—

Garrick brandished his poleaxe as he snarled at the demons.

He emitted ferocity no less than they have, cleaving through their numbers like he’s possessed or completely succumbed to his animalistic side. His killing intent was so thick and heavy that it even intimidated some of the weaker demons around.

Despite this, Garrick was as clear-headed as he could be. If this was a couple of days ago, he wouldn’t be because he had no semblance of control of his rage and animosity, but under Cedric’s lead and advice, he gained some semblance of mastery over his rage that no longer clouds his mind. And that is immensely helping him right now.

Garrick obviously wasn’t fighting alone. Despite his wild swings that caused the earth to tremble beneath his feet, he was vividly aware of his surroundings and the people around him. Even in the heat of battle, he didn’t forget to look after them like a proper leader, at the very least.

Boom!!

Garrick dragged his axe towards himself with a grunt, harshly carving a deep scar on the ground which emitted a brilliant light before exploding, sending sharp rubble everywhere.

His teammates wisely made themselves scarce around him when they saw him doing this because that’s an indiscriminate attack.

Light bathed Garrick’s body afterward, making him feel comfortable and energetic. His axe and his body seemed lighter.

A few meters behind him was a girl holding a staff, she pointed it at him while her eyes were closed. This girl had a support class and she just used a skill that increased Garrick’s strength and agility by at least 15%. Because of her improvements, this skill will last for 10 minutes. It falls a bit short but it’s more than enough to help out to their current predicament.

She did not just use it for her leader but also the rest of the team as well. Her role didn’t end there. Aside from giving them buffs, she also has skills that weaken demons around her which she also used right away to make the fight easier for the team. She has combat skills too but they are weaker compared to her buffs and debuffs, but such is the nature of a supporting class like her.

It’s not like Garrick’s team lacked ranged firepower. It’s the opposite actually, they have a peculiar teammate who’s more than enough to fit that role. His only problem was his bad aim, but in a situation like this where they’re surrounded, that didn’t seem like a problem at all. The only real risk was him hurting his teammates, but that had been remedied by Cedric’s drills and training.

The entirety of Squad #2 worked beautifully, fighting against demons on equal ground despite being outnumbered. They stayed within the extraction zone just like Cedric told them to, and held their ground.

Due to the intense battle, even they weren’t aware of how fast they were growing. This applies to everybody, especially Garrick – who originally thrives in battles like this, to begin with.

Neither their Tiers nor Levels were increasing. True Demons like these don’t leave Demon Souls behind. The increase in their strength comes from what they already possess. The skills they learned were being honed through rigorous battle, sharpened by the pressure of the real battle for survival.

The improvement they experienced through a few minutes of this already surpassed what they had during their time at the academy. They just don’t realize it yet.

It’s the same for all squads who were caught between a rock and a hard place. Everybody was fighting for their lives and doing their best to transcend their limits.

Their faith was restored upon seeing that the army was helping them out in their own way – thinning the number of hordes as they should. It also helped that the demons were somehow drawn to the gates instead of attacking the entirety of the wall. This funneled their numbers into direct bombardment, relieving great pressure from the cadets.

This doesn’t completely apply to Squad #1, though…

Their location was pretty close to Eastern Gate. And because the horde was concentrated in that location, the amount of demons trying to kill them was also greater in number.

Fortunately, it’s the Squad #1 and not others. Squad #1 has Cedric, other squads don’t, so if there’s any squad that could handle great pressure like this, it would be them.

Fwoosh!!

Brilliant orange flames billowed from Cedric’s sword, torching his surroundings and reducing demon filth to ash.

With each step he took, a group of demons evaporated. He left a trail of fire behind, scorching the earth and the corruption that seeped deeply into it. The heat his flames reached was unbearable for most demons, making him a terrifying enemy for them.

It has to be known that Cedric was reaping demons whose strength should be above his. The weakest ones he saw were around Tier 4, which was around his level. In front of his flames and the sharpness of his sword, however, even Tier 7 Demons had to be wary.

Since the battle started, Cedric hasn’t stopped killing. Everything that doesn’t resemble a human, he considers as enemies to be killed without an ounce of mercy.

Cedric honed his skills, trained like mad, and tempered his will all for this moment. This battle was the real thing. It happens in the real world, not in Purgatory.

All the resentment, righteous indignation, bitterness…every negative thing he experienced in his life, was because of these creatures, so they deserve his wrath more than any other.

It’s a pity that he couldn’t use his Sunfire here or else, he would truly end their existence once and for all.

From time to time, Cedric would pay attention to his teammates and see that they were still relatively fine. Some were injured because of the sheer number of foes they faced but for the most part, they’re fine.

What’s really important to note here is that, despite the flood of corruption practically trying to drown them all and turn them to each other, his squad members were fine.

Not a trace of hesitation or uncertainty was reflected in their eyes. All of them were mentally sound and oozed an extremely sharp focus that was enough to cut steel. Their willpower burns fiercely and so long as Cedric is around, it will not waver.

‘They will be fine.’ Cedric mused to himself as he continued his slaughter.

He tightened his grip on his sword and made a wide swing that cleaved dozens of demons at once. He’s like a lawnmower at this point, but lawnmowers could only dream of moving as fast as Cedric could.

Cedric’s field of senses was unleashed to its maximum output, now is not the time to hold back from using it.

The battlefield was too finicky and chaotic, Cedric needed to pay attention at all times, or else, he would doom them all.

And his preparedness always comes in handy, it always has, even right at this very moment because if wasn’t utilizing his field of senses to the maximum, he would’ve been late to notice a blur heading straight to him.

Cedric’s pupils hardened as he hurriedly changed locations, pulling away from the team. His members noticed this and were about to ask what he was doing but they were interrupted by the sudden descent of a foul presence.

Boom!!!

A large explosion occurred, kicking up a large dust cloud. The aftershock sent the weaker demons away by force. When the smoke cleared, Squad #1 realized just what happened.

In front of Cedric was a 9-foot-tall demon wearing a bone skull and crown. It has a humanoid torso and hooves for feet. The demon was holding two large cleavers made out of demon bones, forcing Cedric who was competing against it evenly in strength.

“…a Capra Demon Lord!” #5 was horrified upon realizing what it was.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll handle this thing. Focus on yourselves!” Cedric roared to his team as his sword released even hotter flames.

To their astonishment, the Capra Demon Lord actually retreated first! A terrifying demon whose sole purpose was to hunt strong prey and make trinkets out of their remains retreated due to Cedric’s flames.

The squad couldn’t believe it, but they had to. More importantly, they can’t afford to be distracted here because they’re surrounded, so they could pin their hopes on Cedric.

Despite retreating initially, the Capra Demon Lord didn’t stop moving. It twists its body, using its flexibility and agility to turn into a blur of motion.

It moved too fast for anybody to see, even Cedric. However, its movements were predictable at the very least. That said, in terms of pure physical power, even with Cedric’s absurd stats, he’s no match for a Capra Demon, especially a Demon Lord variant of it.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to…

Clang!!

Their swords clashed again. This time, it didn’t last as long as it did earlier because Cedric’s entire body was bathed in orange fire.

He then stabbed his sword into the ground and released even more flames around him. He controlled it to form a dome that trapped him and the Capra Demon Lord within, just like what he did to the Broodmother earlier.

Brandishing his sword, he went into a stance and coldly glared at the Capra Demon Lord.

“You and me, Buddy. Let’s dance.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep