“What does this mean…?”
Before the voice could even fade, a violent vibration spread through the entire Demon King Castle.
“What’s happening!?”
“Hahaha! We are merely the vanguard! You, who need so many men and such strategies just to deal with us, could never defeat them!”
The Blood Race soldier laughed loudly at the Demon King Castle Knights, completely ignoring the blood flowing continuously from his severed hand.
No, there was no need to care, because in his eyes, the outcome was already decided.
With a loud boom, the walls of the Demon King Castle—which should have been reinforced with barriers and special materials—were blown open by a blast of magic. Countless Blood Creations flooded inside.
“Adopt defensive stances!”
“It’s useless!”
The Blood Race members riding atop Blood Creations held lances also made of blood. A single thrust shattered the knights’ defensive formation, followed by a fierce swing that slammed several more knights against the wall.
“Guh…! What incredible power…”
A knight barely clinging to consciousness endured the pain and spoke.
A single strike had inflicted heavy injuries on a large group of knights, leaving them unable to continue the fight. It was clear that the strength of these newly appeared Blood Race members was on an entirely different level from the others.
“Could it be… General level!?”
The weakest Generals of the Demon Race possessed strength at Level 60 or above. Even if the Demon King Castle Knights and the Blood Race soldiers they had just defeated were not weak—sitting around Level 40 to Level 45—the power levels of this world generally had a watershed every 20 levels. An existence as high as Level 60 was not something they could overcome.
However, combat power of this caliber was rare. Anyone with strength over Level 60 could become a General of the Demon Race. For a whole group of them to suddenly appear at once—how could this be possible!?
“Humph! The Blood Race is different from you. We are far more powerful beings, and our legion is the elite of the entire Blood Race army. Just our elites are enough to rival the Generals of other legions!”
As they spoke, the blood remaining on the ground and walls was gathered by these elite Blood Race soldiers and transformed into even more Blood Creations. From common wolves and elephants to eagles soaring through the sky, and even massive whales—the situation became one-sided in the blink of an eye.
“Go, crush them.”
At that command, the massive elephants and whales moved forward. Their enormous bodies were enough to crush everything with the slightest touch.
However, at that moment, a flash of light streaked past. The whale that was in the middle of a crushing descent was instantly sliced in two, reverting into ordinary blood that fell like rain.
“Who!?”
“Who else could it be? You’ve got quite the nerve to intrude upon the Great Demon King’s residence without permission, haven’t you?”
A maid landed atop the collapsed wall, looking down at all the elite Blood Race soldiers. A Great Cleaver, which looked completely out of place with her outfit, slowly dripped blood onto the ground, as if confirming that the previous strike had been hers. She exuded waves of oppressive pressure.
“A sword that completely clashes with her figure… A Sword Demon?”
“So what if I am? It doesn’t change the fact that you’re all about to be cut, sliced, and minced to pieces by me.”
“I have long heard of the fame of the Great Demon King’s Maid Guard. Seeing you today, it seems the reputation is well-deserved.”
From that maid, the elite Blood Race soldiers felt an aura and strength no weaker than their own—perhaps even stronger.
Although each of them was an existence comparable to a Demon Race General, the opponent was the same. It was truly impossible to tell who was stronger.
“But normally, any member of the Demon Race would want to know who is superior, right?”
Even if these Blood Race members didn’t admit it, they were still a branch of the Demon Race. The competitive and warlike instincts carved into their bones were still present. Seeing an existence with strength equal to their own, they naturally wanted to fight for supremacy.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier if you’d just said that from the start?”
As soon as she finished speaking, more maids emerged from the shadows. They all held different weapons, ranging from ordinary swords, axes, and shovels to morning stars. Even mages holding staves had rushed to the front line.
Both sides locked eyes before charging simultaneously.
The Blood Race members riding Blood Creations thrust their lances downward, utilizing the acceleration of gravity. The responding maids likewise flapped their wings and thrust their spears upward with explosive force. The tips of the two spears collided, creating a shockwave that felt like an explosion.
Below, the Blood Race summoners used blood to create more creatures to increase their numbers, sending flying Blood Creations into the air for support.
“You want to provide support? Not a chance!”
However, not long after the giant eagles and bats took flight, several arrows accurately struck their heads and shot them down.
Furthermore, one of the arrows flew even higher into the sky. The Magic Power residing within the arrow transformed into a large Magic Circle, and a rain of arrows began to fall from the heavens.
“Damn it, aren’t they worried about hitting their own allies?”
Seeing this, one of the Blood Race members hurriedly transformed his blood into rotating chains, intending to knock down all the arrows falling toward them.
Just then, another chain was flung into his rotation range. The two chains became entangled, neither able to break free from the other.
“I’m sorry. How long do you think we’ve been working together? We solved the drawbacks of friendly fire in group combat a long time ago.”
As the maid holding the morning star spoke, the rain of arrows had already landed, drowning the entire battlefield.
What was incomprehensible was that even though the rain of arrows covered the maids’ side as well, they were completely unharmed. In contrast, the Blood Race side was riddled with holes in an instant.
The Blood Race cavalrymen still clashing in the air also lost some of their strength due to their injuries. The maids on the other side seized the opportunity, thrusting their long spears forward with all their might, piercing through the blood lances and the bodies of the Blood Race soldiers alike. They then slammed them down toward the other soldiers, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. The Blood Race members who were too late to dodge or defend due to their injuries were blown away by the impact.
Aiming for this timing, the remaining maids also coordinated their tasks with silent understanding, launching a fierce attack to finish them off while they were down. In less than a few minutes, they had slaughtered them into disarray.
“I expected as much, but are these people really an army?”
One of the Maid Guards spoke in confusion at how easily their coordination had crushed the enemy.
Facing the Maid Guard—who possessed absolute loyalty to the Great Demon King and long-term cooperation—the coordination of the Blood Race army was somewhat lacking. This was true for both ordinary soldiers and elites.
“Sis, should we follow up and finish them off?”
Another Maid Guard walked toward the first maid who had appeared with the Great Cleaver and asked.
“…No, I feel like something isn’t quite right…”
“Quite clever.”
Just then, an unknown voice interrupted her.