Chapter 164: United Kingdom (8)
Chapter 164: United Kingdom (8)
The sharp clash of spear and rapier rang out in a relentless rhythm.
Sparks erupted with every collision.
The silver-armored knight and the blonde, aristocratic swordsman moved with such blinding speed that even the surrounding demonic humans struggled to track their movements. The shockwaves from their duel tore through nearby zombies, shattering their torsos and sending gore flying in every direction.
“G-get back!”
“Aaargh!”
The nearby demonic humans were no safer; they knew all too well that getting caught in the crossfire would be fatal. The spray of bone, flesh, and blood from those unfortunate enough to be swept into the wake of Han Shin and Albert’s battle sent a chill through the remaining demons.
Albert was a renowned high-ranking Awakener, a man of high standing even among the large clans of France. They had believed—they had needed to believe—that he could kill this monstrous silver knight.
Fortunately, unlike their fallen comrades who had been cut down by the knight in a single exchange, Albert was holding his own in a fierce struggle. That alone brought a wave of relief to the demonic humans.
Finally, the monster’s slaughter had been halted. His advance was stopped. Seeing a proper battle unfold, the demons began to shake off the feeling that this enemy was invincible.
The demonic humans scrambled backward. Knowing they were of no help and would likely only end up as collateral damage, they decided it was better to retreat than to die a meaningless death. In truth, they were currently in no position to worry about anyone else’s life but their own.
Han Shin and Albert weren't the only ones fighting.
There were other demonic humans who had come specifically for Grace, Laysia, and Kang Yujin. Like Albert, these were former high-ranking Awakeners from large French clans who had been treated with respect before turning into demonic humans. They began a coordinated assault on the remaining three.
Immediately after Han Shin and Albert clashed, a barrage of dark magic and arrows rained down on the trio. Laysia instantly manifested a protective shield of divine power to intercept the attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The opposing forces of light and dark reacted violently, triggering a series of explosions.
“Ugh!”
For the first time today, a low groan escaped Laysia’s lips.
In truth, both Laysia and Kang Yujin had expended a significant amount of energy just joining the fray. Jumping from a plane without parachutes and ensuring a safe landing had required an inefficiently large expenditure of power.
They had continued fighting immediately after landing, pushing toward the River Thames. Until reaching this point, both Kang Yujin and Laysia had used Tiamat’s divine power with maximum efficiency to cull the demonic humans. While their recent level-ups had given them more breathing room, they still had their limits.
Furthermore, Laysia had yet to fully recover her original strength. Blocking a concentrated volley of dark magic was proving to be a heavy burden.
They realized that the demonic humans they were facing now were qualitatively different from the rank-and-file they had encountered since entering the hellscape of London. Until now, the dark magic thrown at them had lacked significant destructive force, making it easy to dodge or block.
Sensing the strength of this new wave of attackers, Laysia shouted to Kang Yujin and Grace.
“Watch out! These ones are strong!”
Hearing this, Grace and Kang Yujin abandoned any thought of fighting individually.
When they first met, the two had bickered over Han Shin, and even now, they maintained a subtle, lingering rivalry. Though they acknowledged each other’s skills, their competitive affection for Han Shin meant they often had minor spats behind his back. They had never officially trained together to coordinate their movements. They hadn't felt the need, and they had spent all their time focusing on Han Shin rather than each other.
Yet, in this moment, their teamwork was surprisingly flawless.
As black spears and spheres of dark magic rained down, several demonic humans lunged through the chaos at the three women. The first thing that greeted them was a silver, crescent-shaped arc of sword energy.
One demonic human attempted to parry the strike with a blade coated in dark mana, intending to counterattack Grace. Or rather, he tried to.
“…?!”
Kang Yujin used her psychokinesis to ruthlessly hinder the movements of any demon targeting Grace. While twisting a demon’s neck or crushing their limbs required immense power, simply obstructing the movement of a single arm was relatively easy.
If Kang Yujin had been alone, it would have been a trivial gesture. The demonic human felt a heavy resistance, as if his hand weighed a thousand pounds, but he wasn't completely immobilized.
However, against an opponent like Grace, that split-second delay was catastrophic. To the demonic human, who lived and died by the narrowest of margins, the situation was infuriating. He saw Grace’s silver sword lashing out with its sharp energy, but his body simply wouldn't follow his will.
“Aaaaaagh!!”
Grace’s blade severed the demon’s arm, and blood erupted from the stump like a fountain. His hand, still gripping his weapon, tumbled to the ground. Soon, more demons met similar fates.
“Gah!”
One demon let out a final gasp as his chest was pierced. Another had his head taken off so quickly he couldn't even scream.
The fact that they couldn't perform their normal combat maneuvers while facing Grace’s blade led to fatal consequences every time. Only after five demonic humans had been hollowly slaughtered or incapacitated did the rest turn their attention to the S-rank psychokinetic, Wolyeong.
“Kill that bitch first!”
“You fucking whore!”
Since Laysia’s protective shield was still holding, sniping them with dark magic or arrows was out of the question. Laysia was holding her ground, fending off those who rushed her with martial arts while maintaining the barrier. As a battle priest of Tiamat, she was capable of maintaining holy spells even while engaged in melee combat.
This forced the enemies into close quarters, where Kang Yujin remained safely protected by Grace and Laysia. The three maintained a formation that allowed them to support one another as the battle raged on.
Unlike the duel between Han Shin and Albert, this skirmish left plenty of room for the lesser demonic humans to intervene. In an attempt to wear the trio down or create an opening, the rank-and-file demons began to swarm them.
The three women immediately sensed the shift. They all shared the same thought: This is annoying.
Even if the enemies were insignificant individually, dealing with such numbers drained not only their concentration but their actual reserves of divine power.
Thwack!
“Aaargh!!”
A demonic human who lunged at Kang Yujin was kicked by Laysia, sent flying like a bowling ball into his comrades behind him.
I can't keep this up, Kang Yujin thought.
She decided she had no choice but to expend a large amount of energy at once. She glanced at Grace, who immediately understood her intent.
Without a single word, Grace and Kang Yujin reached the same conclusion about what needed to be done. They knew their thoughts were aligned just by making eye contact. It was a strange sensation.
Both women acted on that shared thought instantly.
Until now, Kang Yujin had focused on supporting Grace’s combat. She ceased that role and decided to unleash her psychokinesis on the surrounding fodder.
Clad in her black robes, Kang Yujin raised her right hand, projecting her psychokinetic field to target the common demonic humans surrounding them. Even with her eyes closed, she could sense exactly where everyone was through her power.
The demons felt a strange sensation—an instinctive warning. But the moment they realized the danger, it was too late.
Kang Yujin’s psychokinesis began indiscriminately shattering their limbs. Arms and legs snapped at grotesque angles. Clutching their dangling appendages, the demons screamed in unison.
“My arm!! Aaaaagh!!”
“Gaaaaah!!”
Those who lost their ability to fight writhed in agony on the ground, rolling in the dirt or collapsing while clutching their broken limbs.
“Haah… haah…”
Kang Yujin showed clear signs of exhaustion, having extended her psychokinesis to neutralize every common demon in the vicinity. However, the situation had improved significantly now that the surrounding threats were incapacitated.
Yet, many more demonic humans remained, and the likelihood of another wave of attacks was high. This stalemate was not a good sign for Han Shin’s party.
Their ultimate goal was to destroy the Black Spire; every second wasted here was a second they couldn't afford.