The Demon King's First General
Chapter 186: Last Breath

Chapter 186: Last Breath

A pillar of blue flames erupted in the center of the battlefield. Countless soldiers from humanity’s army were reduced to ashes; even some demons were caught in the sudden outburst.

The surroundings were shrouded with absolute darkness, giving Uoiea difficulty in seeing the state of the fight. All that she could hear were cries of her people.

"Everyone! Fall back! Retreat!" She yelled in desperation.

However, her command became nothing but a useless order; most of her troops lost the moment the Demon King unleashed his flames. Only a few knights and mercenaries managed to survive the raging inferno.

Cinhard’s existence alone was enough to destroy the reinforcements, but despite all of this, Uoiea stood her ground. She focused her energy on her vision and searched for the Demon King and even enhanced her hearing sense to find the exact location of the explosions.

It took her several seconds to find the right direction, and without further ado, she charged to where the Demon King was. Orcs and ghouls, along with a few vampires, obstructed her path, but they fell flat on the ground with their bodies burning the moment they stepped in her domain.

Compared to the absolute darkness that Cinhard had, her Legacy was not that wide, but it was enough to destroy the small fries.

After sprinting for several meters, she at last saw the Demon King’s silhouette.

"Cinhard Beelze!" Uoiea uttered; rage was present in her eyes while a ball made of electricity materialized in both of her hands.

Then, after reaching a certain distance, she threw the sphere of crimson lightning towards the Demon King; however, Cinhard just stared at the incoming projectiles.

A few seconds before the collision, several fragments materialized in between, and a woman appeared, blocking the princess’ attack.

"Please pardon my intrusion, but you need to pass me first before going straight to the Lord," Eimereen declared, smiling.

Uoiea stared at her, calmed herself, and read the situation. Based on her knowledge, she could take down Eimereen, but she would be exhausted to have a proper fight, much less win against Cinhard afterward.

’I need someone to make her occupy,’ Uoiea thought.

Then, as if her prayers were answered, an individual came running to her rescue when a sword was hurled all of a sudden at Eimereen, though it didn’t connect as it was parried by her in a sleight of hand.

"Krizler?" Uoiea uttered in disbelief upon seeing the man standing a few meters away from them.

His clothes were tattered beyond recognition, and there were several burn marks on his skin, but determination was still present in his eyes. However, his next set of words made the princess dumbfounded.

"Your Majesty, run while I’m holding them down!" Krizler exclaimed and sprinted towards the demons.

Both of his eyes had a strange purple hexagram pattern, but Eimereen didn’t stand still; she charged at the man’s direction as well.

Krizler thrust his sword forward, but the woman’s body disintegrated into shards and flew past him, making him bleed while leaving several cuts on his skin. Then Eimereen materialized behind him and gave him a gentle tap on his back. The next second, Krizler found himself tumbling away while a black weighing scale was imprinted on the part where Eimereen had touched.

"Krizler!" Uoiea exclaimed with a worried expression.

However, she couldn’t find the chance to come to his rescue when the Scale Sorceress appeared next to her and gave her a palm strike on the chest.

Then, like what happened to Krizler, despite it being just a gentle tap, she was sent flying, and while underneath her clothes, a drawing of a black scale materialized on her skin.

"Everything should be balanced," Eimereen stated, and then with a wave of her hand, clones of herself appeared in front of Krizler and Uoiea.

"Now then, shall we play?" She added, and the clones started attacking their respective opponents.

Uoiea gritted her teeth in annoyance as she found herself fighting a clone that could replicate her abilities and movements while Krizler struggled crossing swords with the woman’s replica.

’This is cheating,’ he thought after dodging a thrust coming straight to his face.

He tried using his Legacy, but it was to no avail; the clone was unaffected by his ability. Even Uoiea noticed this absurd phenomenon, as Eimereen’s replica wasn’t disturbed even a bit by the radiation.

Then, the clones smiled and even talked as if they were the real Eimereen.

"Curious about why your Legacy isn’t working? Well, I used a fragment of your soul to create these clones so they were immune to your respective Legacies," the clones stated at the same time.

Then a smile flashed on the princess’ and mercenary’s faces.

"How thoughtful of you, sharing information," Uoiea uttered and gave Krizler a glance.

As soon as their eyes met, they nodded as if agreeing on something. Then, they both sprinted towards each other’s direction while the clones followed behind. Afterward, they deactivated their respective Legacy and reactivated it as soon as they passed one another. The clone chasing Uoiea burst open as its body exploded from the inside while the other replica was burned by Uoiea’s domain.

"Thanks for giving a hint on how your ability works," Krizler stated before pointing his sword at Eimereen.

Meanwhile, the Scale Sorceress clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"You!" She exclaimed; rage could be seen present in her eyes.

She was about to charge right away and redeem herself from the humiliation; however, Cinhard prevented her from doing so. The Demon King didn’t stand still any longer; he stepped forward and looked at the two individuals.

"Playtime’s over," he stated, flat and cold.

With the Translucent Inferno burning on his hand, he vanished from his position, and the tip of his blade reappeared behind the mercenary.

"Watch out!" Uoiea yelled, giving a warning as soon as she noticed the ember of blue flames materializing on Krizler’s back.

Due to her on-time alert, the mercenary managed to evade at the very last second, but he still received a blazing kick, enough to send him flying.

Then, Cinhard diverted his focus to the princess, and he disappeared from his position once more. Uoiea enveloped herself with crimson lightning to defend. Afterward, she roamed her eyes, watching for a sudden fluctuation of energy in the darkness.

’Above,’ she thought and raised her hand over her head.

Seconds later, like what she predicted, the burning blade materialized several inches on top of her head. However, as if Cinhard foresaw her prediction, the blade vanished before contacting the sparks of lightning.

Then, a hand appeared in front of the princess and lifted her in the air by grabbing her neck. Uoiea tried to free from the Demon King’s clutches; she held the arm that was holding her, sending a high voltage of electricity, but Cinhard ignored all the pain, and the grip on her neck turned even tighter.

"If I’m not mistaken, you’re Arthur’s woman. The sole reason why my general deserted my ranks," Cinhard said.

Uoiea heard him loud and clear, but the pain from being strangled prevented her from responding.

"Where is he? What is he doing right now that he let his little human wander in the frontlines?" Cinhard asked about his general’s whereabouts, but Uoiea was busy catching her breath.

Then, he smiled and pointed his blade at the princess’ chest.

"Should I kill you right now or use you as a bargaining piece to make that damn demon obey me?" Cinhard added, his voice laced with anger.

"My Lord, I’ve thought just now, capturing her is the better choice. Killing her is like declaring war with General Arthur." Eimereen appeared next to Cinhard and provided him with advice.

Upon hearing her statement, Cinhard’s grip on Uoiea’s neck became even more constricted to the point that the princess’ complexion began to turn pale.

"Are you implying that I can’t handle the consequences? I’m not afraid of him," Cinhard replied.

Eimereen shook her head and chose her words in a very careful manner so as not to offend the Demon King.

"No, my Lord. It’s just that once the general learned about her death, knowing his personality, he would do everything to hinder your plans of conquering the world," the woman explained.

Then she glanced at the princess and spoke once again.

"I bet you wouldn’t like to see your very own general riding with a dragon," she added.

Given this fact, Cinhard lowered down his weapon and threw Uoiea to the side. Afterward, he retracted his Legacy and looked at the demons rejoicing in their victory.

Meanwhile, Uoiea tried to stand while still catching her breath in the process. She looked at the Demon King, but as soon as she stood up, she felt a searing pain coming from her chest.

A burning sensation that became more intense each second that passed.

’What?’ Uoiea thought the moment she looked downward and noticed the black blade piercing her heart from behind.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her eyelids began to feel heavy.

"I already told you, it’s you who will die here," a low, grumpy voice whispered in her ear.

Then, the three-horned demon’s laughter came after, and the moment he pulled out the sword, the princess fell on the ground, convulsing, and her body began to soak in her very own blood.

With her distorted gaze staring at the clouds drifting on the air, she uttered, panting a name she held dear. "Z-Ze...No."

Despite her imminent death, her mind was still occupied with the demon’s image and her memories about him started to play inside her thoughts.

She wanted to see him for one last time but until the very moment she inhaled her deep last breath, Uoiea failed to catch even a glimpse of his silhoutte.

. . . . .