The atmosphere tightened as more demonic creatures emerged from the Infernal Lair. The Glacia Knights grit their teeth and brandished their weapons without leaving their formation for a second while Ulfhar looked back to Percy, his eyes narrowed to tiny slits.
“Didn’t you say there was only one?!”
Percy’s lips parted, but no word came out for a second. His eyes darted to the small mass of Archyeas and the larger demon walking toward them.
“There was only one…” He said, “Raewood doesn’t have enough Adventurers to deal with this many.”
Ulfhar clicked his tongue, “It must have nourished the Infernal Lair.”
His eyes drifted back to the crack in space, and Percy’s gaze followed. It was only now that he noticed how unstable the Infernal Lair was. The crack in space narrowed with every demon emerging from it. Finally, after the 20th Archyeas stepped out of the Infernal Lair, it disappeared. The crack in space vanished, leaving behind a small…marble.
The Archyeas giggled and spread their wings as if trying to use their wings to look more imposing. That didn’t work, but it wasn’t necessary in the first place. Percy was intimidated enough by the appearance of twenty Archyeas and one larger demon.
He grasped his weapons tightly and accessed the Gnoll Card to summon Hyean. The Gnoll appeared next to Percy and accepted its blade without any delay. Percy stepped next to the Gnoll and entered a combat stance, which Hyean followed.
“A Cardist,” The coachman noted.
“Surprise,” Percy said with a flat smile but turned deadly serious when the charge of Archyeas began.
The Glacia Knights – no more than a dozen in total – channeled mana into their brandished weapons and ahead. The surrounding temperature dropped by a few more degrees as the Glacia Knights’ weapons radiated eerie cold. The Glacia Knight Captain was the first to arrive before his enemies. He was faster than before and beheaded an Archyeas. The beheaded Archyeas’ head landed on the ground with a thud, but both ends of the severed neck were frozen solid.
Tremendous power and mighty Artifacts. That’s the Glacia Knights for you.
Percy shuddered in excitement but remained vigilant. Even though the Glacia Knight Captain was powerful, it didn’t mean Ulfhar or his subordinates were undefeatable.
The Glacia Knight riders were the next to appear left and right to the Archyeas. They pincered the demonic creatures and impaled two with their lances. The spot around the area of impact turned blue and started freezing. It cracked dangerously and burst apart, expanding the hole as the Glacia Knight Riders retrieved their lances. Two riders missed their target by a hair’s breadth. The Lesser Demons twisted their bodies and flapped their wings to gain more momentum to execute a counterattack. They evaded the Glacia Knight rider’s lances and kicked the ground to pounce on the horses.
The Glacia Knight riders were surprised, but they let go of their lances and retrieved small daggers to deal with the Archyeas on top of their summoned horses. Once one of the horses was about to be struck, the Glacia Knight retrieved the horse back into its Card. The Archyeas didn’t expect the horse underfoot to disappear so suddenly and reacted a moment too late. It fell into the Glacia Knight’s dagger and squealed hideously. However, the creature was not yet dead. Archyeas were not that easy to kill.
The Archyeas grasped the Glacia Knight’s hand and squeezed it with all its might. The Lesser Demon’s tremendous raw strength was enough to squash the Knight’s gauntlet and force the Glacia Knight to let go of his dagger. Once the Glacia Knight let go of the dagger, the Archyeas slapped the man with the back of its claws. A moment later, the Archyeas disappeared.
The Glacia Knight grit his teeth in pain but looked around, searching for the Lesser Demon.
“Above you!” Someone called from behind, but it was already too late. The Archyeas dived toward him from high above. Its claws were coated in its demonic essence, ready to tear the Glacia Knight’s armor and body apart in one attack.
But before the Lesser Demon could reach the Glacia Knight, a massive icicle smashed into its back, altering the demonic creature’s trajectory by force.
“Kill it,” Melissa Reeze commanded coldly before her attention returned to the battlefield. Her wand glimmered faintly as mana coursed through its tip. Another giant icicle formed its tip, and she released it to prevent another Archyeas from delivering a lethal blow to her Glacia Knights.
The Glacia Knights were powerful, but nobody was prepared for a wave of demons. They didn’t have the right equipment to weaken and overwhelm demons at their hands. Thus, everyone had to pull their weight in this battle.
Ulfhar struck down the third Archyeas before the taller demon reached him. It didn’t have any wings or claws like the Archyeas. Instead, the demon was almost a meter taller than the Archyeas, had thick black scales covering its entire body, and massive blades replacing its hands. The creature had six eyes, a flat nose, and two twirled horns jut from its forehead.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Isn’t that a type of Bladed Demon? What was their name again?
“Pleacis.” Someone next to Percy gasped, and he nodded, slowly recalling the creature from the Demonology book he’d read in Raewood’s Guildhall.
An Elite Demon. What the hell is one of their Elite doing here?!?
Percy didn’t like that, but there was little they could do about it. He could only hope Ulfhar was strong enough to deal with the Pleacis. If not, they were all dead.
Melissa Reeze paled when her Guardian and the Pleacis collided but didn’t run for her life. Neither did the Glacia Knights. The girl and her bodyguards trusted the Glacia Knight Captain with their lives. Thus, Percy did the same.
He studied the battlefield and observed the Glacia Knights as they were pushed back. The Glacia Knight Captain was strong enough to kill an Archyeas with a single blow, but the Glacia Knights couldn’t do the same. No, they could do the same, but they had to be careful. Their enemies had a numerical advantage, but the Archyeas’ demonic essence was also something they couldn’t counter either. The Glacia Knights couldn’t afford to get hit by their demonic essence. But that was not all. They had to protect not only the Lady but also Percy and the coachman.
The Glacia Knights' tactic changed once the sixth Archyeas fell. The numerical disadvantage was barely noticeable, and their weapon enchantments revealed their true value. Each cut spread the weapons’ freezing properties in the wounds, slowing the Lesser Demons and worsening their condition. At the same time, Lady Reeze fired icicles with the same properties at the creatures’ lower bodies and wings, further slowing their momentum.
It didn’t take long for Melissa Reeze to conjure an icicle, but she took her time aiming. The young noble hesitated too long. That was mostly fine, but it turned into a problem when a small Archyeas evaded a Glacia Knight’s swordstrike and Melissa’s icicle simultaneously. It spun in the air and propelled to Melissa and the coachman.
Melissa cursed, a bead of sweat trickling down her temples as she conjured several icicles simultaneously. She released the barrage of icicles, but the Archyeas changed its trajectory suddenly. It leaped high into the air and appeared above the young noble, who smiled as a new icicle formed at the tip of her wand. She released the icicle with a burst of mana…but didn’t expect the Archyeas to cover its face and upper body with its wings. The icicle smashed into the wings and penetrated one of them before shattering, spreading its freezing properties alongside the leathery wings. The Archyeas crashed to the ground before Melissa, but it was up and ready to tear the young noble apart instantaneously.
Yet, before the Lesser Demon could reach the young noble, Percy had moved into the small spot separating them. He hadn’t even thought before his legs carried him to the Archyeas. The Gnoll followed him and slashed the Archyeas, which giggled disgustingly as it raised its claw to block the incoming slash. It noticed the mana-humming blade too late and was forced to release a burst of its demonic essence through its claws to block the enchanted Gnoll Blade. Percy’s attack was dangerous, but the iron dagger wasn’t enchanted. Mana coursed through it, but the mana-augmented blade was barely enough to cut through the Archyeas’ palm.
The Lesser Demon giggled and grasped Percy’s blade tightly. He heard cracking noises and saw from the corner of his eyes how his iron dagger’s Prosperity dropped.
It’s using demonic essence to destroy the dagger!
Percy wasn’t weak anymore. The Gnoll’s [Minor Strength Boost] Augmentation pushed his physical strength to a higher level, but the gap was still too big. He saw that clearly when he executed a smooth high-kick to the Lesser Demon’s head. His legs hurt like he’d kicked an iron pole, while the Lesser Demon responded by opening its maw wide to dig into his leg and rip out a chunk of his flesh.
To Percy’s fortune, the Gnoll was already on the move. It pounced toward the Archyeas and executed a series of fast slashes and stabs. [Blade Mastery] worked in perfect harmony with [Minor Strength Boost], creating both powerful and highly effective attacks. The Gnoll Blade’s [Sharpness] enchantment was the cherry on top, ensuring the blade would cut deep into the Archyeas’ flesh.
The Lesser Demon didn’t like what Percy and Hyean were doing. It coated its entire body in demonic essence and focused on Percy once it sensed the connection between him and the Gnoll. Percy blocked the first attack with a [Reinforce] augmented [Guard] shield, but the second attack tore through his forearm, severing the [Guard] enchantment neatly. Percy tried evading the third attack, but the Lesser Demon was stronger and much faster than Percy. It slashed him a third time, its claws digging deep into the tempered leather armor. The only reason its claws didn’t cut straight through the armor and pierce into his flesh was the [Reinforce] enchantment.
Percy’s mana reserves drained quickly, and he broke into a cold sweat but smiled through the fear. The Archyeas’ claw was stuck in his armor. Even if it was only stuck for a quarter of a second, it was enough for his ally to react. The Archyeas’ leg smashed against the Gnoll, pushing it back, but his summoned monster wasn’t his only ally.
A massive icicle whizzed past Percy’s head and pierced deep through the Archyeas’ eyeball. The icicle reached the demonic creature’s brain and shattered, splattering its brain while freezing the rest of its head instantaneously.
“Weakling,” Melissa commented coldly.
Didn’t I help you just now?!
Percy felt like the young noble had just slapped him in the face for rescuing them, but he was glad that she helped him nonetheless. He swallowed his anger and smiled at her.
“Thank you.”
I can be the bigger person, He commented in his head, observing a drastic change in Melissa’s expression.
She scowled at him, “I’m feeling generous today. Consider yourself fortunate, and never talk to me without addressing me properly!”
Forget that. I don’t want to be the bigger person anymore. I shouldn’t have stopped the Archyeas. This girl deserves a beating!