The Goddess of War
“Commander!”
Urun shouted at the top of his lungs for Red Bear. But by the time Red Bear lifted his head, a Cullen’s claws had already sunk into his shoulder. Several archers who witnessed the scene loosed arrows at the monster’s wings.
Thud! Thud!
Thwack!
Yet the Cullen, far larger than the others, did not so much as flinch even as holes tore through its wings and blood streamed down. With every powerful beat of its wings, Red Bear’s feet left the ground. He stabbed at the creature’s legs with his sword and severed a claw, but it was useless. At this rate, he would either be torn apart or dropped from a fatal height.
Death itself did not frighten him. What haunted him were the faces of his subordinates still fighting below, the terrified villagers, and the lord who had placed boundless trust in him. Red Bear swung his sword once more with all his strength.
The repeated strikes had weakened the monster’s grip. He had not risen too high yet—if he timed his fall correctly, he might escape with only broken limbs.
“You think I’ll let you carry me off?”
Red Bear drove his sword deep into the Cullen’s foot again.
“Kyaaak!”
The blade struck the soft flesh between its toes. The Cullen shrieked in agony, lost its balance, and dipped lower as it flew unsteadily.
That was when it happened.
Thud!
Something launched from the ground slammed into the Cullen’s head with tremendous force.
The monster convulsed in pain far greater than the sword wound and plummeted. Its unconscious talons released Red Bear.
He crashed to the earth and rolled.
“Ugh!”
His leg was broken. The Cullens already on the ground spotted him and crawled toward him in a frenzy, driving their sharp wing bones into the dirt as they roared, ready to tear him apart.
Red Bear struggled to his feet, determined to take at least one more with him. But his broken leg refused to support him. He collapsed again, yet his sword never left his hand.
The bloodied corpses of his fallen subordinates lay scattered everywhere.
“Fine! I’ll send at least one of you to hell with me.”
He had fallen outside the palisade, closer to the Black Forest. He held no hope that his men, already stretched thin defending Morta Village, would reach him. He only wished that as many of them as possible would survive and return safely.
As Red Bear gripped his sword with both hands, bracing for the approaching Cullen, something struck again.
Thud!
A round projectile hurtled in and smashed the head of the Cullen right in front of him.
It was not an arrow. The bows used by Grace Castle’s archers were neither this powerful nor capable of such range.
Red Bear turned his head in shock toward the source. What he saw was the lord standing atop the palisade, firing something at the flying Cullens.
My lord?
Red Bear squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, convinced he was hallucinating.
“Am I already dead?”
Another projectile from the lord obliterated the head of a Cullen that had drawn near.
“Red Bear! What are you doing? Do you want to die there? Crawl over here right now!”
The lord’s sharp voice rang out. Red Bear forced himself upright and limped toward the figure calling his name. His leg throbbed with every step; he fell and rolled countless times. Meanwhile, the lord shattered the heads of two more Cullens lunging at him and blew the head off another that had seized a knight’s shoulder and lifted into the air.
“Commander!”
When Red Bear drew close enough, two knights rushed out from inside the palisade to support him. Their own conditions were dire—one had a deep gash across his face, the other bled profusely from the head. Yet they wept tears of joy as they helped him, as though they had received the greatest gift.
“The lord has come to help us.”
Up close, Chloe Grace did not flee from the attacking Cullens. Instead, she wielded an unfamiliar weapon and struck them down one by one.
With a weapon far deadlier than dozens of arrows, the lord looked like a goddess of war. Her brown hair, tied back, whipped in the wind like a banner of victory.
The weapon fired round orbs of light at the approaching Cullens. Those struck had their heads burst, bodies pierced, or wings severed, sending them crashing to the ground.
“Waaaaah!”
Morta, moments ago shrouded in despair, erupted in triumphant cheers.
“It’s not over yet! There are still plenty of those giant bats left!”
Donghee shouted at the knights who were already celebrating prematurely. Even she had not expected the slingshot to be this devastating. Forced to choose it when conventional weapons proved useless against the monsters, she discovered its power multiplied dozens of times when paired with the strength-enhancing gloves.
Slingshot and Power-Up Gloves collaboration! Praise for the user’s creativity in achieving the effect of ten shots with one! Hidden Points +2,000p awarded. Fight to the end and protect Morta Village and its people.
The gloves she had worn just in case she needed to punch a monster had unexpectedly amplified the weapon’s might.
“The feel is incredible.”
She did not even need to load stones; pulling the rubber band automatically primed the shot. After several attempts, she realized that holding the band longer produced larger, more powerful orbs. The thrill of releasing it was immense.
Watching the Cullens’ heads explode before her eyes was gruesome, but the sight of the knights they had slaughtered erased any hesitation.
“Die! You bastards! Die!”
Donghee screamed as she aimed and fired at the flying Cullens.
“Come on! If you want your heads blown off, come and get it!”
The knights who had been chanting “goddess” gradually fell silent as they watched.
Thud!
Another Cullen struck by an orb plummeted. The shot had been slightly off, leaving only a wound on its neck instead of destroying its head. It charged straight at Donghee.
She fired, but the swarm of Cullens disrupted her aim. The monsters were smarter than expected and had quickly identified the weapon’s weakness.
They realized that only Donghee posed a lethal threat. The other humans’ weapons could not kill them in one blow.
But the weapon wielded by the small human was different.
The light orbs it fired at terrifying speed burst heads and severed necks instantly. It was only natural that every Cullen now targeted her alone.
“My lord! The Cullens’ movements are strange!”
The scattered monsters gathered high above, then spiraled downward like a whirlwind aimed directly at Donghee—like a massive cone driving toward her.
Remaining shots: 25.
Yet the number of remaining Cullens exceeded fifty. Despair gripped Donghee. She could not give up.
Can I charge ten shots and fire them all at once?
Not impossible, but it may strain the user’s body.
It’s fine. I’ll gather them all and fire at once.
Combining 25 remaining shots with 180 charged shots for a total of 205. Estimated time: 7 seconds.
Hurry. There’s no time.
Donghee gritted her teeth as the swarm closed in.
With a high-pitched whine, light orbs began gathering and swelling on the slingshot. At the same time, every muscle in her body tensed as though being pulled taut.
A soft pop sounded, and blood welled in her mouth.
“Ptui!”
She spat the thick blood onto the ground.
“My lord!”
Someone called her name, but her ears rang too loudly to distinguish voices. A piercing tinnitus threatened to make her drop the slingshot. She could no longer hear the Cullens’ cries.
The world slowed to a crawl. The knights rushing toward her and the black swarm descending from above all felt like a distant dream.
The glowing orb grew larger, leaving bruises on her skin.
The massive sphere, bright enough to illuminate the surroundings, drew every knight’s gaze. In that moment, the lord of Grace appeared like a goddess cradling the sun.
Six. Five.
The Cullens approached faster than the countdown.
Seeing the lord stand motionless, Red Bear shouted to his men.
“Protect the lord! Attack the Cullens!”
The knights snapped to attention, drawing their swords and forming a circle around Donghee. The archers aimed their few remaining arrows, waiting for the monsters to draw closer.
Two. One.
“Done.”
Donghee released the rubber band aimed at the swarm now only ten meters away.
Whoosh!
The enormous orb of light surged forward and struck the diving mass of Cullens.
Flash!
The moment it connected, the entire area was engulfed in blinding light. Silence followed, then the light faded to reveal Cullens plummeting to the ground, screaming in agony.
Donghee stared in disbelief at the monsters raining down like hail.
“I guess I’m pretty cool.”
Her throat burned as though scraped with sandpaper, but the satisfaction was overwhelming.
Just as she began to imagine myths being written about her, one of the fallen Cullens suddenly opened its eyes.