Ihan didn’t leave the gnolls to his students merely out of indifference or irresponsibility.

‘Because they’re dependable.’

Not just because he’d trained them himself, but because he knew they were genuinely strong. Although individually they might still have limits, as a group, they had the synergy to become a formidable force. After all, he had taught them well and invested effort into crafting their training as a personal project.

Above all, there was the fact that a ‘returnee’ who had experienced war was among them. Someone who had led people through crises before; someone who could handle it if things went awry.

That left Ihan with one primary focus: the [monster] falling from the sky.

The creature was descending gradually toward the ground.

Whoooosh!

Seeing the hundreds of gnolls rain down moments earlier had been a spectacle, but this was like watching a meteor. The creature was plummeting fast, revealing its monstrous shape as it got closer.

It was enormous.

It felt like an entire fortress was crashing down on him.

Ihan grumbled, “How many times am I going to do this today?”

“Argh!” came a groan from behind him.

“Hold it steady,” he said.

“You cruel fiend!”

“Quit your whining.”

Blood vessels bulged dangerously on Odwal’s face, and his nose began to bleed as crimson tears trickled down from his eyes, yet he somehow managed to lift the giant log spear again. This time, though, he poured in even more telekinetic force and magic rotation than before. It was a strike meant to end the monster once and for all.

Ihan, however, merely cracked a wry smile.

“See? You were faking it. You should’ve done this from the start.”

“You…!”

For a caster, carrots were a luxury reserved for success.

‘Maybe I’ll go easier on him if he survives this,’ Ihan thought.

With that, he pressed his left foot firmly into the ground and pushed off with all his strength, compensating for his injured right leg with a full-power strike.

BAM!

The second [Sun-Piercing Spear] launched at the descending monster.

However…

[[Grrrrr…!]]

BAM!

This time, the creature deflected it.

“It bounced it off.”

The creature had learned from the first strike and deflected it. Nevertheless…

“Good, fall over there,” Ihan muttered.

Unable to fully neutralize the impact, the creature was sent veering off course and began plummeting toward a different location—right over the massive lake.

Shhhhh!

While an inhuman battle full of unbelievable techniques raged on, the coliseum became the front line in a more typical, yet equally brutal, fight for survival. Humanity and monsters clashed fiercely.

[Krrr!!]

The gnolls, momentarily daunted by the knight’s intimidating presence, soon rallied and roared, their cries tearing through the air.

That was the nature of monsters. Even when faced with something they couldn’t defeat, if that something was human, they felt only rage and humiliation, vowing to kill every last one of them. Sometimes animal rights advocates argued that monsters could be understood or even spared, but entire villages ended up decimated when people attempted such foolishness.

Monsters could not coexist with humans. They were mortal enemies under the same sky.

Monsters hunted humans, and humans fought to defend themselves—a struggle for survival.

“Form a phalanx!”

“Formation! Shields and spears ready!”

“Hup! Hup!”

At Levy Folt’s command, the students swiftly took up positions, arranging themselves in a defensive line to form a phalanx, their spears and shields bristling like a porcupine’s quills. A formation dating back to humanity’s earliest days, used for thousands of years and known to every soldier in the kingdom.

This was no ordinary phalanx. Inspired by the formation in martial arts novels, Ihan had taught them a variant, a unique formation tailored to their strengths.

“We have to hold these paths!”

Levy quickly took her knowledge of the formation further, splitting their forces into three groups to cover each exit entirely. While this divided their numbers and introduced risk, fortunately, they weren’t alone.

“Into melee combat! Draw your swords!”

At Roen’s command, noble students skilled in swordsmanship filled in the gaps, covering vulnerabilities and bringing their blades to bear against the gnolls.

The gnolls hesitated.

The students had surrounded them, each one exuding an aura of fierce intent.

Their weapon technique—martial arts—was an ancient method created for hunting monsters and beasts. If monsters were the deadliest killers of humanity, then martial arts practitioners were the deadliest killers of monsters.

In the charged silence, the first to move were…

“Advance!”

THUD!

…the swordsmen.

At Roen’s signal, the blades struck toward the gnolls, and the monsters lunged in return.

Clang! Thud!

A powerful clash rang out as sword-wielding warriors and humanoid monsters collided in a brutal melee, each mistake carrying a lethal cost.

But should anyone slip up…

Slash!

…someone would have their back.

“Focus! Don’t let your guard down!” Roen barked.

“Th-thank you, sir.”

“Save your thanks. Keep fighting!” Roen commanded firmly, giving his fellow student, Kane, the impression that he wasn’t fighting alongside a peer but a hardened veteran from countless battlefields.

And a skilled general at that.

“Slash and stab! Your techniques aren’t weak! Remember what you’ve been taught, and you won’t fall!”

A roar of defiance rose up from the students, bolstered by Roen’s commanding presence. Taking strength from his voice, they pushed forward.

Gradually, the students grew accustomed to the battle, holding their ground and even driving the gnolls back from the exits.

[Krrrr…!]

Realizing that their prey wouldn’t fall easily, the gnolls began to adjust, searching for any weak point they could find. Soon enough, they identified a potential vulnerability: the spearmen—individuals who appeared less formidable than the swordsmen.

But this assumption was…

“Thrust!”

Thud! Stab!

[!?]

…a fatal error.

The gnolls quickly realized that they had underestimated the spearmen at great cost.

“Aaaaah!”

At Levy’s command, the Arhats thrust their spears forward, piercing the gnolls.

Thud!

[Kieee!]

The thick, leathery hides of the gnolls, which could repel most swords, were punctured by the Arhats—youths who had not even trained in martial arts.

However, this was no ordinary spear technique.

While the Arhats hadn’t learned martial arts, the skills Ihan had taught them were no less formidable. They had been trained in a unique form of combat that he’d developed over a lifetime of fighting wizards and monsters.

Muscle Arts.

Energy.

Though it lacked the raw power of martial arts, it was undeniably a skill meant for monster hunting.

“Explode!”

Thrust!

With a battle cry, they unleashed bursts of energy through their spear tips, penetrating the gnolls with enough force to drop them instantly.

Thud.

The gnolls crumpled under the internal force of each blow. Although individually weak, as a collective unit, the spearmen were formidable.

But…

“We won!”

“We killed a gnoll—”

“Don’t let your guard down!” Levy shouted.

“!!?”

One of the supposedly dead gnolls suddenly rose, and with a quick arrow, Levy finished it off.

However…

[K…i…]

Many of the gnolls were still moving.

Their durability was incredible, their bodies regenerating quickly enough to withstand internal attacks. The students had to strike at their vital points—throats, hearts—if they wanted to end the fight for good.

Just as the gnolls began to rise, turning on the students with renewed aggression—

Slash!

“Bears, never let your guard down,” Kunta said, his copis slicing through a gnoll like a panther.

Crack!

“When you strike, aim for the heart or the head,” added Garland, swinging his halberd and cleaving through another gnoll’s skull.

Swish!

“Better to take out their limbs first,” suggested Arno, sheathing his twin swords, “That way, they lose their mobility.”

The students, saved by their seniors, exhaled with relief and gratitude, but the veterans shook their heads.

“We’re not safe yet,” said Garland gravely.

“These gnolls are… smart,” added Kunta with a grimace.

Gnolls, infamous for being terrifying monsters, were renowned for their ability to strategize in groups. Not only did they operate on instinct, but they also utilized teamwork and tactics, making them a genuine menace.

A high-level insult on the continent was to be called “a gnoll,” with good reason.

“We’re surrounded,” Levy noted as the gnolls formed a tightening circle around them.

[Kieee!!]

The gnolls, now in full hunting mode, closed in on the humans from all sides, attempting a full assault. No matter how advanced the students’ training was, it was clear they were outmatched.

Just as the students began to feel the weight of despair, however—

“Charge!”

“Protect the children!”

Old knights and battle-worn veterans burst onto the scene, bolstering their defenses. These were onlookers who had returned to the coliseum after ensuring civilians were evacuated, determined to lend a hand in the fight.

Along with them were the students’ upperclassmen, who had returned equipped with full armor and mounted on horses.

Their sense of pride and courage prevented them from fleeing when their juniors were fighting.

This was the spirit of Pendragon, a kingdom founded on valor and respect for its noble warriors.

“They came!” Levy breathed, feeling a wave of relief.

Her request for reinforcements from the noble families had borne fruit.

“Haha, those girls were begging us to come back.”

“Couldn’t stand just sitting there, letting them down.”

Ignoring their request and fleeing like cowards was unthinkable. Besides…

“If we don’t deal with those filthy beasts, who knows how much damage they’ll cause.”

One gnoll could annihilate an entire village, so hundreds of them unleashed in the capital would wreak untold havoc.

The old knight took a stance with his lance, ready to thrust it into the nearest gnoll.

BOOM! Splash!

“...ahem.”

The knight halted, speechless as the lake beside the coliseum exploded upward in a massive geyser, droplets raining down around them.

Though the timing was inappropriate, he couldn’t help but ask, “It might be a foolish question at a time like this, but…”

“Yes?” Levy answered.

“…Is that knight truly human?”

“Uh… well,” Levy replied with a hesitant smile.

She understood his sentiment well.

“We often wonder that ourselves, sir.”

However…

“He’s still human, just… sometimes he does things that make us question it.”

“Ha-ha.”

Fwoosh!

A new column of water shot up, this time higher than the last.

It was simple enough to understand the cause.

“Harpoons. Bring more harpoons,” Ihan shouted.

Odwal, nosebleed streaming, muttered in exasperation, “How in the hell is he managing to throw those…”

Ihan launched one of the giant harpoons as if it were an ordinary spear.

It begged the question:

‘Who’s the real monster here?’