Below the western wall of Ovenue.
Once again, silence fell.
The faces of the Gray Wolf Knight Order, which had been filled with the joy of victory, instantly froze.
The one-on-one duel between Glen and the enemy commander.
The moment that fierce battle ended, a high-level spell flew from the demon side and struck the victor, Glen.
“Glen… young master?!”
“Just now, that was—!”
“Who did something like that…?”
Only then did the knights turn their gazes toward the demon camp to understand what had happened.
And the moment they saw a witch sitting cross-legged on a palanquin at the center—
The confusion in their eyes was replaced with thick killing intent.
“You—!”
“You cowardly demon bastards!”
“You worm-like trash!!”
The knights ground their teeth until their gums nearly broke as they roared in fury.
Some requested an order to charge from their commander.
Others leapt down from the walls, vowing to kill the enemy themselves.
That was when—
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
A rough voice amplified with holy power echoed across the entire wall.
At that overwhelming presence, all the knights froze and turned their heads.
“Sir Jaber…?”
The one who stopped them was none other than their commander, Jaber.
“Why are you stopping us?!”
“They’re cowards who didn’t even show the bare minimum of respect to the victor!”
“Sir Jaber! No matter what, this is something we can’t—!”
“Are your eyes just buttonholes?!”
Once again, his thunderous voice scolded them.
Then Jaber suppressed his sharp aura and jerked his chin toward where Glen had been standing.
“Getting angry is fine, but look at the situation properly before you move. Don’t act like beasts without thinking.”
At those words, the furious knights all looked down below the wall.
And the moment the dust and demonic residue from the explosion were swept away by the wind—
They doubted their own eyes.
“That is…”
“Y-Young Master Glen?!”
Everyone present widened their eyes and stood there with their mouths agape.
Despite having taken that murderous mass of demonic energy head-on, Glen Warsworth stood proudly in place without a single visible wound.
Watching that bizarre sight, Jaber bared his teeth and laughed dryly.
“This is absurd… truly.”
A deafening roar rang out, followed by ringing in the ears.
Dust from the explosion and remnants of demonic energy filled Glen’s vision.
‘Thought I was dead there.’
Glen let out a deep breath.
Then he recalled the massive lump of demonic energy that had flown at him immediately after his duel with Meldborn.
‘Six-star… no, a seven-star spell. That wasn’t just a greeting—it was a serious attempt to kill me.’
Otherwise, there was no reason to use a spell of that level at that timing.
With magic like that, even if Jaber or Judith had been standing there instead of him, they wouldn’t have survived.
‘Honestly, I lived because it was me.’
Will of the Survivor.
A unique latent ability that nullifies one incoming attack one time, as long as the enemy attacks Glen before Glen attacks them.
Thanks to this ability, Glen survived what should have been a fatal surprise attack.
“Talk about throwing a tantrum.”
There was no need to think about who had done this.
With a bitter smile, Glen looked toward Penelope, who must have launched the attack from beyond the dust.
Whooooo—
The wind blew, clearing away the dust and demonic residue surrounding him.
His once-blocked vision opened up, and he could now see the enemy’s reaction in the distance.
“……”
She was shaken.
Her expression wasn’t visible, but Penelope was leaning forward from her palanquin, staring straight at Glen.
She must have felt her spell hit him.
And yet—
Because Glen hadn’t dodged or blocked, and still had not a single scratch on his body, she could only stare at him in disbelief.
“Grrrrrr…!”
The undead surrounding Glen and Meldborn’s corpse growled lowly.
They looked as though they might charge at any moment, but Glen didn’t pay them any attention.
Because today’s battle had already ended with the duel.
There was no explicit agreement between him and Penelope, but there was no reason for the demons to keep fighting today.
“The young master is safe!”
“Wooooah!!”
With the morale of the Gray Wolf Knights on the wall skyrocketing, there was no need for the demon army to pour in more troops.
Any demon who had fought in the northern front knew just how vicious the Gray Wolf Knights were once they gained momentum.
“Grrr…”
Sure enough, the undead began to turn and retreat.
Looking farther out, even the demon army centered around Penelope was disappearing from view.
“Haa…”
Glen let out a long sigh.
He had been worried they might resume the battle even at the cost of heavy losses.
Thankfully, that worst-case scenario didn’t happen.
“Good work.”
Looking down at Meldborn’s corpse, which hadn’t even been recovered by his allies, Glen gave him a brief look of pity.
Then, as he turned toward the fortress—
Thunderous cheers and shouts from the knight order shook his ears.
The roar of the knights poured down toward the boy standing below the wall.
At the center of that blazing fervor, Katrin doubted her own eyes.
‘What… did I just see?’
From Glen’s duel with the black-armored knight to the sudden ambush by the enemy legion commander afterward—
