Kid was bored—so bored he spent day and night just staring into the distance, waiting for the Greatsword to show up.
There were no vehicles here, and Greatswords didn't ride horses either. They relied entirely on their legs, yet could move at the speed of a car. But this continent wasn't small—it stretched across both temperate and polar zones. The far north was a frozen land of snow and ice, while the south burned in the heat of summer.
Thankfully, this world had 48-hour days, and Greatswords didn't need to eat much. Traveling day and night, they could cover a lot of ground. Still, the Greatsword hadn't reached this remote little village yet.
Meanwhile, the soldiers and the food transport crew had gotten friendly. The locals were full of curiosity about all the gadgets from Earth.
Muer was the youngest among the caravan crew, and he used to admire their leader the most, especially knowing he'd once been a guard in the Holy City. But after seeing the soldiers from Earth, Muer realized there were people even more amazing than his leader.
In a pitch-black room, Earthlings could put up a glowing ball that lit the place up like daytime.
And their clothes were strange too. Muer especially liked their combat boots. They looked solid and made loud thump thump thump noises when walking. He'd never seen shoes like that before.
All of the explorers' gear and outfits were provided by the Chinese team, with national flags marked on the sleeves to tell them apart. This time, the uniforms weren't outdated—they were all sleek black, including the body armor.
Now, Muer was completely hooked on Earth's bizarre tech and let his imagination run wild about where they came from.
Tola wasn't as curious as Muer. His brother and sister-in-law's deaths had hit him hard. He seemed determined to kill the demon that Kid had captured alive. He often wandered near the building where the demon was held, axe tucked into his belt. But with soldiers standing guard, he hadn't acted.
He couldn't understand why the demon—so brutal and monstrous—was still allowed to live. Why not just kill it and be done with it?
Today, Tola came again, axe at his waist.
"What are you doing, Tola?" the caravan leader saw him and pulled him back. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I want revenge!" Tola only had that one thing on his mind.
"You've lost it! Can't you see they don't want the demon dead right now?" The leader, who was more worldly, understood that the Earthlings were studying the demon and that killing it would upset them.
"They're asking to die. If they don't kill that demon, it's going to eat them sooner or later," Tola said stubbornly.
"Don't be stupid. If they get eaten, that's their business. At least while that white-clothed Kid is around, it won't happen. Didn't you see how he subdued the demon in one move?" the leader said. "And their strange weapons? I heard they even scared off demons before. They're not ordinary people. Tola, forget revenge. Live your life well. Your brother and sister-in-law would want that."
Tears rolled down Tola's cheeks again.
Just then, Zhang Dong blew the assembly whistle. "Group up!" It turned out the camera they'd set up had caught another demon approaching. "Prepare for combat!"
Zhang Dong glanced at Kid. Kid understood—Zhang Dong was asking him not to interfere. Fine, he'd stay out of it. Unless someone was about to die, he wouldn't make a move.
"Check your weapons. Let's go!"
The camera captured every move the demon made. It was closing in fast, heading straight into Zhang Dong's ambush.
"This time, we don't let it get away. Don't worry about wasting ammo. The second landing ship will be down soon, and we'll get more supplies. Got it?"
"Got it!"
Zhang Dong licked his lips. A demon, huh? Let's see if you can survive bullets.
This demon didn't have wings, but its strong limbs let it move fast on the ground. It had caught the scent of humans. "Roar!"
"Open fire!"
Zhang Dong didn't hesitate. He yanked the trigger. Bullets burst out with a rapid "da-da-da!"
Six rifles opened up, all using burst fire. Every volley shot out three rounds, slamming into the demon. Purple blood sprayed as it was torn open in several spots. The demon was already injured, and not all the previous bullets had been removed. This was just adding wounds to wounds. It had only come here to rescue its companion.
Demons ate humans, but they weren't stupid. Most demons acted alone, but once in a while, they'd cooperate. Some even had twisted hobbies—kidnapping girls or torturing their "food."
When Os saw the bullets couldn't kill it, he grabbed a grenade and tossed it. "Watch out, grenade!"
Everyone instantly dropped and took cover—BOOM!
The demon had been hit by a grenade once before, but back then it didn't even see what hit it. This time, again—boom—it was blasted, still alive though.
Zhang Dong looked up. "Another one!"
The caravan leader and Tola stood frozen. They were lucky they hadn't picked a fight earlier—those black weapons were terrifying. Those fire-spitting sticks were like demon-slaying magic wands.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three more explosions. The demon was finally done for. It was soaked in purple blood and had lost a leg.
Zhang Dong signaled everyone to move in slowly. By the time they surrounded it, it was already a corpse.
"Clear!"
"It's dead?" Tola stared blankly at the wrecked body, still in disbelief.
It was the first time the leader had seen a demon killed by something other than a Greatsword. If the Holy City's guards had these weapons, wouldn't they be unstoppable?
A six-wheeled off-road vehicle rolled up and stopped beside Tola and the leader. This horseless cart also left the leader amazed.
"Why'd you tear up the body like this?" Sony complained. "How are we supposed to study it now?"
"Then just dissect it," Zhang Dong said casually. This battle had really boosted the soldiers' confidence.
This demon's body was their badge of honor. Proof that bullets and grenades could kill the monsters on this planet. There was nothing to be afraid of.
Seeing how pumped they were, even Kid felt a little awkward. He hadn't told them that this planet also had Awakened Ones… and the Abyss… and the Abyss Devourers. Those things probably needed tanks and jets to handle—and a lot of them. A few soldiers alone wouldn't be enough.
"Bring the body back." Sony ordered the team to move it. He didn't care if it got the vehicle dirty.
"Alright, let's go too." The leader pulled Tola away. Tola hadn't seen enough yet. He wanted to keep staring at the demon's face, twisted in death. Even though he didn't know if this one was the killer, to him, all demons were the same. They all deserved to die.
Seeing the corpse filled Tola with a deep satisfaction. He almost wanted to join Zhang Dong's squad.
The leader looked at Tola's expression and sighed. He understood. He'd seen too many people lose loved ones to demons. Some ran away in fear, some gave up on life, and many sought out Greatswords to hunt demons. They were all pitiful. But Tola—Tola was a lucky one among the pitiful. He lived to see a demon's corpse. That alone was something to hold onto.