Let’s turn the clock back half an hour.
“Mason, watch out!”
On the other side, Mason and Brian were locked in a bloody battle with the Demon, their fight having reached its climax.
The two of them stood at the frontlines like the strongest spear and shield, locking the Demon in place with flawless coordination, while the elite of the Scarlet Legion rained down arrows and spells like a torrential storm onto the gigantic Demon who, despite just having fought a Lord’s battle, still exuded a terrifying pressure.
“I know.”
Mason’s deep reply was concise and powerful.
His body flickered like a ghost as he swiftly withdrew, dodging the Demon’s claws by a hair’s breadth.
Mason quickly widened the distance, staring at the Demon before him—its face twisted and exuding an aura of evil and stench—his brows tightly furrowed.
The Demon was covered in hideous armor that looked as if it were forged from lava and rotten flesh, with countless wounds deep to the bone oozing thick, dark red pus.
Though it had been battered and drained during the battle with the Twenty-Seventh Floor Lord, and its body was riddled with injuries, the vertical pupils in its eyes still burned with Hellfire, showing no reduction in its berserk and bloodthirsty light.
It still maintained formidable combat strength.
The scenario they had anticipated—both sides suffering heavy losses and reaping the spoils—did not occur.
This monster’s vitality and ferocity far surpassed everyone’s imagination.
Given the situation, Mason warned Brian and the others.
“This Demon’s strength—I estimate it’s already at the level of a Thirtieth Floor Lord. You all need to be careful.”
“Hiss—Thirtieth Floor?”
Tos sucked in a breath, “No wonder it’s so damn tough, hard as a turtle shell, can’t chop through no matter what.”
Brian, on the other hand, locked his gaze on the Demon.
Assessing its strength against their Hero Party, he despairingly realized that to defeat this Demon, the price they’d have to pay would be disastrous—perhaps not even one in ten of the Hero Party would survive.
Fortunately, the captain of the Judgment Holy Night squad, Mason, was here to support them.
For him, dealing with this Demon—especially now that it had expended some of its strength—was not a particularly difficult task.
At the center of the battlefield!
Mason seemed to block out all the noise and threats from the outside world.
He took a deep, extremely slow breath, and the Knight Sword in his hand began to build up power, a surge of magic gathering at the blade, emitting a blue gleam.
“All units, cover Mason!”
Seeing Mason readying his sword skill, Brian instantly made a decision, commanding all of the Scarlet Legion’s firepower to focus forward.
Even though these attacks only made the Demon pause for a moment, it was enough to buy Mason the necessary time.
“Cangjian Extermination Blade Break!!”
Mason held the Knight Sword at his side, then swung it three times in rapid succession, each strike carrying the force of a storm that could cleave anything apart.
The Demon’s massive body had no way of dodging attacks of such range and could only take all three head-on.
Now, its huge frame was drenched in dark red pus and blood, tottering as if it might collapse at any moment.
Yet, even so, it was still alive.
“ROAR!!”
With a furious howl, it seemed to flare with a dying burst of energy, not only staying upright but also gathering an even denser magic in its razor-sharp claws than before.
“Damn it…”
Seeing this, Mason shouted to those behind him.
“Scatter! He’s targeting you all!”
Just as everyone was moving to evade, a circular blade of light shot out from the shadows, slicing off the Demon’s head with precision.
Caught off guard by this sudden development, everyone—including Mason—stood frozen in shock.
At that moment, a masked man with golden hair landed in front of the Demon’s corpse.
As he touched down, the golden-haired man gave an elegant bow to all present, as if performing a perfect noble’s greeting.
“My apologies for startling everyone.”
The voice behind the mask was oddly calm, with a chilling serenity that set people on edge.
Upon seeing the golden-haired man, Mason’s wariness spiked.
As the strongest among them, his instincts screamed that this masked man was at least as powerful as he was—perhaps even stronger.
Most importantly…he was definitely not here to help.
This man meant no good.
What was his aim?
Mason gripped his Knight Sword tightly, readying for battle once again.
“Heh heh…”
Faced with Mason’s razor-sharp sword and undisguised killing intent, the golden-haired masked man simply let out a low, pleased chuckle, as if he’d just heard an amusing joke.
He slowly straightened, his movements unhurried as though adjusting his cuffs, completely ignoring the threat so close at hand.
“No need to be so tense,” his voice remained steady and refined, tinged with an irritating composure.
“My target…isn’t any of you esteemed warriors present.”
With a white-gloved hand, he casually pointed to the Demon’s grotesque, still ominous head rolling on the ground.
“But rather, this insignificant little object.”
As he finished speaking, he snapped his fingers lightly, and to everyone’s astonishment, the Demon’s terrifying head on the ground vanished without a trace, as if erased by a rubber, leaving not even a hint of its presence—like it had never existed.
The corners of the mouth beneath the mask curled in satisfaction.
The golden-haired masked man bowed once more and said,
“Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll gladly accept this generous gift.”
Gazing at the golden-haired masked man, especially at that chilling, all-seeing smile, Mason lunged forward.
“My, my…”
The man let out a gentle sound of surprise, then simply sidestepped, easily avoiding Mason’s lethal thrust.
At this moment, Mason felt an indescribable sense of unease—the fear of facing something utterly unknown.
Even he couldn’t see through the true depths of this golden-haired man’s strength.
Standing straight again, the golden-haired man addressed the crowd:
“Compared to a small fry like me, I think you all have more pressing matters to attend to…Don’t believe me? Try listening quietly for a moment.”
“What are you scheming?”
Mason kept his battle stance, but his magic senses were released as well.
In that instant, his pupils contracted.
Within his perception…a massive Monster Tide was stampeding toward the Scarlet Legion’s encampment!
Brian and the others seemed to realize this too.
They immediately grew anxious, knowing that with the garrison’s current strength and wounds, if the Monster Tide caught up, it would mean complete annihilation.
Brian couldn’t afford to hesitate and immediately called everyone to fall back and defend.
Yet Mason did not leave.
He kept his gaze locked on the golden-haired man, and after a long moment, spoke slowly.
“The Monster Tide…was it your doing?”
As far as Mason knew, the monsters on the Twenty-Seventh Floor weren’t very sensitive to sound.
The Demon and Lord’s battle shouldn’t have been enough to draw such a massive Monster Tide.
“Who knows?”
Hearing Mason’s question, the golden-haired man just smiled softly.
“But…I really do have to thank that Monster Tide. Otherwise, you’d never have let me go, would you?”
“Tch…”
Mason adjusted his glasses, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
“True, with my temperament, I wouldn’t possibly let an unidentified guy like you walk away so easily…”
“So now, you have no choice but to fall back to the Scarlet Legion’s camp, right?”
The golden-haired man’s lips curled into a playful smile.
“Otherwise…with just the Scarlet Legion, they won’t be able to hold off that kind of Monster Tide. If you don’t act, they’ll all die.”
“BOOM!!”
As the two confronted each other, a thunderous explosion interrupted the golden-haired man’s words.
He looked up into the distance.
“My, my…the situation seems a bit beyond even my expectations. Your Highness, Prince of the Sunmoon Empire, until we meet again…”
After finishing, the golden-haired man’s figure vanished into the darkness.
Just as he predicted, Mason didn’t pursue him, instead sheathing his Knight Sword and choosing to follow behind Brian and the others.
Otto, I’m guessing, he certainly has the smugness.