Chapter 162: United Kingdom (6)
Chapter 162: United Kingdom (6)
"The hypocrites have appeared!"
The arrival of the Moon Shadow Party—followers of the Benevolent Gods, including Tiamat’s follower Laysia—was the very scenario the demonic humans feared most. A report was dispatched immediately.
At Big Ben, the Black Spire had been completed and was currently hard at work drilling a hole through the dimensional barrier. Since its completion two hours prior, the spire had been functioning exactly as the demons intended, successfully piercing the world's defenses.
Mammon’s demons were already well-aware of how the battle in Aokigahara, Japan, had unfolded and how the Black Spire there had been destroyed. By seizing control of France’s large clans and turning their members into demonic humans, they had gathered detailed intelligence on every aspect of that conflict.
They knew, to their astonishment, that a mere four followers of the Benevolent Gods had overwhelmed an army of demons. They knew that a single warrior known as the "Knight" had broken through countless demonic ranks alone to shatter the spire.
The Knight.
The demons had recorded and databased every piece of information regarding the enemies they had faced thus far. Consequently, they had enough data to recognize Laysia through their logs, and they had belatedly identified Grace from her previous battle in Nippur.
As for the psychokinetic known as Wolyeong and the silver knight possessing monstrous strength—the Knight—they were not in the database. The demons concluded they were new followers of the Benevolent Gods.
[Block their path immediately.]
They had already devised a plan for how to respond the moment the Moon Shadow Party intervened on the battlefield. This time, Mammon’s demons were determined to kill them once and for all. To that end, they had kept their most elite demonic humans out of the general fray, holding them in reserve.
Though the Moon Shadow Party had appeared sooner than expected, the demons remained composed, as they were simply sticking to the plan. The territory they controlled in London was now a city of death, crawling with traps and ambushes.
[They are the ones in a hurry. Everyone, stay at your posts. Proceed as planned.]
While many of Mammon’s demons had used Ego Artifacts to corrupt Awakeners into demonic humans, the one holding the highest authority was Teobe. Most of the demons currently occupying France held the rank of Count, but Teobe was a Marquis—a higher-ranking and far more powerful entity.
Unlike the other demons of Mammon, Teobe was unique. His loyalty to Mammon was absolute. Despite being a Marquis, he had joined this high-risk operation without a shred of self-interest. While most other demons were gambling on this invasion to break through the stagnant demonic hierarchy and satisfy their personal greed, Teobe’s primary desire was simply to secure a gateway to Earth for his master.
He gathered information with extreme caution and acted with decisive boldness. It was his leadership that had led to the swift occupation of London and the successful construction of the Black Spire.
Now, if he could only eliminate those four troublesome pests—the lackeys of the Benevolent Gods—everything would be perfect. He waited for the moment he could bring his kin and the Evil Gods, currently trapped in the loathsome Nippur, onto Earth.
★ ★ ★
Han Shin’s group dropped directly between the British Awakeners and Big Ben, which had been transformed into the Black Spire.
They had intentionally landed at the very front of the line, where the concentration of demonic humans and zombies was highest. By instantly wiping out the surrounding enemies, they provided the British Awakeners with much-needed breathing room.
Those who had felt like they were drowning just moments ago could finally breathe again.
"Attack the buildings!"
Bang! Boom!
Crash! Rumble!
Surging with newfound strength, the British Awakeners launched a fierce counterattack. The demonic humans and zombies blocking the front had been the core of the besieging force. With that core annihilated by Han Shin’s group in an instant, the tide turned.
The Awakeners no longer had to worry about their front, and the realization that they were no longer surrounded gave them the psychological edge needed to push back.
The demonic humans were thrown into chaos by the sudden reversal. Watching their comrades being mowed down by spears, cleaved by sword energy, shattered by fists, or torn limb from limb in mid-air by psychokinesis was a sight that inspired more terror than rage. Though they had been confident in their newfound strength, simply witnessing the battle convinced them that these were foes they could never defeat.
And they were right.
"Aaaagh!"
"Run!"
"Gah!"
As the British Awakeners pushed forward, the demonic humans in the rear found their retreat cut off. Realizing they were now the ones being surrounded, they lost all will to fight and tried to flee.
The Awakeners did not let them go. The demonic humans were slaughtered systematically—burned alive by fireballs or cut down by arrows and spears. Fueled by the memory of their fallen comrades, the Awakeners showed no mercy.
There was no room for prisoners. No one stopped the vengeful slaughter. Emotionally and strategically, the priority was to kill the demonic humans and reach the Black Spire as quickly as possible.
While the British Awakeners handled the cleanup, Han Shin’s group was already charging toward the spire.
Demonic humans had occupied the buildings and set booby traps along the roads, determined to wound the Moon Shadow Party by any means necessary. They had been told by their command that following the plan would lead to the enemy's death, and they were ordered to obey.
While those who had witnessed Han Shin’s initial slaughter were shaken, those who hadn't seen it yet were still burning with fighting spirit.
"Come on. I’ll pick you off from here."
Boom! Crash! Thud!
The faint sound of explosions and the heavy vibration of the earth reached the demonic humans hiding in the buildings. Something with immense mass was slamming into the ground nearby.
These demonic humans were hunters using bows, their arrowheads coated in lethal poison. They were stationed in five-story buildings overlooking the intersection—a position that guaranteed a clear line of fire.
Hiding by the windows, they peered out and waited for their targets. The roar of battle from the front made their hearts race with anxiety, but they fought to maintain their composure.
"Hurry... hurry up and get here."
"Aaaagh!!"
Suddenly, zombies and demonic humans were sent flying into the intersection like bowling pins. The demonic humans who had set up positions in the street were crushed by their own flying allies, tumbling across the pavement in a tangled mess.
'He’s here.'
One demonic human, seeing the target arrive, drew his bowstring and aimed out the window.
The knight enveloped in a silver aura appeared. The moment he entered range, the hunter released his string.
He wasn't the only one. Dozens of hunters stationed in the surrounding buildings fired simultaneously, raining a hail of arrows down on Han Shin.
'He can't dodge this.'
'Please, hit him!'
'Just one! Just land one!'
The arrows converged from every blind spot. It seemed impossible to avoid them all. They were confident that even a single scratch from their poison—which rotted flesh and destroyed veins instantly—would be enough to kill the Knight.
To the demonic humans, the other Earth Awakeners were a joke. They believed that if they could just take out the followers of the Benevolent Gods, the rest would be easy.
The demonic humans watching with bated breath soon gasped in shock and despair.
Han Shin handled the ambush with ease. Moving his spear with blinding speed, he deflected the incoming arrows while charging forward. Even though the intersection was still cluttered with zombies and demonic humans, the Silver Knight moved with ethereal grace, leaping off the heads and shoulders of the undead to propel himself forward.
He cleared the kill zone in an instant without a single arrow touching him.
The demonic humans had counted on the zombies acting as a meat shield to slow him down, but he had used them as stepping stones instead. They scrambled to nock a second arrow.
The problem was that Han Shin had already broken through before they could fire again. Those who still had a line of sight tried to take a shot, but if a coordinated ambush had failed, a desperate follow-up stood no chance.
CRASH!
Rumble!
"What...?!"
The demonic humans were startled by a thunderous roar coming from behind them. They turned to see their own buildings collapsing.
While Han Shin had been drawing their fire and attention, Laysia, Grace, and Kang Yujin had decided it was more efficient to simply level the buildings.
Using her psychokinesis, Kang Yujin shattered the load-bearing pillars at the base of the structures. Deprived of their support, the buildings were instantly covered in spiderweb cracks before imploding under their own weight.
Creeeak... Crack... BOOM!
"Damn it! It’s coming down! Get out!"
"Jump out the window!"
Desperate to survive, the demonic humans threw themselves from the fifth and sixth floors.
"Aaaaaagh!!"
But there was no safe landing. Though their reinforced bodies saved them from instant death, they landed with shattered limbs, only to be buried under the falling debris or finished off by Kang Yujin’s psychokinesis.
The snipers who had tried to ambush Han Shin were crushed to death beneath the ruins of their own vantage points.
Executing their roles with perfect efficiency, Han Shin’s party continued their relentless advance toward the Black Spire.