The Game Difficulty Is Crazy
The sun was setting.
On the western wall of Avenyu, a truly desperate battle between humans and demonkind was unfolding.
Fiyuuuu— KWAANG!
All around, magic fired by mages and witches from below the wall fell and exploded.
“Hyahhh!”
“Die!”
Two or three human soldiers charged at a single demon with their spears.
Beside them, a demon foot soldier who had strengthened his body with demonic energy grabbed four or five humans and fell with them off the wall.
Chaeng—! Chang!
Nearby, a Gray Wolf Knight and a demon magic swordsman swung their blades at each other.
When another knight or swordsman joined in, the fight ended quickly.
And when magic fell on top of them, both sides were caught in the explosion and died together.
“Kuhahahahaha!”
In a hell filled with the stench of blood and filth, Jaber swung his sword like a beast.
But as the battle dragged on, the golden holy power surrounding him slowly faded, and his wolf-like movements became visibly slower.
It was only natural, since he had been jumping across the wall and fighting dozens of 5-star magic swordsmen one after another.
He wished the trumpet that restored vitality would sound once more, but the apprentice knight blowing the horn was busy fighting a magic swordsman of similar skill on the opposite side of the wall.
“Jaber Lemarque!!”
From behind, a magic swordsman closed the distance in an instant and thrust his blade.
At the same time, Jaber’s single eye flashed like a wolf’s.
Chwaaaak—!
“Guh—”
Without even leaving a proper death cry, the low-level magic swordsman was split vertically in two.
“Hoo… kuhahahaha…!”
Covered head to toe in blood—whether enemy or ally, no one could tell—Jaber laughed like a wild beast.
“Not yet… not yet.”
On the wall.
And below the wall as well.
There were still many enemies left to kill.
Rolling his wolf-like single eye from side to side as he searched for the next victim, he stalked along the wall.
“Sir Jaber!”
At that moment—
Hearing a familiar voice, Jaber turned his head.
“Oh! Kuhahahaha! Isn’t this Young Master Glen! You came at just the right time!”
Jaber spread his arms wide toward Glen Wordsworth, who was running toward him.
The distance between them closed.
The next moment, Glen kicked off the ground with all his strength and hurled himself at Jaber.
“Let’s wipe out the demo— ugh!!”
Glen’s shoulder slammed into Jaber’s abdomen, and Jaber was sent flying backward, gasping.
At the same time, magic struck the spot where Jaber had been standing and exploded.
KWAANG—!
With the blast came a ringing in the ears.
“Cough! Cough! Ugh!”
Coughs burst out of his throat.
Jaber lifted his head and grinned, showing his teeth.
“Ah, thank you very much! Young Master saved this old life!”
“Ugh… are you back to your senses now?”
“Huh? Ah…! Yes. Thanks to you, my head’s clear now! Hahahahaha!”
Watching Jaber laugh heartily, Glen let out a deep sigh.
Just before Glen had thrown himself at him, Jaber’s eye had been filled with madness.
The extreme battle he had not felt in a long time must have awakened the beast-like battle mania hidden within him.
If Glen had not intervened, Jaber would likely have been badly injured by that magic.
In any case, since he seemed to have regained his reason now, there was no need to worry further.
‘Still… to think a battle intense enough to drive even a 7-star Holy Knight into madness…’
Once again, Glen felt just how fierce this battle was.
Judging by the situation, it seemed that Angonina, who had planned to strike and withdraw, had lost her patience and decided on a full-scale assault.
‘That works out fine.’
They needed to wipe out the enemy vanguard today and buy time to reorganize before the main army arrived.
To do that, above all else, they had to kill Angonina, the 6-star witch commanding the vanguard.
Of course, because he had used the Gray Ring in the earlier fight with Bahad, all of Glen’s rings were currently deactivated.
Without his rings, Glen’s strength would be generously rated at only around 4-star level.
But—
‘That’s enough.’
Using the cards he still had, he could break through that army and defeat Angonina.
“But didn’t you say you wouldn’t be joining the battle today, Young Master?”
“Ah. Let’s talk about that later. What matters now is driving those filthy demons out.”
“Kuhahahaha! Indeed! Truly filthy bastards! In all my life, I’ve never fought a battle like this against a demon vanguard!”
Jaber laughed loudly as he rolled his neck and shoulders until his bones seemed ready to break.
“But for you to come all the way to me… I can’t help but think you have a favor to ask?”
“As expected. You know me well. In fact, I was thinking of making you a proposal.”
“I’m already curious. I’ll do anything I can help with.”
“Then, would you like to go capture the enemy commander together?”
A brief silence passed.
Then Jaber grinned widely and laughed.
“Kuhahahaha! Of all the proposals I’ve heard from you, this is the one I like the most! So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan? There isn’t one.”
“W-what?!”
Jaber’s eyes widened.
Silence fell again.
Seeing Jaber’s bewildered expression, Glen smiled faintly.
“If we just wait here, she’ll come to us on her own.”
Chaeng—! Chang!
Fiyuuuu— KWAANG!
The clash of blades and the explosions of magic hitting the ground.
Amid it all, the endless screams and battle cries of humans and demons.
Watching the western wall of Avenyu, where a desperate melee continued, Angonina was gripping her hat tightly.
“Why… why the hell is there no word from Bahad?!”
She screamed hysterically, but from the Avenyu fortress, there was not even a signal—no smoke, nothing.
According to the plan, Bahad should have sent a signal by now, and upon confirming it, Angonina would have withdrawn her forces.
She had intended to wait until Avenyu, having lost its supplies and food, slowly suffocated.
Because Bahad’s signal was so late, what was supposed to be a hit-and-run attack had turned into a full-scale assault.
If this continued, they would lose far more troops than intended.
Of course, the battle itself was favorable.
It was just a shame to lose more soldiers than necessary, since the vanguard’s strength still exceeded that of Avenyu.
But what Angonina feared was not defeat—it was Penelope.
She could not bring herself to report to the legion commander that she had used nearly ten thousand troops against an Avenyu defended by only a thousand.
Imagining Penelope looking down at her with cold eyes made sweat run down her neck, and the hand gripping her hat trembled.
“Please… Bahad, you bastard…!”
At that moment, a dreadful thought crossed Angonina’s mind.
‘What if… he’s not late, but failed completely?’
What if Bahad had been captured by the enemy for some reason, and the diversion failed?
If that happened, Angonina would be left alone with no options.
Withdrawing half-heartedly only to attack again would be pointless—she would have to launch a full assault and end this battle by capturing Avenyu here and now.
‘Yes… rather than hesitating and facing the legion commander having accomplished nothing, it’s far better to capture it, even if we lose some troops.’
Angonina’s wavering gaze slowly steadied.
At last, she rose from the chair where she had been merely observing the battle.
‘By now, even that Jaber must be exhausted. So…!’
Forcing herself to see the situation positively, Angonina spun all six of her demonic rings.
Dense black demonic energy wrapped around her body.
On the eastern wall of the Avenyu fortress.
Romina stood there.
With only minimal guards left behind, the area around her was fairly quiet.
Whooooo—
The smell of blood carried by the wind from the west made her frown slightly.
On the opposite side of where she stood, thousands of humans and demons were surely locked together, swinging blades at one another.
‘Glen should have arrived by now.’
The fact that she could not go there herself left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Of course, just tens of minutes ago, Romina had helped Glen repel a demon skirmish unit that had targeted the supply warehouse.
Using the sixth demonic ring she had formed with Glen’s help to its fullest, she had successfully restrained the enemy commander.
That alone must have been a great help to Glen. But still—
“I don’t like it.”
Romina bit down on her fingernail.
Honestly, she was not satisfied with this situation.
Helping the person who saved her life was, of course, a good thing.
But if asked whether that help came purely from her own will, the answer was no.
She had grown according to his needs and moved according to his needs.
Could that truly be called sincere repayment?
‘No.’
A serious light filled her amber eyes.
Romina El Blanditear, a high-ranking demon, was a woman born with the bloodline of the Demon King who once ruled over all demons.
With her noble birth, she had to repay her benefactor not by following orders, but by her own active will.
She did not want to justify obeying her benefactor’s commands as repayment.
The boy who gave new life to her, who had lived miserably just to survive and was dying in a cold prison.
Romina wanted to repay that boy through her own will.
Whooooo—
The wind once more carried the scent of blood and stirred her curly red hair.
As Romina stared in the direction the wind came from—
Dududududu—
Dududududu—
The ground shook as a group of knights on horseback charged toward Avenyu from the eastern end.
On the flag above them was the image of a steel sword crossed with a yellow bird.
The reinforcements of Haven’s strongest force, the Canary Knight Order, had finally arrived at Avenyu.
“Yes… that’ll do.”
Seeing the Canary Knights, a small curve formed on Romina’s lips.
The expression looked very much like the sly smile of someone close to her.
The next moment, Romina stepped onto the battlements, then leaped forward, jumping down beneath the gate.
Jaber stared at the scene before him with a blank expression.
Beside him, Glen raised one corner of his mouth and flicked his eyebrow.
“What did I tell you?”
“Uh… ahem!”
Jaber cleared his throat.
He clearly hadn’t expected Glen’s words to actually become reality.
“I said if we waited, she’d come on her own.”
With sharpened eyes, Glen slowly lifted his head.
There—
“So you were here. Jaber Lemarque.”
Goooooo—
Angonina hovered above Glen and Jaber, with two pairs of wings made of black demonic energy.
Her red eyes, filled with both rage and cold mockery, fixed on Jaber.
“Let’s end this.”
Looking at her, Glen let out a quiet sneer.
‘Welcome.’
