This time, Caius truly experienced what a Blood Tide was.

  Granted, this was at best a minor blood tide—but it was terrifying enough.

  Thousands of Bloody Creatures had surrounded the area completely. Even after killing a few hundred, more swam in from the distance. If not for Caius’s stamina far surpassing that of others in his rank, he wouldn't have been able to endure this relentless onslaught.

  Fortunately, the nearby Bloodfish were clearly thinning out. Fewer and fewer swam in from the distance. Caius estimated that once he cut down the remaining two thousand or so, the tide would be over.

  Two thousand? For him, that just meant swinging his warhammer a few hundred more times.

  After all, don’t forget—when he's at the forge, he can swing a hammer tens of thousands of times in one session!

  As long as his stamina held out, what were two thousand? Even twenty thousand wouldn’t stop him!

  He could keep killing!

  His breathing technique kept operating, sustaining his formidable endurance. The Bloodfish posed no real threat—his natural regeneration nullified the effects of blood poison.

  The only real problem was the occasional arrival of Wolf Demon squads.

  They usually came in groups of eight to twelve, often led by a Slaughter Wolf Demon.

  Only Slaughter Wolf Demons could inflict any real harm on him—currently, four of them lay lifeless at his feet.

  Perhaps they'd finally been intimidated. One Slaughter Wolf Demon in the distance never advanced, instead sending waves of Bloodfish to exhaust Caius’s stamina by throwing themselves at his hammer-heavy defense.

  Thankfully, the terrain offered an advantage—the wedge between the cliff walls meant Caius never had to face more than seven or eight Bloodfish at once. One swing, and a group died.

  But even with this advantage, the cliffs were beginning to crumble under the strain.

  The pile of corpses beneath his feet grew larger and larger, until the blood water formed a pool deep enough to reach his knees.

  What’s worse, some Bloodfish had begun attacking the cliffs under the direction of the distant Slaughter Wolf Demon. If this continued, both he and the little Catgirl would be buried alive.

  So Caius prepared for a final breakout. If all else failed—he would play his trump card.

  But using the trump card came at a great cost. He wouldn't use it unless he had absolutely no other choice.

  “Kiki! I'm breaking out now—hold on tight!” With a swing of his warhammer, he sent a mass of charging Bloodfish flying. Then he pulled the bloodstained Catgirl out from the crevice in the cliff wall and hoisted her onto his back.

  Kiki clung to him tightly.

  She was a burden, sure—but Caius never once considered abandoning her.

  He didn’t expect Kiki to be of any real use—just like people don’t keep cats around to make money.

  He still wanted to pet her in the future—no way was he letting her die here!

  Let’s go—charge!

  Caius roared and swung his warhammer, charging straight toward the distant Slaughter Wolf Demon.

  The demon saw him coming and turned to flee.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Yes, Bloody Creatures were fearless—but they weren't mindless. This one had seen with its own eyes four of its kind get their skulls smashed by Caius.

  And Caius—despite being covered in wounds, with his chest nearly flayed open—fought like he was possessed. His strength only grew the longer he fought. He looked more like a monster than the actual Wolf Demon.

  Watching the demon retreat, Caius grinned.

  So Bloody Creatures could retreat, huh?

  Not that he really intended to kill it. Once he'd broken through the cliff wedge, and the Slaughter Wolf Demon had turned to flee, Caius swerved to the side, leapt high, and jumped nearly a hundred meters away.

  Without the Slaughter Wolf Demon to hold him back, what could the Bloodfish do?

  He landed, crushing several with his boots, and leapt again.

  Caius figured four jumps, at most, would get him clear of the Bloodfish swarm. The Slaughter Wolf Demon realized this and tried to pursue—but it was already too late.

  Second leap. Third leap.

  Upon landing, Caius prepared for his fourth leap. Just as he jumped into the air, a blood-red light flared in the distance.

  Three blood-colored arrows whistled through the air—aimed straight for his back.

  Caius’s pupils shrank.

  Shit...

  He'd always warned others not to leap in front of him—that doing so would lead to a swift death. But the same danger applied to him when he was in the air.

  Now, in midair, he had no way to dodge. The blood-colored arrows had been perfectly calculated. One would strike his right back flank, piercing straight toward his heart!

  The three arrows formed a triangle as they closed in. There was no time to evade. Caius instinctively reached for Kiki on his back.

  But Kiki clung to his neck with all her strength.

  Caius panicked, glancing back—only to see that she, too, was staring at the incoming arrows. Worse, she leaned her body closer to his exposed back.

  She was going to block them—for him.

  That dumb cat!

  Caius’s eyes widened in fury, golden light beginning to burst forth from his pupils.

  But just as he was about to unleash his trump card in desperation, a golden light streaked across the sky—accompanied by the soft fall of golden feathers.

  “Wumm—”

  Swordsong rang in the air.

  Caius landed steadily, turned his head toward the figure balancing lightly on her toes, and a look of surprise and joy lit up his face.

  “Hilda!”

  Hilda gave him a faint smile and flicked her rapier. “I told you—my sword will always block the arrows aimed at your back.”

  In that moment—despite it being night—Hilda seemed to shine with her own light in Caius’s eyes.

  Cool. Dazzling. Beautiful.

  Then Little Swan pouted. “But my sword’s broken again.”

  She had just sliced through the blood-colored arrows, which had exploded into blood that clung to her blade. Now her rapier was steaming, the blade corroded and full of pits.

  Clearly, had those arrows struck Caius, the damage would have been catastrophic.

  She tossed the ruined blade aside and drew a spare.

  Caius snapped back to attention. “We have to go—there’s a boss behind them!”

  Hilda understood. This place was far too dangerous. Behind them, the horde of Bloodfish was closing in fast.

  The two of them dashed away, covering more than ten kilometers before Caius activated a Teleportation Magic Array Plate.

  Ten seconds passed.

  No Bloodfish pursued. No more arrows followed. The three of them successfully teleported away.

  As the light of the teleportation array faded, a blood-colored figure ten kilometers away lowered its blood-colored bow, crimson eyes calm and indifferent.

  …

  Ocean City.

  As soon as they landed, Caius took a long, ragged breath of relief upon seeing the familiar Teleportation Plaza of Ocean City. He slumped down on the ground without hesitation, then reached behind him to pick up the now-limp little catgirl and pulled her into his arms.

  “Don’t ever do that again, alright?” Caius gently pinched her soft cheek.

  The little catgirl’s lips trembled, and then she buried her face into Caius’ chest and burst into tears.

  Seeing this, Caius didn’t scold her any further. He simply stroked her blood-matted short hair in silence, comforting her with a gentle hand.

  Hilda glanced around and asked, “This is Ocean City?”

  “Yeah,” Caius nodded. “We were in a rush, didn’t check the coordinates. Just teleported straight here.”

  “No worries. We can go back later,” Hilda said, then looked at the injuries covering Caius and asked with concern, “You’re hurt… badly.”

  “It’s nothing. Just surface wounds,” Caius shook his head.

  Then, without another word, he stood up, still holding Kiki, and began walking in a certain direction.

  Hilda immediately followed, silently, asking no further questions.

  Before long, Caius’ blood-drenched figure stepped into the Iron Tavern.

  When John and the others saw him, their eyes widened in shock.

  Caius looked as though he had crawled out of a pool of blood. Wounds crisscrossed his body—horrific, fresh, and glaring.

  Beside him stood a blonde girl. She was staggeringly beautiful—so much so that if angels truly existed, they surely would look like her.

  The stark contrast between the two—a girl of otherworldly beauty and a man cloaked in carnage—shocked everyone into silence. Their minds blanked. No one knew what to say.

  The tavern fell utterly quiet.

  “Get me a clean private room,” Caius said to John. “And bring some medical supplies.”

  John snapped out of it and nodded hastily, quickly leading Caius upstairs.

  Clearly, now was not the time for questions. First, Caius needed to be taken care of.