The Author's POV

—Bang!

"Huek!"

Blocking the attack of a demon, Hein let out a groan. Even then, his footing remained glued to the ground.

Solid and unmoving.

tootle-too~

Right as Hein blocked the attack of the demon, a melodious tune sounded.

Following this, three wolves suddenly appeared out of nowhere as Ava stood behind them with a green flute in her hand.

A subtle golden glow exuded from her body.

"Ava, get one of the wolves to aim for the leg."

Standing behind, Leopold squinted

"Get your other two wolves to attack the other legs and arm. You don't have to worry about finding the core."

In order to kill a demon, they needed to destroy their core, and finding the core was the challenging part of killing a demon. However, this only applied to titled demons.

Untitled demons were not powerful enough to develop a core, and therefore, they would die by simple decapitation of the head.

SHIIIING—!

"Khhh!"

On the other hand, standing next to Leopold, I slashed towards every demon that came my way.

Usually, I would've gotten rid of every demon in my vicinity with just a simple movement of my sword.

Unfortunately, I could no longer do that.

At least for now.

From the moment I had left Malvin's workshop and heard his words, I realized just how flawed my swordsmanship was.

Simply put, I could no longer act as I did before.

I needed to change, and what better opportunity than right now?

This being the first wave, and the wave filled with the weakest demons, I had to make good use of this opportunity to get as much practice as possible.

Spurt—!

Slashing forward, my blade slashed through the body of a weaker ranked demon, cutting him into two equal pieces.

"Ueek!"

Black blood spilt all over my clothes, and face.

Clenching tightly onto the grip of my sword, I stomped my foot on the ground and twisted my torso.

Then, releasing the tension in my torso, I slashed towards another demon.

"Ueeeek!"

Slowly, my body count started to increase, and so was my scope of time.

I just killed, killed, and killed.

My emotions started to dumb down, and my body started to move on its own. Moving towards wherever a demon was.

Unbeknownst to me, before I knew it, I had lost count of how many demons I had killed, and standing in front of me were three demons.

Of the three, one stood out particularly, as a pressure rivalling mine exuded from its body.

***

At the same time, inside of the control room of the control tower.

"Oy, ye two follow me."

Bemus beckoned Smallsnake and Ryan with his hand.

"…yea?"

Though confused, both Ryan and Smallsnake followed Bemus's instructions and walked to where he was.

<script>ChapterMid();</script>

Pointing at the large map depicting the northern tower, Bemus asked.

"Take a look at this. Which side do ye reckon wou' be breached first."

His sudden questioning caused the dwarves nearby to look at him in shock. It had to be noted that, Bemus was a very hot-blooded and strict person.

For him to personally ask the opinion of someone else, it only meant two things. He had either acknowledged them, or he was testing them.

Nevertheless, for him to test them, meant that their skills were real.

Not fully comprehending the situation, Smallsnake pointed towards himself and Ryan.

"You're asking us?"

"Who else?"

Bemus crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Pointing at the map he asked again.

"Answer my question. Which side do you think will be breached first and needs the most support?"

Frowning, Smallsnake looked at the large map before him.

Next to him Ryan also looked at the map. Touching the hologram to see the different camera angles, Ryan tugged Smallsnake's pants and pointed towards a certain area.

"Smallsnake, look."

"Hm? Oh?"

Smallsnake's eyebrows jumped up.

Bending over and looking at the area Ryan pointed at, he looked back at Bamus and answered.

"Oh then, it would be the eastern area of the northern tower."

"What makes you so confident in your answer?"

Bemus asked with a frown on his face.

As the other dwarves had known, he was actually testing Smallsnake and Ryan.

He already knew the answer, and he just wanted to see how capable they were. However, their answer disappointed him.

Shaking his head, Bemus opened his mouth.

"Nevermind, looks like I was overthinking, ye guys can go bac—"

But before he could answer, Smallsnake cut him off.

"…we'll that's because it can't be the eastern and northern areas."

"Can't be the eastern and northern areas?"

Bemus's frown deepened.

"...Right."

Nodding his head, Smallsnake elaborated.

"The northern area, although has the most demons coming, is also the area with most defensive measures. So far there is no indication that it will fall. At least not in this wave."

The northern area was the area that had the most demons coming. Therefore, it was also the most protected area with multiple artifacts and soldiers stationed there.

At the moment, it was also the safest area.

Listening to Smallsnake's words, Bemus agreed and asked.

"Correct. But what aboot tha western area?"

Scratching his head, Smallsnake answered.

"Well, that's because Ren is there."

His answer was so unexpected, that Bemus who was listening was left confused.

"…huh? Who?"

"It's better if you see for yourself."

Tapping onto the map, a video image of the situation began to play before Bemus.

The moment the video began playing, Bemus was left speechless by the scene presented before him.

"What's this?"

Surrounded by two demons, a lone youth stood in the middle of the battlefield. Behind the two demons was another demon.

One whose aura was much more powerful than the duos.

Eyeing each other, the two demons closely followed the youth's movements. They did not act arrogantly like the demon they were serving, but more like bodyguards, their sharp nails resembling swords extended all the way down from their hands.

Around them, were many different demons, but they were all quickly shot down by the people from the tower.

In case they didn't die, a large youth holding a shield and a girl holding a flute would quickly provide assistance. Behind them, a middle-aged man directed them calmly.

"He's directly facing the commander."

Observing from the control room, Bemus muttered out loud.

From what he knew, each wave had a commander, and from the looks of things, the youth in the video was currently facing the commander of the first wave.

On a good note, the commander didn't seem too strong as this was only the first wave, which was more for scouting than attacking, even then, he was not to be underestimated.

At least Baron ranked.

Turning right, Bemus asked.

"Is this the reason you are so confident the easter area will not be alright?"

"Correct,iIf it's him, then there should be no problems."

Smallsnake crossed his arms and stared at the video.

Ryan who was next to him also did not show any signs of worry, They both knew full well Ren's capabilities.

This was especially so after having been with him for over four months during their journey to the city.

He was strong.

"...Oh, they're starting."

Ryan's high pitched voice sounded, and as soon as his words faded, Ren began to move.

Stomping his foot on the ground, creating a small crater on the ground, his body shot forward with his blade stabbing towards the nearest demon.

Attacking so suddenly and unexpectedly, the demon was not able to react in time.

Ren's sword immediately stabbed towards its demon's head, causing black blood to fall on the ground. Following this, Ren pulled out his sword and slashed vertically, decapitating the demon.

Everything happened so fast that, apart from the leading demon behind, the other demon was unable to react.

Still, that didn't mean that the other demon stood still.

It was at that moment when the other demon finally reached Ren, slashing with its large nails. A whilst arose, and the air split apart.

Ren coldly glanced at the incoming attack. Glancing at the stronger demon to see if he was going to move, he took a step back and narrowly dodged the attack.

WHIIIING!

He then took a step and stabbed forward, towards the demon's head. Unfortunately for Ren, the demon reacted extremely quickly; one of its hands grabbed Ren's sword whilst the other slashed in his direction.

This sudden block caught Ren off guard, however, that didn't mean that he was helpless. In a split second, he already knew what to do.

Letting go of the sword, Ren bent his body backwards dodging the attack. Then, coating his feet with a green hue, he twisted his torso and kicked the demon right in its chin, sending him flying a couple of meters back.

"Huek!"

Taking advantage of this moment, Ren bent down and grabbed his sword that was left on the ground. Stomping his foot on the ground, he shot forward and killed the remaining demon.

Throughout the whole fight, the leading demon did not move an ounce from its spot.

Without changing his expression, Ren did not waste any time.

He immediately charged over the demon who he confirmed was a baron ranked one.

The Baron ranked demon was very cunning. Previously, he had been observing Ren carefully. The only reason why he didn't move when Ren was killing his minions was because he wanted to get a better understanding of his opponent.

Only after having observed Ren kill his two subordinates that he finally started to move.

Raising both hands at the speed of lighting, the baron ranked demon crossed them; ten red claw marks shot in his direction. Wherever they passed, scars would be left behind.

Ren's expression suddenly sank. Sidestepping, he tried his best to avoid the attacks. However, that didn't mean he was unarmed, as a large gash appeared by the side of his chest.

"Khu...!"

Red blood dripped down on the ground.

Apahtetically starting at the demon opposite, who had a cunning smile on his face, Ren exhaled.

Taking out a potion from his dimensional space, he quickly downed it. In seconds, his injuries started to heal.

Eyeing the demon opposite to him, a green glow enveloped his body. Stomping on the ground, Ren shot forward and raised his sword.

Within seconds he reappeared in front of the demon who was waiting for him. However, much to the demon's surprise, once Ren arrived before him, he stomped his foot on the ground and forcefully forced his body back.

The sound of bones creaking sounded, and Ren's face grimaced in pain.

SHUA!

The demon who had been prepared to strike Ren the moment he appeared, was left dumbfounded by Ren's sudden actions as his attack missed completely.

"Got you."

With a slight smile, Ren once again raised his sword and slashed down. It was a simple strike, yet, to the demon who was left in an awkward position, this strike looked terrifying.

FWUAP!

Out of desperation, extending the back of his wings, the demon flapped them and his body shot back. Unfortunately for him, Ren's attack still managed to hit him. An arm flew in the sky and black blood dripped on the ground.

Thud.

With a small thud, the arm fell on the ground, not so far from where Ren was.

"Huuuuuuaaak!"

Silence descended around the area where Ren was. Following which, an enraged scream sounded from above as the baron ranked demon pointed at Ren.

"Kill him!"

His bloodshot eyes glared at him, and tangible bloodlust started exuding from his body. Instantly, the demons within the vicinity all turned their attention towards Ren.

We were talking about over thirty demons or so.

All of them looking at Ren with bloodthirsty eyes.

Within a second of the Baron's ranked demons words, all the demons lunged in Ren's direction. To those that were watching from the tower and in the control room, it looked like a slaughter was about to happen.

However, unbeknown to them, Ren's face remained calm. In the face of the incoming demon's, his face remained cold and unmoving.

In fact, something that would leave them at a loss for words suddenly happened.

With his eyes locked on the Baron ranked demon, Ren's pupils slowly turned grey and the battlefield froze.

All the demons that were lunging towards his direction stopped, seemingly as though they were frozen in time.

His ashen grey eyes made all the demons present wasn't to kneel down and worship him.

"Move."

His cold voice rang out, travelling through the ears of each demon present, sending shivers down their spines.

Almost out of pure instinct, all the demons stepped to the side, creating a small path leading to the Baron ranked demon.

SHIIIING—!

Unsheathing his sword from the scabbard, Ren did not even bother looking at the demons besides him and calmly walked towards the demon in the distance who had trouble taking his eyes away from him.

Step. Step. Step.

Each step he took resonated with the wildly beating hears of the demons present.

"Huek!"

Gazing at Ren who was slowly moving in its direction, the baron ranked demon took a step back.

Even though it was not completely helpless like the other demons who could barely move, nevertheless, the demon was injured and his state of mind was weak.

The effects of the one had crept through his weakened mind, resulting in the momentary loss of the demons will to fight.

Soon Ren stopped in front of the demon. Raising his sword, he muttered.

"This is enough for today."

SHUA!

Ren slashed and a head flew off.

Spurt—!

Following this, Ren dug his hand into the demon's body and removed a black core from the demon's body.

Just like that, the first wave ended.