"Stay alert, but don't get too nervous. You'll be experiencing these days often."
The general named Sararo spoke to a soldier who appeared to be a new recruit, patting him on the shoulder and shaking his hand, urging him to calm down.
Alka followed silently behind him.
To be honest, the general named Sararo didn't seem to be defending against a demonic attack, but rather strolling about.
He wasn't nervous, but rather seemed relaxed and at ease.
Below, Alka observed the demons beneath the city wall.
Most of the demons had the same dark red skin as before, but this time, the demons were more diverse.
But it was hard to detect any discipline among the demonic ranks. From skinny imps to burly power demons.
Also, all kinds of mid-level and inferior demons were everywhere.
They even trampled on each other as they swarmed towards the city wall like a swarm of bees. Some smaller demons, running slower and unable to dodge, were trampled to death by their own demons during this charge.
Their deaths were extremely painful.
"Fire!"
A roar echoed overhead.
Projectiles of all sizes flew from the cannon barrels, each one as large as a head.
With a shrill whistle, these projectiles soared above the demon formation and exploded. A dense mass of finger-sized objects rained down.
Then there was the sound of explosions.
The explosive power of these small projectiles was far greater than Alka had imagined, and the resulting flames shone with a golden glow.
Alka could already sense the power of Holy Light within it, and upon closer inspection, it was the power of the Virgin Mary.
Clearly, it was imbued with Holy Light materials from the Virgin Mary Church, or perhaps with holy water.
"All the demons we see now can be considered cannon fodder among the demons," Saralo said to Alka, standing at a point on the city wall.
Alka looked at the demons below. He even saw a well-organized fourth-stage demon among them, and even a few fifth-stage demons here and there.
"Can these also be considered cannon fodder?" Alka asked, somewhat confused.
As he spoke, the more powerful demons began to unleash various ranged attacks.
These ranged attacks were fireballs blasted from lava and flames.
Then these fireballs were blocked, seemingly ineffective.
"Of course, they can be considered cannon fodder. Although I sometimes hate to admit it, for us, these powerful fourth and fifth stage warriors are nothing compared to those demons.
The number of these demons is far beyond your imagination. Only with a strong enough leader will these powerful demons attack with some degree of discipline.
Normally, they're like madmen gone wild, so there's no need to worry too much. This is why we've been able to hold out until now. Of course, another reason is the treasure."
Salaro smiled as he spoke. He condensed an ice blade in his hand and threw it down.
The power he used wasn't a treasure, but a spell; Alka could still see that.
"You know, most demons fight by relying on instinctive spells and physical strength.
Their combat skills are extremely impressive, but overall, you'll find they fight on instinct.
Artifacts can grant us abilities far greater than those of demons of the same rank. Of course, they must at least be artifacts that are beneficial for direct combat."
Salaro explained this to Alka, not asking if Alka understood, as he continued, following his own logic and thoughts.
Alka didn't interrupt at all, nodding occasionally as he watched the battle below.
As he explained, artifacts grant them powerful combat abilities at their level. As long as the artifact's function is somewhat oriented towards combat, they are almost certainly superior to demons of the same rank.
As they acquire more artifacts, they grow stronger, and even engaging in battles of higher rank becomes a breeze for them.
After all, treasures are only found in their world, and their developmental history cannot be replicated.
This was evident in Alka and the others; they were completely outmatched by demons of the same level.
With the support and coordination of various treasures, Alka and the others' strength had long surpassed their current strength.
Thinking this way, he walked along the city wall.
The wall Alka was walking on, connecting from a distance, was actually the second layer of this fortress area.
The first layer of the wall was about two meters lower than the one they were currently on.
Below Alka and the others.
There were numerous city defense devices, such as various liquids that could be poured down below to inflict heavy damage to demons, as well as soldiers specialized in close combat.
And these documents also contained hidden traps.
Their level was the main battle zone, home to various soldiers capable of ranged attacks, as well as some personnel who didn't quite resemble soldiers.
And behind Alka, on the wall above him, on the third level, about three or four meters higher than the second level, was a massive array of ranged defense equipment.
This level housed a vast array of ranged defense equipment, while others were located atop the higher towers.
Layer upon layer, they formed a defensive perimeter.
As the attack unfolded, some powerful demons spread their wings and leaped directly onto the first level, driven by the force. Clearly, the protective shield could defend against ranged attacks, but not against these demons' charge.
Alka even discovered that the entire fortress lacked any doors leading to the outside; it was entirely thick walls.
From the very beginning, no intention had been taken to leave this area.
The demons capable of reaching this level were all at level four or five.
The moment they leaped forward, Alka saw captains or mercenaries, some holding treasures, charging forward.
The radiance of their treasures shone from their bodies.
Most of them were dressed like demon hunters, clad in light armor that facilitated movement.
Alka didn't even notice their ability to use their treasures. Facing the charging demons, he dispatched them in a few rounds, making them seem weak.
Suddenly, a demon moved with incredible speed, evidently possessing some degree of spatial teleportation.
Here, spatial teleportation was free of restrictions, unlike within the city walls.
He risked breaking through the space barrier, then suddenly arrived behind a soldier, slashing down with his sharp claws.
Just as he was about to finish the soldier off, a white-blue ice card appeared beside Alka.
In an instant, the demon was frozen in place. Then, he manipulated the water flow into various spikes, freezing them into ice and impaling the demon in place.
The soldier finally reacted, turning and offering his thanks.
Sararo seemed about to say something, but then a horn blew. Sararo's previously relaxed expression suddenly turned serious. He turned to Alka and said, "Follow me, the situation is getting serious. This is no ordinary siege."
Alka also noticed something was amiss. Many soldiers, clearly veterans, immediately organized themselves into various defensive formations, firmly guarding their respective areas.
Only the new recruits grew nervous in the face of this situation.
Some of the soldiers who had been standing next to them immediately drew their extremely longbows, which they had been carrying on their backs.
At that moment, a large figure emerged from the hillside ahead.
What a massive demon! Roughly 15 meters in length, its massive form resembled a Titan.
Even more bizarre was its structure.
Entirely inhuman, its arms and legs felt like heavy hammers, its body clad in a tough shell.
Every movement was like an earthquake.
More demons emerged, and surprisingly, there were more than one such massive monster.
Saralo, standing beside him, had a graver expression.
"Looks like this time won't be easy," he said, as a slender flag appeared in his hand.
The flag depicted a tower, atop which three stars adorned it.
Alka had seen this design before; it was the former flag of the Saralan Empire.
With the appearance of this flag, a distinctly different atmosphere took over.
Saralo raised the flag, and it radiated, like some kind of aura of enhanced power. The range was immense, instantly enveloping the entire fortress.
Arka stood beside the banner and could sense a shift in his emotions, becoming stronger and more courageous.
His body underwent a comprehensive strengthening. While not significant, for an ordinary or weaker being, the enhancement was noticeable.
The cannon overhead vibrated again, firing shell after shell. This time, they hurled themselves directly at the towering demons, attempting to annihilate them.
Letting such a massive monster approach the city walls was clearly not a good thing.
Following the sound of the explosion, more demons began to break through the ranged attacks. Using flight and various power-ups, they reached the first layer of the wall and engaged in a fierce battle.
Arka, controlling various elemental cards, was already providing continuous ranged support.
He began focusing his fire on the demons that appeared powerful and were causing widespread casualties.
The massive hammer demons proved more resilient than he had expected. Under the concentrated artillery fire, only one demon seemed to take damage and retreated a few steps, pausing for a moment before continuing its advance.
Observing this situation, Alka immediately began to control his elemental cards.
A strong wind blew across the battlefield, countless gusts sweeping across.
Then, a whirlwind swirled around the demon's area below, sucking many demons in.
But it was clearly only the whirlwind's damage; it had little impact on the demons, only slightly slowing them down.
A stream of water, from nowhere, entered the whirlwind, mixing it with water droplets. The water flow combined within the whirlwind to form a blade-like shape.
An icy chill surged in, and the water blades instantly transformed into ice knives. This was the three-element combination Alka had mentioned using when he first received the elemental deck.
Powered by the whirlwind, these ice blades instantly transformed into a powerful, violent whirlwind, slicing furiously.
Every demon in their path was instantly sucked in and transformed into a bloody mist. The whirlwind transformed from blue to a blood-red vortex.
However, the demons' blood was incredibly hot. Under these circumstances, Alka had to expend even more magic power to cool the whirlwind. He needed to cool the blood within, at least enough to not affect the toughness of the ice blades.
The depletion of his energy allowed him to immediately control the whirlwind's movement, sweeping towards his primary targets.
It began sweeping towards the taller demons, whom Alka had just observed to be incredibly slow and even heavier.
They barely blocked most of the ranged attacks, and instead, some of the demons within them helped to repel them.
Faced with the rapidly approaching hurricane, they struggled to escape. The demons' helpers, forced to flee as the hurricane drew ever closer, were forced to flee.
Then came a fierce wailing, a wailing that even drowned out the sounds of the battlefield. These demons were quite vocal.
Everyone could see the Ice Blade Hurricane instantly shred the monster's arms and parts of its body into minced meat, until it was completely engulfed, revealing large chunks of flesh and blood.
A large amount of blood, boiling hot like magma, was absorbed into the giant peak. Sweat began to form on Alka's forehead.
He had never considered that the demon's blood was so scalding hot.
All sorts of powers and attacks began to flow towards the whirlwind.
Those demons seemed no fools; they had discovered the Ice Blade Hurricane's weakness. Furthermore, they possessed some fire magic.
Alka was immediately beginning to feel the strain of holding on. The combination of three elements was inherently very draining of mana, and he had already been holding on for so long.
He also had to vigorously utilize the element of ice to freeze the fervent blood, lest it become too scorching and destroy the whirlwind formed by the three elements.
With the powerful attack, the whirlwind began to dissipate.
But by then, one enormous demon had already been minced, and another lay half-dead on the ground.
Some smaller, lesser demons even began to devour the corpses of these massive demons.
Just as Alka crouched down to catch his breath, a silver-gray-purple blade of light shot out, covering almost the entire battlefield.
In an instant, it sliced countless demons in half, even slashing through three enormous demons along the way.
The sudden and massive attack surprised Alka, but many of the surrounding soldiers, as well as Saralo next to him, seemed accustomed to it.
Alka looked in the direction of the attack. It was Grayfar, standing on the top wall. Unbeknownst to him, he had grasped a massive blade even taller than himself. This greatsword was like a door panel, but the edges on both sides resembled serrations rather than blades.
Arka blinked. Only then did he fully grasp Greyfar's strength: he was a powerful warrior who had reached the eighth stage of power.
And the weapon he held in his hand was a treasure that glowed orange in Arka's eyes.
A scepter-level weapon.
Raising the greatsword and swinging it once again, Arka realized that the power of the blade was combining with the massive ball of light atop the Demon Hunter Fortress.
Clearly, the treasure was providing a boost.
The flying blade of light was a gray-purple hue.
This time, the light wheel was halfway through its flight when it was suddenly devoured by an unknown entity.
Looking at the massive, insect-like mouth that appeared, Arka felt a sense of familiarity.
A demon, roughly the size of a normal human, appeared in mid-air. Alka watched from afar.
Devouring Mouth.
With blood-red skin and rich clothing, he exuded the elegance of an ancient noble. Behind him, a pair of enormous bat wings spread, a fascia filled with blood vessels spreading across them.
On his head were a pair of slender horns, unlike those of a demon.
This was his true form. He certainly didn't look like a demon, but rather like the devil from some fictional works.
The moment he appeared, he glanced at Alka, his eyes flashing with danger, but he wasn't
He didn't attack Alka directly.
‐‐ It was clear that his strength wasn't necessarily much greater than Greyfar's.
‐‐Alka now had a clear view of his strength.
‐‐ This demon's strength was at the eighth level, which, in his opinion, was about the same as Greyfar's.
‐‐"Devourer's Mouth? Do you think this is your stage? Are you going to perform your clown show for me here?"
‐‐ It was clearly a sarcastic taunt, but coming from the more serious Greyfar, it sounded like a serious matter.
‐‐ It was like a question, as if the Devourer's Mouth would actually do such a thing.
‐‐ This made the taunt even more strange, more hurtful than the sarcastic tone itself.
‐‐Hearing this taunt, Alka clearly saw a shift in the Devourer's expression. His expression control was about to fail.
‐‐The Devourer's Mouth glanced at Alka again, its eyes filled with rage and a desire to kill. "I'm not here to talk to a homeless dog like you. Just stay in this kennel." With a sarcastic remark, the Devouring Mouth floated in the air, gazing at Alka.
"And you, Alka. You've finally arrived. I've waited so long for you. I've longed for your arrival every moment.
Live in fear here. I'll slowly drive you into despair and tear out your soul."
With that, the Devouring Mouth didn't even bother to listen to Alka's response, disappearing from the scene.
Instead, Saralo, who was standing next to him, gave Alka a thumbs-up.
He also knew the connection between Alka and the Devouring Mouth.
"I saw that performance in my dream, too. All those years since then, the Devouring Mouth hasn't stood here with his head held high, disgusting others with his bizarre accent."
It was obvious that everyone would laugh at him for this incident.
Such ridicule only deepened the Devouring Mouth's hatred for Alka.
He couldn't deny this fact, for the nightmare had imprinted it on everyone's minds, making them feel as if they were actually there.
Such dreams spread far and wide.
But Alka didn't care. He couldn't let the demonic forces continue. After all, they were hostile forces, and it was a fight to the death.
With the disappearance of the Devouring Mouth, the number of demons began to dwindle. Some demons, seemingly realizing the problem, slipped away from the battlefield.
The massive demons that hadn't yet arrived on the battlefield and were on the march also began to return.
Not all demons were solely interested in fighting and slaughter.
The remaining demons were quickly eliminated.
Clearly, this attack wasn't a true assault on the city, but simply a means to allow the Devouring Mouth to appear and give Alka a warning.
He had to make this announcement before so many people. Only then would Alka's death wash away the shame he carried.
At some point, Greyfar arrived beside him.
"Would you like to stay here? I can guarantee you'll be safe from that cunning demon."
Hearing this, Alka shook his head. "No, I'm here prepared.
I just need to know that he can't do whatever he wants here. Of course, if there's more information about him, I'd be happy to learn."
Hearing this, Greyfar nodded with his usual serious expression.
"Of course he can't do whatever he wants here. I'll let Saralo tell you more."
He turned to Saralo, his meaning self-evident.
Saralo, standing beside him, immediately straightened his posture and saluted. "Leave it to me, High Judge."
Greyfar nodded and turned to leave.
"Come on, friend, let's go inside and talk," said Saroo, pointing to a nearby tower.
They were right at the tower's entrance.
Alka nodded and followed him inside.