Fortunately, the awkward moment Vielsia had, wishing for a crack in the ground to swallow her up for her impulsive words, did not last long.
Because, as everyone continued to “flee” a few steps forward, a group of figures emerged from the darkness.
They were also monsters.
But not skeletons.
Instead, it was a bizarre species with limbs that seemed to transform into blades, sharp leg blades maintaining a strange balance on the ground, something even Sea Tiger, who considered himself well-traveled, had never seen before.
“What, what is that?” Luna of the Eagle Mercenary Group clenched her staff tightly, the cold light reflected from the sharp limbs of the monsters under the moonlight causing her to shiver all over.
Sorcerers have always been particularly sensitive to assassins.
And the Sword Demons, as the “assassin” class within the demon race, brought a suffocating pressure to Luna. Even though they were still more than ten meters apart, Luna felt a chill around her neck, as if it could be easily slit open at any moment, gushing blood.
Every cell in the female sorcerer’s body was emitting a strong warning, The feeling of being targeted, as if her life no longer belonged to her, made Luna extremely uncomfortable.
Indeed.
The mere killing intent emitted by the Sword Demons, and the souls of countless strong beings that had fallen to them, were a source of fear for the sorcerers and adventurers of the Eagle Mercenary Group.
Luna trembled, her fingers unconsciously clenching the staff so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Her breathing became more rapid, and the Sword Demons standing in the distance like scarecrows seemed to be closing in, their bladed hands and feet appearing as though they would pierce through her body in the next moment.
“No, no.”
The fluctuations of magic began to gather around Luna, an instinctual response. In extreme panic, she would cast whatever spell she could.
“Luna, stop!” Fortunately, Sea Tiger noticed Luna’s distress in time and woke her with a sharp tug, admonishing her in a low voice.
It was Sea Tiger’s voice that brought Luna back to reality, and only then did she see that the bladed monsters were still standing still, a dozen meters away, not having moved at all. What she had imagined were just hallucinations.
No.
That was not a hallucination.
Luna’s forehead and palms were covered in cold sweat.
She realized then that it was the killing intent emanating from the monsters.
Killing intent so tangible it felt solid.
Was it deliberate?
No, no, no.
These bladed monsters hadn’t even given me a proper look.
So, was that killing intent just… unintentionally emitted by them?
Realizing this, Luna was filled with even greater fear.
How many people had these monsters killed to accumulate such a terrifying killing intent?
“Sea Tiger! Quick! Run! Get away from them! These monsters are not like the skeletons, they—they!” Luna was in utter panic.
She now only wanted to turn around and run wildly.
She would rather face the skeletal soldiers in the venue than be within a hundred meters of these blade-tipped monsters.
Luna relied on her sorcerer’s intuition.
And another member of the team, feeling similar to Luna, was also shivering, with an even stronger sense of fear in her heart.
That was Vielsia.
“Teacher, is that… a Sword Demon?”
Sword Demon?
Sea Tiger was unfamiliar with the name.
But from Luna’s horror and from Vielsia’s trembling voice, it was not hard to understand that this name likely referred to another kind of monster, far more powerful than the skeletal soldiers they had encountered before.
“That’s not a monster, that’s a demon… a demon race.”
Vielsia’s words made Sea Tiger pause.
Demon race?
I had heard of this term, but wasn’t it something that existed only in mythical legends from ancient history? And weren’t the demons in those myths an inferior race easily defeated by humans?
But now, it seemed… history was completely wrong.
“Miss Vielsia, what do we do now? Is there any way to deal with the demon race? We can’t really turn back, can we?”
To continue on their way, this was the only path.
With this thought, it was not surprising that these Sword Demons would appear here. They were arranged to prevent anyone from escaping, to intercept them, the ones who slipped through the net!
Realizing this, Vielsia felt somewhat desperate.
Because this meant two things.
One, this group of Sword Demons would not let them go.
Two, the demon race was also involved in this coup, and it might even be said that the coup itself was orchestrated by the demon race.
Why!
Why is this happening?
In history, weren’t the demons known for directly descending in large numbers, using millions from their armies to sweep through openly?
Since when did the demon race also start using strategies?
Although Vielsia knew that within the demon race, there indeed existed a kind known as “Wisdom Demons.”
But historically, the Wisdom Demons were mainly known for their tactics and formations, rarely for engaging in schemes.
So, following this line of thought.
A madman filled with violence was terrifying enough.
But if this madman also learned to be rational, to hide, even to disguise…
Hiss.
Vielsia gasped in a breath of cold air.
“Don’t mind them, just keep moving forward. As long as you don’t attack them first, they won’t harm you.”
Reji’s words rose in such a tense and fearful atmosphere, sounding out of place.
This time, even Vielsia, who always trusted her teacher the most, stopped Reji.
“Teacher! Those are demons, Sword Demons! What, what are you talking about? How could they just… just let us pass!!”
Reji did not heed the elf girl’s anxious intervention and, this time, did not wait for the others. He continued forward alone, towards the Sword Demons standing quietly like scarecrows in the night.
Sea Tiger, leading the Eagle Mercenary Group, stayed put, not daring to follow. Vielsia, anxious for Reji, was the first to catch up, and seeing this, Sophia, biting her lip, also hurried forward.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters…
As the distance closed, Vielsia could even clearly see the purple-black demonic patterns on the skin of the Sword Demons, the blades that had become part of their limbs, a nightmare for many high-ranking beings in history.
There were a dozen Sword Demons, and among them, one appeared slightly slimmer but distinct in the color of its blades and the age shown in its demonic patterns, different from the others.
Vielsia felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave with just a glance from the corner of her eye at that particular one. She quickly diverted her gaze, not looking any deeper, and gradually, the suffocating feeling eased.
The elf girl could hear her own heart pounding, especially when the distance between them was less than a meter. If it weren’t for Reji leading the way, Vielsia would definitely not have been able to resist the instinct to turn around and run.
But fortunately,
Just as her teacher had said earlier, nothing happened; the Sword Demons really didn’t attack them.
Even more so, whether it was Vielsia’s misconception or not, she felt somewhat relieved in the middle of the pass. It was as if those Sword Demons had intentionally or unintentionally restrained their aura, reducing the oppressive feeling they gave off.
Vielsia and Sophia made it through safely, and seeing this, the following Eagle Mercenary Group did likewise.
In the middle, Luna, due to her overwhelming fear, clutched her mouth tightly and shut her eyes. Unaware, her body brushed slightly against one of the Sword Demons, scaring the sorceress so much that her legs gave way, nearly causing her to collapse to the ground.
It was Sea Tiger, calm and quick-witted, who grabbed Luna and quickened their pace, no longer caring to proceed gently and slowly. He urged the mercenary group to speed up because he remembered what Reji had said: as long as they did not attack, these creatures called “Sword Demons” would not harm them.
Finally, everyone in the group made it safely past the Sword Demons.
Several people were really unable to stand steadily and had to kneel or sit on the ground, gasping for breath for a while, as if only then could they begin to recover.
“Teacher… Why? Do Sword Demons have such a trait? They, they won’t attack on their own?”
Humans might not be familiar with Sword Demons, but as a princess with elven heritage, to Vielsia, Reji’s approach was utterly baffling. Not attacking demons, and the demons won’t harm them?
How could that be!
Were all those worlds destroyed by demons just a lie? But on the other hand, the fact was right in front of my eyes. The Sword Demons really didn’t move, even when that female adventurer brushed against a Sword Demon, having physical contact with these historically terrifying creatures, they did not bare their fangs.
Reji shook his head, “Sword Demons have never had such a characteristic.”
“Then, how could we possibly…”
“Because they heard my words.”
