The Monsters newly created by the Commander Kobold are exactly the same as the “Kobold Soldiers” fighting nearby. In other words, they are enemies Bosuro could defeat with a single swing—but if there’s a formidable enemy directly in front of him, the situation is undoubtedly different.

There are three of them. To Bosuro’s left, right, and behind—that’s when I unleashed “Holy Lance.”

Spears of Light obliterate the Monster behind the General. At the same time, Bosuro interrupted his attack and retreated. Of course, the Commander and the other Monsters pursued him. But then,

“Thunder!”

It was Sofia’s magic. A lightning flash—the intermediate lightning magic, ‘Lightning’—erupted from her fingertips. She had moved her horse to a position where she could target the monsters on either side of Bosuro in a straight line, and the lightning flash pierced through the monsters, obliterating two of them simultaneously!

As a commander, this would be the result of a failed strategy. While thinking, “Is this the end?” I watched the Kobold attack Bosuro.

Compared to earlier, its magic power had clearly decreased. The act of instantly generating three monsters seemed to have been a considerable burden. I speculated that the Demon Race had merely granted the ability to create monsters, and hadn’t intended for it to be used due to the heavy magic power consumption. A monster creating other monsters usually involves a significant consumption of magic power unless it possesses such a special ability from the start. Therefore, I thought there was no reason for Bosuro to lose to the Kobold commander, whose power had diminished from before, but—

In an instant, contrary to my prediction, the Kobold’s magic power suddenly surged.

“Wha—”

Sofia groaned. And some of the surrounding Knights also showed expressions of astonishment.

The magic power it had shown until now was as if it had been holding back… If its magic power until now was like a bonfire, now it was a raging inferno, soaring as if to reach the heavens. I was speechless at first, but immediately understood the cause of that magic power.

“It’s sacrificing its own life…!”

For monsters, magic power is life itself. Just as humans must breathe and eat to maintain their bodies, monsters need to obtain magic power to sustain themselves.

However, the Kobold before me was unleashing magic power, intent only on defeating the General—it must have been ordered to do so by the Demon Race. Rather than risking its life… this Kobold was merely a puppet fighting under the Demon Race’s command. It was simply obeying orders.

I began my incantation to counter. With this much magic power, the slash it unleashes could be a decisive blow against Bosuro. I immediately began the incantation for ‘Holy Lance’ to get into a position to provide support—

It was right after that. The Kobold, which had been trying to pursue Bosuro, suddenly swept the ground. That action might have seemed inexplicable to the Knights. But I understood.

“No way—”

The next moment, a blue shockwave rippled out from where it had swept the ground. This was ‘Earth Surge Wave,’ a lower-tier greatsword technique. It sweeps the ground to send magic power into it, and by connecting with the magic power in the earth, it generates a small-scale shockwave.

It’s an area-of-effect attack with low power. In the game, it’s a minor technique whose utility decreases by mid-game, and I’ve only used it a handful of times. But—

“Ugh!”

Bosuro groaned. The shockwave enveloped his body—he didn’t seem to be injured, but the shockwave sent the General flying.

“General—!”

Sofia cried out. At the same time, the Kobold’s face—suddenly turned towards us.

Did it react because we attacked and thwarted its strategy? Bosuro was blown back far, and instead of pursuing him, it seemed to have set its sights on us first.

Fighting while sacrificing its life, does it have enough leeway to bother with us…? The Kobold came at us without hesitation. Meanwhile, Bosuro still couldn’t recover.

I was about to tell Sofia to retreat—the next moment, the Kobold quickly raised its sword and slammed it into the ground again.

Another ‘Earth Surge Wave’ occurred. Even if I took the hit, I wouldn’t be damaged, but I understood its intention and at the same time realized that evasion was impossible.

The Kobold’s target was undoubtedly the horse I was riding. I tried to maneuver the reins to somehow evade, but it was no good. I was engulfed by the shockwave, losing my balance significantly.

“Ack—!”

Muttering a small sound, I dismounted, half-thrown off. The horse seemed to have taken some damage, with minor injuries. However, the shockwave released by the Kobold felt more like it was blowing the horse away rather than trying to fell it. It seemed its priority was to drag us off our mounts and then deal with us.

However, by this point, Bosuro had already started moving. The moment I stared directly at the Kobold commander, the General, who was trying to approach the monster from the side, entered my vision.

“I am your opponent!”

He swept his spear. That sword strike was greater than any before, undoubtedly his best strike at that moment.

However, the Kobold, releasing magic power while sacrificing its life, was also at full strength—the moment their weaponry clashed, Bosuro was thrown back even further.

No, that wasn’t just being thrown back. The General himself was sent flying to a height that surpassed his own body length.

At that sight, I tried to call out to the General. But the Kobold caught sight of me, so I stopped moving my mouth—and then, a mounted Knight with a spear approached the Kobold from behind.

It was a complete surprise attack. If it had been the Kobold from before, it might have taken a hit and sustained some damage. However,

“No! Retreat!”

I shouted instinctively. But the Knight couldn’t stop, and the Kobold swung its greatsword to counter. Their weapons intersected, and

This time, the Knight’s body, along with his horse, was sent flying.

“Wha—”

Sofia’s voice came from behind. That monstrous strength was astonishing, and it made it clear just how much power the Kobold was unleashing.

However, that power was being generated by sacrificing its life… it definitely had a time limit, but how long would it last?

There was one thing for sure—even with little time left, it definitely had enough time to sink its fangs into me.

The Kobold turned towards me again. The blown-back Bosuro seemed to be regaining his posture, and even if he came to support me, it would be after I had already clashed with the Kobold. And Sofia was behind me. There was only one answer as to what I should do.

I gather magic power in both arms. The Kobold raises its greatsword, aiming to cleave me in two—in that instant, I recall my clash with Bosuro.

When the General attacked, I couldn’t adjust my strength in time—but this time was different. I sensed the magic power emanating from the Kobold, and my experience fighting monsters told my body what to do.

The Kobold roared, while I remained silent—swords clashed. A slash that even Bosuro was blown away by. From the perspective of the surrounding Knights, it wouldn’t be strange for them to think it was over.

But I withstood the sword. I didn’t release any magic power externally, so my abilities wouldn’t be revealed—but if the Demon Race had seen this, they might take an interest in me as a human who could withstand such a sword.

At that moment, the Kobold applied more force to its stopped greatsword. I matched it with even more strength… and the stalemate continued.

For the Kobold, this should be a desperate situation. Should it move to crush me further, or retreat once—however, the monster had no time to think.

Bosuro, having regained his stance, reached the Kobold’s back. Seeing him swing his spear with such power, I inwardly knew that the battle was finally coming to an end.