Chapter 411 - 284: The Fight Begins

In fact, after conquering Kolon, he had received her request to join his forces, and it had never once disappeared.

Levi knew she already accepted High Cliff Castle, so he intentionally didn’t bring it up, waiting until she said it herself.

Heather gazed at Levi, her beautiful eyes brimming with adoration, so full of emotion they seemed ready to overflow.

’This is a true hero,’ she thought. ’Even just standing there, motionless, he’s like a pillar holding up the heavens, commanding the heartfelt submission of all.’

Given time, a man like this was destined to make great waves.

Zor Elves are drawn to the strong, and Heather was no exception. It could be said that Levi was perfectly suited to be her Master Father.

Among the Zor, males generally have low status. Aside from procreation, they have little added value; only those with talent receive any respect.

The best path for a male is to become a Mage. If they’re confident in their Martial Arts, a Martial Arts Instructor is also a good choice. A Zor’s husband is called an Attendant Father. Besides being a tool for sexual release, he has no formal title or power and can be replaced at any time.

The so-called Master Father, however, completely reverses this status.

The nearby soldiers were infected by the emotions of the High Cliff Castle contingent and gradually calmed down.

"As expected of the Lord. He can boost morale with just a few words. The bearing of a famous general is truly dazzling," Fujero exclaimed in admiration.

In reality, he didn’t grasp the underlying reason. It wasn’t that Levi’s words were particularly inspiring, but that Levi himself was already like one of the Gods in the hearts of his High Cliff Castle people.

Therefore, his words naturally had an unimaginable effect.

The distant Demons finally drew near. A cacophony of bizarre howls, filled with bloodlust and greed, merged together as they swarmed forward like a tide.

Fujero began to gallop back and forth before the formation, his Longsword clanging against the outstretched weapons of the soldiers. Using his Combat Qi to amplify his voice so everyone could hear, he roared, "Prepare to engage!"

The soldiers’ Armor clattered and scraped. Behind them, a continuous sound of Archers drawing their bowstrings rose up.

At the vanguard were Little Demons barely a few feet tall and a horde of Timid Demons.

These Demons had clumsy limbs and loose skin hanging from their skeletal frames, giving them a vaguely humanoid appearance.

Born from the souls of the utterly slothful, they looked humanoid but moved with a clumsy gait.

This horde of Low Tier Demons had always been used as cannon fodder by High Tier Demons to wear down the enemy. It was unclear if they were wearing down the enemy now, but they were certainly demonstrating the true meaning of "cannon fodder."

The first to strike was a sun-blotting rain of arrows. If these Demons had Shields or Armor, they might have been able to block some, but all they had were loincloths.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Countless Arrows fell. Before they even got close to the formation, a whole swathe of them was cut down. The lucky few who were only shot in the foot were then trampled into a bloody pulp by their comrades’ hooves.

"By the Ice and Snow Goddess!" the soldiers of the Thorn Corps roared, crying out the name of their deity.

"Oerlonga!" The Demons, not to be outdone, shouted the True name of their own god in the Abyssal Language.

Thus, the curtain rose on a full-scale melee.

Life and blood were as cheap as dirt in that moment, with staggering losses every second.

Behind the steel shields, Heather and her three sisters were methodically chanting their Magic.

In the past, as Priestesses, they had been protected by ordinary Zor, but they had never felt as safe as they did right now. Even the Magic they cast was unusually potent.

Four huge boulders materialized in the air. As the chanting ended, they crashed down with a deafening roar. The ground shook, and an unending chorus of wails and screams erupted.

Four deep craters were blasted into the plains. Shattered rock fragments shot out in all directions with a force no less than a shot from a Bed Crossbow, instantly clearing the surrounding area.

The Demons had Wizards of their own and naturally understood the power of these Casters. The momentum of their charge slowed slightly.

’No wonder Mages are the most prized profession,’ someone thought. ’In terms of sheer destructive power and range, they are absolutely top-tier.’

The enemy’s charge faltered for a moment, but they soon resumed, rushing toward High Cliff Castle’s Shield Array with even greater speed.

Compared to the tens of thousands of soldiers Damon had brought, the entire Thorn Corps, and the several thousand soldiers from Terror Castle, High Cliff Castle’s contingent looked exceptionally thin and weak.

Even Goblins know to pick on the weak, let alone these Demons. Seeing that such a small group of defenders also concealed Casters, they all scrambled to be the first to crush this soft target.

"Heh. I was worried my reputation might be so fearsome they wouldn’t dare approach. Looks like I won’t have to waste energy pulling them in after all." Levi pulled his Giant Sword from the ground, a wide grin on his face that promised a bountiful harvest today.

Soon, these Demons paid a heavy price for their choice. When swung, the Giant Sword seemed as light as a cloud, but its impact felt like a sky-rending Giant smashing them with a broken mountain peak.

Within the arc of the Giant Sword was a veritable kill zone. A graze meant death, a touch meant annihilation; there was absolutely no possibility of survival.

Individually, these Demons were perhaps not much stronger than country Militia, but once gathered in a mob, their courage grew to an unimaginable degree.

Unfortunately for them, at this moment, that courage was only helping a certain someone harvest experience points.

Standing alone in the gap, he projected the aura of one man holding a pass against ten thousand.

A few of the craftier Demons tried to bypass this god of slaughter, only to find that facing the Beastman Warriors behind him was little better than facing the human himself.

They fell like wheat before a scythe, cut down row after row with no ability to resist.

"Dammit, how is he so strong?!"

Bodun, who had been directing the Terror Castle soldiers against the Demons with a gloomy expression, had long since had his attention drawn to the commotion around the High Cliff Castle contingent. When he witnessed the prowess of the Lord of High Cliff Castle with his own eyes, he was so shocked his mouth went dry.

’I thought the rumors were just embellishments to build the man’s reputation, but I never expected they were based on solid fact.’

The dissatisfaction deep in his heart vanished without a trace.

He was a smart man—otherwise, he wouldn’t have become the semi-heir of Terror Castle as an illegitimate son. As such, he knew exactly who he could afford to provoke and who he couldn’t.

In his heart, he silently placed this Lion Hunter Knight on his list of people not to be crossed.

The Lord’s terrifying performance also caught the attention of the Six-armed Snake Demon Warriors, the elite fighters among the Demons.

They dropped their whips and took up their weapons. Letting out a thunderous roar, their six arms simultaneously brought down sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. The varied weapons whistled through the air, creating a gale as they struck at the Lord’s head, heart, and limbs all at once.

A normal person facing such an attack, which left no blind spots, would have met a certain death.

But the Lord just swung his Giant Sword in disdain. Though he moved second, his blade struck first. With a crisp SPLAT, like a watermelon exploding...

The incredibly powerful Six-armed Snake Demon fared little better than the Little Demons, its entire body swatted into chunks of flesh and paste.

But it had lived up to its reputation as an elite among Demons. The Giant Sword, which hadn’t bent after smashing dozens of Low Tier Demons, was now bent into a large arc, like a cleaver used to smash garlic.

The thrifty Lord couldn’t bear to just throw it away. He gripped both ends, gave it a firm tug, and managed to bend it mostly back into shape. Though not perfectly straight, it was still usable.

This scene made Damon’s eyelids twitch. It seemed to remind him of a certain someone’s terrifying Javelin throws from the past.

"For the Holy Light Goddess!"

The Lord raised the damaged Giant Sword high. Bathed in the sunlight, his entire figure seemed to be outlined in gold, appearing mighty and tall.

But the Lord felt something was still off. He then activated the Holy Light within him, enveloping his body in it until he shone like a small sun. It would be no exaggeration to call him a living Holy Hall.

Only then did he nod in satisfaction.