Free Web NovelChapter 30: In the middle of their ranks
The demonic forest had become their playground.
"Meow~!"
With Felix running wild all around the forest, the group was rushing through the forest towards the very center of their defenses.
The planning was complete.
They were done analysing the opponent’s strategy.
After receiving command from their superiors, the infiltration group led by the Green Falcon had invaded the heart of the enemy defenses.
The demonic beasts, weak to the ’pure’ elemental poisons created by Prism, the genius boy leading them, were falling like flies right inside their territory.
If hundreds were dying on the frontlines by the flames of the Sungrade army, at least dozens were dying to the small group led by the people who didn’t have much attachment to the Sungrade name itself.
Still, they loved the people and the beings of this world, and they were doing everything they could to protect anything they could.
"Meow~!"
Still, the fact that a strange fear was installed within the hearts of the demonic creatures that only saw a pair of blue, glowing feline eyes before dying, had stunned the core army that had stayed behind to protect their lord.
"We will move south from here." The green falcon was giving the command according to the data they were receiving through the creatures that had created a data-net around the target area.
The demonic forest itself was a vast place unfathomable to the people that had never been here.
Even to the people who were fighting here, it was obvious just how vast this demonic forest truly was.
Right now, they were barely scratching the edges of the forest’s first sector.
Of the remaining eight sectors of the forest, the last three still remain unexplored by the Sungrades, the family who had been here even before the empire was established.
For them, the presence of the lord was threatening, yes, but more than anything, even the sovereign patriarch of the Sungrade feared the ’things’ that lay beyond the darkness of this forest.
’It must not stay alive for long.’
Once a creature like this demon lord, a being with higher consciousness than the rest of the demonic beings, is born into this world, it can connect with the very consciousness of the forest.
Theoretically, the moment it is able to do something like that, it will let the beings at the far corners of this realm know of its presence.
Sam knew damn well just how precious a creature like this was to the beings that were out there in the great darkness so, he wanted to make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands.
It was still a newborn and it was still vulnerable.
’Yet, as young as it may be, it must be at least an (SSR-Rank) if not a legendary Fable-grade being.’
He did not know how he was going to face that thing, but he knew damn well he could deal with the demonic beings at the very least.
’Unlike when we faced Lady Markeet, we are ready this time.’
He failed to produce the unique item with Nix, but they had still created potions and poisons that were far beyond the common knowledge of the people of this city.
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
As the arrows covered in the potent poison hit the demonic beings, just like a curse, their bodies started disintegrating from within.
Thanks to the ’curse’ that he obtained from that dagger, he was able to study and improve the existing poisons that he knew about.
Not only that, he was currently reverse engineering that curse to turn into something else... but that would still take some time.
"Meow~!"
"Lord Prism!"
"Arghhhhhhh!"
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
The reality manipulating powers that he had shown until now were not absolute. They weren’t mere illusions nor were they absolute powers of the gods.
What they were, in essence, was a trick that only worked until someone figured out the root of it.
And until now, only the knight commander Lady Markeet had succeeded in doing something close to it.
-Ooooooooooooooooooooooooong!
Once someone entered the range of the gray, sparking fog– something they do not even see coming– there was no escaping the outcome.
The people inside would act as he wanted them to, the creatures bearing the demonic powers would follow his command, and the laws of nature would bend as he intended them to.
Inside his mind, the powers of the gray fog were so complexly untouchable that even the demonic beings that were much smarter than the average beasts and possessed the ability to communicate with others, would fall for the same trick that he had devised for the others.
Prism, inside the limits of his domain, was a puppeteer that fooled both his allies and enemies.
Perhaps he even fooled himself.
The truth was something only the ’next moment’ would know.
"That’s enough for now."
"Meow..."
But the powers were not absolute. And using the skill continually came with a price.
"Argh."
Both the master and the feline were too weak to express the full limits of their mystique powers.
They needed to stop every now and then. Waiting in hiding while the two recovered.
"Stand guard."
The role of others became more crucial in this moment. If they were found, they would face a certain kind of fate.
They had all seen their men die on a battlefield, but they had also seen them go out gloriously with their middle fingers pointing at these wretched beasts.
"Demons! North of the–!"
"...!"
"Ambush!"
The infiltration group was in the middle of the enemy territory, killing the standby units that mattered to this war more than the ones fighting on the frontlines.
If even a few of them managed to find their way inside of the city, there would be enough damage to break off the balance that was maintained by those atop the wall.
And the enemy leader wanted just that: a moment.
{ "DAMNED HUMANS!" }
But these bastards were killing their people left and right in their own territory.
Even the demons that did not have any particular emotions felt humiliated at the fact that these small creatures were out here, killing them like they were small shits.
The demonic creatures, beasts though they may be, wanted to burn them alive and feast on them... sadly for them, even the places where they were resting wasn’t safe for them.
-Oooooooooooooooong!
What was supposed to be an ambush of the demons, turned out to be a trap they had walked right in.
{ "...what?" }
The terrain that was a cave until just a moment ago, was now something completely different.
{ "What... is this?" }
Surrounded by water on all sides, they stood on a small rock.
The humans were gone, the forest was gone, the sun was shining upon them even though the demons had never seen it, and the only thing left here now was them.
< "Do you know what it feels like to drown, oh demons?" >
A voice spoke to them from beyond the sky as eyes... blue feline eyes looked down upon them from far above.
{ "What...er?" }
To the demons, it was the eyes of a giant.
Eyes that were looking at them. Eyes that were so overwhelmingly unbearable that... that the demons started choking.
They were in the forest, or perhaps they were not. The demons did not understand what was happening with them.
But, they certainly felt an immense urge to dive into the water present below the rock.
-Zaaaaaaaaaaa...
So, some jumped.
{ "Eh...?" }
And fell off the high branches of the trees that they had climbed themselves, falling to their deaths in the pure green fire that was built just for them.
"We are close to their lord now."
Standing at the forefront with the Green Falcon, Prism looked at the burning bodies of the demon, the fire reflecting in his deep, red eyes.
He remembered some of these demons from his previous life.
In particular, he remembered the ostrich-headed, tiger-clawed, shark-teethed, yellow skinned demonic beast in particular.
It was the same creature that spoke in their heads just now.
And... it was the same creature that had killed Lexie in his past life.
’Demon.’
Watching the thing burn gave him more relief than a thousand smiles from his students.
A fire, an unknown rage that burnt in his heart was quenched when the last of the remains of that demonic piece of shit was burnt to the ground.
"Let’s go."
He marched forward with his group of killers.
Just like this one... he was going to burn the rest of these damned fuckers to ashes as well.
