Chapter 247 – Demon King Raid (3)

For some reason, I’m just not in the mood to work today.

“Alright, that’s enough training for today.”

“A-Are you serious…?”

“Why? You want to play some more?”

“No. I am truly, deeply pleased. I shall use the remaining time productively.”

Our Rawin, Leon, and Vincent, along with the other guardian knights, exchanged glances before quickly making their escape.

Seriously, why are knights sneaking glances like that?

I opened the system window.

There, I could see the members of my knight order engaged in battle.

Of course, they weren’t in any real danger. I could see them steadily accumulating experience while maintaining their stamina.

Well, to be honest, there aren’t many enemies out there who could threaten my team members. Not unless they’re at the level of a Demon King or a Legion Commander.

‘The Demon Kings of the East.’

Under a single Order System, dimensions split into dozens of branches.

Seizing control of a dimension converts its dominion directly into power.

Right now, the Demon Kings are subjugating dimensions to empower themselves.

Currently, there are two major factions.

The Grand Duke of the East, Agares, and the leader of the West, Vassago.

In reality, however, there is one Demon King whom the others fear most.

Demon King Baal.

He didn’t belong to any faction.

No, his very existence was questionable.

His name was known, but no one knew where he was.

Of course, contrary to his own intentions, he had Demon Kings and Majin who followed him, forming a central power bloc.

Thus, the Demon Kings were locked in a three-way conflict.

Among them, the Eastern faction was the most powerful. And those were the ones who had begun their invasion of the modern world.

They probably couldn’t be stopped.

Even with me here.

Im Jae-joon planned to surrender to the Eastern forces.

Since they were no match for them, it could be considered the correct answer, in a way.

Letting the Demon Kings fight their own faction wars while building up strength was also a correct answer.

But was submission truly the only right answer?

Historically, a defeated nation is forced to offer everything to the victor.

They have to be dragged along, unable to say a word against their unreasonable demands.

Could that truly be for the good of everyone?

-Dimension 211 is being invaded.

-Dimension 211 is being invaded.

-Your knight order is under attack.

-Dimension 211 is being invaded….

The messages kept scrolling up in the system log.

I had been proceeding with the Ruler of the Dimension quest over there.

Therefore, events happening in that world were also being relayed to me.

Selecting the notification window provided me with a brief summary of information.

-Destruction Progress: 42 / 100%

The entire world was being invaded by the Demon King’s army.

Not a single nation had managed to repel the attack. The United States had been shattered long ago when a high-ranking Demon King descended and destroyed everything.

Usually, the presence of just one Demon King is enough to conquer a dimension.

The Eastern faction was an alliance, but it was essentially a group of rulers.

*Swoosh!*

I could see a city being turned into a hellscape as meteorite fragments rained down.

I could see humanity, unable to unite thanks to a Demon King spreading a highly contagious plague.

The more they gathered, the more the disease spread, leaving only suspicion and wariness between them.

This wasn’t an invasion. It was merely a game.

I knew why they had launched such an all-out war.

I turned my view to Korea.

As a ruler’s privilege, the system kindly allowed me to check the situation.

I had tried to avoid looking. But I found myself checking the current situation again.

*KABOOM!*

The sound of an explosion shook the very earth. And soldiers met their deaths under the blades of monsters, their organs torn out and devoured.

Countless young and promising men were dying.

Using them as meat shields, the top-tier hunters went to hunt the Demon King.

I could see my team members, Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho, on the front lines, frantically cutting down enemies.

It had been a while since I’d last checked on them, and they were certainly different from before.

They had grown stronger.

It was impressive that they could fight so well against the Demon King’s royal guard.

But there was one being who drew my attention more than any other.

*Fwoosh-!*

There was someone overwhelming the Demon King, scattering a blue sword aura.

You could tell just by looking at his muscles.

This man was strong.

Where did they find someone of this caliber?

To be honest, it was a bit surprising that he was on a level where he wouldn’t lose to that Siegfried fellow.

The Demon King Crocell, who had descended while mocking the four S-ranks, was being utterly crushed by the sudden appearance of the muscular man.

The black wings the Demon King prided herself on had been torn apart by the man’s light sword and were now in tatters.

The four S-ranks also supported the muscular man, continuously pushing the Demon King back.

The scene was reminiscent of a Hero and his companions, gathered to hunt a Demon King.

To protect the peace by defeating the Demon King.

The man pursued the fleeing Demon King to the very end, as if to bring about the conclusion to one of those cliché stories.

Crocell, who had tried to evade into the air by flapping her wings, had her heart pierced by the man’s aggressive thrust.

The Demon King Crocell coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The gate in the sky had been created by the Demon King. Once the boss monster, the anchor of the gate, was hunted, the dimensional door would naturally close.

Demon King Crocell’s pupils widened in disbelief. Slowly, her body turned to ash and vanished into the air.

I could almost hear the triumphant cheers of the Hero and his companions, as if they had achieved a great victory.

I closed my eyes tightly. And I looked no more.

Up to this point, things were going according to that bastard Im Jae-joon’s plan. And I could predict what would happen next.

Victory. That was no victory.

It was merely a desperate struggle to survive.

For the sake of the people fighting for me, I must abandon them.

That’s the right thing to do.

It’s to reduce the sacrifices.

Yes, that is the right thing to do.

-Destruction Progress: 45.1 / 100%

Only the irritating message lingered on my retina.

***

For the first time in the world, a Demon King had been hunted. It was a historic moment, something no other country had managed to do.

As Demon King Crocell died, the massive gate etched into the Seoul sky rapidly shrank, then vanished with a loud *POP!*

The soldiers and hunters watching let out roars of triumph, clenching their fists.

They had defeated a mighty foe.

The lives of the countless people who had died for this battle had not been in vain.

Everyone on site burst into tears of joy and sorrow as they watched the scene.

It seemed as if everything was over.

*Fwoooosh!*

A massive gate began to form again above the skies of Seoul.

And it wasn’t just one.

Two, no, three gates swirled open at once.

The people on the ground watching the situation were left speechless.

Through the gates, Majin with horns on their heads crossed through the dimension.

A Demon King. Another Demon King. And another Demon King.

One Demon King had died, and three more had descended upon this land.

“Ah…!”

It was nothing short of a tragedy.

People instinctively knew that these beings, radiating overwhelming pressure, had come to destroy this world.

“Kill the Hero.”

At the Demon King’s cold command, new monsters began to pour out of the three gates.

Wyverns flapping their wings and spewing venomous liquid. And wraiths, wielding greatscythes, rushing forward as if flying.

A carnival of all kinds of monsters was now unfolding here.

The thought that they had survived was all a delusion.

The soldiers died screaming horribly.

They fired their guns, but the bullets passed through the wraiths’ transparent bodies without effect.

The wraiths harvested the people’s necks like fruit with the greatscythes they held.

*Splaaaaash!*

A wyvern flapped its wings, spraying a massive amount of acidic venom.

As the sticky venom landed on buildings and fell upon people, smoke rose from their bodies as they melted away.

They had succeeded in killing Demon King Crocell and driving back her army, only for new Demon Kings and new armies to appear.

There was nothing that could stop this.

“…!”

Baek Hyun-joo felt as if the world was going dark.

Unexpected reinforcements had appeared. To kill the Demon King, they had used almost all their forces as meat shields and had barely achieved their goal.

But it was one mountain after another; the situation had become even more difficult.

“All units, re…”

She had to order a retreat. An unorganized army could not face the enemies pouring in like a flood.

“Retreat. All units, retreat. Tell headquarters to launch missile strikes or whatever, just wipe them all out!”

They would launch a bombardment at the monsters. There was no other way.

Of course, she didn’t know if a bombardment could actually push back those monsters.

“Hey, Kkangcheol! That’s enough, let’s bounce!”

Lee Hyun-ah shouted at Kang Cheol, who was mercilessly slaughtering monsters.

Only then did Kang Cheol snap back to his senses.

More than a few elite monsters were charging at him.

That was the consequence of taking a Demon King’s head.

“Damn it, that perverted bitch better keep her promise.”

Lee Hyun-ah said, casting buffs on herself and Kang Cheol.

They had to secure an escape route and run, right now.

But in Kang Cheol’s vision, he could see people dying horribly.

Kang Cheol gritted his teeth.

“Stop being a busybody and let’s go!”

Lee Hyun-ah’s sharp cry rang out again.

Kang Cheol had no choice but to turn his back. In the past, he would have fought to the death to save them.

But now, he knew well what his priorities were.

Hearing the screams of those in need of help, Kang Cheol cut down monsters to secure an escape route.

“Don’t die. Everyone, please escape.”

Kim Min-ah murmured softly.

“Please.”

It was clear they would lose anyway.

Looking at the city being painted with blood everywhere, Kim Min-ah lowered her melancholic eyes.

It was a war they couldn’t win from the start.

That’s why the Demon King had made the right choice.

Defeat.

It was just the beginning of a retreat to survive, no, to bide time for the future.

-The government, as of this time, declares a state of disaster in Gyeonggi Province and issues an evacuation order…

The citizens, who had held a vague belief that the hunters and soldiers would protect them again, lost their lives to the attacks of monsters that suddenly crashed through their windows.

The elite demon army, starved with hunger, began its hunt.

The woman who screamed and begged for help, the man who had brandished a baseball bat menacingly.

They all became prey for the demon army.

That wasn’t all.

“Mommy. What is that?”

Even in other regions where the demon army had not yet reached, black shadows suddenly snatched people away.

“W-What is this!”

“Aaaargh!”

“Dad! Daaaad!”

Inky black hands, pouring from the sky like tentacles, snatched citizens and devoured them.

The sun no longer rose in the sky, and only darkness covered the world.

-The government has issued an evacuation order and has announced the deployment of additional military forces…

-It has been revealed that our hunters will continue to resist the demon army…

-The United States has fallen. The US President has announced an unconditional surrender…

Civilians with no combat ability were captured as food by the demon army and abducted to other dimensions.

Countless people were separated from their families, and countless others witnessed their loved ones being torn apart before their very eyes.

The army was repeatedly defeated and became food.

The hunters fought and held out as best they could, but with monsters having already pushed in so deep, they were living through hopeless days.

“Shit, what the hell are all the S-ranks doing!”

No one knew if the S-rank hunters were dead or alive anymore.

The broadcasting stations and news outlets had all shut down.

All forms of communication humanity had built up to this point were cut off, and all production facilities were destroyed.

Humans who had lost their civilization were nothing more and nothing less than food.

*KABOOM!*

The sound of explosions echoed countless times a day, and the piercing roars of large monsters were heard frequently.

“Sob, sniff. We’re all going to die…”

A boy, curled up and crying, realized there was no salvation.

The boy’s words became his reality.

When he opened his eyes, a monster drooling gluttonously was staring at him with hollow eyes.

The despair was not limited to Korea.

“There seems to be quite a bit of quality food here.”

A middle-aged man in a suit and monocle smiled.

The food he spoke of was human beings.

Facing him was the head of the Hanul Group, Im Jae-joon.

“Just like a low-ranking Demon King, languishing in a place like this. Right, Dantalian?”

“The wise Marbas. It is an honor to meet you.”

“Indeed. If you stayed instead of running, you must have had something to say.”

Marbas, the second-in-command of the Eastern Legion, spoke with a growl.

Despite his murderous aura, Dantalian sat with his legs crossed, leisurely enjoying his tea.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood something, Marbas.”

“What is there to misunderstand about a traitor who sold out his own kind to side with the Hero?”

Marbas spoke as if he would tear Dantalian apart at any moment.

Despite his aggressive yet formal words, Dantalian was completely unfazed.

“I prepared this meeting to negotiate.”

“Negotiate? Negotiate. Did I hear that correctly?”

“You heard correctly.”

At Dantalian’s words, Marbas bared his teeth and smiled.

“No need to waste time. Hand this dimension over to me.”

“This place? Me. No, why should we? Especially to a traitor.”

Marbas was a Demon King among Demon Kings. A true aristocrat, he didn’t even consider Demon Kings who had been defeated by a Hero to be real Demon Kings.

“The more useful pawns one has, the better, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Useful pawns, you say. I see none.”

Dantalian could be seen smiling at Marbas’s words.

‘He should be a low-ranking Demon King…’

The wise Marbas was a high-ranking Demon King. It was natural for Demon Kings to be granted powerful demonic energy and possess great authority as they rose in rank.

But although he spoke as if he were looking down on Dantalian, the pressure emanating from him was no joke.

“Now that the front with the West is tense, a great war will soon break out…”

Dantalian began to explain, but he paused and looked at Marbas, noticing his strange reaction.

“…!”

Marbas’s expression was odd.

The man who was always cunning, polite, and scathing never showed surprise or panic.

That was the way of an aristocrat.

But, right now, at this very moment, Marbas’s eyes were trembling with agitation.

“Marbas?”

“The Gate… is collapsing…?”

Marbas’s beard trembled as if he couldn’t believe it.

Dantalian focused on the word ‘Gate.’

Gate.

It was a code word for the main base of the Eastern territory.