“Knights, get into Pegasus formation!” Melissa roared at the top of her lungs when the trees and shrubs connected to the clearing tremored wildly. She grit her teeth, ignored the weakness overcoming her, and manifested two Monster Cards before her. A Glacia Lizard – Percy had already encountered this one – and an ocean-blue horse with a crystalized mane emerged beside her.

She jumped on the horse’s back while the Glacia Lizard moved beside it. Following Melissa’s quick response, the Glacia Knights summoned their mounts while Melissa retrieved several lances made from Silvron. The Glacia Knights walked up next to Melissa, grasped one of the lances, and went into position.

It didn’t take long before Ulfhar appeared on his Steppe. The horse neighed in anger, which represented the Glacia Knight Captain’s mood very well.

“I apologize, Lady Re–...” Ulfhar started, but Melissa raised her hand to stop him.

“There is no time for apologies. Neither is there a need to apologize for what happened. This is not your fault!”

Her eyes drifted to the other Orders, the Imperial Instructors, and other powerhouses. Unfortunately, most of the stronger Gifted Ones had been killed by the masked traitor’s lightning bolts. The damage had already been inflicted, and there was nothing they could do about it, but it hurt knowing so many good people had died.

She cursed softly but nodded slowly when the Cardists among the Knights, Commonbirth Egos, and nobles summoned their monsters. They were in dire need of as much power as possible.

A massive Crimson Wolf appeared near the Glacia Lizard. Its fangs and teeth were coated in blood, just like the man riding the beast. Erik was riding the Crimson Wolf, Tarlek stayed behind, his massive broadsword replaced by a large arrow. A wisp of energy swirled around Tarlek, and joyous squeaks filled the air. Not many paid attention to Tarlek at this moment, but those who did could easily tell that the wisp of energy was an Elemental Sprite and that a golden mouse peeked out of his pockets.

An arrow conjured from compressed mana appeared in Tarlek’s hands. He nocked it smoothly and pulled the bowstring back while patiently waiting for the monsters in the Moonlight Forest to charge out.

“What happened to the Pleacis?” Someone asked, his voice filled with fear and uncertainty.

Nobody answered for a few seconds. Instead, they stared at the pair of Pleacis whose bodies were either revolting against the changes happening or accepting them readily to improve and evolve, the same uncertainty glimmering in their eyes.

It took a while before anyone could answer, “We cannot be sure, but some old scripts say something about Demonic Gifted, who are granted power from the Devil. They sell their soul for power. By devouring the Demonic Gifted, the Pleacis must have gained some of the Devil’s power. That’s my guess, at least.”

The woman voicing out her opinion was already in her late 50s. She was one of the Imperial Instructors who had been brought to the Imperial training to teach the commonbirth Egos about their responsibilities and the history of the Kainesh Kingdom.

“That’s bad,” One of the Knight Captains who had survived until now. He glanced at the Imperial Instructors, the remaining Knight Captains, and Vice Captains.

No words were needed to express their opinion. They didn’t like what awaited them, but it had to be done. They emerged from their formations and charged toward the evolving Pleacis. A mana blast swept past one of the Knight Captains and struck one of the Pleacis square in the chest. The Pleacis roared in pain, but he didn’t end up like the other Demons. One mana blast was enough to push the Pleacis’ chest inward and leave behind a dent, but there wasn’t a massive hole in its chest. The Elite Demon’s chest was burned, yet the damage was far from eliminating the evil creature.

Percy looked at the scene in horror but summoned the Blueflame Hawk nonetheless. The Blueflame Hawk emerged silently like a ghost next to Percy and shot high up without uttering a sound. Silent Reaper was a passive and active Augmentation, which enhanced the User’s stealthiness passively and allowed the User to use the Augmentation by channeling mana into it to further augment the stealthiness.

Once activated, the Blueflame Hawk disappeared from everyone’s perception. One would have to focus on the Blueflame Hawk or know such a creature was above them and actively search for it to have a chance at finding it.

Percy didn’t need to search the Blueflame Hawk like that. He instinctively knew where his summoned Monster was located.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Should I summon the Gnoll, too? Probably not. Hyean is not strong enough to fight multiple Lesser Demons simultaneously.

The Gnoll Warrior thought differently. It didn’t disobey Percy’s command, but he sensed his Monster Card’s desire to fight. Percy groaned and summoned the Gnoll Warrior, who growled at him while approaching a Knight’s corpse. He picked up the Knight’s Sword Artifact, swung it around a little, and turned to the forest.

Hyean activated [Hunter’s Smell], and Percy followed suit. The surrounding scenery changed drastically as a myriad of overlapping scents filled their nostrils. Percy groaned at the disgusting scents coming from the demons, but he turned to the forest like the Gnoll Warrior. His eyes widened.

How many are there?!? There have to be hundreds…

“The forest is full of them!! We have to kill those Pleacis before they can pincer us!” Percy roared, which earned him a glance from the Pleacis and some nobles. Fortunately, the Pleacis’ attention was quickly pulled away by the Knight Captains and other powerful Gifted. They attacked the Pleacis fiercely before their bodies could adapt to the new powers they gained.

“You won’t give us any orders!” One of the younger nobles shouted in disdain, which resulted in a cacophony of groans and heavy sighs among the nobles’ retinues, the commonbirth Egos and Percy.

“How much time do we have left?” Another noble asked instead. He had seen Percy’s Blueflame Hawk before. That was enough for the noble, who couldn’t be bothered about the difference in their status in the current situation. Their survival was more important than their status. Once dead, they were all but rotting flesh and bones.

“Seconds,” Percy shouted back, “There are hundreds.”

Everyone jumped into action, but instead of focusing on the Pleacis with all their might, the forces turned to the Moonlight Forest. The Orders changed their formations a few times while the Staff of Leech was forward to the next noble. A commonbirth Ego also grasped the Staff of Leech, but one of the nobles was forced to take over after the commonbirth Ego released a single mana blast. The commonbirth Ego collapsed to the ground, unable to get up again.

Oh shit. How can he collapse that easily? Did he release a few mana blasts earlier?

Percy didn’t know but shrugged. He glanced at the Gnoll Warrior momentarily and watched Hyean pick up a second Sword Artifact. The Sword Artifact switched possession to Percy, who cursed softly before he activated [Consume] on Prosperity.

If you’re already fighting, I might as well support you properly!

[Tiagro Sword’s mana conductivity has been enhanced. 200,000 Prosperity has been deducted.]

[Mana Conductivity reached its limit. [Mana Slash] is overflowing with Prosperity.

[Mana Slash] will be interwoven into the essence of the Tiagro Sword.]

[Yvelton Sword’s mana resistance has been enhanced. 186,000 Prosperity has been deducted.]

[Mana Conductivity reached its limit. [Double Impact] is overflowing with Prosperity.

[Double Impact] will be interwoven into the essence of the Yvelton Sword.]

The runic enchantments engraved into the two Sword Artifacts, but Percy didn’t watch them. He glanced into the sky, where Percy found the Blueflame Hawk. A mental command was all it took to ensure the Gnoll Warrior wouldn’t jump blindly into battle and that the Blueflame Hawk would support Hyean. Simultaneously, Percy activated [Silent Reaper] to mend into the surroundings.

He vanished from one moment to the next.

A moment later, hell broke loose.

Hundreds of Lesser Demons, accompanied by dozens of Elite Demons, charged out of the Moonlight Forest.

Almost everyone cursed at the wave of demons surging toward them, but they were ready to face the evil creatures head-on. The noblewoman holding the Staff of Leech turned to one of the ordinary Pleacis, which had emerged from the forest, and shot. She quickly released two mana bursts, blasting two massive holes into the Elite Demon before it collapsed to the ground. It died before reaching the human defenses, fueling the noblewoman with motivation.

She released two more mana bursts, killing a pair of Minos before her legs caved in. Just like everyone had done before her, the young noblewoman forwarded the Staff of Leech to the next noble.

At least, she thought she was giving it to another noble when a rough hand helped her up from the ground while reaching out for the Staff of Leech.

“Percy, don’t!” Lady Reeze’s shout rang through the defensive lines as Percy emerged from [Silent Reaper]’s camouflage. He held the Staff of Leech in his hands.

His azure eyes glimmered vibrantly even as his mana and lifeforce filled the relic.

This is going to be painful.

He thought, but the corner of his lips curled upward.

But not for me.