“Don’t let anyone through!” The Imperial Head’s voice beamed across the defense line as the flood of demons charged forward.

The defenders’ view was filled with black and purple spots. Even the cloudless sky was shrouded in dark bodies.

Minos and Gnylds charged the common soldiers head-on while the Archyeas dived down without hesitation, squashing soldiers as they crashed into the dry ground. A cacophony of pained screams, desperate shouts, and the sound of death filled the air.

“Fire!!” A middle-aged man in plate armor shouted, releasing the icicle manifested in his palm at the closest Gnyld. The Lesser Demon’s chest was pierced through and through, and it collapsed dead to the ground. Dozens of Lesser Demons around the Gnyld followed the example and fell dead to the ground.

“The Glacia Knights are here to help!” A soldier exclaimed in relief after the Lesser Demon charging him dropped dead before him. A long icicle jut from the creature’s chest.

The Glacia Knight Order joined the fight on the frontlines, their summoned Monsters circling above the battlefield. Blueflame Hawks, Tundra Eagles, and even Iglasia Sparrows could be seen in the air, shooting icicles at the Lesser Demons, killing them on the spot while rescuing the damsels in distress. The common soldiers faced the full extent of the Lesser Demon flood.

More summoned Monsters with control of the ice element walked next to the Glacial Knights, aiding their Cardists with barrages of icicles. The summoned Monsters gradually eliminated one Lesser Demon every few seconds, draining their mana.

“How long has it been since all of you obtained those Monster Cards?” One of the Imperials asked as a small group barged fearlessly into the flood of Lesser Demons. Their scythes, glowing vibrantly from the Lunar mana infusion, swept across the battlefield, harvesting the heads of dozens of Lesser Demons in one go. Some Lesser Demons raised their arms, shrouded in several layers of Demonic Essence, but it was to no avail. The Imperials’ scythes severed through the Lesser Demons’ defenses and beheaded them in one go.

“Probably not as long as the Imperials obtained the Moonlight Wolves,” Knight Liam of the Glacia Knights snickered, his longsword cleaving cleanly through a massive Minos’ chest.

Another Glacia Knight heard their banter and added, “If not for you, we would have obtained our Cards much earlier!”

His lance impaled two Gnylds in one go while the white ferret on his shoulder released a series of icicles to repel the Archyeas pair, which was about to execute a dive attack. The dive attack failed, but the Archyeas hadn’t been repelled. The icicles pierced through their eyes and killed the pair on the spot.

“That was the crown prince’s doing? Not too shabby,” One of the Imperials said before disappearing into the masses of demons. They tried to swallow him with their numbers, but their death rattles, and the pristine light passing through the narrow gaps between the Lesser Demons showed clearly how effective their work was.

A good minute later, the Imperial resurfaced from a pile of demon carcasses, his body covered in purple blood. He smiled wildly and turned to the demon flood. Yet, instead of charging ahead, the Imperial’s smile cracked. His eyes fell upon a humongous creature resembling a three-headed…dog. It was almost four meters tall, had crimson fur that seemed searing as it walked out of the Moonlight Forest, and burned everything in its wake.

If it had only been one creature like that, everything would have been manageable, but close to 50 Grand Hellhounds, Greater Demons emerged from the burning bushes next to the three-headed hound.

“Cerberus?” One of the soldiers asked, trembling in fear.

Most soldiers had only heard legends of the death and destruction Cerberus had caused in the war two centuries ago. Towns disappeared in its hellfire, and entire cities were burned to ashes.

“No. Cerberus died in the war,” A confident voice rang out next to them. Everyone turned to the charismatic voice. They sought the voice’s origin, tapping into its confidence to gain some on their own.

The Gifted One they saw shouldn’t have surprised them. It was the Imperial Head covered in demon blood. His eyes glistened vibrantly, Lunar Mana coursing through his body as he stepped forward to face the three-headed Hellhound head-on.

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“This is a bad imitation. Cerberus died two hundred years ago,” The Imperial Head repeated, “How do I know that?”

He stopped for a moment and looked back, the corners of his lips tilting upward, “Because I killed him!”

Everyone in the vicinity who heard the Imperial Head’s voice roared at the top of their lungs, their morale skyrocketing. Their morale didn’t even crumble as a second wave of Demons emerged from the Moonlight Forest. Greater Demons in the dozens walked out behind the Grand Hellhounds, followed by a wave of Elite Demons.

There were more than 1,000 Elite Demons, but the defenders fighting on the Meiso Plains with their lives on the lines didn’t seem to bother. Or they couldn’t care any more than they already did. The kingdom’s forces were afraid. Nobody wanted to be the next one dying to the Devil’s demonic forces, but this was not something they could change by allowing fear to take over.

They had to keep going and give their utmost to cling desperately to the slim chance of survival.

“Beasts on the right!!” One of the scouts shouted through an amplification crystal. The warning resounded across the defense lines. Some were worried, fearing the Devil initiated a stampede, but those who realized what was happening smiled from one ear to the other.

“Reinforcement is on its way!”

“The Beast Legions are coming!!”

“Our allies have come!”

The Beast Legions, shapeshifted into their beast forms, charged across the Meiso Plains’ outskirts with shocking speed, led by a massive, black-furred, winged lion. The Beast King, leading the Beast Legions, had arrived.

He roared at the top of his lungs, alarming defenders and demons of their arrival.

The three-headed hound noticed the sudden shift in the defenders’ morale – their excitement and relief flooded its senses – and it charged ahead.

The Grand Hellhounds followed suit and reached top speed in no time, but the Imperial Head and his Imperials were already ready. They emerged from the first line of defense, their weapons clutched tightly as the Grand Hellhounds and the Three-headed Hellhounds arrived before them.

The Imperials prepared for impact when a black flash shot past them. It crashed heavily into the Three-headed Hellhound, which was flung through there. Simultaneously, the sky above the Grand Hellhounds cracked, and golden portals appeared. The Beastmen, most still shapeshifted, shot out of the portals and pounced on the closest enemy.

They didn’t waste time and joined the war against the demonic forces. The golden portals disappeared after nearly one hundred Beastmen emerged from them, yet the portals weren’t removed entirely. They popped up near the masses of Lesser Demons and Elite Demons fighting the forces on the frontlines.

The Beast Legions could have charged the second wave emerging from the Moonlight Forest first, but since they considered the Kainesh Kingdom as their allies, they ought to protect their allies. The more allies survived this battle, the greater their survivability during the final battle.

The golden portals expanded, and more Beasts emerged on the battlefield. Not all Beast Legions had Portal Mythics, but the few they had were used to the full extent. Two Beast Legions emerged in the middle of the bloody battlefield, whereas the rest would join from the sides in the next few minutes, forced to play with the leftovers.

The Beastmen on the battlefield, on the other hand, were at an all-time high. Their hearts had been fueled with rage and anger over the last few weeks. Preparing for an all-out war had been taxing, but it was mostly boring. The longer the Beastmen had to wait to gather their forces, the deeper their hatred ran.

At last, they found the perfect targets to unleash their hatred.

And that was exactly what they did.

They ripped the Demons apart.

One Bear-shifted Beastman lunged at a Doombringer, shoving the demonic creature aside before it could squash a squadron of human soldiers. The Beastman arrived before the massive Elite Demon, who turned to him, grabbed it firmly between two plates covering its body, and tore them apart.

The Bear-shifted struggled a little, the massive muscles underneath his fur bulging, until newfound power fueled him.

“Tear him apart!” Someone shouted from behind, granting the Bear-shifted just enough power to tear the plates apart, exposing the Doombringer’s flesh. A Gifted One, a human, shot past the Bear-shifted with a smile, thrusting his glaive deep into the exposed flesh.

The Doombringer roared at the top of his lungs but the human and Bear-shifted worked seamlessly together, as if they’d spent years working together.

The human shot to the side, while the Bear-shifted’s paws crashed heavily into the bottom end of the glaive’s shaft. The shaft screeched once, but the mana infused into it was enough to enhance its durability.

At last, the shaft relayed the impacting force, pushing the glaive deeper into the Doombringer’s chest until it reached the demonic creature’s heart.

The Doombringer collapsed to the ground after struggling a little bit longer while the Bear-shifted and Gifted Human looked at each other.

“Good work,” The human praised the Beastman, who responded with a satisfied growl.