Chapter 215: Reinvasion (12)
Chapter 215: Reinvasion (12)
The US Awakeners moved quickly to support Han Shin’s group.
While traveling by military aircraft, they had already ordered the vanguard to depart and prepared vehicles in advance to swiftly cross the radioactive Desert of Death.
Since they had already scouted their intended route of advancement, they expected to make rapid progress.
However, the massive swarms of monsters that Han Shin’s group had easily broken through proved to be a different story for them. As the US Awakeners tried to fight their way through, they found themselves struggling.
The United States was known for operating and training Awakeners more systematically than any other nation in the world.
Because Awakeners in the US also functioned as a type of soldier, military training was mandatory. Consequently, they were considered the best at executing large-scale combat involving the greatest number of personnel among all nations.
But in the end, what mattered most was individual ability.
While the US Awakeners had brought along those who were strong in their own right, the monsters—made more ferocious and powerful by the dark mana leaking from the Black Spire—were by no means easy opponents.
Sssssss!
“Aaaaaargh!”
An Awakener let out a painful scream as they were struck by venom.
Victims fell as venom flew from all directions, and the monsters felt no fear toward the US Awakeners.
The monsters facing Han Shin’s group had instinctively sensed that they were facing beings they could never hope to harm.
The US Awakeners, however, despite their strength, did not possess the same overwhelming power as Han Shin’s party.
Though they suffered casualties while locked in a life-and-death struggle with the monsters, they eventually cleared them out and resumed their advance.
“Damn it...! To take losses from mere monsters like these!!”
The commander leading the US Awakeners fumed with rage.
They had come to fight Demonic Humans and had prepared rigorously for it. It was infuriating to suffer damage from nothing more than swarms of giant cobras and scorpions.
In response to the commander’s outburst, his subordinates all wore deep frowns.
Everyone realized they needed a cold reality check. They now understood that helping the Moon Shadow Party, who were currently leading the assault on the Demonic Humans, was far more difficult than they had imagined.
“The monsters were stronger than expected. This isn't a good sign.”
“He’s right, Captain. If the monsters are this strong, there’s a high probability the Demonic Humans are even more powerful.”
“We examined the monster carcasses. Everything—from their size and skeletal structure to their muscle mass and toxicity—was enhanced compared to the ones previously discovered and reported.”
“Phew...”
Taking a deep breath to calm his flushing face, the commander mulled over his subordinates' words.
Even now, they were moving more slowly than before, maintaining strict perimeter security for fear of being ambushed by monsters.
They were evacuating the wounded to the rear, and they even had to rescue innocent civilians who had formed tent villages, as discovered through prior reconnaissance.
“Dammit...! Everything is going to hell! At this rate, we won't be able to help the Moon Shadow Party at all!”
The US Awakeners possessed strong patriotism and an equally strong sense of pride.
After all, they were the strongest nation.
Thus, they had been confident that assisting the Moon Shadow Party—the group currently hailed as the hottest and perhaps strongest in the world for fighting demons and Demonic Humans—would not be a major issue.
But they were suffering losses against monsters, not even Demonic Humans. If they took more damage, they would be in danger and unable to provide significant help, so they were advancing with extreme caution.
Furthermore, knowing there were civilians ahead meant they had to split their forces again to escort them to a safety zone.
Though they were the vanguard and reinforcements were on the way, a self-deprecating thought crossed the commander's mind: would any of it even matter?
Their goal wasn't to generate profit through hunting; it was to kill the Demonic Humans—the traitors helping the invasion of Earth. To that end, they had intended to use modern weaponry without hesitation and receive full support.
But as the results showed, they couldn't.
The rapidly constructed Black Spire was protected by a barrier even more sophisticated than the one in London.
Compared to the previous one that only blocked projectiles, this barrier also drastically dampened the power of any energy entering from the outside.
As a result, they were even more powerless, unable to receive support from the cutting-edge weapons the US possessed.
★ ★ ★
BOOM!
The Demonic Humans, who had swarmed out with high spirits, witnessed the final rock wall shatter and scatter in all directions.
This was the Knight who had been smashing through the Demonic Humans' defensive lines in this manner.
It was their first time seeing it in person, rather than through a familiar.
The ego artifacts had made them strong. Mallos, Catric, and Ereon had gained physical bodies and exuded a powerful presence, sending morale skyrocketing—but that morale was instantly dampened.
Alongside Klaus, who followed right behind, Mallos, Catric, and Ereon saw a knight clad in silver full-body armor suddenly leap into the air with a spear and slam down toward the ground.
Crash!
The ground, made of black rock, buckled, and stone fragments flew everywhere.
Then, the corpse of a Demonic Human pierced by Han Shin’s spear was torn to shreds as if a bomb had detonated inside his body. Bits of organs and blood splattered onto the surrounding Demonic Humans.
“H-heeeek!!”
A Demonic Human, drenched in blood and organ fragments, was terrified by the sudden appearance of the Knight who had dropped right in front of him and obliterated his comrade.
Until just a moment ago, he had been a deranged Demonic Human who enjoyed torturing civilians.
Those who enjoy tormenting and destroying others often value their own lives above all else. This man was no exception.
As death descended before him, his lingering attachment to life turned into paralyzing fear... but he couldn't follow that thought any further.
Before he could even register what was happening, his head was severed and tumbled to the ground.
On his way here, Han Shin had seen countless civilians suffering and being sacrificed.
He couldn't help but be enraged.
However, Grace had warned him that expressing that rage and being swept away by emotion was not ideal.
Han Shin’s eyes were now colder than ever. Everything happening around him entered his vision and was processed by his mind.
‘The newly appeared ones number 112. Three of them are strong.’
Han Shin’s senses had become incredibly sharp since he became the Proxy of Tiamat.
A Dragon Knight’s sensory perception was more sensitive and vast than that of any other Awakener.
A Dragon Knight is one who communes with and wields the power of dragons, the strongest of all mortal races.
And that dragon was Tiamat, who had now become a God.
Han Shin had evolved another step in the meantime.
He hadn't suppressed his unbearable, pure rage with mere empty words.
Taking Grace’s advice to heart, he had cooled that rage into a frigid calm, using it as fuel to heighten his concentration.
Han Shin constantly searched for the best possible move he could make.
To do so, he sought to know every piece of information in his surroundings. His eyes and ears weren't enough, so he used the Power of the Dragon to expand his senses to their limit.
Normally, the dragon power Han Shin used manifested as a vivid silver aura released externally.
But now, Han Shin had realized how to use this dragon power to enhance his sensory perception.
Even with his eyes closed, he could sense everything through a presence detection imbued with a dragon power so subtle it was nearly impossible to notice.
Thus, Han Shin sensed that the Demonic Humans ruled by Asmodeus’s demons were somehow different from the others.
He swung his spear, lopping off the limbs of Demonic Humans, and thrust it forward, bursting their heads like watermelons.
The Demonic Humans felt like they were going insane as the knight in silver armor slaughtered their comrades without pause, even as he was drenched in blood.
They realized they might be next.
The biggest problem for the Demonic Humans was that Han Shin wasn't alone.
Following behind Han Shin was the female knight Grace, charging with her shield forward and sword swinging... and Sitri, who shredded the bodies of Demonic Humans with her whip sword.
Mallos, Catric, and Ereon realized that the ones who had pushed this far were no pushovers.
However, for the three of them, the Knight and Grace weren't the issue.
It was the woman in silver armor fighting with the whip sword.
They froze as they watched Sitri, their former superior, slaughtering Demonic Humans.
Having served Sitri for a long time, they prided themselves on knowing her skill with the whip sword better than anyone.
They had suffered bitter defeats challenging her and had benefited greatly from having her as an ally.
No matter the occasion, they had to acknowledge Sitri’s mastery of the whip sword.
"How can this be...?"
"Could it be...?"
Sitri was someone who had gone missing and was effectively considered dead.
But seeing her now, appearing as a follower of the Benevolent God, the three of them were so shocked they could barely process what was happening.