My strongest card is Jizan. Only this club, imbued with the power of the Demon God, cannot be overcome even by the Wolf King. I have to block a formidable enemy like Fenrir with just one Jizan.
How? Damn it. If I could do that, I would have been a regressor.
There's only one thing I can do. I twist Jizan diagonally. I create a wall from the wolf's shoulder to its flank, making it impossible to pass through without shifting its center of gravity.
This divides Fenrir's choices into two. Either bypass Jizan to attack, or attack me while crashing into Jizan.
If it had chosen the former, I would have been in trouble. Even if I've grown stronger through the elixir, fighting an overwhelmingly powerful opponent for more than two exchanges would kill me. Unless Aji or another strong person comes to help in time, but that's not something I can control.
But I trusted the wolf's brutality.
"Keng...!"
It crashes into Jizan without killing its speed at all. That tremendous speed instantly converts into impact, rocking Fenrir's body.
At the same time, intense impact rushes through my body as well. Fenrir's front leg, extended past the side of Jizan, touches my shoulder. Right after that scene is etched into my retina, my vision briefly goes black.
I feel pain as if my back and waist have been battered. A spasm seizes me because a bone pierced my lung. When I came to my senses, I was lying upside down in a position far from where I originally stood.
I somewhat expected it, and I somewhat reacted. I won the psychological battle I built with Jizan.
But the stakes are far too different. My body was wrecked by a single blow that Fenrir delivered while enduring only scratch-level damage. My side hurts like it burst open, and my left arm has completely lost all sensation.
It's a relief that I'm still holding Jizan at least, but if Fenrir comes at me for more... whether I win or lose, my life will fly away as the stakes.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Aji barked fiercely and clung to it. Sticking as close as possible, not giving even a moment to shake off, Aji attacked Fenrir.
"Fight me!"
But Fenrir, cunning as it is, now started using me. Taking advantage of the brief gap opened with Aji, it charges at me. Startled, Aji desperately intervened to protect me, but that was a decoy. In an instant, it turned its head and pinned down Aji, whose stance had crumbled.
"I don't need you, dog. Without your brutality, you're just a nuisance."
"Woof woof! Don't run away!"
If it lets go, I die. Realizing this, Aji kept its claws bared and held onto Fenrir even while fallen. But while holding on, it can't counterattack either. As soon as the claws dug into its body, Fenrir struck Aji's face with its front leg as if it had been waiting.
Boom. Aji's body sank about a span deeper into the ground. Fenrir, still crushing Aji beneath it, spoke.
"Humans try to make dogs into tools. That's their brutality. They try to make me a dog, to tame me and use me."
"Woof! Woof! Whimper..."
"If you would make me a tool, you'll have to surpass my brutality too."
Thud, thud, thud. The ground heaves every time it strikes with its front legs. Even as Aji gradually dug into the ground, it didn't lower its claws. Because if it let go here, I would die.
As if knowing that, Fenrir relentlessly struck at Aji with its front legs.
"Awooooo! Brutality is not only for humans!"
Blood flowed from Aji's mouth. Despite the miserable state, just as Fenrir was about to drive its front legs in further without hesitation—
Jizan spun and flew through the air. It's not threatening, but it can't be blocked. The moment Fenrir ducked to dodge Jizan, Aji pushed Fenrir hard and broke free.
Though it lost the advantage, Fenrir realized where Jizan had flown from. Also, that nothing was left to protect me.
My eyes met with Fenrir as I panted, having thrown Jizan. Nothing remains between me and Fenrir. Fenrir barked as if to devour me and leapt in.
"Yes. This is a fight for survival."
And then a faint shadow, like a ghost, suddenly appeared. Two blade edges like fangs interlocked from above Fenrir's head and below its chin.
Sensing danger, Fenrir's tail stood straight up. It pulled its body in midair and dodged the blades. But Grull's daggers extended like snakes and left wounds on Fenrir's body. Two trails of blood scattered in the air.
"Grrr!"
Fenrir bared its teeth and glared at the intruding strong enemy. Grull, whose decisive ambush had failed, instead laughed and shouted.
"Rather than babbling about politics and diplomacy while making forced excuses, this kind of fight suits my temperament! Fighting to survive. How simple and easy to understand!"
Grull of the Beast Faction. One who has reached the Logic, and who had been killing time somewhere, finally joined the battle. But what's with that triumphant shouting despite being late?
"Despite being late..."
"You held out well, didn't you? As long as you survived, that's enough."
Fenrir rushed at Grull, who answered casually. An incredible speed worthy of the King of Beasts. It was a speed that would be hard to react to with simple qigong, but Grull vanished like a phantom and disappeared from in front of Fenrir.
"Against that Wolf King, it's dangerous for me too if I don't prepare the ground in advance."
It's too alien to simply call it fast. No matter how agile one is, there must be the motion of planting feet on the ground and extending legs. However, Grull moved at a speed surpassing Fenrir without lifting his feet or moving his legs, just by slightly sliding his feet.
"While you and the Dog King were fighting, I prepared all the ground in this vicinity. In this domain, I am faster than anyone right now."
Grull moved his feet. Disappearing from view in an instant as if pushing the ground away, Grull appeared behind Fenrir. Fenrir flipped its body and went on guard, but as if expecting it, Grull clung at an angle and slashed with his daggers.
Commonsense says a single human shouldn't be able to stand against the King of Beasts, but one who has reached the Logic transcends common sense. Wounds accumulated on Fenrir's body, which hadn't been hurt much even while fighting Aji.
'Even daggers wrapped in qigong don't cut well. If that were a real wolf, it would have been an attack to sever a limb.'
While continuing the offensive, Grull didn't let his guard down. If it were a human, he would have cut the throats of more than ten, but even while being slashed by daggers, Fenrir glared at Grull with fierce eyes.
'It doesn't even flinch or recoil from pain. This is problematic.'
Taking advantage of the brief lull in attacks, Fenrir charged like lightning. Grull reflexively used Ground Leveling to move. Appearing about 30 meters away, he staggered from a sudden shock. In that brief moment, Fenrir's claws had grazed Grull.
'Without Ground Leveling, it's a speed that can't be caught. If one hasn't reached the Logic, they'd just be a meat shield. Even this...'
"Awooooo!"
Ground Leveling allows fast movement over short distances, but because the ground must be prepared in advance, it's unsuitable for long-distance travel. It can't be simply explained with numbers, but the ground Grull had prepared was roughly 500 meters. The battle must be decided before all this ground is consumed.
But the gap in pure power is considerable. Wrapping qigong around his entire body, he extended his blade toward the charging Fenrir. Fenrir instantly lowered its body and dove in.
Striking upward with his knee, he tried to bring down Fenrir, which was slightly lifted. Faster than that, Fenrir's teeth bit into the flying knee. That a wolf's jaw is powerful is common sense. Horrified, Grull shook off Fenrir with qigong and opened distance with Ground Leveling. Grull broke into a cold sweat.
'It's a mindless charge without any technique, but it's powerful in itself.'
...Just as he thought that, Fenrir whipped its head around and immediately closed in. Grull's spine went cold.
This was already the third time he saw Ground Leveling. Having learned from it in the meantime, Fenrir found where Grull had fled. Just as Grull braced for impact—
"Woof woof woof!"
Aji appeared fiercely and bit Fenrir. Fenrir immediately grabbed Aji's fur and threw it to the ground, but because Grull burst out in that moment, it retreated five or six steps.
'Without the Dog King, it would have been difficult to fight. I can somewhat understand why they wouldn't want to fight without the Dog King.'
At least Grull is useful. He has the strength to fight in that melee.
The Beast Faction warriors are fighting wolves around them. Baskerville and the Priest encountered the regressor.
There won't be another opportunity this good. I raised my trembling body. It hurts and my head is dizzy, but the elixir's effect is definite, so my limbs move swiftly.
I'm really going to dread tomorrow. Taking advantage of the gap while the two fought, I retrieved Jizan and prepared the final trap to catch Fenrir.
The battle continues. Grull, who had Ground Leveling prepared, and Aji pressed Fenrir. When Fenrir was distracted dealing with one, the other leaped in and aimed for openings. With the coordinated attacks of the two working together, Fenrir gradually took damage.
But everyone felt it inwardly.
'A decisive blow is lacking! The fight won't end like this!'
Though we can't read the beast's thoughts, Fenrir and Aji must be thinking the same thing. That's why Fenrir used me as bait to hook Aji earlier.
Yes. A blow that can tear hide and rend innards, one that works even on the King of Beasts, is missing. Powerful Logic or magic, or the power of a relic like Cheon-aeng is needed.
...And Jizan is now in my hands.
I have to do it.
"Wolf. Admit your defeat now."
You used me as bait to hook Aji earlier, right? Then I'll do the same now.
I must use myself as bait to draw Fenrir in.
"You are the King of Beasts, and gained power by representing the brutality of other beasts, but.... You know. Wolf. The masters of the world are already humans."
Fenrir's ears perked up. The King of Beasts took human form to communicate with humans. Reminding myself of that, I continued speaking.
"One pig beastman who has reached the Logic fought you almost evenly. Even without qigong, magic or devices to defeat you can be created. Just the power of a single city is as strong as the pack you lead. If a king of a country marches forth, a mere wolf pack would be annihilated in an instant."
My words somehow brought the fight to a temporary lull. Even with more threatening enemies beside it, Fenrir glared at me with fierce eyes.
"Because I'm strong, you tell me to run? To hide my teeth and submit? Human, so will you submit? Kill your brutality?"
"No. I don't need to do that. I'm human, after all."
If human power is strong, that's my power too, and I'm also submitting to some extent. Because I can't just die meaninglessly.
"But you are a wolf. With your power, you can never beat humans even if you die and come back. Brutality or whatever, survival comes first. To survive, it's better to pull your teeth and trim your claws and discard your brutality."
"If you want me to do that...!"
Fenrir kicked the ground. Moving with such speed and agility that even Grull and Aji momentarily missed it, Fenrir charged to kill me.
"Try it! Pull my teeth, cut my claws! Scrape away all my brutality and try to tame me! Overcome me with brutality, and make me your dog!!"