Ch.302303. The Eve of the Decisive Battle (2)

Like all demons of the Demon Realm, the forces at the very forefront of the demonic army’s advance are the Discarded Troops.

Composed mainly of miscellaneous demons from the Demon Realm, low-grade demon beasts, and worthless demon followers, these troops charge ahead for the obvious purpose of depleting enemy forces.

They are a mass of slaves dragged to the frontlines without proper weapons, driven by the whips of oppressive demon commanders. Thrown into battle, they serve as meat shields absorbing enemy fire and overwhelming opponents through sheer numbers.

Some, terrified of death, try to flee only to be executed by their commanders, while the remaining slaves reluctantly hurl themselves at enemy lines with bare bodies to be appropriately “expended.”

If they manage to take even one arrow or bullet with their bodies, they’ve fulfilled their purpose sufficiently. Making the enemy even slightly fatigued is enough to be considered a tremendous military achievement.

Occasionally, some slave-meat shields display unimaginable combat prowess in extreme situations and manage to kill enemies. For demons who despise the weak and worthless, there’s no better method of disposing of “useless things.”

Whether they’re low-grade demons caught up in a high demon’s summoning process and dragged out with their main body, or just worthless demon followers who know nothing useful.

So this time too, the demon army of “Wrath” cast spells of “rage” on their slaves to drive them into frenzy, then whipped them to charge toward the enemies ahead…

At that moment, steel golems armed with weapons positioned throughout the area stepped directly onto the frontline—opening armor plates on their backs to reveal two different heavy weapons connected to steel arms inside.

Clank! Whiiiiiirrrr—Ratatatatatatatatata!!!

Clank! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!

A Magical-Gatling spewing 1,000 mana laser rounds per minute emerged and spat fire, while a compact Blood Cannon scattered crimson mana shotgun blasts, thoroughly mincing the enemy forces.

As these two heavy weapons, created specifically for mounting on these golems, continued to spew fire, soldiers of the Avenger Legion who had completed their reorganization in the rear formed a dust-proof formation and advanced forward.

Though their firing produced no sound whatsoever, the simultaneous barrage of approximately 3,000 mana laser rounds demonstrated enough firepower to instantly annihilate almost all slaves within range.

“Wrath” was not oblivious to this fact, so the commanding Archdemon, while venting anger at those who had died so pathetically, deployed forces capable of overcoming this firepower.

Knights of Fury—mid-level demons of Satan mounted on War Horses of Demon, mid-grade demon beasts with snake heads, goat horns, bat wings, and horse bodies, clad in black armor.

These demons, resembling miniaturized High Demons just slightly larger than humans, gripped Soul-Weapons forged from parts of their own souls and began charging toward the Iron Golems.

Ratatatatatatata—!!!!

BOOM!

After briefly testing shotgun blasts and Magical-Gatling fire against them, it became clear that they possessed some resistance to magic—or more precisely, ranged attacks—as they endured the barrage and continued charging.

“My comrade, please fall back for a moment.”

“Understood, little brother.”

Recognizing this, mid-level warriors of the Avenger Legion, each mounted on various mid-grade monsters, moved forward to counter these mid-level demons.

Flying wyverns, griffins ruling the skies, winged pegasi, and land drakes resembling turtle-lizard hybrids were considered “common” among the mid-grade beasts.

Mixed among them were extremely rare wyverns from swamplands, multi-headed hydras, basilisks with petrifying magical eyes, and even red dragons—adolescent members of the Gaitenphang clan—whose reputation for ferocity reached the heavens.

Each of these monsters would normally cost hundreds of lives to tame, yet they now entrusted themselves to their mounted partners.

“Forward! For the Blood-Shedding God of Vengeance!!!”

“”””””””””For the Blood-Shedding God of Vengeance!!!””””””””””

Led by their commander—who refused to use his old name and was called Dragon Rider from his partnership with a red dragon—they raised their banner and charged directly into the demon army.

What followed was a battle so one-sided it could only be described as annihilation.

While a wyvern soaring through the sky released acidic liquid that dissolved dozens of demons as it skimmed the ground, its rider shot down two Knights of Fury with arrows and instantly cut off their breath.

As a griffin descended to the ground, tearing apart a demon war horse with its talons and beak, the warrior on its back swung a war hammer to thoroughly crush a demon’s head.

A knight mounted on a pegasus released the power of purification runes engraved on his mythril lance, charging at full force into the demons. The white light emanating from the lance inflicted damage on the demons as if they were melting in flames, before being impaled by the lance itself.

The land drake, boasting considerable bulk, could hardly be considered slow in its charge. Instead, it manipulated the surrounding earth to collapse enemy formations while its partner, armed with a massive bludgeon, focused on fighting infantry.

The hydra, a mid-grade wyvern with nine heads, used its large body and excellent regenerative abilities to serve as a shield for allies, while simultaneously demonstrating its prowess by instantly killing several mid-level demons with its nine heads and deadly venom.

The basilisk, an eight-legged giant lizard galloping across the ground, turned demons to stone with its petrifying gaze. Those who resisted were either crushed by its swinging tail or killed by its poisonous breath. The warrior mounted on its back moved across the basilisk’s plated back, busily splitting demon heads with a battle axe.

As for the adolescent red dragon of the Gaitenphang clan and its partner, the Dragon Rider—

KRARARARARARA—!!!

FWOOOOOOOSH—!!!

Though still adolescent, this pureblooded dragon, together with its mounted partner, slaughtered demon knights like swatting flies, clearly demonstrating the difference in class even among mid-level beings.

The vivid crimson flames spewing from its mouth burned and incinerated demons without exception, even those who should have had fire resistance. The destructive power emanating from its massive body served as proof of why dragons were considered the strongest creatures on land.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t only mid-level or higher warriors fighting on this battlefield.

Most notably, the infantry of the Avenger Legion followed behind, hunting down scattered demons. Unlike before, with increased infantry firepower, they now formed a looser but more efficient formation instead of a phalanx.

The ideal formation, recently modified, consisted of a Veteran commander, two skirmishers armed with shields, magical shotguns, and alchemical grenades, six riflemen armed with magical rifles and shields, plus one heavy weapons team, one sniper, and one standard-bearer as needed.

This reflected the existing tactic of defending against enemy attacks with shield walls while eliminating enemies with gunfire, but adapted to increased technological capabilities for greater firepower and more flexible tactics.

While riflemen continuously eliminated enemies, skirmishers stopped approaching foes with shotgun-mode magical rifles. The sniper targeted enemy commanders while the heavy weapons team provided merciless supporting fire as needed.

The standard-bearer used the magical power embedded in the battle flag to cast area buffs while providing fire support with a magical pistol, and the Veteran commanded the entire process, providing tactical assistance as needed.

This 12-person formation, mimicking modern operational squads in another way, answered why they had abandoned the phalanx tactics maintained for so long.

Regardless of what powers the enemy possessed, they could now exert their combat power to the maximum.

As they diligently processed and ground down the demons, the Dragon Rider, who had been slaughtering demons more zealously than anyone else at the vanguard, suddenly sensed something hot from beyond the horizon.

Given that neither he nor Gaitenphang—nor anyone else present—could detect any presence, whatever it was must be incredibly far away, yet its heat reached even this distance?

Something was coming. Something ominous was approaching.

His sharp intuition, which had saved him from death many times before, was warning him fiercely. After a moment’s thought, he made his decision.

“Retreat! Fall back! Something’s coming!!!”

And this choice would prove more important than anything else for them.