Chapter 1022: 16.68 First Red Star - Ambush
With Asher Light guiding the pupils who had defeated the average-level undead with the might of a Lesser Demon. Yet, unbeknownst to them, there is a lurking peril that they could never have predicted. The three teachers only had enough time throughout their training to get them acquainted with lesser demons. Not because the teachers are incapable of summoning a higher-ranking demon, but because they need to improve their battle skills.
So the lesson about the difference in the strength of the devils was not exposed through summoning but just by feeling out the difference in the aura. Luther D"Arcy controlled his aura and emits the strength of each rank of the devils. So the students are capable of differentiating devils in accordance to their power. As for the characteristics of these devils, they were explained through verbal means as summoning it took too much time and resources.
Devil Infants are extremely small. They range from the size of a baby to a 4-year-old child. This is because they focus more on speed than strength and use the force of speed to instantly kill their target. They can be considered a.s.sa.s.sins from the side of the devils. These Devil Infants are quite clever, they know when to hide themselves, observe and choose the more appropriate target in accordance with their use and importance. Moreover, they like to target the weak the most. They are able to hide in the darkness and blend into shadows, that"s why it was quite hard to catch them.
The only way to kill it is to target it when it jumps towards its prey. As expected, while the students were in the midst of their joy, two small shadows jumped at two human students who looked tired and badly injured. In just. In a split second the heads of these two students flew and a fountain of fresh blood splashed on the other students that were near them. The scent of blood spreads in the area, and some vampire students who had their bloodthirst in control almost go wild. Some n.o.bles, especially Amber Dawn, puke at this scent of blood.
For a pureblood like Amber Dawn, this scent is no different from a rotten scent of decaying flesh. She vomited on the spot and Asher Light had to support her.
Asher Light didn"t forget to warn the other students and yelled, "Be on guard. There are two more devils!"
Conri Lycaon and Athan Vladimir who were startled by the sudden ambush narrowed their eyes trying to find some traces of these two devils that started killing their cla.s.smates. When other victims were beheaded they realized the size of the devil.
"This is... A demon infant? There are at least two of them! Asher! It"s a Demon Infant!" Conri Lycaon reported as he saw a small-sized thing that jumped from a student"s shadow from another.
Athan Vladimir said, "It can move so fast and even uses the shadows to move around. I will pursue it in the shadows as well!"
"Be careful. Bring some of your clan"s men with you. Demon Infants are twice stronger and faster than a lesser devil." Conri Lycaon said.
Athan Vladimir only nods his head before disappearing into the young werewolf king"s shadow. The vampire race in this world is capable of moving using shadows. Though Athan cannot stay in the shadows as long as he wants Ca.s.sius Ambrosia, lasting for an hour is not a problem. He also places something to block his sense of smell. After all, like Amber Dawn, he is extremely picky when it comes to the scent of blood. Though he wouldn"t throw up like the Vampire Princess, that annoying scent would just irritate him.
Under Asher Light and Conri Lycaon"s commands, the students of their cla.s.s gathered in one group. Sticking with each other meant that their shadow would become one and the Devil Infants would be able to jump from one person"s shadow to another. The moment the shadows converged into one and the Devil Infant jumped Conri Lycaon had already targeted it and was killed by him in his beast form before once again turning back to his human form.
Amber Dawn, who looks white asked worriedly, "Conri, where"s Athan?"
"Don"t worry. He is chasing the other one." Conri Lycaon said as Athan Vladimir jumps out of the shadows with his clan"s men. In his hand is the dead body of the second Devil Infant. "This thing is a lot stronger in the shadows. It feels like it can teleport as long as there is a shadow. It"s not advisable to fight it in the shadow realm."
Asher Light asked, "Is this the last of them?"
BAAAM!
But as soon as he asked, a huge sound of something falling came from the direction of the entrance. A huge white wolf carrying a wounded Esther Dawn appeared, even the white werewolf was covered in wounds and its white fur was soaked in his own blood. In its mouth were three unconscious students which he threw towards the crowd to heal. Their group was greatly wounded if not for Mayonaka Yoru running away in his beast form they would be eaten as well.
Amber Dawn and Asher Light shouted at the arrival of the two men. "Brother (Este!) What happened?"
"Another Undead... The bigger kind. It suddenly appeared and it can use elements to fight. It had great strength but was a bit slow. If I am not wrong... It possessed the strength of a Devil Soldier! It appeared from earth and suddenly attacked us. The rest were eaten by him. We only escaped with Yoru"s speed but he is already badly wounded. Cough!" Esther Dawn coughed blood after explaining the situation. He is suffering from internal injuries.
Mayonaka Yoru calls, "Este-chan!?" His blood flows as he moves abruptly just now and the healing of his cla.s.smates was interrupted as well.
Amber Dawn urgently heals her brother while Asher Light heals Mayonaka Yoru. Right now, Conri Lycaon and Athan Vladimir led a group each to keep the Devil Soldier at bay. They can"t let it reach the rest of their team especially when they were trying to heal Mayonaka Yoru and Esther Dawn who would be a great help for the group fight.
Athan Vladimir said, "Heal them fast! Will buy you some time!"
"Gather all who can use water elements! Earth is weak to water!" Conri Lycaon said as he turned into his beast form. A navy blue wolf with white highlights appeared before everyone. He took the lead in blocking the Devil Soldier with Athan Vladimir and the rest backing him up.
When the Devil Soldier tried to dig through the land and hide, Conri Lycaon roared and controlled all the ice elements he could muster in such a short time and covered the earth with ice which blocked the attempt of the Devil Soldier from using the terrain as it"s an advantage. Seeing the land under its foot turned to ice, the Devil Soldier rampaged using its two fists to destroy the ice. Unfortunately, Conri Lycaon would once again cover it with ice elements making an even thicker ice. At the same time, he tried to slow down the movements of the Devil Soldier by spreading its ice to affect the body and fists.
Conri Lycaon"s elemental energy was almost used up by these actions, Athan Vladimir noticed that and tried to kill the Devil Soldier as soon as possible. But the skin of this Devil is as hard as steel, it cannot be sliced by normal means. Even aura and elemental attacks could barely scratch it.
Athan Vladimir complained, "Just how thick this thing"s skin is!? Is it skin made of steel or something!?"
"The instructors said that to kill a devil soldier it cannot be done from the outside. Its skin is after all the thickest among all the devils." Asher Light commented.
While they are thinking of what kind of attack they should attempt, Esther Dawn thought of something and told everyone about it.
Esther Dawn remarked, "Its mouth, eyes, or ears are vulnerable. Attack its mouth and force it open!"
Amber Dawn asked, "But how to do that, brother?"
Mayonaka Yoru immediately thought of something and howled towtowardnri Lycaon. The howls of two Werewolves can only be understood by the werewolf"s race. Conri Lycaon glanced towards Mayonaka Yoru who suddenly stood up while only half healed. And jumped on the back of the Devil Soldier making it fall face first.
Before Mayonaka Yoru made his move he instructed Asher Light and Amber Dawn to prepare their strongest light elemental attack and released it at his call. They saw that once the Devil Soldier was toppled by Conri Lycaon face first, Mayonaka Yoru used his two front paws and forcefully opened the mouth of the devil. He ignored the pain of its teeth on his paws and shouted at Asher Light and Amber Dawn.
"Do it now!"
The pair both used Holy ray raysards the opened mouth of the Devil Soldier. As expected like Esther Dawn had suggested it was so effective to attack this kind of Devil this way. The Devil Soldier struggled for his last breath and howled before it died. Only when Mayonaka Yoru had turned it to ice and crashed did everyone finally take a breath of relief. It was only that time that the two instructors that they had forgotten finally appeared as they descended from the sky. Randall Ruid was grinning at them like always, so carefree yet undeniably strong while Luther D"Arcy is expressionless as always and they didn"t know whether they did well or not.
Randall Ruid said, "Good Job! Congratulations on defeating a Devil Soldier on your first try. Not bad but..."
He moved his gaze from the students to his lover who had been silent ever since they appeared before the students. They had been watching the battle the whole time from above and saw all the mistakes they made and the reason for it. He knew that his lover was a bit p.i.s.sed by how much thesthese brats become too complacent after the first wave of undeads.
The students realized that their other instructor, Luther D"Arcy, seemed completely dissatisfied with their fight. They could only avoid meeting his cold gaze which could freeze one into a thick glacier. Before they thought they would be scolded, a scroll appeared before their instructor, and knew what this was. It is an artifact given by Instructor Skoll that is capable of reversing time. They had seen this one used most of the time. They knew that the students who died would all come back to life.
Luther D"Arcy was observing the student reaction and knew that they were a bit too dependent on the Time Reversal Scroll in his hands that"s why they made those complacent actions during the battle. After waiting for the students to come back to life, he let the students celebrate their rebirth for a while.
"Half had died when the Devil Infants appeared and only a quarter was alive when the Devil Soldier arrived. Would all be dead if a Demon Commander appeared? This kind of Devil had intelligence, it was no different from a general leading a large group of troops. Its strength is 100m times stronger than a Demon Soldier."
The students couldn"t help but lower their heads as they knew that their instructor was right. They can only listen as they feel embarra.s.sed froaboutat they have done.
Luther D"Arcy said, "You guys have gotten used to the Time Reversal Scroll that you barely have any fear of death but don"t you know this kind of scroll is rare? In this world, only Lord Fenrir is capable of making them and... Each can only be made 1 every hundred years."
Duke Luther wasn"t lying when he said this scroll was rare. After all, Lord Fenrir makes this kind of thing only when he feels like it. This time he only made 10. Four were used up if they added the one used right now there are only 5 more remaining. Asking Lord G.o.d Ye to make another batch is impossible, he only gave way this 10 because Lord Ca.s.sius asked him too, and anymore is impossible.
Instructor Randall Ruid explains, "Only five more left... We cannot use it any more than we have even the Group Resurrection Spell that Instructor Keylan Light can use only once a month. We were attacked by the Undead led by Kenan Light then... Death wouldn"t be avoided and I heard he makes all the dead ones turns Undead so... Resurrection spells aren"t useful against them. Once one is turned undead their soul is tainted as well. They cannot enter reincarnation unless the soul itself is purified but only the heavens are capable of that. So these scrolls were our last chance to bring those undead back to being human after Kenan Light is killed."
"You guys barely pa.s.sed today"s Practical Exam. On the next training we would focus on survival. There would be no extra scroll to use for reversing time. This time you need to watch out for your lives. After all, Keylan Light can only revive you at every end of the month." Instructor Luther D"Arcy said.
The students finally realized that the difficulty of their training had risen to h.e.l.l mode. Now they had to fight thinking of the possibility of dying.
"...."
Randall Ruid said, "Prepare to return to the Academy!"
"Yes, Instructors!"