The Author's POV

“Looks like that’s my cue.”

The last thing Han Yufei heard was Liam’s voice as he landed softly on the ground after leaping past the fortifications. In less than a second, a terrifying energy swept through the area and headed toward the lower levels of the castle.

Because the energy was so powerful, Han Yufei found that it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to breathe.

The only thing that he could do while that was happening was just watch as the energy came smashing against the lower floors, right where Liam landed.

Boom—!

Following the deafening sound of the explosion, thick dust billowed into the air and obscured Han Yufei’s and everyone else’s vision.

As soon as the dust settled down, Han Yufei was once again able to catch a glimpse of Liam, who appeared to be unharmed for the most part.

His gaze and the demon above met, and in that instant, time came to a standstill.

His figure disappeared after that, reappearing right in front of the demon that had produced the terrifying attack and he slashed with his sword. 

Clang—!

A droning, metallic sound reverberated through the space above, and it continued to do so for a few seconds. The two of them immediately began to fight one another as powerful shockwaves erupted into the atmosphere.

While this was happening, the demons that were previously standing still finally decided to move.

The orcs responded in kind as they brandished their weapons and roared.

“Roooar!!”

“Hekk!”

“Haaaargh!”

As a direct result of their movements, meteor-like objects of enormous proportions began to shoot in the air, heading toward the demons in the distance, signaling the beginning of the war.

Instantly, agonized and pained screams started to engulf the entire battlefield. In this case, the screams were mostly from the demons that were taken down by the enormous boulders which were launched from the catapults at the front of the castle.

Thousands upon thousands of demons would get swept up by that single attack from the catapult.

However, despite the fact that a great number of demons were being killed with each attack, a new row of them would appear from behind them, replacing the previous row, and continuing their advance.

Their numbers seemed endless.

‘This is not good.’

Han Yufei muttered inwardly as he gazed toward the distance. 

Despite everything that the orcs were doing in trying to get rid of as many demons as possible, it was evident that their efforts were futile as the number of demons approaching their direction was simply far too many.

Compared to the orcen army, the demons were at least 20x their size. The battle wasn’t one that had much hope of victory from the very beginning.

Nonetheless…

“I guess it’s our turn to finally let loose.”

Han Yufei suddenly heard Hein’s voice coming from beside him.

Clank!

He brought his fists together violently, which resulted in a droning, metallic noise being produced.

Ava, who was standing next to him, played a few notes on her flute in a casual manner.

Tootle too~

What followed after her simple actions was a scene that left Han Yufei and the others in awe. 

‘No matter how many times I see this, I’ll never get used to it.’

It was simply not something that could be explained with a single word as four enormous mammoth-like creatures appeared beneath the castle.

Beside them stood a number of enormous wolves that were at least twice as tall as a typical human being, and standing behind them were large creatures that resembled armadillos but had spikes on their tough backs and possessed a fierce and menacing appearance that would make anyone’s hair stand.

If that wasn’t enough, above them were large birds that flew around them and circled around them.

In total, there were about twenty or forty plus creatures standing in front of the castle. Their rank and presence were all incredibly strong.

‘A one man army.’

That was what Ava was.

She was a one man army.

Tootle too~ 

With yet another flute blow, the beasts became enraged and charged the approaching demons.

“What’s this?!” 

“Beasts!” 

“What’s happ-huek!” 

Wherever they went, demons would be swept away as the mammoth-like creatures at the front destroyed everything in their way, acting as the path clearers, while the armadillos at the back, cleaned everything that was left behind, with the wolves supporting the mammoth from the sides with their fast speeds and sharp claws.

The coordination between the beasts was flawless and impeccable, getting rid of hundreds of demons at the time.

Ava’s impact wasn’t any weaker than an <S-> ranked individual.

Hein, who was obviously slower than them, trailed them from behind, slowly lagging behind with the passing of time. His figure was rather pitiful.

Even then, Han Yufei didn’t think much of it.

He knew just how terrifying the current Hein was if he actually tried.

“I should also start my attack.”

When Han Yufei saw that everyone else had already moved ahead of him and was attacking the demons, he was no longer able to contain himself and he leaped down from the fortification.

Upon landing, the only thing that met his sight was rotting flesh and cracked cores that closely resembled broken shards. There was nothing else. This was obviously the fallout from what Hein and the others had left behind.

SHIIIIING!

He extended his hand toward his right and a large sword that was double his size appeared in his hand.

The sword did not have a particularly pleasing appearance; rather, it resembled a sharp bone that had been shaped into a large broadsword. Because it was not an artifact, the power that emanated from it did not appear to be particularly impressive.

It was, in fact, just a bone…but not just a regular bone.

“Huuu…”

Hein Yufei took a deep breath.

[Martial Body]

The veins in his muscles began to protrude as his muscles began to swell. His strength increased significantly, and steam began to slowly escape his body.

His presence started to attract the attention of the distant demons, but if that wasn’t all…

Boom—!

When he took a single step forward, the previously enlarged muscles in his body contracted to the point where he became leaner. Han Yufei effortlessly raised the large sword in his hand with one hand while creating a crater beneath him with a single step.

Contrary to what one might believe, practicing the Gravar style did not make one larger. No, rather, it made them leaner.

The whole point of the Gravar style was to compress all of the muscles within the body for greater explosiveness. The focus was on muscle density. The denser the muscles, the more explosive you were with your attacks. 

…and currently, Han Yufei’s muscles were contracted to the point he felt his body overflow with power.

“Huuuuu….!”

By the time the sword was raised above his head, over a hundred demons had already reached him.

Completely unfazed by the demon’s appearance, Han Yufei muttered a single word.

“Collapse.”

He then slashed down with the sword.

His vision distorted momentarily, and all of the demons in his vicinity vanished. Even the typical black rain that would come out from a massacre did not appear, as everything simply vanished from around him.

The scene was so shocking that it felt as though nothing had happened.

If not for the long scar that traced for over a kilometer and was several meters in depth, one might’ve believed that nothing really had happened.

…But something did really happen.

“Huuuu!!!”

Han Yufei exhaled as the tip of his sword touched the ground.

Staring into the distance, he murmured.

“For a regular slash, this wasn’t bad…”

***

Amanda used one hand to grab hold of the necklace that was draped around her neck, and she used the other hand to maintain her hold on the bow. As long as she wore the artifact, she was able to sense a warming sensation rising from the area just above her chest.

‘… it’s time that I remove this.’

Even though she was hesitant, Amanda was aware that the time had come for her to stop concealing her abilities. She carefully unhooked the necklace from her neck.

Almost immediately, she noticed that her strength was shifting, and she also noticed that her hair was beginning to flutter as the mana in the air began to warp.

The whole process took no longer than five seconds, and by the time she was done, she felt her strength rise all the way to <S-> rank.

The feeling…

It was completely different from before, as she felt all of her senses become enhanced while her control over the mana became significantly easier.

In the same manner, as Jin, Amanda made it a point to make full use of all of the resources that were at her disposal. In contrast to Jin, who refused to use the skills and arts for reasons such as his pride, Amanda, in the past, refused to take on such powerful skills because she felt that the guild needed it more than she did.

She had a tendency to prioritize the guild matters over her own interests at times, and if her father hadn’t pointed this out to her, she would never have realized.

In any case, even without this realization, Amanda would’ve changed her ways. Particularly with what happened to her father and on that ‘planet’.

In the end, the thing that she took away from all of these experiences was the realization that she was still far too weak and that she needed to work on becoming stronger.

…Hence why she started to prioritize her own self interests and decided to become a little bit more selfish.

At the end of the day, one needed to have a little bit of selfishness in order to get what one desired.

‘There’s a lot of demons.’

Staring into the distance, Amanda’s brows furrowed.

From where she was, she could see the members of Ren’s group completely dominating the lower levels of the tower.

Wherever they went, demons would be killed. Their presence completely took over the lower levels, but…

‘It’s not enough.’

From where she was, Amanda could see that there were simply way too many demons to deal with at the same time. 

Despite the fact that they were dealing with them at an alarming rate, it was still far from enough. 

Amanda knew that she had to do something. Hence, she slowly took a stance and raised her bow. 

“Huuu…” 

She inhaled deeply, closed her eyes for a fleeting instant, and focused on the mana that was housed within her body before drawing her bow.

A soft glow began to envelop her entire body at the same time that a blue translucent arrow began to form on her bow.

Opening her eyes once more, she shifted her gaze toward the far distance, where the demon army was before mumbling something under her breath. 

“Count-ranked, agility-type, ambush-type…” 

[[S] Target Lock] : Non-combat ability that allows the user to filter and select specific targets based on user-defined criteria. The greater the number of targets selected, the heavier the mana consumption. 

The skill’s activation altered her view as everything started to change right before her very eyes and over a hundred different red dots appeared in her vision. All of which were targets that perfectly fit the criteria that she had selected beforehand.

A thin smile formed on her face when she saw all of the targets. Her back arched backward and she released the string of her bow.

Instantly, the arrow in her bow disappeared into the sky.

The speed at which it flew was so fast that it released a small shockwave.

While the arrow kept rising in the air, Amanda lowered her head and once again turned her attention toward the battlefield.

She lowered her bow and waited for a couple of seconds before murmuring something under her breath.

“Boom.”

It was then that it happened.

A rain of blue arrows shot at terrifying speeds toward the ground like the heavy rain of a storm.

Each perfectly aimed for the demon that she had previously selected, leaving nothing but death behind. 

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