Chapter 126
Chapter 126
The roar of the demonic race resounded.
“Craaaah!”
Hunters consumed by darkness poured out of the cave. Their claws were torn apart, their muscles swelling as if about to burst. Emitting a dark crimson aura, they trampled over the snowfield and charged forward.
“Maintain formation! Do not waver!”
I shouted as I raised my sword. The White Wolf Knights pressed their shields together, reinforcing the front line. The knights in the front row firmly set their shields, while those behind lowered their spears, ready to thrust.
I had expected the demonic race to recklessly charge from the start, but they were not mere beasts. With a red madness gleaming in their eyes, they hesitated and stared at us.
They instinctively knew. That we had raised shields and aimed spears at them.
So they did not rush in immediately. Instead, they circled around, tightening the encirclement.
I gritted my teeth.
“They’re using their heads more than expected for something not quite human.”
One of the demonic beings licked its tongue and muttered. At the same time, their presence fluctuated violently.
I shouted at once.
“Front!”
At that moment—
“Craaaah!”
The first demonic being leapt.
From the front, it lowered its waist and gathered momentum before launching its massive body into the air.
And—
Bang!
With a powerful impact, the shield formation shook. The first shield was knocked back, and one knight was pushed backward.
“Ugh…!”
But the White Wolf Knights quickly regrouped and pressed their shields together once more. When the shields did not collapse, the other demonic beings rushed in all at once.
“Push through!”
Their eyes flashed. They sprang out from all directions simultaneously.
This was their hunting method.
When one drew attention, the others, who had been holding their breath, rushed in from behind. In an instant, five demonic beings charged at the White Wolf Knights.
Bang!
The monstrous strength of the demonic race crushed against the shields. One, then two. Several of them rushed in at once, shaking the shields.
“Uoooooh!”
The White Wolf Knights gritted their teeth and held their ground. But the knights behind the shields could not focus solely on defense.
They had to raise their spears and counterattack.
At that moment—
Thud!
“Grrrr…!”
A spear pierced deeply through the chest of one demonic being. It writhed as it let out a grotesque cry.
But at the same time—
Bang!
Another demonic being struck the side of the knight holding the spear. A knight behind the shield was flung into the snow.
“Cough…!”
I immediately rushed in. A demonic being was approaching the knight who had fallen into the snow.
“I should show them that the White Wolf Knights don’t fall so easily.”
I swung my sword widely.
“Snow Flower(雪華). Ice Flame(氷焰).”
Blue frost bloomed from the tip of my blade. At the same time, flames of ice erupted from behind the demonic being and engulfed it.
“Craaaah!”
Its body froze as if it were burning away. I dashed forward in an instant and thrust my sword.
Thud!
I pierced through the demonic being’s heart. It spat blood and collapsed into the snow.
“Maintain the shields!”
I shouted again. The White Wolf Knights gritted their teeth and held their positions.
A fierce stalemate continued. Shields and spears clashed and pushed against each other, forming a battle line. We did not collapse easily, but neither did they fall easily.
However, the situation elsewhere was completely different.
---
Izumi and the Black Sword Unit moved into the cave.
Izumi Winterbell muttered quietly.
“In the end, it won’t matter how long you bastards hold out.”
As she lightly raised her hand to signal, the shadows of the Black Sword Unit began to move.
Unlike the White Wolf Knights, they did not carry shields.
They had only one purpose.
“Dominate the battlefield.”
At that moment, the Black Sword Unit surged forward, cutting through the battlefield.
Their movements flowed as smoothly as water. However, that smoothness soon led to ruthless slaughter.
Shrrrk—!
A blade sliced through the air, and the neck of a demonic being snapped.
Swoosh—
A sword that pierced through a demonic being’s heart swept through the air once more as it was pulled free.
Thud! Thud!
A series of consecutive strikes. Wherever the Black Sword Unit passed, the demonic beings collapsed without being granted even a single chance to ambush.
They swiftly carved into the battlefield, shattering the formation of the demonic race.
“Craaaagh! Wh-what are these bastards—!”
One demonic being shouted, but before he could even finish, his head rolled across the ground.
Izumi swung her black sword.
“You lot… are too noisy.”
Her blade split a demonic being’s body. Not a single drop of blood splattered. It was that precise of a strike.
As the Black Sword Unit advanced, the demonic beings began to fall into panic.
“Tch…! Those bastards are on a different level!”
“Damn it! Kill those bastards!”
The demonic beings who had been fighting the White Wolf Knights began to retreat. But the Black Sword Unit did not stop.
“Exterminate the enemy.”
At Izumi’s command, the blades of the Black Sword Unit flashed all at once.
At that moment—
The front line of the demonic race completely collapsed.
The entire battlefield began to shake. The White Wolf Knights pressed the demonic beings from the front, while the Black Sword Unit swept them away from behind.
Their defeat had already been decided.
At that moment.
The air changed.
“……!”
Even as the demonic beings were routed, a single presence walked out leisurely. Showing no interest whatsoever in the others falling, he smiled lightly as if watching the foolish struggle of humans.
As soon as he revealed himself, the surviving demonic beings immediately knelt toward him.
“Division Commander…!”
He was a massive demonic being draped in a dark crimson cloak. Two enormous horns stretched upward from his head, demonic patterns covered his skin, and his eyes burned red as if aflame.
Karbos.
The leader of this demonic group, and a named demonic being of Division Commander rank.
He looked over the surrounding slaughter and let out a faint chuckle.
“Yes, this is it. It has to be at least this much to make it worth fighting.”
Izumi tilted her sword slightly and stared at him.
“So you’re their leader.”
Karbos stepped forward slowly. His movements carried an overwhelming pressure. Not mere strength, but the weight of one who had shed countless amounts of blood on the battlefield.
“I had expectations when I heard the swords of Winterbell were in motion… but this is more boring than I thought.”
Before his words even finished, the air tore apart.
Bang!
Izumi immediately twisted her body and swung her sword. But before her blade could reach him, Karbos’s arm shot out.
Bang!
Izumi was sent flying back. She quickly regained her stance. That strike just now had not been a mere display of strength.
The Black Sword Unit instantly surrounded Karbos and launched simultaneous attacks.
Swoosh.
The moment Karbos raised his dark crimson hand, a black wave rippled through the air.
And in the next instant, space itself trembled.
The movements of the Black Sword Unit halted for a split second.
Before they could even react, a massive shockwave exploded from Karbos’s fingertips, shaking the battlefield.
Bang!
Several members of the Black Sword Unit were blown away, rolling across the ground and coughing up blood.
Izumi raised her sword again with a faint smile.
“He’s not an opponent who’ll go down easily.”
Karbos smiled leisurely.
“That’s right, human. But this will be a far more grueling fight for you.”
“Will it?”
The dark crimson demonic energy around him grew even denser.
At that moment, Izumi’s shadow disappeared.
“What?”
When Karbos reflexively turned his body, a sharp pain had already latched onto his side.
Shiiiiiik!
A strike in a single instant. Dark crimson blood scattered into the air.
“Keugh……!”
Karbos cried out and flung himself back. But Izumi had already closed in right beside him.
“Is that all?”
She spoke with an indifferent expression, as if this fight were boring.
“……Now I see. Why you were so arrogant.”
Karbos gritted his teeth. But he had already realized it.
Izumi Winterbell.
She was not merely strong.
She was a monster.
At that moment, Izumi’s sword cut through the air once more.
“Let’s end this.”
Karbos’s blood dripped onto the snowfield.
He clutched his side and clenched his teeth. His opponent was clearly human, yet it felt as though he was fighting something entirely different.
“What…… are you……?”
Izumi Winterbell.
Her swordsmanship was fast and precise. Movements so perfect it was as if there wasn’t a single opening. Before Karbos could even react, her blade was already preparing the next attack.
“You… what are you?”
Karbos unleashed his demonic power. His dark crimson aura dyed the air, even staining the surrounding snow black.
“Hmph. The typical release of demonic energy.”
Izumi sneered.
Her feet glided over the snow. Every time Karbos raised his power, she was already one step faster.
Bang!
Karbos kicked off the ground and charged. His claws shot toward Izumi’s neck. But she slightly twisted her body to evade and brought her sword down.
Slash!
“Keugh!”
Karbos’s thigh split open.
He tried to counterattack, but Izumi’s foot had already struck his abdomen.
Thud!
Karbos’s heavy body rolled across the snowfield. His demonic power erupted in violent waves, blasting the surroundings, yet Izumi calmly walked forward as if nothing had happened.
“You.”
Izumi spoke.
“I heard you were a Division Commander, so I wanted to see how strong you were… but is this really all?”
Karbos’s eyes trembled.
‘This is strange…!’
His power clearly surpassed that of humans.
There was no way a mere human could gain the upper hand against a Division Commander of the demonic race.
But,
From the very beginning, she hadn’t been fighting a ‘matched’ battle.
She had been fighting to overwhelm.
Izumi lightly spun her sword. Ice crystals scattered as if frost were blooming in the air.
“It’s not over yet, right?”
Karbos staggered as he rose.
The dark crimson demonic energy pouring from his body grew even more intense. Only now did he realize.
‘This human… was she playing with me from the start…?’
“You dare…!”
Karbos was enraged.
He charged once more.
Converting all his demonic power into a dark crimson explosion, he lunged at Izumi. But Izumi still smiled lightly as she raised her sword.
“Such a sloppy attack.”
As her blade cut through the air, sword energy spread like a scattering snowstorm.
Shuuuuuk!
At that moment, Karbos’s body froze midair.
He realized that his body was freezing over.
“What…?”
Izumi smiled.
“I didn’t expect you to go down this easily. What a disappointment.”
Karbos struggled. But his limbs were already freezing solid.
The cold emanating from her sword was piercing through his demonic energy.
“You have power. But you have no ‘path.’”
The tip of Izumi’s sword touched Karbos’s heart.
“This fight was over from the moment it began.”
“Winterbell Style Killing Sword, Ninth Form.”
Her blade flashed.
And from Karbos’s heart, ice burst forth as if blooming. His body slowly froze over, and his eyes gradually closed.
“Ku…ugh…”
His body was completely trapped in ice.
Izumi lightly flicked her sword. Not a single drop of blood stained the blade.
“Too weak of an opponent.”
She turned and spoke to the Black Sword Unit.
“It’s time to clean up.”