Demons Appear

Perhaps with the passage of time, her thoughts would gradually calm in later years. Though she might occasionally become extreme, she would restrain herself.

But Serie was still too young now.

She showed many of her thoughts without concealing them in the slightest.

That was somewhat unlike her.

Rhode still preferred the Little Ancestor of later years, who spoke more extremely with every sentence yet continued to perform gentle acts.

"It's okay." Rhode rubbed Serie's little head. "No matter what you want to do, I'll be with you."

Serie shook her head, her expression displeased. "Don't touch my head!"

This short-lived human was becoming more and more presumptuous.

Hugging her in the tent before had been one thing, but now he actually dared to touch her head whenever he pleased. If this continued, Serie did not dare imagine what bold things he might do next.

She had to give him a stern warning.

Although she was somewhat unwilling to let Rhode pat her head, Serie had to admit that the anger in her heart had eased considerably because of it.

Perhaps even if the war truly ended, being able to watch this man invent all sorts of magic would be wonderful.

The only pity was that his life was far too short.

A mere hundred years would never satisfy her.

For no reason, an inexplicable feeling arose in her heart. Serie could not say what kind of feeling it was, since she had never experienced it before.

Or perhaps it was merely her imagination.

That was how Serie comforted herself inwardly.

Yet at that moment, an unexpected change occurred. Rhode suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

He had slightly modified the warning spell earlier. Once the magic was triggered, his Great Detection Technique would activate automatically.

The automatically activated Magic Circle now showed dozens of red dots appearing nearby, rapidly closing in from all directions.

"Everyone!" Rhode abruptly rose to his feet. "Something's coming!"

Fortunately, he had expanded the warning range to two hundred meters beforehand, giving everyone plenty of time to prepare.

Serie instantly entered a combat stance as invisible mana began to gather. "How many?"

Since Rhode had already deployed the Magic Circle, Serie did not intend to cast Detection Magic as well.

She would let him provide the information. Their understanding from the past several days made Rhode immediately grasp Serie's intention.

"At least thirty. The number is still increasing!" Rhode's voice was incredibly grave.

For now, the monsters were concentrated to the east and west. Yet in the very next second, every warning spell around the camp was triggered.

"We're surrounded." Rhode's expression instantly turned extremely grim.

Kraft and Som immediately became alert and quickly moved closer to the two of them.

"There's no time to pack up. This number of monsters must mean a Demon Race member is directing them." Kraft drew his longsword. "Som, protect Rhode!"

Among their group, Rhode alone was somewhat lacking in combat ability. Besides, he was maintaining Detection Magic to provide everyone with information, so naturally he needed to be protected in the middle.

"Run to the right!"

At Rhode's instruction, Serie took the lead. After only a few steps, they encountered monsters blocking the way. She immediately fired off Light magic in rapid succession, piercing every one of them.

Meanwhile, Kraft swung his longsword and directly cleaved a lunging monster in half.

"Head for Gremir Forest. There's a Barrier left behind there."

Gremir Forest had once been a gathering place for elves, but as the wars of the Mythical era continued, the elves left this world. The Barrier, however, remained behind.

This Barrier could prevent monsters from entering. That was also an important reason the Human Race tribe had been able to remain in Gremir Forest all this time.

Som, who was covering the rear, swung the battle axe in his hand. Under the moonlight, its blade gleamed with a cold luster, and every monster that charged at them was driven back by him.

At the same time, Rhode, positioned in the middle of the group, was not idle either. While extending the range of his Detection Magic to its limit, he also found time to fire several Light Arrows and deal with enemies that had slipped through.

The group had already formed a small team that worked together seamlessly.

After another powerful burst of light from Serie opened a gap in the monster horde ahead, Rhode quickly seized the opportunity. "Three o'clock—no, northwest! Break through there!"

Although the blast had opened a gap, there were still far too many monsters. If they did not continue attacking, the opening would soon be filled.

Serie's mana erupted once more. A massive Light Pillar crashed down, vaporizing dozens of monsters in an instant and illuminating a black figure atop a distant mountain peak.

"That's the Demon Race member controlling them." The sharp-eyed Kraft spoke hurriedly.

Rhode looked up. The figure was hidden in the night, making its appearance impossible to discern, but its outline seemed human-sized.

He estimated the distance at around a hundred meters. It might already have been beyond the attack range of a Light Arrow.

But before Rhode could fire one to test it, the figure vanished.

"Be careful!"

As if confirming his warning, a grotesque monster suddenly sprang out before them. It opened a lamprey-like maw and actually swallowed Serie's magic into its body.

It was clearly another monster specifically designed to counter mages.

"I've got it!"

The Dwarf Som raised his battle axe and charged forward, viciously chopping the monster. The instant the axe struck, blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across Som's armor.

Rhode sensed that something was wrong and quickly grabbed Som, pulling him back.

White smoke rose from the armor. Just a tiny amount of blood had corroded its surface beyond recognition.

Luckily, Rhode had pulled him back in time. Otherwise, Som's armor would likely have been corroded even more severely.

The group, halted by this monster, stopped in their tracks for the moment.

Then dozens of scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness.

The Demon Race member they had seen earlier slowly emerged from the shadows. It was a humanoid creature nearly two meters tall, with sickly gray-white skin and two twisted horns growing from its forehead.

"An elf, a Dwarf, and... an unknown race. What a novel combination."

The Demon Race member's voice held no emotional fluctuation whatsoever, but for some reason, his gaze remained fixed tightly on Rhode.

Serie had no intention of speaking with him at all. She directly fired a Light Arrow, but he easily dodged it.

With a wave of his hand, dozens of monsters pounced out of the darkness.

Serie instantly released a dazzling halo of light, turning the first few monsters to rush forward into ashes.

Then she raised her hand again, and dense Light Arrows poured down like a torrential rain. In response, the Demon Race member cast magic as well, forming a black barrier that blocked every attack.

That was what made the Demon Race so terrifying.

They could learn magic, and they could learn martial arts and other techniques to make themselves even stronger.

At the same time, Kraft suddenly launched a surprise attack from the side. The Demon Race leader hastily dodged, but was still struck by a sword.

Bright red blood flowed from his side, but the wound was not fatal. It had merely caused the Demon Race member a slight injury.