Gonna Be a Demon King!
Chapter 70: In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter 70: In the Blink of an Eye

"We’ve shaken them off."

One of the demons riding at the rear spoke in a low voice, and as if on cue, the Staff Sergeant deactivated his Stealth skill, while their horses also slow.

Even warhorses couldn’t maintain full speed indefinitely. They needed time to catch their breath.

They had put a good distance between themselves and the dark elf territory in the forest, and within minutes, they would reach open land.

"Don’t relax too much. We’re still in the forest."

Vollm’s sharp voice cut through the momentary relief as he glanced back before shifting his gaze to the injured demons.

Several had arrows lodged in their arms and backs. Though none had struck vitals, and the demons’ superhuman endurance kept them from collapsing, the dark discolouration around the wounds made it clear that the arrows were poisoned and had to be treated fast.

Vollm ordered the uninjured to assist with first aid—while they were still moving.

As the demons tended to their wounds, Vollm turned his attention to Xaren, about to question the grey-skinned demon when he noticed Xaren’s eyes widen in alarm, snapping forward.

"CAP—!!"

***BAAAM!!!

"—TAIN!!"

The movement was faster than the sound of Xaren’s voice.

A massive existence suddenly materialized before them, as if by teleportation, and hurled their foot forward with all the power of their three-story building-sized body.

***BOOOOMM!!!!

The massive foot collided with the Captain and Lieutenant’s horse, the brutal impact crushing the animal instantly and hurling the two demons through the air at near-sonic speed.

Shockwaves exploded outward, ripping through the surroundings and sending everything flying. Trees snapped like twigs, debris scattered in every direction, and the demons were flung like ragdolls.

Xaren and the others crashed through dozens of trees before slamming into the hard ground, colliding with rocks and broken branches.

The suddenly appearing Giant retracted their foot, then stomped down with a thunderous quake, launching themselves in the direction Vollm had been sent flying.

The shockwaves from their sonic-speed movement flattened even more trees, sending another violent blast that pummelled the already wounded demons as they charged straight for Vollm.

With a massive fist the size of a car, they swung a punch that seemed to press down the sky at Vollm, who unleashed a powerful burst of demonic energy and conjured a shield to block the attack.

**BOOM!!!

The impact sent shockwaves tearing through the forest, reaching all the way to the dark elven village and uprooting entire trees in their wake.

Gritting his teeth, Vollm glared at the giant as he struggled to hold his shield against the overwhelming force.

’This guy... he’s an Epic!’

His expression darkened at the realization, and as if noticing it, the giant grinned before pouring even more power into the aura behind their fist.

Vollm immediately abandoned his shield, rolling to the side just as the massive fist slammed into the ground with a meteoric impact.

Without hesitation, he extended his hand, summoning a spear crackling with black lightning. Simultaneously, he leapt onto the giant’s arm and dashed up its length, swinging his spear straight at their head.

At the same time, his wounded Lieutenant struggled free from the rubble of shattered trees, coughing up blood as he activated magic to buff Vollm.

Yet, the giant merely grinned, their aura erupting to an even greater level as they clenched their other fist and hurled it at Vollm, kickstarting a battle of colossal scale.

◇　◇　◇

The only thing Xaren could hear was a loud ringing sound in his ears, a lingering effect of the sonic shockwave that had gone off not too long ago.

His head throbbed like it had been smashed between two boulders, and his vision blurred in and out of focus.

He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, and when he finally regained enough awareness to sit up, a sharp pain immediately shot through his left leg.

Looking down, he saw a jagged piece of wood lodged deep in his thigh, blood seeping from the wound. Another splintered shard protruded from his right arm, his wrist was twisted, and several fingers were bent at unnatural angles.

His uniform was torn, and through the ragged tear, he used his still-functional left hand to retrieve his magic pouch and a potion from the pouch.

Without hesitation, he forced his broken fingers back into place, then did the same for his wrist, biting down on his lip so hard to stifle his groans that he tasted blood.

His breathing was ragged as he uncorked the potion and poured some of its contents over his mangled hand before swallowing the rest.

Pulling out another vitality potion, he clenched his teeth, grasped the wood embedded in his thigh, and yanked it out in one go before quickly pouring the potion over the open wound.

The fact that a piece of wood had managed to pierce through his durability and wound him so deeply spoke volumes about the sheer force behind it and the level of aura that had been infused into it when it was sent flying.

As he worked on removing the wood from his right arm, his gaze darted around in search of any sign of the other demons, but he saw no one.

The group had been completely scattered. And right now, being alone was one of the worst-case scenarios.

He had no idea what had just happened—all he knew was that Danger Sense had screamed an alarm so loud it nearly deafened him, and he had tried to call out to Captain Vollm.

However, whatever had attacked them moved faster than the sound of his voice, so by the time he could finish his warning, the attack had already landed.

He had not even caught a glimpse of what had struck them. It was just that fast.

**BOOOOM!!!

He heard a loud explosion in the distance and immediately turned toward the source, catching sight of powerful black lightning and beams of light streaking across the sky—signs of Vollm’s battle he could see now that the canopy of trees had been destroyed.

The existence that had attacked them was currently engaged with Vollm, and if they succeeded in taking him down, Xaren and the other demons would undoubtedly be next.

That was the optimistic assumption.

The pessimistic assumption was that this enemy had brought subordinates who would handle Xaren and the others while they dealt with Vollm, and more often than not, the pessimistic assumption tended to be the reality.

After a minute, feeling finally returned to his right hand, and he drew his sword, forcing himself to his feet with a pained groan.

Expanding his magic power to sense any nearby presence, his expression darkened almost instantly.

Multiple entities were approaching from his right, and without hesitation, he turned and dashed in the opposite direction.

While these entities were not stronger than him, the gap in power was not large enough to be reassuring, and with their numbers combined with his current injured state, fighting them all at once was out of the question.

Spreading his wings, Xaren took to the air and flew over the flattened forest, glancing behind him to see exactly what was giving chase.

The moment they came into view, he was greeted by the sight of five massive lions, each twice the size of a regular one, their white fur radiating a powerful light magic.

Xaren clicked his tongue in annoyance as he immediately recognized them.

"Angel beasts!"

Just as demons had Demon Beasts, like the leopard-headed Bjorn, the angels had their own counterparts known as Angel Beasts.

Right now, five of them were pursuing him, and they were gaining ground fast.

Xaren moved his left hand, lifted broken trees and rubble from the destroyed landscape and hurled them at the beasts in an attempt to slow them down.

Flapping his wings harder, he propelled himself forward, scanning the ground below for any sign of his comrades.

In the distance, he spotted a demon lying motionless on the forest floor, but as he got closer, he saw the sight of a soul manifesting above the body, the irrefutable sign that this demon was already dead.

They had been close to Vollm when the giant attacked, and as a result, they had died before they were even sent flying.

Grabbing the soul and devouring it for the stat boost, Xaren continued to fly, pushing forward as the angel beasts roared at him in fury.

The rubble he had thrown had slowed all but one, and that one charged ahead, using light magic to amplify its speed.

Seeing that the others were lagging behind, Xaren folded his wings and landed, stumbling slightly before breaking into a sprint on foot. Seeing this, the angel beast let out a loud roar, leapt onto a nearby rock, and used it as a springboard to launch itself into the air.

With claws coated in powerful light magic, it swung down at Xaren’s back.

At the last possible moment, just before the strike connected, Xaren abruptly halted and spun around.

The gravity behind his sword quadrupled as flames roared to life around the blade, and he swung it with his full strength. The slash cleaved through the beast’s outstretched arm, carved deep into the side of its head, and split it cleanly in two, white blood spilling onto the ground.

Without pausing, Xaren completed the full revolution of his swing, then immediately activated Gravitational Repulsion at his feet, launching himself forward as he resumed running.

The remaining angel beasts, sensing the death of their comrade, bellowed in rage and charged after him, but Xaren did not spare them a glance.