Chapter 186: When it rains, it pours

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'Son of a bitch!'

#5 exclaimed inwardly as he saw their leader dismissing the flame dome and walking out calmly. His clothes were dirty and his armor was slightly dented. He also sustained some injuries but nothing grievous, most of them are already healing at this point.

'He took on a Capra Demon Lord on his own and fucking won! What a monster!' #5 smiled wryly at the face of this ridiculous achievement.

It wasn't just him who was thinking of this. Every member of their squad had the same thought. They could only feel awed at the miraculous strength of their leader.

As he returned to his spot, Cedric didn't say a word. He just silently acknowledged each one before continuing his massacre like before.

Yet, even though nothing was visibly different, his members could tell that something had changed. Cedric's presence was more muted than before but also way sharper.

They could also tell the slight changes in his movements, especially in the way how he killed their enemies. He's killing them with more ease and simplicity than before. It was quite subtle, but it's there.

"...no way! Sword Heart already? Damn!"

The exclamation of their teammates - who also followed the path of the sword, surprised the rest. They all looked at Cedric with a heated gaze and disbelief in their eyes. His refusal to say a word just made this even worse.

"Focus, or I'll leave you behind here." Cedric deadpanned at them, firmly planting his foot before sending another slash.

That pretty much confirms it, though. Cedric wasn't denying it but this wasn't the time to be distracted so they could only postpone it for later.

Later...yeah, nobody even noticed that. The simple fact that Cedric was with them was enough for them to believe that they would survive this. Not a shred of doubt appeared on their mind as soon as this started.

They were nervous at first, yes. Who wouldn't be? It got worse when Cedric had to solo a Capra Demon Lord. But when he came out of that fight intact and alive, all of the doubts disappeared completely. Even more so when he indirectly confirmed that he now reached the Sword Heart realm.

This was a fortunate incident because this made them forget that only five minutes passed since the start of the fight.

Yes, it has only been five minutes. It feels like they're at it for hours already but they're just a quarter of the way through the expected extraction time.

That's why Cedric wanted them to focus on the fight. Getting distracted by something will result in a lapse of judgment, which could be fatal. Counting each second that passed was torture, and they couldn't fall for that since that would cause their resolve to crumble.

As for Cedric himself, he won't lie and say that he wasn't pleased. Right now, even as he stood with his team and paid attention to the battlefield, parts of his mind were still immersed in the sensation of his breakthrough.

"Good, good. As you can tell, comms are repaired. The Transmissions are still down but we're making progress, don't worry, we're on schedule. The expected repair time still hasn't changed." The operator on the other line announced, much to everybody's delight and relief.

"Your senior officers are thinning out the horde to make it easier for all of you so hold on tight. We're gonna get you out of there. I'll conclude this here, focus on the fight and be careful against Demon Lords. HQ, over and out."

Click!

The line was cut off after that. Even so, nobody was dissatisfied. The fact that the comms were repaired already was a good sign. Even more so with the news that the transmission arrays were being repaired on schedule.

This gave the cadets all the hope they needed to keep going. And in a timely manner too since the majority of them were getting tired already. Hearing the operator's voice was like a dose of steroids being injected directly into their veins.

"Alright, you all heard it. Don't get tired on me now." Cedric said to the team as he sent another slash that cleaved through dozens of demons.

His squad responded to his words vigorously. There isn't much to say after that. They already know what they need to do and it hasn't changed.

But you what they say...'when it rains, it pours'.

Boom!!

They hardly saw a streak of light coming towards them. They only felt an impact akin to a comet landing nearby, shaking the earth and kicking up a large dust cloud.

The shockwave caused them to be flung back. Not by much though since Cedric was fast enough to react to it. With his deeper understanding of the sword, he sliced the shockwave, shaving off much of its strength to ensure that it wouldn't outright kill all of them.

A wave of fear swept through all members of Squad #1 as they saw what caused this.

It was fortunate that Cedric stood in front of them to bear the brunt of this wave. If he hadn't, even the tempered willpower of the squad would collapse if they were to come face to face with...this.

A monstrosity seemingly crawled its way out of hell and appeared in front of them. There is a giant mess of limbs and groaning victims attached to a single blob of vacuous black goo.

The sounds of those bodies could make anyone's skin crawl in fright. The bodies resembled partially digested human flesh stuck in a perpetual state of pain and agony. They reached out to the living, they couldn't form words or communicate anymore, much less think for that matter, but they seemed to be begging to be put out of their misery.

"All of you, to the extraction circle, now!" Cedric roared to his team, his face marred with focus and solemnity.

Cedric then contacted the HQ to say: "HQ, this is Squad Leader #1. We don't have much time. We're facing an Undead Phalanx and it wouldn't be the only one."

He then took a deep breath and continued: "If this thing is here, then an Arclich wouldn't be far behind. We're about to get swarmed. We'll try to hold on as much as we can but if you could hurry up and get us out of here, that would be much appreciated. #1, over and out."