Chapter 19: The Last Lightning Banner
The sky gradually darkened.
Generally speaking, nighttime was the most dangerous time in the Frontier Forest, but after the baptism of the worm and Pandorater, Nemo had lost the concept of the word “danger”. Whenever he thought the situation was turning from bad to worse, fate always seemed to give him new surprises. It was barely a week since he’d left his original life, yet he had almost forgot the concept of “normal”.
Oliver’s erected ice shield was still standing firmly, emitting bursts of cold air. Nemo peered out between the ice crevices seeing that the demons and monsters who were whipped up into a frenzy because of the superior demon’s flesh had not dispersed. They began to collide and tear at each other, trying to get extra flesh by devouring their enemies. The night was getting thicker and the scattered corpses and blood looked like boring shadows, giving the illusion of safety.
Unfortunately battle in reality never picked a suitable time to end. It usually came with misfortune, exhaustion, fear, or pain that didn’t seem to hinder them.
There were still sparse monsters advancing towards the place where Pandorater was, hoping to pick up some leftovers. This time, they weren’t so anxious. From time to time, lanky demons would drill through the thick gaps of ice and bare their fangs and claws showing hostility to them. Nemo wasn’t sure if it was because Oliver was bleeding, but the demons invariably chose him as the primary target.
Oliver once again showed his tarrying perseverance. He broke the horn of a small demon with his bare hands. When the next demon tried to bite off his head, he put his injured left arm around its neck and inserted the broken horn that he previously broke off directly into its throat. The sticky blood sprayed all over the two of them and the fishy smell dispersed instantly.
Nemo had to deal with those sticky tongues and malicious fangs empty handed. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be interested in him, and it was relatively easy for him to attack from the side. His strengthened physical strength finally came in handy, although breaking off spines made him uncomfortable.
The corpses of the demons were quickly dragged away from the ice crevices by smaller demons, competing for food and the remnants of flesh and blood cause more monsters to stop near the ice shield.
“We can’t keep going on like this,” Oliver said breathlessly. The ice shield was starting to shatter, causing him and Nemo to stick back-to-back to guard against any malicious attack that could come from their blind spots. Nemo didn’t dare to use magic anymore and used a broken horn purely as a dagger; only relying on physical strength to stab at the thick skin of the monsters. His physical strength was rapidly depleting.