Chapter 40: The mistake

Smith knew that things were about to get much more serious. Although they had dealt with the previous two waves very easily—making it seem as though only a single group of Ratmen remained—he kept in mind that those earlier forces consisted merely of ordinary Ratmen who posed no high-level threat. This time around, it seemed the leader Ratman himself was taking the stage, fully intent on bringing his full force alongside his personal guards.

​Although there were only nine of them, their collective pressure was several times more suffocating than the entire remaining formation of ordinary Ratmen. Even without Velvet reminding him, Smith knew that the real threat lay in the leader Ratman and his personal guards and Velvet, too, understood that this would be a grueling battle to win.

​On the other side, the leader Ratman stood up from his throne, took his silver spear, and slowly descended the stairs. His personal guards followed behind at the same pace. They did not charge forward like the previous two waves, opting instead for a deliberate, moderate stride.

​Velvet observed that while the leader Ratman and his guards were taking them seriously, he seemed to have completely dismissed the remaining group of ordinary Ratmen behind them. Spotting an opportunity in their lack of coordination, Velvet immediately turned to Malinda and Lyra.

​"We have a higher chance of winning this battle without suffering heavy casualties," Velvet instructed them, "but it depends entirely on how we execute this. If things go according to plan, we might only lose a few pawns, which would be a great victory. But if things spiral out of control, this could easily turn into a Pyrrhic victory where we lose our lives. Still, we need to engage them to gauge their true strength. I have one key instruction for you: you and Malinda must intercept that remaining group of ordinary Ratmen and ensure they don’t disrupt our strategy. Brenda and I are going straight for the leader and his personal guards. We are depending on you not to let a single Ratman slip through your net, because a distraction at a critical moment could prove fatal for all of us."

​With solemn expressions, Malinda and Lyra nodded. Understanding the weight of the task, they prepared to pour their hearts into holding off the remaining horde. They immediately headed out to intercept the group.

​When the leader Ratman noticed a portion of the intruders suddenly split off and move away, he simply assumed they were terrified and fleeing. He didn’t bother chasing them down, reasoning that once he finished off the remaining intruders in front of him, he could easily hunt down the stragglers. He was supremely confident in his own abilities. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

​Seeing that the Ratman and his guards paid no attention to the splinter group, Velvet breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a gamble—she couldn’t afford to have Malinda’s team ambushed while trying to stall—but her bet on the Ratman’s arrogance paid off.

​Turning to Brenda, Velvet said, "Now it’s up to us to deal with that arrogant guy over there."

​Brenda nodded, a confident smirk on her face. "You know my specialty. Leave that arrogant fool to me—I’ll take him down within a minute."

​Velvet shook her head. "Don’t be careless. Judging by his demeanor and the way he moves, he’s the real deal. It won’t be easy. I’ll bring our pawns to intercept his personal guards so they don’t interfere with your duel."

​"Got it," Brenda agreed.

​With that, both of them charged toward the main enemy group. This time, Velvet did not outrun Brenda. As they closed the distance, Brenda activated a simultaneous speed and attack boost. Executing a wide horizontal swing, she brought her greatsword down in a heavy arc toward the leader Ratman.

​The Ratman showed no panic. Raising his spear with both hands, he directly blocked the full force of the blow. Upon impact, he didn’t yield a single inch, remaining as firm as a mountain.

​Seeing her attack completely blocked, Brenda instantly recognized her opponent’s skill. As she prepared to deliver a follow-up strike, the Ratman pivoted forward, swinging the butt end of his spear toward her.

​Reacting quickly, Brenda pulled her weapon back to block, rapidly shifting her boost from Attack/Speed to Speed/Defense. Although the swift adjustment gave her enough time to brace, the heavy impact sent a shockwave through her arms, forcing her back a step.

​Brenda realized the Arch-Ratman possessed a powerful physical enhancement of his own—and judging by the fluid sequence of his movement, he hadn’t even used his full strength yet. Rather than intimidating her, the realization that she was fighting a skilled opponent with superior physical capabilities only excited her further.

​Seeing Brenda block his counterattack, the Arch-Ratman flashed a brief look of surprise, though it vanished just as quickly.

​At that moment, Brenda and Velvet’s pawns collided with the Ratman’s personal guards. Their sole objective was to buy time and keep the guards from interfering in the duel. Velvet and Brenda’s pawns each engaged one guard, while Velvet stepped forward to engage the remaining four guards simultaneously.

​To Velvet’s surprise, the guards made no attempt to gang on her or assist the Ratman; they simply engaged the opponents in front of them. This validated another of Velvet’s predictions—that the leader Ratman’s pride would keep him from asking for help. With the guards occupied, Velvet called out, "Brenda, the rest is up to you! Don’t die on me!"

​"Don’t worry about me, Velvet!" Brenda shouted back. "I’ll have this guy down in seconds!"

​Though the Ratman couldn’t understand their language, seeing his opponent chatter during combat thoroughly displeased him. He thrust his spear forward in a sharp, blinding strike.

​Knowing better than to try a simple block against an opponent of his caliber, Brenda swapped her greatsword for her longsword, instantly reallocating her boost back to Speed and Attack. As the spear thrusted toward her, she parried the shaft to the side and unleashed a swift horizontal strike.

​Using his wrist as a fulcrum, the Arch-Ratman leveraged the mid-shaft of his spear to catch Brenda’s blade, deflecting the attack. He pulled the spear back, twisted his waist, and whipped the tail end of the spear around in a sweeping arc for maximum damage.

​The move caught Brenda off guard. Unable to dodge at such close range, she brought her longsword close to her side to block, immediately shifting her into an Attack/Defense boost.

​The weapons clashed with a violent force that knocked Brenda sideways skidding few centimeters. She grunted in pain, feeling the blunt vibration rattle her internal organs, but she kept a iron grip on her sword.

​She slid her longsword down until it the shaft of the spear was locked against her crossguard, driving the spear tip into the ground. Because the Ratman was gripping the very end of the long shaft, the downward momentum left him momentarily overextended.

​Capitalizing on the mistake, Brenda slammed her left foot down directly onto the middle of the grounded spear shaft. Putting her full body weight into the stomp, the sudden force snapped the shaft downward, wrenching the weapon cleanly out of the Ratman’s hands.

​Having successfully disarmed her opponent, Brenda didn’t waste a split second. She surged forward, swinging a decisive horizontal slash straight toward the Ratman’s unprotected head.

​Watching from afar, Smith and the others held their breath, convinced that this single strike was about to decide the battle.