. Even so, the situation was far better than before.

After finishing off the second-rankers, Damian decided not to waste more mana. He returned to his unit, focusing on taking down first-rankers with pure spear skills alone. Victory seemed within reach—they just needed to break the Ashenvale soldiers\' spirits enough to make them realize defeat was inevitable. Damian had made sure to make each second-ranker\'s death a spectacle, spreading fear among the ranks. Now, it was only a matter of cutting down their numbers until surrender or retreat became their only option.

It still took over two and a half hours before some of the Ashenvale soldiers finally began to flee. Their numbers kept dwindling, and, without a higher-ranking officer to command them, more soldiers deserted the battle, realizing the doom creeping closer. Although letting them flee into the forest wasn\'t ideal, they had larger issues to address and could deal with the deserters later.

At last, the remaining Ashenvale soldiers were defeated, and a triumphant cry rose up from the battle-worn survivors. Against all odds, with barely 500–600 soldiers compared to Ashenvale\'s 1000-plus, they had emerged victorious. The seemingly impossible task was done.

The monster was still advancing through the mountains, bringing more enemies with it, but now at least they had an escape route. It hadn\'t come without sacrifice, however—Damian sensed fewer than 260 soldiers remained, including the beastmen. His own unit had suffered heavy losses: over 50 mundane fighters and 17 first-rankers. The victory was theirs, but it had come at a steep price.

For now, though, the survivors celebrated. They had survived, battered and bruised, but alive. Gloriously alive.

After a short rest, Royce and the other captains, along with Kazak, gathered to handle the dead. Royce used an earth-wall spell to bury the Ashenvale fallen, while their own were laid respectfully under a protective dome, shielded from rain and potential monster attacks, to be tended to later. There was still work to be done.

Damian rested with his unit in the valley as tremors and booming sounds grew nearer. Kazak finally evacuated the last of the beastmen, sending them into the forest with their first-rankers and mundane fighters as guards. They were exhausted and could better serve by protecting the evacuees.

They had lost two captains and two beastman second-rankers, leaving only four: Royce, Mira, the young blonde captain, and the seasoned Loydel. The young captain displayed unmatched abilities, while Loydel was a battle-hardened warrior. Mira and Royce remained the strongest of the original twelve. Kazak\'s pugilist warriors had dwindled to just one, and old man Shin lay gravely injured; even with Damian\'s healing, his condition was critical, and it was uncertain whether he would ever open his eyes.

These few were all that remained.

"We need to regroup with the others and find a place to camp for the night," the blonde captain suggested as they held a final meeting under a tree where Damian rested with his unit. He had already sent his mundane and first-ranker fighters with the evacuees; only his friends stayed behind. The other captains were similarly without their vice-captains, many having fallen or been too badly injured to join them.

"Are we heading back to the Dreaded Lands?" Mira asked.

"We have no other choice. We\'ll gather all the villagers along the way and try to stay ahead of the monster on our trail. Hopefully, we\'ll meet up with Eldoris\'s victorious army; they might help us deal with the beast," Royce said.

They were all mostly spent and needed rest desperately but they did their duties before anything else.

"That sounds like a plan," Kazak agreed. "You all go on ahead. We\'ll catch up."

The captains exchanged puzzled looks.

"Why aren\'t you coming?" the blonde captain asked.

Kazak looked around the valley with a nostalgic gaze, breathing deeply. "This is our home—our only home. We have to try."

"Don\'t be ridiculous. That monster is beyond any of our capabilities, even yours," Royce said, his voice thick with emotion. Before the battle, they might have cared less about individual losses, human or beastman. But now, they were comrades, and every loss stung. Kazak\'s stubbornness struck a nerve.

"That\'s madness; you\'ll die," Damian said bluntly.

Kazak\'s gaze remained resolute. "We\'re not fools. I\'ll leave if it\'s truly impossible, but we have to try to protect our valley. How can we just abandon it without even making an effort?"

His voice carried the weight of unsaid emotions, and his eyes shone with a fierce determination. Damian knew there was no stopping him.