Black Robes Annihilated

Watching Lanbo raise his greatsword and fly toward him, Lantresuo did not panic. He immediately used Mirror Image. Together with the original, five Lantresuos ran in different directions.

This winged monster was not something he could handle. Lantresuo knew that all he could do now was flee. Judging by the power the black-robed leader had displayed just now, this monster probably would not last long. Once it disappeared, he could come back and kill the black-robed leader.

Lantresuo's plan was sound, but didn't old people always say there was a gulf between reality and ideals? Just as Lantresuo used Mirror Image to escape, Lanbo had already flown behind one of the copies. With a sweep of his greatsword, he pierced straight through its chest, then flicked the blade. The image shattered. He then flew toward the next target, another simple slash and pull, and another image shattered.

When Lantresuo looked back and saw Lanbo dispatch his Mirror Images so quickly and easily, he immediately realized his escape plan had been wrong. He recalled that after he killed the two black-robed Orcs earlier, the dogs they had summoned disappeared. With a thought, the remaining two images stopped running and instead began playing hide-and-seek with Lanbo, buying Lantresuo those precious few seconds.

Lantresuo moved his feet, activated Zephyr Step, and rushed toward the black-robed leader.

The black-robed leader, who had been watching the battlefield, saw one Lantresuo vanish from sight. How could he not understand what Lantresuo was planning? He hurriedly shouted at Lanbo, "Lord Lanbo! Lord Lanbo! That Sword Saint is going to kill me! Come protect me!"

Having dealt with one image and flying toward the last, Lanbo heard the black-robed leader's cries. He spread his wide mouth in a grin and laughed. "Hahaha! It's fine. We demons have always dealt fairly, never cheating the young or the old. Protecting you was never part of our original deal. Don't worry—he kills you, I kill him. The deal is fulfilled either way. This Sword Saint's clone is pretty interesting. Let me play a little longer."

Lanbo's words reached both the black-robed leader and Lantresuo, but their reactions were entirely different.

The black-robed leader felt utter despair upon hearing them. He had thought summoning a Doom Guard would save his life, but the creature simply did not care about him.

Lantresuo, however, realized from Lanbo's words that Lanbo was different from the summoned dogs from before. Killing the black-robed leader would not make him disappear; otherwise, he would not have said that after Lantresuo killed the leader, he would kill Lantresuo.

Thus, after moving behind the black-robed leader, Lantresuo did not use the longsword in his hand to slit the man's throat. Instead, he laid the longsword across his throat and asked in an icy voice by his ear, "How do I send that monster back?"

Hearing a voice by his ear so suddenly, the black-robed leader shuddered in fright. He was about to dodge forward, but the moment he moved, he felt the chill against his neck again. Looking down, he saw the dark-red longsword—the one that had killed his two brothers—held against his throat.

Understanding at once, the black-robed leader replied in a trembling voice, "S-Sword Saint, sir... if there's something you want to say, can you... can you move the sword away?"

At the black-robed leader's words, Lantresuo moved his longsword and pressed it directly into his flesh. Blood began dripping from the blade to the ground.

"I ask. You answer. Otherwise—"

"Y-Yes, yes, yes! Sword Saint, sir, ask anything, and I'll answer! Ask, please ask!" Feeling the longsword bite into his flesh, the black-robed leader no longer dared to say another word.

"How can this monster be sent back?"

"T-This... this... he can't go back!"

"Hm?" Lantresuo pressed down harder on the sword.

"No! No! I mean, I can't send him back! When his time runs out, he'll go back on his own!"

"How much longer can he stay?"

"H-Half... half a day."

"Oh, then you're useless." With that, his longsword swept across the black-robed leader's throat.

Clutching his neck, the black-robed leader turned to look at Lantresuo, his eyes full of malice.

"Heh... heh... you... will... come... down..."

In the end, this man who had killed his brothers to save himself still could not escape death.

Lantresuo flicked the blood from his sword and looked toward Lanbo, who had just destroyed the final Mirror Image. His eyes were filled with determination.

"Haha! You really did kill him. I didn't stall for nothing. But now that you've killed him, I have to kill you too." Lanbo said as he flew over with his sword in hand.

"A demon's deal means that if I said I'd kill you, then I will kill you! That's what it means to deal fairly!"

When Leiluo and Leolox returned to the second line of defense, Garona and Leolox had already finished making their arrangements. Yet the Heroic Rank Saiyba's lack of action remained a heavy weight in Leiluo's heart.

"Brother Leolox, you take command here for now."

"Huh? What are you going to do, little brother?" Leolox asked in confusion. At a time like this, when fighting strength was desperately needed, Leiluo could not afford to move recklessly.

"There must be a Heroic Rank among the Ogres. Only a Behemoth can stand against one. I'm going to the Behemoth's lair to see if I can get it to join the battle."

"Alright, I'll take command for now. But you have to be quick. The Ogres could come up at any moment."

Once Leolox agreed, Leiluo did not waste any words. After signaling his subordinates, he hurried toward the Behemoth's lair.

The Behemoth, which had only recently sent Leolox away, was in the middle of a passionate dream with a beauty. Before anything could begin, Leiluo woke it up. Seeing the Orc that had given it such an unforgettable memory—the first time it had eaten roasted meat—the Behemoth could only roar at him in anger, then change positions and return to its dream with the beauty.

"Stop sleeping! Those Ogres who abducted you are back. Help us out!" Leiluo had thought the Behemoth was getting up after it roared at him, but it went straight back to sleep. He could only keep calling to it.

The Behemoth heard Leiluo's words but did not even turn around. It merely waved a claw before becoming still again.

"Kill them! Take their money, take their food, take their territory!"

"Huh? Aren't those the wrong lines?"

"Oh~ I mixed them up. Let's do that again."

"Kill them! For power!"

"Kill!"

The Ogres who had drunk Demon Blood charged at the front of the group.

Leolox made a rough calculation. At the beginning, Garona and Saxi had shot down about one battalion. He and Leiluo had wiped out another battalion. Then there had been that great fire; by the time he and Leiluo went down, the walls had already been packed with enemies, so at least three more battalions must have been lost. That meant only five battalions remained.

With that thought, Leolox was brimming with confidence. He could win this battle.

But to raise morale, he needed to do something himself.

At that moment, Leolox spotted the Ogre charging at the very front, its face even more savage than the other Ogres'. He decided to kill it to inspire the troops. After arranging matters with Garona and Saxi, he raised his axe and charged forward.