Chapter 327 - Fate be changed

On top of the wall, Luke spotted the incoming Onis and Vampires. At the front of the pack were two gigantic Onis who were bigger than the rest. Upon seeing the formidable-looking demons some of Luke's men gulped dryly. Those that were standing by near the Mana and Holy Cannons were itching to pull the trigger. 

Even the archers had already drawn their bows and wanted to fire. Yet without Luke's command, they wouldn't do anything. 

Luke stood tall, cleared his throat, and spoke to the nearing army of demons. "Demons leave now and we might spare your lives. If you don't then your lives are forfeit." 

When the demons heard Luke's declaration they were dumbfounded, but then they started to laugh. Their laughs echoed unnerving those within the walls of Touma City. No matter how much they trained or how much monsters they have killed, they couldn't help but feel this way. It was only natural since the beginning of the war not once have the humans one. 

"So you weak humans are allowed to invade us whenever you please, but we can't do the same? How hilarious, how about we give you an offer instead? Give up this city to our lord and we won't kill all of you."

"I guess we can't come to an agreement." Luke sighed as he expected this to happen, still, it would've been great if the demons actually retreated. 'Well, this is to be expected... We just need to follow the plan and everything should be fine.' 

"Since they won't leave, let's make them stay here forever, FIRE!" The moment they heard Luke's command the archers unleashed a rain of arrows. The two large Onis at the front were the first to charge and were also the first to get hit. But despite having a few hundred arrows stuck into their skin, the two Onis seem unaffected and continued to charge forward protecting the smaller Onis and Vampires behind them. 

It was at that moment the Mana and Holy Cannons bombarded the demons. Upon being hit by a Mana Cannon, the two Oni brothers were being pushed back. They had sustained some injuries from the Cannon fire despite being protected by their tough skins and the mana barrier produced by the Vampires. 

The two Oni brothers were rather surprised but they continued to charge onward, this time they were blocking the cannon fire not with their bodies but with their weapons. 

The people manning the Mana Cannon were numerous for after every three shots the person is drained of his mana. Only those with larger mana supplies could activate it, if your mana supply was too small it was possible that the user will die. 

Luke wanted to improve upon this weakness but even after researching it for the three years with the best genius of the age, they were only able to improve it slightly. The mana consumption had decreased but not a lot. There was also a safety mechanism in place that would stop the mana drain if the user's mana supply wasn't sufficient. 

As for the Holy Cannons, the ones who were using it came from the Temples. Luke was able to recruit those from the Temple of the Goddess of Magic. The battle priests from the Temple of th Goddess of Magic had sufficient mana and faith to use both the Mana Cannons and the Holy Cannons.

...

"Concentrate fire on the two Onis at the front!" Luke commanded as he looked at the fast-approaching demons. Some of the Vampires tried to fly but were shot down by a bombardment of arrows and spells. Now the only way to get past the cannon fire is if the two Oni brothers were able to continue charging forward while protecting the others. 

The Cannon Fire started concentrating on the two Oni brothers, but the accuracy of the shots wasn't good so only a few of them actually hit the target. Yet those few shots were enough to break the Oni brothers' weapons and their bodies now had holes here and there, but despite their injuries, they continued to charge forward while roaring. 

As they were about to get near the wall, they were blocked by a powerful barrier. Normally this kind of barrier needed at least five Grand Mages to maintain and only for a few hours, but this barrier was being maintained by something else. This barrier was being maintained by using the claw from an Elder Dragon that Luke stole. With the claw of an Elder Dragon, the barrier could be maintained for around a week. 

As the demons stopped moving the cannon fire had an easier time hitting them. Even in this situation, the two Oni brothers continue to be meat shields, while the vampires were trying to penetrate through the barrier. 

It was taking too much time and the Oni brothers were nearing their limits. They knew that even if they somehow able to breakthrough they won't last long. So as their final act the Oni brothers raised their mighty fists and roared. The two Oni brothers roars were the loudest they ever roared. It shook the ground and empowered their allies. The two Oni brothers then proceeded to pound the barrier with their fists. In the fury of their attacks, the barrier started to crack.

"MAGES attack the Onis!" Luke was getting a bit worried as he shouted his command. If the barrier falls this early, it would be a little troublesome. Hearing Luke's command the mages shifted their attention to the two Oni brothers who were pounding at the barrier. 

Being bombarded by spells, arrows, and cannon fire the two Oni brothers were now riddled with holes, and their bodies bled, yet they kept on pounding away. It was obvious to anyone who saw that the two Oni brothers had reached the limits as blood flowed out like a river from the holes made by the cannons, yet the two continued to mindlessly pound at the barrier. 

Their resolve was like no other as they continued on even as their minds were becoming hazy and their bodies growing heavy. They pound and pounded even as their fist became broken and deformed they continued. The barrier could no longer handle the might of the Oni brother and shattered like glass.

When the barrier was finally down the two Oni brothers smiled at each other as their bodies fell to the ground. The two had fulfilled their goal and were now reaching death's door. As death was coming they did not fear it and simply accepted it as they were satisfied. 

"This is our final act to show our mistress our love. It has been a good life, my brother. A very fun and glorious life we had." 

"It truly has been, though I would've wanted to see the mistress marry our new lord. It would have been a grand wedding. To see our mistress happily smiling... What a sight it would've been." 

"Oh, that's also my one regret, to not be able to see Lord Kretos marry Mistress Tsukiko and to be able to guide their children into excellent warriors... A dream that will never be fulfilled..."

"Brother?" The younger of the two Oni brothers looked at his older brother. The younger Oni saw that his older brother had his eyes closed as if he were sleeping and having a nice dream.

"Good night brother, let's both have a similar dream..." The younger Oni closed his eyes and dreamt of a dream of a future that can never be. 

...

Even though the barrier broke Luke was still satisfied with the outcome. The barrier was lost but in return, the Oni brothers had fallen. These two were quite famous in the future, their strengths were only below the demon lord level. 

The Oni brothers were the guards that made it near impossible to head to the demon lands. As Mana and Holy Cannons were difficult to transport, it was hard to deal with these powerful demons. Now that they died this early in the war, fate must-have, no, it surely changed. 

While Luke's confidence was rising he ordered his men to get ready and intercept the incoming demons. They needed to stop them from reaching the walls. Even though the walls have been fortified to a great extent this wave of demons would be able to destroy the walls.

After giving out his commands Luke looked at a certain area at a distance. He noticed that something moved when the Oni brothers died. It was only a little movement and if you look at it there was nothing there, but Luke knew better. He was sure that Demonic Fox Tsukiko was hiding somewhere watching the battle. 

The reason why she moved or made a mistake in hiding was because of the Oni brothers' deaths, seeing as they were her most trusted aides. 

'So you've come, I just need to follow the setup and I will change fate.' Encouraged by the death of the Oni brothers Luke felt like fate really could be changed.