Chapter 178
Chapter 178. Leap, One-Horned Unicorn
— Capital of Evaroti, southern district.
From the fallen Seaborn Fortress, the Demon Lord Army’s vanguards and scouts are slowly infiltrating.
This area is densely populated with ordinary citizens, featuring tightly packed 2 to 3-story houses, with winding alleys running in every direction, making it easy to lose one’s sense of direction without familiarity with the area.
“They’re here.”
In a certain house at a three-way intersection, the desperate men hiding there heightened their tension at the shadow moving through the alley under the moonlight.
To blend into the night, the men smeared their faces with ink and painted their swords and knives black to avoid reflecting light. Even with such preparations, it was tough against Night Elves and Demon Race due to their night vision.
Given that this is an ambush, they couldn’t light a fire. They’re at a disadvantage. However, taking down the demons wasn’t their goal—
Three shadows ran through the alley.
Beastman soldiers or Night Elf soldiers? All three shadows carried long, stick-like objects. Glinting in the moonlight, they were spears! Additionally, a crackling sound rang out, and blinding purple lightning was unleashed. The wire trap set on the road was destroyed.
…Demons!!
In the darkness, the men exchanged glances and nodded.
A man, said to be a former soldier,bitten on a whistle, while a one-armed swordsman and veterans brandished their swords, and a man who once hunted in the western kingdom slowly notched an arrow to his bow.
“——”
A tense moment.
The sound of a spring trap going off echoed.
“Ow! Damn it!”
The demon who stepped on the bear trap screamed involuntarily, at the same time the former hunter shot his arrow. The arrow, even painted black at the tip, swiftly approached the demon.
“What!?”
But just before it struck the demon’s shoulder, it seemed to hit an invisible wall and bounced off. A protection spell—no matter, as the man with the whistle blew.
“Die—!”
They charged into the streets with their weapons in hand.
“Ha! An ambush! [Legs wither!]”
With a mocking smile, the demon warrior unleashed a pitch-black magic power even darker than the night. Former veterans stumbled as their legs were ensnared by the curse, while the demon nonchalantly thrust his spear, taking their lives one after another.
“Ahhh!!!”
In a semi-panic state, the former hunter inside the house unleashed a barrage of arrows, but the arrows, lacking any prayers or miracles, surely couldn’t penetrate the protection spell.
“You little pest!”
Frustrated, the demon, having been caught in a bear trap, ignited purple lightning within his hand and struck the house with a massive bolt of lightning. A thunderous roar shook the city; more than enough firepower to kill a single human. The charred former hunter collapsed, making a dry thud sound—
“Damn it!”
In the blink of an eye, the one-armed swordsman was left as the last man standing, yet he swung his sword undeterred.
“—What? Just some weaklings!”
The demon briefly flinched at his extraordinary resolve, but upon noticing the swordsman’s advance fell within the realm of common sense, he wore a smirk of confidence.
“Die pathetic!”
The spear whirred. A sweeping strike fueled by brute force.
However, the one-armed swordsman ducked just in time, dodging, and slashed at the now-open body of the demon—
With a solid thud, the sword was stopped. The demon’s left arm, a magically created ice, thickly absorbed the blade and froze it—
“Here it comes!”
The demon swung its arm, its overwhelming strength sending the swordsman’s weapon flying. One arm alone couldn’t contend with the demon’s enhanced physique—using its ice-covered hand, the demon pummeled the one-armed swordsman.
“Gah—”
A dull thud echoed as flesh met flesh, sending the swordsman flying into the wall like a ragdoll.
“Hah! Light as a feather! Die!”
With the swordsman somehow rising again, a merciless spear pierced his abdomen. A wet sound accompanied the plunge of the blade.
“Gah—ahhh!!!”
Yet, the swordsman didn’t falter. He pressed on. Even impaled by the spear, spewing blood from his mouth, he pulled out a knife from his waist belt—
“Woooahhhh!!!”
Catching the demon’s right arm by surprise, he slashed with the knife, grappling onto him.
“Wha—this bastard! Don’t touch me, you filthy!”
Angered, the demon swung his spear with all his might, sending the swordsman flying once more. Cursing the scrape on his right arm, he clicked his tongue.
“…Of all things, my right arm!”
The one-armed swordsman—glancing at his missing right arm, clicked his tongue again.
“You’ve done well! My first wound in this battle, like this…. like this!”
“Isn’t it because you’re an idiot?”
“How embarrassing to let some weakling injure me!”
Mocked by his comrades, the furious demon shouted, “Shut up!” as the one-armed swordsman struggled to rise—
“Enough already! Die!”
With a thud, the spear stab deep into his abdomen. The swordsman fell without a sound, but his trembling left hand reached for his waist pouch—
The demon, puzzled, realized he was pulling out a whistle and deepened his sneer.
“Go on, blow it! No merit will come from scum like you! Hurry up and call for help!”
Pii… Piiiruru… The swordsman exhaustedly attempted to blow the whistle, but it barely made any sound, almost silent.
“Ha Ha Ha! Put some effort into it! No one will hear that kind of sound!”
While the demon stabbed at the one-armed swordsman’s thigh and waist with the spear’s tip, laughing boisterously, two of his comrades watched, grinning.
“Let’s see, which comes first, your death or help arriving—”
Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out.
“Oh!”
The demon torturing the swordsman rolled his eyes back. From the side of his head wearing a helmet, blue blood spurted out.
“Huh?”
“What?!”
Falling slowly beside the demon—someone had appeared without a sound.
Glistening in the moonlight, a helmet shaped like a unicorn.
A black-haired female swordsman stood there, holding a slender sword.
“Big Sister…”
Dropping the whistle from his mouth, the one-armed swordsman murmured. For a moment, the swordsman looked in his direction—Barbara, but soon turned to face the enemy before her,
And then her figure vanished.
“Is that the Sword Saint?!”
Again—a crisp sound reverberated. The demon, about to scream, had his forehead pierced by Barbara’s rapier, dying instantly. With sharp eyes, Barbara pulled out the rapier, locking onto the last demon.
“Hiiii—[Purple Lightning!]”
The demon, face contorted in fear, hastily released lightning from its fingertips,
But—.
Zipping through another dimension, Barbara vanished; the lightning pierced the void.
Where to—? As his gaze wandered, beside him was—
A silver one-horned unicorn.
With a final crisp sound, Barbara’s rapier boldly pierced the demon’s brow.
“Gah!”
Jolting in a spasm, the demon fell backward, its eyes wide open in astonishment.
— The sound of footsteps echoed from the alley, as Hessel and the others rushed in.
“Is it over?”
“Yeah.”
Barbara replied shortly, immediately rushing over to the one-armed swordsman collapsing in a pool of blood.
“Ah… you…”
“It was you all along.”
With a gentle voice, Barbara stroked his cheek—still smeared with ink.
“—I didn’t recognize you because you looked far too handsome.”
At Barbara’s lighthearted comment, the one-armed swordsman chuckled, “Hehe…” He was a familiar face, the one who joked around during that day the heroes stormed Emelgias’s main camp last year—
“Get treated right away…”
Charlotte, the female priest who rushed over, lost her words upon realizing the swordsman’s arm was missing.
Miracles to heal such a loss were beyond Charlotte’s abilities, and at the same time, she couldn’t waste the precious magic power of a priest. Right now, they had no leeway to save someone who couldn’t fight—
“It’s… fine…”
The one-armed swordsman weakly shook his head.
“Before the end… I wanted to… do one last… thing…”
While grasping Barbara’s hand, he awkwardly tried to smile—
And lost his strength like that.
“………”
As she closed his eyes, Barbara stood up. Offering a brief prayer for the one-armed swordsman and the fallen desperate men at this place.
“…Let’s move.”
Everyone nodded in silence, once again charging into the darkness of the city.
Pii—! Somewhere else, a whistle echoed.
The demon warriors continued to pour in.
