CHAPTER 15 – THE DEMON

Translator: Homia

[In chap 13, Lapram said that the looters had a mine… Well, it’s a demon or a demonic human, not a mine xD… What a Demon is will be explained in this chap, and I’ll correct the previous chapter, too. Will go with “demon” for now :3]

“It’s here.”

Palato spoke quietly while looking into the black cave.

Around the cave, a few guards who could not even resist the attack of the expedition were lying dead.

Even though there were some guards, it seems that they were flirting with each other and joking around, so they were attacked before they even realized it, and no signal was transmitted into the cave.

The entrance to the cave was quite large, and it seemed that not only humans, but also fairly large beasts could enter.

“The entrance to the cave is bigger than I thought.”

“It’s only natural, as according to the information, there are even demons among the enemies. Usually, demons are large.”

The open space in front of the cave was wide enough for the expedition to take a battle formation.

First of all, the lizards that the squires and soldiers rode wouldn’t be able to exert great power in such a limited area, so they tied the lizards to a tree, turning into infantrymen.

Arsene did the same.

After this, they cut down nearby trees and thorns to make stakes and traps.

This was done to prevent the looters running out of the cave from gathering easily, being blocked by wooden stakes or bushes.

It was a benefit they gained thanks to the guards’ inability to inform them of the enemy’s invasion.

“Are you done? Let’s start, light the fire.”

“Okay.”

It was the stupidest thing in the world to enter and fight in a cave.

From the knight’s point of view, they cannot properly utilize their Jins, one of their greatest strengths, and must fight on a battlefield that is unfamiliar and set by the opponent.

Through a lot of experience, the warriors have learned many ways to clear the robbers’ lairs.

One of them was to use smoke to get the enemies out of the cave.

A soldier picked up the bones of a beast to light a fire and scraped it off with a knife.

As if scratching firesteel (a tool to make fire), the spark dashed from the bone, and with terrifying momentum transferred to the leaves and dry branches laid below.

Smoke rose from the bonfire and began to flow into the cave.

Not long after a pungent smell was felt, Genovia shouted.

“They’re here!”

After this, people started pouring out all at once from within the cave while coughing, to be exact, looters.

Most of them were black because they were dirty and covered in smoke soot all over the body.

Those who ran out of the dark cave due to the sudden disgusting smell and the distressing hot air were drunk with joy, sucking the cold outside air into their lungs.

Until their lungs, which were supposed to receive only air, were pierced by sharp pieces of iron instead.

“Gasp!”

“Enemy! Enemy!”

“The knights have attacked!”

Even though some shouted while being slashed and stabbed, that didn’t mean the looters stopped coming out of the cave.

The smoke-filled cave was already a torturous environment, so they had to relieve the immediate pain, whether they had enemies outside or not.

Under the rushing pressure, dozens of looters died without even properly resisting.

There was no way to resist as more looters were pushing from the back, and they were blocked by sharp stakes and thorns in front, while the squires thrust their spears all at once repeatedly.

“So far, things are going well.”

“There’s no way it’ll end like this. Get ready. It’ll probably come out soon.”

There was a heavy, thumping sound in the cave.

As the heavy echo got closer, the expedition also realized that the real enemy appeared.

Perhaps because of the tension, a soldier swiped the sweat on his hand with his clothes to wipe it off.

“What kind of dog-like bastards are you-!”

It was a giant nearly 3m tall that popped out of the cave.

No, it was not a human being.

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It was close to a fox, except that it had four arms with five fingernails each the size of a finger, leather that was rotten as if it were corrupt, and a face that was large, twisted, and distorted.

Compared to its huge size and arms, its legs were short and thick.

Looters are also humans, except for a few characteristics, so they can also become stronger by holding mana in their bodies through training.

With the same principle, it was also possible for looters to awaken as knights.

Unlike ordinary looters, who don’t have any characteristics of a beast, the awakened looter’s body itself has mutated like that of a demonic beast.

For that reason, he was called a completely demonized human being, a demon.

“Everyone, back off!”

At Palato’s order, the squires and soldiers all stepped down.

After this, the fox demon swung its four arms and easily blew up the stakes and bush traps.

A few soldiers were hit by the flying stakes, screaming and rolling around.

“We’ll deal with him! Squires, block the minions that keep coming out!”

Finally, the remnants of the looters who ran out of the trap began crossing swords with the squires.

It was clear that the damage to their allies would increase over time, so the knights’ actions were quick.

Watching the knights surrounding him at a high speed, the demon expressed his anger in a high and hoarse voice that did not match his appearance.

“How dare you, worm-like bastards!”

The demon swung its four arms, two aimed at Palato, and the other two aiming at Entir and Genovia, respectively.

The arms, which seemed short at first glance, stretched like rubber and flew out, so the knights were scared and jumped off the beast’s attack range.

His legs were short and thick, so they didn’t look very nimble, but his four arms with sharp nails alone were threatening enough.

“Sir Palato!”

At the same time as Entir shouted, Palato’s main specialty, the javelin attack, flew toward the demon.

Unexpectedly, the brutal attack, which could neutralize a considerable amount of demonic beasts, ended up being blocked by the slimy leather of the demon.

After confirming that the javelin itself was pierced, but did not inflict any major blows, Palato immediately drew his sword.

“Javelins don’t work!”

As soon as the demon turned to Palato, in rage at the one who threw the javelin, Genovia, accurately seeing through it, cut his side with the spear from the back.

A wound opened, and blood started flowing down.

“You have to use cutting attacks on him to inflict damage!”

At Genovia’s words, Entir roared loudly and moved forward.

His giant ax was one of the most useful weapons for the demon in the current situation, so he had no choice but to become the main character.

Entir liked this situation the most.

The moment when everyone becomes nothing more than a decoration that makes him shine.

“Take this-!”

Entir rushed with a shout of joy, his ax tearing through the wind.

Palato’s sword and Genovia’s spear blocked the attack that flew toward Entir, who was rushing through the gap.

Unlike Palato’s javelin, which had not pierced deep, this time the ax attack definitely penetrated its skin.

Black and sticky blood splashed out from the chest wound when the ax was pulled out.

Roar—!!!

In a voice that could not be made by a human, a voice befitting a beast, the demon, appealing for its pain, swung its claws to cut off Entir’s neck.

Entir managed to skillfully dodge the attack, then once again swung his ax and cut off the demon’s left arm in half.

The demon screamed while swaying its four arms, like a child.

The demon, who was pushed back continuously, passed a large tree and stood again using it as a shield, but it was obvious that she lost energy.

Black blood, constantly dripping from her arms and chest, fueled his pride.

Entir smiled at its groaning.

“Ha! Are you afraid that you are going to die now? Cowardly bastard!”

“…You’re fighting with numbers, who are you calling a coward?”

The demon criticized Entir’s absurdity, but he laughed without agitation at all.

After all, his fellow knights only gave a little help, but the fatal blow was done by him.

In Entir’s bright brain, this match was a fair one-on-one duel, and he did nothing wrong.

To mock his opponent in crisis, Entir slowly walked past the tree where the demon passed by.

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“If you kneel on your knees, I might spare…”

A sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Entir’s heart, who was speaking proudly.

That’s what Genovia managed to see.

However, Palato, who had good eyes, and Entir, who was looking right in front of him, could see more closely the shape of the sword that pierced his chest.

A thick, broad greatsword made of blue-black metal that the Beluan knights use when making weapons.

Entir knew the master of this sword. Because it was the sword that once brought him a devastating defeat.

‘Lenock.’

As he repeated those words in his mind, Entir’s head dropped.

“That’s…”

When Entir and his Jin lost their strength and collapsed, someone walked out of the tree as if a part of its shell was rising.

It looked quite similar to humans except that it had a large eye that occupied half of the face and a large, long tail, but the whole body looked like it was derived from the color and texture of the tree.

“…There were two demons…”

There are demonic beasts called tree snakes.

The color and texture of its skin are similar to those of trees, so they stick like branches between trees and then attack the enemy.

The demon’s hiding technique, which inherited that trait, was also stealthy, so Entir passed by without detecting anything, leaving the enemy right behind his back.

“You bastard, you didn’t plan to show yourself until I got hit?!”

“Hey, Hyung, you have to understand. If I couldn’t kill him in one shot, it would be dangerous.”

When the fox demon jumped out of the cave, it secretly mixed with the looters left behind, hid in a tree, and led the enemy into a trap.

In the end, the fox demon was attacked alone and hurt to some extent, but the injury was not fatal, while the knights lost a third of their power.

It went without saying which side benefited.

The fox demon showed his teeth and smiled horrifyingly.

“Now, let’s do it fairly, 2:2.”

“Stop them!”

Arsene grabbed the handle of the sword tightly as he saw dozens of looters running.

A group of enemies was running like a black flood towards him.

He was quite big now, about 150 centimeters tall, but two looters brandished swords at Arsene, who was clearly smaller than other squires.

Both were clumsy items that seemed to have been made by grinding the bones of the demonic beasts.

“Hey, bastard!”

“Die!”

After inflating his lungs with a deep breath, Arsene swung the circular shield in his left hand from right to left, striking both swords.

It was a simple but effective method, so the marauders couldn’t withstand the shock and lost the weapon from their grasp.

Then, Arsene hit the face of an unprotected enemy with the shield.

He was literally sent flying with his face smashed, and the looters around were shocked.

“Arghhhh!!!”

Having been convinced of his strength and skills in one engagement with the enemy, Arsene let out a roar, the feeling of exaltation rising in his chest.

Inside the roar were all kinds of emotions that could not be defined in a word, such as anger at those who corrupted Lapram, at the sadists that torment the weak, and pride in enforcing justice, like metal in a furnace.

The squires around Arsene’s overwhelming appearance also cheered up and shouted.

“There’s a knight on our side! Push forward!”

“Sir Arsene!”

“For Beluan!”

Arsene hasn’t fully grown up and lacked skills, but his strength and agility were the strongest there.

Perhaps because it was a face-to-face fight, but power played a much greater role than technology in this kind of war.

As Arsene swung the sword in his right hand, the leather armor and torso of the enemy in front of him split at the same time.

Thanks to the left and right squires blocking the attack from the blind spots, Arsene crushed the pack of looters like a lion among a swarm of hyenas.

With this kind of fight, once you lose momentum, it easily gets out of control.

The number of looters was more than three times that of the squires and soldiers, but when the herd itself was cut in half by Arsene, it collapsed in the conviction that they were losing.

Finally, after he kicked the enemy’s leg once and broke his shin, then stabbed his head with a knife to finish him, there were no more looters standing.

It was a short fight, but Arsene, who fought with all his might, felt intense fatigue.

“Ha, haa…”

‘The demon… Did the knights finish it?’

Sad news came to Arsene’s ear, who was thinking happily.

“Sir Arsene, Sir Entir is dead! Other knights are in danger too!”