Chapter 31: Let Me Do It
Soon, the sound of thundering footsteps grew louder, becoming a low, vibrating rumble that shook the very foundations of the hundred-meter-high wall. Everyone's hearts tightened. Even for the battle-hardened swordsmen of Sobelia, this was their first time facing such a large, terrifying number of Demonic Beasts.
A deep, guttural roar ripped through the air, a terrifying, chaotic symphony from a hundred thousand different throats. Countless Demonic Beasts sprang from the forest, rushing towards the city wall. It was not an army; it was a black tide, a surging, churning sea of fur, scales, and fangs.
"So many!"
All the Swordsmen were startled by the sheer scale of the Demonic Beasts. The horizon itself, moments ago a green line of trees, was now a black, advancing wave.
"Attack!"
As the King's command was given, the soldiers standing on the city wall ignited the magical cannons.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A large number of magic-infused cannonballs shot towards the Demonic Beasts, exploding in their midst. Each blast sent dozens of monsters flying, their bodies turned to red mist, creating temporary clearings in the horde.
A cacophony of pained roars filled the air as a large number of Demonic Beasts were blown away, but the tide did not slow. The gaps were filled in an instant. The front line, composed of larger, tougher beasts, barely flinched. A small portion reached the base of the city wall, slamming into the stone with sickening, wet thuds.
"Move!"
The Swordsmen stationed at the base of the city wall, their blades already glowing with their own magic, immediately charged forward to fight them, forming a steel line to hold the gate.
"Continue firing!"
The soldiers on the city wall continued to load cannonballs, firing them at the distant Demonic Beast horde, clearing the area below the wall and leaving the vanguard to the army and Swordsmen to deal with.
Looking at the scene before him, Ren felt incredibly shocked. The smell of ozone, gunpowder, and a thick, coppery scent of blood filled his nose. The screaming of men and the roaring of beasts was a deafening wall of sound.
'Is this war?' It was his first time experiencing it firsthand. He had fought a small, organized group of Mages, but this... this was a force of nature. For someone who grew up in an era of peace in his past life, it was overly stimulating.
Suddenly, a strange, high-pitched cry rang out, cutting through the din. A giant monster, seven or eight meters tall, emerged from the forest. The monster looked like a monkey, yet also like an ape, covered in matted red fur, with a single, twisted horn on its forehead.
"Oh no! It's the 9-Star Demonic Beast, the Unicorn Blood Ape!"
Seeing this gigantic monster, many people on the wall couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. 9-Star Demonic Beasts were S-Class threats. 8-Star Swordsmen going up against them was practically suicide.
A deep hum filled the air. On the Unicorn Blood Ape's forehead, blood-colored energy gathered at the tip of its horn.
"Damn it! It's about to attack the wall!"
A beam of blood-colored energy shot towards the Swordsmen on the city wall.
"Blaze Slash!"
A fiery slash erupted from the crowd, directly meeting the energy beam.
Boom!
The two streams of energy collided, erupting in a violent impact that shattered a section of the battlement.
A young man with fiery red hair, the 9-Star genius, walked out with his sword drawn and said, "I'll deal with it!"
"It's the 9-Star Swordsman, 'Flame Sword' Allen!"
Ren was momentarily stunned when he saw him. 'Wasn't this the unlucky fellow I instantly defeated during the preliminaries?'
A spine-chilling hiss echoed across the field, and a colossal nine-headed serpent slithered out of the forest, its scales glistening.
"Another one!! It's the 9-Star Demonic Beast, the Nine-Headed Serpent!!"
"I'll deal with it!"
Crack!
A bolt of lightning streaked through the crowd. Clay, the 'Thunder Sword', shot off the wall, his body wreathed in electricity, heading straight for the Nine-Headed Serpent and engaging it in battle on the field below.
"9-Star Swordsman, 'Thunder Sword' Clay!!"
The newcomer was another unfortunate soul defeated by Ren. Ren, in his Yoriichi form, had held back at that time, so neither Allen nor Clay had suffered more than minor scratches, and both retained their peak combat strength.
A sky-shattering roar! A lion with huge, leathery wings on its back—a Chimera—flew out of the forest, soaring directly towards the top of the city wall, ignoring the battle below.
"It's the 9-Star Demonic Beast, the Chimera Lion!!"
"Flash · Cross Slash!!"
A cross-shaped light slash, blindingly fast, shot straight at the lion in the sky.
Bang!
The Chimera Lion was knocked out of the sky by the Cross Slash, crashing into the horde below. This signature attack immediately made everyone recognize him.
"Arthur!!"
Arthur plunged his sword into the ground, breathing heavily. He looked at the Chimera Lion and said, "Don't even think about getting through here!!"
However, very quickly, the Chimera Lion shook its head, shrugged off the stone-shattering attack, and stood up again, seemingly unharmed, its eyes burning with rage.
It roared at Arthur, its powerful sound waves tearing up the surrounding ground. Some weaker Demonic Beasts were even stunned unconscious by the shockwave. Many on the human side also painfully covered their ears.
"Flash Sword!!"
It wasn't until Arthur charged forward, leaping off the wall, that he forced the Chimera Lion to stop roaring.
"Why are there so many 9-Star Demonic Beasts this time?!" a soldier yelled in panic.
"Right! In previous Demonic Beast tides, even if there was a 9-Star Demonic Beast, it was at most one. Now, three have appeared... could it be that this Demonic Beast tide wasn't caused by a 9-Star Demonic Beast?"
In the past, Demonic Beast tides were mostly caused by 9-Star Demonic Beasts fighting for territory. But this time seemed different.
A long, mournful "Awoooo!" echoed from the trees. A tall, giant wolf with sleek silver fur, its eyes glowing with a cold, terrifying intelligence, charged out of the forest. It was faster than the others, a blur of silver light heading for a breach in the line.
"Oh no! It's the 9-Star Demonic Beast, the Silver Moon Wolf!!!"
Erza's expression became solemn. "Ren, protect His Majesty the King. I'll deal with this guy!"
"Requip: Black Wing Armor!!"
After Erza finished speaking, without waiting for Ren's reply, she quickly completed her requip. Her silver armor vanished, replaced by the dark, demonic-looking armor that increased her destructive power, and she flew directly down from the city wall, a black-winged valkyrie descending into the chaos.
With three 9-Star Swordsmen dealing with three 9-Star Demonic Beasts, if this giant wolf were to break into the human ranks, it would cause incalculable casualties. So she chose to act.
"That's great! It's Miss Erza!"
Erza was now a renowned figure in Sword City; everyone who had watched the competition recognized this highly skilled and beautiful female Swordsman.
But just as Erza had engaged the Silver Moon Wolf...
A shadow fell over the wall. One gigantic monster after another emerged from the forest, and the faces of the human side immediately turned pale.
First, a Mammoth Elephant King, its body the size of a small hill, its tusks crackling with magic.
Then, a Dark Panther King, a blur of shadow that seemed to leap from the forest and was already scaling the wall.
A Hellfire Tiger, its paws leaving molten rock in its wake.
A Three-Headed Cold Bird, which flew overhead, its cry causing the air to freeze.
And finally, an Earth Tyrant Bear, which rose up and smashed one of the cannons with a single swipe of its paw.
"How?! How could this be?! Why are all these overlords of the Demon Beast Great Forest gathered here?!"
"Nine... Nine 9-Star Demonic Beasts?! Do they want to destroy this country?!"
Almost everyone panicked at this sight.
Even the King, who had always appeared calm, now had a drastically changed expression, with beads of sweat on his forehead.
He had expected the Demon Dragon's counterattack to be fierce, but he never imagined it would send out nine 9-Star Demonic Beasts at once.
Currently, in this city, besides the four heroes fighting below (Allen, Clay, Arthur, and Erza), counting himself, there were only five 9-Star Swordsmen. Of course, if Ren was also counted, that would be six.
That still left three 9-Star Demonic Beasts—the Mammoth Elephant King, the Dark Panther King, and the Hellfire Tiger—completely unopposed. They were enough to destroy the entire city.
Unless... that one stepped in.
"Where is Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni?! Where is Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni?!" The King quickly asked, his voice frantic, scanning the crowd.
Everyone around shook their heads; no one had seen Yoriichi Tsugikuni. It seemed that ever since the Sword Arts Tournament ended, the "Sword God" had disappeared.
At this moment, Ren, seeing so many powerful monsters appear, knew that he couldn't slack off anymore. If this country was destroyed, who would he collect his 20 million J from? His prize money hadn't been redeemed yet. And his SS-Class quest for two ten-pulls would be an automatic failure.
He stepped forward, pushing past the guards.
"Let me handle it!!"
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