Chapter 334

Chapter 334

“Lumen!”

Lumen was jolted out of his reverie by a thunderous call. Cadel, who had now approached, was staring at him with a serious expression in his eyes. He grabbed Lumen by the shoulders and said.

“Don’t be scared. Remember, it’s them, not us, who should be scared.”

Cadel’s confidence was like a speech to the Knight Order, always inspiring blind devotion. A clear gaze and a straight, fearless demeanor. Lumen nodded heavily at the sight of the same old leader. Cadel, his blue eyes searching with determination, pushed past him and stepped forward.

‘Ashvka.’

Indeed, his imposing presence was enough to intimidate even the calm Lumen at first. His massive body, which blocked out even the light of the sky, did not seem to be something that could be defeated by human power.

It was an impregnable castle, and within it dwelt an infinite number of vile creatures that drank the blood and energy of humans.

Cadel’s expression was unchanged from his usual one as if the prospect of such a grueling battle would wear him down. Whatever Ashvka’s size, this was not his first enemy.

‘How can that be a cutie? I want to pick up everybody who’s ever called him cute and throw them in front of him.’

In real life, Ashvka was jaw-droppingly huge, but his oversized size was not possible in the game. They made him about one and a half times larger than the other demons, with a squishy slimey body. His sluggish movements and rounded, teddy bear-like body had some eccentric players calling him a cutie.

A bubbling, boiling, blackened hide. Yellow eyes that stared at the gate without blinking. Insects covering his mountainous body. He was far from cute, no matter how one looked at him.

‘That big guy is ignoring perspective, so the actual distance between Ashvka and the gateway is quite far. Where is the summoning circle? It’s difficult to check with the naked eye....... Could it be under Ashvka? If Ashvka was summoned, there is a high possibility.’

If that was the case, then Ashvka would have to be taken out first, no questions asked. Cadel, tongue firmly in cheek, began to organize the chaos in the gateway.

“Garuel, I need you to heal the survivors.”

“It is in progress.”

“As for the rest, stop the bloodsuckers from getting past the gate!”

Rumor had it that the black magician of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order was an excellent healer, so the wounded did not stir even as the demonic energy enveloped in the dark mana infiltrated them. So while Garuel tended to the wounded with ease, Cadel placed the ‘scale armor’ over the entrance to the gateway and over the bodies of his subordinates.

‘I would like to give it to the rest of the knights as much as possible, but the Scarlet Dragon’s power also needs a recovery period.’

Scales sprang up sharply around the gate, and the knights defending the entrance flinched. Cadel strode toward them, holding back the onrushing bloodsuckers with fireballs.

“How many magicians are alive and where are they?”

“Knight Commander Cadel......! The, the magicians were all wiped out.”

“......Pardon?”

“As soon as the demon came out of the summoning circle, they were attacked with a barrage of attacks....... The demon has a lot of intelligence. He destroyed everything, even our side [Ullo], so we can’t even call for backup.”

Cadel already knew about Ashvka’s intelligence. He was the first to quarantine the magicians, even with only one of his arms missing, but it was unexpected to find them all dead.

‘So that means we have to dismiss the summoning circle purely with our mana. I was going to focus on defeating Ashvka, but.......’

He was not a foe to be trifled with when his power was spread out. Cadel shook off the relentless bloodsuckers and tossed the [Ullo] he had brought with him to one of the knights.

“Tell them to provide as much support to the magicians as they can. That demon’s name is Ashvka, and if you tell them his name, they’ll scrape together any available magicians. For now, let’s clear a path for the Scarlet Scales Knight Order to the summoning circle. The summoning circle is below Ashvka, correct?”

“No, it’s in the back. And Knight Commander Cadel. Ashvka is not the only demon. There’s another one in the summoning circle behind you.”

“Sir Jeriel’s battalion has already been stripped of more than half its magicians. If we send all the magicians we can spare, how can we prepare for a possible raid.......”

“If you send them out in bits and pieces, they’ll die. Don’t you think you should know when and where to save your men, Pierre?”

“......Don’t be cocky.”

“Are you really looking down on Ashvka even though you have never experienced it? You seem very confident.”

“I suppose your confidence comes from that precious bloodline? If you’re relying on your birth as Lord Ecto’s son to impose yourself on a battalion commander of another Knight Order, you’re not worthy of.......”

“Shut your mouth.”

Dreyfe leaned in close to Pierre’s nose, his eyes glowing menacingly as if he were about to punch him in the face. He snorted and laughed at Dreyfe, who quickly fell for the taunt, but Jerriel, who approached, intervened.

“Now is not the time to get into a brawl.”

“......Good. Obviously your opinion is more accurate than mine, having never dealt with Ashvka.”

True to Dreyfe’s word, all but the minimum number of magicians to operate the traveling gateways had gathered. Pierre would take command of the southern gateway, while Dreyfe would lead the reinforcements with a magician and half the crew.

“Let’s hurry. Magicians, as soon as you cross the traveling gateway, cast a barrier around the entire party! Any delay will result in death, so don’t dawdle unless you want to die!”

Ashvka could not be allowed to overrun the Empire. Sure, the damned magician wouldn’t let the Empire fall, but he wouldn’t let him act alone either.

But Dreyfe’s momentum, full of motivation and nervousness, was short-lived.

The sight of the gateway, with its reverberations of defeat, was shocking enough, but it paled in comparison to what lay beyond: countless insects and dead allies strewn about in a tightly woven web of blood.

“What the hell is that.......”

Dreyfe stared ahead, stunned. There, alone in the darkness, was a crimson moon.

It was not a spark; it did not burn but rather rippled. But it didn’t have the same calmness as a wave. The crimson moon resonated ominously, rolling and resonating like a force with a mind of its own. The ripples reached so far away that they made his body tremble.

Not a single flying insect fluttered around it. Ashvka’s insects were busy scurrying away from the moon’s reach.

It was a marvelous enough scene. Dreyfe swallowed dryly and rolled his eyes slowly. Next to the crimson moon, a figure just as massive. The demon, most likely Ashvka, was leading his massive body toward the crimson moon. Thick fingers reached out to touch it, as if mesmerized, like a moth to a flame.

The blood moon, the only thing shining in the dark background created by Ashvka and the swarms of insects that obscured the sky, and the giant demon reaching out to devour it. The mixture of these two scenes created an eerie chaos, like watching a grotesque painting.

Dreyfe, as well as the reinforcements that arrived behind him, were left speechless by the overwhelming scene. It was a creepy sight that made them forget their original purpose.

“......Prepare the barrier.”

But Dreyfe fought off the fear that threatened to consume him. It wasn’t any strong will or fighting spirit that awakened him, but a simple sense of competition. It was a handful of individuals in front of the crimson moon and Ashvka.

At the center of the group was Cadel. For some reason, Cadel had his eyes on the exact spot where the reinforcements had arrived. His gaze was piercing, as if he were reprimanding his cowering allies.

He might be outclassed by the magician, but he didn’t want to be outclassed by the courage to fight.

“Didn’t you hear me say to prepare the barrier? Wake up! What you see before you is the enemy we must defeat! If you’re afraid, fight with your eyes closed!”

With a harsh, almost self-inflicted cry, the knights began to move, one by one. Dreyfe drew his sword without hesitation, feeling the barrier that was slowly forming along the magicians’ chanting.Diiscover new stories at nove/lbin(.)c/om