Noel didn't know what happened, but one thing was clear, Qiel had died in one way or another.
While Anna was heading to Layla, Noel remained at the bottom of the wall to prepare for the next scenario.
The sky was already orange, so it wouldn't take that long for it to become dark. That would be the moment they would turn around on the battlefield.
"What is the current report?" Noel asked.
"Three Superior Demons on the east side have died and one is severely injured. Two Superior Demons on the west have died and the other two are still fighting, specifically the one on Paladin Aurelia's side."
"How are the protectors?"
"Ma'am Milfa is exhausted, but it doesn't seem that she will be going down soon. Paladin Aurelia is exterminating the lower level demons and reducing their number to only a fifth of their original number. The same applies to the Water Lord."
"Tell Captain Milfa to not exert herself too much. As for Paladin Aurelia, she is to exterminate the demons in the south. The Water Lord will be controlling the west side of our city."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted before sending a messenger to them.
"What about the wall?" Noel asked.
"The north wall has exterminated five Superior Demons, including the crocodile that managed to enter the city. And according to you, my lord, one more Superior Demon has died along with two Devil Saints. The remaining two Devil Saints are fleeing right now. In total, we have killed eleven Superior Demons."
"Eleven, huh…" Noel's expression turned solemn. From what he could see, the enemy had about 22 Superior Demons. On his side, there were twelve grandmasters. If not for the fact that their grandmasters were stronger than their demons, this fight would be a disaster.
"At first, there were only 19 Superior Demons, but we realized that there were two Superior Demon Trees and one yellow flower. But that demon flower shouldn't be able to possess high combat prowess. In that case…" Noel muttered before asking, "How are the Gem Lord and Faust?"
"They are conserving their stamina."
"Great." Noel smirked, thinking, 'Faust should have no problem killing one Superior Demon. Someone as strong as the Gem Lord would be able to kill two. We still have Clara and once we launch a full scale attack, Paladin Aurelia and the Water Lord can unleash all their strength to kill at least one Superior Demon each.
'Milfa is the same. She has been using a lot of energy the whole time, but she should be capable of defeating one more Superior Demon. This means we can kill seven more Superior Demons. With only four Superior Demons left and one of them only the yellow flower, they should be pulling back.'
Noel smiled. This was a good opportunity to end everything. With his plan, killing one or two more Superior Demons seemed plausible.
"In that case, pass my messages to all Grandmasters who are still fighting. On my signal, we will start the killing fest."
"Yes, sir."
Once he had passed down the order, Noel started thinking about what happened that allowed him to kill Qiel.
'This is weird. In the north, there are two forces: my own family which is currently hiding from the spotlight and the Greenwood Kingdom's army. The Greenwood Kingdom army should have been stalling a lot of demons, so I don't think they could stop Qiel. Then, did my parents do it? If they made a single move, it would be the same as announcing their fake execution. If a single of them survived, they would definitely tell the royal family about it, which would put me in a difficult position.
'But I couldn't imagine that Qiel just died after losing too much blood. She should be able to survive in one way or another.'
Noel clicked his tongue. No matter how hard he thought about it, he didn't get the answer he wanted. There were simply too many unknown variables.
Since it was useless, he should think about something else.
Although he was curious about the mission, there was one more thing he had to take care of.
'Ardagan. How is Heisk?'
[Her condition is stable and she has returned to the great Spirit God's side.]
'I see. Then, it seems that I won't be able to use her power for the time being.'
[You can still use her power, but not her True Spirit Body. In the end, she has to complete it first before utilizing it. And I've warned you earlier about the delay that the forced True Spirit Body brings, right?]
'I know. I won't be relying on it for now.'
[Also, your body is damaged severely due to that as well. While you can still use ice ability, its power won't be comparable to a Spirit Grandmaster. You are currently in a weakened state.]
'I don't mind that. I'm trying to take it easy in the next few months. Besides, the Sword Arbiter will be coming here soon, so there will be another protector to keep my enemies in check.'
[Is there anything else you'd like to know?]
'How about you? When are you planning to give me your True Spirit Body?'
[Preferably Spirit Transcendence Rank.]
'Is your True Spirit Body that dangerous?'
[I am an artificial spirit. Unlike other spirits who are granted or awakened their True Spirit Body, I am born with it.]
'No wonder. I guess I should focus on completing the advancement mission first before thinking about your True Spirit Body. At the very least, I still have an Advanced Rune that I haven't revealed in this war, which is a good thing.'
[If you wish to get my True Spirit Body, I will give you the mission once Heisk returns or when you are at the peak of Spirit Grandmaster.]
'I'm looking forward to it.' Noel smiled. 'I guess I will take a look at my rewards for now. I still have some time before dark anyway.'
Noel opened the system. He had taken a look at the two sword techniques he received from killing two Devil Saints: The Three Purity Swords and Divine Slash.
They looked amazing on their own, but he was still curious about the other missions.
The first mission, which was to repel the demon's invasion, was going to be completed after the counterattack. So, he was looking forward to the Demon Extermination Medal's effect.
Meanwhile, the second mission had given him an Advanced Rune of his choice.
Noel fell into deep thought.
'Which one should I choose? Currently, I have one Advanced Rune in the Offensive Rune category. Should I pick a Defense Rune next? But the Spiritual Barrier Rune is still working well. In that case, the Movement Rune? No. The basic runes are still working well for all the rune inventions. Then, the utility rune?
'They are great, but they won't do much in a battle. In that case, I should use the Support Rune. Support Rune will increase my strength to a whole new level.'
Noel immediately said, "Ardagan. I want to exchange my reward. One Advanced Support Rune please."
[Processing.]
[You've acquired Honor Bearer Rune.]
'What is wrong with this name?' Noel was stunned for a second before his head started experiencing the sharp pain. All the information was transferred to him, but more importantly, he saw another image.
It was an image of a beautiful woman standing in front of an army. She charged at millions of demons together with the soldiers under her command. And once they clashed, her soldiers turned into an army of gods. They were unleashing a might that was beyond what anyone could imagine.
Like its name suggests, the Honor Bearer Rune was a support type rune that empowered an army instead of an individual. It could affect more than a thousand soldiers.
It increased pride and morale, which would bring out the latent potential of an individual. It meant that their strength, speed, and courage would be elevated to a whole new level.
It was no wonder that the Honor Bearer Rune was classified as an Advanced Rune. If he had this rune and led an army of one thousand, killing a hundred thousand demons wouldn't be a hard task.
At the same time, Noel felt a bit scared when he saw millions of demons.
'This image… Don't tell me, it's my ancestor…' Noel gasped. That was right. While the head of the Ardagan family was his ancestor, the one taking care of the family was his wife.
'This image might be the scene where she died. It was because of this battle that she fell for that demon. Are you serious? Even without the Sword Saint or my ancestor, she led an army against millions of demons and exterminated half of them?'
Noel realized that there was still a huge gap between them. And his ancestor was actually stronger than this.
'Hahaha. My family is amazing. This is not good… I'm becoming more excited.' Noel knew that there were still so many things that would surprise him in the future.
'I will graciously take this rune.' Noel clenched his fists, not wanting to disappoint his ancestors.
'Last but not least, the hidden danger… It seems that Josephine was the hidden danger. Since that's the case, don't mind if I take this reward. I wonder what kind of information I will get this time…' Noel recalled that every time he got information about spirits, he would be blown away.
However, Ardagan actually stopped him before he could receive the reward.
[You should finish the battle first before receiving this reward. It's going to be something special.]
