A Resounding Victory

The moment the Horned Demon was taken down by the Ballista with three bolts, the demons knew the situation on the battlefield was bad.

Demons are indeed intelligent Abyssal Creatures capable of thought.

They just appear incredibly brutal.

And their destructive power is astonishing.

But when these demons are slaughtered and the battle starts to turn against them, the fear they should have will appear nonetheless.

After all, the birth of demons, these Abyssal Creatures, is itself due to the rough coagulation of countless souls' fragments by the will of the Bottomless Abyss, ultimately evolving from the Demon Worms that were formed.

Essentially, these demons possess all the negative emotions that soul creatures have.

Including fear and terror.

"Roar! Woof woof woof!"

Even the Hellhounds, who are less intelligent and more ferocious, were baring their fangs and acting as if they were about to pounce, but they didn't take a single step forward. This only further highlighted their bluster!

After the Horned Demon, the commander of this small group of Demon Troops, was taken down, according to the usual custom of these demons, they should have immediately routed!

The reason they were still in a stalemate now.

Was purely because the Horned Demon died too quickly, and these demons hadn't reacted yet!

But just because these demons hadn't reacted didn't mean Shen Mu, who had been observing and directing the battle from the rear, hadn't reacted.

"Pike Square! Advance!"

Shen Mu held up a Torch and moved forward.

"Advance!"

At the same time, as Shen Mu's order was given, the Swadian Footmen slowly began to step forward.

Following Shen Mu's steps from behind, the Pike Square, like a hedgehog, began to slowly squeeze the distance and space between the Hellhounds and Imps, step by step.

They were also starting to forcefully thrust their sharp Spears little by little towards the faces of the Hellhounds and Imps in front of them!

Shen Mu wanted to use this narrow corridor to completely annihilate these Demon Troops who dared to invade!

Buzz... Bang!

And just as Shen Mu and the Swadian Footmen's Pike Square were advancing, the Ballista on the third floor hadn't stopped firing.

Bolts once again bombarded the most crowded areas of the Demon Troops.

A bloody path was blasted open again.

As long as they were hit by a bolt, whether it was a Hellhound or an Imp, whether it was a claw or a torso, they were all shattered.

"Caw! Caw caw caw! Caw caw caw!"

This caused the Imps, who were already panicked and scared due to the death of their commander, the Horned Demon, to flee backward in fright. This, however, led to even more chaos, congestion, and trampling incidents!

As a result, the Imps who could have originally stayed together, cooperated with each other, and fought against Shen Mu and the Swadian Footmen, started fighting among themselves for a chance to escape.

This made the scene even more chaotic and the situation even harder to control!

Buzz... Bang!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Coupled with the firing of the Ballista and the Mercenary Sentinels.

Large numbers of Imps fell to the ground as if they were moths smoked out, still struggling, pleading, and howling, trying to escape.

But they were then caught up by the pursuing Swadian Footmen, who used their Spears to stab them to death on the marble floor of the corridor, which was already stained red with foul blood.

They couldn't even struggle a few times.

They didn't even resist.

They just routed out of fear, and because they routed, they became even more fearful, leading to a more complete rout and a complete loss of the ability to resist due to fear.

Turning the path from Shen Mu's Stronghold Main House to the Elevator Room and the two side branches into a death road!

"Kill! Long live Swadia!"

At this time, the Swadian Footmen had abandoned the Spears in their hands, and even the Pike Square had disbanded.

They had Fan Shields on their left arms and gripped Germanic Swords tightly in their right hands.

Some of them held Torches, and just like that, they excitedly chased after the retreating Imps!

It wasn't just these Swadian Footmen.

When the Imps retreated beyond the range of the Ballista's attack, the 10 Lake Rats Recruits who were originally operating the Ballista on the top floor and also serving as a reserve force, immediately picked up their Small Bladed Axes, came down the stairs into the corridor, joined the ranks of the Swadian Footmen, and followed behind, grinning as they chased after the Imps.

"Hehehehehehehe!" These Lake Rats Recruits, who were originally half-fishermen and half-professional Bandits, were truly excited.

The Small Bladed Axes in their hands were very well-made.

Ensuring that every swing, as long as the angle was right, could inflict a heavy blow on any enemy or creature they chopped at!

The Imps, whose bodies were already weak, were flapping their Bat Wings and scrambling forward in a rout.

The pursuing Lake Rats Recruits picked up their Small Bladed Axes and struck them on the back of the head.

Its head instantly exploded.

It immediately fell to the ground with a thud, without a sound.

Even when it saw the remaining Hellhounds ahead, which were less intelligent and howling like cornered beasts trying to pounce.

He directly reached behind him and pulled out a Fishing Dart from his backpack.

It was a dart about 1 meter long with an extremely slender and sharp tip, usually used for spearfishing in shallow water. Almost instinctively, he threw it at the Hellhound's face or its pouncing figure.

This close-range throw was an enhanced, powerful attack.

It directly caused both the Hellhound and any Imps that dared to counterattack to be pierced by the Fishing Dart on the spot.

Then they fell heavily to the ground.

They were then quickly caught up to in two or three steps by the Lake Rats Recruits, who lifted the Small Bladed Axes in their hands and heavily chopped down on their heads, completely ending their lives!

"Kill!" These Lake Rats Recruits shouted excitedly.

"Kill!"

The Swadian Footmen also cheered in response.

Only Shen Mu, who was behind this group of soldiers and not fighting on the front lines, held a Fan Shield and a Germanic Sword, and the smile on his face never faded.

In just over ten minutes, the tables had completely turned.

The Demon Troops that had come to invade Shen Mu.

Were instead being hunted down by Shen Mu's troops!

Except for the Mercenary Sentinels who were still stationed in the Stronghold Main House, not daring to leave easily, holding Light Crossbows with envious expressions.

Now, 25 Swadian Footmen and 10 Lake Rats Recruits were chasing down the hundreds of Imps, stepping on the ground covered with Imp corpses and the sticky, foul-smelling blood, engaging in something like a slaughterhouse...

A massacre!

"Stop!"

All the way to the entrance of Room 7040.

The promoted Imps flapped their Bat Wings, cawing and rushing in, as panicked as drowning dogs.

Only then did Shen Mu speak, stopping the pursuit of the soldiers who were already excited, even somewhat frenzied, from the chase.

Especially when he held up a Torch and looked at the dark, completely destroyed door of Room 7040.

Darkness and Gray Fog condensed inside.

Out of caution, Shen Mu still waved his hand, leading these gradually recovering soldiers to form up and begin returning to their Stronghold Main House.

Exploring this Spiritual Realm Scene during the day wouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, right now.

He had used the absolute geographical advantage to defeat the Demon Troops in this Spiritual Realm Scene within the Apartment corridor.

Within a chase range of less than a hundred meters, he had probably killed two to three hundred Imps directly.

Although more than half had escaped.

But they had already lost the Horned Demons and Hellhounds, which were considered the main forces among these Demon Troops.

Just a few Imps.

What kind of waves could they make?

"Return to the Stronghold and take a simple rest first."

Shen Mu issued the order.

Returning to the entrance of the Stronghold Main House, the strong smell of blood and Sulfur, as his mind relaxed, almost rushed straight to his head at this moment.

Even Shen Mu, who wasn't particularly bothered by cleanliness, could only cover his nose with a wet towel to tolerate it at this time.

Fortunately, the soldiers from the Mount & Blade world could endure it.

After all, on Calradia, whether in the Mount & Blade or Bannerlord setting, it might seem like a paradise for heroes and nobles to achieve great deeds, but in reality, it was a cruel hell for soldiers of common origin.

Just the brutal siege warfare, the immoral village massacres, the robbery of merchants and the killing of villagers, and the uncollected corpses after field battles.

This strong smell of blood and stench was truly nothing.

These Mount & Blade Soldiers could even sit on corpses and eat the thick Wheat Porridge boiled in the kitchen with large wooden bowls.

While also laughing and mocking their comrades for their cowardly performance on the battlefield, and boasting about how many kills they had snatched.

This was not a joke.

This was exactly what the Swadian Footmen and Lake Rats Recruits were doing, resting simply outside Shen Mu's Stronghold Main House, in the corridor!

Shen Mu sat at the head of the long table, also holding a wooden bowl filled with thick Wheat Porridge.

His expression was blank.

Because on his retina, a dialogue box had already appeared.

Ding! This was a hearty and thorough victory!

[Based on the perfect performance of you and your subordinates on the battlefield, you have obtained 1 'Silver Tier Treasure Chest'.]

[You have completed the mission!]

[You have received the following rewards...]