465. Interlude - The Inoria Empire

A volley of arrows rained down amongst the adventurers. Some of them glimmered— enchanted projectiles that were designed to explode or pierce through metal. Others were guided by a Skill. Or simply a result of their skill as archers.

Zack highly doubted it was the latter. Most of the [Archers] were low-leveled. Silver Ranked equivalent. Many of them probably weren’t even above Level 25. So the [Mage] didn’t particularly care about them.

There was, however, a single low Platinum Ranked soldier amongst the forces. The lead [Archer]— Edward— loosed bolt after bolt in rapid succession. He was probably one of the ones in charge of this garrison until that Demon arrived. And he was relatively strong. All alone, he unleashed a storm of arrows down into the adventurer battalion.

Unfortunately for him, Zack was there. The [Mage] stepped forward, raising his spellbook.

“[Partial Earthen Dome].”

And bits of rock rose from the ground, rapidly intercepting the arrows, They shot into the air in the vague shape of a sphere around the adventurer battalion. The [Archers] paused as Zack spun around.

“Helen.”

Zack turned to his teammate. She nodded.

“Right.”

And Helen dashed forward. The [Archer] loosed bolt after bolt into the battlements, each arrow taking down three or four soldiers at once. An explosion rocked the walls, and she took her chance, sliding out of the orbit of the floating rocks.

She aimed for Edward as he fired his own flurry of arrows back at her. Helen shot them down in rapid succession, one after the other. The two [Archers] were locked in a duel. Arrow after arrow clashed into each other. But she was winning. She calmly unloaded on him as he frantically pushed back.

Then a pair of chains interrupted the duel. Edward blinked.

“What—”

And Jaakko tugged. The chains of his kusarigama yanked Edward out of the battlements. The lead [Archer] yelped as he struck the ground hard, head snapping back from the impact. Zack pointed, ready for the man to move— to get up.

But Edward lay there, unconscious. Shaking his head, Zack turned to the rest of the enemy [Archers]. They were quickly being taken out by the adventurer battalions. Even Shayla was contributing, using a variety of throwing daggers to knock them off the walls.

“Your captain is down! Just give up! We’ll spare you and deal with that Demon!”

Zack shouted as another section of the wall crumbled. The [Archers] exchanged a glance. For a moment, they hesitated. Then finally, they threw down their arms.

“We surrender!”

They dropped to their knees as Jaakko gave Zack an approving nod. Helen smiled at him too.

“Good job.”

“Thanks. But we still need to find that Demon.”

He cast his gaze over the garrison. He saw figures moving behind the walls. Soldiers that were rushing into formation, still ready to fight.

“And not everyone surrendered just yet.”

“Indeed.”

Jaakko harrumphed as he walked forward. He turned to the rest of the adventurers.

“Secure the area. Then find the Demon. Once we kill him, the rest of them will surrender.”

The adventurers moved. There wasn’t a proper formation employed. They mostly stuck to their own teams, taking the garrison while barely working together. They weren’t soldiers, after all. Adventurers rarely ever functioned in a large group unless it was some sort of Dungeon raid. And this was exactly the same tactics they were using.

No one was going to build teamwork with each other over the course of a single battle. So it was best to let them mainly cooperate with their own teams they were already acclimated to working with. Jaakko, Zack, and Helen quickly moved through the battlements and magically bound the surrendered [Archers]. They followed the rest of their battalion soon after.

“Do you know where that Demon went?”

Zack asked Helen as he sent a volley of Fireballs into the barracks. Dozens of soldiers went flying as he created a pair of bolas made from mana and tossed them at another group. Helen spun around, firing a whirlwind of arrows in all directions, precisely landing on target each time.

“His tracks lead to the center of the garrison. Over there.”

She pointed at a large round building just up ahead. Its entrance was barred by ranks of soldiers. Zack narrowed his eyes. Those soldiers are… Gold Ranked. He shook his head. They should still be easy work for a team of Platinum Ranked adventurers.

But the courtyard filled with even more soldiers. Hundreds of them. The bulk of the garrison. Zack cursed, backing up. But Jaakko just charged straight forward.

“To me, adventurers!!”

The Cyclops bellowed. The adventurers refocused their attack, assailing the soldiers surrounding the courtyard from all sides. Jaakko spearheaded a group that bounded straight for where the Demon was hiding. Shayla and a dozen other adventurers followed, with Zack and Helen by his side.

“We need to be careful— that Demon is strong.”

Zack said as they reached the Gold Ranked soldiers. He raised his spellbook, conjuring a fiery serpent-like creature that shot forward. It crashed, exploding into a flash of brilliant light and knocking the soldiers back.

Helen scoffed as she loosed a barrage of exploding arrows.

“Yeah, I think we all know that.”

Jaakko leapt straight into the fray, swinging his kusarigama around like a cyclone of blades. The last rank of soldiers blocking the entrance fell, and the Cyclops nodded to his team.

“Come on.”

He ushered Zack and Helen forward. Shayla and a few other adventurers followed as the rest continued fighting outside. The heavy double doors swung close behind them as they entered a large hall.

A Demon sat at the very center of the large chamber, resting his chin on the palm of his hands. He perked up when he saw the group of adventurers streaming into the room.

“Oh? You guys managed to get this far? You’re stronger than I thought.”

He got to his feet, dusting himself off. Jaakko marched straight forward as Zack, Helen, Shayla, and the other adventurers spread out, circling around the Demon.

“We have you cornered, Demon. We will not give you a chance to surrender.”

Jaakko spoke as the chains of his kusarigama dragged behind him. The Demon just smirked.

“But you see, you should be the one surrendering. After all—”

He took on a wide stance as black flames exploded at his back. Laughing, the Demon unleashed a volley of black flames out in all directions.

“You don’t stand a chance against me!”

[Fiend - Lvl. 98]

“Shit—”

Zack swore as he raised his spellbook, creating an air barrier around him and Helen. A few other barriers popped up around the room, but their protection was utterly eviscerated by this Demon’s attack. Adventurers were knocked back— their enchanted armor breaking as bones were shattered.

Shayla herself slammed hard into a wall, bleeding as black flames burned her shoulders. Zack backed up, and Helen snapped to him.

“Zack.”

“Shit, right—”

He rushed for the wounded adventurers, uncorking healing potions as he doused them with water to extinguish the flames. Meanwhile, Helen, Jaakko, and another Platinum Ranked adventurer— Avery— rushed the Demon from all sides.

The Demon threw black fireballs at Jaakko, but the Cyclops somehow moved with a mix of elegance and roughness, deflecting the salvo of spells. Helen nocked a glimmery arrow and fired it at the [Fiend].

The bolt exploded, knocking the Demon off balance as Avery reached him. The man slashed down with a broadsword, cutting the Demon’s back. And the Demon hissed in pain before returning with a flaming uppercut. Avery went flying, onlyf or Jaakko to take over.

The Cyclops traded blows with the Demon as Helen supported him from behind. Jaakko was fairing well— very well. But he was losing. And Zack could see that. The [Mage] quickly poured the last healing potion of Shayla as she grunted, getting back up.

“Ugh, fuck…”

She groaned, then blinked as Zack raised his spellbook once more. He pointed at the Demon.

“How about this— [Mud Touch].”

The Demon backed away from Jaakko… only for the ground at his feet to sink. That made him stumble for just a moment, before the Cyclops got to him. Jaakko raked his kusarigama across the [Fiend]’s chest once— then twice and thrice in an instant.

Six slashes. All in the single blur of a moment. The Demon yelled out in pain as Shayla stared on, wide-eyed.

“Seriously? He’s taking on that Demon alone?”

“He’s not alone.”

Zack shook his head, and an arrow landed on the Demon’s shoulder. Helen smirked as the arrow ignited, and Zack pointed with a finger.

“Jaakko is with us.”

And a bolt of lightning shot out, striking the Demon as he burst into flames. A guttural cry escaped his lips as he collapsed straight into Jaakko’s sickle end. The [Fiend] writhed in pain, impaled by the kusarigama, defeated by the group of Platinum Ranked adventurers.

He lay there, gasping for air as Jaakko drew back and flicked the blood off his weapons.

“You have lost, Demon.”

“I… have.”

The [Fiend] closed his eyes, facing the ceiling. Zack, Helen, and the remaining adventurers joined the Cyclops in surrounding the Demon.

“But you have made a grave mistake…”

The Demon shook his head as he winced in pain. Zack frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“You think you’ve won— that you’ve beaten me, that easily. But I am not a combat specialist. Far from it, in fact.”

Smiling, the [Fiend] looked back towards the adventurers. He cackled, coughing in pain between each laugh as he spread his arms wide.

“I am the equivalent of what you Humans would call a [Beast Tamer], and killing me has only opened the gates to your demise.”

“I think we should just kill him now.”

Shayla shook her head, raising a dagger. Jaakko rubbed his chin, in thought. But before anyone could say anything else, the heavy double doors swung open. An adventurer came running in, shouting.

“Jaakko! We have a problem!”

“What is it?”

The Cyclops narrowed his single eye. Zack spun around, blinking. The sounds of fighting seemed to have stopped. At least, Zack didn’t hear any clashing of metal. But instead, he heard something soft echoing in the background. A… howling.

Then he heard more of it. Howls that echoed one after another. A cacophony of doom. They all heard it. Not just the adventurers, but the soldiers too. The Inorian troops dropped their weapons, trembling as they resigned themselves to their fate.

“We’re going to die…”

“What do we do?”

“There’s nothing we can—”

Zack heard their terror. He saw the way they gave up on the spot. And he knew what it meant. The adventurer who barged in the room shook his head.

“Demons. Dozens of them. Hundreds, even. Maybe more. And they’re all coming here.”

“But… how?”

Helen asked, jaw agape. And a weak voice answered.

“I was the only thing keeping them back. Now— now you’ll see why your only fate is… death.”

The [Fiend] gasped one last time before going limp. He lay there in a puddle of his own blood, succumbing to his injuries. Zack, Helen, and Jaakko ignored the corpse, rushing outside to the walls and surveying the situation.

Zack pursed his lips when he saw the moving figures. Four-legged beasts that prowled along the grass. Tall bear-like Demons that lumbered down the gravel road. There were even giant spiders that leapt around either side of the valley, stalking their way to the garrison.

“This is… we’re surrounded.”

“We noticed.”

Helen remarked flatly as Demons encroached on them from all sides. Jaakko shook his head, turning back to face a group of stunned adventurer [Mages]. He gestured at the broken walls.

“I want these walls repaired right this instant.”

They blinked, breaking from their stupor.

“R-right.”

The Cyclops marched forward to the kneeling Inorian soldiers. Zack gave chase, calling out to his leader.

“Jaakko—”

“Send a message spell to Laux Lionfist. Tell him we’ve managed to subjugate the barracks, but we’ve fallen from an enemy ambush. Ask for aid, immediately.”

“Got it.”

Zack nodded as Jaakko faced the Inorian troops. He loomed over Edward and ripped off the [Archer]’s bindings.

“Get up if you want to live.”

Edward stared at the Cyclops. The Inorian [Archer] glanced around, befuddled.

“What are you doing? What—”

And then he paused as Jaakko shoved a bow at his face. The Cyclops held the Human man’s gaze, nodding.

“We fight.”

That was all Jaakko said before turning back around. Edward looked down at the bow for a moment, before Helena patted him on the shoulder.

“Come on. I have some arrows to share. We’re going to need to work together if we want to get out of this alive.”

She ushered him to follow. A few other Inorian soldiers exchanged confused glances. Edward hesitated for a second, before turning to his troops.

“What are you lot waiting for? Move!”