The next morning, Ray and Drake could see the elven village appear as a small speck in the horizon.

Usually, the journey should have just taken half a day. However, being constantly assaulted by various demons and even some onis had delayed them. Thankfully, apart from the worms they had fought in the beginning, the rest were just servant class. However, as they neared the village and therefore the demon tide, the density and strength of demons appearing increased as well. The demons that ran around the village were coming into their path and they had to cut through them.

By this point, the two had already dispatched hundreds and hundreds of servant class demons, and a large number of warrior class demons as well.

Ray was surprised at Drake’s new set of martial techniques and artifacts. However, given that Drake had never mentioned them to him, he understood that Drake wanted to keep them a secret.

Drake’s unwillingness to trust or, rather, confide in him, did not offend Ray. If anything, he was proud of his disciple.

Sharing one’s abilities to another was equivalent to telling them all your strengths and weaknesses. It was not wise to do so as they could potentially use it against you. Hence, Ray was happy that Drake was mature enough to realise what should and shouldn’t be shared with people.

Still, he was curious where Drake got all those artifacts. He wondered if Drake summoned them himself, but he knew that summoning runed artifacts were extremely difficult. Despite Drake’s talent with artifact summoning, he didn’t think he could have learnt to summon so many runed artifacts so soon. Or rather, he thought that it was much more likely that he just found those artifacts in the mage emperor’s ruins.

Hence, he decided not to probe further and focused on fighting the demons.

After fighting through an army of demons, the duo finally arrived at the elven village. The gates were closed, and the walls were lined with elven soldiers, bows at hand, ready to shoot down any approaching demons.

Seeing two individuals on horseback surprised some of the guards. They were expecting reinforcements, but they did not expect just two people. Various thoughts went through the guards at the gate, however when they came closer, the guards could make out their faces.

“Master Ray!” the guard exclaimed, spotting Ray. Behind him, Drake was riding the same horse, after his horse was swallowed by the demon worm.

“Master Drake!?” another guard gasped. Drake had earned a reputation for himself, and also fought alongside many soldiers from the villages, hence he was also quite famous.

Recognising the two alleviated all the worries in the hearts of the guards and soldiers. These two were like a small army and would be powerful reinforcements. That fact that the two of them could fight through the demon tide on their own to get here was proof.

“Quickly, open the gates!” the guard shouted. The gates opened and the two entered.

Located north-east of the Jain village, the elven village was the furthest from the Beast Woods. Hence, it was usually the most protected from the demon invasions.

Despite being an elven village, it looked quite similar to human villages. Shops, houses, various buildings and people littered the streets. However, unlike other villages, there was an air of gloom spread over the city.

Many soldiers had died fighting to protect this village from the demon tide. Even if they survived the tide now, their village would be severely weakened and it was unknown how much longer they would be able to survive in the war.

The guard was filling them in on the latest situation. The village has had a large number of casualties already. The tide was predicted to last for several more days, and they would have barely been able to hold on. However, with Ray and Drake here, they had hope.

The walls could hold back the demons but due to their large numbers, if they start pooling up at the bottom, then demons could climb the walls. Hence, they needed a group to fight outside the gates to prevent too many demons from reaching the wall, and also to clear out dead bodies that were piling up near the walls.

Until now, they had managed by putting together several small groups that took turns to go outside, hold back the demons, and clear out the corpses. However, many of them were injured and so their defence was weakening. A few demons even managed to make their way over the wall and started attacking civilians, resulting in furthering the gloomy atmosphere of the village.

After some discussions, they decided that Ray and Drake will take on the role of holding the front line themselves. The few remaining non-injured soldiers would take a position closer to the village gates to cut down any demons that got past, and the archers at the walls formed the final defence to shoot down any demons that got past the first two layers.

However, it would be impossible for even Ray and Drake to fight for several days without rest. Hence, they decided that they’d take turns. Ray would take the frontline in the morning, and Drake in the night.

The guard looked at Drake suspiciously. He knew the capabilities of master Ray and knew that he could hold back hundreds of demons himself. However, despite Drake’s reputation, he wasn’t sure if he could do the same. After all, he was still just a young boy.

Previously, Ray too would not have been sure. But, after witnessing Drake’s abilities on their trip, he was confident that Drake was up for the task. Hence, he reassured the guard and agreed on the plan. Ray would take the shift now as Drake needed rest. He was already recovering from a battle before making this journey, so Ray thought Drake should rest now to restore his strength and take his shift at night.

Drake agreed and was led to a room by the guard, whilst Ray made his way to the gate.

Drake found himself in a simple ensuite room with basic furnishings. This was just temporary accommodation and Drake was not a fan of luxury anyway, not to mention he was incredibly tired.

He was given a comfortable pair of pyjamas, so he quickly changed into those and went to sleep.

Nighttime.

Drake had woken up a while ago and freshened up. He didn’t suffer any serious injuries and pouring mana into his pendant had cured him of the few surface wounds he had.

Now, he was meditating on his bed in order to recover his mana and reach his peak strength.

There was a knock on the door and Drake slowly opened his eyes.

It was time for his shift.

The guard escorted Drake out of his room and they soon arrived at the gate. He had his reservations about Drake but, since Ray vouched for him, he decided to trust him.

The guard opened the gate and Drake walked out.

A horde of hundreds of demons were approaching wildly. The demons came in all forms from bats, hawks, and eagles, to wolves, lions, bears, and so on. They charged wildly, but about fifty metres from the gate, there was a clearing. At the centre of the clearing, a young-looking man with silver hair and brown robes was fighting dozens of demons.

The man was naturally Ray, and he was now panting for breath, exhausted from fighting for half a day straight. He was being assaulted by two demon bears, a mountain lion, and half a dozen demon hawks. They were all servant class demons and were eyeing him cautiously as they formed a semicircle in front of him.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

The lion lost its patience first and charged at Ray. As Ray dodged, one of the hawks swooped in from behind to take him by surprise. Naturally Ray spotted the hawk and was about to cut it down with his sword, but before he could, a fireball blasted the hawk away.

Ray was surprised and turned to find Drake who now jumped at the lion and sent it flying with a metal leg, before standing next to him.

“I’ll take it from here master, you rest now,” said Drake with a smile.

Ray’s normally expressionless face showed visible relief upon spotting Drake.

He patted his back and whispered, “Thanks, and good luck,” before retreating.

Ray knew these demons didn’t post a threat to Drake so he gladly left as soon as he could.

Just before he entered the gate, Ray turned around to look at his disciple. All the demons that had encircled him were now already lying on the floor as dead bodies. The guards were all stupefied at the efficiency with which Drake dispatched the demons.

Not even a few seconds had passed after defeating those demons when another pack of dozens of demons approached him. Drake readied himself for a fight, but just before they reached him, the demons formed an expression of fear and dashed off to the sides. Several roars beamed from behind them and soon, three large monsters appeared in front of Drake.

A minotaur, an orc, and an ent had appeared, all of them warrior class. Three warrior class onis appearing simultaneously was rare. The demon worms were an exception as worms, like wolves, were pack animals and travelled in a group.

However, onis were especially troublesome to deal with. So, three warrior class onis working together would be a nightmare for most people.

Ray hesitated, wondering if he should help Drake out with this bunch before leaving. However, he decided to pause and watch the fight for a bit instead.

Drake was also taken aback to see these three appear together, but he calmed himself quickly.

The minotaur had the berserk ability to make itself much bigger, stronger, and faster for some time. The orc had incredible healing abilities and could only be killed by quickly destroying both its heart and brain. Finally, the tree monster ent not only had a powerful body which was notoriously difficult to break through but could also use its roots and branches to attack in random and complicated ways.

Drake summoned a shield to rotate around him for defence and summoned a boomerang. With acute sense, even if he just summoned a few artifacts, he could control them far more effectively than normal.

The onis did not underestimate Drake and eyed him cautiously. The minotaur was the first to become enraged and activated berserk, reaching a whopping fifteen metres in height, almost as tall as the earth worms. It carried a battle axe which also magically grew in size along with the minotaur.

The minotaur roared and charged at Drake. Drake sent his shield to block the minotaur’s swing while pouring mana into his boots and activating shadow steps to quickly dodge out of the way. The minotaur’s axe crashed down on the shield, but it surprisingly could not break it. The impact smashed the shield against the ground and generated cracks on the Earth underneath.

Drake activated his boots and used shadow steps to dash towards the orc, almost a blur at his full speed. However, these monsters were all powerful and before he could make contact, a thick and sharp tree root erupted from the ground and came piercing down on his throat. Drake spun and narrowly dodged the root, but he now had to stop to reorient himself. In this time, the orc pounced at Drake, swinging its spiked club onto his head.

Drake poured mana into his robe to activate its defence and blocked the club with his left arm. However, instead of blocking the full attack, he angled his arm to deflect it sideways. The orc, unable to control its momentum, fell sideways too. Drake seized his opportunity and hit the orc with several fireballs simultaneously. The orc screamed in pain, but Drake knew that this wasn’t nearly enough to kill it.

The ent and the minotaur were about to charge at Drake to prevent him from attacking the orc, however Drake withdrew his sword and poured mana into it. The sword shone a brilliant white light and blinded all of his enemies instantaneously.

That instant was all Drake needed.

Shadow steps!

In an instant, Drake became a blur and appeared on the other side of the weakened orc which was still on fire. However, the orc now stopped flailing around and fell limply on the floor. It was cut directly in half.

Within twenty seconds of the battle starting, a warrior class orc had died!

The guards who witnessed the battle were absolutely amazed!

Drake turned his attention to the minotaur. He decided to use the move from many years ago. As the minotaur approached him, Drake ordered his shield to come to his side, flipped it upside down, and mounted it. The surprised minotaur swung its axe down on Drake and his shield, but he easily dodged sideways before flying up.

Within a few seconds, Drake had flown several hundred metres into the sky. Then, he moved the shield away and free fell down to ground.

He was just a dot in the night sky before, but his image was quickly becoming larger and larger in the minotaur’s eyes.

Drake spun in the air and used all his momentum to swing his leg down on the minotaur.

Metal leg!

The minotaur instinctively raised its arm to block Drake’s attack, but the force of the impact brought the minotaur to its knees, making a crater on the ground.

Drake leaped backwards and brought the shield behind him, before using it as a foothold to jump off again towards the minotaur again.

Hammer fist!

The minotaur brought its arm forward to block Drake’s attack again, but taking the full force of his attack for a second time meant its arm broke. A loud crack spread throughout the battlefield.

The minotaur roared in pain and Drake seized the moment of distraction. He used the shield to fly up again before shooting straight down, sword ready to pierce through its heart.

At this moment, the ent finally acted. Dozens and dozens of tree roots erupted from the group and attacked Drake from all sides, forcing him to retreat.

Drake kissed his teeth in frustration and pointed both of his palms towards the ent.

Fire ball!

Drake sent ten fire balls one after the other towards the ent. However, the ent used its roots to block them all. Since it was basically a living tree, fire was an obvious weakness. However, even if the roots it used to block the fireballs were burnt, the ent itself did not suffer damage and could always summon new roots.

Hence, Drake’s attack was wasted, or so it thought. But just as the last fireball was blocked by its roots, a wave of magical energy spread out from Drake. In front of him floated what appeared to be a fireball, but instead of charging at it, the fireball stood in place. At its centre was a small insect which looked like an earthworm.

This was the actual fiery worm spirit that Drake had learnt to summon from the ancestor’s ruins. He didn’t want to summon an actual spirit as it consumed a lot of mana, however taking on both of them at the same time would not be easy so he decided to do it.

Drake ordered the fiery worm and his boomerang to attack the ent. The worm could shoot out fireballs continuously. The ent used its roots to block the attacks, however this paved a path which the iron boomerang could use to directly attack the ent. The combination of the two was deadly for the ent.

Naturally, over these years of fighting on the front lines, Drake had fought his fair share of minotaurs, orcs, and ents, among other onis. Sure, he didn’t fight three of them at warrior class level at the same time, but he had a strategy to defeat them, nonetheless. This was the best strategy he had at the moment to defeat ents.

Ordinarily, he would shoot the fireballs himself instead of summoning the fiery worm to save mana, but he didn’t have the luxury now as the minotaur would attack him if he got distracted.

Hence, mentally ordering the fiery worm to keep the ent busy and controlling the boomerang to back it up, Drake could focus on the minotaur once again.

The minotaur had recovered from the pain of having its arm broken and was now fuming visible gas out of its nostrils and ears in rage. It was getting ready to charge at Drake.

Just as Drake prepared himself, the minotaur leapt with incredible force.

Drake looked like he was about to block the minotaur but at the last moment, he activated shadow steps and dodged. The minotaur continued leaping and crashed against a large number of demons, smashing them to death. Drake did not waste his opportunity and leaped at the minotaur, bringing his sword down on its throat.

Alarm bells rang in the minotaur’s head. It rolled out of the way barely in time for Drake to crash into the spot it was just in. But without giving the minotaur time to react, Drake brought his shield crashing against its face, forming more cracks on the ground underneath the minotaur.

The direct crash to its face disoriented the minotaur. It took a few seconds to gather its senses, and the first thing it saw was Drake mercilessly piercing its heart. The minotaur’s roar echoed across the battlefield, scaring the nearby monsters away.

Drake withdrew his sword and watched the minotaur’s life fade from its eyes, its arms and legs falling limply on the ground.

Without hesitation, Drake turned to face his final enemy. Due to its strong body, although the boomerang made direct hits multiple times, it couldn’t land a fatal hit on the ent.

Drake sighed and used the shield to fly into the air again. The ent saw Drake approach it from its peripheral vision, however the fiery worm and boomerang increased the ferocity of their attacks, leaving it helpless as Drake used all the strength in his body and his entire momentum to slash his sword across its body.

The warrior class ent was sliced straight through and fell to the ground as two pieces.

Drake stood up, sheathing his sword and started to walk towards his spot near the front of the gate. The guards had witnessed the entire battle which lasted a few minutes at most and were rooted to the spot in awe.

Surrounded by an iron shield and a deadly boomerang on the sides, a large fireball above, and dead warrior class onis behind, Drake looked like an unstoppable war god.

His strange artifacts, fighting style, and martial techniques, were all new to the guards present in the village. They didn’t understand how he could summon and use so many artifacts, fly on a shield, or do anything that he did. But they did know one thing.

This boy could not lose.

He was a one-man army.