[ You have absorbed the blood essence of a 'Demon Fighter', purification in progress… ]

[ You have obtained 488,898 EP! ]

[ You have absorbed… ]

Despite the fact that the two closest demons to me were well over level 220 with a constitution stat that was also well over 25 points, the two longswords easily went through their necks as they were cutting through butter!

Still, it wasn't hard to understand why the blades had achieved such strength and sharpness. After all, not only was the weapon itself currently of (Epic***) quality, but the amplification of seven elemental veins was also not to be underestimated!

It might have been still lacking in comparison to a full elemental conducting weapon when it only had 2 or three veins, but it currently displayed double the elemental prowess of it.

[ You have absorbed… ]

[ You have absorbed… ]

Of course, I didn't forget to trigger the two crossbows that were strapped on my wrists, shooting two 'Freezing Venom' arrows and taking care of another couple of demons before my hands moved to slash at another target…

Originally, I had the idea of using a spear or a halberd to give me more range in fighting, but I had to quickly give up the idea after giving it a deep thought. While swords could be used in 'Dual Wielding', spears and halberds couldn't be, at least without sacrificing a great deal of dexterity, which in turn would slow me down.

While it was true that dual-wielding wasn't the best when it came to delivering powerful strikes, it was still much more efficient when dealing with targets that don't require the use of full strength. As such, in the case of the current battlefield that was full of walking EP bags, the efficiency of dual-wielding longswords was obviously more than enough to compensate for the range advantage that would be provided when wielding only one spear or halberd!

'Hmmm, already found one?'

Suddenly receiving a notif like message, I withdrew my swords which had just slashed away another few demons.

[ You have absorbed… ]

Thanks to my unpleasant experience in the last base I went, though we weren't currently in a base, I naturally had to take precautions against the possibility of it occurring.

To do so, I only had two others that I could rely on to help, Long and Light!

The compatibility of Long and Light acting as the Knight and the Ride seemed to be quite high according to how they splendidly did their part of the plan last time, and they even seemed more suitable for taking action this time.

Relying on his 'Body of Elements', Light's speed naturally allowed him to roam freely in such a battlefield without receiving any hit, especially with Long helping him with his disguise, and that's exactly why they were the best candidates to scout for my targets!

Naturally, since even a normal base in the midst of tens of other bases had a shaman of their own that could use the 'ritual' of the 'Demonic Sovereign Sacrifice', it was to be expected for there to be at least a few of such annoying casters in this army that had a handful of Overseers…

Considering my speed and the fact that I wasn't fighting alone, if everything went according to plan, the demon's army wouldn't last that long with most of its powerhouses suppressed. In that case, even if only one shaman was present to use the 'Demonic Sovereign Sacrifice' with the whole army as fuel, then the odds of my death would naturally reach 99%. Ignoring such a possibility while being drunk with the EP that kept flowing into me was another foolish act that I would commit.

As such, since it wasn't as much as breaking sweat for my knight & ride duo to do, they were assigned with the mission to find shamans or even ones that resemble them. After all, exterminating them was much more important as they were the only factors that I knew off which could screw the plan I painstakingly worked on since the very start!

{Yeah, he isn't really fighting as much as well. One of those 'Demon Swords' seems to be the one responsible for taking care of him.}

As one of the primary reasons for Long to be needed as the knight in this scouting mission, the ability to communicate with me through the system definitely came handy and saved time. Being as swift as possible was naturally a must since it would cause the exact opposite effect if these shamans were to realize something was wrong.

Judging from how the first shaman they found was already guarded, I could confirm my thoughts even more!

Just the demons' decision to come out much earlier than they decided meant that they definitely knew something was amiss, wouldn't it only be natural that they have made more preparations just in case?

'Not gonna happen this time!'

As one of the very rare moments that I was so close to death at since my entry to the game, I still remembered the insane amounts of pain that made me almost go against my rationality and… I didn't plan to sit in my place and hope for another miracle to happen to save me!

I didn't hesitate to activate my 'Body of Elements' and almost break the sound barrier to reach the spot where Light was situated using the link formed through 'Blood Companion'. While Still relying on the momentum of the quick dash I just made, I drew both swords into a scissor-like position and immediately closed them on the neck of the huge-bodied demon who was using his huge greatsword to fend off two human combatants.

[ You have absorbed the blood essence of a 'T2 Demon Sword', purification in progress… ]

[ You have obtained 666,999 EP! ]

"Huh?"

The demon that was standing behind him holding a tall stick didn't seem to realize what happened as everything probably resembled a blur to him, just as intended!

[ You have absorbed the blood essence of a 'Novice Demon Shaman', purification in progress… ]

[ You have obtained 334,182 EP! ]