Chapter 79 - Hatred (Thank you, Tyler Shepherd).

It didn’t take long for Zelos to find his target. As the first enemy locked eyes with Zelos, a wild and crazed look filled his gaze. It was as if he wasn’t seeing a fellow human being, but rather a monstrous entity, something beyond comprehension.

To the enemy, Zelos was more than just a man, he was the epitome of terror, the worst of the beasts. The intensity of the enemy’s stare sent a chill down Zelos’s spine, a cold realization dawning on him that he was facing someone who saw him as a true threat.

The enemy’s eyes bore into Zelos with a mixture of disgust and hatred, their crazed gaze unrelenting. At that moment, Zelos understood the depths of the enemy’s animosity, the sheer disdain they held for him.

It was quite the realization, one that fueled Zelos’s resolve even further. He knew that he had to face this enemy head-on to prove that he was not the monster they saw him as, but a warrior fighting for what he believed in.

It went without saying, but Zelos didn’t like that look and then swung his sword with all his might. His sword and the enemy collided, but the dark sword came on top and the enemy’s weapon broke. The dark sword approached the enemy’s neck, but he moved his left arm to block the attack. The dark sword stopped on the bone of the enemy and, despite that, he still tried to stab Zelos in the neck with the broken sword.

Before the weapon could reach him, Zelos grabbed the enemy’s hand and stopped the attack. Then he pushed his sword a bit more and then cut the enemy’s arm and then hit his throat. Despite blood gushing from the wound like rain, the enemy still tried to reach Zelos, but he eventually fell to the ground. He tried to crawl toward Zelos, but he eventually died while glaring at him with the same look.

“What the fuck…”

Before Zelos could process what had happened, another enemy approached and they tried to stab Zelos with his spear. He swung it like a sword and while Zelos had an easy time blocking it, his guard began to shake since he was using one hand only to hold the sword. 

In the end, Zelos acted fast and then grabbed the spear before kicking the enemy in the chest, but while he tried to take the spear from him, the enemy resisted several kicks.

Eventually, thanks to a boost of adrenaline, the enemy was able to overpower Zelos and recover his spear, but while he was adjusting his guard, Zelos grabbed one of irons balls and then punched toward the head of the enemy. The impact crushed his skull instantly and made him fall… despite that, he trembled on the ground while shaking and looking at Zelos trying to muster some strength, but eventually his brain stopped working.

“These guys are…” 

The same thing was happening in all directions. The enemies suffered critical damage, but it looked like they weren’t feeling any pain. Thanks to that, they were causing a lot more trouble… it didn’t feel like it was their trait to be immune to pain. It was simply because they were truly insane.

Before the next enemy could approach, Zelos kicked the butt of the spearman he just killed. The target reacted in time to block the attack with his sword, but then Zelos used his charging technique, appeared in front of the enemy and then swung down his sword, cutting the enemy’s shoulder and reaching his heart.

The enemies were undoubtedly wild and unpredictable, but they possessed surprisingly good reaction times and firm defensive stances. It was clear that their crazed nature was tempered by a disciplined training regimen designed to make them even more formidable opponents.

Despite their apparent insanity, the enemies moved with calculated precision, their reflexes sharp and their defenses solid. Their defensive stances were particularly impressive, with each movement executed with precision and purpose. It was evident that they had been drilled relentlessly to anticipate and counterattacks, making them incredibly difficult to deal with on the battlefield.

The combination of their crazed nature and disciplined training made the enemies a formidable force to contend with. They were like a whirlwind of chaos and precision, striking fear into the hearts of their opponents while simultaneously thwarting their every move.

“This probably isn’t the best time to make my sword heavier…” 

Zelos could see his sword dripping with blood thanks to the previous attack… It already weighed over forty kilograms, and that was quite good for training, but a bit troublesome in situations like that one, war of attrition.

Zelos fights them to kill them as fast as possible, but they know some advanced defensive techniques too, and that makes them even harder to deal with.

In the end, Zelos decides to go all out from the beginning and break their weapons with his sword. The big swings worked since the attacks had more power behind them, while their arms were shaking thanks to the impact or when their weapons broke upon impact. Still, the enemies end up taking notice of him and attack him more often, but he was fine with that.

“Time for plan B… make good use of my trait,”

Zelos took a few steps backward and changed his stance for a bit more compact. The enemies saw him covered in sweat and imagined that he was exhausted and then charged at him without hesitation.

When two spearmen were about to stab him at the same time, Zelos lowered his body to the left side and then moved. When the enemy on that side tried to stab him, Zelos blocked the attack with his sword and then parried it. The enemy’s weapons cut his forearm a bit… in the same motion, Zelos swung his sword and then cut half of the enemy’s stomach.

When the other target approached, Zelos swung his sword horizontally and then his blade hit the tip of the spear, and passed through it completely. His motion only ended when it chopped the enemy’s arm. While the target was flinching thanks to the shock, Zelos stabbed his heart.

Before Zelos could take a deep breath to recover, he saw some of his allies on the side falling after being stabbed by the enemies, and soon their assailants turned their eyes on him.

“I guess it can’t be helped,”

While Liry had instructed Zelos to retreat whenever his stamina dropped below half, he knew he didn’t have the luxury of doing so now. The situation had escalated, and the stakes were higher than ever.

Although he could have retreated, Zelos couldn’t allow the enemies to keep advancing. Their side was already suffering heavy losses, and every moment counted. He understood that he needed to push himself harder, to fight through the fatigue and keep pressing forward.

Retreating would mean ceding ground on the enemy, and Zelos refused to let that happen. He couldn’t stand idly by while his comrades fought and fell around him. There was too much at stake, and he was determined to do everything in his power to turn the tide of battle.

So, despite his exhaustion, Zelos gritted his teeth and pressed on, his determination driving him forward. He knew that he had to work harder than ever before, to push past his limits and give everything he had for the sake of his future.

Fortunately, Zelos’s body was at the perfect pace. He had completely warmed up. Thanks to that, he used his charging technique toward one of the enemies and then stabbed them in the neck, making them fall. Soon he received the other one that came from behind. The enemy and Zelos traded sword blows until some marks appeared on the enemy’s sword, and then Zelos attacked with all his might. The weapon broke, and then the enemy’s head rolled.

In the next moment, Zelos looked around the battlefield and soon found some troublesome targets that were killing soldiers one after the other. Without hesitation, Zelos charged at them using his charging technique and then beheaded them before they could react. After doing that for fifteen times, Zelos felt his stamina dropping to dangerous levels, and then his legs began to hurt as well.

This time around, Zelos slowed down a bit since he needed a couple of minutes to get the pain go away. Still, that was unnecessary… All of a sudden the sound of something began to echo on the battlefield. It was probably some large musical instrument… When the enemies heard that, they began to calm down and soon began to retreat as well.

“A trait like Liry’s?” 

The enemies reacted too fast, so Zelos assumed that was the case… in any case, that didn’t matter. His side was too tired and they suffered a lot of damage to chase the enemies, so they retreated with ease.

As the first day of battle comes to an end, Zelos finds himself nursing a multitude of wounds. Despite the pain, he took solace in the fact that his body heals remarkably fast, thanks to his trait.

However, as he reflected on the day’s events, Zelos realized an important lesson: he needed to learn how to deal with large groups of enemies more effectively. While he had managed to hold his own in combat, facing multiple foes simultaneously had proven to be quite the challenge.

Zelos understood that his healing abilities could only do so much to keep him in the fight. To truly become a formidable warrior, he needs to develop strategies and techniques to handle large groups of enemies more efficiently.

With this realization, Zelos decided to hone his combat skills, seeking out opportunities to learn from experienced fighters and practicing different tactics. He knows that mastering the art of battling large groups of enemies will be essential if he hopes to continue fighting on the front lines.

While Zelos was thinking about that, he looked around and then saw a sea of blood and corpses around. It was hard to be certain, but it looked like both sides suffered the same amount of losses. 

“This didn’t work to improve morale. It is better than losing a battle, but even so…”