Volume 3 Chapter 13 (1/2)
The Byakko was quietly resting his body.
Even though he had defeated the Mithril Golems, his injuries were by no means minor. In fact, each of the Mithril Golems' bullets hurt him like hell.
His excellent healing capabilities was one of his many strong points but even then, it was impossible for him to completely recover in a short amount of time.
”Temporary master, you're distracting me; just calm down.”
For a while now, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan was restlessly rocking his body as he was completely covered with his Monster of the Covenant, the Killing Armor—a moving hollow armor.
”How can I calm down!? That fool [Viscosity] has been defeated!”
With the fact that the slimes borrowed from [Viscosity] had vanished, it became evident that [Viscosity] Demon Lord Ronove's crystal had been broken. Or in other words, a powerful monster capable of even defeating a monster as strong as the Orihalcum Gargoyle that was with Ronove was now on route to return to this dungeon and face Zagan's troops. There was also the chance that that monster was instead headed to Zagan's defenseless dungeon and break his crystal.
Before either of those things happen, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell's crystal must be broken.
”That's precisely why you must calm down. Or else you'll become flustered. A Demon Lord must always remain calm. If you become agitated, you'll make the wrong decisions. Not to mention, it'll also lower your subordinates' morale. Haven't you learned even that much?”
The Byakko informed Zagan so with a shocked tone.
However, his words only made Zagan even more flustered. Choosing to just ignore the shouting Zagan, the Byakko began to focus on resting his body.
And then, when the slow-moving monsters had finally caught up and the preparations for marching onward were ready, two Mithril Golems 500 meters behind suddenly appeared from the tunnels. In their hand were heavy-machineguns.
Damn, thought the Byakko, the furs on his whole body standing on end.
In the next moment, the two Mithril Golems opened fire. One by one, Zagan's monsters that were in the rear fell.
”Uwaaaaaaaaaaa! What is this!? Cowards! Attacking from behind, cowards!! Everyone, quickly, go to the next rooooooooom!”
Half-crazed, Zagan instructed so in an effort to escape the hail of bullets from their rear.
”Wait, temporary master, you're overreacting.”
The Byakko tried to quickly eliminate the enemies but due to the stampede of his ally monsters going the other way, he was unable to do a thing.
”Listen up! Hurry on to the next room, goooooo! If we go over there, those attacks won't reach us!!!”
And so, the command was given.
Despite only being temporary, the Byakko was still Zagan's monster and a monster could not go against his Demon Lord's commands. As such, the Byakko's body moved against his will.
”Listen to me well, we're being goaded to rush to the next room. So before…”
”Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
Even his ability to give Zagan advice was now sealed with that command. The Byakko couldn't help but grind his teeth. He's been duped.
In the front and rear of this march were the elites of the monsters made by Zagan himself. And by his side were the two fully trained and fully leveled A rank monsters.
The enemy commander had been waiting for this one instance where they loosened their alert. Even when a large number of golems were being crushed, the commander did not reveal this trump card and instead chose to patiently wait for this very fatal moment. That moment being when they were almost ready to move to next room.
In addition, the Byakko who could slip through the Mithril Golems' bullets guessed that him being hindered from responding immediately by the waves of ally monsters was also predicted by the enemy.
Moreover, their side, Zagan's forces, without the opportunity to send out a scout, was completely unprepared as well as panicking as they entered the next force without reserve.
Putting himself in the enemy commander's shoes, he ventured that if it was up to him, now would be the right time to round up the invading troops as though they were sitting ducks.
Unable to convey his thoughts due to the command given to him, he grew vexed.
”Alright, we got out!!”
[Steel] Demon Lord Zagan shouted so with delight.
Laid out before them were a graveyard area lined up with gigantic tombstones that became an open field as it neared the entrance. There were no enemies to be found.
And so, they marched on.
A B rank monster—a member of Zagan's elites—that was at the very front… fell down a very deep ravine. Several seconds later, a sound suggesting that something broke was heard.
Not only was it a ridiculously deep hole but also a very wide one at around 3 meters.
It was hard to take notice of the ravine from near the entrance but not so much as one neared it. Perhaps, if the fallen monster wasn't in such a panic, it wouldn't have been caught in the trap.
The elite forces in the very front suffered casualties but the ones behind them were somehow able to stop their march. However…
”Come, faster! No, you guys, stoooooooopppppp!”
Following Zagan's earlier commands, the monsters further back marched on with full speed.
But then, Zagan issued a command to halt. They tried to comply but their momentum did not allow for a sudden stop. If left as it was, it seemed the monsters in the rear would be able to shove even Zagan into the hole of hell.
”Waste them, Byakko, Arc Demon!”
By [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan's command, the two A rank monsters, the Byakko and the Arc Demon, attacked their allies and pulverized them.
As a result, Zagan avoided the fate of falling down that hole.
The Byakko looked at his temporary master with eyes of rage. How dare he, how dare he!? How dare he make me murder my allies!?
For a military man such as him, this was the greatest dishonor.
He wanted to kill this trash who spewed nothing but harm.
However, now was not the time for that because beyond the hole of hell were Mithril Golems and Skeletons. These enemies were hiding behind the large tombstones that were in the boundary of the plains and the graveyard.
The Mithril Golems—equipped with heavy-machineguns—and the Skeletons—equipped with assault rifles—spread out like fan.
Seeing that, the Byakko smiled. It was only natural to set a trap at the place where you goaded your enemies into.
And so, the Mithril Golems and the Skeletons simultaneously opened fire.
His side's predicament was the worst; even annihilation was not an exaggeration. However, the Byakko was confident that if they responded to the threats calmly, it will be alright. When he convinced himself of such…
”Hii! Hiiiiii! Byakko, Arc Demon, do something about those guys! Hurry, right now! Don't hold back!”
Overreacting, [Steel] Demon Lord Zagan issued such a foolish command.
Thus, two of the strongest monsters trained to the utmost began to act because of that command… without holding back.
The Arc Demon unreservedly deployed a wall of darkness that would guard Zagan and his forces. This wall of darkness was capable of easily fending off all of the incoming bullets. In exchange for a tremendous amount of magic power, that is. Originally, it was a trump card reserved as a barrier against even army.
Even without such a wall, the Arc Demon would have still been able to protect Zagan and for less magic power too. However, the command to not hold anything back forced him to use this instead.
And then, there was the Byakko. He raised his magic power high enough to shake the very air. By virtue of that command, he activated his greatest trump card and its name was…
”[White Tiger Lightning Blade]”
(Note: 【雷刃白虎])
His body transformed into white lightning and then shone brightly. In the next moment, the Mithril Golems broke into tiny, little pieces.
The white lightning then traveled in an arc, pursuing the Skeletons that were in a fan-like formation. Needless to say, the Skeletons were instantly annihilated.
With the task done, the Byakko returned to his original form.
”Haa, haa, haa”
The Byakko breathed heavily and for good reason. That move was one of his strongest moves that was supposed to be reserved as a last resort. It was such a lightning-fast and certain-kill technique that there haven't been anyone to survive after receiving the attack. He was confident it could take down even S rank monsters. A true certain kill technique limited to one use a day.
He obtained this power to exceed his limits when he gained his name. In exchange for using it, 80% of his magic power was expended; his already wounded body got even weaker; and his physical strength had completely left him.