“Haven’t you noticed? They mimic humans, organizing into armies and attacking in wave after wave. It’s just that the demons attacking have no intelligence… they’re like… like cannon fodder used to fill the lines.”
Leanna’s voice grew lower, sinking Morton into silence.
“Besides that, is there something inside Snow City Fortress that the demons must have? You should know that before the Human Allied Forces approached the Imperial Capital, the demons in many places had already disappeared.”
Her words were like a stone cast into stagnant water, stirring ripples in Morton’s heart.
Indeed, for a long time, Morton had felt this war was strange.
It wasn’t until Leanna spoke those words that he realized where the strangeness lay.
Snow City Fortress was just one of the Aos Empire’s countless border fortresses.
Normally, if an empire could not take a fortress after a long siege, they would choose to withdraw. But the Norwich Empire was different.
Even if its Imperial Capital had already been breached, the demon army attacking Snow City Fortress hadn’t stopped for even a moment.
It was as if their goal from the very beginning was to break this fortress.
But what was so special about this fortress that made them so persistent?
Morton thought it over, and the only thing he could come up with was that this fortress was guarded by the Rose Knights.
Perhaps, from the demons’ perspective, the Rose Knights were the most special element.
After all, this Order of Knights was the existence that could defeat the Abyssal Dragon according to the Goddess’s Oracle.
After this thought, Morton’s gaze turned back toward the battlefield filled with demon corpses.
Then, as if he had discovered something, his pupils suddenly contracted.
A terrifying thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning, making his entire body shudder.
He slammed his hand onto the hilt of his sword at his waist and said, “It’s the corpses!”
Leanna was startled by his sudden reaction.
“What?”
Morton’s eyes were locked onto the endless piles of demon remains outside the city.
He spoke rapidly, his voice carrying a sense of unbelievable horror.
“Do you think… do you think they want to use these demon corpses as a sacrifice to summon some exceptionally powerful demon?!”
” — Damn it!”
After a moment of silence, Leanna cried out in alarm.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that what Morton said was the truth.
However, before she could even begin to think of a way to resolve this, a terrifying surge of Abyssal magic spiraled over the battlefield.
An anomaly appeared at that very moment!
The boundless sea of corpses and blood outside the city seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand. It began to writhe violently.
Demon blood seeped from the mangled remains as if it possessed a life of its own, gathering into countless viscous streams that surged frantically toward a single point in the center of the battlefield.
The turbulent Abyssal magic in the air was instantly sucked dry.
In its place appeared an Abyssal rift that looked like shattered glass, along with a heavy pressure that made one’s soul tremble.
“That is — “
Leanna lost her focus for a moment. Then, she tried to mobilize her magic to stop the rift from forming.
But even though she was nearly Level 70, her magic was like a drop of water in the ocean when faced with that rift — completely useless.
Morton watched the rift, sweat sliding down his face at some point. Instinctively, he contacted his Cross Knights.
But unlike before, he had no certainty of victory against the demon about to appear.
Leanna felt the same. The moment the Rose Knights sensed the change in the Abyssal magic, they began rushing toward this location.
However, she didn’t know if this was a mistake.
After all, this time, the enemy they faced was a being summoned by the sacrifice of countless demons!
At the center of the rift, space was forcefully torn apart, revealing a deep, bloody void filled with frantic whispers.
“Roar — !!!”
Before the demon had even climbed out, a roar that exploded directly in the minds of all living beings echoed from the rift.
The pure malice and destructive will contained within it made even the battle-hardened Morton turn pale.
Immediately after, a giant claw covered in blood-red scales suddenly thrust out from the spatial rift, violently gripping the edge!
That single claw was larger than the tallest tower of the fortress.
With a forceful pull from the giant claw, the rift was forcibly torn open.
A figure so massive it defied imagination slowly squeezed its way out.
It had finally arrived.
Its form was a combination of an evil dragon and a human — but a combination magnified countless times.
Its humanoid torso was covered in ominous scales, with twisted bone spikes growing from its joints.
A massive tail covered in barbs swung slowly behind it, and every movement created fine black lines that tore through space.
Its head was no different from a legendary dragon.
Great dragon horns burned with ghostly green hellfire, and its eye sockets held two swirling masses of darkness that could devour all light.
The moment it stepped through the rift and appeared on the field, the entire battlefield seemed to be shrouded in a layer of blood mist.
The air became viscous and lethal.
“This… this…”
After feeling the magical pressure it emitted, Morton’s back was already drenched in cold air.
If there were no surprises, this demon’s Magic Level was above 90…
This was a demigod-level demon…
“Prepare to engage the enemy!”
Leanna’s shout snapped Morton out of his fear.
The Rose Knights, who had arrived, quickly assumed their battle formation, ready to resist the demon’s assault.
The courage in Morton’s heart was also awakened by Leanna. He turned around, and upon seeing the tide-like silver knights, he raised the Artifact Banner high and shouted:
“Cross Knights! Engage!”
A demigod-level demon?
So what!
The Cross Knights were fearless!
The Rose Knights were the first to act. Leanna held her enchanted sword and, with the reinforcement of magic, charged toward the demon.
On the other side, Aixi continuously enlarged her Training Hammer and smashed it toward the creature!
Seli’s arrows and Joina’s lightning poured frantically toward the demon at that moment.
The Cross Knights, having formed their battle formation, erupted with light powerful enough to tear through space, centered around the Artifact Banner.
However…
The gap was too large.
The massive demon didn’t even make any obvious attacking motions.
It ignored the Rose Knights’ assault and released a mocking snort in the direction the light was coming from.
A visible shockwave of dark red energy surged forward like a tsunami!
Boom — !
The light and the shockwave collided. The violent explosion nearly caused the battlefield to collapse.
The magic shields erected by the Cross Knights shattered like glass, and many knights spat out blood as they fell.
The Rose Knights’ side fared no better.
Their magic barriers lasted for only a single breath before turning into a sky full of glowing shards with a piercing cracking sound.
Leanna was not affected by the impact of the explosion, but all her attacks landing on the demon failed to even break its skin.
Aixi was the same. No matter how great the power, it could not wound such a massive demon.
In fact, every time she swung her hammer, the only one who got hurt was herself.
Unrivaled…
The demon began to walk. With every step it took, the earth trembled violently, causing debris from the distant fortress walls to fall.
Its hollow eye sockets, burning with ghostly fire, stared heartlessly at the nearby Snow City Fortress, as if scrutinizing an anthill about to be crushed.
However, its target was not this anthill.
Turning its head, it looked at the group of humans beneath its feet who were like ants.
Then, it raised its foot and stomped down hard!
Thud — !
The ground shook violently, and dust filled the air.
After waiting quietly, it once again saw those ants through the settling dust.
‘Not dead?!’
“Roar — !!!”
It exhaled a Dragon Breath that resembled a beam of light toward the ground.
The beam silently swept across Snow City Fortress, instantly slicing the fortress — which had weathered countless wars — in two.
Upon seeing the terrifying destructive power of the Dragon Breath, Leanna was drenched in cold sweat.
And that wasn’t even the most despair-inducing part.
It was the fact that they had tried everything and still couldn’t even scratch this demon.
…….
The fortress groaned under the demon’s pressure, stone continuously peeling away from the walls.
The shadow of the distant demigod-level demon weighed heavily on the heart of every survivor.
As soon as it became clear the Rose Knights could not damage the demon, Teresa had already left the team and returned to the fortress alone.
Her pale blue hair was covered in dust and blood.
She arrived in the resting room where Saintess Selis was staying, her voice trembling with urgency.
“Lady Selis, a demigod-level demon has appeared!”
Standing quietly by the window, Selis gazed at the distant, sky-blotting figure.
Her voice was terrifyingly calm. “I know.”
“Let’s escape!”
Teresa came before her, her hands tightly grasping Selis’s cold fingers.
“The demon’s target is likely the Rose Knights! As long as the knights escape, the demon’s mission will be a failure!”
As long as one wasn’t blind, everyone knew the demon’s goal was to kill the Rose Knights.
Hearing her words, Selis finally retracted her gaze from the window.
She looked at Teresa and gently pulled her hands away.
She shook her head and said:
“If we escape, what about the humans along the way? Demons… they will not show mercy.”
They could escape, but the price would be the humans along the way being slaughtered by this demon.
Not only that, if this demigod-level demon truly went into a frenzy, it might even destroy the Aos Empire.
After all, whether the powerhouses in the Imperial Senate could handle this demon was still an unknown.
Teresa took a deep breath. She suppressed her inner anxiety, replacing it with absolute composure.
“Lady Selis, sometimes to save the world, some sacrifices are worth it. The humans along the path… we will avenge them.”
Then, she bit her lower lip, as if having made some sort of decision.
“If it were Isavel, she would certainly give such an order.”
Hearing that name, Selis’s body stiffened for a barely perceptible moment.
She turned and looked deeply at Teresa before saying faintly:
“You all leave. I’m staying.”
“Are you crazy?” Teresa took a step forward and grabbed her shoulders. “This is when the Abyssal magic is at its most restless! You have no power to face a demigod-level demon!”
“You… you knew?”
Selis’s pupils shrank slightly, a look of surprise appearing on her face for the first time.
“Yes, I’ve known for a long time.”
Teresa took a step back, her eyes burning bright.
Outside, the demon’s roar shook the heavens, but her voice became exceptionally clear.
“The Saintesses of the Oracle Hall, Isavel and Selis, have always been the same person. Not only that, but I also know exactly what kind of injury you suffered.”
“Back in the dungeon, to save us, you forced yourself to break through the suppression of the Abyssal magic and possessed me. Because of that, your soul was torn, and you suffered from the erosion of Abyssal magic.”
She looked at Selis’s slightly pale face and continued:
“On ordinary days, the erosion of Abyssal magic might not affect you. But these are the days when the Abyssal magic is at its most restless. During this time, you can’t manifest the magic within your body, can you?”
Upon hearing this, Selis fell into silence.
Long ago, Teresa had discovered that on the days when Abyssal magic was restless, her advances toward Selis would not meet with strong resistance.
It wasn’t that Selis didn’t want to struggle, but that she couldn’t.
The restlessness of the Abyssal magic would greatly weaken her power, making her no different from an ordinary human.
If she tried to manifest the magic within her body at such a time, she would pay a massive price.
She might even fall completely and become a demon under the influence of the Abyssal magic.
Selis silently looked away from Teresa’s gaze and sighed. “I didn’t expect you to know so much.”
“Because I care about you!”
Teresa’s voice was resolute. As if she had made up her mind, she suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Selis’s hand, and pressed it against her own heart.
“If you must stay, then eat my soul… That way, your soul will be complete, the Abyssal magic will no longer be able to erode you, and this demon will be destroyed…”
The command room was vibrating violently, and dust fell from the walls.
This time, however, Teresa’s eyes were brighter than ever, as if she were burning away the final embers of her own life.