60
Chapter 60
Screech!
Tuntun-i took flight toward the next village.
As always, I could leave the cleanup to Kanto and the Cavalry.
It might seem like I'm just giving them the scraps, but their main job is dealing with the Worshippers.
One might wonder why they're still hunting Worshippers when they have horses.
Of course, the Cavalry can take down a Low-tier Demon by swarming them.
Even a Low-tier Demon couldn't withstand the collective strength of a group of seasoned warriors.
Still, the reason they only face Worshippers is that casualties are inevitable otherwise.
Low-tier doesn't mean easy. They are beings whose reaction speeds fundamentally surpass those of humans.
The Cavalryman drawing aggro at the front is practically guaranteed to die.
The Tribe Alliance has a birth rate near zero. The loss of a single soldier is a heavy blow.
To minimize losses, warriors handle the Worshippers, while asymmetric assets—like Rake—take on the demons.
Hero Units for Hero Units, and Normal Units for Normal Units.
That's just the basics of a real-time strategy game, isn't it?
Shall I take a quick peek at our precious Normal Units in action?
I turned my 360-degree vision around.
"Finish them in one swing!"
"Take their heads!"
Our warriors were mowing down the Worshippers who were panicking now that the demon was dead.
The Cavalry truly are the tanks of the Middle Ages.
Worshippers have slightly better physical abilities than ordinary people, but they're still just slightly stronger humans.
Barbarian warriors, who grew up throwing axes and slashing at each other, are just as physically capable.
Throw in decades of honed killing skills and the mobility of a horse?
"Aaagh!"
"Wh-where is God!"
"Master...!"
It was a complete slaughter. The Worshippers fell without ever managing to stop the Cavalry.
At this rate, they'll wrap things up and catch up in three minutes. I can leave them to it.
"That way. It's over there."
While this was happening, Tuntun-i arrived at the spot Rake pointed to, wings flapping.
It was the second demon house in the second village.
"I'm going."
Rake leaped down. Crash! The roof collapsed under her weight.
Another demon is about to turn to ash. For the creature, it'll be a sudden death.
At this point, it's not a ninja massacre, it's a Rake massacre.
The scorpion-like demon inside the house made a clicking sound and turned toward Rake, but the outcome was already decided.
Slash!
Rake's Curved Sword severed the tail and split the head open.
The Scorpion Demon turned to ash without even a single scream.
Another three-second kill.
"Six more and we'll be at the city."
Rake climbed onto the roof with a relaxed smile.
The time it takes to climb back up after a kill is shorter than the time it takes to jump down.
She's become a complete pro.
"There! That's it!"
Paya and Tuntun-i were hunting Devil's Sights.
They can fly, but they're slow and weak, so they're helplessly torn apart by Tuntun-i's claws.
"There are quite a few of them."
This village has an unusually high number of Devil's Sights. Was it a strategic location?
- I'll give you a hand.
Nodding, Rake threw shards of wood from the roof she had just destroyed.
The Devil's Sights were skewered and fell to the ground.
The remaining sights were taken out by arrows flying in from somewhere.
"Lord Mallak and Guardian Rake have defeated the demons again!"
"They are no match for us! Kill them all and follow Lord Mallak!"
It was support from the Cavalry, who had arrived in the meantime.
Everyone seemed emboldened, as if they hadn't suffered any casualties.
Maybe I should help them out a bit, just in case.
I raised five zombies and gave the order: 'Attack anyone not on a horse.'
They should serve as decent meat shields.
- Let's head to the next village.
"Yes!"
The Mallak Special Task Force killed six more demons without any major surprises.
They were all Low-tier Demons, and it took less than three seconds to kill them.
Having conquered eight villages in less than two hours, we entered the city.
- Will you be alright?
I asked Rake.
We had already discussed it, but I was still worried.
Even if she's grown stronger with the Individual Blessing, there are three Mid-tier demons.
Even if one of them is only level 6 or 7, it would be a struggle.
"It's no problem."
Rake simply nodded with confidence.
"You'll be supporting us, Lord Mallak. We will be victorious."
Isn't she being too confident?
My support consists of five zombies that get torn apart in a second and some DoT Heal.
- I'll do my best.
I didn't feel like arguing, so I just let it go.
If I could just use the Totem of Confusion on those three Mid-tiers, it would be an easy win.
But life is rarely that simple.
- Let's go.
I steeled myself in my own way.
Paya steered Tuntun-i toward the Lord's Mansion, and Rake leaped down.
It's the same pattern.
Crash!
We penetrated the mansion.
- Hmm.
This enemy camp is a bit suspicious.
All the lights are off, and cobwebs are sprawled everywhere, reminiscent of a haunted house.
There's also some mysterious powder floating around.
If there are cobwebs, does that mean there's a Spider Demon?
Screech!
It really is a Spider Demon.
A giant spider with tentacles sprouting from its legs instead of hair appeared from the opposite side.
Since it's a Mid-tier, its size is imposing, but it doesn't look particularly strong.
Where are the other two? Since the spider showed itself first, this feels like a trap.
Rake drew her Curved Sword and pricked up her ears. She seemed to be searching for the remaining two.
While they were scouting each other...
Swoosh! A shadow flickered behind Rake.
"...!"
Rake pivoted quickly to dodge and spotted something moving in the dark.
The shimmering shadow began to take form. Is it a stealth ability?
The shadow revealed itself as a giant leopard with green light emanating from its eyes.
The spider and the leopard moved slowly, pressing Rake from both the front and back.
- There's one more.
"I'm keeping it in mind."
Rake moved as cautiously as possible since the last one hadn't been spotted yet.
I used my 360-degree vision to track their movements and activated the Totem of Healing.
When this blessing is used, the area of effect glows with a blue light.
It should help a bit in securing the field of vision.
The soft light pushed back the darkness around Rake.
- There's a demon above.
A demon that looked like a moth was clinging to the ceiling.
It wasn't just a moth, but a grotesque one with four massive tentacles sprouting from its lower body.
Ah, I've seen that one on a 'World's Ugliest Bug' ranking.
I think it was based on the Ganges moth.
That thing must be the source of the mysterious powder.
"What a hideous creature."
Rake grimaced as she shifted her gaze to confirm the moth.
A spider, a moth, and a leopard.
Since they're Mid-tiers, they likely have one special ability each.
Stealth for the leopard, powder for the moth, and webs for the spider, perhaps.
- Anything wrong with your body?
The powder floating everywhere seemed a bit suspicious.
Is it a powder that causes status ailments?
"At first it bothered me a bit, but now it's fine. It's thanks to you, Lord Mallak."
Rake replied while continuing the psychological battle with the demons.
It seems there were harmful effects. They must have been nullified the moment my Totem of Healing was activated.
Let's cross the powder off the list of threats.
Growl!
The Leopard Demon couldn't stand the long standoff and pounced.
Its speed is quite impressive—faster than the rabbits I saw before.
"Hmph."
Rake narrowly dodged the attack this time.
The spider didn't miss the opening and spat out webs.
Smoldering webs shot toward Rake.
Smoke coming from webs? Is it some kind of acidic webbing?
There was no need to warn her. Rake evaded them with a tumble.
Her movements are more impressive than any acrobat I've seen on TV.
It would have been threatening if the moth had attacked at the same time.
Screech!
The moth, diving from behind, got hit by the webbing and let out a scream.
Sizzle! The areas it touched began to melt. It really is acidic webbing.
Ignoring that, the leopard and the spider attempted to attack again.
A few exchanges of blows followed.
Watching them clash, I realized something.
Despite having different special effects, these three demons had zero synergy.
The spider didn't even distinguish between friend or foe; it just spat webs wherever Rake seemed to be staying put.
The leopard, which should be an assassin with its stealth and agility, was acting like a main tanker just to keep Rake in place.
Screech!
The moth, unable to fully spread its wings due to restricted movement, just kept getting hit by the webs.
These bastards have clearly never fought as a team.
I was tense because there were three of them, but they're just a disorganized mess.
Now it makes sense. Why else would three Mid-tiers be in such a small area?
Since they can't even do the job of one Mid-tier demon, they probably had to team up to take over Blutan.
Their levels all seem to be around 5. They might even be weaker than that.
I was just starting to relax, thinking things would be easy.
'Lord Mallak! Lord Mallak!'
I hear Muri's voice from afar.
Is she shouting into Totem No. 1? What's happening?
- I'm moving for a moment.
"Yes."
Thinking Rake could hold them off, I briefly shifted my focus to Totem No. 1.
"The Tribe Alliance headquarters is under attack!"
Ah, nothing in this life ever comes easy.