Kalande swung his massive mace, unleashing a blood-red aura. The force was so powerful it even cracked the ground.
The breath of the abyss, mixed with molten lava, erupted from the shattered fissure.
A straight line shot out, plowing a deep furrow.
The crimson aura vanished, like an invisible attack.
"Bang!"
A sonic boom erupted.
The fire dragon, raging through the demon formation as it moved, was struck in the neck.
The flames dissipated in an instant, the powerful force shattering the dragon into scattered balls of fire.
But the moment they dispersed, they suddenly exploded, forming a vortex of flame that expanded instantly. This powerful suction force sucked Kalande in, even from over ten meters away.
The vortex of flame, with a diameter of over thirty meters, instantly became the most dazzling attack on the battlefield.
One could even see lightning streaking through the swirling flames.
It had a range of about 30 meters, yet it sucked in even the weaker demons within a 50-meter radius.
Due to its immense size, the lava bull stumbled and fell sideways to the ground.
The lava cannon it was carrying was also sucked away.
Due to its enormous size and the fact that this place wasn't part of the abyss, the bull trembled for a long time before finally climbing to its feet.
The swirling flames vanished, and Kalande flew out.
"Roar!"
He roared angrily, brandishing his mace, striking at the city wall and Alka's position from the air.
One crimson attack after another slammed down like a cannonball.
Like a massive iron fist.
A translucent energy shield appeared outside the fortress.
Several attacks struck the shield, causing ripples but not completely breaking it.
But that strange force actually penetrated the shield and pounded in.
Just nearby, Kans used some kind of magic to deflect the energy, sending it crashing into the city wall, creating cracks and dents.
And Kalande's appearance revealed that while the heat of the flames hadn't burned him, the attack was more than just heat, leaving extensive damage to his skin.
These injuries fully healed after only a few minutes.
But at least he had suffered a loss in this first encounter.
After venting his anger, Kalande fluttered his wings and landed once more on top of the lava bull.
"Under normal circumstances, this reckless fool would have been the demon vanguard.
He would have been charging toward the city wall long ago, not like he's doing now."
Annafir explained to Alka, indirectly suggesting that the demon was trying to lure Alka away from the city walls.
After all, the city walls and fortress within the magic shield were at least considered safe until they were breached.
Once outside the walls and shield, the outside world was practically free for demons to wreak their own might.
The area had been infested by demons and the abyss, practically turning into the abyss's domain.
There was no spatial barrier at all. With the demons' spatial talents, they could have set numerous ambushes for Alka in that area.
Another demon flew in from behind, passing directly beside Kalande and seemingly lingering for a moment. This pause caused Kalande to roar in anger for a long time.
Evidently a demon, the demon that flew away from him cursed him.
This demon was a pure force demon, equally powerful as Kalande. With a flutter of its wings, it flew straight toward the fortress.
Many demon vanguards had already reached the base of the city wall and were climbing or flying upwards to avoid ranged attacks.
Some powerful demons had already reached the edge of the city wall, using the power of flight to reach the edge.
"Holder, compared to the reckless Kalande, is much more rational and possesses a wealth of magical powers similar to spells.
He's a rare demon warrior with a rational mind among demons."
Annafiel introduced him to Alka, then walked straight toward the edge of the city wall.
He drew out the two longswords that had been strapped to his waist.
Only then did A-Ka see that the one hanging from her right waist was a one-handed sword; the other was a slender longsword.
The longsword appeared delicate, like a work of art, its blade richly patterned with relief carvings and gemstones on the guard.
In contrast, the one-handed longsword seemed unusually plain, only making it seem incredibly sharp.
Annafiel gave a powerful kick, and like an arrow, she charged forward with her weapons crossed.
Clearly, the power demon had been targeting Annafiel as well.
In his hands, the same demonic longsword appeared.
Once again, one in each hand, both still scorching hot.
Instantly, they engaged in combat.
The battle between the two remained largely confined to a region four or five meters above the city wall, moving at an extremely fast pace.
Wherever they passed, demons and guards alike quickly made way to avoid being killed.
Observing this situation, Alka retracted his gaze and looked elsewhere.
He didn't act rashly. He didn't yet fully understand the defenders' situation and the areas they were defending.
A rash move might disrupt some unknown deployment, so he needed to observe carefully.
However, this observation didn't stop him from continuously controlling the Hurricane card, firing rapid wind blades at the distant demon swarm.
At least attacking from a distance wouldn't disrupt his own battle plan.
He also used his long-established skills to provide support and assistance to the soldiers in the surrounding areas.
Using the elemental cards and his treasures, he could do this with ease.
He slowly approached the edge of the city wall.
Seizing the opportunity, a mirror materialized before a soldier, shielding him from a fatal attack. Alka dragged him behind him.
He casually used ice to seal his wound.
It wasn't pure ice; at least it wouldn't freeze him. It simply temporarily sealed the wound to prevent excessive bleeding or infection, which could delay rescue and cause serious consequences.
"Thank you."
Alka nodded, and the soldiers behind him dragged him away.
Then he thrust his hand.
Several streams of electricity entangled in a single beam, emitting a creaking sound. They instantly paralyzed the demon behind the mirror. Powerful lightning, mixed with an unknown force, reduced the abyssal demon to shattered remains.
But before the demon could fully die, Alka suddenly grasped a mirror-like blade, piercing the demon's head.
The demon's orange eyes widened in disbelief, and Alka dropped his sword and head from the wall.
The mirrored blade shattered, and a pink mist could be seen emanating from the shattered mirror.
The mist wrapped around the shattered mirror lens and the fragments of the demon's head, then gathered again and returned to Alka's palm.
A mirror the size of a card appeared in Alka's palm, and within it, a demon could be seen, imprinted within it, roaring and striking at the surface.
A portion of the demon's flesh and blood, along with its entire soul, was sealed within.
This was a sealing method Alka had created by blending mirrors, space, dreams, and a few elements.
This was his first time using it, and it seemed to be quite effective.
If not here, Alka's attack would have taken considerable time. This would give him a slight delay in defeating the demons, but here all restrictions were relaxed, allowing him to seal them in an instant.
As for the purpose of sealing them, it was naturally to wait until he had free time to throw them into the dream world in batches, allowing their permanent death to become nutrients for the dream world.
This was also the method Alka had developed after his power increased and combined with the dream world connection.
"Looks good. Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving," Alka said with a smile, looking at the demon in the mirror, and then threw him into the space.
Looking at these demons that continued to fall, Alka couldn't help but smile.
The good times are over.
...
After the battle, Alka, panting, leaned against the rear of the city wall, breathing heavily and recovering his strength and magic.
The intensity of this battle was far greater than he had imagined.
And this was just the most routine attack.
The main thing was that even the guards on the city walls were rotated during the battle, and this happened almost without Alka noticing.
The rotation was incredibly natural, the transition was incredibly quick, and almost seamless.
As the fight progressed, Alka realized that his comrades had become almost strangers. While his previous comrades were also unfamiliar, at least they had become more familiar during the battle.
The battle had consumed almost all of his physical strength and over 80% of his magic power.
The number of demons was too great.
"How do you feel?" Grayfar appeared beside him at some point.
Grayfar hadn't been present during the battle, and Alka had assumed he was at the Demon Hunter Fortress.
Alka looked up at him.
"The intensity and carnage of the battle here are far more exaggerated than I imagined."
Hearing this, Greyfart's serious face curled up in a rare moment. "Of course, there's nothing wrong with considering this place the most intense battle in the entire Infinite Sea."
Then, looking at Alka, who had recovered, Greyfart said, "I was just there and watched your entire battle."
He pointed to a tall tower behind him, the sturdiest in the fortress.
"You used too many large-scale attacks. In the low-intensity battles of the Demon Hunter Fortress, this wouldn't be a problem.
In fact, it would reduce the pressure on your comrades and minimize losses. But it won't work here," Greyfart said, shaking his head.
"Why?" Alka asked humbly.
"You're very strong. Both your attack methods and your magical power are far stronger than I imagined.
I originally thought you'd stop mid-attack due to excessive magic power consumption. Who knew you'd actually persevere to the end? It was beyond our expectations."
Greyfar looked at Alka with admiration and nodded.
"We?"
"Yes, there are quite a few people watching you there."
"After all, many of them have only heard of you and haven't actually seen you in combat. Plus, your reputation makes them naturally curious."
Hearing this, Alka nodded, not paying any attention.
Grayfar continued, "Here, the fighting is incredibly intense. We never know how powerful the next demon attack will be.
This means we must constantly maintain our physical and magical strength to deal with the enemies we need to face."
He muttered, with an unsettling emotion, "We are vastly outnumbered."
Then he continued.
"Your large-scale attacks are powerful, but they only kill weaker demons. At least compared to your strength, they're like ants.
On the contrary, those demons that can rival yours, and are a bit of a challenge for ordinary soldiers, haven't been killed in large numbers. After all, no matter how many demons there are, they're not this numerous."
Hearing this, Alka began to understand.
Although the demons below were piled up like ants, a large-scale attack could clear out a large area, which seemed very cost-effective.
But here, it seemed a bit of a loss. Because those weak demons are too numerous to be worth it.
To the Abyss, they might as well be less than cannon fodder, but rather complete expendable goods.
"Here, leave these demons to the soldiers and mercenaries. They're their task, their opponents.
You only need to target those powerful enemies too dangerous for ordinary soldiers. This kind of battle will save you considerable energy, allowing you to respond to more situations.
Especially sometimes, a demon attack can last for days and nights. In such situations, conserving your energy to accurately kill the enemy is a delicate task."
"Days and nights?" Alka repeated.
"That's right, days and nights like just now, completely non-stop, even more intense."
"I don't know how we managed to hold on."
Hearing this, Greyfar smiled, a rare smile, patted his shoulder, and finally pulled him to his feet. "For the sake of the world, I'll have some bards record your battles on the front lines and paint your portrait. Is that alright?"
Hearing this, Alka nodded. He already knew what he needed to know and naturally had no objections.
"That's good. Make sure you fight brilliantly and beautifully. Show off your prowess."
After that, he explained some important points to keep in mind when fighting here and then left.
After this battle, Alka left the city walls.
As a newcomer, he hadn't yet been assigned to the battle formation.
On the way to the gathering area of the Holy Mother Church, he encountered Kant and Linton returning.
Their armor was covered in various battle scars and blood, and steam could be seen rising from their bodies.
It was unclear if this was due to the demonic blood within them.
After all, the temperature of demonic blood was quite high.
Looking at Alka, Linton quickly took a few steps to his side.
"My friend, you just performed exceptionally well." Alka smiled at Linton's excited expression.
"You too! I saw you smash that demon's head open with one punch," Alka complimented him.
He had indeed noticed Linton earlier, but hadn't noticed the exact mechanism of his treasure. However, his fighting style was essentially identical to Pororo's.
He looked reckless in close combat.
The main difference was that he actually used both fists. This was quite unusual in a battle with demons.
Kans, who was nearby, also came over, looked at Alka and said with a smile, "I've only heard about it before, but now that I've seen it with my own eyes, your combat performance is truly impressive.
No wonder everyone calls you the Archmage."
This was one of the titles Alka earned after the battle.