Chapter 404: The Order to Return

[Belzebor’s POV]

Belzebor withstood Calyra’s unending onslaught of [Magic Missile] behind a translucent barrier of Dark Mana that absorbed each successive explosion. But his lot was not a happy one, even with a successful defense.

He looked around, saw that most of the Voidspawns were already dead, only few remained. The rest of the Frostgrave soldiers had been disposed of quickly, and the battlefield was littered with the bodies of his dead subordinates.

Then he turned his attention to the far side of the distant fighting, where his skeletal steed was still locked in combat with the commanders.

And to his chagrin it seemed to be on the point of breaking under their ceaseless attack, its battered frame straining to endure their combined assault.

At this rate the creature wouldn’t be defeated for long either.

They were losing this wave.

A bleak, unavoidable conclusion dawned on him.

’How surprising...’

Had he underestimated them too little?

Maybe.

He had not anticipated such a bitter fight, let alone to be put in such a disadvantageous situation. In contrast, he supposed he shouldn’t have expected too much from this particular body.

After all, it was only a Reaper-rank Voidspawn, not strong enough to withstand the full power of his true strength. Even with his consciousness inside the vessel, there was only so much power he could wield before it hit its limits.

But even if he lost this wave there would be more to come. Even if he lost here, it wouldn’t really make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Besides, this wasn’t his real body, just one of the many Black Knight Voidspawn under his control. He still had plenty of others at his disposal, each could serve as a replacement should the one in question be destroyed.

The loss of this vessel would be an inconvenience, of course, but hardly a loss he couldn’t afford.

’I’ll just get out of this one and take another one when the next wave comes.’

With that in mind, Belzebor had little reason to drag a battle that was already turning against him.

What’s the point of defending a vessel that was already pushed to the limit? He had plenty of alternatives, and losing one wasn’t worth worrying about.

But just when he was about to do it, a deafening explosion boomed from far to the north.

At first, Belzebor thought it was a spell. Especially considering the Frostgrave defenders had been letting loose plenty of those during the course of the battle.

But this was not the same. The sound was too far away, yet the tremors were strong enough to be felt even from where he stood.

Almost all eyes turned to the source.

"What!?" said Belzebor.

His golden eyes narrowed and he looked out across the northern horizon where two huge plants were slowly falling.

For a moment he could not believe what he was seeing.

One of the huge Nightbloom Spawner was already beginning to crumble, the massive frame breaking apart as thick plumes of dust raised into the sky.

The other was doing no better. In fact, judging by the rate at which it was coming apart, it seemed to have received an equally devastating blow. But how could this have happened?

Belzebor stared in silence, his earlier thoughts about abandoning the vessel momentarily forgotten.

But more to the point, who was responsible?

"What the hell happened over there?"

Belzebor squinted.

He decided he needed a better idea of what was happening over there.

He could share their senses, see through their eyes, as long as they were still alive, with his authority — [The Ravenous Mind] — over the Voidspawns.

There were still plenty of them around the Nightbloom Spawners to his liking. His eyes closed for a moment, and his consciousness reached out to touch one of the nearby Voidspawns.

His vision changed almost instantly and a whole different scene was presented before him than the battlefield.

What he discovered was chaos.

Spells and weapons tore through the ranks of the Voidspawns, and the ground was littered with their corpses.

They were charged through by several bands of soldiers, all in dark robes edged with gold. They marched in orderly formations, cutting down everything in their path.

’Who are these people?’

Belzebor turned to the attackers, frowning in an effort to understand their sudden appearance.

He didn’t think they were normal soldiers, not that he could tell, not when even the more potent Voidspawns were having a hard time keeping their ground.

More importantly though, several groups were already past the defenses surrounding the Nightbloom Spawners.

Then he spotted a woman at the front of the charge, her long platinum hair and conspicuous facial scar making her easily identifiable.

With her sword raised she charged into a group of Voidspawns, cutting them down with frightening ease, several soldiers following closely to exploit the opening she had created.

Before he could look further into her, a massive explosion rocked the area, making the Voidspawn whose eyes he was using stumble.

Belzebor’s vision was blurred, but he could see another Nightbloom Spawner falling, its huge form crumbling under the attackers’ relentless assault.

Then Belzebor finally understood what had happened.

"Those sons of bitches!" he cursed, his face twisting with rage.

Apparently, the defenders of Frostgrave had brought in reinforcements without his knowledge, sending them around the main fighting area to surprise the Nightbloom Spawners while his forces were busy with the siege.

"Grgh!"

Those bloody brats came charging at him again, and Belzebor clicked his tongue in irritation, cutting the connection.

His eyes snapped back to the present, just as Ruvian closed the distance with his black katana. He raised his greatsword and their weapons collided with a loud crash.

Their blades clashed, and Ruvian leaned forward, a maddeningly smug grin plastered across his face.

"What’s wrong? Didn’t see that coming?"

Belzebor ground his teeth, shoved Ruvian roughly back, blocked another blow from Zian, deflected a spell from Calyra, his golden eyes finally focusing on the blue-eyed scholar.

"Was it you? Was it your plan?"

"Even if I did, what’s the use of knowing that now? "It has happened already," Ruvian said, his face beaming with confidence. "This is where your siege ends, Demon. You’ve lost."

Belzebor’s face darkened at the words, but before he could speak in reply another attack hurtled in at him from the left.

Zian scored his arm with his blade, slicing through battered armor and biting deep into the flesh beneath. Belzebor grunted in pain and stumbled back, clutching his greatsword tighter.

’I... I lost?’

’No! I won’t put up with this!’

Just when he was about to strike back, something suddenly echoed in the depths of his consciousness.

His face shifted slightly and without another word he drew a large amount of Dark Mana around his body and retreated several miles at a sudden burst of speed.

Then he lifted his free hand and let loose [Black Thunderstorm], calling down countless bolts of pitch black lightning, crashing down between himself and the three scholars.

The ground was shaking from the constant blows and Ruvian and the others had to give up the chase.

Belzebor wasn’t planning on running away, but rather, something far more pressing had suddenly demanded his attention.

Just seconds ago, he sensed a familiar presence reaching out to him. A connection directly linked to his soul. Belzebor, knowing who it was, ceased his movements immediately and let the link take shape.

There was a cold, imperious voice that echoed in the depths of his mind.

—"Return, Belzebor. We already got what we needed."

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[Chapter 404: The Order to Return]