Splat!
A human soldier was slammed into the ground by a Minotaur. His armour did nothing to help him as his body immediately turned to mush. Blood splattered on the ground, turning the soil a shade darker. The field had already lost its grass; it had nothing but the soil. The ground was dug out in so many places. It even had a lot of deep cavities.
The soil that was once dark brown, showcasing its fertility, was now coloured red. It made one's stomach churn to see how much blood was spilt in two days. Both sides suffered losses, yet Cresundia or rather the Rectusomine Army suffered the most. It had mobilized more than 200,000 soldiers but still had to ask for reinforcement as their number was reduced at an alarming rate by the fewer Antares Army.
Demons were mixed into the Antares Army but most of them were humans. This fact made many people question what happened to the humans of Antares. 'Had they become a Demon too?' some soldiers speculated. It wasn't intended, but their prowess managed to sow a seed of self-doubt in the hearts of the Cresundia soldiers.
'How could we win against these traitorous wannabe Demons?'
The humans in Antares didn't become Demons and never would. They had simply turned into Warriors. They were trained like Warriors and lived like one. Two months might be a short period, but they managed to improve by leaps and bounds. The Warrior training was harsh, but all of them managed to survive and come out stronger.
During Layland's stay, he had ordered Lemius and Velucan to slowly introduce the soldiers to the Warrior training. It was nowhere near as harsh but still managed to make the soldiers adjust quickly to the real training, which was Layland's intention.
The Warrior training was unforgiving. It tempered not only the Warrior's body but also their mind. The training taught them to swing their blade as if their life depended on it. Each swing of their blade was guaranteed to take a life even if the opponent tried to parry it. They forgot about mercy the moment they were faced with their opponents, even if they belonged to the same kin. They were no longer ordinary human soldiers but Warriors.
Faced with those Warriors, the soldiers of the Rectusomine Army were baffled beyond belief. No matter what the reason why the humans were stronger on Antares' side was—whether they had become Half-Demons or simply gotten stronger while remaining human—both of the possibilities terrified them equally.
Will we be enough?
They should be. However, the heart Demon was a strong foe that one tends to overlook. Even though they were able to put up a fight, their hands didn't even budge as they saw the Warrior swing their swords. They could only stand there dumbfoundedly with eyes full of terror and disbelief. 'Why do we even go against them?' filled their head as their soul dissipated.
The soil became softer and redder yet again. As a drop of a Warrior's blood touched the ground, a bucket of the Rectusomine soldiers' blood was spilt. Humans could train their bodies to surpass its limit, yet they were mentally weak. While it might not be true for everyone, it was true for most people. For that, the Rectusomine Army suffered greatly.
"This is not looking good for us," one of the human Commanders on Rectusomine's side commented. Unlike what the Warrior Commanders did, he stayed in the rear with his fellow Commanders. "These bastards are just as useful as scarecrows. What are they even doing here if they can only tremble and call their mothers?"
"Maybe, you can set an example and kill some Demons there," another Commander responded snidely.
"My existence is too noble to be put on the line."
"That, I do agree."
The way to be powerful is boundless. Some are born with talent meanwhile some are born with gold. While all of those who managed to become a Commander were powerful people, not all of them possessed the quality of one for that reason. These commanders were of Noble descent. They rose to power through gold, so one should not expect much from them.
There was a choice for them to not join the war, but they didn't take it. They were sure of the victorious result, so they wanted their name to be also carved in history. A publicity stunt, as many call it. With that mindset, it was only natural to expect them to stay in the rear, watch everything unfold and then come out when everything was over.
That would be a different story, of course, if they weren't on the winning side. Fleeing was not an option—they couldn't take losses—so they must fight. Although behaving like one, these stuck-up Commanders weren't cowards. They had the bravery of a Commander but the opportunistic mindset of a sneaky merchant.
"I guess I am going out. Letting these commoners tremble before our foe any longer will only cause a bigger panic."
Finally, one Commander stepped forward. He was far from righteous if you compared him to the human population, but he was a saint amongst this circle. His fellows shrugged and gave him the 'do what you want' look. The said Commander prodded his horse and charged into the enemy's line.
"Glory to humanity!" he shouted valiantly.
Every soldier heard it and instinctively turned their head toward him. As if having the God of Entry on his side, the soldiers watched him as he butchered fifteen Demons in one swing of his spear. The soldiers roared in excitement. Their spirits burned once again as they were reminded that they still had people like him amongst them.
Still fearful but more vigorous, the soldiers put more strength into their hands and swung their blades powerfully. One, two, three and hundreds of Antares Warriors fell. Unlike Rectusomine soldiers though, none of them trembled before the scene. Their movements remained agile and their swing remained vigorous. Still, it was visible that they were being pushed back.
"Keep attacking! Put your soul into your weapons! The good shall always beat the evil!"
Watching the scene from the rear, the other stuck-up Commanders felt like they wouldn't get any publicity if they didn't immediately step up. Things were going in the direction they wanted, so they joined the fray while shouting inspirational words that they didn't even believe.
Boom!
"Holy shit!"
One of the stuck-up Commanders cursed as a gigantic axe almost cleaved him in half. His soul was almost knocked out of his body, so he was very pissed. Upon looking up, he lost all of the wrath burning his heart. His blood was drained from his face, leaving it as pale as a sheet of paper. How could he not? He was standing before the infamous Demon King's Third General Velucan.
Gulp.
His hands were trembling and his mind was screaming at him to run. However, for some reason, he didn't feel Velucan was not a danger he couldn't face. Deciding to bet on his instinct as an opportunistic bastard, he jumped down from his horse and fortified his stance. He drew all of the Mana he had in his Mana Pool and channelled it into his sword.
"I may die but I'll die with style," he shouted with a nervous grin.
"Heh. I would have believed you if you were him, but you aren't. Then again, he couldn't die. No one can kill him," Velucan responded with a smirk.
The human Commander kicked the ground and disappeared from view before reappearing right before Velucan. His sword was shining brightly as it headed to Velucan's chest. Unfortunately for him, Velucan managed to block it with his gigantic axe. The impact pushed Velucan, but he was fine regardless.
The human Commander clicked his tongue before channelling more Mana into his feet. He turned into a streak of golden light and attacked Velucan at every angle possible. None of the attacks managed to hurt Velucan but Velucan was slowly overwhelmed by the attacks. A look of confusion appeared on Velucan's face but it quickly disappeared.
'How long will it take for him to realise that I am sprinkling Holy Dust as I am circling him? He must be stupid, so I bet he won't. Ku-Ku-Ku.'
With a sinister smile on his face, the human Commander took pleasure in Velucan's confusion. It was frustrating that he couldn't do anything more than hit Velucan's axe but making himself look like he was overwhelming a Demon King's General was worth the frustration.
'Huh? Is that a gap? Should I take the chance?'
The human Commander noticed that Velucan was not into the battle as much as he did earlier. Something seemed to occupy him as he kept glancing above with an incomprehensible look.
'It might not come twice. Let's take the chance!'
He decided to go for it and was met with a rejoiceful result: his sword managed to nick the careless Velucan. He immediately retreated and laughed loudly. His sword was coated with Holy Water, the water that was blessed by God. It contained his Divinity, which was enough to kill Velucan.
"Soldiers, watch! I can kill a Demon King's General, so do not fret!"
"Oorah!"
God was truly on his side on this particular day as Velucan immediately ran away pitifully after he shouted those words. The soldiers didn't even question the authenticity behind those words as Velucan's behaviour reflected it. More riled up than ever, the soldiers charged at the Antares Warriors. As if frightened by their vigour, the Warriors were quickly pushed back.
The dying hope was recovered quickly. The hearts that had been pumping fear were now pumping excitement. Unfortunately, that vigour didn't last long. Their hair stood on end as an ominous feeling overwhelmed the sky. The battlefield went silent as they took a moment to look above.
"Ah, so that's why."
They finally realized why the Warriors were retreating. They no longer had to fight.
RAWR!
A black Dragon that was as big as a hill flew above them. Blue lightning surrounded its body, creating a vacuum each time it crackled. It was already terrifying seeing a Dragon, but something managed to scare them more. The ominous feeling that haunted their soul came from this being.
"Well, isn't the party rowdy?"
Flying right before the Dragon overlooking the red soil below was the Demon who went against God.
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