Opening Battle

Mid-to-low-grade demon beasts can be adequately handled by the castle’s mana cannons.

The problem is if high-grade demon beasts advance on the castle.

Their forces would be split dealing with high-grade demon beasts, allowing mid-grade demon beasts to overrun the castle.

To prevent the worst-case scenario, they must eliminate high-grade demon beasts here.

Swoosh~!

Confirming flames bursting from the flank, Pernok fell back behind Jad.

“High-grade demon beasts possess intelligence. They can easily draw in lower-grade demon beasts. Jad, you’ll disrupt the high-grade demon beasts’ vision in sync with our rhythm and eliminate approaching mid-grade demon beasts.”

“If it looks dangerous, I’ll set fires everywhere. That okay?”

“As you please.”

Pernok dove into the battlefield where Named and high-grade demon beasts clashed.

Dozens of flames manifested right on cue.

Pop-pop-pop-bang!

Without an inch of error, flames exploded before the high-grade demon beasts’ eyes.

“Enri!”

Enri slashed the ankles of bipedal demon beasts with her poison blade.

Simultaneously, the high-grade demon beasts’ vision recovered.

Their regeneration was astonishingly fast despite not being in the mountain range.

However.

Groan!

The bipedal high-grade demon beast collapsed abruptly.

Though it regenerated the wound, it couldn’t detoxify the poison planted in its ankle.

“You think this is the mountain range?!”

Enri unleashed her specialty without reservation.

In the mountain range, demonic energy would have healed all wounds.

But on the ground, high-grade demon beasts receive no demonic energy supply.

Moreover, this side exploits geographical advantages.

“Haaaah!”

Sallio brought his hammer down before the charging King Snake with gaping maw.

That moment, all the ground the King Snake had crossed split apart, and its massive body began sinking underground.

Though it writhed trying to crawl up from below, Sallio had knight orders waiting.

“Fire!”

In sync with Sallio’s wave, the knight order’s magic bombarded indiscriminately.

Because the King Snake’s body was so large, they hit every shot even with reduced output and no separate aiming.

Bang!

Hearing the King Snake’s desperate wails, a winged demon beast tried to descend, but Pernok’s fist struck its wing hard.

Shreeek!

Darkness distorted and blade-like somethings flew from both sides.

Pernok evaded that eerie ambush with his Observation Eye.

Whoom!

The demon beast appearing while slicing through the empty space was Owl Pacer.

‘The mountain range’s demonic energy surged, advancing demon beast regeneration time. A creature that should take a month to regenerate appeared again in just two weeks.’

The reason Owl Pacer can rampage is also because the mountain range is the battlefield.

Demon beasts not receiving demonic energy supply have limited power they can use.

But Pernok, who kills demon beasts and absorbs their power, grew stronger over time.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

The more Owl Pacer clashed with Pernok, the more its speed dropped.

Jad continuously shot flames to prevent other high-grade demon beasts from approaching.

Zodiac collapsed the ground once more, creating terrain where small high-grade demon beasts struggled to reach their full speed.

‘Our coordination isn’t bad. But you creatures are different.’

The demon beasts here recognize cooperation but can’t execute detailed tactics.

The Royal Guard moving organically at the master’s command was being blocked by Zeef.

The proud demon beasts receiving no one’s orders had no choice but to individually adapt to unfamiliar environments.

‘The moment even the remaining word called cooperation crumbles before threats, you’ll only display individual movements defending your own territories.’

The moment Pernok kicked off the ground, Sallio launched him upward on his hammer.

In an instant, Pernok landed in the midst of large high-grade demon beasts.

“Kyaaak-!”

When he mounted the head of a demon beast opening its maw wide while reeking of poison, two massive hands struck down from above.

A giant-like demon beast with fists hard as steel.

‘It doesn’t even notice other demon beasts getting swept up. It focuses solely on killing the human before its eyes.’

Pernok jumped backward using acceleration magic, and the massive hands struck the demon beast’s head hard.

The moment the demon beast crashed into the ground screaming, Pernok kicked off the uneven terrain and clung like a leech to the chest of the demon beast that had swung its hands.

When flames struck there, Pernok evacuated his position again.

“Krooo!”

A high-grade demon beast burns from another high-grade demon beast’s flames.

When Pernok clung to the back of the flame-spewing demon beast, other demon beasts hesitated.

They noticed too.

The fact that this cunning human was using quick movements to redirect their attacks at allies.

However.

“Too late.”

Pernok transformed his artifact into a greatsword and thrust it straight into the demon beast’s back.

Exploding muscle power boosted by Mana Reinforcement while driving down the greatsword, the demon beast scattered dark green blood.

Starting with that, guild members who’d infiltrated among the high-grade demon beasts moved sharply.

Amidst the chaos where demon beasts and humans were entangled so thoroughly that distinguishing friend from foe was difficult—

BANG!

The moment Jad’s flames blocked the high-grade demon beasts’ vision, Pernok charged.

Though they saw humans moving before their eyes, collisions with other demon beasts constrained their original movements.

If they’d moved in pairs of one or two, the high-grade demon beasts might have easily devoured humans.

The problem was that Zodiac’s earth collapse had cut off the high-grade demon beasts from other demon beasts.

In other words, the high-grade demon beasts were densely packed in a narrow area.

“Kiyaaak!”

Screams echoed from both sides, and Pernok stirred up the front.

Demon beasts that couldn’t ignore Pernok couldn’t head to both sides, trying somehow to crush him as he slipped away here and there.

Each time, what got hurt were fellow demon beasts.

Since all had large builds, whatever attacks they used had no choice but to graze each other.

“Jad! Join in!”

Confirming mid-grade demon beasts couldn’t approach this way, they launched a full offensive.

With the number of high-grade demon beasts reduced, Jad’s delicate flame management was unnecessary.

They must annihilate remaining demon beasts with overwhelming firepower before they activate special abilities.

“Zodiac!”

Deep words weren’t needed.

Zodiac, tempered through countless requests, blocked the demon beasts’ escape route by raising massive stone pillars.

“Aim for the cores!”

Jad and Enri from the left, Sallio from the right, and Pernok from the front.

Tightening from three directions, magic raining indiscriminately began devouring the high-grade demon beasts.

Pernok wrapped wind around his artifact greatsword while cutting through high-intensity high-grade demon beasts without hesitation.

Continuously resupplying with dead demon beasts’ mana and spiritual power, those losing momentum were actually the high-grade demon beasts.

In the mountain range, mages fight at a disadvantage due to dense mana concentration, but this place is human territory where demonic energy can’t be supplied to demon beasts.

Even low-level mages can rapid-fire magic if mana is backed up.

Moreover, high-level mages’ casting speed is more than twice as fast as in the mountain range.

Bang-bang-boom-BOOM!

High-grade demon beasts that had felt suffocatingly oppressive in the mountain range began falling one by one.

Pernok split a Demon Knight’s head like driving in a wedge and shouted.

“Demon beasts still remain! Eliminate the remaining ones before the third wave comes from the mountain range!”

* * *

Zeef, who’d been cutting through wind searching for the mountain’s master, arrived at a location imbued with demonic energy as ominous as the mountain range itself.

“Royal Guard… been a while.”

Demon beasts that had given him tremendous trouble when participating in the first subjugation force.

The Royal Guard fully cloaked in the mountain range’s demonic energy couldn’t even be damaged by most mages.

“But you’re still stupid. In places other than the mountain range, you creatures are merely sand dolls!”

When Zeef snapped his fingers, the veil surrounding the Royal Guard Knights unraveled.

The Royal Guard Knights landing on the ground drew up their mana.

“The presence of Royal Guard here means he’s hiding nearby! Sweep them all away and find him!”

“Charge!”

Zeef didn’t draw up even a bit of mana.

He carefully observed the members confronting the Royal Guard while conserving strength.

‘As expected, Royal Guard outside the mountain range are nothing but sand clumps.’

The vice commander didn’t even need to direct.

As wide-area magic fell consecutively, Royal Guard frequently burst in midair.

‘But where is he?’

He hadn’t come all this way just sensing the Royal Guard’s mana.

When Pernok met the high-grade demon beasts’ charge head-on, a gap opened momentarily.

Through that gap, he’d definitely felt intense hostility.

‘Where the Royal Guard are, he must be. Yet he still doesn’t reveal himself…’

Only sand dolls loaded with high-density mana fiercely clung; nothing worth calling a threat was visible.

‘…Is he planning a probing battle?’

Long ago, Zeef as a member of the subjugation force remembers the mountain range’s summit.

In a situation where even activating magic was difficult due to the mountain range’s high-density mana, Royal Guard came crashing down.

The barrier-like structure erected at the summit they barely broke through to.

The moment he met those indifferent eyes within, his legs trembled and he nearly collapsed on the spot.

No matter how injured, the monster’s essential malice was a fear he’d never seen in his life.

Standing firm against that day’s terror allowed him to reach Magus rank.

With the situation flowing into full-scale war, Zeef intended to thoroughly repay that day’s humiliation.

‘This isn’t the mountain range.’

No constraints on magic activation.

‘Your Royal Guard can’t multiply anymore either.’

What made Royal Guard fearsome was how they multiplied infinitely while sucking the mountain range’s demonic energy.

But here they become sand and disappear the instant they’re destroyed. No need to fear a war of attrition.

“More Royal Guard swarm from the front!”

Cargoras, the mountain’s master, surely knows that fact too.

Yet despite Pernok blocking high-grade demon beasts, he still doesn’t appear.

Zeef bit his lip hard.

‘Won’t come out even with this level of presence? Really looking down on me. A mere demon beast.’

If he plans to keep deploying Royal Guard to drain his mana, it’s futile.

“Deploy second wave.”

The vice commander rotates members’ deployment to conserve mana.

Knight order members are elites handpicked by the royal family.

Their mana recovery speed far exceeds mages of the same rank.

They alternated and rapid-fired magic again as soon as they caught their breath.

As wide-area magic poured like rain, Royal Guard shattered in their charging postures.

It was the moment sand powder scattered in the wind and brushed Zeef’s cheek.

“Twelve o’clock! Small Royal Guard approaching!”

Knight order members’ voices began relaxing accordingly. Nearly a thousand Royal Guard had been swept away by magic so far.

The appearance of just twelve seemed like they had no more cards to play, creating the illusion that war would end anticlimactically.

“First wave finishing…”

“Concentrate firepower!”

The moment Zeef spotted the twelve, tension surged.

High-density demonic energy he’d tasted at the summit was condensed within them.

“The mana density of these ones differs from all before!”

Wind like blades butchered the twelve’s bodies.

And the twelve’s limbs regenerated as soon as they fell.

Knight order members belatedly grasped the situation.

“Those are the real ones!”

Only Zeef had realized that fact.

At a glance, the twelve’s and previous Royal Guard’s mana seemed equal. But the mana compression rate was dimensionally different from the previous ones.

Royal Guard so skilled at ‘hiding’ themselves that only Magus-rank could recognize this difference.

The strongest twelve, called the Royal Family.

‘I’m sure we destroyed those so they couldn’t even revive?’

The first subjugation force had definitely annihilated the twelve.

Though the mountain’s master was trapped in the barrier, the twelve revive with the mountain range’s demonic energy even when destroyed.

The twelve were dangerous enough that a Magus would be wary.

Each individual executes elegant tactics like humans and can command demon beasts.

‘These ones were alive? But if they planned to catch us off guard, sending them to the castle from the start would be…’

Zeef’s thoughts couldn’t continue further.

Scrape!

Only after hearing the sound did he detect burning at his shoulder.

“Commander!”

Where knight order members looked—

Where the mountain range’s sand, Royal Guard remnants, spread widely—

From thinly scattered sand, pitch-black hand blades sprouted like blooming flowers.

As Zeef fell grasping his shoulder, magic toward the twelve vanished cleanly.

Kekekek!

They’re laughing.

The twelve shot at members while mocking the Magus.

Their speed was as fast as if they’d absorbed the mountain range’s demonic energy.

“Vice Commander! M-mana is cutting off!”

“Intoxication phenomenon!”

It was a single moment.

Royal Guard became sand piles, the twelve burst out, and an unexpected ambush stabbed Zeef in that instant.

When eyes widened, this place was already cloaked in terrible demonic energy.

It felt like entering above 9000 meters altitude.

Zeef’s eyes bulged.

The jet-black mucus flowing from the sand began forming that appearance he’d seen long ago.

“You…!”

An appearance opposite to when trapped in the barrier.

Standing tall with arms crossed, observing Zeef with bright red eyes.

“You too… strong human… but…”

Licking Zeef’s blood on the pitch-black hand blade, Cargoras twisted his lips.

“You’re not the one.”