Chapter 48: Yae Sakura's Battle

What no one anticipated was that the heavily armored Paladin commander, despite being a formidable opponent, was no match for the monstrous creature. It proved far stronger than anyone had imagined.

Not only did the commander fail to slay the beast, but they also lost their own life in the process.

However... although the Paladin commander perished at the monster's hands, it wasn't entirely in vain.

By engaging the creature, they bought precious time, allowing the majority of villagers to escape its deadly hunt...

The concept of a Honkai Beast laying down its life for humans was incredibly hard to fathom. If Schicksal were told of this sacrifice, they would surely struggle to believe it!

After slaying the commander of the Honkai Beast heavy Paladin , the monster did not immediately depart. Instead, it remained by the carcass of the Honkai Beast, absorbing the honkai energy from the Knight Honkai Beast. This process continued until the monster had assimilated all the honkai energy within the beast's body, at which point it seemed to become even more formidable.

Meanwhile, the remains of the Knight Honkai Beast on the ground completely dissipated.

Empowered with this newfound strength, the monster, now acutely aware of the scent of humanity, continued its pursuit towards the nearest human target...

ROAR!

In the forest, a bestial howl that could rupture eardrums echoed, accompanied by the frantic pounding of footsteps in a desperate race against death, and the lamentations filled with terror and despair.

"Aaaaaaah!"

A middle-aged man let out a heart-wrenching scream. He could feel the demonic creature hot on his heels; if he were to stumble for even a moment... he would instantly be reduced to a pool of blood and shattered flesh!

But his steps gradually became chaotic, his stamina beginning to give out.

The burning wave of heat from behind licked ever closer!

Shwaah, shwaah!

In that critical moment, a cold blade flashed like a crescent moon, tracing a beautiful yet deadly arc.

"Aooh!"

Wounded, the creature stumbled back several paces... A massive sword wound now adorned its body. Even with its formidable regenerative abilities, the healing process had slowed significantly.

"Miko... Lady Miko! Save... save... save me!! Help me, there's a... giant monster."

The middle-aged man gazed upon the slim figure before him, as if a beacon of hope had descended. He felt like he had grasped onto a lifeline.

In the nick of time, the village's spiritual medium had arrived to rescue him.

Thank goodness... thank goodness...

He had nearly... never gotten to see his loved ones again.

The spiritual medium standing beside the villager, who had descended like a Valkyrie, was none other than the renowned Yae Sakura.

Perhaps due to his overwhelming emotion or the trauma of his recent desperate flight, the middle-aged villager felt utterly insecure.

Seeing the shrine maiden Yae Sakura as his savior, he acted on impulse, lunging towards her without thinking, as if to embrace her.

As the villager approached, Yae Sakura regarded him coldly. Just as he was about to encircle her in his arms, she swiftly kicked him away.

She then ignored him completely...

To Yae Sakura, these villagers were merely assets to protect. After all, each villager contributed a significant amount of grain annually.

Now with two gluttons in the shrine, if there wasn't enough food... they wouldn't be able to feed themselves.

So, too many villagers dying was unacceptable.

However... a man daring to touch her body was an unforgivable offense.

Ever since her father had tried to kill Yae Rin with his own hands—had even gripped Yae Sakura's hand to commit the deed—Yae Sakura had lost all faith in this world, including men like her own father.

Moreover, their benefactor, who saved her sister and taught both of them, was also a lovely girl...

Thus, it was only natural that Yae Sakura developed feelings for girls rather than boys.

No longer acknowledging the middle-aged villager, Yae Sakura's gaze, sharp as a blade, turned towards the monstrous creature ahead.

It was a colossal "wolf."

Its mutated, swollen body loomed oppressively, like a mountain of flesh.

Those eyes, emitting an ominous aura and filled with bloodlust, seemed to make the very air stagnate.

Adding to this was its terrifying maw, which instilled fear merely by its appearance, and the powerful tentacles trailing behind it.

Perhaps it would be more fitting to describe it as an "Alien"!

By now, the middle-aged man who had been kicked aside by Yae Sakura wasted no breath on words. Enduring his pain, he sprinted to the cover of distant trees, remaining motionless and silent, afraid to make a sound.

Yae Sakura paid no heed to the middle-aged villager's reaction; her kick hadn't been delivered with full force, so he would be fine. Instead, she focused intently on the lupine creature before her—or perhaps more accurately, a lupine Honkai Beast...

The beast crouched low, baring its teeth, and glared menacingly at the miko, Yae Sakura. For injuring it with a single sword strike, the Honkai Beast felt a surge of intense anger and resentment towards this human. Yet, amidst its fury, there lurked a trace of fear.

But gradually, as time passed, the Honkai Beasts began to grow increasingly agitated, emitting continuous deep roars.

"Roar!"

The frenzied beast suddenly bellowed at Sakura, its voice powerful as a cannonball, causing fierce winds to shake every tree in its path.

Sakura calmly placed her hand on her sword hilt. In an instant, the distance between them was bridged.

Suddenly, a cold, murderous gaze emanated from Sakura's eyes as she directed a swift, powerful slash at the Honkai Beast.

"Falling Cherry Blossoms Slash!"

The katana in her hand danced, unleashing five massive scarlet sword slashes that continuously struck towards the Honkai Beast before her.

Faced with Yae Sakura's powerful sword attacks, the lupine Honkai Beast displayed remarkable agility and reflexes, effortlessly dodging her three successive strikes.

Only two strikes inadvertently hit their target due to the beast's immense size.

However, the force of the sword left significant wounds on the Honkai Beast, though not fatal. This, in turn, made the beast even more ferocious. Its tentacles... lashed out directly at Yae Sakura.

"Get ready to defend..."

Yae Sakura dared not take the charging tentacles lightly, her eyes intently locked on their speed and trajectory.

"Are we really not going to help her? That Honkai Beast looks... incredibly powerful, at least equivalent to an A-rank Valkyrie," Kallen and Serenade observed the battle unfolding from a short distance behind Yae Sakura.

Kallen hesitated when it came to Yae Sakura's fight with the Honkai Beast. Although Yae Sakura had insisted she could handle it alone and didn't need their interference, Kallen still couldn't shake off her concerns.

"Let's trust her for now! If it gets truly dangerous... I'll step in." Unlike Kallen, Serenade remained composed. Her familiarity with Yae Sakura's capabilities set her at ease in this situation.