Taktaktaktaktak…

"Hey! Get that back here!"

A few seconds of silence pass. Then the various noises come back.

"Where's the shovel?" "Soldier! Go tell them we'll need more wood!" "Yes sir!"

Taktaktaktak…

Because of the noise, Erina's sleep was cut short. The noise of the various soldiers working in the distance did little to cure her headache and the cloth of her tent didn't block much of the noise.

Groaning, she got up from the uncomfortable bed and walked up to a small mirror standing on a short table. She splashed a bit of water on her face and passed a hand through her hair to straighten it up.

Once washed, dressed, fed and ready, she grabbed her staff and got out of the tent.

"My Lady."

She nodded at the two guards who greeted her and started to climb up the hill she was on. Looking back, it was a miracle she even survived the last days.

After Cuthel had opened a rift to hell, they had all ran wildly. Li Wei, Armant, Erina, the inhabitants from Fraham, the soldiers, the mercenaries, the guards, nearly all of them. The few that fought back were utterly decimated by the sheer number of demons flooding the city.

All of it had happened in some sort of haze. A strange mix of red, black, white, hot, cold, metal and blood. A few scenes flashed in her mind:

An old woman pouring a pot of boiling water on an imp attacking her.

A few guards barricaded in a guard's post, annihilated by a towering demon who broke the walls in a single swing of its large hammer.

Incubuses walking into a temple from which suspicious cries and shouts came out.

Something which looked like a mass of flesh, simply absorbing everything it touched.

A young man, bravely but uselessly standing in front of his beloved against a group of five hell hounds ready to pounce.

An incredibly fat human-looking demon, releasing pus and flies from his numerous wounds which nested into the many corpses already littering the streets.

Amidst all this horror, she managed to stay sane thanks to Li Wei's clear voice cutting through the filth and Armant's shouts as he drove his sword into demonic flesh. Her mastery of magic also had helped. A lot. She had finally regained full control over her powers, and the feeling of each spell hitting its target did well in reassuring her that she wasn't powerless. Far from it in fact.

In the end, the trio managed to get out of Fraham with a group of twelve survivors and joined the long line of refugees leaving the town, intent on putting as much distance as possible with… Whatever had been called from the depth of hell.

Thankfully, such an event didn't go unnoticed at all. During the third day, they met an army that had been hastily formed and sent in urgency at Fraham. Seeing it gave back hope to Erina and Armant. Maybe they would be able to redeem their fault? Even if it wasn't by their own hands, maybe they could do something to prevent what they failed to prevent in the first place.

As soon as they revealed their identities, they had been permitted to speak to the leader who turned out to be none other one of the king's strategists, Melkar Haldi. In fact, he was one of the people that had taught Armant military strategy.

After a quick discussion, the army had retreated back to the Griffon's Claw pass. As soon as the encampment had been set up, Erina and Armant had been given a few precious hours to get some sleep they had sorely lacked the last days.

With the sleep and some potions, she felt quite rested. It was now dusk and the sun was setting, bringing in a fresh air that would make the soldier's work more bearable. She reached the top of the hill and entered the command tent. There, a few people were already talking over a map.

Armant was speaking with a bearded bald man in quite rich clothes, purple in color and lined with gold and silver threads. His clothes weren't really fit for the situation, but he had to leave the court in a hurry on the king's personal orders. He was Melkar Haldi himself, and beside him were two younger similarly dressed men, discussing while observing the map laid out on the table in front of them.

"Ah, lady Electra! Please come in, we were about to start!"

At Melkar's invitation, Erina greeted everyone and joined them around the table. Once everyone was focused, the strategist presented the situation.

"Your highnesses, I was sent by the king himself along with an army. With me are my two students. This, is the Griffon's Claw pass. As you can see, we have quite an advantage here."

Indeed, the layout of the terrain totally gave the advantage to the Ridan army. The Griffon's claw pass was a narrow valley between two mountains with steep sides. Because of that, climbing them was extremely difficult. Even more, on each side was a dense forest. Thanks to the narrow pass, the humans would be able to face only a fraction of the demonic horde instead of facing its full might. Just behind the pass, a hill was placed, the very same hill they were on right now.

"The army I brought with me was formed with extreme haste, and as such some resources are lacking right now. Most notably cannons. I only managed to bring twenty Macarius models."

This was an advantage and a disadvantage in itself. The older Macarius cannon model could only shoot normal cannonballs of lead, iron or even steel, contrary to the more recent Merick model (named after the king of course) which fired heavier and enchanted cannonballs. It was a model designed for field use rather than siege defence. However, that also meant that ammunition for the Macarius models could be brought in greater quantities. Of course, the lacking numbers was also a problem.

"We also lack tents, I don't know how many days of food and water we have and the supplies section is still trying to make head or tail of the consumables and their quantity that were strapped on top of the chariots. Oh, and also we lack horses for our cavalry. However!"

He took a moment to breathe.

"His majesty your father has promised reinforcements in the coming days. Until then, we will have to do with what we have… Now, how should we take on that situation at hand? I have already ordered the men to build defences, but with the time constraint it will be not much more than a trench and wooden pikes."

There was a short moment of silence as everyone studied the map in front of them, then Armant spoke what was on everyone's mind.

"I think the simplest strategy would be to use the valley to our advantage and funnel the enemy into facing an organized killzone. With the cannons placed on the hill, they should be able to aim at high value targets before they can break our frontline. Melkar, how many troops have you brought in total?"

The strategist consulted a sheet of paper in his pocket.

"Roughly three thousand infantry, one thousand various ranged soldiers including archers and crossbowmen, three hundred cavalrymen and the rest are from the logistics section. Enough cannoneers to man the twenty cannons and most importantly, six war mages from the Stargazers."

Armant whistled, showing his appreciation. War mages were already extremely powerful, but the order of the Stargazers was the most prestigious military organization in the country. Only the best were selected and even those had to follow a harsh training which only a small part survived.

He placed small wooden figurines on the map, each representing a group of five hundred soldiers in order to clarify his idea.

"One thousand five hundred soldiers on the frontline, their only job will be to hold the line. Behind them, half of the archers organized in divisions that we can move depending on the situation, and switch the two groups when they need to replenish ammunition. At the back, the last one thousand five hundred soldiers who we switch with the frontline every two hours in order to prevent exhaustion. Like I said earlier, the cannons placed on this hill in order to shoot high value targets. I'm thinking mainly of large demons, those that could be hardly dealt with by the regular infantry."

It seemed like a solid plan. However, Armant's inexperience in leading large armies showed to the strategist quite clearly.

"Excuse me your highness, but simply defending isn't going to do the trick. We need to be more aggressive if we want to avoid a situation where our soldiers are simply grind down by sheer numbers. I think we can use this."

He pointed to a place on the map dotted with small squares a bit further into the valley. There was a small lake near it.

"The scouts told me of this abandoned village. With appropriate planning, we could strike a big hit from there. But before that… Yes, they should be back by now."

Just as he finished his sentence, a soldier only wearing common clothes, a cape on his back and a dagger at his belt opened the tent and knelt. Without a word, he presented a rolled piece of paper to the strategist and left as soon as it was taken. Melkar Haldi read the content, frowning.

"Is it bad news, master?"

One of the students asked with worry in his voice.

"Quite bad news indeed. We will be severely outnumbered. They have twenty thousands."

With the humans outnumbered by four to one, it would indeed be a hard battle. However, with the terrain advantage it wouldn't be impossible.

"What about the composition of the enemy?"

The strategist kept on reading for a moment, then looked the others in the eyes.

"They have formations. That means they will have a commander and actual strategies instead of a blind rush. From what the report says, most of their soldiers seem to be foot soldiers. However flying demons and cavalry have been spotted too."

One of the students of the strategist raised his voice.

"I think I have an idea…"

A few hours later, everything was set in order to repel the demonic attack. The army had advanced a bit further into the valley, forming a frontline of one thousand five hundred soldiers spanning the entire width. Behind them, a group of five hundred archers was finishing setting up barrels full of arrows and the second group of one thousand five hundred soldiers formed the backline.

The unit of three hundred cavalrymen had been hidden behind the treeline not far, ready to ride out at any call. And lastly, on the hill were the cannon battery and the headquarters from where orders would be given.

The scouts had come back recently, and according to their last report the demonic army should enter the valley any moment now. From afar, the distinct noise of a marching army could already be heard.

A strange silence reigned in the ranks of the humans. Some of them whispered, some of them looked anxiously into the valley for the enemy and some of them made last-minute preparations, but everyone shared the nervousness of the battle to come. Veterans steeled for the clash and rookies tried to repress the fear at the idea of facing demons.

On top of the hill Armant, Erina, Melkar, his students and Li Wei looked at the scene, feverishly waiting. It was night-time, but the full-moon high up in the sky brought enough light to not impede the human's abilities too much.

A lot of things could go wrong, and all of them knew it all too well. Melkar had formed this army with extreme urgency, simply requisitioning the garrisons of the cities and forts he had passed along the way. They were good soldiers, but not the best.

The same could be said about the logistics of the army. The strategist had bought in bulk, sometimes at mind-boggling prices everything he could that would help the army. Healing potions had been shared to the sergeants and other consumables according to the strategy that had been put in place.

The biggest problem was the lack of mages. Despite, or rather because the Stargazers was the most powerful organization in the country their numbers were less than six hundred. When Melkar had called for a rally from them, the grandmaster had originally refused to send his men to such a dangerous battle. The only ones that came were those that had nothing to lose or wanted to test their mettle against the oldest and probably strongest enemy of mankind.

As such, extremely few mages had come to fight here. Counting Erina, only seven war mages in total were ready to rain down their spells. They were under Erina's command and waited nearby for any command.

Fortunately, Erina was an extremely talented mage. And mages respected more than anything talented mages. The probability of them fleeing the battle would be pretty low with her as the commanding officer.

Finally, the enemy revealed itself. Only the outlines could be seen in the distance, further reinforcing the feeling of mystery created by unnatural beings. It was like a dark tide, covering the ground.

Rida's men's fear started to grow. Now that the enemy was in sight, the threat seemed even more tangible than before. The most nervous rookies vomited, unease clearly showing on their faces.

In the quiet noise of the torches crackling and wind rustling, Melkar's voice seemed almost too loud.

"Do you know why men fear the night, your highness?"

A moment of silence passed.

"Because we cannot see what's in it?"

The strategist chuckled.

"Ah, a good answer... We fear it because we imagine what we can't see. We see only the shadows, and assume the worst. I believe you should shed some light to our men. Banish the shadows, and tell them how to kill the enemy."

Armant was not one for speeches. He preferred direct and efficient actions. But he could see why his men were worried. A lot of them had never seen a demon in their life, even less fought one. He signalled Erina and she understood directly.

She muttered something, and her hand glowed blue as she placed it on Armant's throat. He nodded to thank her and cleared his throat. His magnified voice swept over the army, catching everyone's attention.

"Men! Do not fear!"

The whole army was now silent, everyone was listening.

"I know you're afraid. Who isn't afraid of demons? Only the fool or the bravest would remain calm upon this sight. But let me assure you! They can be killed! I had to flee myself along with the princess from Fraham, three days ago. And you know what they did? They feared us. They feared my sister's magic. They feared my steel! Even their champion couldn't stand our wrath! A blade to the throat or an arrow to the skull will act as good on a demon as on a man! They have more troops? Preposterous! Every man in front of me is worth at least ten of theirs! They have towering beasts? Our cannons will bring them to their knees! So, show them! Show them was men are made of! Will we let them pillage our lands?"

Silence. No one spoke. Until a single weak voice cut through the night, coming from the ranks.

"No, we won't!"

After that, the soldiers started speaking among themselves. The discussions slowly turned into shouting.

"Will we let them kill our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands and wives?"

The shouting turned into furious denials.

"Will we let them enslave us? Turn us into food? Toys?"

The morale was at its peak! Even the young soldiers, those that never fought for their lives had forgot the fear, only to be replaced by an almost zealous fury.

"Drive your blade into their flesh! Shoot your arrows into their eyes! We are men and women, show them how we fight! Show them that we won't go down without a fight! Take out your weapons and show them to the enemy! Tell them how will you kill with it! And after that, watch them die, for we will have deserved victory! Sound the war drums!"

THUM thum thum thum…
THUM thum thum thum…
THUM thum thum thum…

…

From behind Armant the loud sound of the traditional war drums added to the noise. These were not enchanted or anything. They were just designed to make as much noise as possible. The men unconsciously started to breathe in rhythm to the drums, filling them with courage.

While Armant spoke, the enemy had come much closer. Now, the time for preparation was over. Now, was the time to fight.

The men on the frontline could now see the face of their enemy. Most of the demon army was comprised of what looked like surprisingly common foot soldiers. Some had blue skin, some had yellow skin, some had an extra limb or additional organs, but overall, they were humanoid demons wearing a simple chainmail, a conical helmet, a round shield and a one-handed weapon. Most of them seemed to wield maces, but a few had other weapons glowing in a suspicious manner. Thankfully, the cannons proved just as effective as they were expected to. Each cannonball drew a crimson line in the enemy ranks, tearing limbs apart and instilling shock into the demons.

Commanding her own group of one hundred men, Valera was really surprised that demons had such simple equipment. Even as the daughter of a poor, minor noble family she had been educated and thought of demons as much more dangerous enemies. The arrows had already started to rain on them, and she burned into her memory each picture of arrows piercing demonic flesh. They could bleed. And they could die! Now that she had seen that, her worry and fear were replaced by her training.

"Unsheathe your weapons!"

All the one hundred men and women at her order took out their weapon simultaneously, making a loud noise. That was intentional. It had been repeated many times over when she had received command of the soldiers. By taking out the weapons all at once, it boosted a soldier's morale. It told each soldier "Yes you're fighting, but at your side you have one hundred other soldiers who will fight just as hard.".

She took out her own weapon and raised it high up in the air, it was a sword with engravings on its hilt. This was the only magic item she could afford with her pay, along with the enchanted ring her family gifted her the day she enrolled in the army.

"Forward!"

From her position on the right flank, she could see many similarly ranked soldiers ordering their soldiers forward on the left flank. However, the soldiers at the center of the formation held their ground. It made her curious, but she quickly dismissed it. She had been giver her orders, and she would apply them.

As she led her own column of men, she came close enough to see the demons in the light brought by torches that had been planted in the ground earlier. Despite their poor equipment, their rolling muscles under each chainmail worried her. Would armor be enough to stop a blow? She herself wore a breastplate over a padded coat, a few plates to cover her limbs and a helmet, but would that be enough to defend against someone that could probably crush someone's head with their mere physical strength? She couldn't do anything but pray it would.
However, she also noticed something else that filled her heart with joy. Each time a cannon spewed death, demons had a clear unease showing on their face and some of them even jumped in fear. And she understood it completely. The first time she had heard and seen a cannon shoot when she was young, she had thought it was thunder. And when she had seen there were no clouds in the sky, she started praying for the gods not to kill her. Her mother had quickly reassured her at that time, but there was no one to reassure the demons. All they knew was that some strange weapons made really loud noises and took more than ten of them with each shot.
And she was perfectly alright with that.

"Weapons ready!"

As they marched closer and closer to the enemy, shields were raised, spears braced and faces steeled. They were still a bit too far. Forty meters… Thirty meters… Arrows stopped raining in order to avoid friendly wounds, cannons stopped barking. And now was the time for madness to begin.

"CHARGE!"

At her command, her own one hundred soldiers sped toward the enemy in a loud clamour, drowning their fear in the sound. Nearby, the four other captains leading their hundred men of the right flank shouted similar orders, launching their men into the melee.

The earth shaked from the hundreds, maybe even thousands of feet running towards each other. She saw a young soldier overtaken by zealotry running even faster than the others. She tried to call him back, but it was too late. He pierced a demon with his spear in a triumphant cry, but got immediately pummelled to death because he was alone.

She reached the enemy frontline just a few seconds after, making a blow slide over her with her shield and pierced a demon's leg. It fell on one knee, and she immediately bashed him in the face with the border of the shield, sending it sprawling to the ground. Before it could react, she drove her sword into its throat.

She saw one of her men to her right in a deadlock with a demon and immediately came to his aid, stabbing the demon's flank while the soldier pushed it back and dealt the finishing blow. Together, they took on another demon, quickly putting it down.

Blood had overtaken their minds, but not only the human's. The battle craze was universal for all soldiers in the heat of combat, and more than two thousand soldiers be it human or demon were battling, shouting, crying, bleeding and killing. This, was war.

The battle had begun just as expected. More than raw power, the cannons had an important impact on the demon's morale. At least according to the reports Armant had received.

But the weakness of the demons made his suspicious. Every demon he had passed while fleeing Fraham was way more dangerous than a common foot soldier. He shared his worries with Erina, Li Wei, Melkar and his disciples but no one had an answer. They were just glad to be facing such common demons. If they had to deal with stronger enemies along with the numerical disadvantage, it would have been a losing battle from the beginning.

According to the strategy that had been planned out, the left and right flank of the first one thousand five hundred battle group on the frontline initiated a pincer movement, trapping the demons between three sides and mercilessly slaughtering them. It took no longer than thirty minutes for them to lose their morale and start to flee. The cannonballs fired in their back was the last straw that provoked a mass rout.

Everyone in the commanding area expressed their relief at that first victory with different means. Melkar fell into a chair, wiping the sweat on his forehead. His students broke into a furious conversation, analyzing the reasons for victory. Li Wei allowed herself to smile. Armant looked warmly at the army. Erina released the tight grasp she had on her staff.

"Now, we can't rest on our laurels! This is only the beginning of the battle!"

At Armant's comment, everyone came back to the table with the map of the valley on it. This, indeed was only the first wave. Despite the numerical advantage, the valley was pretty narrow and the enemy general couldn't send his forces for an all-out assault. And he or she was pretty smart. Only a first wave of demons had been repelled, but the majority of the enemy was forming ranks a few hundred meters away from the human frontline.

Maybe it was prisoners from Fraham, maybe it was a devilish intelligence, but the enemy general had already figured out the nature of the cannon. The next wave of demons already approaching the frontline were in a loose formation, heavily negating the impact of each cannonball and arrows.
Granted, it also made them more vulnerable to charges but with their numerical disadvantage the humans couldn't really afford to charge out too many times.

As they were discussing the next steps of the battle, the reports came in.

"Sir! Your highnesses! We have lost one hundred and twenty-seven men and two hundred wounded who are currently being healed, while inflicting an estimated five hundred casualties on their side!"

As the soldier left back into the battlefield, distress showed on the strategist's face.

"That's way too much! We won't be able to hold out for long like that!"

One of the students snickered with a contemptuous face.

"Pfft. What do you mean master? We dealt almost twice or thrice the amount of casualties they did to us! Even if they have larger numb-"

His sentence was interrupted by the strategist who surprisingly quickly for a man of his age, got up, raised his student into the air by the collar of his outfit and roared.

"Can't you understand?! How many times do I have to repeat it for you to understand?! A soldier isn't a tireless machine! A soldier will run out of stamina, supplies, weapons and will to fight! And what do you think of the enemy? Do you really think he'll keep employing the same tactics over and over again?"

The whole command camp was in total silence. Everyone was watching the old man, not expecting such an outburst from him. He quickly let go of his disciple, cleared his voice and focused back on the map.

"Please excuse my behaviour, things are already quite tense, I do not need to hear the nonsense of my students. So, as I was about to say, now that the enemy is aware of the strength of our cannons, they'll probably go for them. We have to prepare a counterattack."

Looking on the map, they were only two obvious paths for the enemy to attack the cannons. By passing through the dense forest on each side of the valley, it would be possible for an enemy force to sneak through it.

"I believe we can employ the same tactic for our frontline as before, that leaves us with three hundred cavalrymen, five hundred infantry and five hundred archers to work with. Should we split the infantry into two groups?"

Melkar studied Armant's idea for a moment, but he wasn't convinced.

"This will not be enough, your highness. We have to be more aggressive, do you remember? We have to strike first, before they can deal too much casualties on our side. I have a better idea…"

Just as it was expected, the demons came for the artillery. Two groups of what looked like hellhounds with a larger Cerberus leading each group had burst out of the forest, heading straight towards the battery.

On the right side, two hundred and fifty archers had baited the hellhounds with a few well-placed volleys, then retreated to leave enough space for the three hundred cavalrymen to make a devastating charge which killed the Cerberus leading the pack. With their leader dead, the hellhounds fell back into primal animal behaviour, making them easy targets for the heavily armoured knights.

The same couldn't be said for the left flank. A similar strategy had been employed with the archers, and then a group of five hundred infantry to deal with the pack.
But they failed to. The Cerberus had killed three of the five captains leading the group, and the two remaining couldn't control such a large group making it fall into chaos. The soldiers no longer fought as a group, but as individuals and the hounds inflicted deep terror along with their flaming attacks.

Just at the same time, desperate cries came from the frontline. On the right side, large demons wielding two-handed axes were wreaking havoc in the human lines. The line had been disrupted and morale was clearly wavering, some soldiers already running while the right side of the second line of defence rushed to try to save their comrades.

Clearly, they had an answer. Erina and her mages. Even if they were only seven of them, they could annihilate each threat with their training as war mages. But here lied the problem. One war mage group. Two desperate situations both equally important.

In the end, Armant ran to a horse stationed nearby, and got on top of it while shouting.

"Li Wei, come with me! Erina, help the frontline!"

Li Wei jumped behind Armant while Erina nodded and called the mages, who immediately got on top of horses too and sped towards the frontline.

Melkar was left with his two disciples and the thirty foot knights, wandering how this battle would go. All he could do right now was to hope that everything would go in their favour. Allowing himself to relax a little bit, he sat on a chair and looked around.

He couldn't help but notice a small bird on top of one of the tents. It was red and green and looking around, probably trying to make out the situation. The old man couldn't help but chuckle and smile. Such a weak, such an innocent and pure life, and yet it was witnessing the battle that may very well mark the beginning of the end of humanity in this region.

As the bird flew away, the strategist followed it, admiring its speed for such a small animal.

And then he saw the sky.

And then his smile dropped.

And his chair fell as he abruptly got up, pointing to the sky in a silent scream.

When he arrived at the left flank, Armant realized the situation was far from ideal.

The chain of command was totally broken. Each soldier was fighting for its dear life, some had ran long ago. He managed to rally a group of thirty soldiers who were about to desert, but changed their mind when the prince came atop his horse.

"What's the situation? What caused this chaos?"

Those that heard the prince's question looked at each other embarrassingly, until one of them stepped forward and knelt.

"Your highness! It's… It's that beast! The moment we started to fight, it killed captain Bernard and captain Hugo! I don't know the captain of the third company, but he wanted to avenge them and got killed too!"

"What about the two others?"

"I don't… I don't know sir! Last time I've heard of them, they were trying to mount a defence over there!"

The soldier pointed in a direction and Armant looked there. From his elevated position he could clearly see that a group of soldiers had formed a ring and were trying to repel the relentless attacks of the hellhounds. On one side of the ring, two significantly better armed soldiers, probably the captains, were facing the Cerberus which was preparing to pounce.

"You there!"

He pointed to the soldier who had just spoken.

"Rally everyone! Tell them the Prince is here and that they need to regroup!"

"B-but…"

"Just do it!"

With that, the prince charged right into the melee into the direction previously mentioned. The warhorse he was riding was particularly heavy, and no hellhound risked being crushed under its hooves. He was still at least fifteen meters away when he saw that the Cerberus had jumped on one of the captains, pinning it down by putting its weight on the kite shield. The other captain was furiously hacking at the demonic hound with his two-handed sword, but the thick leathery skin prevented from inflicting life-threatening wounds.

"Li Wei! Save him!"

"Sir!"

She jumped from atop the horse in an elegant arc, aiming at the Cerberus. Mid-flight, her feet started to glow in a grey light and her voice cut through the noise of the battlefield.

"Die, demon! [Ki disruption]!"

Armant came a few seconds later to witness the Cerberus retreating a few steps, blood flowing out from its three open maws. It wasn't in great quantities, but at least it had been enough to disrupt the demon and force it to acknowledge the new threat.

It was growling at its two new opponents, and the two captains quickly reminded it to not underestimate them. While it was focused on Armant and Li Wei, the first one brought its two-handed sword and cut one ear from the right head, the second one brought his mace onto its paw and the dry noise of breaking bones forced it to retreat a little bit further to keep the four humans in its view.

Without warning, he lunged at Li Wei, clearly the biggest threat. She took it by surprise by jumping underneath him and using her feet to propulse it even further.

"You two! Go reorganize our men! I told them to rally on me, they should come here!"

One of the captains heavily protested.

"But sir, we can't leave you to deal with that… Thing!"

"Do it! It's that or we all get wiped out!"

It was with clear unease on their face that the two captains got back to leading their men into a counterattack.

Fortunately, it seemed the beast had a basic concept of honor and didn't let the other hellhounds attack the two humans while they were already engaged.

That, or it wanted to keep the tastiest meat for itself.

In a similar fashion, Armant had ordered his soldiers not to interfere. While they may be able to help, he was way better equipped to deal with the threat along with Li Wei and wanted to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The beast was the best described as a hulking canine beast, at least the size of a horse, with three jaws ready to tear anything it touched to shreds and paws with vicious claws. The three set of eyes followed cautiously the two humans, waiting for any opportunity.

Meanwhile, Li Wei and Armant looked for the weaknesses. For one thing, the right front paw had been damaged by the captain with his mace less than two minutes ago. The beast was lightly limping, but it didn't seem that much bothered by it.

The second advantage they had was that as a canine creature, the Cerberus could hardly defend from someone in its back and flanks.

The martial artist's skills had definitely injured it, and Armant wanted to capitalize on it.

"Li Wei, I won't be able to pierce its hide. I leave the killing to you."

She inhaled, then answered shortly.

"Alright."

As they were thinking about how to tackle the problem, apparently the Cerberus got fed up. His three maws filled with an orange light and he barked loudly. Two fireballs were aimed at Armant, while the third was aimed at the martial artist.

Not intent on taking head-on such an attack, the prince immediately ducked, but that was exactly what the enemy wanted. As soon as the firewalls were launched, it pounced on Armant and pinned him to the ground.

Taken by surprise, the prince couldn't do anything but hold his blade at the two extremities to block one maw from biting his head. The second one closed on his left forearm and luckily was completely blocked by the fogzephyr bracer which did its job wonderfully. The third one bit the right shoulder, not piercing the dragon leather but breaking bones from the sheer pressure applied.

Because of the excruciating pain, Armant couldn't hold the sword and had to release it. Thankfully, Li Wei didn't stay idle. As soon as she had managed to avoid the fireball coming at her, she had run to his aid and jumped on top of the Cerberus. Her hand glowed in magical light, and she brutally brought them on the ears of the head biting the shoulder.

And the pressure immediately stopped.

Most likely more surprised than hurt, it jumped back and buckled up to remove Li Wei from its back. She didn't stay any longer and came near Armant to help him. With her help, he uncorked a health potion and downed the liquid. It immediately soothed the pain and allowed him to focus back on the demon.

It was acting curiously, sniffing at its limp head and licking it a few times with no reaction. It looked almost as if it was sad.

"How did you do that?"

She smirked.

"Most people don't know it, but in most animals it's the ears that governs balance in the body. I just… Damaged them a bit."

Then, the demon did something surprising. The middle head tore the limp head apart and ate it in one bite, largely deforming its throat. The stump was bleeding, but it was quickly replaced by a reddish skin. It had only two heads left, the middle and the left one but it wouldn't be as much unbalanced now.

Only now, it was clearly furious. The growling had intensified, and its eyes reflected a bloodlust with little equal. However, it didn't affect Armant and Li Wei.

He had seen death personified. He had seen Ainz Ooal Gown, and he doubted anyone would ever equal his charisma. Comparing the two's threat level would be like comparing a seasoned soldier and an infant's.

She was unaffected. She had fought as a mercenary for the Black Dogs for many years. She had fought a greater demon and won. Her body and mind were that of a sharpened sword, both elegant and deadly, undisturbed by mere savagery.

This time, they took the initiative. Armant came at its front, slashing with his sword to keep the beast occupied while Li Wei came at its flank once more with glowing fists. The beast lunged back to avoid the bad predicament, but both of them pursued aggressively, keeping the distance short enough to threaten it and long enough to avoid the dangerous maws.

They ran through the battlefield, avoiding screaming men and wimping hellhounds, countless bodies littering the ground, zones emblazed by the hellhound's flaming attacks. Eventually, the beast stopped and raised on its two hind legs. Armant stepped back to remain a safe distance while the martial artist finally unleashed the attack she had been preparing.

The beast fell back on its four legs, but the whole area in front of it literally exploded before Li Wei's attack reached. She hit it with her opened palms, and it stopped moving.

It looked around with raised ears and ogling eyes, sometimes panting and sometimes growling, clearly confused. Both of them immediately used the opening.

Armant had noticed a warhammer laying on the ground earlier and picked it up. Then, he brought it down on the beast's already damaged leg, cleanly breaking it. Before it regained its mind, he repeatedly hit the other front leg until a similar result was achieved.
Li Wei acted in a similar manner. With the help of magic and kicks, she reduced to a pulp the beast's hind legs.

It was too late when Li Wei's spell stopped affecting the Cerberus. It couldn't move anymore. In one last attempt to fight back it opened its two maws and the same light as before filled the gaping throat.

Armant sidestepped and let the first fireball fly harmlessly into the air while he striked the mutt's second muzzle, forcing to close it. The second fireball exploded inside with no visible damage.

From then on, it wasn't a fight anymore. Armant repeatedly hit with the blunt side of the warhammer, like a cook tenderizing a tough piece of meat. Li Wei used her martial arts to destroy organ after organ. At some point, some soldiers joined into the fray and started to hack furiously at the beast with their weapons. Bits of meat, bones and fur flew everywhere, accompanied by the men's furious roar and the demon dog's painful whining. Despite the formidable amount of pain being dealt to it, it took a full minute for it to stop breathing.

At the sight of the leader of the pack being brutally massacred, it didn't take long for the hellhounds to flee and provoke a mass rout.

Finally, the left flank was secured. But at what cost…

A little more than five minutes ago, on the frontline.

Chaos had taken hold of the frontline. At least on the right flank, there was no salvaging it until a miracle happened. Valera the captain had tried to hold her ground with her soldiers, but they simply couldn't.

The first engagement had filled her with hope. They had dealt with the demons quite easily! Thanks to the encirclement and the psychological shock of the cannons, the demons hesitated while fighting, leaving big openings for her and her soldiers. When they had managed to make them flee, they all shouted in victory! Defeat was just a faraway thought!

She had her soldiers quickly reform the ranks while the soldiers at the back replaced those at the front to let them rest and heal. Seeing the advancing next wave of demons, she had ordered to brace for impact.

Amidst the ranks of the enemy, she could see large demons holding a two-handed axe. They were quite tall, at least double the size of a human and wore some kind of dark plate armor and a helmet with an opening for the face.

Considering the armor she would have to deal with, she had sheathed back her sword to take out a mace. She swung it a few times to make sure the balance was fine, then put her shield in front of her and prepared to fight.

Two strikes bounced off the protective equipment, and she punished her aggressor by turning its brain into a mush with a well-placed strike. Another demon tried to flank her, she didn't leave it unattended and striked low, making it fall to the ground. Another soldier hacked at its body with an axe while she focused back to the front.

She saw one of the hulking demons nearby. It had already cleaved through a few soldiers with its giant axe, and she saw first-hand how the weapon cleanly cut through a steel shield and the poor soul behind it. Considering how little resistance the shield had opposed, it was a reasonable guess to think the axe was enchanted or somehow magically enhanced.

Raising her spirit and her voice, she ran to the aid of her men to deal with it and pushed one to the ground, avoiding him the fate of those before. She got up and faced to beast, ready to fight. Three men joined her while the others kept the demons at bay.

It wasn't really interested in such a fight and turned away to keep killing, but she punished his error by striking behind its knee and making it fall on one knee on the ground. It swiped its axe with one hand, but she blocked just in time. At least, this confirmed that the move she had seen earlier of cutting through a shield required a special skill or magic. However, the sheer strength behind it had number her shield arm. She couldn't even imagine what would happen if it striked at full power.

Now that it had understood it wouldn't be able to face away from the captain, it was ready to kill. It raised its arm high above its head, preparing for a downward strike that would probably obliterate anything in its way. Not intent on dying today, she actually got closer to it, too close for the beast's comfort. Before he could react, she mustered her strength and used her mace to strike at the knee again, this time without results. The armor was way too thick. The three men that had come with her had no better results. The first tried to cut with his sword, but the armor blocked. The second was a bit smarter and aimed for a gap between two plates with his axe, but despite blood being drawn it was nothing more than a scratch. The third had tried to aim at the throat with his spear, but the target was way too small and the weapon slid on a plate.

The axe then came down with terrifying strength and deeply gouged the ground. The armored demon didn't take it out immediately but freed his right hand to punch Valera, sending her sprawling to the ground. Immediately after that, it raised its right foot and tried to squish her with its own weight, but she rolled to the side to avoid. Unfortunately, she had to drop her shield in order to be quick enough.

While she was raising up, the short scream of one her men being cut in two alarmed her. This was a single demon! A single one, and even her, the best equipped and probably trained of the men around couldn't take it down. And the worse was that even more of these beasts were wreaking havoc, in addition to the countless minor demons flooding the gaps created.

She had to deal with it quickly! Giving her orders to the two remaining frightened men, she prepared.

"You two! Keep it occupied, I'll deal with it!"

There was uncertainty in the men's eyes, but they accepted the orders nonetheless. But what choice did they have? Even if they fled, the sheer numbers of demons who still hadn't joined the battle would overwhelm them before they could run a short distance.

While the beast was occupied, she focused in her fingers, more specifically on her ring and the power within. Feeling it building up, she looked up at the beast which had just cut the shaft of the spear-wielding man.

"[Heroic spirit]!"

Just at that moment, she felt it. The intoxicating feeling of power within her body. Blood pumping into her veins, muscles tensing and heart beating wildly. Her feet as nimble as a tiger, her arms as strong as a yeti, her mind as sharp as blade. Yes, this was indeed the power of heroes she could summon once a week.

In just that short moment, the two men had been cut down, proof of the beast's overwhelming strength. Valera charged, roaring an inarticulate war cry. The atmosphere around her had changed, and the balance had just brutally tipped into her favor.

When she got close enough, the demon hurled his axe at her. She nimbly rolled between its legs, aiming at the knees once again. But this time, she had more than enough power. The mace caved in the armor and shattered the bone underneath. It fell immediately, probably more surprised than anything. While it was getting up, she faced it again and holding the mace with her two hands, she striked the side of the helmet. The noise of crunched metal was accompanied by the beast falling again.

She was panting. The power was already thinning out, she could feel it. Yet, despite her best efforts, despite the beast literally having half of its face caved in, it was still trying to get up. It was shaking and struggled to find a balance, but it was still alive. Now that her arms were weakening, she also noticed her mace was very light. Too light. Glancing, she saw that it had broken, the top half having flown off somewhere leaving only the shaft in her hands.

Desperately holding onto the last strings of power, she unsheathed her magical blade and thrust it deeply into the demon's thin gap between the helmet and body armour. This time, it was done for good. It fell one last time, and didn't get up. She fell too, exhausted. Now that [Heroic spirit] had ran out, her whole body was shaking and her head hurting. This was the price to pay for a hero's power.

She was smiling. She had managed to kill at least one of them. It had required every last bit of power within her, but she had done it. She could see two demons were approaching her body paralyzed by exhaustion, but she kept smiling, because her death would have been worth it.

Their weapons had a sick glow, and she swore she could see her reflection into their grinning faces. Closing her eyes, she prepared for the killing blow.

What came instead was the noise of steel shattering. She reopened her eyes and saw a strange sight. A square piece of stone was hovering over her, apparently having protected her. The two demons were also looking at the stump of the sword left in the hand that striked.

[Mitra's lance]!

The roaring voice was followed by the two demons being sent back to hell by what looked like two long stone spikes. Steps heavy enough to be heard despite the chaos of the battlefield caught her attention, and she soon saw its owner. A hulking man, entirely covered by a strange armor of crude stone and three similar spikes to the ones that had been shot earlier hovering behind his head.

"Now's not the time to rest, lady captain. Can you get up?"

She saw behind the man the legs of one a demon. She tried to warn him, but she could barely hold on her thoughts, much less articulate anything. What came out of her mouth instead was an inarticulate cry, but her fears were quickly resolved. Instead of the pained face of someone mortally injured she expected, the man barely registered that an axe had just shattered against his strange rock armor. Not even looking at his enemy, he made a few finger gestures and one of three rock spikes above his head ended the demon's life.

"I'll take you to safety, don't worry and leave everything into my hands."

It's not like she could do anything anyway. She let herself be picked up, trying to fend off the sleep that came with the adrenaline losing its effect. She noted that the man had somehow removed the rock armor on his hands up to the elbow, probably to avoid her getting uncomfortable by the hard material.

She heard more than seen the man getting on a horse and galloping away to the backline, where a potion was spread on her body and she slowly woke back up. Once another potion was given to her, she had retrieved enough energy to sit and look around. She had been brought to an improvised healer's area, where tens or even hundreds of bodies both conscious and unconscious were laid out and desperate healers doing what they could with their limited resources.

The area was slightly elevated, so she could see the battlefield and its entirety.

And she was speechless.

She had heard once the saying "You can kill a mage. It's better to avoid a battle mage. Don't even come close to a war mage if he's angry". But now that she was seeing in person a whole group of what she could only assume were war mages judging from the chaos, she understood why. Above the frontline, a hovering woman with flames atop her head and a red dress was roasting tens of demons with each spell, the temperature generated even killing those that were unfortunate to be too close. Not that far, she recognized the man that had saved her. He was still encased in his rock armor, and each one of his fists had the strength of a mountain. She even saw him crush the head of one of the larger demons, one of those she had struggled so much against.

More to the middle of the frontline, a man with a long beard and a dirty robe was knelt, the palm of his hands against the grass. She wondered what he was doing, until she noticed thick vines sprouting all around him. Each vine had some sort of orifice at its end, and judging from the face of the demons that were touched by the yellow liquid spit by the vines and their screams of pain, it worked quite well. Near the druid, a woman wearing a yellow dress and wielding a metallic staff had just finished an incantation. The first effects weren't visible, but it soon became obvious. All the metallic equipment the demons in front of her were wearing started to glow red hot and most of them died painfully, burned by an armor which ironically did the opposite of what it was supposed to do.

More on the left side of the frontline, two more of them were wreaking havoc. With a single word from a man in a black robe, at least thirty demons collapsed for seemingly no reason to never get back up. With another word, twenty more lost their minds and started to attack their allies. Near the small lake to the extreme left side of the valley, a man was literally "riding" a wave of water which engulfed everything in its path, only to leave broken demonic bodies and confused rare survivors which were quickly slaughtered by the regular soldiers.

Even if all of that was really impressive, one person was topping them all off. She recognized her easily, she was the daughter of the king after all. Erina Electra was flying above the demonic soldiers and launched black streaks of thunder from her hands. Each thunder exploded upon contact with the ground in a deafening noise and gouged deep craters. Those that narrowly avoided immediate destruction were killed by streaks of electricity which lingered around the site of the explosions and seemed to hunt for enemies like a snake looking for a prey.

No sane person would like to face a war mage. And the demons had a similar mind. With nothing to protect them against the devastatingly powerful Stargazers, they started to flee in an uncoordinated rout. The surviving commanders quickly reorganized their men, replacing the wounded with fresh soldiers from the back.

It seemed the second wave of demons had been repelled. But at what cost…

After witnessing the victory at the frontline, Armant made his way back up to the command tent. As he approached, his joy at the recent victory was quickly replaced by anxiety. The torches that were supposed to light it were extinguished and all of it was covered by darkness. No movement could be seen.

He hoped that it was only a trick of his mind. He hoped for the best. But reality is a harsh mistress.

Everyone was dead.

Melkar the strategist, his students and the thirty foot knights that were supposed to protect them. The signs of a struggle were obvious, with countless bodies strewn around. They seemed to have been attacked by a flock of flying demons who looked like a twisted and cruel version of a harpy. With no hair, purple skin, crab-like claws instead of hands and leathery wings, it was a being born out of a nightmare. The number of demonic bodies were much more numerous than those of humans, but ultimately their numbers had been enough to overwhelm the defenders. The silent cannons were enough proof that a similar fate had met the canoneers.

Thanks to Li Wei's help, Armant cleaned the area around the table on which was the map of the battlefield and focused. What could he do? It was obvious the human army had suffered crippling losses during the last assault, as well as a huge drop in morale. It was only thanks to the war mages that everyone hadn't fled already.

Could he beat the demons in a battle of attrition? No. Not at this point, the humans had lost too much. Could he beat the demon's morale? The only thing he could think of would be defeating the demon general, but he didn't know where or what it was. The war mages played a huge role on the current balance of power, but he knew thanks to Erina that their mana reserve wasn't infinite, and the mana potions neither. He had spoken with them before, and after making an effort like they just did they had told him they would at least need to rest for an hour.

Speaking of Erina, she came back on top of her horse. Shock was written all over her face, but when she saw Armant hunched over the map she said nothing and came at his side. The time of mourning would come later, if they survived at all.

They tried to think of every possible way to turn the tide, but it simply wasn't possible. Even if the war mages could somehow keep casting spells for hours, they were only six, seven counting Erina, against a tide of more than fifteen thousand demons.

It was frustrating. All these efforts since coming back to Rida. Was it for naught? The crippling injury Erina had only recently recovered from? The inhabitants of Fraham? All the soldiers dead and which would surely die soon if things stayed as they were? And even after that, what would be able to stop the demonic invasion?

After facing the assault, both Armant and Erina had understood that what attacked them was merely a vanguard. A force that was sent merely to scout and weaken the first human defences. Once the main army would spread past the Griffon's Claw pass, he doubted even the well-trained and well-equipped Ridan army would be able to face it.

The monster both Armant and Erina had seen in Fraham were overwhelmingly powerful. Sure, cannons and war mages were powerful too, but their supply in the short run were low. Even if they somehow managed to fight the demons back, it would leave the country bleeding and weakened.

What was happening currently at the frontline was merely a vision of the country's future in Armant's eyes. Now, amidst the demon foot soldiers and armored beasts were magic casters which forced the war mages to cast defence spells, reducing their damage potential. Meanwhile, the weakened support to the Ridan soldiers meant that they couldn't hold on for long.

He could already see it weakening. Soldiers were clearly hesitating between fighting and fleeing for their lives. The captains were struggling more and more to maintain the frontline, that was if they weren't being attacked by the demons which prioritized them as the main threats.

The event that broke the camel's back was when one of the demon magic casters cast a particularly powerful spell which exploded in the human ranks, sending green flames all around and immolating more than one hundred men immediately with a deafening roar. As if getting a clue, the remaining ones cast the same spells, wreaking havoc in a show of sick green light.

That was the end. Upon the sight of so many of their comrades burned in the span of a few seconds, the army as a whole fled in an uncoordinated rout. People ran over each other, trampling the bodies both dead and alive in their desperate state of mind.

The luckiest were the horsemen which galloped as fast as possible away from the battlefield.

Watching this, Armant was in some sort of haze. It wasn't even despair anymore. It was just… Nothing. He knew it was the end. The war mages stayed for a little longer, but they soon tore teleport scrolls and disappeared in a white flash. The ground shaked from the thousand of boots united in a common goal: running as fast as possible.

A detached corner of his mind was screaming to flee too, to take the teleport scroll which were neatly stacked in a tent just nearby and use it. But something kept him from doing that. Meanwhile, Erina was holding his shoulder and shouting in his ear, but he couldn't even hear her.

It was at this moment that the something he had hoped for came. He didn't know why, but he was certain that something would happen.

Behind them, a portal of swirling darkness appeared. It was strange. It was as if someone had taken a piece of the dark night sky and placed it vertically. From inside, two figures stepped out. The first was a short and slender figure of a female dark elf with blond hair, holding a twisted wooden staff in one hand. Her clothes consisted of a blue scale shirt under a white vest with subtle golden decorations, a white short skirt and what looked like expertly crafted leather boots. Around her neck, a silver acorn hung on a silver chain.

Upon this sight, Li Wei who had been waiting nearby immediately jumped in front of the brother and sister to protect them. An assassination attempt was still possible. However, when the second figure stepped out, she immediately dropped her posture, because an angel was shining. At least that's how she saw it.

An immaculate figure of a humanoid woman in a white dress and golden threads which rested on her breasts. She seemed human at first, but her vertical eye slits, black wings at the waist and horns sprouting from the side of the head told the contrary. Her face was almost a motherly figure and both men and women would feel attraction towards her. It was as if someone had given life to the word "perfection".

Both Armant and Erina knew her, they had seen her when they were at Ainz Ooal Gown's residence after all. Nevertheless, she still presented herself.

"Hello and rejoice, humans! I am Albedo, under the command of Ainz Ooal Gown and prime minister of the sorcerous kingdom."

More from habit than conscious actions, Armant also presented himself. It was a surreal sight. Men were screaming and dying, demons laughed in the distance and all that chaos approached this site closer and closer, yet the two of them talked calmly to one another.

Erina had witnessed Ainz Ooal Gown's strength before, and it wasn't strange for her to assume that she had no chance against her and the dark elf behind. With that in mind, she whispered to Li Wei's ear who adopted a neutral yet tense stance. Meanwhile, the conversation had evolved.

"-you fled while his sorcerous majesty had been gravely injured. That is a capital offense."

Armant didn't refute the fact or try to explain himself. After all, it was true. Back in Roble, Ainz had apparently lost against Jaldabaoth and had been sent flying far away in the Abelion hills. Anyone who had seen that could have assumed that the undead king wouldn't come back. It was a safe guess. Yet, Armant, Erina and Wilhelm had fled at that time. They didn't try to search for the sorcerer king. They didn't even try to save anyone as they fled.

He wanted to fall on his knees and ask for forgiveness, but his pride as the prince didn't allow him to. Instead, he slightly lowered his head, the two women behind him mimicking the movement. This made them miss the slight smile forming on her lips.

"Prime minister Albedo, I have no excuse. I will accept a price to pay as an apology."

Albedo has easily predicted this situation, and as such she knew what to ask for.

"One tenth of Ridan lands, accompanied with its citizens, assets and riches once you become the king."

Erina and Armant managed to not gasp, but the price was truly enormous to pay. One tenth of the land, in addition to all the assets that would be lost, would be accompanied by a lot of discontent nobles. This would also spread unrest to the commoners. After all, what king gave up his lands? They didn't know what had happened in Roble. All they would see would be that the king gave up his lands freely. The probability of a revolt under such conditions was quite high. It was even higher if one assumed that the sorcerer king would bring undead labor and guards with him.

However, did they have a choice? If they refused these conditions, they could very well bring Ainz Ooal Gown's enmity along with his armies. One tenth or the whole country, along with the damages that a traditional war brought? The choice was evident.

"I will respect that wish, prime minister Albedo. However as you can see my army has been defeated. If these demons aren't stopped, I might have no lands soon to give you. May I request your aid?"

She looked at the demons approaching.

"Of course. Now that we have a mutual agreement, we shall help you. Mare? You know what to do…"

Armant would be hard pressed to speak of a "mutual agreement", but of course he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked curiously at the mysterious dark elf. What could a single person do against such a tide?

The dark elf named Mare stepped forward and solidly anchored her staff in front of her, holding it with both hands and closed her eyes.

Erina was the first to react. As a magic caster herself, she was more sensitive to the flux of mana around her. And what she felt coming from the frail dark elf was more than anything she had ever feared to feel.

It was like being in the eye of a storm. Magic energies left Mare's body in such quantity that even Armant who had close to zero sensitivity to magic could feel something ominous preparing. It scared Erina as much as it impressed her. Such a great quantity of mana, if the dark elf ever lost control of her powers a giant crater at least one hundred meters deep would form. But just as if it was nothing, the dark elf casually waved her left hand, and all the mana gathered in a sphere the size of an apple on top of her staff.

"He-Here I go! [Maximise magic: Call of the greater spirits]!"

Then, the mana dissipated. To an outsider, it would seem that the spell had failed, and the magic power had disappeared. Yet, Erina could feel it. A wave of mana was coursing the earth beneath their feet towards the demon forces.

After a short moment, the valley started moving.

It wasn't an understatement. Literally everything in the valley started to move. The boulders gathered and formed giant stone golems. Trees tore out their roots from the earth and transformed into treants and dryads. The water from the lake took the graceful form of a naiad who unleashed her powers. Vines invested the dead bodies littering the earth of the valley and rose them back up in a parody of necromancy. The fires that had been started by magic a little bit everywhere gathered into fire elementals. Even the weapons lying on the ground tore and twisted into metal golems.

Chaos immediately took hold of the demon forces. The sheer number of enemies who had appeared from absolutely everywhere left no room to breathe, and the whole army was being slaughtered. At this rate, it might only take ten minutes for all of them to be killed. There was no escaping as vines came out of the ground to catch the demons that tried.

Mare and Albedo calmly gazed at the sight, while the three humans tried to not appear… Too much of whatever they felt. Maybe it was hope or joy, but also fear, admiration, anxiousness and longing.

From the back of the valley, a terrifying roar shook the very air. Squinting their eyes, it was hard to see what was happening. It looked like the earth itself was moving, but as the being that roared approached, it became quickly apparent.

A giant demon who dwarfed all of his army, higher than a house and holding in his hands a giant scythe. It was humanoid in appearance, but the similarities stopped there. It had the bloated look of a drowned man and a sick greenish skin, countless opened wounds from which pus and unidentified liquids poured out and a bald head with a face consisting solely of a single large eye in the middle. Every swing of its scythe cut elementals and demons alike, but it didn't change anything at the countless numbers clinging onto his body and tearing it apart piece by piece.

Fear took hold of the three humans. What was that? Who could kill it? Could something even injure it? They also realized how outmatched they were from the beginning. Even if the entirety of the Ridan army was there, Armant doubted anything could be done to slow it down, let alone stop it. Judging from its size and strength, it wouldn't be a dangerous guess to think of it as the enemy general.

However, terror wasn't felt. That was because both Mare and Albedo stayed perfectly calm upon the sight of such a being. The prime minister frowned her nose.

"How foul. Mare, kill it quickly please."

"Y-Yes Albedo! [Druantia's right arm!] "

This was only one of the six spells of the Druantia spell serie which allowed to summon the tree god, Druantia. Individually, summoning only one of the body parts of Druantia acted like a spell instead of a summon. Yet, this single spell of the ninth tier was more than enough to deal with the monstrosity approaching their location.

In front of the large demon, the glowing green outline of an arm covered in tree bark formed out of thin air. It arched back, preparing to launch a devastating hit. Even still being torn alive, the demon recognized the danger of the situation tried to turn around. But not even before he could take one step, the godly fist came so fast it broke the sound barrier, and in a thundering noise literally destroyed the demon's top half.

There was no better describing it. Everything above the demon's waist had been pulverized and covered a very large area behind it in a greenish-reddish goo.

All the Druantia spells had a slow action phase. Any player from Yggdrasyl would have been able to see the punch coming and avoid it in time, but the level 70 demon was far from the speed of a player. And even further since it was a demon that had less speed than average in order to have better regenerative abilities and raw power.

But no regenerative power could heal half of the body simply disappearing.

Even Erina and Armant who had been trained to retain their countenance couldn't help but open their mouth big, like a fish out of the water.

Albedo simply smiled, and left through the same portal that had brought them here accompanied by Mare.

For another five minutes straight, the three lone humans on top of the hill were paralyzed. Not by fear or awe, but just from incomprehension. Their brains were trying to process what just happened. They wished it was an illusion. After all, how could a single being hold such power within it? Yet, the last remnants of the demons being slaughtered and the remaining half of the demon general were enough proof that what had just happened was reality.

When they finally managed to regain control of their facial expressions, Armant looked at what men were left. When they had witnessed the situation turning back into their favor, a very small amount of them had gathered around the tent. None of them had seen Albedo and Mare, so they thought that Erina or an artefact coming from the royal armory had produced such an extraordinary result.

There wasn't much of them. One hundred? Maybe one hundred and fifty? It was pitifully low compared to the starting number of soldiers, but Armant didn't blame them. How could he? The battle would have been lost without Albedo's and Mare's presence. And even for those that stayed long enough to see the whole valley coming alive and then the large demon defeated, feeling terror was an understandable feeling.

Rather, those that stayed were the epitome of bravery. Of the call of duty. Of everything that meant being a human in a world populated by countless monsters. None of them spoke. Everyone was silent, watching the royal brother and sister, illuminated by a few magic lights Erina had conjured. Their eyes reflected not a single drop of joy. None could have in front of the list of today's dead. However, hope and perseverance shined. If they stuck together, they would be able to fight the demons back.

With the noise of the last demons being slaughtered by the elementals as a background, Armant started to lead his men accompanied by Erina and Li Wei to the capital. The prince and princess were back, and it was time to prepare for an all-out war.

Hello there, author here,

Originally I planned to release the last two chapters together in some sort of "grand finale", but it's really taking a lot of time, so I decided to release this chapter first, and the last later. Hope you don't mind.

Reviews are very welcome, I tried to create a believable strategy for both sides, but I would like to hear your ideas.

See you next publication!