Game Difficulty Is Crazy
“Run away? Me? From the likes of you?”
Seeing the boy smiling arrogantly at him, Belmore twitched his eyebrows.
“Then let me ask you. Why would I run away after seeing a lowly human who’s practically dying?”
“Why? If you want to live, you should run.”
“……How absurd. Truly.”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand at all.
If you get tangled up with thousands of undead, expecting someone to stay sane would be the strange thing.
But that didn’t mean it became their excuse.
“A lowly thing dares to crawl up.”
A red glow filled Belmore’s eyes, and at the same time, the undead behind them charged all at once.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“……Now!”
As if they had already planned it, the knights dealt with the undead the moment the boy shouted.
Taaat—
The only one approaching Belmore was the boy.
‘What are you trying to do?’
Belmore frowned.
If one knight sacrificed himself and the rest, including the boy, rushed in, that would make sense.
But the boy charging alone was strange no matter how you looked at it.
‘There’s something going on.’
Even if they weren’t as strong as Jaber, these were people who had fought their way through an army of thousands of undead to get here.
Lowly or insane, they wouldn’t charge in without thinking.
‘In that case, I can’t let my guard down!’
Veins bulged around Belmore’s eyes.
The thick black demonic energy surrounding him gathered into a single point.
What formed was a spear far larger than an adult man.
With this powerful magic, usable only after reaching the sixth demonic realm, he would shatter their potential completely.
Thinking so, Belmore stretched out his hand toward the human boy who had closed the distance right in front of him.
Kiiiiiik— Puuuuung—!
The black spear tore through the air and shot violently toward the boy.
But the boy did not stop, nor did he release holy power to form armor like a paladin normally would.
He simply twisted his leg, his calm face looking as if he had already accepted death.
‘Foolish…’
Just as Belmore was about to twist his lips in mockery—
Paaang—!
Just before the black spear reached the boy’s face, it was blocked by an unknown transparent wall.
As if being swallowed by it, the black spear scattered into particles starting from the tip.
“?!”
Belmore’s eyes, which had been narrowed in contempt, widened like lanterns.
At the same time, the boy, wrapped in a blue radiance, arrived right in front of his nose.
An alarm rang loudly in Belmore’s head.
‘D-Danger—!’
Crunch—
Before he could do anything, the boy’s sword pierced through his abdomen.
Something bitter rose up his throat.
“Kugh!”
“I’ll give you one piece of advice.”
As Belmore struggled to keep his fading consciousness, the boy whispered into his ear.
“Don’t throw the first punch at me.”
Pshuak—
As the boy pulled the sword out of his abdomen, he was smiling more wickedly than anyone Belmore had ever seen.
Belmore’s pupils shook violently.
“Gyaaak!”
Vomiting thick blood, Belmore dropped to his knees.
“Keheok! Keheok…!”
It seemed pain was unfamiliar to him, as he clutched his stomach and groaned.
Looking down coldly at Belmore, Glen rested his sword on his shoulder.
A mage allowing a knight to get close—this was the natural result.
‘Of course, in a normal situation, this wouldn’t have happened.’
Glen snorted lightly.
The reason Glen defeated Belmore in an instant was because he nullified Belmore’s preemptive strike with his unique latent ability, Will of the Survivor.
In a normal knight-versus-mage fight, Glen would have had to dodge or block Belmore’s magic just before attacking.
That would naturally create distance, giving the mage time to prepare the next spell.
But because Glen nullified the opponent’s full-powered opening attack without risk, he was able to close the distance instantly.
‘The use of the latent ability was way too perfect.’
Without this out-of-the-norm ambush, Glen probably wouldn’t have avoided a hard fight against the 6-star mage Belmore.
‘Considering the holy power I used up cutting through the waves of undead, I might’ve even lost.’
Of course, that was only an assumption.
Glen had driven Einheria into Belmore’s abdomen. With Einheria’s ability tearing even his soul apart, Belmore’s face grew pale.
Step, step—
Glen approached Belmore, bent down, and met his eyes.
“How does it feel to get taken down in one second by a lowly human brat?”
“Kugh… ugh!”
“You look pissed enough to die. Still, I like that you didn’t beg for your life.”
“To… lowly creatures like you… who would ever beg for their life…!”
Forcing his trembling pupils open, Belmore glared at Glen.
Glen only shrugged.
“Plenty do. Just among the ones I know, there’re about thirty.”
“Heh… you’re awfully relaxed. Do you think killing just me will change anything?!”
Belmore sneered and glanced toward Avenue Fortress.
“I may die… but you still have to stop that army of undead. Therefore… keugh! Your sacrifices are inevitable… kehuhuhuk, cough!”
“Ohhh… nice bluff.”
“Bl-bluff?”
Glen laughed mockingly.
“Sincere method acting. Not bad. Someone who didn’t know better might really believe you. But.”
Grabbing Belmore by the hair, Glen lifted his lips into a smile.
“That doesn’t work on me.”
“What are you— hng! N-No!”
As Glen reached inside Belmore’s coat, Belmore grit his teeth and struggled.
“Hey. Stay still.”
What came out in Glen’s hand was a red orb about the size of a palm.
Glen’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh? What’s this? Isn’t this one of Cacherto’s masterpieces?”
“Kugh!”
Belmore’s pupils shook violently.
“How does the likes of you… know about him…!”
“I know everything.”
Cacherto Lienz.
The second corps commander of the Demon King’s army, known as the greatest necromancer among the demons.
At the same time, he was the most dangerous commander to humans—the one who created all undead forces used by the Demon King’s army.
And the orb Glen had just taken was the Legion Stone, a summoning core created by combining centuries of Cacherto’s magical achievements.
Thus, all the undead attacking Avenue were essentially summoned creatures created by the Legion Stone.
“That old man Cacherto sure is something. He must be really close with Penelope. Legion Stones that can summon thousands of undead at once—there aren’t even ten of those.”
“Kgh! You bastard… just who are you?!”
“Me? What would you do knowing?”
Cold light flickered in Glen’s eyes.
“You’re going to die anyway.”
“D-Damn you!”
“Oh, of course, breaking this orb comes before killing you. My dear brothers are suffering even at this very moment.”
Belmore glared at Glen with bloodshot eyes, his body trembling.
Glen smiled gently, placed the Legion Stone on the ground, and brought Einheria down.
Crack—
The Legion Stone shattered easily.
From the fragments burst an enormous amount of red demonic energy, which flew toward Avenue Fortress.
Whoooooosh—!
A red storm of demonic energy swept over the thousands of undead swarming beneath the walls.
In the next moment, the undead were caught in the storm and crumbled into dust.
The thousands of undead that had blackened the ground vanished in an instant.
“Hoo.”
Looking at the clear plain revealed after the undead disappeared, Glen let out a refreshing sigh.
Just as planned, the first battle against the demons ended in a perfect victory.
“Don’t… think this is the end.”
“Oh right. You were still here.”
Since the Legion Stone was the real objective, he had momentarily forgotten.
Honestly, Belmore was just extra.
“My kin… will come with an even greater army than today… and burn everything you have to the ground…”
“Your kin… Ah, you mean Angonina and Bahad?”
“……!”
“They’re not that big of a threat either. I know exactly what they’ll try to do.”
Belmore bit his lip until it bled, his eyes filled with panic.
Glen held his sword in a reverse grip, wearing his usual outward smile.
“So rest easy and die.”
At that moment, cheers of victory echoed from Avenue Fortress.
After achieving a great victory in their first battle against the demons, Avenue was filled with a festive mood.
Because of the upcoming battles against the remaining vanguard, they couldn’t hold a proper feast, but everyone’s expressions were bright.
The Gray Wolf knights busily maintained their swords and armor, noisily comparing how many undead they had slain.
The regular soldiers secretly brought out alcohol from their hometowns and drank behind the knights’ backs.
But today’s biggest topic was Glen.
“Listen up! The ash-haired knight kicked off the battlements, leapt straight down into the undead-infested ground below, then turned back to look at us and said—!”
“‘I’ll end this pathetic war with my own hands and return. So trust the walls to you!’”
The drunken storyteller used every bit of his eloquence to exaggerate Glen into a hero.
Meanwhile, the Gray Wolf knights calmly inferred Glen’s actions based on what they had seen and heard.
“According to Sir Benzen, who followed him, not a single undead even touched the young master.”
“Is that even possible? Even Sir Jaber couldn’t do that.”
“It must be because the gods’ blessing protects him. Didn’t Sir Hawkney say he passed through dozens of traps in the underground ruins at the border without a scratch?”
“Truly hard to understand. But one thing’s certain—defeating a 6-star mage in one strike is incredible.”
“Wasn’t it only half a month ago that he defeated Sir Derek, ranked 15th? And now a 6-star mage in one blow?”
As the conversation went on, their questions about Glen only deepened.
Meanwhile, Glen, the center of attention, finished his maintenance and was invited to Jaber’s dinner.
“Kuahaha! Eat to your heart’s content! This victory belongs to you, young master!”
Laughing heartily, Jaber poured wine into Glen’s cup.
One by one, the knight commanders attending the dinner approached Glen to greet him.
From young to middle-aged, their ages varied, but all of them were top-tier forces of the order, ranked in the single digits.
Among them was a familiar face.
“Young master! Congratulations on your victory!”
It was Hawkney, ranked 6th in the order, the man who had helped Glen at the border with chilling determination.
“It’s good to see you again. Have your injuries healed?”
“Yes, of course. You may not have noticed, but I also fought today.”
“No wonder it felt so reassuring. So you were there, Sir Hawkney.”
“Hahaha! You flatter me! That said, about today’s battle—”
Glen smiled softly, and Hawkney laughed proudly with his chest out.
Perhaps because of the rising alcohol, or because he was talking with someone he was glad to see, it was a lively evening in many ways.
Though, now and then, anxiety about the future crept in.
‘What’s the point of worrying?’
Worrying wouldn’t add another ring to Glen’s heart, nor would it suddenly double their number of soldiers.
The main force of the 8th Legion led by Penelope would arrive in a few days.
For now, all they had to think about was dealing with the vanguard that would arrive first.
‘Well, the plan’s already set.’
Knowing that the remaining vanguard commanders were the demons Angonina and Bahad, Avenue would never fall to them.
Amid the cheerful conversation with the commanders, Glen let a sly smile slip.
