“What are those insects?”
The man wearing the orc fighter armor growled like a beast. He was looking at Burren and Runaan, who were running down to Cebu village.
“Th-they are Zieghart trainees.”
The Red Eye Demon, who was wearing a mask with an eye drawn on it, knelt and answered.
“I’m sure you said that those brats had returned.”
Murderous intent could be felt from his voice. It was completely different from his usual calm and composed voice.
“I-I’m sure they left. I came back after confirming that fact…”
“That means somebody among them had realized you were tailing them. What an idiot.”
The man raised his feet and smacked his shoulder.
“Keuh!”
The masked man groaned without moving, despite one of his shoulders being crushed.
“Tsk.”
The man clicked his tongue violently, then stood on the boulder.
The Zieghart trainees had already arrived at the village and were running towards the wooden fence that was being broken through.
“Are those two the ones?”
Runaan and Burren killed the orcs that were breaking the fences in a single strike. The man breathed out roughly while watching them.
“P-probably not. There was a black-haired girl who was better than them.”
“Where is she?”
“Judging from the way she can’t be found anywhere, she must be hiding somewhere and watching.”
“Hmm…”
The man wearing the orc fighter armor crossed his arms and looked down on the village.
“They fight well.”
The Zieghart trainees drew a line, as if they made a formation, and were killing all the orcs that went over the wooden fence.
“They aren’t going to be enough to break through.”
Looking back at the masked man, he gestured with his chin.
“Send the green demons.”
“Pardon? Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t meddle with Ziegharts…?”
“Do you think they came back here without doing anything after noticing you? They must’ve sent a reinforcement request to the branch office, and it’s too late to stop it. The best course of action right now is to finish the job here as soon as possible, then leave after burning everything to the ground.”
“…Understood.”
The masked man nodded, disappearing into the shadows.
“Hmm…”
The man went down the mountain while flexing his wrist. A smile appeared on his mouth that could be seen slightly.
“To have returned despite having been spared, your luck must’ve ended after being chosen by the Ziegharts.”
***
Slash!
Burren cut the orc running towards him in half, then jumped over the half-destroyed wooden fence.
“Stand in front of the wooden fence! People will be in danger if the orcs come over the fence!”
“Yes!”
The collateral trainees answered loud and clear, creating a formation in front of the wooden fence.
Whir!
Burren turned his head, noticing the frost spreading from his left side.
It was Runaan. The frost on her sword also covered the ground, hindering the orcs’ movements.
Clank!
The frost spread into the air, shedding blood, and the orcs collapsed—unable to do anything.
‘That’s unexpected.’
Runaan always stuck next to Raon, so the fact that she had come with him without following his opinion was unexpected.
‘But I’m glad.’
The orcs’ numbers were one thing, but their ferocity was on a different level than the ones they had faced the day before.
If Runaan and the trainees from the vassal families weren’t there, the wooden fence would’ve been completely broken by then, resulting in many casualties in the village.
“Don’t take the orcs’ attacks head on! Deflect them, then counterattack!”
While giving out appropriate instructions, Burren kept slashing the orcs. Since he had already done it before, it wasn’t too difficult to command the troops according to the situation.
‘We should be able to stop them at this rate.’
Even though the orcs were stronger, the trainees were more than enough to defend against them since they had the experience of fighting them.
‘However…’
If they were really Eden like Raon had said, that wasn’t going to be the end of it. For sure…
Rustle.
While Burren was thinking about the future, the forest in front of the village started to move.
‘No, it’s not the forest.’
Mysterious men hiding their entire bodies with green hooded robes popped up from the forest. They numbered over forty at a rough count.
“Green demons!”
Burren screamed, gripping his sword tightly.
‘Damn it! They were really Eden.’
The green demons were Eden’s lesser warriors, and they possessed the characteristics of orcs, goblins, and kobolds.
“Runaan!”
While raising his aura to the extreme, he called for Runaan.
“We are going to fight in front. Support us from behind!”
“Mhm.”
Runaan immediately responded, spreading an even thicker frost towards the approaching green demons.
Smack! Smaack!
The orcs drew the axes from off their backs and around their waists, swinging them towards the trainees.
“Deflect the blows!”
Burren deflected the axe with his sword and cut off the green demon’s head.
Splash!
The sensation of cutting through human flesh gave him goosebumps, but he endured it by biting his lip.
“Don’t consider them human! Cut their heads off in a single strike!”
Even in his flustered state, Burren was properly using the Zieghart swordsmanship. He advanced while sending out sharp strikes.
“Haa!”
Runaan spread the frost from her sword towards Burren and the trainees that were advancing.
Whir!
The frost went past them, dropping down on the green demon’s heads.
Crack!
The green demons’ clothes and skin were frozen and their movements slowed.
“Do it now! Charge!”
Burren wasn’t just commanding them. He was the first one to charge onto the green demons, starting to kill them.
“We can win!”
His chest stung despite saying that. There were still many green demons left, and the trainees were getting tired.
Moreover…
Swoosh!
The green demons who had goblins and kobold’s characteristics didn’t approach them. Instead, they started firing poison needles, or spreading poison mists.
“Cover your mouths!”
Burren took his clothes to cover his nose and mouth, then parried the poison needles fired at him.
“Ugh!”
“Keuh!”
“D-damn it!”
Since there were too many green demons firing the poison needles and there were multiple green demons approaching them, the trainees started to step back one by one.
“Keuh…”
Burren breathed out roughly. His head felt dizzy from parrying the poison needles and fighting while holding his breath.
“Haa!”
He glanced around, hearing Runaan’s shout. She was overpowering the green demon with intense frost, but the fact that she had come to the front line meant that the situation was already at its worst.
“Kieee!”
The green demons were cunning. The moment Runaan’s frost spread, they stepped back and started throwing poison needles and poison smoke.
“Huff!”
“Ugh!”
Upon inhaling the poison smoke, the trainees’ limbs started wobbling.
“H-hold on! We still…”
He felt like the command he had just given was in vain. The strength left his arms and his legs trembled.
‘A-at this rate…’
They couldn’t last for long. As the word annihilation kept coming back to his mind, a powerful energy burst up from the left side.
Bang!
* * *
* * *
A yellow aura crushed against them like a tornado to defeat all the green demons, and Martha Zieghart was standing there alone.
“Kill them all!”
Following Martha’s command, the trainees that remained next to Raon rushed onto the battlefield.
“N-now is the time! Kill them all!”
Burren grit his teeth and brandished his sword. The trainees, including him, had inhaled poison smoke. However, he couldn’t miss the opportunity.
“Go for it!”
At Martha’s aura-filled strike, the green demons’ axes and swords were shattered.
‘It's perfect timing.’
Thanks to her well-timed surprise attack, the green demons were getting wiped out, unable to find an opening to attack back.
‘We did it!’
Raon was still nowhere to be seen, but it looked like they could win.
“Don’t let a single one escape!”
Burren grit his teeth and rushed towards the green demons.
“Until the end… huh?”
He was going to swing his sword and follow them to Cebu Mountain, but he stood still, ducking his head.
“Wh-what is it…”
Something was moving inside the red cloud and fog that seemed to cover the entire forest.
He could hear somebody gulping from behind.
Step.
A mysterious man wearing puffed up green armor made his appearance.
He was wearing an orc fighter helmet with a cross shaped scar on the forehead and a bucktooth rolling up to the tip of his nose.
Burren’s hand holding the sword trembled.
“Th-that orc fighter armor! Green War Demon!”
Green War Demon was one of Eden's lower executives, and he was a monster that had the orc fighter’s strength transferred to his human body.
“R-retreat!”
Burren stepped back, his trembling hand holding his sword. His limbs trembled as he faced that frightening presence.
“Ah…”
Runaan couldn’t hide her trembling eyes either.
“Green War Demon, huh?”
On the other hand, Martha licked her lips. Her eyes looked like she was going to attack him right away, but she was also aware that she couldn’t win on her own.
“You are making it annoying.”
The Green War Demon’s mouth opened. What came out was a growl full of murderous intent, as if he had really become an orc fighter.
“I gave you the chance to return after playing around a little, yet you threw it away. That was completely stupid.”
He grabbed the double-edged axes on his back. An overwhelming wave of energy rampaged through the trainees, taking their breath away.
The red energy burning on the axe was the combative energy that only mid upper-level monsters could use. And Eden’s executives were all capable of using that combative energy.
“Keuh!”
“Kuh!”
The trainees were barely standing, biting their lips.
‘We would’ve already collapsed if we didn’t have that training.’
Burren’s fingernail scratched his hand. If Rimmer hadn’t trained them to withstand his pressure, he would’ve been kneeling and waiting for his death.
“So, you withstood my pressure despite being a mere trainee. You are indeed a Zieghart.”
The Green War Demon grinned.
“But you are stupid. You are going to die because you’ve acted rashly, without even knowing your own abilities.”
“Hmm…”
Raon’s warning resounded in Burren’s head.
“We won’t know until we try, you disgusting bastard!”
Martha stepped up while provoking him. She bent her hand backward to signal Runaan and Burren.
Seeing her hand signaling them to attack him at once in three seconds, their eyes glowed intensely.
“Whatever you do is pointless.”
“Shut up! Your breath stinks!”
Martha dashed at the center while Burren and Runaan penetrated from both sides.
“Do you think you can do it together, just the three of you?”
The Green War Demon swung his axe horizontally. A heavy combative energy engulfed the space, following an intense wind pressure.
“Kuaaah!”
“Kya!”
“Kuh!”
Burren’s sword was broken, Runaan bounced back, and Martha knelt down. It all happened in a single strike. The Green War Demon was on a completely different level from the three of them.
“Aah…”
“E-even those three can’t match up to them…”
“Then how…”
“What about Raon? Where is he?!”
“H-He must’ve run away. Why would he be here after watching that?!”
Despair filled the trainees’ eyes. The three of them could defeat all the trainees combined, yet they had crumbled in a single strike. They couldn’t figure out a way to win.
However, they couldn’t run away either. Forget running away, they couldn’t even breathe properly because of the Green War Demon’s murderous intent.
“Did you think we let you go because you were so strong?”
The Green War Demon walked towards them with an even more powerful murderous intent.
“You are just larvae riding on a huge tree named Zieghart. You don’t have any ability, might, or willpower. Did you think you were some sort of big deal?”
Every single one of his steps ignited a flame of combative energy from the ground.
“Ah…”
“Keuh…”
Burren grabbed his broken sword tightly and Runaan raised her body with trembling arms.
“D-damn it!”
Martha’s fighting spirit hadn’t faded away yet. She grit her teeth and raised her aura.
“You are the best among this pile of trash.”
The Green War Demon walked towards Martha, who was standing at the front.
“I guess, since you managed to notice that gaze.”
He growled and stood in front of Martha.
“Ugh…”
Unable to shake off the orc fighter armor pressure, Martha bit her lip and her body trembled.
“Since it came to this, I’d better trample on all the Zieghart’s sprouts.”
The Green War Demon raised his double-edged axe, his smile full of murderous intent.
“Then die.”
“Ah!”
Martha’s eyes widened. The moment the Green War Demon was about to swing his axe, a pitch-black shadow appeared behind him.
Raon Zieghart.
The boy that had never shown himself so far swung his sword.
“No. You die.”
Surrounded by a crimson flame, Raon’s sword dashed towards the Green War Demon’s neck.
