In the distance, Raine saw grass and branches falling apart as though swept down by a scythe. A familiar towering figure emerged.

The creature charged toward them with murderous momentum, and Raine instantly raised his guard.

*This is bad.*

Savage Claw had returned to this exit, which meant it had chosen Hamilton's group as the point where it would break through.

With its life at stake, the dire gnoll would use every ounce of strength to escape.

A brutal fight was about to begin.

Raine summoned his panel and focused on the first page.

Name: Raine Callan

Class: Blacksmith Lv. 1 (5/100) / Night Watchman Lv. 1 (1/100)

Constitution: 6

Strength: 10

Agility: 9

Spirit: 9

Remaining Attribute Points: 1

Remaining Skill Points: 1

Changing class to Night Watchman had increased Strength, Agility, and Spirit by one point each. His Strength now stood at 10 and Agility at 9.

Mindful of the restorative effect produced by increasing an attribute, Raine continued to reserve his final Attribute Point.

Instead, he spent his last Skill Point on the Core Skill Blacksmith's Strength.

The icon resembling a muscular sailor flexing his biceps glowed around its border. The text beneath it changed.

[Core Skill: Blacksmith's Strength Lv. 2 (Active)]

Blacksmith's Strength Lv. 2 (Active)

Effect: Upon activation, the user's Strength increases by a small amount.

Note: The increase is calculated as a percentage of the user's base Strength. Its duration scales with Constitution and Spirit.

Raine studied the wording closely. Besides the change from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2, the description had shifted from a slight increase to a small increase.

The new level clearly provided a larger Strength bonus. Raine did not know the exact percentage, but it had to exceed the previous increase of roughly twenty percent—perhaps thirty percent or even more.

"Loose!"

Hamilton swept his Knight sword forward, ordering an attack on the charging dire gnoll.

More than twenty elite Night Watchmen, including Raine, released their arrows at once.

Savage Claw covered its eyes with one thick arm and accelerated. It darted left and right unpredictably, making itself difficult to target. Most of the arrows missed.

Only two struck, one in the left shoulder and the other in the right side of its chest. The gnoll's patchwork armor and dense, steel-wire muscles prevented either arrow from penetrating deeply.

"Awooo!"

Savage Claw snapped off both shafts, roared, and charged directly at Hamilton.

"Good! Come!"

Hamilton showed no fear. Instead, excitement entered his eyes.

Since transferring from the Imperial Military to serve as sheriff of Goldflash Town, he had gone a long time without facing such a vicious opponent. His blood began to heat.

The gap between them rapidly closed, while Savage Claw continued evading the Night Watchmen's arrows.

Just as Hamilton felt the wind from the gnoll's charge strike his face, he noticed a strange grin twisting its muzzle.

His heart lurched.

The situation changed without warning.

At the instant before Savage Claw would have collided with Hamilton, it pivoted ninety degrees and leaped hard to the side, charging the elite Night Watchmen on Hamilton's left.

It was exploiting Hamilton's weakness. Burdened by heavy plate armor, the iron-skinned human could not match its speed.

"Nets!" Hamilton roared.

Several hemp rope nets, each three to four meters across, flew toward Savage Claw. Hamilton had prepared a second line of defense.

Savage Claw remained calm, contempt entering its expression. Faint cyan currents gathered around its claws.

Swish! Swish!

Two lightning-fast claw strikes shredded the nets.

The ropes had been soaked in linseed oil to strengthen them, yet Savage Claw tore through them like paper. The sight horrified the Night Watchmen.

The dire gnoll crashed into their formation and attacked again.

Blood sprayed.

Two elite Night Watchmen threw all their strength into blocking with their swords. Savage Claw's overwhelming power still sent them flying four or five meters, most likely breaking several ribs apiece.

Fury blazed in Hamilton's eyes when he saw his men struck down.

He had not expected this dire gnoll to have awakened a special transcendent trait: Air Rend.

The ability not only increased Savage Claw's movement speed but also enhanced the cutting power of its attacks. That was why it had torn the rope nets apart so easily.

If this cunning gnoll escaped, Goldflash Town would inevitably suffer its brutal revenge.

Savage Claw looked pleased with itself as it raced toward the northern exit.

Hamilton reacted instantly.

He hurled his shield at the fleeing gnoll. The flat disc spun through the air with a sharp whistle, flying straight at Savage Claw's back.

The attack caught Savage Claw off guard. It had to twist aside, losing a fraction of its speed.

Then another dark object hurtled toward it.

Clang!

Savage Claw knocked the object away with a heavy strike, but slowed even further. Only then did it realize that Hamilton had thrown his Knight helmet.

The Night Watchmen unleashed another dense volley, sealing the exit and forcing Savage Claw to dodge sideways again.

Hamilton seized the opening and closed the distance. Holding his Knight sword in his right hand, he thrust straight at the gnoll.

Savage Claw flew into a rage.

*An iron-skinned human without a shield or helmet thinks he can stop my claws?*

It refused to believe such a thing.

Savage Claw decided to kill Hamilton quickly and escape. If this troublesome opponent kept it occupied, the other two iron-skinned humans would surround it before it could leave the valley.

The dire gnoll howled and launched its killing move at Hamilton's head.

Fury Claw Flurry!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Its special ability drove the rapid claw strikes to such speed that they left afterimages in the air. Their destructive power was terrifying.

Savage Claw had once used this same move to tear apart a dire jungle lizard more than five meters long. It refused to believe that a shieldless iron-skinned human could withstand it.

Hamilton did not evade.

He roared instead.

"HAH! Great Strength!"

Both arms swelled an entire size larger. Hamilton launched a rising slash, sending his Knight sword upward from below like a bolt of silver lightning.

BOOM!

Raine and the other Night Watchmen stared in astonishment, their blood surging with excitement.

Attack against attack.

Killing move against killing move.

Two dark shapes collided. Blood sprayed, and both combatants were thrown backward.

Four bloody claw marks scored Hamilton's thick breastplate, running diagonally from his upper right chest to the lower left of his abdomen. Without the plate armor, the attack would certainly have torn his belly open.

Savage Claw had suffered a far worse injury.

It gripped its left forearm with its right hand. Hamilton's slash had severed the forearm cleanly, and blood spurted from the smooth stump.

Savage Claw knew that if it did not flee immediately, it would die.

Blood poured from the wound, draining its strength at a frightening rate. Ignoring everything else, it gathered its remaining power and charged the Night Watchmen blocking the exit.

Bang! Bang!

The impact of Savage Claw's more than three-hundred-pound body sent three Night Watchmen flying.

Only one human remained in its path—a particularly small one.

Joy spread across Savage Claw's muzzle.

Once it knocked this tiny obstacle aside, it would be free.