Just as Rian was preparing to leave, he quickly explained his plan to Catty. Instead of abandoning the village, they would hide near the edge of the forest and ambush the monsters, thinning their numbers before they could ever reach the walls. At the very least, if he didn't survive, the attacking force would be smaller.

As he and Catty were about to leave the room, Rian used his detection skill one last time. He carefully moderated his mana, pushing the flow out into the deeper parts of the forest. The translucent blue dome of his senses expanded, stretching further and further, until he suddenly flinched, cutting off the skill entirely.

"What is it, Rian?" Catty asked, seeing his shocked expression.

"This is bad," Rian said, his voice grim. "They're already close. The numbers are as predicted at least five hundred." He grabbed her hand, urging her to hurry.

But just as Rian was about to bid farewell to RQ's parents, a loud bell began to clang urgently from the center of the village. The monster horde had been spotted. The attack was beginning. The chief rushed outside while his wife pulled RQ back, shielding her. Even if RQ was a warrior, she was still her only child.

"Damn it! This isn't according to my plan. I never thought they'd be this fast. The speed of wolves is no joke," Rian cursed internally.

Without another word, he darted out of the house to face the monsters. The chieftain was already at the village entrance, weapon in hand, ready to make his stand. He saw Rian and gave a solemn nod.

"Son, you'd better find another way around and get clear of this village," the chief said, his voice heavy with resolve. "As the leader of this village, I don't wish to see anyone lose their life needlessly for our sake."

"Sir, I have no connection to this village, nor am I trying to save it," Rian replied with a firm, detached voice, creating a pretext that wouldn't wound the old lion's pride. "I'm fighting these monsters because they are blocking my path. If I die, it won't be for this village, but as a risk of my own journey."

"In that case, do as you will. But I will not be responsible for what happens to you, as I have already given you better advice," the chief replied, accepting the excuse.

"So he does have a heart," Rian thought with a flicker of respect.

The first monster charged, signaling the start of a relentless wave of attacks. Rian focused his mana, not just to his hands and feet, but to his entire body, just as he had when his rage had exploded for Catty. A terrifying pressure emanated from him. His mana flowed with perfect regulation, his breath smooth and unshaken by the horde he was about to face.

"Catty, you stay inside the village. Protect the women with all your might. Do not die! Your life is as precious as this village. Or rather," he said, his voice dropping to a fierce whisper, "this village can burn to the ground before I lose you again. Do you hear me?"

"Don't worry, Rian," Catty said, reassuring him. "I'm getting used to this body. I will protect myself and I will not die. Trust me."

"Alright," Rian said. In an instant, a powerful gust of wind exploded from where he stood, and in the next, he had vanished, reappearing in the very center of the monster swarm that now surrounded him.

From a distance, the wolf leader and its intelligent scout watched the scene unfold. The leader was intrigued by Rian, desiring to kill him for disrupting its plans. A sharp howl echoed across the field—an order for all forces to focus on killing Rian first. The village could be destroyed later. The wolves that had been spreading out to flank the village walls immediately turned and converged on Rian.

The chieftain could only stand frozen at the gate, trembling slightly at the sheer number of monsters. He watched in awe as Rian began his fight, his movements impossibly wild yet precise, powerful beyond belief. The chief's feet felt rooted to the ground, unable to move to help.

Rian saw the entire horde turn to focus on him, leaving the village alone. A grim smile touched his lips. "At least until I die, the villagers will be safe for a while."

He stabilized his mana flow. With his sword coated in blue flame, he unleashed a flurry of slashes in every direction, just as Bebegig had taught him. Crescent-shaped waves of blue fire shot out around him, incinerating any monster they touched. He quickly realized this method would exhaust his mana too quickly and switched tactics, relying on pure swordsmanship to conserve his energy.

The monsters swarmed him, tightening their circle to crush him. Rian's blade became a whirlwind of steel, cutting left, right, up, down, and behind him. His breathing remained perfectly stable, allowing each slash to be brutally precise. Monster after monster fell, until the horde had been cut in half.

"These monsters are weak individually, but their numbers are what makes this difficult," Rian thought, parrying and slashing. "I need another strategy to thin their numbers more significantly."

From the chieftain's vantage point, the scene was unbelievable. Every monster that lunged at Rian was sent flying back, cleaved in two. The speed at which he cut them down, one by one, was inhuman.

"Is he… even human?" the chief muttered, his doubt turning to admiration. He looked at his own trembling hands, then at the man fighting for his village. A fire ignited in his heart, a resolve to cast aside his pride.

"All of you, men of the village!" he roared. "Half of you, with me! We will aid that man! The rest of you, guard the women and children inside!" He led the charge, the villagers following with whatever crude weapons they could find.

Rian groaned inwardly as he saw them join the fray. "This just complicates things. Now they can get hurt." His focus immediately split. He was no longer just killing monsters; he was now protecting the very people he was trying to save.

The villagers were brave but outmatched. It took two or three of them to take down a single wolf. The chieftain himself was locked in a duel with one. While Rian killed ten monsters, the chief managed to kill one.

Rian blurred into motion, appearing beside a villager just as a wolf's jaws were about to close on his neck. A slash, and the threat was gone. He saw another villager in peril across the field, and in a flash of wind-enhanced speed, he was there to intercept. He cut down a monster that was flanking the chief, then zipped away again. He did this again and again, a phantom on the battlefield, his primary mission now to save the villagers from their own bravery.

The chieftain, in the middle of his own fight, noticed Rian appearing several times like a guardian angel, saving his people without a word.

"So he is not a descendant of monsters," the chief thought, a faint smile touching his lips as his perception of Rian completely changed. "He is a hero with a noble heart. His unique skill is not what matters; his actions prove everything."

Monster after monster fell. The relentless tide of wolves dwindled until only a few remained, being handled by the villagers. With his detection skill, Rian sensed one monster with a much larger aura—the leader—trying to escape with its masked, cloaked assistant.

In a flash, Rian blocked their path and, with a single slash, the leader's life was extinguished.

He turned to the cloaked figure, the scout from before, and grabbed it by the throat. "So it was you," Rian said, his voice laced with irritation. "You brought this army here, hiding from my senses, and reported back to your leader."

The masked figure struggled, but Rian's grip was like iron. He ripped the mask off, and the hood fell back. Rian froze, his grip instantly slackening. The figure had the distinct, pointed ears of a cat. It was a feline-kin.

His own vow to protect all of Catty's kin slammed into him. He stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do.