Battle of the Gate (2)

With the activation of the Demon Reaper Art, the tenebrous sword turned even darker, rivalling that of the grand void. In addition to his family's martial art, Evan also activated the Whispering Retribution Art.

Turning into a whisper of death, the blade collided with the ape's neck.

Feeling the shockwave of force travel through his arms, Evan winced, gazing at the result of his efforts.

Where the once golden fur of the ape stood tall and proud, emitting its lustrous sheen, a pile of ever-growing blood began pouring out from the deep cut in its neck.

Roaring in agony, the ape swiped its fist in Evan's direction. This time with a lot of force fueled by scalding hot rage.

Perceiving a large amount of force behind the strike, Evan's eyes narrowed as he moved his body. Sidestepping to the side, he allowed the large fist to skim past his side as he launched his own counter.

Gripping the hilt tightly, he flexed his entire body as he slashed downwards, using the momentum of the ape to his advantage.

Exhaling at the same time he performed the sword strike, Evan sensed that it hit true as the sharp edge of the unforgiving blade collided with the ape's skull.

Feeling a large amount of resistance, he strained his arms as the muscles beneath his clothes visibly bulged.

Roaring louder and louder, the ape let out an infuriated growl at the pesky human currently digging its sword into its skull. Releasing a burst of accumulated energy, the bloodthirsty monster opened its maw and snapped its jaw in the direction of Evan.

Not expecting the sudden assault from the ape, Evan became flustered as he hurriedly removed the sword, using its hilt to block the unexpected strike.

Now lodged between the monster's teeth, the stalwart blade created a slight opening, which he almost failed to take advantage of.

Clenching his fist to the maximum, the black hue on his body burgeoned, converging to his clenched fist. Augmented by the black hue, Evan felt the power found in his fist increase many-fold.

Swinging with accurate precision, the fist crushed right into the monster's wide stomach.

As the ape gritted its teeth in pain, to its horror, it belatedly realized that it still lodged the blade between its teeth.

Attempting to correct its mistake, the golden monster realized its efforts were all futile as the sharp point of the sword pierced the insides of its mouth.

Punching, again and again, Evan bombarded the ape with a barrage of strikes as the blade pierced deeper into its mouth until finally, the light of life departed from its bloodshot eyes.

Falling to the ground with a thud, the corpse caused a cloud of dust to rise and envelop Evan.

Squinting his eyes, he bent down and retrieved his stalwart sword with some degree of effort.

Gazing at the soldiers behind the curtain of dust who were getting overwhelmed in only a few moments, Evan's expression became grave.

'We are going to need something special to come out victorious in this battle.'

***

On the other side of the battlefield, Astrid, who was surrounded by a sea of monsters, as the red and green hue that was encasing her body burgeoned slightly.

Once again, a raging tempest manifested into existence, eviscerating a fraction of the countless number of enemies encircling her.

Sliced up into many pieces by the sharpness of the tempest, the monsters had no chance, as they were instantly killed.

Gulping a large breath of air, Astrid panted heavily, recuperating as much stamina as she could in the brief respite she had just gained.

After a few moments, the gap she created in the wave of monsters was filled back up again as another group rushed in her direction.

Once again channelling the mana within her, Astrid's determined emerald green eyes reflected the mixture of abominations seeking to exterminate her.

'I can't die right now! I have to get my revenge on those bastards who thought that glory and honour were more important than their own kin. This is my resolve!'

***

As the barrage of long-range fire once again crashed into the monsters once more, Kang had a perpetual frown on his face as his daggers sliced an approaching monster in half.

'What type of monster can instill such fear into these monsters that they went into a frenzied state going on a rampage creating a monster horde? And what is the chances of it making its way over here?'

With his dagger crackling with purple lightning, he decapitated an approaching monster which lunged at him from the side.

Murdering a few monsters who jumped at him with the feverish desire to taste blood with ease, Kang absentmindedly reflected on his past.

Born in the slums to a family of Chinese descent, he lived a majority of his childhood in the slums, fighting and scrapping for any tidbits of food he could find. Constantly on the brink of starvation, Kang led a tough life.

After coming of age, he joined the government with the dream of helping humanity escape its perilous fate.

Working as a government official for a few years fighting monsters and completing other important duties which aided in humanity's survival, his dream came crashing down after a fateful accident which led him to getting kicked out of his post.

Kang was no stranger to hardship, so instead of despairing, he joined the mercenary association and became a mercenary. He kept his dream alive and profited from it, so all in all, to Kang, it was a good choice.

Before the accident, which led to his dismissal from his job as a government agent, he was quite a talkative person. But after witnessing the series of events which occurred, it left a permanent scar inside him which made him into the reticent man he is today.

Taking a deep breath, Kang converged all his thoughts on killing these abominations in front of him as his daggers became a clangor of lightning-infused steel.

Gazing at his back, the soldiers behind him redoubled their efforts after seeing him fight with even more ferocity. Releasing a collective shout, the human army bellowed all the grievances they had after witnessing the death of their comrades.

With the savagery of the battle increasing, the battle at the gate entered a new stage of development.