Chapter 56: Decimated!

Pak! Pak! Pak!

Numerous arrows burrowed themselves into the ground where Ragna and Dreg were supposed to be at. They were carrying a blood-like aura in it. It seemed like the Leader's presence had quite an impact toward the normal scouts.

Ragna and Dreg rushed forward to the opposite direction of where the leader was. They needed to break out from the encirclement!

Shiingg!

The sound of a saber being unsheathed could be heard from the scouts that were blocking their way. A hint of a bloodlust could be seen in their eyes. They were truly enraged by the fact that many of their comrades were killed in the hands of these humans!

"Krapa akutalu!"

They were shouting words that were strange to human. It was the Demon race's language. Only the upper classes of these Demons could speak in human tongue.

Ragna and Dreg looked at each other's eyes while rushing. They seemed to have reached a silent agreement about how they are going to battle.

Four Demons directly blocking the way, while the others were heading toward them.

Two daggers wreathed in shadowy aura suddenly flew toward one of the four blocking Demons. The first one was blocked by the swing of his Saber, but the other was cleverly positioned so that it would hit.

"Arrghhh!"

The Demon screamed painfully from the pain of being hit by the dagger in his eyes. His saber fell to the ground while he was grimacing in pain.

Without any power left to block, the demon was hit by a huge boulder that was flying to him. Even though he didn't instantly die, this combination was surely able to whittle him to death if he doesn't get treated.

One down! Three left!

"Shadow Doppelganger!"

Dreg's body turned into a shadowy substance before splitting into four. It was his signature skill, one that had forced Ragna to a corner!

Three of the clones were sent to the three Demons, engaging them into a one vs one battle. Of course, the clones couldn't actually battle. Dreg was somewhere inside one of these clones.

Despite that, it was enough to confuse them for a short amount of time.

Ragna also picked a Demon to fight with. His right hand was already shining with crimson color, it was his Crimson Claw Strike!

He hit the wrist where the Demon held his saber, dissipating its strength. Then he launched his counterattack, striking the Demon's throat!

A critical hit!

Because of Dreg's clone's interference, the Demon couldn't properly react to Ragna's attack, resulting in him receiving the full brunt of Ragna's Crimson Claw Strike!

Even though the Clone couldn't attack, it could still distract the enemy. After all, you wouldn't be able to know whether if it was a clone or not.

The Demon was thrown flying backward. One couldn't underestimate the power behind Ragna's punch. After eating a lot of essences and bonus stat points, his power was comparable to level 32-ish elite players. Adding his title, he was even stronger than Dreg, total-stat wise.

Of course, Ragna's specialty was his strong physical and magical attack. If he was to be compared with Dreg in pure physical damage, Dreg would undoubtedly win.

Seeing their comrade flying from a punch, the two remaining Demons were enraged. They decided to abandon the Clone that was busily evading their attack and rushed to attack Ragna.

Unfortunately, it was a bad decision to open their back for Dreg. In a flash, one of the Demons back was engulfed in shadow.

Despotic Stab!

Shadow Strike!

Twin Slash!

In a flash, the Demon fell into the ground. Dreg's burst power was just too terrifying. Adding the bonus damage from the backstab, his combination of skills was enough to bring the Demon into death.

The only Demon left was left flustered. In front of him was Ragna and behind him was Dreg. Brothers, you are not leaving me any choice here!

Naturally, he died after desperately trying to block both of the players' attack.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Now that there are none of their comrades left blocking the target, the archers started to shoot madly toward them.

Because of their repeated battle with the Demons, they no longer had any difficulty dodging them. Both of them displayed their own mysterious footwork to evade.

Ragna had his footwork imparted from Mr. Romi. As a Dojo Master, his technique had long since reached profoundness. After all, the Dojo, Purgatory, was something that had been passed down since ancient time.

The strange one was Dreg. Even though he didn't use any skill, his footwork was not one whit inferior to Ragna. It seemed like he also had an incredible background himself.

While dodging, both of them threw their skills toward the remaining Demon who were still in a daze after being thrown by Ragna's punch. Before he could react, he was already death.

It was at this moment that suddenly they felt an intense amount of danger coming from behind. Both of them instantly used their skill block the attack.

The Leader had arrived!

An unprecedented amount of rage was apparent in her eyes. Blood could be seen trickling from her lips. It seemed like she was truly pained by the loss of her comrades.

The twin swords danced about in a wild yet exquisite manner. Ragna and Dreg desperately tried to dodge it but still got hit nevertheless.

Fortunately, it was only a graze. Still, it couldn't be underestimated as their health was depleting quickly.

It was at this moment that Ragna gave Dreg a signal. Both of them instantly backed out. Before the Red Demon Leader could chase, a deep quagmire enveloped her body.

The quagmire was different from what Ragna usually used, it was deeper but smaller!

After a long time of research, Ragna knew that Quagmire could be altered as one willed. Even though it require longer casting time and much bigger strain in mind, it was still doable for him.

Ragna and Dreg split up and escaped to their respective opposites. Ragna used the Earth Wall to cover his escape rout while Dreg used his Shadow Doppelganger to confuse the Demons.

The Leader could only grit her teeth while watching both of them escape. Her expression was very ugly to behold.

She quickly assembled the remaining Demons and ordered them to split into a group of 7 and 8 to chase after them.

She couldn't let any of them escape! Even if only one was able to return, her operation could be considered a failure. And that would be disastrous!

The group dispersed into three, a 7-man team, an 8-man team, and the Red Demon Leader herself.

She didn't need any of her subordinates! She could kill both of them herself!

...

Meanwhile, back at the Library.

"This... is a masterpiece!"

"Oh my god... this is even better than the last one!"

Shouts full of joy could be heard inside the library. A short haired young woman could be seen running around with a pile of books in her hand. She had been busy reading all of the books inside the library by herself.

Most of these books were fantasy, lore, and story about the kingdom and everything that happened in the past. There were stories about heroes, dragons, and even hidden villages that were considered as myths.

As a writer herself, she could understand the true worth of these books. People might only search for information on their quest and neglected most part of the book. But, she knew that the books were actually very well written. And surprisingly, the stories were quite amazing and fresh.

"These... are the inspiration I need," exclaim Dania. "I won't leave before reading everything here!" Her eyes were glowing brightly.

It was the start of Dania's journey in becoming a bookworm.

...

"Krukala!" The Red Demon Leader cursed in anger. It had been a while since they split up, but there was no sign of the despicable humans.

She had found many humans when searching for them. Everyone was killed mercilessly but she couldn't find the two that she was truly looking for.

As a scouting team, they had their own way to communicate. But her subordinates hadn't replied to her call.

"Asuraku!

The Red Demon Leader cursed again. She couldn't help but be reminded of the worst possible outcome.

It was at this moment that suddenly a youth in a crimson robe showed himself. Beside him was his companion that was dressed in blue.

The Red Demon Leader's eyes turned wide when she saw her. It was actually them! It was Ragna and Dreg!

"I don't know if you understand my words, but your subordinates all are dead," Dreg spoke while gesturing a sliced throat with his hand.

"Yeah, thanks for the experience and contribution points," Ragna added.

After fighting with Dreg, Ragna finally understood his character. Even though he was a bit sly, there was something about Dreg that was very similar to him.

He was also a battle maniac!

That was why at the Ancient Ruin, Dreg decided to fight him instead of running. If he was to use his Shadow Doppelganger, there would be no chance for Ragna to catch him.

Roar!

The Red Demon Leader was truly enraged. Her eyes were blood red and the aura she emitted grew stronger!

"You must be wondering why we decided to fight instead of escaping?"

Both of them looked at each other. As if they had reached a tacit agreement, they said.

"Why back out from a fight we could win?"