Soon, the sound of countless footsteps grew louder, tightening the tension in everyone's hearts. After all, this was the first time they had ever faced such an enormous number of monsters.
"ROOAAARRRR—!!"
With a deafening roar, hordes of monsters surged out from the forest, charging straight toward the city walls.
"So many of them!"
The mass of swordsmen were stunned by the overwhelming numbers.
"Attack—!!"
As the command was given, the soldiers on the walls ignited the cannons.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
KRA-KA-BOOM!!!
Shells blasted into the monster horde, erupting in violent explosions.
"GrrRAAHHH!!"
Many monsters were blown away on the spot, though a small portion made it to the base of the city wall.
"Engage—!!"
Swordsmen below the wall charged forward to meet the monsters in close combat.
"Keep firing—!!"
Soldiers atop the wall reloaded the cannons and continued blasting the rear of the monster horde, leaving the monsters that reached the wall to the troops and swordsmen on the ground.
Watching the chaos unfold, Kaien was stunned. 'So this is war?'
It was his first time experiencing it firsthand, and for someone born in peaceful times, it was overwhelming.
Suddenly—
"OooooooAAAAHHH—!!"
A monstrous screech rang out as a towering creature—seven to eight meters tall—emerged from the forest. It looked like a cross between a gorilla and a monkey, its body covered in red fur, and a single horn protruding from its forehead.
"Not good! That's the Nine-Star Beast—Bloodhorn Ape!"
Cries of alarm rang out. A Nine-Star Beast typically required a Nine-Star Swordsman to handle, and even then, barely. Any Eight-Star Swordsman would be walking to their death.
HUMMM—!
Blood-colored energy began to gather at the tip of the horn on the creature's forehead.
"It's charging up an attack!"
FWOOOSH—!
A beam of crimson energy blasted toward the swordsmen at the base of the wall.
"Blazing Slash!!"
A fiery arc of sword energy shot out to intercept the crimson beam.
BOOOM—!!
The two forces collided in mid-air with an explosive impact.
A young man stepped forward, sword in hand. "I'll take it on!"
"That's the Nine-Star Swordsman 'Flame Blade' Allen!"
Kaien blinked. 'Wasn't that the unlucky guy I one-shot during the prelims?'
HISSS—!!
A chilling hiss echoed as a colossal nine-headed serpent slithered out from the forest.
"Another one! That's the Nine-Star Beast Hydra!"
"I'll handle it!"
CRACK!!
A bolt of lightning tore through the air as someone rushed the Hydra, locking it in fierce combat.
"That's Nine-Star Swordsman 'Lightning Blade' Clay!!"
Kaien recognized the other guy too—another unfortunate soul he had beaten before. Thankfully, he had held back in their matches, so both Allen and Clay had only suffered superficial wounds and retained their peak combat strength.
ROOOAAARRR!!
A massive lion with enormous wings burst from the forest, soaring above the battlefield toward the city wall.
"It's the Nine-Star Beast Quilion!"
"Flash Cross Slash!"
A cross-shaped beam of light shot toward the airborne beast.
BOOM—!
The Quilion was blasted out of the sky.
That signature move was unmistakable.
"Arthur!!"
Arthur drove his sword into the ground and glared at Quilion. "You're not getting through here!"
But Quilion simply shook its head and got back up, seemingly unharmed.
ROOOAARR—!!
Its sonic roar blasted outward, shaking the ground and knocking out several lesser monsters in its path.
Even some humans were clutching their ears in pain.
"Flash Blade!"
Arthur dashed forward and engaged it in close combat, finally stopping the sonic assault.
"Why are there so many Nine-Star Beasts this time?!"
"Yeah! Usually there's just one, maybe two. Now we've got three—maybe the monster tide wasn't caused by one of them this time?"
In the past, Nine-Star Beasts would often drive lesser monsters into human territory, causing a tide. But this time, with three appearing together, something felt off—there might be something even worse behind them.
"Awooooo—!!"
A towering silver-furred wolf bolted out of the forest.
"Not good! It's the Nine-Star Beast Silvermoon Wolf!"
Erza's face turned grim. "Kaien, protect His Majesty. I'll deal with this one!"
"Requip: Black Feather Armor!!"
Without waiting for a reply, she instantly changed into her armor and leapt from the wall, heading straight for the wolf. With three Nine-Star Swordsmen already engaged, if the wolf made it past them, the casualties would be unimaginable—so she made her move.
"Thank goodness! It's Miss Erza!"
By now, Erza was famous across Sword City. Anyone who had watched the tournament would recognize the beautiful and skilled swordswoman.
But just as she clashed with the Silvermoon Wolf—
One after another, more enormous beasts emerged from the forest.
Panic swept through the human forces.
"Mammoth King! Black Panther King! Infernal Flame Tiger! Triple-Headed Frostbird! Earthquake Bear!!"
"What is happening?! Why are all the regional overlords of the Forest of Monsters gathering here?!"
"Nine Nine-Star Beasts?! Are they trying to wipe this country off the map?!"
…
Everyone was in full-blown panic.
Even the usually composed king went pale, sweat pouring down his forehead.
He had expected the backlash from the Dragon to be fierce, but nine Nine-Star Beasts?! That was beyond anything he could have imagined.
At the moment, there were only five Nine-Star Swordsmen in the city—including himself. If Kaien was added, that made six.
But they were still short by three. Just three unchallenged Nine-Star Beasts could completely raze the city.
Unless that person stepped in.
"Where is Yoriichi Tsugikuni?! Where is Mr. Yoriichi?!"
The king shouted desperately. Right now, only Yoriichi could save the country.
But everyone just shook their heads. No one had seen him since the tournament ended—he had vanished without a trace.
At that moment, seeing this monstrous lineup, Kaien realized there was no room left for slacking. If the country gets wiped out, who's going to pay me? My prize money still hasn't been converted!
"Let me handle it!!"