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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

(I made a mistake from chapter 380 to 385. I misspelled Shade’s name as Warwraith. It’s actually Shade fighting all this while. Not Warwraith.)

The feeling of being stared at by five Overlords wasn’t pleasant. Putting aside that taunting smirk the Overlord Purgatory Shadowcat had on right now, those three horses had on glares that could kill.

“What’s the fun in hiding in that shell, come and out and play, why don’t you?” That cat beckoned at me with his paws. “Negotiations are always better face-to-face, are they not?”

‘Who said I even wanted to talk to you guys at all. I just wanted to watch you guys from the sidelines and munch on some popcorn…’

‘Screw it, since he even went through the trouble of singling me out, I’ll do him this favor. From the looks of things, a fight isn’t likely anyway.’

With that in mind, I confidently stepped out of Devil King Idol’s pocket dimensions, though I left Mo Na and the rest behind.

The moment I jumped out of the massive golem, the eyes of every Purgatory creature present fell on me. It almost felt like the temperature around me rose a few degrees at that instant… Actually, it wasn’t a feeling at all; the temperature of Purgatory was supposed to be a few degrees higher than that of the Devil King Idol’s pocket dimension.

“So about that… Hi, everyone…” I awkwardly said. In the end, only the Hellhound’s clan head gave me an obligatory nod while the four other Overlords ignored me entirely.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true either. The Overlord kitty did give me an intent look that made my hair stand while the Overlords horses all gave me a death stare.

‘Hey, you guys were the one who called me out here… how about showing some warm hospitality over here in Purgatory… Fine. Fine. You can guys just keep on burning over there.’

This awkward silence continued for a few seconds before that shadowy Nightmare Steed spoke up. “Devil, why have you invaded our territory?”

“Because I want the horn of a Nightmare Steed.”

I wasn’t really afraid of him, but a peaceful solution was always best. As everyone knew, I’m a pacifist to the bone.

“Lies!” The corporeal Nightmare Steed vehemently denied my statement. “Shade already stated at the beginning that he was willing to give you a horn and you still chose to fight!”

‘Please, did you think it was easy gathering all these troops to come attack you? You really think a simple horn is enough to satisfy me? Do I look like a beggar to you?’

Naturally, I wasn’t going to say that -that would be too direct. That was why I decided to use a more tactful approach. “Actually, we were here for a holi-”

“We wanted to subjugate you.” The Overlord kitty interrupted me abruptly and defiantly stuck his head up as if he was afraid those three horses wouldn’t get his message. “If everything had gone according to plan, you would have lost this fight already.”

The hiccup that Overlord kitty was alluding to was naturally the appearance of that last Nine-star Purgatory Warhorse. Based on the intelligence reports of the Hellhounds and the Purgatory Shadowcats, the Purgatory Warhorses should only have two Overlords. Yet here they were… with one additional Overlord…

While a new Overlord wasn’t going to be as strong as them, he was more than enough to bully a bunch of lower-starred creatures.

“Curse you! You really think our clan is that weak?!”

The corporeal Nightmare Steed would have already bitten that Overlord kitty if he could. Yet just when said cat had thoroughly earned the hatred of that Nightmare Steed, he unapologetically tossed that hot potato into my hands. “No use staring at me like that, it’s not like I was the one who started this whole war.”

So who was the one who started war? Naturally, that would be yours truly… Thus, I had no choice but to suffer three decidedly angry glares once more. If glares could kill a person, I would have died a million times over.

“I thought you guys called me here for a peace talk…”

‘I give up. Being stared at like that by three sets of eyes who clearly wanted me dead yesterday was pressure enough, but that blasted cat just had to make things worse for me. From the very beginning, he kept stirring them up then just tossed it all on me… if you’re looking for death, you didn’t have to find me, you know.’

“There’s no point staring at that Devil so hard. Not like your stares can kill.”

The moment he said that, their gazes were immediately drawn back to him. Faced with their withering glares, he not did not feel any pressure at all. He even seemed to be enjoying it as he lazily stretched his back and brushed his fur. “What? Not like I was lying or anything. No matter how much you stare at her, she isn’t going to drop dead. Not unless you plan on biting her to death.”

‘Cat brother, I was wrong… Even though I don’t know where I went wrong, but I was wrong. And aren’t we on the same side, why are you even asking him to bite me? I never offended you, have I?’

‘And that big horsie over there, just calm down. You’re scaring me over here. I should have just stayed in the Devil King Idol. I thought that warriors at your level would at least have some principles… clearly, I was wrong. Principles aren’t even worth the letters used to spell them. If only I had known…’

“Alright, that’s enough bullying the kid for now.” As always, it was the Hellhound’s clan head who came to the rescue. “You are right, there’s no need to fight now, so let’s talk this out.”

They were right, of course. There was no point continuing to fight. While the Purgatory Warhorses did have three Overlords, the other two Overlords weren’t exactly pushovers either. In a desperate fight, the both of them combined could at least drag another Overlord down with them, or maybe even two. Barring those battle maniacs, the stronger a warrior was, the more he valued his life. After all, the stronger they got, the longer was their lifespan as well.

Furthermore, the life of an Overlord was inextricably linked to the prosperity of a clan. Basically, unless one’s clan had an Overlord, they were nothing more than meat for the picking. The strength of an Overlord was just that overwhelming. Even though neither side had made a move yet, a simple stop was enough to pause a fight that was only getting more intense by the second.

Unless one forgot, other than my lifeless golems, every other combatant stopped fighting the moment that command was given, regardless of whether they were Hellhounds, Purgatory Shadowcats or Warhorses. Why? Because that was the authority an Overlord held inside a clan.

The Hellhound’s clan head interruption had brought our conversation back to the main point once more. The three enemy Overlords turned their gazes back to me at that very instant as well. Thankfully, I was now accustomed to their pressure partly due to that blasted cat’s tomfoolery.

Having given it some thought as well, I decided it was better to just speak the truth -I wasn’t exactly a gifted liar, after all. Naturally, if there were certain matters that were inconvenient to bring up, I would just avoid them.

“Not too long ago, I received a certain mission.” With that one opening, I had successfully drawn the attention of all the Overlords present. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. “My mission was to conquer the entirety of Sable Radiance…”

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Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

(I made a mistake from chapter 380 to 385. I misspelled Shade’s name as Warwraith. It’s actually Shade fighting all this while. Not Warwraith.)

‘Wait…what do you mean you won’t help him? Dog, you’re supposed to be that cat’s ally, why the fish should he do a one-on-one duel when he can do a two-on-one instead?!’

The Hellhound’s clan head showed no signs that he had the self-awareness required to charge into battle, instead he seemed more than happy to watch this show play out.

Yet just as that cat and horse duo was about to engage in all-out warfare, another wave of pressure stepped in and prevented the fight.

“So you’ve come.”

“I see you finally decided to show up.” The Overlord Purgatory Shadowcat bared his teeth at the newcomer Overlord Nightmare Steed. It was a shadowy Nightmare Steed unlike the first. “Enough playing around, my claws are itching for a fight.”

“This battle has lost its meaning, how about we have a talk instead?” Paying no attention at all to the cat’s provocative words, the shadowy Overlord Nightmare Steed surprised me when he suddenly spoke in Devil. “You all should know that, based on your current strength alone, it won’t be enough to defeat us. If we wish to, we can still run.”

“Hah, I’d like to see you try.” The Overlord Shadowcat was already sharpening his claws as he said that.

“There’s no need to try, you have no chance at all.” Having said that, he yelled into the distance before the cat could even respond. “Come out!”

‘Come out? Don’t tell me there are more hiding somewhere?’

My suspicions didn’t linger long as a mere second later, a flame blazed brightly over the horizon like it had just come alive, growing larger and larger by the second as it rapidly approached us. In barely the time it took to breath, it covered over a kilometer to reach us.

It was a fiery red Purgatory Warhorse with a massive body the size of an elephant. As it stood hovering there, it cast a shadow as large as a miniature mountain. Its muscles twitched with sheer explosive power and supernatural presence.

Whether it was its size or its presence, this was clearly a Nine-star that just entered the battlefield. In other words, the Purgatory Warhorses had three Overlords?!

“Who would have thought that you would actually make it this far…” Having not spoken up for a while now, the Hellhound clan head suddenly broke his silence upon the arrival of this newcomer. His eyes held a mixture of surprise and a tinge of resignation. “If I remember correctly, you’re only 173 years old this year.”

“174 now.” The giant Purgatory Warhorse sincerely looked the Hellhound in the eyes and said, “I’m grateful for the mercy you showed all those years ago.”

“174 and you’re already at this stage…”

The Hellhound clan head stopped at that point. Short though their exchange was, but I could tell that they knew each other from the past, and it seemed like a deep running connection as well.

Even though these Overlords didn’t dare to touch me -that would get them killed instantly- that didn’t mean that if I pushed them too hard, they wouldn’t just drag me down along with them as well. I was still in the pocket dimension of the Devil King Idol, but there was no guarantee that this was enough to safeguard me. After all, I had never crossed fists with an Overlord before so I had no way of gauging their strength.

That was why lying low for now was the best option. At least that was the plan. Unfortunately, this plan couldn’t keep up with the speed of this changing situation. Just as I decided to keep my head down, the subject suddenly turned towards me.

“You may all leave, I promise I won’t stop you.”

It was the shadowy Nightmare Steed who said that, yet the Purgatory Shadowcat Overlord had another plan in mind. “That big horse over there shouldn’t have been a Nine-star for long, his Territory isn’t even fully formed yet. At most, he’s half an Overlord. In a real fight, he might not be useful as you claim.”

“So what? As long as we siblings hold you and that old dog back, Warpeace can just simply hunt down the rest of your clan members.” The other Nightmare Steed took this opportunity to glare at the cat. “Let’s see how many of your cats can survive an Overlord’s pursuit.”

“You!”

With that simple statement, the other Nightmare Steed tore apart any sort of civilness we had, instantly angering that Purgatory Shadowcat to no end. Such an act of bullying the weak was truly reprehensible. But the Overlord cat knew to hold his tongue for now. That horse was right. The best they could hope for was that they could hold back both of the older Nightmare Steeds in a one-on-one fight, but that would leave that newcomer Nine-star to run amok.

Even with my Devil King Idol, there was no way I could fully stop that horse either.

In other words, it was now the time to talk peace. And that was where the problem came in. Strictly speaking, the Hellhounds and Purgatory Shadowcats were just here to help me. The one who truly started this war was me…

Both the Purgatory Shadowcat Overlord and the Hellhound Overlord knew that the Purgatory Warhorses had two Overlords. That was why they both came along secretly. They both wanted to destroy the Purgatory Warhorses, but as luck would have it, the Purgatory Warhorses were blessed with another Overlord!

That Overlord might have been new, but he was still an Overlord. If an Overlord wanted to attack a bunch of small fries like us, there really wasn’t much we could do.

However, such a situation would only force the two Overlords on our side to fight even harder. At that point, both of our sides had to pay a steep price. An Overlord or two might even die in the process.

In war, one could kill a thousand but you would lose eight hundred in the process. Unless the situation truly called for it, you wouldn’t want a fight to the death.

The corporal Nightmare Steed impatiently stomped on his hoof, then swept his blood-red eyes over us before finally resting on the Purgatory Shadowcat Overlord. “State your terms. What would it take to make you all leave?”

“Hmph. Whether or not we fight is not up to me.” The Purgatory Shadowcat unhappily harrumphed.

The Hellhound clan head shook his heads as well. “I’m not the main player in this either.”

“Not you two?” Seeing the two of them deny the role of the main actor, the shadowy Nightmare Steed was slightly taken aback. “You two are only Overlords of your clans here. Unless the two of you were willing to, who else can force your hands?”

The Purgatory Shadowcat sighed in resignation at that point. “I wouldn’t say force our hands, it’s just…”

“Just what?” The corporal Nightmare Steed asked.

The Purgatory Shadowcat and the Cerberus both kept quiet at that point. Instead, they simultaneously turned towards me, or more accurately, to face the Devil King Idol…

‘Hold on…what are you guys looking at me for? You guys just keep talking by yourselves, don’t mind me…I swear having five Overlords look at you is scary…is there time for me to cry now?’

‘…Guess not.”

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Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Nearly all of the Eight-star Nightmare Steeds and Warhorses had left to cause trouble for the Hellhounds and the Purgatory Shadowcats. Yet what was supposed to be an easy mark ripe for the picking ended up causing them to nearly lose their teeth after a first bite… truly regrettable.

I would feel sorry for them, but I still had a lot of things to do right now… like stepping on some horses.

If those Eight-stars were here, they might have at least been able to stall my Devil King Idol -they were of the same star level, after all, even if they weren’t able to break through its defenses. Now, however, there was no one to stop me.

With no commander to hold them together and a giant construct running rampant amongst them, the remaining Warhorses either fled or died. Resistance was futile.

At this rate, their clan would definitely collapse. At least, that was how I thought it would end. Unfortunately for me, the battle came to an abrupt end before it could even reach that stage. A wave of pressure suddenly blanketed the entire battlefield. It was an Overlord.

The difference between an Eight-star and an Overlord was the difference between the natural and the supernatural. Once one crossed that threshold, it could be said that they were reborn. Should one fail however, they were forever a mortal. That was because an Overlord had to have a Territory. That was also why an Overlord’s pressure contained traces of the world’s laws. It wasn’t possible for any living creature below that threshold to resist that pressure, barring my golems, of course. They were dead.

“Stop!”

A voice of indeterminate gender or age transmitted directly into my head through the Devil King Idol. Just hearing that alone was enough to cause my body to seize up. With just that single word, I could tell that he possessed an extraordinary level of psychic power.

‘Definitely an Overlord… that was definitely an Overlord… an Overlord Nightmare Steed.’

‘Since even their strongest warrior has made their presence known, I had better show him the respect he is due.’ With that in mind, I immediately ordered all the golems to stop attacking and remain in place.

The rest of the Hellhounds and Purgatory Shadowcats all stopped their fighting as well. Lest one forgot, an Overlord was the equivalent of a walking nuclear bomb, if we were still back on Earth. As for a demi-god, best not think about it…

A Nightmare Steed clad in flames as black as his fur stepped forth from the horizon. As he stood still above the battlefield peering down on us, it almost seemed like we were ants staring high up at him.

“Devil, leave our clan’s territory at once, and I will spare your life.”

As that voice echoed across the field, I felt an invisible force bearing down on me, causing me to tremble even within the Devil King Idol’s pocket dimension. Was this an Overlord’s Territory? Or perhaps he wasn’t even using that power at all, but was simply using his understanding of the world’s laws to pressure me. Either way, I was in danger.

Regardless of who it was, or what creature they were, respect was something everyone valued. The difference was how much they valued it. An Overlord was undoubtedly a proud existence in Sable Radiance. With the entire region sealed up, an Overlord was the strongest warrior around, the true ruler of this plane.

Such a proud person would often value his dignity more than his life. An insult would bring about swift retribution, even if it meant death for himself.

I could use the promise Lucifer’s clone made to me to protect myself, but the question was whether I could even survive a single attack to begin with. Also, could I still revive if I died this time?

That last part wasn’t important now, so let’s put it aside first. After all, I definitely didn’t want to gamble on whether or not I would revive again. Naturally, I dared not gamble if this Overlord would attack in a fit of rage either.

Now that an Overlord had entered the fray, the battlefield immediately quietened down. No one dared attack or even single an inch despite the fact that he hadn’t done a thing yet. We were all cowed by his mere presence, worried about what he would do next.

An Overlord’s presence wasn’t something so easily ignored.

“If I do not, are you sure you wish to attack me?”

I finally squeezed out that question, albeit shakingly -I was just too weak when compared to him.

“Do you really think I won’t kill you?!”

That Overlord’s sharp gaze immediately stabbed into my body. Even with the Devil King Idol protecting, I could feel my skin crawling from his bared intent.

Terrifying. That was all I could say of him. For him to actually be able to affect me while I was inside the Devil King Idol was nothing short of a nightmare. Was this the power of an Overlord? Did an Overlord Nightmare Steed really possess the power to attack his opponents through space itself?

‘And exactly what should I do against an Overlord’s threats? There’s no hope now…maybe I should just give up? That would be so shameful… but then again… who said a person’s dignity is worth anything in the first place? Still, we’ve come so far already, and I even got two other clans to join me in attacking the Warhorses…is giving up really okay? Hold on… Hellhounds… Purgatory Shadowcats… both of them sent over a dozen Eight-stars to help me in this fight. That shows how important this fight was to both their clans. So wouldn’t it mean that they had a backup plan as well?’

‘After all, this fight is going to determine the future landscape of Sable Radiance. In other words, both their Overlords were most likely lurking somewhere also. Because they know that the Warhorses have their own Overlord!’

‘So that Hellhound Overlord and the mysterious Purgatory Shadowcat Overlord who I haven’t met yet are probably somewhere nearby. No. They are definitely here!’

With that in mind, my confidence immediately returned.

“I don’t mind leaving, but first you have to give me a Nightmare Steed’s horn, and also…”

“Impossible.” The Overlord Nightmare Steed flatly refused me, cutting me off before I could finish stating my terms. “You’ll get nothing from us. If you don’t leave now, you’ll die.”

“Kill me then.”

“You really think I won’t?!”

His howling was definitely up to par, but he still hadn’t acted yet. That was a sign. A sign that was highly beneficial to me. What I did just now was definitely a challenge to his authority, yet he still chose not to act! Even though he could simply snuff me out in an instant, he hesitated… so he really did not dare to act then?

My brain quickly processed that, after which I tested him again. “I think you should give it a try. Go ahead, do it.”

The Overlord Nightmare Steed’s eyes went wide as if they wanted to swallow me whole. “You’re not afraid of death then?”

If even that wasn’t enough to make him attack me, then this test was over. This time, I said nothing at all. Instead, I had my Devil King Idol kick a nearby Seven-star Warhorse. Having suffered such a sudden attack, that poor horse was immediately sent flying away, loudly crashing into the blood red ground that was then made redder by him spitting out blood.

My intention wasn’t to kill that horse, just wound it seriously. This was my last test. I was gambling if he would attack me out of anger. I was also gambling whether or not the Hellhounds and Purgatory Shadowcats had their own Overlords nearby.

Risky though that was, I had no choice but to do so. If I didn’t test his limits now, this operation was basically a failure. The aim of this war was simple: subjugate the Purgatory Warhorses. Failing that, we should at least destroy their base.

At least, that was what I had hoped would happen…

The strength of the Purgatory Warhorses weren’t necessarily stronger than the two clans combined, but they were definitely stronger than them individually.

“Insolent cur!”

Seeing me just attack without warning, that Overlord Nightmare Steed was thoroughly incensed. Yet just as he was about to attack me, another two waves of pressure swept across the field, startling everyone once more!

“Old friend, I see you’re still well and alive.”

Even though he hadn’t appeared yet, I immediately recognised that that was the voice of the Hellhound’s clan head.

That Overlord Nightmare Steed promptly calmed down as well. Even if he hated me to the core right now, he had no choice but to stay his hooves first.

“You blasted old dog! You were here, after all! And where’s that stupid cat?!” That Overlord Nightmare Steed brashly swore. “Once I’m done with that Devil, you can be sure I’ll pay the both of you a visit!”

“Stop pretending. If you really have the guts to do it, attack her then.”

That moment I heard that voice speak, I knew its owner wasn’t reliable at all. In all likelihood, that was the Overlord of the Purgatory Shadowcats.

“You really believe that I won’t…” The Nightmare Steed lifted up his hooves and the flames around him roared. Then…nothing happened. That’s right, he didn’t attack me in the end. He merely tried to.

“Why did you stop? Go on, I promise I won’t stop you.” That unreliable voice continued taunting the Overlord Nightmare Steed, as if not doing so would leave him feeling bad for the entire day. “Keep on acting tough, that’s all you’re good for anyway, stupid horse.”

“Curse you! You think I won’t kill you right this second?!”

I had to admit, for a cat whose morals were as cheap as chips, you couldn’t deny that his taunting skills were top notch. With just a couple of words, he immediately redirected the hate towards himself.

“Hah, my paws were starting to feel a little itchy anyway.” The Purgatory Shadowcats’ Overlord revealed himself, then pulled a face at his opponent before baring his claws in a taunting fashion. “Come. I’ll let you have the first move.”

“That Devil is definitely not someone I can attack… but that restriction doesn’t apply to you!”

It was at that moment that the Hellhound’s Overlord appeared as well. He took up position beside that cat, then with a cheeky grin on all three of his faces, said, “If you guys want to fight it out, I’m more than happy to stand aside and watch.”

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Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

I should have guessed that their Eight-stars were disguising themselves as ordinary Hellhounds. From the very beginning, I said that the main fighting would be done by me, and both of their clans were more than happy to oblige. After all, their job here was just to prevent the Warhorses from escaping. Unless the need truly arose, they would have likely stayed hidden.

Warsight bringing a herd of Warhorses to invade their camp was basically the equivalent of prodding a hornet’s nest, except that instead of hornets, she stirred up several dozens of Eight-star Cerberuses. While none of them could fly like the Warhorses, they were adequate in dealing with Warsight, else she wouldn’t have appeared so apprehensive about her prospects.

“This wasn’t your business to begin with…” Shadowfall was about to continue but was promptly cut off by Zhandalar. “Talk is pointless now. If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get.”

“Like we’re afraid of you?!” Ever the temperamental one, Warsight immediately opened up with a Dream the moment Zhandalar showed his resolve to fight.

“ROAARRR!”

All three of Zhandalar’s jaws opened in unison and roared. Every pair of his eyes bored right into the oncoming Warsight with a ferocity to match. A second later, his middle head closed its eyes and dropped downwards as if it was asleep. Barely ten meters away from him in the air was Warsight. Clearly, her Dream had successfully pulled one of Zhandalar’s heads into a dreamlike state.

Once one fell into the dream realm, they were prey for the Nightmare Steed, no exceptions. However, things didn’t proceed as smoothly as Warsight hoped. Even from my Devil King Idol, I could see that Zhandalar had been affected by her. Honestly, I thought that would be the end of him then, but reality proved otherwise.

His sleeping body suddenly jerked and launched into a sudden attack in the brief window of a second. In just the blink of an eye, his massive body came face to face with Warsight. His left and right head opened their massive jaws and bit down hard on her neck, fresh blood raining down from the air.

With the momentum from his bodyweight and attack, he forcefully dragged her down to the ground!

BANG!

Having cast a Dream, the caster would immediately enter a dreamlike state as well. That was why Warsight wasn’t prepared at all for the sudden attack. With no means to retaliate, her own mass became fuel for her deafening crash.

Now that she was back on the ground, she promptly awakened from her trance. Her first reaction was to gather the mana around her body and wrap it in black flames. The heat of these flames alone were enough to deter her attacker, even a Cerberus possessed innate flame resistance. Such was its ferocity that Zhandalar had to reluctantly release his double bite on her. Even so, he still caught a few motes of fire and was burned in the process. Fortunately, his burns weren’t too bad as he was, after all, a creature of Purgatory as well.

Definitely not one to take a setback lying down, his middle head which had now awakened from its trance took the opportunity to spit out a rotating pillar of flames back at Warsight, promptly swallowing her up in a fiery display.

“Blast it… that was even faster than before…”

A Nightmare Steed’s flame resistance was comparable to a Hellhound’s. However, flames such as the ones they spat out weren’t just ordinary flames, they had mana mixed in as well. Unless one was completely immune to fire, they would still take some damage from the attack. This short exchange of flames had left both sides with moderate burns.

But that wasn’t enough to deter Warsight as she immediately launched herself into another reckless charge with a forceful kick of her hooves. Yet just when it looked like Warsight was about to emerge from his pillar of flames, Zhandalar smartly chose to dodge aside, avoiding a direct confrontation with her while also allowing himself an opportunity to swipe at her back.

Unfortunately, Warsight’s black flames hadn’t been extinguished yet. This simple attack not only did not help him, it instead caused his claws to catch on fire. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it still hurts nonetheless.

“It has almost been fifty years since we last fought. Now, you’re even able to break my Dream easily. I admit. You’ve become strong.” Warsight’s eyes lit up with fire. “But you still can’t beat me!”

“ROOARRR!”

Zhandalar bellowed before charging at Warsight once more. Words weren’t his weapon of choice in this fight, action was.

Based on that short exchange just now, it could be surmised that each of his heads had their own consciousness, or perhaps he could control each head separately. Either way, their Dream was fully countered by this, halving Warsight’s combat strength by at least half.

The rest of the Eight-star Cerberuses were basically the same as well. There were some small variance between each of their fights, but the situation was largely similar as long as one was able to counter or break free from the Nightmare Steed’s Dream.

However, not all the Cerberuses were able to perfectly counter Dream. There were times when I saw a Cerberus stand completely still for a long period of time in the middle of battle. Had it not been for their companions helping to attack the Nightmare Steed who cast that Dream, those Cerberuses would have most likely met their maker by now.

In contrast to the battles with the Nightmare Steeds, fights with a Purgatory Warhorse were a lot simpler. It boiled down to a physical brawl. A competition of pure strength, flames and speed.

In a competition on land, the Cerberuses had never feared any opponent. That was what Sidarth said to me once -though that honestly felt like bragging to me.

The fights involving a Purgatory Warhorse were a lot more violent when compared to that with a Nightmare Steed. A few Seven-stars tried to join in the fight against one such Eight-star Purgatory Warhorse, but they were swiftly sent flying with a kick of their hooves. And that was why you should just leave the fighting to the Eight-stars.

As the battle raged on in the Hellhounds’ camp, the same situation roughly played out in the camp of the Purgatory Shadowcats as well.

Shade and Warheaven led their own herd to the camp of the Purgatory Shadowcats, only to find several dozens of Eight-stars lying in wait for them.

Just like before, neither could come to an agreement and a fight soon broke out.

“Dream.”

Shade opened with their signature move. Without three heads to counter Dream, this move ordinarily would have had a high rate of success. Unfortunately, he was soon proven wrong…

Shade tried to pull one of the Purgatory Shadowcats into the dream realm with him, but it merely took a quick shake of his furry head before the ability was completely countered. A flash of black fur later, that Purgatory Shadowcat had already leapt into the air and was face to face with Shade, both claws bared in a flurry of furious swipes.

“MEOOOWW!”

With the failure of his Dream, he was stunned for a brief second. That mere moment was enough for the Purgatory Shadowcat to land a solid swipe on his horse face, sending bits of flesh and blood flying about.

Having been attacked, Shade immediately awakened. Biting down on his teeth, he endured the tearing pain in his psyche from the backlash and headbutted his opponent with his still bleeding face. Yet this attack ended in failure as well. That cat had no intention at all of fighting him after getting a swipe in, instead he promptly retreated having gained an advantage.

“How…” Because their two clans rarely met, plus the Purgatory Shadowcats acted like shut-ins most of the time, their clans had very little experience fighting with each other. Shade wasn’t too informed about his opponent’s abilities, but he was still surprised about how his Dream was so easily broken. “How were you able to break free from my Dream so easily…”

“Meow!” The big cat proudly meowed, then burst forth in another attack. “Don’t look down on us Purgatory Shadowcats! Also, did you think I played all those years of cards for nothing?!”

What did I just hear him say…something about not playing all those years of cards for nothing…

Madness. Exactly what did being immune to Dream have to do with playing cards?

After giving it some thought later on, that cat actually made sense. After all, they had to control those heavy floating cards with their minds. In other words, while they were playing cards, they were also training themselves. And Dream was clearly a psychic attack.

In that case, it only made sense that the Purgatory Shadowcats were immune to Dream. Right?

Nope… definitely not. Nothing in this world made sense! They were clearly just bored, that’s why they played cards. That decision had nothing to do with being immune to psychic attacks.

In reality, the Purgatory Shadowcats fared significantly better than the Hellhounds. In barely any time at all, their members were able to break out of the Dream ability and launch a counterattack.

Cats were natural-born predators. Their cute but lazy demeanour was nothing but a front for their hunting instincts. The moment they saw that slim window of opportunity to attack, their instincts kicked in. Furthermore, all of them weren’t over eager to attack either. Upon landing a solid hit, they would promptly retreat and wait for the next opportunity to attack. In fact, some even jumped onto the back of another Nightmare Steed to have a little fun ride…

I had to admit, other than the fact that most of them were mental, they performed admirably in this fight. In fact, not only did they perform well against the Nightmare Steeds, their advantage was slowly being shown against the Purgatory Warhorses as well.

These cats were all gifted with exceptional reflexes; that allowed them to easily jump onto small surfaces when scaling their castle walls. To them, a Warhorse’s charge was nothing. If they couldn’t dodge it, they could simply leap onto the Warhorse’s back and start scratching. To them, these horses were even worse than those dogs.

If those Hellhounds were only good for digging tunnels, then these horses weren’t even fit to crawl through tunnels.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

When compared to the panicked Warhorses below, the greatest advantage my golems had over them was that morale wasn’t an issue to them whatsoever, plus they were really sturdy. An attack from one of my golem wasn’t something that could easily be ignored by the Warhorses. Yet the same couldn’t be said for them. While some of the Warhorses’ attacks might have left some damage on my golems, they were for the most part unfazed.

That was merely the level of my ordinary golems. When it came to the Devil King Idol, this gigantic construct was more terrifying than a war elephant charging into a crowd of soldiers. In a straight line, its speed was nothing to scoff at. As for actually attacking the Warhorses, it didn’t have to do much at all -it could just simply tumble around and they would be slaughtered.

Naturally, I wasn’t about to engage in such a shameful display. For the most part, the Warhorses who failed to escape in time were either swatted to death or flattened into a horsecake by my feet. At times, I would pick an unfortunate Warhorse to be a makeshift projectile. Sometimes, they became a weirdly shaped soccer ball… it really depended on my mood, but it definitely wasn’t a pleasant sight.

Unfortunately for them, there was no way for them to stop my rampage unless their Overlord stepped in. But would their Overlord really step in? And if he did, would he suffer divine retribution?

Of the ten or so Nightmare Steeds attacking the Devil King Idol right now, quite a number were old friends, like Warsight, Shade and Shadowfall. Just like before, Warsight was more than happy to show her irritable and impulsive side. It didn’t take long for her to grow restless from their lack of progress. Thus, she came up with a drastic measure to fix this.

“Blast it! It’s neither budging nor retreating… this won’t work at all, we need to think of something… What about we drag the Purgatory Shadowcats and the Hellhounds into this battle as well. It’s already chaotic enough as is, a couple more actors might even help us. If that blasted statue accidentally steps on a cat or dog, that might just stir up some internal turmoil.”

Ever one for action, Warsight didn’t even wait for her companions to respond before galloping off to enact what she thought was a brilliant plan.

“Warsight, wait…” Without much time to think of an excuse to restrain her, Shadowfall could only do his best to come up with a few practical reasons to persuade her. “Neither of them have entered this battle yet, there’s no need for us to attack them at all…”

“That’s exactly why we should attack them. Besides, I haven’t seen any traces of Eight-stars in either of their camps. As long as we attack them, we can easily herd them towards that invading statue!”

Having said that, Warsight sped off without giving Shadowfall another chance to speak.

“Watch out for an ambush…”

His warning fell on deaf ears. It was made clear that Warsight was dead set on using the Hellhounds and Purgatory Shadowcat to force an opening. In all likelihood, she was probably planning to use her superior strength to force the Hellhounds and Purgatory Shadowcats to act. The three of us were allies in this battle. While the two of them hadn’t joined the battle yet, they had the important role of preventing the Warhorses from escaping. That was why they hadn’t acted till now.

In truth, her plan might just succeed and drag them out from the jaws of defeat. This plan could be the turning point they were looking for in a progressively worsening battle. While it might have seemed like the Devil King Idol wasn’t able to catch them, the fact was that they had already lost two Eight-stars since the start, plus one who got flattened because he wasn’t looking. My Devil King Idol was still in perfect condition as well.

These Warhorses were creatures with emotions. In contrast, my Devil King Idol was an unfeeling construct. This battle was basically a battle between living, feeling creatures and a mechanical monstrosity. Every Warhorse required time and effort to groom into the horse they were today. A construct was different -all you needed were the materials and the method. No matter how one looked at it, this wasn’t a beneficial trade at all.

The Warhorses must have felt this as well. They could tolerate trading lives with another clan, but they would never accept losing lives over a battle against machines.

That was why when their casualties reached a certain threshold, their morale began to falter, especially when faced with an unstoppable Devil King Idol. It didn’t take long before they began to lose the will to fight. Soon, their formation crumbled and there were signs of deserters.

All these factors added together created the current situation where the Warhorses were slowly losing ground despite being numerically superior.

So the question was how to break this stalemate? The answer was simple. Bring the Hellhounds and Shadowcats into this battle, creating a veil of chaos for the other Warhorses to retreat. In battle, accidents couldn’t be avoided. If those two clans were to join in, there were sure to be accidental casualties.

Since we were all allies, that meant I couldn’t go on rampage like before. Should they achieve this goal, it would only be a matter of time before the tide of battle turned in their favor.

“Guess we can only try now.”

Even though he often couldn’t see eye to eye with Warsight, he could still tell what she was planning from her actions. He just didn’t approve of this action. But since she had already galloped off, it meant that this plan was now in action. All he could pray for was that neither clan had any Eight-stars hidden away… but was that even possible?

“Warsight shouldn’t have acted so rashly. The Hellhounds and the Purgatory Shadowcats are sure to have some Eight-stars hidden away… if we rush into their camps like this, we would surely come out short.” Shadowfall voiced his concerns

“We’ll all have to head over then. I don’t believe that they will have more Eight-stars than us.” Shade replied. “I’ll go inform Brother Warheaven. Hopefully, we can make it on time…”

“Alright, that will have to do.”

After that short exchange, Shadowfall led a herd of Eight-star Warhorses and Nightmare Steeds towards the direction of Warsight: the Hellhound camp.

At the same time, Shade galloped away at the fastest speed possible to inform the Nightmare Steed known as Warheaven who had just knocked over one of the Abyssal Golems. Upon hearing the report, he immediately let forth a furious howl, then like a speeding comet, knocked over the golem that was just about to get up again. This time, he didn’t stay to check if it stayed down, rushing off instead with Shade and the rest of the Eight-stars. Their direction: the Purgatory Shadowcats.

‘They actually want to force my allies into battle…I swear… they already said they were here for the popcorn, so why bother them? Not like my plans will change just because you bring them in.’

I wasn’t all too concerned whether or not their braindead plan would work or not. Even though I guessed that the number might be small, I was in no doubt that were in fact Eight-stars guarding the camps of my allies.

“Halt.”

Just when it looked like the Nightmare Steed Warsight would make it into the Hellhound’s camp unopposed, an unassuming Cerberus suddenly stepped out of the pack. At the same time as that, his body grew massively. By the time his body stopped growing, he was almost as huge as a grown elephant. One could even feel the faint aura of an Eight-star off him. Even Warsight had to stop mid-air from the threat he posed.

“Zhandalar! What are you doing here?”

That Cerberus was probably an old acquaintance of Warsight, else she wouldn’t have recognised him right away.

Zhandalar coldly eyed the airborne Nightmare Steed, then slowly said, “Scram. Go back from whence you came.”

“Bah. You think you can stop me just by yourself?”

Just as Warsight was about to attack, the voice of Shadowfall suddenly came from behind. “Warsight! Don’t act rashly, we’re here to help!”

With their ability to gallop on air, and the lack of any opposing air forces, these Eight-star Warhorses and Nightmare Steeds were easily able to throw off their mechanical enemies to catch up with Warsight.

“Just you? A single Eight-star?” With her reinforcements behind, Warsight was looking a lot more arrogant as she slightly lifted up her head to look down upon Zhandalar. “If you don’t get out new, you might just end up dead.”

“And who said I was alone?” Zhandalar’s eyes remained glued onto Warsight. Without even turning around, he barked. “Come on out. There’s no need to hide anymore.”

As he said that, the Hellhound camp began to stir. Nearly fifty Eight-star Cerberuses stepped out from the ranks of the ordinary Hellhounds. With every step they took, their bodies began to grow until they reached their normal size by Zhandalar’s side.

“Now, who’s the one who should be leaving?”

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Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

When catching a mouse, one should be careful to get a good grip on it, lest it escaped. When catching a Purgatory Warhorse, one had better double that grip… just to be safe.

That was why when I lifted up the Devil King Idol’s leg, I made extra sure that it was basically dead.

Another Eight-star Warhorse, who was clearly not afraid of death at all, took this opportunity to charge at me. This time, it didn’t go after my legs, instead it went after my head.

I willed my right hand up to block this assailant. But just as it looked like I was about to hit it, the Warhorse abruptly leaped in mid-air, miraculously dodging my hand.

Yet that wasn’t the end of it. The Warhorse landed squarely on top of my arm, and by using the momentum it gained from kicking off my arm, launched another attack in what had to be the textbook case of using your opponent’s energy against him.

However, a Devil King Idol had two arms, not one. I had already factored in the Warhorse’s unbelievable agility when I made the decision to try and catch it with my right hand. With that bit of foresight aiding me, the Devil King Idol’s left hand swiftly came swatting through the air, catching that Warhorse completely by surprise as it caught it.

Not one to give my enemy a chance to escape, I immediately clapped my hands together before it could even struggle and mashed them together. A stream of thick, meaty blood came dripping down the cracks of my fingers like a rain of blood.

Having squashed that giant bug of a Warhorse, I willed the Devil King Idol to toss the corpse into a nearby battle like a makeshift projectile. Like a bloody comet from the sky, it came crashing down onto an unsuspecting Warhorse, killing it in an equally grisly fashion.

All that took place in the matter of mere seconds. Barring that Warhorse I killed with that horse projectile, I had already killed two of their Eight-stars. Such an impressive feat quickly attracted the attention of the rest of the stronger Warhorses.

In what felt like an instant, over ten Purgatory Warhorses and Nightmare Steeds abandoned their opponents and came rushing at my Devil King Idol in hopes that their blitzkrieg-like attack would swiftly take it down. However, my Devil King Idol’s defenses were basically unbreakable to those below the level of an Overlord. No matter how much these horses tried, they failed to leave even a scratch on its outer surface.

Like swatting away a horde of flies, I began waving both my hands about to attack the incoming Warhorses. Yet no matter how much I flailed about, none of my attacks were connecting.

At the same time, the area around my legs wasn’t exactly peaceful either. The other Eight-star Warhorses who couldn’t take to the skies were furiously ramming at my legs. With the combined interference of those airborne Warhorses, I had no way to focus my attention on those below.

Having found a blindspot in my vision, over ten Purgatory Warhorses rammed my left calf in unison, nearly causing it to topple.

Despite this little setback however, I determined one thing in this fight: there was no need for me to worry about my defenses being broken. In that case, it was time for me to change targets. Besides, those Warhorses were just too agile for me to handle, especially after they had learnt their lesson from losing two of their Eight-stars. The Devil King Idol’s greatest weakness was its speed. If its opponent was dead set on dodging it, there was no way it could ever land a hit.

Putting aside the stalemate on my end, the rest of my golems weren’t in the best of situations either.

With the Winged Abyssal Golems restrained by their Eight-stars, there was no way for them to attack the lower starred Warhorses. My remaining golems were all suppressed by their Seven-stars so there wasn’t much to report there either.

What infuriated me the most was that my golems were slowly being chipped down by those Warhorses who were one whole star level above them. Even though it took repeated attacks to the same spot to deal damage to a golem, such a feat was easy when the Warhorses possessed such a massive numbers advantage.

The only good news so far was that my side hadn’t suffered any casualties yet. On the other hand, quite a number of Warhorses had been lost by now. Still, that didn’t change the fact that I was at a distinct disadvantage in this battle. Something had to be done to turn the tides.

With that in mind, I ordered the Devil King Idol to charge towards the battlefield where my ordinary golems were battling their higher starred Warhorses. With its massive body, I was able to launch an unstoppable straight line charge right at my target. Given how massive the Devil King Idol was, even its footsteps weren’t something a Warhorse could withstand. Regardless of whether it was an Eight-star Warhorse or a Nightmare Steed, all cleared the way for my idol, lest they were sent flying away in the process.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the Warhorses who were still engaged in a battle with my golems. Unlike the Nightmare Steeds who all had the ability to fly, those landlocked Eight-star Warhorses weren’t so fortunate as the bulldozer that was my Devil King Idol came ploughing through the mountains themselves.

Thunderous booms echoed across the battlefield constantly, every boom a herald for the destruction that my Devil King Idol promised. Because of its invincible defenses, even if the Warhorses tried to attack me, the most they could achieve was divert my course slightly. It didn’t take long before I reached my desired destination.

In contrast, those Warhorses had bodies that were decidedly mortal. Those that were unfortunate enough to bear the brunt of my charge were either left crippled or dead.

In a straight line charge, the speed and power of my golem was nothing to scoff at. Regardless of who I rammed into, all were sent flying away like ragdolls, or just simply stomped into the ground. Each time I lifted my feet, a pile of meat slurry could be found on the ground. Naturally, if it was a golem that I stepped on, they were perfectly fine and ready to battle a second later.

The impact of my arrival was immediately felt across the battlefield. My ordinary golems were all inanimate objects so there was no morale to begin with, but those Warhorses were different: they were live creatures.

My Devil King Idol was like a high level character in an MMORPG who decided to visit a beginner’s area and began slaughtering all the new players. Anyone who even came near to my Devil King Idol was easily swept aside by my charge. In just under a minute, my Devil King Idol had completely destroyed whatever formation the Warhorses had in mind and left their entire clan with dampened morale… because there was no horse amongst them who could stop me.

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Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Alright.”

Masrow more than happily turned around and left, clearly worried that I would suddenly change my mind and force him to stay.

On the other hand, Sidarth was more worried as he stayed on looking at the hundred or so Eight-star Warhorses and Nightmare Steeds arrayed before us. “They have too many Eight-stars, are you sure your golems will be fine?”

“We’ll see.”

Before arriving, it had never occurred to me that they would have Eight-stars numbering in the hundreds, though my golems, with their unbelievable defensive prowess, would probably still have a fighting chance… probably. Despite how much I didn’t want to admit it, those Nightmare Steeds were able to leave a crack on my Winged Abyssal Golems. In other words, this fight wasn’t going to end smoothly.

However, a bow that was drawn had to be fired. No matter what, this war had to be fought.

As for those hundred or so Warhorses, I think I had an idea as to what was going on here.

The Purgatory Warhorses were all nomadic. However, the location of their clan head’s nest was fixed, which was where we were right now. The giant crystal ahead was their clan’s treasure, and that clearly wasn’t movable. These horses would never give up on such a treasure, especially if it had something to do with their evolution into a Nightmare Steed. In all likelihood, that fact was most likely a closely guarded secret of their clan. In order to protect such a treasure, it was only to be expected that so many Nightmare Steeds and Warhorses would join this fight.

So all those empty settlements we encountered on the way here… their inhabitants had all moved here…

Shade had fought with my golems before. He knew how strong their defenses were, and that anyone below the level of Eight-star wouldn’t even leave a hoofmark on these sturdy constructs. In order to beat an army of such monsters, the Warhorses had to produce a large quantity of Eight-stars themselves. It just so happened that our Winged Abyssal Golems numbered around a hundred as well.

In a one one one fight, the Nightmare Steeds and the other Eight-stars couldn’t possibly lose, even if they couldn’t break my golems in the short term. Their Seven-stars could then restrain my remaining golems. As for what happens afterwards… I think I came to the wrong battle…

‘Is it too late to go home now? Fishcakes, I shouldn’t have gotten so conceited when they came over to negotiate…I wonder if it’s not too late if I go over and beg for forgiveness?’

‘Bah, no point embarrassing myself for something that won’t happen. This battle can’t be avoided now.’

After Masrow and Sidarth led their clans away, the Warhorses soon launched their first volley of attacks.

Previously, the Warhorses were hesitant about attacking because they were afraid that the Hellhounds and Purgatory Shadowcats retreating was some kind of ruse. Now that they were sure those two clans wouldn’t be a problem, they definitely won’t miss this perfect opportunity to strike. Thus over ten thousand horses came rushing at me in a tidal wave of dust and thunder.

“Push them back.”

With their lack of mobility, and faced with a head-on charge, all I could do was command my golems to advance. Having done that, I immediately summoned my Devil King Idol and brought Mo Na, Jeerah and Cinderel into its pocket dimension.

Having piloted this behemoth twice already, I had mastered the basic controls of the idol. Even though its rigid construct meant that I couldn’t move my limbs as I wished, this disadvantage also brought with it certain advantages. By sacrificing mobility, I now possessed the defensive prowess of a wall. In the upcoming battle, this would be my greatest guarantee of safety.

The thundering dust wave raged onwards. Beneath me, the ground quaked from my steps. With no room for retreat now, there was only battle!

The ground itself warped from the furious stomping of my Winged Abyssal Golems. These were the first of my golems to clash with the Warhorses and their Eight-stars. Both sides crashed into each other with no holds barred. The air shook for a second as a shockwave swept through the battlefield, sending rock and rubble flying everywhere. One of my Winged Abyssal Golem was thrown backwards a couple of paces and landed squarely on the ground, leaving a gigantic hole in its wake and sending more rock raining down on the battlefield like comets of the apocalypse itself.

While my Winged Abyssal Golem looked to be in a bad shape, that Eight-star Warhorse was in no better condition either. The force of their impact was felt fully by both sides. At the same time as my golem was pushed back, that Warhorse was sent flying over ten meters over, having failed to withstand the resulting force from the clash.

‘A tie? No…’

Things weren’t as simple as I had hoped. That Warhorse recovered in no time at all. From how quick it stood up, it didn’t seem to have suffered much damage. The Winged Abyssal Golem had taken this brief reprieve to stand up as well. Yet in this short clash with that Warhorse, a tiny crack had formed on its formidable outer exoskeleton…

What did this mean? It meant that, with the same star level, a Purgatory Warhorse had greater physical strength than a Nightmare Steed! Lest one forgot, it previously took multiple hits from a Nightmare Steed to leave any damage on my Winged Abyssal golems. In contrast, it only took one strike from that Warhorse to damage it.

The clashes against the Nightmare Steeds had fared relatively better. However, even that wasn’t good news for me. Because my Winged Abyssal Golems were tightly packed together, a simple fall could easily lead to an accidental collision with the Winged Abyssal Golem behind it -such a domino effect was definitely not what I wanted to see.

The Warhorses and Nightmare Steeds on the other hand had no such problems. They were a lot of nimbler and could easily dodge any of their comrades who were sent flying back.

This was only the start of the battle, and a clear advantage was already being wrought. My Winged Abyssal Golems had the defensive strength of an Eight-star, but they weren’t real Eight-stars at the end of the day.

In that case, it was time for me to act.

With earth-shattering might, I took my first few steps into the heat of the battle. One of the Eight-star Warhorses, who clearly needed to get its eyes checked, immediately tried to ram into my Devil King Idol’s calves. It probably thought that it could throw me off-balance by doing so… Well, it thought wrong.

Standing at over twenty meters tall, my Devil King Idol logically should have been slower than my ordinary golems, yet my Devil King Idol had one vital difference that separated it from my other golems: me, its pilot.

With the quickest speed my Devil King Idol could muster, I altered my footstep to land on the poor Warhorse charging my way, and under its disbelieving horse eyes, stomped it into the ground…

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Shameless Self-promotion

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.