Chapter 421 - 289: The Approaching Storm

The Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors couldn’t understand at all why the people before them were so much stronger than any enemy they’d previously encountered. Their own power was supposed to be beyond description.

Yet here and now, they were being slaughtered at will like common thugs.

A unique Abyssal Language began to ring out among them, and they started to fall back with their few hundred remaining soldiers.

They knew that with their current numbers, they could no longer threaten these humans. There was no point in wasting their lives here.

Levi stopped the Barbarians who wanted to give chase, watching as the enemy slowly retreated into the darkness.

Time was of the essence; there was no need to take risks by pursuing them.

Although those creatures had suffered a beating, they were High Tier Demons, after all. Their retreat remained orderly enough that simply harrying their rear wouldn’t easily increase the body count.

"Lord, the number of Demons in the area is increasing. We’ll be in trouble if the main army of the Six-armed Snake Demons arrives," Fujero said, his expression grim.

A moment ago, aside from helping the High Cliff Castle troops draw some of the pressure, the Thorn Corps had sent its remaining men forward to try and break a hole in the encircling Demons, but to little effect.

That was a job best left to the High Cliff Castle forces.

Just then, a mighty roar suddenly echoed from a distant street. It was followed by the distinctive hissing of the Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors who had just been defeated, and soon, the sound of clashing metal joined the cacophony.

A dense tide of Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors surged back, but this time their numbers were unimaginable, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Lord, what do we do?" Fujero swallowed hard. He felt like he’d been riding a Griffin all night—a constant series of dizzying highs and terrifying lows.

A quick glance revealed at least ten thousand Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors. The High Cliff Castle forces might be powerful, but the enemy could simply overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

"Boss, what’s the plan?" Zat asked, hefting his War Axe, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

"Fight my ass! Run!" Levi rolled his eyes and immediately took off.

’Sometimes, these guys are even more battle-hungry than I am. I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.’

The Lord was confident he could single-handedly fight his way out of White Bone Fortress, but the problem was that he wasn’t alone. He had a whole retinue of people to look after.

Even if they managed to cut their way out, he’d probably be left with few survivors. He had no desire to become a commander with no troops and have to start over from scratch.

He turned and ran toward a gate in a different direction. ’If we can’t get out this way, we’ll try another. Since so many Six-armed Snake Demons are gathered here, the other gates can’t be as heavily guarded.’

With the High Cliff Castle forces clearing a path, the seemingly impenetrable ranks of Demons were instantly pierced. The Thorn Corps followed close behind, rushing for the opening.

The system-enhanced Beastman Barbarians ran with incredible speed, even weighed down by their heavy Iron Armor. Unfortunately, Heather and the other Casters lived up to the Lord’s stereotype of them; though physically stronger than ordinary people, the difference was marginal.

And that was to say nothing of the Goat-man Auxiliary Soldiers, who had no system enhancement and were already panting with exhaustion.

This inevitably dragged down their pace.

But that wasn’t the most important thing. As the Lord ran, he noticed a problem.

Logically, there were numerous military garrisons within White Bone Fortress—they had just intentionally passed the one for Terror Castle—yet this horde of Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors seemed to have singled out his group, pursuing them relentlessly.

"Old Fu, take your men and go right! I’ll go left! We’ll regroup at the city gate!"

At a fork in the road, Levi chose to split their forces. Moving as one large group was too slow and made them too big of a target; it clearly wasn’t a good option.

He also wanted to figure out just why these Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors were so fixated on them.

But after running barely a hundred paces, Levi realized the Thorn Corps wasn’t the target. The pack of Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors behind him didn’t hesitate for a second, every last one of them turning to follow him. In contrast, not a single Demon was chasing the Thorn Corps.

The soldiers of the Thorn Corps were moved to tears, grateful for the heroic sacrifice of the Lord of High Cliff Castle. They silently prayed to the Holy Light Goddess that no harm would come to him.

"For fuck’s sake, why are they only chasing me?! It’s not like I’m some prize!" only the Lord was hopping mad and cursing.

He suddenly had a thought. ’Could it be because my body is glowing with Holy Light under the night sky? Am I basically a miniature sun?’ The idea made him quickly retract the Holy Light into the Holy Light Seed within him.

His radiance dimmed until he was no different from an ordinary officer. He immediately led the way around another corner.

But the Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors were dead set on their course, stubbornly sticking to the Lord’s tail like their lives depended on it.

They were even more persistent than a simp chasing his goddess.

"Damn it, why is this happening?!" The Lord was about to die from frustration.

He started to suspect the Demons had some kind of Magic that let them see player names. ’Did I kill so many Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors that my name turned red? Is that why I’m getting this unfair treatment?’

"Damn it. The hell we’re running." Levi quickly led his men to a halt amidst a cluster of buildings. "No more running!"

The scrawny Goat-man and Rabbit People Auxiliary Soldiers were slowing them down too much. The people of High Cliff Castle didn’t have a habit of abandoning their comrades, so it was only a matter of time before they were overtaken.

Rather than run themselves to exhaustion, it was better to make a final stand.

All the Auxiliary Soldiers understood why they had stopped. If they were abandoned, the Warriors of the Burning Corps could easily escape. But their Lord chose to face the enemy rather than leave them behind. The thought moved the auxiliaries to floods of tears.

Back in the Wilderness, they were used to more than just being abandoned; clan warriors had treated them as emergency rations, not even as people. So, in their eyes, their Lord was practically a living saint.

"My Lord, please run!"

Some of the Rabbit People even fell to their knees, clutching the Lord’s legs and begging him.

It didn’t matter if they died here. Their families were in High Cliff Castle, and they needed their Lord to go back and continue leading them.

"Stuff it."

Levi pulled his snot-covered leg back with a look of disgust. "Nobody," he said fiercely, "is dying today!"

"Let’s fuck these bastards up!" he snarled, shaking his fist.

"FUCK THESE BASTARDS UP!" The unified roar was enough to bring the sky down.

Even the timid Rabbit People raised their kitchen knives and ladles, their faces so fierce they looked ready to charge a dire wolf and tear out a mouthful of flesh.

You become like those you associate with. By following a group of fearless brutes, even the Rabbit People and Goat-man had picked up some of their ferocity.

"Leiden, Mier, Zat, you’re temporarily in command. Focus on defense. Hold off these Six-armed Snake Demons," Levi ordered succinctly, his gaze then falling on Sophia, who had been hiding in the crowd.

The Silver Dragon Maiden, carrying a small pack on her back, looked utterly timid. She was the perfect embodiment of "all beauty and no brains," just going with the flow.

"Sophia, you’re with me." His tone was grave.

The two of them headed around a corner, quickly vanishing from sight.

No one asked what Levi was planning. Leiden directed the Auxiliary Soldiers to erect simple fortifications. Zat adjusted his slightly crooked Horned Helmet, grinned, and led the Beastman Warriors to the front line, War Axe in hand.

’The boss hogged all the glory earlier. Now, it’s finally the great Zat’s turn to shine.’

He glanced at Gus to his left and Hog to his right, then curled his lip in disdain.

Mier directed the Feder Archers to climb onto the rooftops for a high-ground advantage. Gus nocked an arrow, Thunder Element crackling around him, his eagle-sharp gaze fixed on the swarming Six-armed Snake Demons up ahead.

Hog leisurely polished his Curved Saber. Once it gleamed, he mounted his Warg.

Little old Sam ran sweating through the crowd, determined to cast the Stone Skin Technique on every last soldier.

The piercing hisses blended together, converging into a chilling and ferocious melody that was enough to make one’s blood run cold.

The distance between the two armies was closing fast. The melee was about to begin.