The demons were truly pressuring the players this time, even though the stronger squads had joined and were taking care of the higher leveled demons the others were still strong enough to put enormous pressure on the rest of them.
The different kinds of demons fought with a fierceness that the players lacked, it seemed that the demons cared not for their lives and only wished to kill them before eating their lifeless bodies.
The level 10 demons were a bit different however, it seems that their intelligence was higher compared to the other ones while the brutal nature of the others was not as evident as they were able to contain themselves a bit.
Amongst the stronger demons were some that looked similar to humans, except for the long tails and small horns that were growing on their heads. They had crude weapons in their hands, clubs, swords, spears, and more, all of that was made from a black piece of rock that was incredibly tough.
Reign and Shadow were moving through the large crowd with incredible speed, each time they spotted a player that was in a very difficult situation they would save them, they didn't save all of them by killing their opponents though, for some they simply wounded the demon attacking them or distracted them so they could deal a finishing blow or simply get back to fighting.
While saving the players was important, it was equally important to let them struggle as well, without any form of struggle they wouldn't be able to use all of their potential and they would simply level up while not being as strong as they should be.
Amongst the players were even some that managed to unlock their abilities during the difficult battle and slowly the tide was turning in their favor. After about 5 minutes of fighting the players managed to kill the demons, unfortunately, the time they had left was too low so Reign and the others had the stronger players attack the other half of the demon army. All of the players there were level 10 and above, the demons stood no chance and they were eradicated in a mere minute.
Looking at the stronger squads killing the numerous demons with such ease made the blood of the weaker players pump as a flame was lit in the chest of each one of them. They yearned for the day when they would be strong enough to do something like that, and that day would come soon as level 10 wasn't something that was so far away from them.
The players all go back and rest up, Reign and the others were thinking about what to do for the next wave, if most of the demons there were level 10 then it would be useless to let the players fight against them as they wouldn't be able to even put up a proper fight. After talking about it for some time they decided that they would let about 40 demons attack the players, since they outnumbered them greatly they should be able to fight against them even if they were stronger, not to mention that Reign and the others would be there to help them out as well. The rest of the players will fight against the other demons as soon as the smaller party creates enough distance as they didn't want them to draw them away from the newbies.
The other wave arrived and lo and behold, most of the demons this time were level 10. They did the same time they previously did, Tank jumped in and immediately used his mana shield to block the army from advancing as about 50 demons charged towards the players, since their numbers were a bit too high Beast, Shadow and Laura quickly killed off about 10 of them before observing the players that were fighting against them.
The players were nervous, the enemies they were going to face now were stronger than most of them and they knew that teamwork would be of utmost importance this time. Of course, there were some players that were level 10 with them, they were left there to help out in case Reign and Shadow couldn't arrive on time.
The other players charged towards the demon army that was still hindered by Tank's mana shield, as the players arrive he lifts the mana shield and goes back to Reign and the others while squashing a couple of demons that attacked him on his way back.
The players clash against the demons and start the fight, most of the players there were above level 10 and had a lot more experience compared to the other ones, not to mention that there were a couple of squads that were filled with members that were levels 15 and higher.
Cameron and his squad were there, Neil and his squad were also there, they were the two strongest squads after Reign's, and their strength was enough to obliterate the demons that stood in front of them. They of course didn't go all out, there was no need to as the enemies in front of them were not strong enough, not to mention that they were waiting for the stronger demons to emerge before fighting seriously.
The weaker players however were in a pinch, the demons they were fighting against were truly strong and most of them couldn't even block an attack properly. The fierce strength of the demon's made it hard to even attack them and most were simply focusing on defense. Reign frowned a bit after seeing that, if the players continued like this then he would need to intervene and kill the demons as the players would tire out, and then they would simply be lambs for slaughter.
Before he does so however he notices one peculiar player in their midst. A young boy, probably not older than 14 was fighting against a demon by himself, he was the one with the upper hand as he pressured the demon with each swing and stab of his spear. Before long the demon's throat was pierced through and the boy decapitated him right after. Seeing such a young boy fighting so fiercely made some of the players feel a bit embarrassed as they picked up the courage to risk it a bit and attack the demons when they had a chance, the tactic came with risks but the players, however, found it a bit easier to fight against the demons, contrary to what they previously believed.
Slowly the players were pressuring the demons as more and more of them were dying, Reign and Shadow went in a couple of times to save some players but the number of times was lower compared to what they previously thought it would be. Reign's eyes however were locked on the boy, it was a genuine surprise to see someone so young fighting like he was amongst the players. His spearmanship was nothing special, to be honest, and Reign was able to see a couple of openings every time he stabbed or swung, but his valiant spirit and the look in his eyes showed a determination that was hard to come by from the other players.
"The boy definitely shows potential." Aethion's voice echoes in Reign's head as he nods in agreement. He and Aethion had a discussion last night when he had returned from the forest, even though Aethion was keeping silent and told him that he had no idea how his soul was bound to him and why, Reign already had an inkling that it was the work of the dark copy, but the question was why, Aethion's soul being bound to him could only help him out, of course, there was the possibility that the dark copy did something to it that would be beneficial to it later, but somehow Reign doubted that, it felt like he was being helped for some reason.
After talking with Aethion for a bit Reign quickly passed through the crowd before arriving next to the boy who had just killed another demon. The sudden appearance startled the boy who immediately stabbed his spear towards Reign, stopping it a mere millimeter in front of his forehead.
"Ah, Reign, ah , sir!" The boy panics after looking at Reign and hurriedly takes his spear back while slightly bowing his head.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –"
"It's alright, kid, I know you didn't want to attack me, tell me, what's your name?"
"A-Adam sir, my name is Adam."
"I'm thinking of letting you fight with the others during the next wave, you up for it?"
"Ah!" Adam looks at Reign with surprise on his face, the reason he was put here amongst the others was simply that he was young and nobody wanted to let him risk his life fighting against the larger groups, being asked by Reign if he wanted to participate was a big surprise for him.
"Yes sir!" Adam shouts as he straightens his back while looking at Reign with a serious face. Reign smiles after seeing that and ruffles his hair a bit before returning to Shadow.
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