Chapter 119: The Duke, Bastro (1)
TL: Tay
Editor: Lesurous
The Devil"s Long Night.
A period when the moon turned red and souls cried.
During this time, the devils were especially vulnerable.
No one knew as to why.
It occurred approximately once every 5 years and lasted for 3 months, during which numerous devils roamed about.
Apart from those with a rank of demon king and above, all devils did this.
"The devils aren"t perfect……"
It was the conclusion humanity formed after fighting with the devils for decades.
The reason why devils weren"t very active outside of the Demon G.o.d"s Territory was also thought to be connected to this "Devil"s Long Night".
It was because no matter how much they went berserk, they didn"t tend to leave this territory.
Of course, there were times when a devil with the rank of Duke or higher would occasionally break free of the territory leading a large army to attack humans, but generally that was a rarity.
Even though it was only once every 5 years, the fact that they had periods like this was a sign that the devil itself was an incomplete creature.
However, it was also humans who couldn"t do anything about those incomplete beings.
"I can"t say that the monsters are also unaffected."
Muyoung looked up at the sky.
A red moon.
The full moon lit up the ground.
While looking up at the moon even Muyoung had a strange feeling.
The monsters would definitely face changes, however, different monsters would have different changes.
Nevertheless, if it was here, thanks to the psychological effect of "Asura"s Small Temple" they were able to maintain some calmness.
"I did everything I could."
He built up a wall. It was designed not to shake against all but the strongest magic.
He created siege weapons and directed training.
The population which had begun with 20,000 people had increased to 30,000.
This was also due to Asura"s Temple being built which caused dokkaebis from many places to flood in.
And so, Muyoung did everything he could.
He didn"t know how long they could hold out against the devils" attack, but it was definitely not going to collapse easily.
"Arand, I"ll give you my first order."
At the top of the castle, the Lord"s room.
At the softly spoken words there was a response from the other side of the door.
"What is it?"
Tchk!
Arand straightened up.
Arand, who had become a Bannered Knight, still wanted to defeat Muyoung, but since their duel he loyally followed Muyoung more than ever.
It seemed the effect of seeing the "slow sword" once worked properly.
"Gather those with agile bodies and start doing reconnaissance of the surroundings."
"I will follow your command. Also……"
It was an important duty.
There was no way Arand couldn"t have known about it.
However, he continued to speak as if there was something else he wanted more.
"When this task has been completed could you show me that sword again?"
Muyoung gave a small smile.
Arand.
He was truly an interesting fellow, wasn"t he?
Even though he was on the other side of the door he could naturally feel his fighting spirit.
It felt like he wasn"t following him because he was the Lord but because he wanted to win against him.
"If there is only one, it should be okay."
Arand was quickly getting stronger at a pace that even Muyoung found surprising.
Even more so, he was an aspirant who always dreamed of fighting with Muyoung whenever he had a chance.
There seemed to be no harm in having someone like this next to him.
As it could help him stay alert at all times.
His ambition could be the greatest enemy of complacency.
"It"s not a sword you can see with just those skills."
"Ah……! Of course it would be like that. Then, I will ask you after I gain more merits."
It wasn"t like Arand had no sense of shame.
Instead, he was going to build up more merits so Muyoung would not be able to refuse.
Muyoung acquiesced to his obvious intentions.
Finally Arand began to move from the door.
"I don"t know what kind of devils will appear. I can"t move from this place. This is the biggest problem."
In enduring the Devil"s Long Night, Muyoung found the most important thing was reconnaissance.
If he could understand them ahead of time it was possible to establish countermeasures.
The possibility of stopping it that way was higher than through helplessness.
However, Muyoung himself was at a level where he could win against most devils.
"But on the contrary, they would need to know that they could be hunted by me."
He had no intention of becoming prey.
Muyoung was a hunter.
More skilled than anyone!
He adjusted Anguish at his waist and looked up at the red moon.
Fighting spirit surged through him and he was filled with the desire to fight right away.
Was it because he was "Oom"? Or was there another reason?
His heart wouldn"t settle down easily.
Ta-tap.
Ta-tap.
A large man reminiscent of a death G.o.d sat on a throne made of unicorn horns, drumming his fingers against his seat while immersed in thought.
The rare, mysterious figure surrounded by black cloaks and numerous bones was none other than "Hauress", the 64th seat Demon G.o.d.
Hauress held the power to lead 21 Demon Kings, and to burn everything he considered an enemy.
"The timing is bad…"
Ta-tap.
Ta-tap.
The sound of his fingers tapping against the throne reverberated throughout the wide, gruesome interior of the castle.
However, before him, tens of thousands of devils were bowing before him.
"Before the appearance of the red moon, I should have purged the opposition. I miscalculated."
At that moment, one of the demon kings carefully raised his head and said, "Lord Hauress, if you give the order now, we will go into battle again."
Hauress stroked his jaw as he replied.
"How many feudal lords were affected?"
"Exactly seventy-six feudal lords were affected by the moon and ran out."
Feudal Lord. That is to say, the aristocracy.
He said the number was 76.
It was more than he thought.
If he thought of the subordinates beneath them, it was tens of thousands.
"Withdraw those guys" territory. Any fellow that is shaken from the red moon doesn"t deserve to be under my command."
"However, Lord Hauress. Among them… Duke Bastro is included."
"Bastro is?"
Hauress frowned.
If it was Duke Bastro, he was one of the most influential of the feudal lords" who had married one of Hauress"s daughters, a king"s son-in-law.
Hauress thought he had suffered great injuries during the fight between the Demon G.o.d"s factions and was recuperating, but Hauress didn"t think he would be influenced by the moon and run away.
Hauress, who had been concerned briefly, spoke again.
"Withdraw. Things will have to be stricter."
The regulations had to be strict. If they made exceptions, things would start to fall apart piece by piece.
Things were like that, especially at a time like this.
The Demon G.o.ds were divided between those in favor and those opposed, and the two sides fought violently.
The events that led to the great calamity became a controversy.
Although the party in favor was much greater in number, each and every one of the Demon G.o.ds were overwhelming beings.
The usual formula of 1=1 did not work at all.
Hauress himself had strength enough to defeat each Demon G.o.d beneath his seat, but this imbalance of power held true for those above him as well, and the combined might of the lesser Demon G.o.ds wasn"t something to disregard.
And so, if he moved hastily, there was the possibility of being hit with a counterattack.
That"s why even if he was a king"s son-in-law, there was a need to establish discipline by using stricter standards.
"Gremory… Most likely her operatives are still around. I weeded them out to such an extent, but…."
Hauress"s eyes quickly sunk.
He had no plans of showing weakness at a time like this.
In any case, time was on their side.
Since all that their opposition could do was block and run away.
Crash!
Hauress rose from his seat.
Hwiiinngg!
Depending on his movements, intense winds blew in every direction.
During the time the red moon, organizing their internal structure would be a priority.
That seemed to be the best course of action.
"Execute it immediately."
At the same time as Hauress spoke, the devils became excited.
"We will follow the order of the Great Hauress."
"We will follow the order of the Great Hauress."
"The Great….."
A uniformed voice that struck from every direction spread.
Devils were not only inside the castle, but outside as well.
They numbered well in the scores of hundreds of thousands.
Before long, hundreds of thousands of devils began to move in unison.
Devils. Among them the n.o.bles and their territories were in a very close relationship.
In the case of the n.o.ble devils, they claimed an area as their own territory and influenced it, but if the red moon made the n.o.bles crazy, the devils they ruled were bound to be agitated.
Bastro was like that.
Bastro and the 50,000 devils under him were like that.
"Today, I want to see blood."
Bastro took 50,000 devils, and slowly marched south.
In addition, together with the feudal lords that followed him, they were accompanied with an army of devils that was well over 100,000.
Although they ate up all the monsters that they caught while they marched, their thirst was not sated.
"We need a stronger enemy. These kind of small fries won"t work."
For quite some time during the southward march, there was a monster that caught Bastro"s eyes.
A giant of fire.
A fire tar!
It was able to be called a top predator, and most importantly, they lived in groups.
It was a very large area, but the owner of this area seemed to be a fire tar.
Bastro"s eyes glittered.
Muyoung, who had heard Arand"s report, frowned.
"100,000 devils……."
The scale itself was different.
If a n.o.ble could move at that scale, he would have to be at least a count or higher.
From the start a boss level monster had appeared.
And at the moment Muyoung found out about the devil, a screen popped up.
The Duke Bastro
Count Archiope
Baron Alliman, Baron Arthur, Baron Alluna……
High rank devils - 43
Mid rank devils - 620
Low rank devils - 96,300
It was about the size of the enemy.
Most of them were low level devils, but there were well over 7 n.o.ble-level devils.
If it was a Duke, it was the rank directly below Demon King.
It was a strong person that one couldn"t and shouldn"t see easily.
Fortunately, they didn"t invade to seek out Muyoung"s territory.
"He"s waging war with the fire tars."
Duke Bastro"s objective was the fire tars.
Since Muyoung"s territory itself was a bit on the outskirts, there was a chance for him to overcome this crisis without being noticed.
But that didn"t mean he was going to let it pa.s.s.
By "helping" the fire tars, he would be able to thin the number of devils that approached his territory.
"Lord, the devils have invaded."
It was when Muyoung was calculating various moves.
Baltan the Territory Guardian had hurriedly come in and spoken.
Baron Alliman.
He led approximately 2,000 devil soldiers and attacked Muyoung"s castle wall.
"Kuhaha! I"m in luck! I thought for sure I"d only end up scouting but while I was getting bored this turned out well!"
Clang! Claang!
The devil soldiers hurled huge rocks and used siege weapons to push the gates.
After one huge shock after another, it seemed the gates would soon gave way.
However no matter how much it was a.s.saulted it only shook, and the walls were not destroyed.
"Mmm?"
Soon Alliman, who had been triumphant in the beginning, also lifted his head.
The gate and wall were both so firm.
"So it"s designed with magic. It"s been made by dwarves. No wonder……. What are the wizards doing? Quickly attack!"
Alliman, who identified the problem, shouted.
Then, the 100 devils behind Alliman executed the orders.
Kwaaaaang!
Soon, countless magical attacks descended and struck the walls.
This time it worked.
The wall gave a huge shudder and a part of the upper section was swept away.
"It"s fairly strong but I, Alliman, cannot be stopped by it! Ggrrrrr! I"ll kill you all!"
He couldn"t resist his excitement from just imagining the slaughter that would begin in a moment.
The moment when Alliman"s emotions were heightened.
Swiiiiik!
Thump!
Something fell from the sky.
The large monster, Cerberus, and the Evil Spirit Predator Tacan!
Of course, Bae Sungmin and Muyoung were also present.
Four people blocked behind them.
Crreeeeaaakkk.
Soon the door opened and tens of thousands of soldiers appeared.
In the lead were Baltan and Arand.
"So it seems like I can"t avoid this."
Swoong!
Muyoung smiled bitterly and took out Anguish.
"I won"t spare even one."
As if he never smiled to begin with, he erased his expression.
If during this there was a survivor, things would be complicated. He had to wipe them out in one go.
Muyoung himself soon became a slaughterer.
In any case, it seemed inevitable that he would b.u.mp into the devils.
It couldn"t be helped.
If he couldn"t avoid them, he had no choice but to kill them.