Ch.88Chapter 88. Morning Tent Installation Technician (3)

Chapter 88. Morning Tent Installation Technician (3)

Riding the momentum, we easily finished clearing the remaining two villages.

Only one thing remained: the city where the intermediate demon resided.

Hella and Sola said there were four lesser demons living in the city.

Even Siu, who focused mainly on support skills, could easily handle one lesser demon.

I could give Hella and the other warriors the “Enhancement Tattoo” blessing to grant them the ability to fight against lesser demons.

Then handling four of them would be no problem.

“Set up the catapults.”

As we walked, the city walls appeared right before us.

“I’ll take the lead again.”

I gripped the warhammer and drove forward with Solid-Heavy.

I had looted this warhammer from the previous village. Originally meant to be wielded with both hands, but in the hands of a totem golem, it became a one-handed blunt weapon.

“Firing!”

The catapults set up by the barbarian warriors launched stones.

The projectiles hit the walls with dull thuds.

Good. The walls were easily damaged, probably due to poor maintenance.

If we keep hitting them, a section might collapse soon.

“Enemy attack…!”

“Fire arrows…!”

The cultists moved with their characteristic sluggish speech.

Now that we’ve drawn aggro with the catapults, it’s my turn.

I charged toward the gate with Solid-Heavy.

“Follow Lord Malak!”

Hella, Siu, and the other cavalry followed behind me.

All of them were enhanced with the “Enhancement Tattoo” blessing.

Ignoring the arrows shot by the enemies, we arrived at the gate.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I mercilessly pounded the gate with the warhammer. Each strike made the gate shake violently.

“Wh-what is that…!”

“A golem…! A golem is attacking the gate…!”

“How did barbarians get a golem and catapults…!”

“When will our master arrive…!”

I could hear the cultists inside the gate whispering to each other.

They seemed quite flustered by the unusual combination of barbarians and a golem.

CRASH!

I delivered a decisive blow. The latch on the gate broke.

I reached my hand inside the broken latch to open the gate.

“Stop him…!”

Spears and swords stabbed at my hand, but for me who couldn’t feel pain, these attacks were meaningless.

I flung the gate wide open and crushed their heads with my warhammer.

Hmm. This feels a bit strange.

I hate to sound weak, but… this is the first time I’ve directly killed people.

Ignoring the creeping discomfort, I attacked the approaching cultists.

I didn’t forget to spread clouds with Malak’s domain blessing to apply area debuffs.

I spotted what appeared to be the lord’s mansion.

Five demons, including the intermediate one, were coming out through the main gate.

“They’re all coming at once?”

Siu watched them approach with a dumbfounded expression.

Even while doing so, he skillfully swung his sword to cut down cultists.

Is this really the same guy who got trapped in a village looking for erectile dysfunction medicine? He’s grown well.

“These ones are quite aggressive.”

This is my first time seeing demons like these too. They’re neither sending just their subordinates nor waiting inside the mansion with defensive preparations—they’re all coming out.

GROOAR-!

The largest demon let out a roar. It was a monstrous hippopotamus about 5 meters tall.

Dozens of tentacle-like tongues wriggled from its open mouth. Each tongue tip had sharp protrusions.

Hideous bastard.

“I’ll handle the intermediate one.”

I didn’t even need to charge at it. The creature charged at me with glowing green eyes.

What should I do? Should I just headbutt it with Solid-Heavy?

With the weight difference, we’d probably get pushed back. Solid-Heavy might get destroyed.

Whatever. I need to get close to either hit or grab it. Avoiding now won’t accomplish anything.

I can’t keep Solid-Heavy with me forever anyway.

After all, zombies are consumables. There’s no reason to be sparing.

It’s a shame to give up being a golem rider… but there’s no need to fight at a disadvantage.

I charged toward the approaching hippo demon that was kicking up dust.

CLANG!

The hippo demon’s head collided with the goat demon’s horns.

Naturally, it was Solid-Heavy’s horns that broke. Green blood dripped down.

Still, I got my opportunity. My goal from the start was to cling to this creature.

I brought down the warhammer on the hippo demon’s head.

“?!”

It didn’t even flinch as it pushed Solid-Heavy back.

What the hell? Why is it so hard? Is its head made of stone?

As Solid-Heavy collapsed, my body rolled on the ground with it.

Is this… an intermediate demon?

I had underestimated these beings that could only be defeated by paladins like Lakye at levels 6-7.

The hippo demon opened its huge mouth, which took up more than half its face, and swallowed Solid-Heavy’s head whole.

My mount’s head was torn off. Solid-Heavy… it’s been fun.

Even in death, you’re teaching me that intermediate demons are still dangerous creatures.

I pounded the hippo demon’s body with my warhammer as it was tasting my Solid-Heavy’s head, but it was useless.

The creature merely shook its body as if annoyed.

Ha, does it have some blunt weapon nullification skill?

It’s not completely incomprehensible.

Hippos are known for their thick skin among animals. When such a creature becomes a demon, it would naturally gain transcendent defense.

This won’t work. I do have my trump card, the Totem of Confusion, but even if I knock it down momentarily, it’s meaningless if I can’t penetrate that hide.

“Lord Malak! I’ll assist you!”

Siu, covered in green blood, approached.

“Holy Flame!”

White flames erupted from the tip of Siu’s sword, scorching the hippo demon.

The hippo demon stepped back after taking the flames directly to the face.

Perhaps the skill works because it’s imbued with holy power. As expected of a paladin, the natural enemy of demons.

No wonder demons try to kill paladins on sight.

The hippo demon shook its head to shake off the flames.

If blunt attacks don’t work, I can strangle it to death. I tried to approach.

The problem was that the hippo demon was more alert than I expected.

SLASH-!

The tentacle tongues that shot out from the hippo demon’s mouth grabbed the totem golem’s left arm.

The sharp protrusions tightened around my arm, threatening to crush it.

Grrk…

Damn it, the creature lifted me up. Just with its tongues!

CRASH! CRASH!

The totem golem was slammed against the ground. I could feel it breaking in various places.

The slime covering Totem #2 and the golem controller was shaking so much that I couldn’t even see properly.

Ah, I miss Lakye. If Lakye were here, he would have sliced this thing’s throat with his meteor sword.

“Holy Flame!”

With Siu’s voice, the slamming stopped.

The creature tried to retract its tentacle tongues, but I held on and wouldn’t let go.

This was its only ranged attack method. I couldn’t let Siu get hit by these tongues.

The hippo demon made a growling sound and pulled me with its tongues.

That’s right. Pull me in. Let me get closer.

I pretended to be dragged while slowly moving forward… but damn, it seemed to notice something and tried to push me away.

Unnecessarily smart.

“UAAAAH!”

Hella appeared like the wind and slashed at the creature’s legs with her twin axes as she passed by.

It wasn’t a significant hit, but it was enough to distract the creature momentarily.

Just a little more…! Got it! I used the Totem of Confusion on the creature now within range.

GROOAAK!

The hippo demon rolled its eyes and collapsed.

“Use all your skills on it!”

“Holy Flame! Holy Flame! Holy Flame!”

It’s ridiculous that he’s shouting skill names while fighting in such a tense situation.

Siu’s only attack skill heated up the hippo demon’s body.

Five minutes that felt like an hour passed, and the hippo demon, which had been screaming while burning vigorously, turned to ashes.

Zombie control didn’t work on it.

“Good job.”

I conveyed sincere gratitude to Siu. We couldn’t have won without him.

“It was nothing. I’ll go help the warriors now.”

Siu grinned and left with Hella.

I wanted to move with them, but my legs weren’t working well.

The joints keep creaking. I’ll need repairs when we return to the tribal federation.

As I was watching the situation gradually being resolved while supporting the warriors with various blessings…

I felt a slight chill and looked up at the sky…

“Oh no!”

The eastern sky was turning black.

I’ve only seen this phenomenon once before. When the cloud demon appeared.

What’s going on? Why are there suddenly dark clouds? The hippo demon couldn’t have sent a coordinate transmission.

Was another demon watching us?

“Aaaah…!? C-clouds? Why clouds!?”

Siu, looking in the same direction as me, turned pale.

No. That can’t be. That doesn’t make sense. I was so thorough.

After being ambushed by the tunnel demon, I always made sure to scout and secure visibility before fighting.

I checked everything, both sky and ground, before entering battle.

…Could it be that others summoned it? What if there were others who attacked an intermediate demon at a similar timing to us?

Let’s warn everyone first.

Even as we spoke, the black energy was covering the sky. I could see something writhing.

“Everyone, hide yourselves!”

It’s too late to run away. We need to at least hide.

As always, disaster struck without warning.