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A few chapters from now we will be shifting the scene to the situation in various places. Nicole and others will be taking a break for some time, so please wait for them.

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The northern part of the Matara Alliance. A great kingdom situated in the western part of the continent, having a similar form to the Southern City-State Alliance, with a history of being formed by many smaller kingdoms joining into one gigantic kingdom.

It had a complicated coastline, countless islands, and a terrain filled with steep mountain ranges.

Its unique terrain produced abundant marine products and various mineral resources, and it was called the holy land for the blacksmiths like dwarves.

It was evening when a group of Twin-bladed Devils attacked the mountain range in its northern parts.

They appeared suddenly and destroyed the national checkpoint with their giant swords, and even destroyed a frontier village nearby the border.

The Devils didn’t stop at that and attacked a town further south.

The town soldiers were being trampled on at first, but eventually, they started to hold their own and managed to stop the Devils’ advance.

“Don’t charge at them. We should just hold out until the chivalric order arrives. It’s a war of attrition!”
“Second squad, retreat from the first road defensive line. The citizens have been evacuated!”
“There are three enemies. Keep calm and meet with at least four people! Make sure you have at least two shielders!”

Voices of the soldiers in charge of command flew about through the town. They didn’t plan to attempt to subjugate the Devils but instead were focused on endurance.

On the southern side of that city, two young girls that seemed out of place in such a dangerous situation were in the commanding room.

“How is the situation with the evacuation ships in the south?”
“80% have already embarked, and they are planned to depart once full.”
“The western district seems quite cramped. What is the evacuation situation there?”
“It has already been done. At first, we prioritized the subjugation and the evacuation order was delayed.”
“Lady Zanastia, the southern side has finished evacuating. Lady Celica, we have secured two more evacuation ships!”
“Thank you. Give orders to board it at once.”

At first, the city soldiers were the ones giving instructions, but the commander had died in resistance to the bitter end.

As a result, these two lesser noble girls who were visiting this city ended up being the ones with the highest position and had to take on the roles of the commanders.

“Keep in mind to fight as the situation demands and withdraw before the casualties appear when you realize it’s an opponent you cannot beat. This is just like Nicole taught us.”
“To think our senior academy teachings would be useful here.”
“Rather than the academy’s teachings, it’s Nicole’s teachings.”

The situation made a comeback from the disadvantage and somehow evened out. It was still a pressing situation even now, but the two girls still smiled.

The soldiers around were also influenced by their conduct. It was without a doubt a dangerous situation, but it could be dealt with somehow. Such an atmosphere started to fill the vicinity.

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The Devil attacks even reached Raum’s capital.

Kufar’s summoned Devils numbered over a hundred, and they formed smaller groups and headed to different regions.

Their attack sphere was vast, and the invasion speed far surpassed that of the armies.

“S̲h̲i̲t̲, the rampart won’t hold out much longer!”
“Are the reinforcements not here yet? What about Lord Maxwell?!”

Devils clung to the rampart and slashed the castle gate with their giant swords.

The gate was already full of cracks and wasn’t bound to last long.

Of course, it wasn’t like the soldiers were just observing it with folded arms. They showered them with arrows from the rampart in hopes of repelling them.

But the Devils’ thick skins easily repelled the arrows, feeling no bigger pain from them than a bug’s bite.

“Seriously?! Nothing’s working!!”
“Shut up and shoot! If we gain some time, Lord Maxwell will show up!”
“We can’t last that long!”

The soldier with a bow in hand yelled back at his commander. That showed how cornered they were.

A Devil that once killed Reid of the Six Heroes. The talk of it had reached every part of the continent. And now, two of them were attacking Raum. Of course they would be terrified.

And as the archer said, the castle gate broke a moment later.

“Wha, the gate has…?!”
“This…this is the end!!”

The enemies suffered no damage no matter how much they attacked with arrows. And they finally broke the gate and were about to invade the city.

The soldiers’ faces were dyed in despair at that sight.

Was it better to throw down their weapons and flee? Such thoughts ran through their minds.

But then, silhouettes appeared and stood in the way of the Devils.

“Hold it. You won’t be passing any further!”
“Hmph, Devils with two swords, huh? That’s quite an impudent thing to do before me.”

There were two men, most likely Adventurers. They set up their swords and faced the Devils.

One of them held a long hunter sword. The other one held two long swords.

They didn’t show any fear before the Devils’ imposing appearances.

“Fifth-rank Adventurer, Twin-Edged Dark Flame Kayle will be your opponent!”
“Huh, should I name myself too? Or actually, what’s with your nickname? Err, I’m the same rank Adventurer, Leon.”

Kayle looked to be in high spirits against this strong foe, while Leon couldn’t keep up with his pace. The Devils saw the two as obstacles and mercilessly attacked them.

“GraaaahhhhH!”
“Haaaaaaahhhhhh!”

Both parties released war cries and clashed. But the one to get flung away was Kayle. Even as a fifth-rank, facing off against a Devil head-on was a reckless plan.

“Geehh!”
“What did you even come here to do?!”
“Get off my case!”

Leon ended up throwing a jab without thinking. He instead had chosen to avoid the Devil’s attack and counterattacked properly.

But the Devil’s thick skin defended it from suffering any significant damage. But even so, it wasn’t uninjured like during the archers’ attacks, so it showed Leon’s skill.

“Can’t be helped. I have to release my sealed power, it seems.”
“Stop messing around and take this seriously already. These things are hella strong!”
“Shut up I said! Let’s go, Darkness Twin-Edge!”

Along with his yell, his two swords were wrapped in dark flames. In reality, it was just a Flame Weapon, and black was just a color choice.

But that definitely raised the attack power nonetheless. And Kayle’s attack power now surpassed Leon’s.

“Taaaaakeeee thiiiiissss!”

The Devil took the full brunt of his X-shaped slash.

It was completely underestimating him since he got blown away so easily, so it seemed to have gotten careless.

But that was still far off from dealing a fatal injury to the Devil.

Kayle on the other hand was full of openings now that he attacked with his full strength.

“Oh s̲h̲i̲t̲.”
“Graahhh!”

He wasn’t even prepared to block the counter slash. Just as he was imagining getting bisected, someone shot an arrow at the Devil’s head.

“Gaugh?!”

The Devil of course didn’t suffer any damage, but it groaned in displeasure since the attack landed near its eyes.

The one who shot the arrow explained in surprise.

“So even that can’t damage it? That’s troubling.”
“Ellen, arrows are pointless against them!”
“Okay, okay, gotcha.”

Ellen replied languidly, then pulled out a sling and threw a small bag with it. It landed right on the Devil’s face, spreading the powder inside all over it.

“Ga-gyafu! Gugyagh?!”
“If its skin is too thick to pierce, we can just attack elsewhere. It’s a special blend of pepper, chili powder, and other stuff. Have a good taste of it.”

The Devil rubbed its face with its arm, having been robbed of vision. It held swords in its hands so it could only do that.

As expected, it didn’t let go of its swords no matter what.

“Okay, now I can—”
“Hey, not bad, hmm?”

Kayle planned to attack during that opening, but before he could, someone passed by him.

It was a twin-sword user like Kayle. And had abnormally long arms. He twisted them like whips and slashed at the Devil’s throat. That attack managed to cut halfway into the Devil’s neck and stopped. That hardness surprised the wielder—Mateus.

“It’s crazy tough, huh?”

As she spoke, he slashed its medulla oblongata with the other sword and lopped its head off.

He had a problem keeping up with their speed. As such, if he faced the Devils, there was a chance that he would be pushed back by their speed.

Thus, he took advantage of Ellen’s distracting tactic and attacked during the opening.

“Hey, it’s not fair to steal someone’s prey!”
“Winning is all that matters, doesn’t it? And you lack training, you know?”
“What was thaat?!”

As the two glared at each other, Leon spoke in exasperation.

“You two, there’s one more enemy left!”
“R-Right!”

The Devil roared in anger seeing its comrade getting defeated, but now that Mateus had joined them, it had no chance of victory.

Not to mention, there was one more helper here.

“Oh, it seems the battle is ongoing.”
“Old man, aren’t you late?”
“Do not rush these old bones.”
“What are you saying after taking a young bride?”

Now even Maxwell joined the battle. If the Devil knew of his power, it would have looked desperate by now.

As he frowned at Mateus’ sarcasm, Maxwell activated his spell. He probably cast a Delayed Spell just before teleporting here.

Right after, a lightning strike impacted the Devil. The shockwave from it blew Leon and Kayle away.

“Oh my, my apologies.”
“………No, it’s alright.”

Neither Leon nor Kayle could protest since it was Maxwell they were talking to.

They moved their gazes towards the Devil with such complex feelings. There lay the scorched remains of the Devil.

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