The Demon King's First General
Chapter 117: Golden Piercings

Chapter 117: Golden Piercings

"That person who’s the sole reason for these poor souls to be in a state like this is quite ferocious; what an annoying Legacy!" Zeno exclaimed while evading a thrust from the doll monster.

He stepped sideways and crouched down the next second after noticing a beam of light that came out of the monster’s mouth, aiming for his head.

Upon seeing that its attack failed to connect, the monster charged towards Zeno, hurling its giant fist at the demon.

Zeno stood right there and stopped the punch with his hand, then grabbed the monster’s arm before swirling it around himself.

Seconds later, he tossed it into a nearby wall before extending his left hand. A jet-black bow with six dots lining its limbs materialized in front of him, and as soon as he pulled its string backward, a jet-black arrow appeared, which was soon released and propelled towards the monster’s head.

’Still alive, huh?’ Zeno thought upon seeing that the doll blocked the projectile with its arms.

The next moment, the bow vanished, and jet-black twin daggers appeared on both of the silver-haired demon’s hands. He dashed to close the distance between them, and the monster did the same; it ran towards him with its giant sword, slicing through the air.

Its size was twice that of the silver-haired demon, so the moment it swung its weapon, Zeno leaped upward and bent his right leg before kicking the monster in the face.

The doll’s head was crushed as it received a direct, full-blown attack; its giant body tumbled in the air before scarifying the thick pile of snow.

"This would be more interesting if this thing here could use those knights’ respective Legacies," Zeno commented after plunging on the doll’s body.

The next second, the daggers on his hands turned into a scythe; afterward, he struck the monster’s chest and sliced its torso, cutting its whole body in half.

Zeno turned around and looked in the direction of the castle. Waves after waves of violent energy caused tremors across the city. With a giant grin on his face, he traversed the path leading to where the battle commenced.

. . . . .

A few moments earlier, when all of the knights left their spots after a loud explosion happened, Kizeler saw an opportunity to slip inside the castle grounds. He ran towards the place and hid himself behind a giant pillar.

With a throbbing heart due to nervousness, he peeked at the scene happening a few meters away from him. He listened to their conversations and observed their actions while maintaining a safe distance.

’My hunch is right after all,’ he conveyed in his thoughts after taking a glance at the invaders.

’Should I help?’ He asked himself, but upon seeing Arctic’s attack be repelled effortlessly, he dropped the idea.

"They’re in another league," he whispered.

Then he looked at the woman hugging a doll; her denim-colored hair was swaying due to a gentle breeze, but after a few seconds, he saw her eyes wink at him, which made him take cover.

’Did she see me?’ He thought, and his heart started to beat louder.

"Am I afraid?" He said, questioning himself once more.

Then he placed his hand on his sword’s hilt, but he couldn’t find enough strength within him to unsheath the weapon. His knees and arms were shaking to the extent that he leaned against the pillar just to support himself.

Clashing of swords against swords, swirling sounds of projectiles hurling into the air, and a vast amount of suffocating presence added to his sufferings.

Even though disturbed by this fact, he inhaled a deep breath and focused to gather even a little portion of his energy to minimize the trembling of his body.

’I can handle this! I’m not that weak!’ He repeated inside his mind.

Then he started to empty his thoughts, and after a few moments of concentration, his state turned out better than before. Without wasting another second, he pulled out his sword and peeked at the ongoing battle happening in the castle.

The two Diamond-class mercenaries were fighting the man with golden piercings on his ears, while Arctic and Sena were having a staring contest with the denym-haired woman. Polar, on the other hand, was hiding behind her sister, trembling in fear.

Kizeler roamed his eyes and noticed that the knights present in the area earlier had disappeared, but upon seeing the dolls lined up in front of the woman, he grasped what really happened.

’If I were him, what would I do in this situation?’ Kizeler thought, trying to figure out Zeno’s course of action if he was the one present in the vicinity.

However, he sighed after realizing that thinking about something like that was pointless.

’That demon is beyond humans’ comprehension. He would probably jump in there and strangle those two until they lost every ounce of breath from their bodies,’ he chuckled at his own thoughts.

. . . . .

"You’re pretty fast for a warrior; are you sure you’re not an assassin?" Rain asked, praising his opponent after dodging several sets of thrusts and swings.

"You’re too loud," Londaire uttered.

He appeared calm, but deep inside, he was fuming. The man in front of him was evading his every attack with ease. He swung his sword from the right, but the man stepped backward and even touched the tip of his sword before smiling as if mocking him for not being able to land a hit.

Seeing this, Londaire stomped his left foot, and a small spike of ice emerged from the floor. Rain leaped backward, but the spikes continued to chase him. It grew bigger and bigger as it covered a span of distance.

’Too slow,’ Londaire thought as he watched his attack fail to reach the man.

"Lumiel, speed buff," he said.

Without complaining, her comrade extended her hand, and a blue light wrapped around Londaire. He found himself lighter than before, then entered into a dashing stance and sprinted his way while aiming his sword at his opponent.

Seconds before his weapon sliced through the man’s neck, Londaire felt himself slam into a transparent wall, enough to stop his momentum.

Afterward, Rain let out a wide grin and thought of sending Londaire away by punching him straight at the abdomen, but in that split second before his fist hit the mercenary, the color of the light surrounding Londaire changed into a brown one, giving him enough protection to withstand the blow.

’Nice timing, Lumiel,’ Londaire thought.

With a wide smile on his lips, he returned the favor by giving out a punch. Ice accumulated on his fist, and a massive pile of it landed on the man’s face.

Then, after, he flipped his sword and swung it again. However, in that particular moment, the man turned into a doll, and Londaire’s attack failed to connect.

Surprised by what happened, he remained motionless for a second when several pieces of broken shards of concrete hurled around the mercenary.

Afterward, Londaire recovered from his daze and raised his hand. A thick wall of ice rose around him. The pieces of shards struck the wall, but it was thick enough to prevent the attack from piercing and hurting the mercenary.

"I thought you told me to stop playing, but look who was doing it right now?" Djaneryse’s voice echoed in the place.

She even let out a laugh as she glanced at Rain, who had now reverted into being a human.

"I just wanted to hold back a little bit," Rain replied after distancing a few meters from Londaire.

Then the piercings on his ears were unbound and began to hover in front of him.

"I never thought that he’d be capable enough for me to unleash these things," he added.

Meanwhile, the thick wall of ice exploded, and a barrage of ice particles went towards Rain. Hidden beneath them was Londaire, aiming for his opponent’s head.

Though upon seeing that the scattered particles of ice changed their trajectory, Londaire knitted his brows, his attack propelled towards Arctic’s group.

"Keep going!" Sena yelled as she felt their leader’s worry.

Soon enough, the three women leaped backwards before the barrage of ice hit them. The attack destroyed the spot where they were previously standing.

On the other hand, Londaire proceeded to continue his attack; a blue light covered his whole body again while Rain stood still, grinning at his position, afterward the mercenary vanished in front of him.

The next second, like lightning descending from the sky, Londaire plunged downward; the tip of his sword was aiming for his opponent’s head. However, his attack was blocked with just one of the piercings while the others penetrated his body, making a total of eleven holes where blood dripped down.

Groaning in pain deep inside of him, he was forced to tumble backward as he examined the state of his body.

"Londaire!" Lumiel yelled from afar, then she ran with the thought of tending her leader’s wounds.

"Stay away from here!" Londaire shouted, which made the woman halt her tracks.

"But..." Lumiel uttered.

"You can get a treatment first; I don’t mind at all," Rain stated, teasing the mercenaries.

Afterward, he pulled a pack of cigars from his pocket, got one, and put it between his lips. Then he searched for something again in his coat.

"Where do I put it?" He questioned himself, fumbling his hands on the pockets of his clothing, but he still couldn’t find the thing he was looking for.

"I lost it again," he sighed as he reverted his gaze back to the Diamond-class mercenary.

"Do you have a light?" He asked, smiling.

. . . . .