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Didn’t think we would try to run away, did you? Was what I wanted to tell Leeder.

That’s right, I was planning to run away. If I had to choose between helping some Human villagers and protecting Nicole, I would definitely choose the latter. Even if those monsters were all One-stars, their sheer numbers were nothing to scoff at.

In a head-on fight, my hundred Assassins were clearly stronger than a horde of One-stars, but were they all One-stars?

I did not wish to see any casualties amongst my Assassins. Not only that, I wanted to protect Nicole as well. And I meant perfectly to protect her; not a single scratch!

“There are, in fact, monsters heading here, but I do not know how many. Even so, I would need everyone to return to their homes first while we engage with them.” Just as I was mulling over how to take Nicole away with me, she suddenly interrupted our conversation then swept her eyes over the uneasy masses. Finally, she declared in a voice with unprecedented conviction, “as long as I’m alive, I vow to fight to the death!”

“But there are too many of them, how will you all stop them…” Hearing that someone was willing to shoulder this burden with him, Leeder smiled gratefully at his newfound savior. However, this smile only lasted a few seconds before he realised a key problem. “We just vanquished that Vampire… do you think they are here for revenge?”

Well. I don’t know about that last part. What I do know is that if we don’t leave now, we are screwed. While I still have some doubts as to how these villagers even knew about the invasion, but now’s not the time for such questions.

With no time to lose, and seeing as she’s dead set on fighting to the death with those monsters, I quickly reached out to her neck, in hopes of knocking her out. Unfortunately, she was already on guard for my hand chop. Her back turned around at the last second to reveal a sharp glare, “what do you think you are doing?”

“I’m trying to take you away.” I stared right back at her. “You staying behind will achieve nothing but your own death. I can’t just stand here and watch you die!”

“But if we all leave, what will these villagers do?”

“It’s not like you can change anything by staying behind!”

“Neneth is staying behind to accompany Sister Nicole as well!” Just as I was arguing with Nicole, Neneth suddenly interjected herself into our heated debate, walking up to her side at the same time. “Neneth will be here with Sister Nicole!”

“Neneth, stop messing around like Nicole!” I reached out to grab Neneth in hopes of bringing her to my side. However, she vehemently resisted, and thanks to that monstrous strength of hers, I couldn’t make her budge no matter how much I pulled. In fact, she almost dragged me to her side in the process… awkward…

Blast it, those monsters are already on our doorstep and we’re still having a civil war over here… but there’s no way to take Nicole away… Wait. What if I get Zurnalin to help out…

Since we were already at this stage, there was no point holding back anymore. “Zurnalin, help me take Nicole away.”

“Understood.” Zurnalin immediately reached out to grab Nicole. Being an Eight-star, she was immensely strong, even without her Blood Drake with her.

Yet my plan was doomed to fail as the screams of the villagers soon filled the air, “Save us!! Zombies… there are so many zombies… Save us!!”

The sudden turn of events meant that Zurnalin was no longer able to capture Nicole. That was because the moment the screaming began, an uncontrolled stampede of Humans followed soon after.

“Ahh… mama…” Amidst the chaos, a small girl, roughly nine years of age, was mercilessly pushed to the ground by the mob, several adults stepping on her in the process. But being as young as she was, she couldn’t pull herself to her feet and could only cry helplessly on the ground.

Seeing such a cruel scene play out before my very eyes, I couldn’t stand idly by any longer. With a resigned sigh, I rushed into the crowd, shoving aside the panicking mob, then scooped up the child. “Are you alright?”

“Weep… Ann is okay now… thank you, big sister…” While she claimed to be fine, her weeping countenance said otherwise. Thankfully, she was only stepped on a couple of times so she did not suffer much injuries. Or maybe children in a fantasy world were just made out of stronger stuff?

I gently ruffled her long, green hair and asked, “where are you parents?”

“Ann’s father hasn’t returned for days. Ann’s mama… was eaten by the Vampire… weep…”

At that point, she wept even louder.

So she says her name is Ann… her mom’s dead and her father is missing… If I’m not mistaken, then her father should be one of the bandits I killed…

“Is there anyone looking after you while your father isn’t home?”

Ann rubbed away the tears in her eyes and replied, “Auntie looks after Ann most of the time, but she’s gone now… no one wants Ann…”

“Don’t be scared… big brother here… big sister will protect you.”

Sigh… I guess I’m just weak to helpless little girls… I sighed to myself, but I still came to a decision in the end. “Jezsere, look after Ann for me. Also, I might not be able to look out after the both of you in the coming fight.”

“Mhm. Jezsere will do her best.” Jezsere stepped forward to receive Ann. “Do your best too, Master. I’m sure we will be fine.”

Standing there in the dead of night, I yelled into the empty void towards the north. “Assassins, I command you to hold off the incoming monsters.”

Silence ensued. Yet even without them replying, I knew that they had gone off to fight the Undead. With them on our side, we should be able to hold off the horde for a while longer.

I swept my eyes across those gathered with me. I sighed once more. “Let’s head over as well.”

Right now, I was more concerned about how Nicole would respond to the hundred Assassins who suddenly turned up to help us. I hadn’t told her about them before so I could only pray that she wouldn’t get too suspicious of me once they joined the battle.

Thankfully, the dread interrogation never came. She merely looked me right in the eyes before heading off the north as well.

“Sister Nicole, wait for Neneth…” Off went Nicole’s little sidekick as well.

“Master?” Regine looked at me quizzically. I had no doubt that she supported my decision to abandon these villagers, but as the situation stood right now… Nicole wasn’t willing to leave with us and I couldn’t bear to leave that little girl alone…

“Say no more. Besides, it’s not like we can’t win this fight. Come on, let’s have a look at this monster horde.”

I loaded Jezsere onto Mo Ning first, followed by Ann, after which I instructed Mo Ning to look after the two of them.

While I still had no idea what was attacking us, those Assassins alone won’t be enough to hold off a horde of that size. I had to think of a plan soon.

Speaking of plans… Aren’t I an Overlord of Purgatory? Ferti’nier, do you think I can summon some Devils over?

“Of course, you can. You just need to gather up some offerings first. Just get that little timid girl to help you create a summoning circle later. All that you need to do then is summon an army of Devils using your name.”

At times like this, Ferti’nier was always there to save the day. As long as I needed something from her, she would have a solution ready. However, the moment she said that, she continued in an unsure tone, “but that Nicole girl you’re trying to protect… She’s a Demon Hunter. Are you sure…”

At this point, we have no other option. Those Assassins alone won’t be enough. Even if they are all One-stars, there will surely be casualties amongst them. That, I do not wish to see.

“All right. Be careful yourself. Don’t end up with a sword through your heart because of that girl.”

Nicole? Stabbing me? No way… you’re thinking too much over there, big sis. Still, thank you for always helping me at these times.

“That goes without saying. Your big sis will always be by your side.”

Following in Nicole’s footsteps, we reached the northern section of the village. Because most of the villagers were frightened back into hiding, the journey was a smooth one.

The horde was predominantly an Undead horde. A massive amount of Skeletons formed the vanguard of this army, charging fearlessly into the village. According to Leeder, he had sent out a few villagers to scout out the situation. That was how he even got the warning to begin with.

However, Humans had always been a selfish bunch. Upon getting word of the invasion, the villagers had all fled without a trace… Blast it all, if I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have killed those bandits. They weren’t strong, but at least they can be fodder. Besides…

I turned towards Mo Ning, where Jezsere sat atop her with Ann snugly in her arms, and felt a pang of guilt in my heart. Even though those bandits were guilty, they had only done so to protect their family… Perhaps I was too extreme in dealing with bandits… but it’s too late for regrets now…

I will make up for it, I swear… at the very least, I will save the village…

The first wave of Undead was merely a test of our strength. A thousand fully armed Skeletons and Zombies were now gathered before the entrance of the village. On the other side, Nicole, Neneth and my hundred Assassins were already tearing into their ranks. Even though these Undead were all armed, their equipment was barely better than junk. The armor on the Skeletons was about as bare as they were while the Zombies had on rusty armor that looked just about ready to fall apart…