Parallel Memory

[ “Nightfall Shackles” ]

Many Devil Contractors who were near Zero shifted their focus to Zero and were going to attack him, but Zero already used his technique Nightfall Shackles which trapped them in their position. They couldn’t move at all.

The Holy Knights were confused for a second before realizing that the Devil Contractors that they were fighting with are constricted by the shadows. They could easily guess the culprit for such an event.

-SLASH! -SLASH!

They didn’t hesitate and lunged their sword into their body. Rank-B Devil Contractor had no chance of escaping from the shadows while some Rank-A did manage to resist and block the attack from Holy Knights.

[ “Ice Prison” ]

However, right when they thought that they were safe, they were captured in a strong seal made of ice. This time, they had no chance of escape and were killed by the Holy Knights.

-WHOOSH!

After having taken care of one group of Devil Contractors, he quickly moved to the next and did similar things.

[ “Nightfall Shackles” ]

[ “Ice Shard”‘ ]

[ “Dark Icy Surface” ] …

He would either constrict the Devil Contractors with Nightfall Shackles or use Shadow Ice Shard to kill them directly. For Rank-A, it took Zero much stronger techniques. And with the help of the Holy Knights, he could easily finish them off.

At the center of Zero, the battlefield was completely overturned. Devil Contractors who once pushed the Holy Knights were getting pressurized. Their number kept on decreasing and even Rank-A Devil Contractors couldn’t do anything to Zero.

Now, even the Strongest Rank-A Devil Contractor was scared and lost confidence in victory.

Before he thought Zero had killed their leader purely by luck and tricks. However, after Zero wiped out many groups of Devil Contractors, he knew that they were finished.

The assumption that Zero’s mana is low was also thrown out of the window. With how much Zero is pushing, he realized that Zero had more than enough mana to kill them

No matter how arrogant he was, the Rank-A+ Devil Contractor knew that he could never defeat as many Rank-A Devil Contractors as Zero had done in a short period of time. And to add insult to injury, Zero didn’t seem tired at all.

“R-Retreat!”

One of them. said He was the same Devil Contractor who had previously suggested running. Now, he didn’t even care about the Rank-A Devil Contractor command and started running after having said retreat.

-THUD! -THUD! -THUD!

There was also no objection from others as one by one, many began to run away. At the time, they feared Zero more than Lord Aamon’s punishment. As the saying goes, “A sword near is more deadly than a sword far away.”

Right now, they couldn’t think of anything other than running away from Zero. Even the strongest Rank-A+ Devil Contractor was thinking about running. He stopped fighting and started to move into the deeper forest.

However, before he could make a move, Zero was already near him. Even though he tried to escape, he was nothing compared to Zero’s speed.

“DON’T THINK I AM AS EASY AS OTHERS!”

He asked as he swung his large morning star. He was desperate and cornered, he had no choice but to fight back. However, there was little to no chance for him to win.

Not only did he have to fight with Zero but the Holy Knights who were coming to help Zero. On the other hand, Rank-A+ Devil Contractor allies were busy making a run for their lives. Most of them didn’t even care about his life and were glad that he was there to buy some time for them.

There was no help for him at all. But he was not willing to go down easily.

-CLANK!

Zero used his sword to block the attack. The morning star was heavy and could have shattered most weapons. However, Zero had a Rank-A artifact sword which is also enhanced by Shadow Style.

The Zero also counterattacked.

[ “Shadow Style: Shadow Slash” ]

Seeing that Zero was attacking, the Devil Contractor went into full defensive mode. Although he managed to block the strike, it was nothing to be happy about because many Holy Knights had reached out to help Zero.

Zero was just keeping him at bay so that Holy Knights would reach here and help him.

[ “Ice Shard” ]

Zero attacked from a distance, making the Devil Contractor unable to leave his defensive position. Then, the Holy Knights who came to help Zero would attack along with Zero. They hit the Devil Contractor left and right without giving any chance of retaliation.

Don’t say that they were bullying him! Nothing is fair in Love and War. Previously, they were bullying them and now it was their chance.

Even though Zero was already too much for him to cope with, he still had no chance with Holy Knights in the fray.

-STAB!

He died at the hand of Rank-B Holy Knight which might be his biggest shame. Despite the fact that he is no longer alive to experience the shame.

However, his death was not in vain. By the time they managed to kill him, most of the Devil Contractors had managed to escape. Some of the Holy Knights wanted to pursue them.

“Stop! We don’t know whether there is a trap or not. Better focus on protecting the Saintess.”

Zero said. His mana level has dropped to a very low level and as he said, he needed to protect the Saintess.

Furthermore, who knows, retreating might be a ploy to attract them but have someone secretly go around and kill the Saintess.

Anyway, it was not good to go too far and corner them. If they did, they might retaliate with everything they got and might even sacrifice their life in order to kill someone. That’s why Zero let them run.

On the other hand, he targeted the Rank-A Devil Contractor as he felt that he was strong and might get stronger. At that time, it might be too late, and therefore, to reduce the power level of Devils, he killed him.

The Holy Knights looked at each other and nodded. They were too excited and forgot that they were weaker than Devil Contractor. They wanted to kill as many of them as possible. However, agreed to Zero as their job is to protect Saintess, not kill Devil Contractor.

Secondly, Zero was their savior, and listening to him only made sense. And without him, they could not possibly kill them.

They quickly returned to where Saintess and the others were. Zero took the lead. He was also vigilant about the sneak attack and something unexpected happening.

Fortunately, none of them happened and it seems that Devil Contractor has indeed escaped.

“Are you okay?”

Zero asked Saintess Amelia. She looked very exhausted and it looked like she could collapse at any moment.

“Yes, thank you! I owe you one.”

Saintess Amelia said. She was very grateful that Zero saved the Holy Knights. She would have been devastated if all her guards were to die just like when she was training. Luckily, there was Zero this time who prevented that misfortune.

“No need! I am only returning the favor.”

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“No, you have done more than that. You have saved many lives today, including mine!”

“Don’t worry, what you did previously is the same as what I did today.”

Zero said. He was implying that his life is more precious than all the life here. And it was true for him, as his being saved is not as good as her saving 50 people. If the choice came for him to choose whether to be saved or save 50 Holy Knights, he would obviously go for the first option.

“…”

Saintess Amelia didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know whether Zero was being arrogant or telling her not to worry about his help. In any case, she also cast aside owing him a favor.

“Sir Jester, I would like to thank you once again. You not only saved Saintess and my life but also the lives of my subordinates as well. In the future, if you need help, I will definitely do my best to fulfill your request.”

Zain said. Other knights also kneel on one leg and bow their heads to show respect.

“It’s fine! Don’t worry about that.”

Zero replied. He was not interested in others owing him. He also didn’t like owing others.

They rested for a moment. They drank the Health potion and Mana potion and recovered some of their strength. Zero was acting like a guard as he had the best vision after Saintess and was good at detecting danger.

After resting for a bit, they were to move to another. Despite needing more rest, they couldn’t stay in that place as it is known by Devil Contractors who escaped. They fear that they might return with more reinforcements.

“Let’s go!”