The demonâs higher army was made up of one Duke-ranked demon, twenty-seven Marquis-ranked demons, and five hundred Count-ranked demons.
It was a force that shouldâve easily wiped out anything that was on the planet.
They would have conquered the entire planet long ago had the demonâs ultimate goal not been to make all orcs their contractees.
Suriol, the Duke-ranked demon in charge of overseeing this planet, was currently floating at the tail end of the army. Behind him were the twenty seven Marquis ranked demons delegates, while the Count ranked demons were at the very front, leading the legion of demons.
âDuke, we have almost arrived.â
One of the demon delegates spoke.
Suriol came to a stop in the air and gazed into the distance.
âHmmmâŠâ
His brows furrowed tightly.
Likewise, the demon delegates came to a halt and turned their heads to look at one another. They found the manner in which Soriol was behaving to be rather peculiar.
âIs there anything that you are displeased with, Duke?â
The demon that had spoken before asked.
Suriol shook his head.
âNo.â
The demons took a breath of relief.
Suriol was notorious for his impatient and tyrannical nature. One wrong move and they would find themselves dead without knowing how they had died.
His next words, however, brought heavy tension into the air.
ââŠI just get the distinct impression that there are several powerful figures off in the distance, which the scout report didnât make me aware of at all. If the error was only by a factor of one, I could possibly have let things go; however, for some reason, I get the impression that the number of powerful figures is much greater than what is reportedâŠwhy is that?â
The demon delegates broke into a cold sweat as they stared into the distance.
Even though he didnât make any outward displays of his anger and didnât say anything to indicate it, everyone understood that Suriol was incredibly angry at that very moment.
He was the sort of demon who was happiest when he was in complete control of everything, so the fact that this chain of events had clearly gone in the opposite direction of what he preferred was very frustrating to him.
For there to be variables that he hadnât thought ofâŠhe was clearly displeased.
âHow is this possible? âŠIâm sure our spies wouldâve noticed if there was someone of that caliber in there.â
One of the demons spoke up in shock.
âThatâs right, if there were this many strong people and we couâŠâ
The demon stopped halfway through his sentence.
In his sight was Suriolâs raised hand, an indication for him to stop speaking.
âStop speaking for now. Iâll let this slide since this isnât too much of a problem.â
All the demons sighed in relief when they heard his words.
ââŠDepending on how well you do in the war, Iâll decide whether to kill you or not.â
Once he uttered those words, the faces of the demon delegates hardened. All of them swallowed a mouthful of saliva as they exchanged glances.
Clearly, the threat from Suriol had worked as their gazes turned sharp. Especially when they were looking at the castle and the orcen army in the distance.
âWhat do you want us to do, Duke?â
âNothing for now. From the looks of things, it appears as though our enemies are aware of the fact that weâve implanted spies in their midst.â
Suriol dampened the enthusiasm of the group. He gazed at the vast army in front of him with a dispassionate and icy expression.
âLet the weaker demons fight for the time being; there is no immediate need for us to join the conflict. Observe the situation from where you are and intervene if you notice anything out of place. If not, remain put while I take care of the orcen leaderâŠâ
Suriolâs wings slowly started to expand.
After pressing his foot into the air, he vanished from his previous location and materialized at the very top of the demon army.
Fwap.
As he spread his magnificent wings even further in the air, he produced a massive shadow on the ground below. As he looked around the castle, his eyes eventually settled on a specific individual inside the structure.
Silug.
âThere you are, orcen chiefâŠâ
His croaky and sinister voice rang through the air like a gentle whisper.
He extended his hand, and all of a sudden, a powerful force erupted from within him. It shot straight toward Silug in a ruthless manner, moving at extreme speeds.
The power behind the attack was so great that the surroundings began to warp, and as a result, several hundred demons fell from the sky and smashed into the ground. This was all caused by the residual demonic energy that was left over from that one single attack.
âMove away!!â
Silug, who was subjected to such a terrifying attack, could only watch helplessly from below as it dove at terrifying speeds in his direction.
With just a glance, he could tell that he could do nothing against the attack as it was simply far above his level.
Even the orcs that were next to him felt completely hopeless.
Despite this, not a single one of them surrendered as they synchronized the raising of their weapons and prepared to defend their lives at all costs.
âRoooooooar!â
The surrounding walls were shaken by the tremendous roar that Silug let out. He brandished his enormous axe and readied himself to launch an assault with all of his strength. He thrust his head back to glare at Soriol and shouted with everything he had in him.
âEven if I die today, I wonât die until I at least injure you severely!â
As he pounded his foot against the ground, the ground beneath him began to crack, and the green hue that was emanating from his body began to rapidly expand in the air.
It then mingled with the red hue that was emanating from the runes that were attached to his body, giving it a hue that was a darker shade of yellow.
CracâŠk. Crack! CraâŠck!
As he continued to pound his foot against the ground, the ground beneath him continued to crack and it wasnât long before a crater formed beneath his feet.
âHaaaa!â
As he yelled at the top of his lungs once more, a frightening energy started to appear at the very edge of his axe. At this point, the attack that Soriol had launched against him was only a few meters away, threatening to erase his existence within the next second.
âExcuse me!â
A silhouetted figure suddenly materialized in front of Silug just as he was about to cut with his axe.
Everything happened so quickly that he was barely able to react to it.
Boooooom-!
âŠThe last thing that Silug heard was a terrifying explosive sound as the dust in the air rose in the air, masking Silugâs vision as well as the vision of those around him.
âWhat the..Ukhh!?â
Silug felt his body skid several meters back due to the aftermath of the attack.
In spite of that, his mind never stopped thinking about the figure that appeared before him just as Soriolâs attack was about to hit him.
âWhat happened?â
It took a few seconds for the dust to settle, and by the time it was completely settled, what Silug saw was a set of long hair that swayed lazily in the air.
A human-like figure that was grasping a long and thick sword with one hand, blue lightning crackling all around his body, and two majestic yellow eyes that glowed a resounding yellow hue stood in front of Silug as smoke swept past his body.
If that wasnât enough, his clothes and his figure both appeared to be in pristine condition despite the powerful explosion that had occurred several seconds prior.
The sightâŠ
It became deeply imprinted inside Silugâs mind.
âStrongâŠâ
***
At the other end of the battlefield.
A soft whisper rang in the air.
âGet ready?â
Jin slowly got out of his hiding spot and fixed his gaze in a certain direction.
ââŠThis is going to be a lot more difficult than I had anticipated.â
With just one glance at the number of demons that were in the air, Jin felt his complexion change.
Having secretly followed the demons from behind and having relayed to the orcs their position, Jin had more than enough time to see just how dreadful the situation was, and honestlyâŠ
âItâs beyond dreadfulâŠâ
It was impossible for them to deal with the sheer number of demons, and if that wasnât bad enough, there were also more than twenty Marquis-ranked demons, along with one that appeared to be a step above that.
âI am with you on this one.â
Emma also stepped out from the hiding spot and nodded her head.
âFrom the looks of things, the situation doesnât look good at all. One mistake and we might find ourselves meeting in the afterlife.â
ââŠDonât count me in.â
Melissaâs voice echoed from behind.
She was peeking from behind a tree.
âIâm just here for the herbs. If you guys die, I wonât be there to collect your bodies. â
âIf we die, you wonât have anybody to recover in the first place.â
Emma rebutted.
Melissa quietly nodded to herself.
âGood point.â
âQuiet for a moment.â
Jin hushed the two of them as he brought his finger to his mouth and crouched a little.
As Jin continued to stare off into the distance like a stealthy hunter looking for his prey, the atmosphere around him fell into complete and utter silence for the next couple of minutes.
He was currently looking for an opening in the back formation of the demons where the Marquis ranked demons were located. With his current strength, it was possible for him to deal with one Marquis ranked demon. Perhaps even twoâŠbut that was just about it.
Of courseâŠthis only applied to situations where he was fighting against them one on one.
âŠIf it was through an ambush.
Now that was a completely different thing.
âGot it.â
It wasnât long before Jinâs eyes became animated.
âThe Duke ranked demon has left, now is our chance.â
As soon as she finished speaking those words, Jinâs form disappeared into the darkness. A chilly glint flashed across his pupils as his eyes fixed on a specific Marquis ranked demon that was floating in the air above him.
ââŠI wonder how many Marquis ranked demons I can kill before getting noticed.â