Everything went just as Ella predicted.
The Northern Noble Army was indeed in a hurry, running forward in great strides.
But they couldn’t run for long without the front lines separating, so they had to stop from time to time to rest.
The first wave of information from the Watchtower was discovered in the morning, but the army only approached in the afternoon.
Ella had led her troops up the mountain early in the morning and waited until now.
“Why are they both fast and slow?”
Duo Luo scratched his head.
“So strange.”
The faster they ran, the messier their formation became.
The messier the formation, the more frequently they had to rest.
The more they rested, the slower they moved.
“That’s how it is, but it’s almost time. Let’s go down.”
At Ella’s command, the three hundred Demon Army stationed on Locust Tree Mountain, along with seven hundred temporarily assigned today, a total of a thousand troops, marched down the mountain.
Their marching speed was not fast, but as soon as they reached the bottom, they immediately deployed into formation, ready for battle.
This number had been carefully calculated by her to ensure that during the Duel of Generals, they wouldn’t be surrounded by small soldiers—just right, any more would be useless.
As for how to force the other side into a Duel of Generals—
“Vina, I’m counting on you.”
But the little witch didn’t move.
“Vina?”
“Pinch me.”
She said.
“It doesn’t feel right if you don’t pinch.”
“Actually, my voice is normal…”
“Please, Miss Vina~”
“Okay!”
The little witch completely ignored the first half of her sentence.
Whether she pinched or not, did the Hero Squad even know?
Anyway, as long as it felt good.
She raised her Magic Staff, aimed it at the enemy army, and began charging slowly.
On the Northern Noble Army’s side, the Blader Demon in the front lines frowned, sensing the restless elements in the air.
This was not a good sign.
How did she have such a powerful mage?
Because the first phase had gone so smoothly, Vina had only made a move once on the Snowfield of the Wolfhead Tribe, leaving behind witnesses, but the news clearly hadn’t spread.
“Increase speed! Hurry!”
But his words were useless, because the Lord commanding the army wasn’t on this side.
After a while, a rumbling sound echoed in the sky.
Burning meteors appeared out of nowhere and crashed down on the army.
Boom!
Boom–!
Boom–!
Scorching meteors fell into the front lines, instantly evaporating nearly a hundred lives.
Screams replaced the uneven sound of marching.
The front half of the army instinctively halted, and the rear, unable to react in time, crashed into them.
“Don’t push! Stop pushing! Control your men!”
“Your people stopped first!”
“Nonsense, there are meteors in front! Should I have them keep marching to their deaths?”
Several Lords from the South started arguing.
Only then did the Blader Demon understand why his orders hadn’t worked earlier.
It turned out the Lords were all hiding in the rear half of the central army, so of course no one could hear him.
A hastily assembled army, poorly coordinated, and of mediocre quality—if nothing changed, reaching their destination would be difficult.
He looked behind him and spoke to four fierce-looking demons.
“Go. It’s your turn.”
As one sent from Dark Star City, show your strength.
The four strangely shaped but powerful demons shot out from the chaotic ranks like arrows.
One had antlers on his head.
One’s mouth lacked an upper jaw.
One’s arms were so long they dragged on the ground.
And the last had a sharp, crow-like beak.
As they charged, Ella saw them at once.
“One, two, three, four—exactly four.”
No more, no less.
She took note.
“Are you all here?”
No need to call names; the four Demon Generals immediately stepped forward.
“Here!”
“Prepare to fight, but be careful.”
Ella pointed at the four units charging over.
“You stand there and wait for them to come. But after one round, switch defenses immediately.
Yanpo switches with Bouer, Gumu with Duo Luo.”
“Understood!”
Soon, the elite units from both sides clashed in the empty area at the foot of the mountain.
The generals first took formation, while the other side split up and attacked.
The Deer Demon charged at Bouer.
The Lower Jaw Demon attacked Yanpo.
The Long Arm Demon rushed at Duo Luo.
And the Crow-beak Demon pecked its sharp beak at Gumu’s only eye.
Clang!
The bone protruding from Bouer’s shoulder was snapped by the antlers, making him bare his teeth in pain.
As soon as the fight started, they could tell these four were powerful—not like any previous opponents.
Their fighting style was also very effective against them.
But now—it was time to switch defenses!
Vina swung her Magic Staff, summoning a whirlwind in the center of the battlefield that temporarily pushed back the four demons.
And when the wind died down, new opponents had already taken their place.
The towering Gumu looked down at the Lower Jaw Demon, slamming his bald head down with force.
Stars exploded in the Lower Jaw Demon’s vision.
Duo Luo gripped the Crow-beak Demon’s sharp beak with both hands, while his extra two arms swung down on its head.
Bouer grew bone spikes all over his body, becoming like a hedgehog as he dove into the Long Arm Demon’s embrace.
The long hands instinctively pressed down, only to be covered in blood.
As for the Deer Demon, when it looked up, it saw a sharp rhinoceros horn.
“I’ll skewer you to death!”
The horn pierced between the antlers.
Standing on the hill behind, watching the battle, Vina clapped her hands.
“Brilliant, Little Ella! How did you know this arrangement would counter them?”
“Because they attacked first,”
Ella replied calmly.
“They chose their own targets, I only switched the match-ups.”
If you don’t play by stats but by mechanics, then even if there’s one or two, but four enemies with different abilities, wouldn’t misalignment happen?
The shift from advantage to huge disadvantage was clear in the Blader Demon’s eyes.
He knew he couldn’t just sit and watch anymore.
Tap, tap. Tap, tap.
Unhurried footsteps echoed across the chaotic battlefield, but a powerful aura spread from him.
The four generals, in the midst of beating their enemies, couldn’t help but shiver.
Everyone turned to look at this special existence.
Ella blinked, staring closely.
He looked a bit familiar—perhaps a Demon Tribe expert.
“This is bad, it’s a powerful enemy.”
The pink-haired girl with the thunder emblem squeaked to her companions.
“We have to go down and help our teammates.”
Such a thing was only natural.
The girls of the Hero Squad were already prepared, not even understanding why something like this required a special squeak.
But soon, Ella blocked her companions and spoke gently.
“I think this enemy is very strong. We can’t be careless.
So—I suggest we use the ‘Anti-Demon King Formation’ against him.”
A few minutes later, the four generals repelled their respective enemies, retreated to the flanks, and the four monster demons, badly wounded, couldn’t give chase and fell back behind the man.
“Blader Lord, we…”
“No need to speak.”
The Blader Demon kept walking.
“Wait behind me.”
With every step, black blades grew from his body.
Some fell into his hands as weapons, others detached and floated around him like a swarm of bloodthirsty monsters.
But soon, he stopped.
Because he saw a strange formation—a girl with ice-blue hair holding a longsword in a defensive stance, flanked by a blonde girl and a red twin-tailed loli.
There was also a beautiful pink-haired thunder girl, rumored to be a Succubus, standing a little farther away, like a cheerleader.
These girls didn’t attack or do anything, just maintained their defensive posture, facing him with full vigilance.
The Blader Demon frowned.
“What kind of trick are you playing?”