The operation was proceeding smoothly. The military dealt with the monsters, while the blood demons below were handled by elite knights. The remaining blood demons were marked directly by the members of the Royal Knights.
That was the best method. In fact, the members of the Royal Knights gradually began to corner the blood demons, even though they shouldn’t be pushed back so easily. They were losing in power.
Confirming the advantage in the battle, Hans let out a sigh of relief. If things go well, I might not even need to step in to finish this. Had I worried too much?
[The blood demons are showing signs of trying to buy time.]
[I’d think there must be some kind of plot.]
“Well then, I’ll proceed carefully against the opponent.”
Of course, Hans didn’t let his guard down until the very end. The blood demons were stalling. Could the demons be plotting something again? If so, I have to deal with it somehow before that.
Hans didn’t think that the blood demons would just be stalling for no reason. He tried his best to recall traps or tactics from the original work.
In fact, in the original story, there were cases of annihilation depending on the plot or branching points. However, just as his concerns began to fade away, before long, a victory signal rang out from Yuren’s side.
[One blood demon has been taken down!]
“Is that true?”
[Of course! How could I possibly lie!]
“Well, then…!!!”
For now, things were going very smoothly in the Dwarf Republic. The Iron Men produced in the Dwarf Republic were more efficient than anyone could have imagined. And with Yuren there…
Perhaps it was only natural that the first victory signal rang out from the Dwarf Republic. Hans clenched his fist and nodded. If this continues, we should be able to win.
Of course, I still need to be wary of the blood demons‘ true intentions. But considering that, taking the life of one of the blood demons was a very commendable achievement. Just when he was feeling pleased about it…
“…What is this?”
Suddenly, the crystal ball that had been working perfectly cut off. He could no longer hear the voices of Yuren and Cluna. Just when he wondered if it had broken and prodded at the crystal…
His body instinctively reacted to a sharp survival instinct that felt like being pierced by a spear in the back of his head. He suddenly leaped up and escaped that spot. At first, he thought it was an illusion.
At least, there wouldn’t be a massive axe falling to the spot where Hans was. Hans frowned. A surprise attack, out of nowhere? Who the hell is it? How? Soon, Hans lifted his head.
“As expected of the Royal Knights‘ Commander, you don’t go down easily.”
“So I told you, we need to attack together.”
“It’s fine, if we just make sure to kill him.”
“…You guys….”
Various existences were surrounding Hans from a distance. Hans frowned. Some he had never seen before, but a few he recognized from the game.
There were 6 of them, and every single one was a blood demon. In other words, Hans was surrounded by blood demons. Hans clicked his tongue. How did they find this place? I don’t know the reason, but…
Right now, I only know that I need to respond. Hans carefully drew the Divine Sword. In response, the blood demons also began to move slowly. At that moment, when they were all staring at each other…
“Don’t you guys interfere. I’ll take him down 1:1.”
“Beck, are you starting again?”
‘Beck…’
A man with a massive axe cackled loudly. General Beck of Hell, one of the demons that appeared as a mid-boss in the game, and also an enemy of Helia.
True to the title of General of Hell, he possessed immense strength, ranking within the top five among the blood demons. Hans frowned and opened his mouth.
“That title of General of Hell is wasted on you.”
“Do you know about me? That’s quite the achievement!”
“What?”
“Usually, I kill everyone in my path. But if you’ve survived with me, it means you’re quite the powerful one.”
“….”
Though he spoke to provoke, what came back was rather the opponent’s admiration. Damn it, now that I think about it. The number of people who knew the title of General of Hell could be counted on one hand.
No, to begin with, there were very few who even knew the names of the blood demons. Because they rarely made appearances. They didn’t create monsters and blood demons for nothing…
The blood demons could be said to be the future of the demons. If even one blood demon is alive, the demons can be rebuilt again. But if all blood demons perish, then all demons will disappear.
‘But for six demons to come all the way here…’
In the original work, the number of blood demons was twelve, but this is well before the events of the original. So, I can’t accurately gauge the number of blood demons. There are faces I’ve never seen before.
At least, for those blood demons whose faces I know, I’ve faced them in the game, so that’s okay. But faces I don’t know are a bit concerning. Their ability stats can be described as monstrous.
Hans frowned. Not only aren’t they easy to deal with, but the six blood demons with near-natural disaster levels of strength came all this way to catch Hans. So, those four must be bait, right?
“This is surprising. To think you’d use four blood demons as bait.”
“Well, that’s right. Sometimes sacrifices must be made to catch the big fish.”
“The big fish? You’re talking about me?”
“Of course. Honestly, my expectations are high. I wonder how strong you really are…!!”
Beck laughed heartily as he swung his axe. The massive axe swung with a speed unmatched by its size. As soon as it touched the ground, it swallowed everything around it in one gulp.
General Beck of Hell.
Among the blood demons, he could be called the strongest if measured purely by strength. Even the protagonist found it impossible to confront him directly and had to attack from the sides.
But who would have thought I’d face such a being so soon? No, maybe this is rather lucky? Quickly coming to a decision, Hans clashed his index and middle fingers together. At that moment, time stopped.
In that frozen moment, Hans was already in motion. He swung the Divine Sword drawn from his waist at Beck‘s neck right in front of him. However, Beck‘s neck didn’t get sliced. What the hell…
Hans immediately released the Time Stop. There was no time to waste any longer. The moment time resumed and Beck was allowed to move, he lowered his head. Then he burst into laughter.
“Ha-ha! I almost had my neck sliced off!”
“But you’ve already been cut halfway through.”
“This much is a great battle scar!!”
“…You madman.”
Even with the Divine Sword, I could only cut halfway. No, it was exactly because it was the Divine Sword that I could manage to slice even halfway. Hans frowned. To begin with, Beck couldn’t be killed just by cutting his neck.
“I understand now why the other demons fell so easily.”
Meanwhile, Beck was secretly impressed. He had heard about it, but to think there was someone this formidable. Beck had been the vanguard, enjoying countless battles.
But this time, he couldn’t even react. Speed, strength, skill. Everything was a perfect ambush. That only served to excite Beck even more. This was the kind of fight he wanted. Perhaps I might truly die.
He craved that kind of fight. Seeing Beck begin to tremble with excitement, Hans frowned. It was easy for him to notice that Beck was starting to heat up.
“You’re more interesting than I thought!”
“….”
“How could I not have known someone like you?!”
“Beck, there’s no time to play around. Right now….”
“Tch… I understand, I understand.”
Beck clicked his tongue. The overt discomfort indicated that he was not in a good mood. But even if Beck was a battle-loving warrior, he knew the difference between public and private.
Reluctantly nodding, the blood demons watching from a distance quickly closed in. Suddenly, surrounded by blood demons, Hans felt his mind going blank.
Why are they going this far? He couldn’t hide the thought. He even pondered using Time Stop to escape. But he soon pushed that thought away.
‘If I run away now, something big will happen somewhere else.’
Each blood demon is a monster that can take on an army. But if the blood demons lose their target here? Then they would naturally attack the military of the Human Kingdom and the Dwarf Republic.
If that happens, it’s game over. If four to five blood demons join forces? Naturally, the army would face annihilation, and even the Royal Knights wouldn’t withstand it. Then the Racial Alliance would fall back into an age of darkness.
“Come at me all at once.”
“Oh? As expected, you do have some guts!”
“Be careful. The Commander of the Royal Knights is our opponent.”
Even though Hans tried to provoke them by wiggling his fingers, instead of falling for the bait, the blood demons were on high alert. Seeing that, Hans realized that this would not be an easy matter.
