Ch.188Chapter 188 – World Tree Defense Battle (1)

As the full moon rose and the night deepened, the soldiers standing guard began to gradually relax their vigilance.

“…What’s that flame?”

No sooner had the elf who happened to be looking at the sky finished speaking than fireballs began haphazardly pounding against the barrier wall and exploding.

“Enemy attack!”

With the shouts of several elves, the gate that normally welcomed travelers was firmly shut. Siege weapons were quickly arranged along the barrier wall as the siege battle began.

However, shortly after, the elf in command nodded, forced to acknowledge a story he had heard earlier.

“The barrier wall will be meaningless.”

—Boom!

In the distance, massive magical beasts were advancing one by one.

If there were only one or two of them, they could simply continue with the siege defense. But these creatures had suddenly appeared at close range, and there were flying monsters hovering around them like escorts.

Above the monsters, countless shadows writhed.

It was too short a distance to eliminate all the giant magical beasts before they reached the barrier wall, and it was obvious that even if they died, other creatures would use their bodies or corpses to climb over the wall.

“Prepare for battle!!”

“Fire!”

Still, they could significantly reduce the numbers before the beasts reached the wall. With no reason not to thin the enemy ranks, the elves quickly began using bows and siege weapons.

—Crash!

—Kreaaah!!

The magical beasts fell one by one. At first, they collapsed at a distance from the wall. But the beasts began advancing using their fallen comrades as shields, stepping over their corpses to continue forward.

Moreover, attacks from the flying creatures gradually weakened the offensive from atop the wall. Eventually, the massive magical beasts, even as they died, covered the wall with their bodies and broke through it.

“Abandon the wall and fall back to the first defense line!”

The commander on the wall shouted this order as he gathered his bow and weapons before jumping down. The one fortunate aspect for the elves was that they had managed to take down all the giant beasts, making the siege battle not entirely meaningless.

“Captain, they’re here!”

“So they’ve come.”

Zelkova, one of the rangers whom Kei had met before, said this as he prepared his bow. Depending on the size and composition of the demon forces, there had been plans to go directly to the wall to stop them, but they had anticipated that creatures like these would cross the wall in an instant anyway.

“I said they wouldn’t be interested in an occupation battle.”

Their objective was to advance quickly to the World Tree. Since their overall forces might actually be outnumbered, the expectation was that they would aim for a swift, decisive battle rather than slowly advancing while establishing positions.

Thanks to this, many elves still remained behind, having built defense lines using stakes and buildings as barricades.

“Return fire!”

Zelkova began shooting arrows with his unit members. Though it was already midnight, elven arrows rarely missed their mark, even in the darkest places.

Besides, it was a night with a full moon. There was no shortage of light.

The rangers responsible for the first defense line drew and fired their arrows, and for several minutes, the sound of something falling after being hit could be heard. Finally, some began breaking through the arrow barrage.

—Bark! Bark!

“Orthros!”

“Imps and Lesser Demons confirmed! Get ready!”

Two-headed demon hounds charged forward in unison, followed by small purple demons leaping into the fray. Behind them, four-armed demons could be seen using the smaller ones as arrow shields.

“Fear not! The Einherjar watch over us!”

“Children of the World Tree, do not retreat!”

Commanders shouted from a distance, raising the morale of the rangers. However, the arrow barrage gradually subsided, and soon the rangers drew their swords and engaged in close combat.

—Kroooar!!

“Shut up!”

That was Zelkova’s shout as he and his unit members faced off against a Lesser Demon. Though the defensive battle limited their specialty of mobile combat in the forest, a defensive position naturally offered many advantages over the attacking side.

—Boom!!

—Kiiii!!

With a sudden explosion, vines grew at a terrifying speed, binding the feet of the demon forces. Support magic from elven mages began to arrive from a distance. This further broke the momentum of the demon forces, and the rangers seized the opportunity, rushing in with ghostly speed to sever the demons’ necks.

In retaliation, a two-headed demon hound lunged forward and mauled one ranger, but a net thrown from somewhere completely entangled the hound and nearby Lesser Demons. The rangers then used spears and arrows to turn them into porcupines, a scene that played out repeatedly.

“This is easy, Captain!”

“Fight without letting your guard down!”

Even as he shouted at one of his unit members, Zelkova thought things were still manageable. So far, the enemy had only deployed mid-to-low-level demons.

These kinds of demons could be handled sufficiently by the rangers.

Of course, anything beyond that would be difficult for the rangers to manage.

—Urrrrrgh…

“What is that?”

“It’s a Demon!”

A demon that looked like an evolved version of a Lesser Demon was flying in from behind. It had massive bat wings that Lesser Demons didn’t possess, and its body was much larger. Each of its four more massive arms held a weapon.

As these demons began to charge, Zelkova saw a ranger he only knew by face nocking an arrow.

“Die!”

“Stop, dodge first…!”

Ignoring Zelkova’s words, the ranger fired the arrow. Simultaneously, the ranger’s neck disappeared as it was hit by a purple flame thrown by the demon.

“Damn, the elders weren’t wrong at all!”

Zelkova was glad he had remembered what the old ones of his clan had told him about the demon forces before today’s battle. If he hadn’t heard that they could use magic, he might have foolishly attacked and ended up a corpse like that ranger.

‘I used to just laugh off stories about the Demon Wars…’

Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, he couldn’t laugh anymore. He wondered how his grandparents had managed to survive against such creatures.

And besides these demons, Zelkova swallowed hard as he saw figures in ancient clothing accompanied by bats and armored beings with fierce glowing eyes approaching from behind.

“Captain, strong-looking ones are coming!”

“Fight while retreating! Don’t recklessly engage the strong-looking ones!”

Of course, if he risked danger with his unit members, they could face the rampaging demons or the higher-level demons like vampires coming from behind. But this was a battlefield. If they focused on just one target, other enemies would target their backs.

‘Those aren’t our opponents anyway.’

The rangers’ targets were only the mid-to-low-level demons. There were separate forces designated to face higher-level demons.

“The knights have arrived!”

With a shout from behind, elven knights in shining armor began to charge. Since it had been agreed from the beginning that they would handle the higher-level demons, Zelkova immediately issued orders to his unit members.

“Target the Lesser Demons and Orthros primarily! Handle anything below them as you see fit!”

“Support the knights as they fight the higher-level demons!”

Once again, the commander’s voice rang out, and the elves charged bravely. A fierce battle between elves and demons unfolded beneath the full moon.

And then, the calamity they had been warned about descended.

—Thud!

From just one footstep, Zelkova realized that an ominous being had appeared. The next moment, someone charged across the battlefield with a resounding voice.

“Out of my way, pointy-ears!!!!!!”

As an armored demon swung a hammer, three elven knights who tried to block her were instantly sent flying. The demon then continued charging, taking arrows and magic directly to her body without slowing down.

“A demon is breaking through the defense line!”

“Quickly, stop her!”

But the elves’ cries proved futile as the demon displayed an unstoppable advance. As if she were a tank, this demon was single-handedly piercing through the battlefield.

“Follow me!!!”

The demon forces’ morale rose at the thunderous voice. The demons following her were also emboldened, ignoring their casualties to fill the path that had been momentarily breached.

Eventually, with the defense line awkwardly broken, a chaotic battle began.

The battle line, where knights and rangers had each been assigned specific targets, was now completely mixed, forcing everyone to handle situations on their own.

“I don’t need someone like you, virgin blood…”

“Got a perverted vampire, seriously!”

Zelkova angrily cut off the neck of a vampire that had lunged at him with the help of his unit members. The next moment, a heat ray passed by his side.

“What…!”

Looking up at the sky, he saw giant eyeballs with tentacles floating around, firing heat rays at the elves.

Recognizing them as the demons’ air force, Zelkova tried to shoot an arrow.

—Growl!

“Captain!”

While his attention was on the sky, an Orthros lunged at Zelkova. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Zelkova was pinned down with one arm bitten.

“Damn it, let go, you cursed thing!”

He quickly drew a dagger and repeatedly stabbed at one of the heads, but the demon hound showed no intention of releasing him.

‘Ah, damn.’

I’m going to die like this.

The next moment, the Orthros suddenly stopped and collapsed to the side.

—Kiiii!!

“The Griffon Riders have arrived, Captain!”

The elite forces that had been held back until the last moment to counter the demons’ air power had finally joined the battle.

As the griffons pecked at the eyeballs with their beaks and clawed them, the riders shot arrows and magic at the ground-based demons.

And among them, one figure stood out particularly.

—Swoosh!

—Kraaah!!!

When one elf drew his bow from atop a griffon, the hit enemy would almost fly backward, colliding with its allies in a strange phenomenon. This figure was someone Zelkova knew.

“As expected, it’s Lord Fain.”

The next moment, Fain forced his griffon into a dive toward the demon who had been pushing the front line.

—Kiiii!

“Damn this griffon!”

As the hammer-wielding demon finally retreated slightly under the griffon’s fierce attack, Fain fell from the griffon and shot an arrow. The demon rolled backward after taking the arrow to the abdomen.

“With this!”

As Fain shot another arrow, a boy who suddenly emerged from among the demons kicked the arrow away. Realizing that this boy was also quite strong, Fain clicked his tongue slightly as the demon stood up and shouted:

“That hurt… You must be quite renowned! State your name!”

“Fain of the Blue Pine clan.”

As Fain aimed his arrow, the demon laughed fiercely. The boy raised his hand toward the demon.

“What?”

“You go. I’ll handle this one.”

With a “tch” sound, the demon withdrew. Fain immediately drew and fired an arrow, but the boy kicked it away.

“Targeting someone’s back? Seems elves have no honor.”

“You’re looking for honor here?”

Calmly responding to the boy’s words, Fain asked for his name.

“State your name.”

“Legion Commander, Gigas.”

Fain’s eyes narrowed as he faced the demon legion commander.

“Let’s duel, elf.”

“Let’s.”

The next moment, as a massive explosion occurred in the direction of the demon forces, Gigas charged at Fain.

+

[There are truly many flies.]

The lich, who wasn’t being friendly fired upon thanks to prior arrangements, spoke from midair.

So far, he had managed to roughly match the flow of battle.

[It’s fortunate that I’ve mostly succeeded in matching the enemy’s force composition.]

Though he had anticipated the flow up to this point, the demons’ momentum was still more impressive than expected.

[Well, that won’t last long.]

Though it was chaotic now, it was clear that once the elves regrouped, they could push back the demons again.

Having judged that there would be no variables in the forces that the knights and griffon riders could handle, he quietly shifted his gaze.

[The problem would be an existence like you, Demon Lord.]

In the lich’s sight was a black-cloaked demon floating quietly in the sky. At first glance, it looked similar to the lich, but the next moment, the cloak tore to reveal a demon with massive wings and arms.

“I didn’t expect you to still be alive.”

[Likewise, I thought you would have died of old age by now.]

The lich said this and then added:

[Your gorilla-like appearance remains the same.]

“Shut up, you bag of bones!”

Numerous fireballs formed and flew toward the lich. In response, the lich flicked his finger, and ice spears pierced through the fireballs as they flew toward the demon.

“Kugh!”

[But it’s unexpected. You were a legion commander in the previous Demon War, so there’s no reason you wouldn’t aim for the Demon King position.]

The lich expressed his doubt while firing various spells at the dodging Demon Lord. In between, he also eliminated masses of demons and Evil Eyes firing heat rays at the ground.

“…If it weren’t for that damned woman, I would have been the Demon King by now!”

The Demon Lord swung what looked like a purple flame whip. The lich simply stood still and flicked his finger.

A seemingly sentient water whip wrapped around the Demon Lord’s whip and caused an explosion.

“Damn, you’ve grown stronger than before!”

[Did you think I was just playing around?]

The lich spoke leisurely.

[Besides, you seem less impressive than before. Aging is truly the most frightening thing.]

“…That leisurely tone of yours remains the same, damn you!”

As the Demon Lord tried to engage in close combat, the lich floated slightly backward to avoid.

“Come here, bag of bones! I’ll show you the difference in power!”

[Muscle boasting? Unfortunately, I’m all bones, so I can’t show off my physique.]

The lich launched a massive fireball and a lightning sphere, which the Demon Lord simply batted away with his arms.

[Even aged, you’re still a legion commander of the previous Demon King.]

“Damn you…!”

The Demon Lord continued to use magic to check the lich.

While leisurely dodging and neutralizing the attacks, the lich inwardly clicked his tongue.

‘It’s problematic that this one remained.’

As a legion commander of the previous Demon King’s army, the lich was well aware of his capabilities.

Since he knew his opponent well, he was confident he could win if they continued fighting like this. It was because of this that he could face him so leisurely.

However, the Demon Lord, boasting powerful magic and an impressively strong body, was no easy opponent. The lich had initially thought this being might not come here due to old age.

‘Kei could win if he used the dragon’s power.’

That would make things easier for him, and the defense would go more smoothly. But using the dragon’s power would consume Kei’s lifespan.

Many would be saddened by that.

‘Would it make sense to have a young man use his lifespan to face such a creature?’

The lich discarded the option of entrusting this opponent to Kei.

“What are you thinking so deeply about!”

[Just thinking that I should entertain a lonely old man.]

“You must have easily lived for hundreds of years too!”

[In that sense, let’s have the elderly play with each other.]

As the seemingly enraged Demon Lord charged, the lich waved his hand, and suddenly stone fists began falling on the Demon Lord’s head.

Though the Demon Lord dodged them by flying, the fists continued to fall to the ground, crushing the demons below.

[Remember this, Demon Lord.]

The lich quietly looked at the Demon Lord and said:

[I won’t let you pass beyond this point.]

“Damn you!”

The Demon Lord spread his massive wings and charged at the lich.

+

It was while I was listening to the distant sounds of explosions and wing beats.

I heard footsteps approaching.

“So they broke through.”

Though I had prepared assuming this would happen, deep down, I had hoped they would be held up at the battlefield where those explosions were coming from.

I changed my weapon to a halberd and waited as someone appeared before me.

“Baphomet.”

As I quietly called the name of the demon wielding a massive hammer, she paused briefly before grinning fiercely and saying:

“So it’s you from back then.”

I raised my halberd. She raised her hammer in response, and we faced each other.

Baphomet grinned fiercely.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. We weren’t the kind of acquaintances who needed to exchange many words, nor was there a need to.

“If I asked you to step aside, would you?”

“No.”

I said this while aiming my halberd at her. Baphomet smiled and said:

“…I wanted to fight you back then too.”

She grinned fiercely, saying she hadn’t expected to fulfill that wish here.

“State your name, human.”

“Kei.”

Hearing my name, Baphomet nodded slightly.

“Kei.”

After calling my name once, Baphomet pointed her hammer at me and said:

“As a warrior, let’s duel!”

The next moment.

Baphomet and I simultaneously lunged at each other.