The instant those words were spoken, shock rippled through the group like a bolt of lightning.
Andny stared at Charles in utter disbelief, unable to understand why he would say something like that.
Anno was standing right next to them—didn’t he care at all about his paladin girlfriend?!
Nidalee’s own beautiful eyes went wide. She had always thought Charles would never reveal their relationship for the sake of pursuing Anno, but never expected this... Was he doing it to protect her?
A surge of happiness so overwhelming rushed in that she almost fainted.
But compared to her, at that moment, the Anno behind her was struck as if by thunder. She stared at the scene in disbelief.
The man she liked—he was actually already another woman’s lover, with a child on the way?!
No, it couldn’t be true. This couldn’t be happening!
A wave of despair swept through her, her spirit collapsing, as if her entire world had been drained of color.
Behind, all the minotaurs stood dumbfounded, their minds going blank, unable to process a single thought.
What did they just hear?!
Torun’s fiancée... pregnant by another man?!
But for something this momentous, what would the far-sighted Torun do?
They didn’t know. Right now, all those minotaurs were filled with confusion.
The old priest sighed, relinquishing his last hope, and pulled a small banner from his back, ready to spellcast for battle.
Just as they’d feared, the taunt and self-satisfaction vanished from Torun’s face, replaced only by astonishment.
"No..." he mumbled, much the same as Anno’s state now, as if his very soul had been sucked from him, "You’re lying... There’s no way..."
He turned to look at Nidalee, his voice almost pleading: "Nidalee, you two are just... companions, right? All this was just to reject me—some lie. You can’t possibly like such a pale, frail, monkey-like man..."
Nidalee’s mind was blank, reeling in tension and unexpected joy, until Torun’s words finally brought her back to herself.
Her lips trembled, but she couldn’t get a word out: "I..."
Charles tightened his hold around her shoulders. "It’s true, Torun. Nidalee deserves a better life. She should be with me, living in a grand castle in the central district of Liberl Port, bathing in milk and rose petals, feasting on wine and steak for breakfast, not living with you, scraping by up here among the mountains, suffering through such a primitive and poor existence."
As he finished, behind him, Anno slowly returned to herself, brow creasing in suspicion. Wasn’t Charles just a penniless priest from the South Harbor District? Since when did he have a central-district castle and live the high society life of a king?
Andny’s gaze flickered; she thought, Master really can tell a whopper! She glanced around, reading everyone’s faces, and when her gaze landed on Anno, a sudden idea struck. Controlling her mosquito hovering by Nidalee’s ear, she quickly prompted, "Go along with Master—say you love his money!"
Snapping back into focus, Nidalee grabbed Charles’s arm and declared, "Torun, just give up. I admit, your Highmountain tribes are strong, but compared to the power of Duke Charles’s family, it’s not even close."
"I really am carrying the Charles family’s bloodline, so you’d best let this go."
Silence again fell over the clearing, only this time the atmosphere was undeniably subtle.
Bruno scratched his head, about to say, "There’s no such Duke Charles in Liberl Port," but as he glanced to his side, the brass Dragonborn woman shot him a look of pure murder, and the big-mouthed dwarf instantly clamped up, not daring to utter another word.
Anno, being a noble, knew perfectly well there was no such noble house as Charles in Liberl Port, let alone any tacky so-called ’high society’ living like that.
She understood: it was all lies, all made up by Charles to protect Nidalee, the Mountain People nun.
So the pregnancy was fake too?
At this thought, she felt at ease, and slowly the color returned to her world. But then, a wave of annoyance swept over her.
Why use such a reason? The religious rationale was more than enough...
Her mood restored, but there was one among them whose feelings could not be so easily mended.
Even though Nidalee’s reason was full of holes—anyone with a bit of knowledge about Liberl Port’s noble lines could see through it—just like Nidalee, Torun knew none of this.
He had no idea there was no noble family named Charles, and now he fully believed Nidalee had been seduced away by these so-called ’civilized’ folk.
And so, at that moment, his heart plunged into an icy abyss, nearly ceasing to beat. Staring blankly at the girl before him, memories raced by of days gone by: her every smile, her swift silhouette leaping through the woods, the elegant way she shifted between beast and humanoid forms—each image, so perfect...
He had dreamed a thousand times of their wedding, with the chieftains of every tribe gathered to celebrate their union. He would escort her, arm in arm, to the peak of mountain authority, possessing the greatest power, the greatest strength, and the most beautiful wife, an object of envy to all...
And now, all that was ruined. This white-haired boy, who’d come out of nowhere, had robbed him of his destined bride. Now he was nothing but a fool in everyone’s eyes.
In the next instant, all that remained was pure, blazing rage!
He gripped his greataxe until his knuckles whitened, muscle bulging, veins throbbing in his forehead, even the fur on his body standing on end: "Unforgivable, you damned white-haired human! Arrrrgh——————!!"
With both hands wrapped around his steel greataxe, he plunged into a berserk state and, stomping forward, brought it crashing down on Charles!
Charles’s nerves were stretched taut. Ever since revealing their relationship, he had remained acutely wary of Torun’s every move. So, the instant Torun gripped his axe, Charles seized Nidalee and rolled to the side—
Torun’s greataxe slammed into the ground, shattering the stone and sending shards flying. Raising his head, black bull hair wild, his eyes flushed red like a maddened demon, Torun let out a furious howl: "Die—Die, you bastard—!"
"Warriors, with me! Kill! Kill this Sein! Make them pay for every sin with blood! Make them pay for what they have done!"
Rage all but incinerated his mind; now every inch of his body snarled for battle, every drop of hot blood boiled. There was no room left for other thoughts: only the overwhelming urge to kill Charles!
Clutching Nidalee, Charles tumbled to the wall before coming to a halt. Against such a crazed warrior, he dared not hesitate; he sprang to his feet, shield raised, eyes cold as steel. "Finally dropping the act, are you, Torun? So at last you tear off that fake mask of friendship and reveal your true enmity?"
He taunted all the harder, knowing each word would only fan Torun’s rage!
"Die, you worthless dung heap from Liberl Port, and your bastard Charles bloodline!" Torun roared, striding forward, hacking down with tremendous force. "The Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers was formed for one purpose: to destroy your filth-ridden city of white rats, to skin you all one by one and nail your wretched hides to the rafters of our halls!"
"You’ll be my first trophy—die, Nigel Charles! Your scalp is mine!"
With those words, he came on with another thundering stride.
Behind him, Anno had raised her shield and sword, intending to move up in support, but upon hearing this declaration, she froze, her expression utterly shocked.
Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers!
This was her very target—what she had come to investigate!
Never would she have thought the trail would end so abruptly, without any need for subterfuge: the enemy named themselves right out in the open!
Sure enough, this new alliance of the Mountain People was a dire threat to Liberl Port’s safety, and must be eliminated as soon as possible!
She wasn’t alone; beside her, Bruno had thought about stepping in, trying to play peacemaker with lines like "Our true enemies are the undead." But now, at Torun’s shouting, Bruno stood rooted in disbelief. "What?!"
He was stunned—had the minotaur deceived them the whole time? The Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers was nothing but a terror group, not a force for protecting the mountains?
He didn’t know what to think, and for a moment just stood paralyzed. In the end, it was the brass Dragonborn woman who yanked his shoulder backward: "Get back! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
She snatched at Bruno, pulling him away while grabbing Bonnie from her seat atop the giant spiders, dragging both back, doing her utmost to get them out of the danger zone, to look after themselves.
None of them had fully recovered from their captivity—after a day and night with no food or water, their strength was almost spent. In this condition, they had no business in this brawl; best stay safe and wait out the fight.
Meanwhile, to the rear of the battlefield, the minotaurs looked about, bewildered. Just minutes ago Torun had preached—do not be ruled by personal emotion, keep the big picture, win the dwarves’ favor...
Yet barely ten minutes later, everything was changed, and chaos reigned.
They stood, unsure what to do; then the priest Samit sighed and said, "Why are you hesitating? Will you disobey a command?"
"Fight, then! What’s done is done—there’s no turning back!"
With those words, burdened by frustration and fear, the minotaurs tightened their grip on warhammers or greatclubs and charged straight toward Charles.
Meanwhile, Andny desperately directed the giant spiders forward, intercepting the minotaurs’ movements, shrieking with terror for Theresa: "Eldest Sister, get over here—these minotaurs are insane, they’re attacking us!"
She screamed while the spiders and the minotaurs clashed in a chaotic melee. But this thin line of defense trembled at the first impact—already at the brink of collapse!
Anno drew her blade and raised her shield, intending to support Charles, but he barked, "Anno, Nidalee—go help Andny! Whatever you do, don’t let the minotaurs break through!"
"As for Torun—I’ll handle him myself!"
His eyes blazed, and summoning his longsword, flames leaped forth along the blade, shield primed—he was ready to face Torun alone.
Taking on a barbarian single-handedly might look reckless, but against a Path of the Ancestors barbarian, it was by far the wisest course.
That path’s barbarians could summon the spirits of their ancestors in rage, shielding all kin sharing the same bloodline!
So if the fighting tangled into a mass melee, their side would have no edge, while Torun’s power would shield every minotaur, raising their combat strength substantially.
Thus, a duel was the best choice.
"Then...take care of yourself!"
Anno gritted her teeth but did not protest. She knew her limits—she could barely muster the strength for swing, let alone Divine Smite. The best she could do was stand her ground with sword and shield against an ordinary minotaur; anything more was beyond hope.
Nidalee too wanted to remain and protect Charles, but with spellcasters among the minotaurs, she had no choice; she leapt to the side, shifted into leopard form, and raced into the fray.
On the battlefield, only Charles and Torun now faced each other.
"Your head will be my trophy!"
Torun bellowed, lifting arms thicker than Charles’s thighs, swinging his greataxe with no finesse, only raw, reckless force as he brought it down in a savage arc!
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