Killing was a soldier's job, but who—aside from true psychopaths—would actually enjoy such grim work? Especially when it meant executing defenseless women—even if they were begging for death.
Among these ruins lay over a hundred women. Even for Hessler and his men, it had taken several minutes to "deal with" all of them.
But when they finished their grisly task and rushed toward the few still-lit buildings, the scene inside the first house left them frozen in shock.
A massive, man-sized hole gaped in the eastern wall. Every foreign tribesman in the room had been skewered by weapons, pinned grotesquely against walls and floors. The women, though seemingly asleep, were undoubtedly dead. The cause—poison.
The three exchanged wary glances before sprinting toward the next building. Inside, the scene mirrored the first—except here, the tribesmen had clearly put up resistance. Evidently, they had learned from the fate of their neighbors, but tragically, the result was the same.
Only when they reached the third building did they finally catch sight of Lancer.
He stood silently, left arm dangling loosely, shield lowered. His right hand held a spear buried deeply in a tribesman's abdomen. The man wailed in agony, not yet dead. Hearing footsteps behind him, Lancer coldly swung his lance, slamming the tribesman into the wall.
"We're moving out," Hessler urged grimly. "It's time to rendezvous with Captain Liver and his men."
Lancer gave only a wordless nod. Hessler pressed no further—after all, considering what had just occurred, Lancer's current state was commendable. They'd seen enough rookies lose their minds after a mission like this.
But as they exited the building, warriors from this foreign city had already begun encircling them. Clearly, Lancer's previous slaughter had drawn unwanted attention.
Before Hessler could speak, Lancer had already leveled his spear and charged forward—
...
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED | HUNDRED-MAN SLAYER]
KILL 100 ENEMIES IN A SINGLE BATTLE (100/100)
That familiar mechanical voice snapped Lancer awake. Fortunately, his companions noticed nothing amiss, as they were still locked in the throes of battle.
By the time Lancer's group reached the second team, Captain Liver and his men had successfully withdrawn, though the trio were badly wounded. Clearly, their assassination attempt against this place's ruler had encountered fierce resistance. Thankfully, their exceptional strength had prevailed, allowing them to escape via the traps the second team had laid, reaching the rendezvous in time.
Yet the situation was bleak. The three strongest fighters were gravely injured, and foreign warriors continued closing in from all directions. Nobody knew how long they could hold out.
Quietly, unnoticed by anyone, Lancer redeemed two potions from his supplies.
"Lancer, what's that in your hand?"
His distinctive Knight's Lance made him highly conspicuous; when he suddenly halted, the others immediately noticed. Now they saw him retrieve two palm-sized bottles from his pouch—one golden, the other a vivid crimson.
Indeed, these were brand-new products introduced into [SUPPLIES].
[Mega Dash Juice] and [Mega Demondrug].
The 100-point cost per bottle made Lancer's heart clench—after all, it meant taking down several Danger Beasts just to afford it. But survival came first; now wasn't the time to count pennies. Had the [Mega Armorskin] not clashed with the [Demondrug]'s effects, he'd have bought that too.
And he wasn't finished. Previously, he'd had about 2,600 points. Combined with the nearly 500 points gained from slaughtering enemy warriors, he decisively purchased what [SUPPLIES] had first offered upon his arrival in this world.
[TEIGU: SPEAR FORM | 5000 POINTS]
[SECRET TECHNIQUE | 2500 POINTS]
Truthfully, Lancer had always planned to save points for a Teigu. In this world, Teigu were the ultimate cheat. Without one, even if he couldn't defeat General Budo, at least he might escape—but if Budo activated his Teigu…Lancer would become charcoal in a heartbeat.
Now, he had no choice but to abandon caution.
"Captain Liver, everyone—when I move, follow close behind me!"
Downing the [Mega Dash Juice] in one gulp, Lancer felt a surge of raw, relentless energy flood his body. Immediately after, swallowing the [Mega Demondrug] transformed him even further.
Though clad fully in armor, everyone sensed Lancer's form had somehow grown larger.
"Lancer, just what do you plan on doing?"
"Haah… Haah… No time to explain…"
Potent chemicals churned violently within him; his vision turned crimson. He assumed it was an effect of the [Demondrug]—but unknown to him, after unlocking the [HUNDRED-MAN SLAYER] achievement, something else had awakened in his status window.
The place once reserved for [MAGIC] now displayed a new attribute.
[KILLING INTENT | 100/100]
Catalyzed further by [Mega Demondrug], that number rapidly plummeted, signaling that his current power-up wasn't merely from potions alone.
[SECRET TECHNIQUE · LAST RESORT CHARGE | D ]
HEAVEN TO THE LEFT, WARRIORS TO THE RIGHT.
[EFFECT]:
① INFUSE MANA (OR SIMILIAR ENERGY) INTO ATTACKS, ENHANCING WEAPON SHARPNESS.
② POWER RATING INCREASED BY 25%
[COST | STAMINA 5%/60s]
(UNTIL EXHAUSTED OR FORCIBLY HALTED)
Captain Liver and the others had no clue what was happening to Lancer. But they had no other option: stalemate meant certain death. Initially, Liver intended to send someone to hold the rear while the others withdrew, but Lancer's confidence inspired their trust.
The most fundamental rule for survival on any battlefield was trusting your comrades. No single warrior, however powerful, could cover every angle. In those critical moments, the comrades behind you were your shield.
The enemy had surrounded the building in layers, encircling them tightly. After their first few attempts to storm inside ended disastrously, the warriors chose to guard vigilantly from outside instead.
They reasoned: "They're trapped like rats anyway. Why rush in to die?"
Under normal circumstances, this logic would have been sound. Unfortunately for them, these were hardly normal circumstances.
Before most could even react, the previously unnoticed wall emitted a strange cracking sound. And then—
BOOM!
The wall shattered into countless fragments like brittle glass. But it didn't end there: amid flying debris, a crimson blur shot forth like an arrow—
"AAAHH!!"
No observer saw exactly what happened next—only its result.
Enemy warriors standing in front of that crimson blur exploded into severed limbs and shattered corpses. Their neatly formed encirclement was brutally sliced open, creating a perfectly straight path wide enough for a single person.
Wait—a single-person-wide path?!
The quickest among them immediately charged into the building to investigate, emerging moments later with expressions twisted by horror. Their prey had vanished without a trace.
---
T/N: I THINK! I THINK its different from his last-resort strike, this is a charge, his last resort strike is putting everything into a single blow im pretty sure hmmmm