Chapter 76
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A few hours before the raid, in the early morning, Nyhill was about to head back to the mine to assist Noubelmag.
The hero left the vige.
It was for reconnaissance and rescue.
Although the rain had stopped sincest night and the situation had slightly improved, the ground remained muddy.
Not wanting to risk Ted injuring his leg by running continuously, they frequently stopped.
Even during these short breaks, the ‘Avatar Duel’ continued.
… It didn’t matter anyway; it wouldn’t take long.
-Virtual space.
The hero blocked the attacks from the iing demons.
Bang!
His hands and feet were dizzy.
Facing three intermediate-level demons, which were difficult to handle even for him, was quite a reckless challenge.
Initially, he couldn’tst for 30 seconds.
Even recovering the lost arm and leg with polymorph didn’t change the situation.
If he were a vulnerable human, 10 seconds would have been the limit.
‘…I can’t see a solution.’
It was a basicbat technique with no particr strategy.
One demon shot demonic energy from a distance, while the other two simultaneously rushed from both sides.
… But even that was brutally effective.
They exerted the power of ten, not three, and that was a force the current hero couldn’t handle.
Naturally, questions arose.
‘How did he suddenly gain enlightenment in such a situation?’
Examining the records of the battle in the Ardum Gorge, it was said that he fell into a trap but suddenly awakened, swiftly defeating three intermediate demons and breaking through the encirclement.
‘It’s hard to imagine.’
…Of course, there was some gain.
Thirty rounds of Avatar training.
While he never gained the upper hand inbat, the time he could endure gradually increased.
Although it was far less refined than Nova, it was a method to quickly move his body a bit faster.
‘In this way…’
Kwang!
He invoked Halo in a simplified manner.
Not shooting the sword, he infused a small amount of mana into his body, colliding with each other.
The resulting powerful rebound sent the mana to the extremities of the whole body faster than the usual speed.
Kwaahng!
It was a method devised to block dyed attacks.
It was also a method that he could attempt because he was a Doppleganger with immediate recovery.
Although it caused excruciating pain as if the body was tearing apart, in the end, he could counter the demons’ attacks.
“What is this… Kueeek!”
The ck Hope rushed into one demon’s upper body.
His expression showed surprise at the unexpected speed.
In the moment he attempted to burn the regenerating guy’s flesh with mana…
“…!”
A mass of demonic energy and long ws severed the hero’s head and heart at the same time.
The vision went dark in an instant.
Familiarments appeared again.
In an instant, the field plunged into darkness.
▼
Virtual training concluded.
Evaluation in progress…
▲
The hero opened his eyes again in reality.
It was another defeat, but his expression was a bit brighter.
For the first time, he managed tond a valid counterattack, even though he was in a hurry to retaliate.
It was a meaningful progress.
‘In a 1v1 situation, it should be an overwhelming victory as before.’
With such thoughts, the hero took hold of the reins and nned to start towards the post again.
However…
‘…’
The hero suddenly stopped.
A chill ran down his spine.
…Thump.
Thump, thump-!
His sensitive senses detected a very subtle vibration.
…Thump.
BOOM, BOOM-!
What started as a small vibration quickly amplified, hitting his ears.
Shadows falling on the ground.
No, multiple shadows.
“…!”
The hero immediately lowered his body behind a nearby hillock, then used the enhanced invisibility skill of ‘Bucks’ topletely hide his presence.
Ted also cleverly knelt down and sat next to him.
A dust cloud approaching slowly and filling the deste ground.
The hero’s mouth murmured as he confirmed their identity.
‘Demons?’
But… It was different from usual times.
‘…What’s that number? Did they gather all the demons from the posts?’
The demons exuded a sinister aura, numbering in the tens, if not hundreds.
It hadn’t been more than a few weeks since the posts were set.
With that number, it was reasonable to assume that they mobilized their full force.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
It was a movement far beyond his expectations.
However, the problem wasn’t just their numbers.
‘That…’
The hero looked at the rear with narrowed eyes.
There.
‘There is some ominous presence’
Floating a few spans above the ground, herding the demons like a flock.
The hero’s mouth mumbled as he confirmed their identity.
‘…Administrator.’
The hero quickly confirmed the direction in which the army of monsters was advancing.
It was exactly the same as the direction the Administrator hade from.
In other words, whether it was their destination or a detour….
‘Lonkers is in danger.’
The hero quickly grabbed the signal re he always carried just in case, but soon released the grip of his hand.
Maybe if it’s fired at night.
Even if we shot it now, the probability that the vigers would notice it was low.
‘Rather, it might attract attention, and a battle could break out right here.’
That would be the worst-case scenario.
No matter how strong he had be, facing such arge number of enemies at once was impossible.
‘Keep calm.’
…The hero thought.
‘Then, what can I do right now?’
His mental calctions were swift.
Three possible ns immediately came to mind.
One for the lower.
One for the middle.
One for the upper.
The lower n involved returning to the vige and joining forces with Lonkers’s troops.
If he assisted Noubelmag’s water weapons, the vigers, and even Nyhill, there was a possibility of winning, although slim.
‘But the risk is too high.’
It was a full-frontal confrontation with the demons.
If he revealed himself, there was no guarantee of his life.
Even if he won, many vigers involved in the fight would likely die.
Moreover, it would expose his skills, which were not very ‘heroic,’ tantly in front of Nyhill and Noubelmag.
…It would be a fatal mistake.
The middle n…
The middle n was put on hold for now.
The final upper n.
The upper n was to simply flee.
If needed, he could deal with Lonkerster with Nyhill and Noubelmag.
‘But…’
The hero hesitated.
The n to observe the posts had failed, or the demon army had been attracted.
‘This is a safe option.’
There was no need to worry about Noubelmag’s life.
Nyhill, regardless of the situation, would prioritize protecting him.
If the vige became endangered, she would take him away on her own.
No risk.
Safe and rational.
…The problem was the inevitable annihtion of the Lonkers residents.
‘I and Noubelmag and Nyhill, without us, the probability of them surviving is nil.’
The hero couldn’t help but have cruel thoughts.
Lonkers’s residents.
They were…
‘Even if they die, it won’t affect the future of humanity.’
Indeed, it was true.
By discarding them, receable resources, he could preserve his and Nyhill and Noubelmag’s lives.
‘Even if it means abandoning them in a hopeless situation without me, Noubelmag, and Nyhill.’
“Haah….”
Thump, thump-!
The demon army, which was a bit of a distance away, was now almost at his doorstep.
It was time to make a decision.
Lower n?
Upper n?
Or…
The hero recalled the middle n he had put on hold.
‘No, this might be the middle n.’
In terms of risk, it was as significant as the lower n.
However, what he liked about this npared to the previous two was that the risk wasrgely focused on himself.
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If he could manage the risk well, he could achieve much better results than the other two ns.
If not, he would face the worst-case scenario.
The deliberation was short.
“…Ha, I’ll get scolded again.”
The hero exhaled a deep sigh, recalling the image of Euphemia angrily scolding him.
But before her determined face, another face came to mind.
… If it was ‘him’ in this situation.
If he were the person who always made the most just and right choices.
It was clear what n he would choose in such a situation.
He mounted his horse.
“Let’s go!”
Rising from the saddle, he energetically urged the horse, seemingly following the owner’s will.
Below the hill.
The demon horde’s rear was passing by at that moment.
…There were demons within striking distance if he swung his sword.
With a leap, the hero rushed towards them.
Druch-
Simultaneously, hundreds of pairs of eyes focused on him.
* * *
The demon, Verris, thought as he advanced.
It’s a simple task.
All calctions had already been made.
They would drive out Lonkers and conquer it.
It wouldn’t take more than half a day to put that shabby vige under his foot.
Despite having a considerable poption, it was a countryside vige without even a decent caretaker.
Trained soldiers or even militia were likely to be easily trampled.
Once they captured as many humans as possible and extracted mana through torture, they would move on to the next vige.
Even if humans in the West were indifferent, if an entire vige was annihted, a punitive force would undoubtedly be organized.
If they targeted the surroundings as much as possible before they arrived, they could conquer two or three more viges.
‘In that case, it’s entirely possible to surpass the hierarchy.’
That way, even if the post was destroyed and they lost all the demons under it, it wouldn’t matter.
More potent power.
Broader influence.
Anticipating that sweet fruit, Verris headed toward Lonkers.
… Until he heard the sound of hooves.
Thud, thud-!
‘…What’s this?’
Turning around, Verris faced a man.
The man, about a hundred meters away, was on horseback, staring directly at him.
It was not clear, thanks to the deeply pressed hood, what his face or eyes looked like.
However, even through the thick robe, Verris could see a well-trained body and a horse that seemed to be of noble lineage.
Verris realized that this man was not an ordinary passerby.
‘A mercenary? Frence knight? Or… could he be a hero?’
asionally, there were such individuals—those who honed their talents, surpassing the limits of their race.
They were often called ‘heroes’ among humans.
They often stood against demons for reasons such as honor, fame, or beliefs.
But Verris wasn’t particrly concerned.
‘Either way, it doesn’t matter.’
Of course, there were some particrly strong ones.
But they were not numerous.
Most of them had skills that could handle at most one low-ranking demon, with only a few capable of confronting a hundred or more demons, including mid-tier ones.
“…Really unexpected.”
Verris’s judgement was distorted by the interference as he faced an important task.
When he reached out, demonic energy rapidly condensed in the air.
Wooooo-!
A mass of demonic energy, once formed to the size of a human head,pressed slowly into a small bead, melting into the ground like molten metal.
The buzzing sound grew louder as the ground melted away.
There was no time.
Even if it was a bit of an overinvestment, he intended to turn that guy into a pulp instantly.
“Die.”
Quaaaaaa-!
A projectile soared, tearing through the air.
Verris squinted his eyes, waiting for the anticipated result.
.
.
.
…But the expected explosion and shockwave did note.
Suaaaaa-!
Instead, a bright sh filled his vision.
A beam of light shot like an arrow, wrapping around the magic and neutralizing its momentum.
‘…Dispel?’
Kugugugung-!
Certainly, it wasn’t perfect defense.
Dispel was a spell that disrupted the magical structure, rendering the magic powerless.
Against demonic energy, an energy formed from the distortion of the ambient mana, its effectiveness was inevitably reduced.
It wasn’tplete nullification but rather a partial mitigation of its power.
However, it seemed sufficient against the man.
Toong-!
He pulled out a shield from the extradimensional space.
“Ugh.”
A brief sound of impact.
The man on the saddle swayed slightly to the sides.
He managed to avoid a direct hit, but the shock he received was substantial.
Even the horse’s legs wavered.
Considering the attack was powerful enough to obliterate Lonkers’s defenses, it was a sessful defense.
“…Ha.”
After exchanging one round of offense and defense, Verris’s eyes narrowed.
‘Look at this.’
Demons are extremely sensitive to the flow of mana.
During this short moment, Verris could sense the manifestation of three artifacts.
The shield suddenly appeared… a spatial magic artifact.
The shield itself had a spell embedded in it, scattering magic and absorbing physical force.
And finally, Dispel.
Moreover, the Dispelling originated not from the man’s body but from the robe he wore.
‘Does he possess such high-grade artifacts?’
Gradually, Verris’s gaze changed.
Irritation and annoyance disappeared, reced by desire.
‘That guy…’
He didn’t seem that powerful.
Evidence of this was that he still appeared to be struggling from the aftermath of the attack, staggering somewhat unsteadily.
Verris’s pupils dted.
‘He doesn’t seem to have gained those valuable artifacts with his own abilities… Could he be a scion of a high-ranking noble?’
Demons also coveted artifacts as much as humans did, even more so.
This was because demons inherently valued power more directly than humans did.
Moreover, if properly processed, artifacts could extractrge amounts of mana, refining it into usable demonic energy.
In the ongoing struggles among demons, artifacts could be used as a trump card.
‘Should I take some time to investigate?’
Verris turned his body entirely toward the man.
The demon army followed suit.
A foul odor and grating groans echoed as the horde moved.
‘Won’t take more than three minutes.’
However, the situation unfolded entirely differently from Verris’s expectations.
The man, who had just appeared as if ready to charge, wasn’t looking at him at all.
‘What’s going on?’
Verris felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
The moment he realized where that gaze was directed…
‘Wait a moment…’
Beneath the deeply hooded robe.
His lips twitched.
The demon’s exceptional vision didn’t miss the movement and read it urately.
A horse.
Thunk.
‘…What?’
It happened in an instant.
The horse’s hooves pounded the ground, and it shot forward like an arrow.
It wasn’t aimed at Verris.
Without any wavering, the fixed trajectory was directly in the direction Verris hade from.
Verris shouted in disbelief.
“NNNNOOOO!!”
He had beencent, thinking there was no powerful force capable of crossing the stake in the vicinity.
Suddenly, an audacious and resolute human appeared, heading straight for the stake.
It was an unexpected and piercingly effective strategy that Verris couldn’t have imagined.
‘The stake is in danger!’
He had no time to ponder the identity of the audacious man performing such daring actions.
Verris urgently summoned the demon leader, who was equivalent to the general of the demon forces.
“You lot, continue besieging Lonkers. I’ll join you shortly.”
Of course, he had left minimal guarding forces at the stake.
However, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
They hadn’t fulfilled their quota yet, and if the ‘core’ was destroyed…
Verris’s face twisted like a demon.
At that point, whether it was a rapid promotion or a demotion, everything woulde to an end.
Without any achievements and losing the stake, the higher-ranking demons wouldn’t let him off easily.
“Stop right there!”
Verris exerted all his strength, spreading his wings.
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