Demon King of the Royal Class
Chapter 545

Chapter 545

The earthquake had merely been the vibrations caused by a massive monster crawling underground.

The enormous creature emerged, swallowing vast expanses of land.

Queeeek!

The worm monster let out a cry, revealing hundreds—no, thousands—of thorn-like teeth. No matter how fast or well-prepared they were, the massive worm had managed to devour Scarlett and countless other soldiers.

Scarlett had been swallowed whole.

“No...!”

He couldn’t let Scarlett, who had just saved his life, die so suddenly and so meaninglessly.

Ludwig didn’t know how to deal with such a colossal monster. Nevertheless, he gripped his sword and charged toward the giant worm.

Unlike the other soldiers, Scarlett could use Mana Reinforcement. Therefore, although he didn’t know how long she could truly last, she might be able to endure a little longer than the others while inside the belly of that giant worm.

Ludwig had to dismantle the monster before Scarlett ran out of breath. The sword in his right hand was nothing more than a toothpick compared to the massive size of the monster he faced.

However, he couldn’t just stand by. Ludwig ran toward the worm, which had fully emerged from the ground, and was slamming its massive maw down on the soldiers around it, devouring them.

He didn’t know how to cut it, but he would cut it. If he could, he would even enter that maw to rescue Scarlett. With that level of resolve, he charged at the worm.

Queeeek!

The terrified soldiers fled, while Ludwig, indifferent to such fear, ran forward. The worm, unable to retreat, lowered its head toward the small figure charging at hit.

Boom!

Ludwig dodged the attack and thrust his sword into the monster’s head.

Thud!

“Ugh...!”

His sword definitely penetrated.

The sword wasn’t ineffective, but the sheer size of the creature was overwhelming in itself.

Could he dismantle that massive body even if he stabbed it all day?

Could he save Scarlett, who had been swallowed by this monster?

Whoosh!

“Ugh...!”

As the monster lifted its head, Ludwig, who had embedded his sword into the monster’s body, was lifted into the air. The creature was clearly trying to shake off the strange human clinging to it by the sword embedded in its body.

Changing his stance, Ludwig endured the monster’s thrashing while firmly gripping the sword he had stabbed into the monster’s body.

Just by doing that, he was already restraining the giant monster’s movements, saving countless lives.

But it wasn’t enough. He needed a bit more. He had to cut through this hide and dig into this monster in order to pull Scarlett out.

The blood vessels in Ludwig’s eyes began to pop.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He couldn’t do it, but he would try as hard as he could.

Clenching his teeth, Ludwig relentlessly stabbed his sword into the giant Worm’s body.

Only if he were a Master Class. Only if he were stronger...

Clenching his teeth, Ludwig swung his sword. He had to save Scarlett before her life was extinguished, but his efforts were insufficient.

The truth was always brutal. There was nothing one could do to change what could not be changed.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

The monster deliberately slammed its head into the ground, and Ludwig was thrown off.

Queeeek!

It shrieked at Ludwig, who had fallen, as if getting ready to swallow the pesky insect that had annoyed it.

Just when the monster’s grotesque maw was about to engulf him as well...

Thwack!

Keek!

A massive ice spear flew into the worm, piercing its maw and causing it to reel back.

Bang! Bang!

Following that, numerous offensive spells began to strike the maw of the giant monster which had suddenly appeared from underground.

It was a desperate battle, and many were dying, but Ludwig wasn’t fighting alone. Mages who had been observing the battle from the rear provided magical support in response to the sudden appearance of the large monster.

Queeeek!

The Worm, which had cast a terrifying presence when it first appeared, was quickly being torn apart.

Humans were by no means weak, and the combined strength of humanity, which had gathered all their remaining power together, was not weak either.

The last army of humanity was strong because it was the last.

And then...

“Move, Ludwig!”

Amidst the roaring of the monsters, Ludwig heard Delphine Izadra’s voice.

He turned around and saw Delphine approaching with a bowstring drawn.

Just as his sword was a toothpick when compared to that massive body, Delphine’s arrow was as well. But it wasn’t a mere arrow. A single arrow from Delphine Izadra, who had awakened the extraordinary power of spirit magic, could never be ordinary.

Whooong!

The arrow, infused with wind, emitted a strange wail as it flew. The moment the arrow, imbued with the power of spirits, was released, space seemed to warp.

Thwack!

A sound akin to an explosion, one which even a ballista couldn’t produce, erupted from the bowstring, and the arrow tore through space, streaking toward the worm.

The arrow, carrying the force of compressed wind, struck the worm, which had already suffered three ice spear hits to its maw.

Boom!

Ludwig watched wide-eyed as the force of the wind, compressed within the tip of Delphine’s arrow, burst apart, shattering the monster’s maw.

Amidst the scattered flesh and monster blood, Ludwig saw Scarlett, covered in the creature’s blood, emerge from the chaos.

She was alive.

Scarlett, who had shrouded herself in a blue mana shield to withstand being trapped inside the monster’s gullet, fell. The bodies of the other soldiers who had been swallowed with her had already been dissolved, but Scarlett was unharmed.

However, Scarlett was unconscious. The blue protective shield of Mana Reinforcement was still shimmering around Scarlett, but it was fading.

Unluckily, the shockwave from the explosion did not send Scarlett flying toward the allied soldiers, but in the opposite direction, toward the approaching swarm of monsters.

“No...!”

Though Scarlett had been freed from the monster thanks to the mages’ support fire and Delphine’s power, she would be torn apart by the approaching monsters if left alone.

She was surrounded. Scarlett, with no weapon, lay limp amidst the swarming monsters.

Ludwig ran.

“Ludwig! No!” Delphine cried out as Ludwig charged forward recklessly. But Ludwig continued to run, grabbing a spear from a fallen soldier.

He had not been able to face that giant monster, but he would kill what he could.

Boom! Bang! Crash!

Charging through the battlefield like a human tank, Ludwig cleared a path.

Punching, kicking, and stabbing with the spear, he ran toward the wave of monsters converging on Scarlett.

Because of a moment’s carelessness and a sudden absurd turn of events, too many had died, including those they knew.

Clenching his teeth, Ludwig picked up and used the weapons of the fallen, discarding them when they broke and taking new ones as he charged.

Delphine, realizing she couldn’t stop Ludwig, began providing support fire with arrows imbued with fire, lightning, and wind, targeting the monsters converging on Ludwig.

If Scarlett were to be swallowed by the wave of monsters approaching, there would be no next time.

“Get out of the way, bloody monsters...!”

The long range support from the mages in the rear was already being directed elsewhere, so hoping for their help again was just an empty wish.;

On a battlefield filled with misfortune, Ludwig couldn’t rely on chance. He continued his charge through the wave of monsters.

Boom!

Even as Delphine pierced through the monsters with arrows imbued with spirit power, other monsters filled the gaps.

Stabbing, slashing, and smashing his way through, Ludwig finally reached the fallen Scarlett and succeeded in hoisting her onto his shoulder.

But just because he had slung Scarlett on his shoulder didn’t mean it was over. To save Scarlett and himself, they had to escape this hellscape.

Naturally, he couldn’t fend off attacks from all directions. With Scarlett slung over his left shoulder, only his right hand was free.

Thud! Crack!

Kicking out at his attackers, picking up broken spears and swords. Ludwig, who had entered the heart of the monster horde, was now attempting to escape.

Queeeek!

Kieeek!

“Ugh...!”

He was much slower because of his burden, and he did not have as much freedom to move and attack.

Though many were fighting, they were ultimately isolated groups. The mages were offering their support elsewhere, and the soldiers were struggling to deal with the monsters right in front of them.

Bang! Ba-bang!

Only Delphine’s arrows, imbued with the power of spirits, provided any sort of help. Without them, Ludwig and Scarlett would have already been swept away by the monsters.

With Delphine’s support fire, Ludwig kicked at and crushed the approaching monsters, striving to escape the heart of the horde.

However, Ludwig still had a blind spot. And while there were excessively large monsters, there were also smaller ones, which were naturally less noticeable.

Just as Ludwig had almost cleared the monster wave, he belatedly noticed a small snake darting toward him from the side.

Though Ludwig had noticed it a little late, he didn’t fail to react.

Snap!

Just before the small snake reached him, Ludwig grabbed it with his right hand. However, he did not catch it by the head but slightly further down.

If you don’t grab a snake by the head, it will bite you.

“Damn it...!”

Snap!

Just because it was small didn’t mean its attack was any less deadly. The small snake’s sharp teeth pierced through Ludwig’s Mana Reinforcement.

And then...

“Ugh!”

Something, a strong foreign sensation and a burning pain, invaded his senses through the wound, and Ludwig couldn’t help but groan.

“Ludwig!”

Delphine’s face turned pale as she witnessed Ludwig being bitten by the snake.

“Ugh... Argh...!”

Crack!

Swinging the snake about like a whip, Ludwig managed to shake it off, but it had left a vivid bite mark.

“Ugh...! Arghhhh!”

Ludwig screamed in agony, unable to endure the pain of the venom seeping through the wound, but he couldn’t stop moving forward.

Thwack!

Delphine’s arrow once again blew holes in the wave of monsters converging on Ludwig and Scarlett.

Delphine let loose the next arrow as she kept an eye on Ludwig.

“Run!” Delphine shouted urgently.

Still holding onto Scarlett with his left hand, Ludwig endured the burning pain spreading up through his right arm as he took step after step.

He believed that as long as he reached the rear, both the wound on his right hand and Scarlett’s unconscious state could somehow be dealt with.

Crack! Thud!

Ignoring the bite wound and the fact that the flesh was slowly turning a strange grayish color, Ludwig pushed through the wave of monsters.

The small snake’s venom was clearly having a critical impact on Ludwig’s body. But he didn’t care about his arm. Saving Scarlett was more important. If he fell here and succumbed to this pain, Scarlett would die.

Clenching his teeth, Ludwig kicked and ran, following the path that Delphine cleared out with her support fire. They finally escaped the heart of the monster horde.

“Ludwig! Are you okay?!”

Delphine, who’s original position was in the rear to provide long-range support with spirit magic, had entered deep into the battlefield upon seeing Ludwig and Scarlett in danger.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. More importantly, we need to get Scarlett...”

“No! Your hand is—”

Whoosh...

Delphine had come too far and too deep. Just when Ludwig and Delphine notice the sky darkening, a massive creature was already leaping toward them.

“Ludwig! Behind you...!”

However, the monster which appeared suddenly wasn’t targeting Ludwig. It leaped over Ludwig, recognizing a more dangerous presence, and attacked.

Snap!

“Ugh!”

The massive black wolf with hundreds of eyes leapt over the wave of monsters and himself, biting down on Delphine’s shoulder from above.

The blue mana shield surrounding Delphine’s body shattered as the wolf’s massive maw bit through her shoulder, chest, and abdomen in an instant, its vicious teeth sinking into her flesh.

Crunch! Rip!

“Del... Delphine?”

Ludwig could only look on in a daze as Delphine’s body was crushed by a single bit from the monster wolf.

“Run...”

Delphine Izadra mouthed with her last ounce of strength, spitting blood and on the brink of death. Neither Ludwig nor the power of the spirits had been able to stop the massive monster’s leap.

It had only been a moment.

Merely a moment had gone by...

But in that single moment, Delphine Izadra’s life had been claimed.