"Indeed…"
Lock narrowed his eyes, watching Climb frantically killing the Hell Hounds below, and sighed inwardly.
After Climb, Lock experimented on several other scumbags, and the results showed that these individuals were all more or less affected in their disposition; once they entered a fierce battle, they would unconsciously enter a dragonization state.
This state appeared to have no change in external form; the ritual part representing a stable human form was perfect, and it could also enhance attributes, but Lock still disliked it.
No matter how powerful the strength, it still requires a calm mind to exert its maximum power.
Even the fiercest beast, if its mind wasn't sharp, would fall into a hunter's trap. Lock had always detested such intelligence-reducing behavior.
It was, after all, an incomplete ritual. In Yggdrasil, these spells would eventually all go out of control, turning the game's background NPCs into monsters, becoming various BOSSes for players to challenge.
To reach this extent was already a testament to Lock's innate intelligence.
Knowing where the flaws were made it easier to modify them. With a little effort, this ritual could still achieve his desired goal, Lock comforted himself, then turned to leave.
"Master, aren't you going to keep watching?" Vier glanced at Climb, who was in a frenzy of battle, and asked.
"There's no need," Lock glanced at the golden-haired boy below. A flawed experiment wasn't worth his continued effort. "In his current state, even if those demons swarmed him, he would still win. There's no need to pay attention to him anymore. Compared to him, perhaps there are more important people waiting for our support right now."
Vier pondered for a moment, as if understanding something, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. "I understand, Master."
"Let's go."
Lock immediately turned and headed towards another Eight Fingers stronghold.
Sending word to Lana to eliminate the Eight Fingers, and then summoning demons to slaughter within the strongholds—the people of the Great Tomb certainly knew how to play.
Since demons appeared here, Lock guessed that other strongholds were likely in similar situations. The only difference was that the attackers' strength might vary slightly, and perhaps some people would die in this operation.
But he wasn't concerned about that; after all, with resurrection magic in hand, unless one was unlucky enough to be swallowed by a demon and their body couldn't be found, who would dare speak of death in his presence?
"However, for some people, it's better if they don't die. It's time for a 'Hero's Advent.'"
Just as Lock expected, at another Eight Fingers stronghold—the mansion of Hilma Cygnaeus, the head of the drug trafficking department.
Far more demons appeared here than at the Six Arms stronghold: one Scale Demon, two Soul-Eating Demons, and over forty Red-Eyed Demons and Hell Hounds.
"How can this be!?" Lakyus held her swords with both hands, but her heart was filled with terror.
The team, led by her and Tina, had originally cleared out the Eight Fingers members in this mansion and were about to begin their search when a massive explosion suddenly occurred, engulfing the entire mansion in flames.
Then, a large number of demons rushed out of the flames, surrounding them. Even worse, some had already begun attacking nearby buildings.
If they were low-ranking demons, it would be fine, but…
Warily watching the Scale Demon flying in the sky, Lakyus suddenly felt a wave of powerlessness. If all the team members were gathered, they might have a chance to fight, but now there were only her and Tina here; it was impossible to defeat enemies of this level.
Looking around again, the others were fighting Hell Hounds and other low-ranking demons. With no advantage in numbers, they had to be careful, because once injured, they might be swarmed and devoured by the enemies!
Tina was using all her strength to attract the attention of the two Soul-Eating Demons, already in a precarious situation under the attack of their two long tongues.
And her…
The Scale Demon in the sky swooped down. Lakyus immediately activated her offensive and defensive magic item, the Floating Sword Group. Six floating magic swords shot towards the opponent.
Two of the magic swords pierced into the parts of its body not covered by scales, but they didn't go deep before being clamped by thick, hard muscles. The ones that unfortunately hit the scales were directly bounced off, leaving only shallow marks.
Although the attack was ineffective, Lakyus's goal was achieved. The Scale Demon's speed decreased significantly. When the large hammer smashed down, she swung her magic sword to parry it, not being sent flying like last time.
At this moment, Lakyus deeply missed her teammate Gaguran. If it were her, she would be able to block it even without using such small tricks.
Now was not the time to be distracted.
After the Scale Demon's attack was blocked, it immediately launched a second attack.
Lakyus still used her magic sword to defend, but this time, while grappling with her, its snake-like tail also swept towards her chest.
Experienced, she immediately used the Scale Demon's force to retreat, then held her magic sword in front of her. With a clang, although she was swept away, her arms were only numb, and she suffered no greater damage.
The moment her feet landed, Lakyus immediately freed one hand and launched a magic attack, "Holy Light!"
A beam of light shot from behind her towards the Scale Demon. The Scale Demon, an evil-aligned creature, roared in anger as its skin was scorched by the holy-attribute attack the moment the light hit it.
Clearly, Lakyus's attack made this demon even more violent.
Ah!
A wail immediately drew everyone's attention. It turned out that an Adventurer had accidentally been knocked into a circle of Hell Hounds by a Red-Eyed Demon. The vicious demon dogs immediately bit the victim's limbs, finally biting through his throat.
The AdAdventurers, already at a numerical disadvantage, immediately panicked, as the defense line formed by those adventurers was breached by the demons, tearing open a large gap and threatening the priests who were continuously healing behind the warriors.
"This is bad!"
Seeing the critical situation, Lakyus was about to go and plug the gap, but the Scale Demon clearly wouldn't give her that chance. In fact, because of the previous holy attack, it launched a fierce assault on her without any defense.
For a time, Lakyus could only constantly dodge, the Scale Demon's hammer leaving deep pits in the ground.
Soon, Lakyus was forced to the edge of the Adventurers' line.
At the same time, a disheveled figure fell from mid-air, tumbltumoringral times in front of her before struggling to get up.
"Tina! Are you alright!" Lakyus hastily helped her companion up, asking with concern.
Tina clutched her ribs with one hand, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The Soul-Eating Demon's tongue attack earlier had directly broken two of her ribs. If she hadn't reacted in time, she would probably have been treated as dessert.
"It's hard to say I'm alright," Tina said, gripping her enchanted dagger, warily watching the approaching Scale Demon and Soul-Eating Demons. "Devil Boss, it's time to make a decision now."
"…"
Lakyus, of course, understood her meaning. The situation was already extremely critical. While they still had strength, they should decisively abandon the other Adventurers. With their combined strength, they might be able to break through.
Then, contacting Lana, if her Tiger Knights were dispatched, they might be able to deal with these demons and prevent greater harm to the people of the royal capital.
However, in that case, all the Adventurers except for them might perish here.
"You guys, hurry and go!"
Just then, a Mithril-ranked Adventurer grabbed her shoulder, grinning with a hearty smile, "As long as you're still here, you should be able to revive us with resurrection magic, right? Don't hesitate anymore. We'll hold off the enemies; you two break through quickly!"
Lakyus was silent for a moment, then nodded. They were all battle-hardened Adventurers who knew how to make the right judgment in appropriate situations.
"I'm counting on you all!"
"No problem," the man patted his chest, as if to say, 'Leave it to me.' "By the way, resurrection requires precious medium materials, right? When the time comes, it should be free for me, or you can ask that Earl for the money!"
Lakyus finally showed a hint of a smile, then immediately rushed towards the weakest part of the demon's defense line. Tina followed closely behind.
Behind her, the roar of the Scale Demon rang out, mixed with the angry shouts of the Adventurers, followed by cries of agony and the sound of heavy objects falling.
We must break through!
With a firm resolve, Lakyus swung her magic sword, cutting a Hell Hound in half at the waist. The remaining four floating swords shot forward, killing several Hell Hounds and revealing the Red-Eyed Demons behind them.
This was the last obstacle. Lakyus gripped her magic sword with both hands, injecting most of her magic power into it. Starlight emerged from the blade, and the sword itself expanded.
"Dark Blade Super-Dreadnought Impact Wave!"
The magic sword swept across, and an explosion enveloped all the demons in front of it. The non-elemental attack immediately annihilated these low-ranking demons one by one.
"Tina, let's go!" Lakyus called out to her companion behind her, preparing to cross the smoke and dust caused by the explosion.
Ah!
A familiar cry of pain rang in her ears, and immediately after, Tina swiftly passed by her, her entire body like a curved crescent moon.
Splashing blood scattered in the air, then landed on Lakyus's astonished face. The scorching temperature, however, sent a chill through her heart.
Thud!
Tina fell heavily to the ground, her entire waist twisted irregularly; her lumbar spine had been violently smashed by a blunt object!
"Ugh… Lakyus… run… run fast!" Tina struggled to twist her body, ignoring the blood gushing from her mouth, and shouted at her with her last ounce of strength.
Lakyus felt a huge shadow completely engulf her. Gritting her teeth, she abruptly turned around and swung her magic sword at the monster that attacked Tina, "Die! Demon!!!"
The magic sword and the hammer clashed in mid-air. Lakyus withstood the opponent's immense power, not retreating a single step.
But helplessly, the distance between them continuously shortened due to her persistence. The Scale Demon, with its weapon-free left hand, formed a fist and punched Lakyus in the face, sending her flying fiercely.
"Lakyus!" Tina clawed at the ground with both hands, dragging her immobile body towards Lakyus, but the Scale Demon had already flown above her.
It raised the large hammer in its hand, aiming it at Tina's head.
"Stop!!!"
Lakyus, having scrambled to her feet, saw this scene and her eyes instantly widened in fury, letting out a scream of fear and rage.
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A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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