The Laughing Swordsman

Erin's fireball launched itself towards the army of demons. The already large ball of death continued to expand at an alarming rate.

The demons couldn't help but turn to stare. It was as though a meteor was plummeting right at their doorstep.

By the time the fireball was right above the demons, it had reached a diameter of twenty meters.

The demons looked up to see a sunset.

A massive explosion reverberated in the city. Like an earthquake, everything shook. They could even feel the effects from the roof of the palace.

The explosion left a huge black crater.

The shockwave alone killed countless one-horned demons. Any two-horned demons that were within ten meters died on the spot.

As for three-horned demons, one was right in the center of the explosion. What remained was nothing more than a few pieces of charcoal.

A few other three-horned demons were also struck but were at the perimeter of the explosion. Most of their body was burnt and large chunks of flesh were missing, but they were still alive.

The injured three-horned demons immediately enlarged. Red veins snaked across their body and their wounds rapidly healed.

Despite their unreasonable healing speed, they would still need a minute or so to fully heal from the damage they took.

The army of demons took a beating, but now it was time for their counterattack.

A four-horned demon slowly raised his hand towards the direction of the palace.

A barrage of icicles made its way towards the group.

Ned frowned.

"I can't stop that! Damn, why is there no cover here?"

Apollo walked up and stared down the onslaught in front of him. He waited for the icicles to approach.

Once the icicles were a few meters away, he raised his bokken.

Then...

They suddenly disappeared.

Ned laughed.

"Haha, nice one Alyx!"

Alyx was holding both her hands out with a dull expression on her face. There was a somber wind circulating her. It caused her clothes to sway lazily from one direction to the other.

It was as though an invisible hole was in front of the group, swallowing up all the icicles.

If one looked closely, one would see the snowflakes being repelled from a space in the air. What was more noticeable was how this section of air dispelled the icicles altogether.

This was Alyx's magic. She had talent in the 'Null' element, allowing her to cast these spells using null mana.

The spell she just used would erase the existence of any mana within a certain area. This meant no matter how many icicles were coming at them, it was meaningless.

Of course, this was under the assumption Alyx kept the spell active.

Apollo lowered his bokken.

It seems they were holding up fine.

The barrage of icicles continued for quite some time. It seemed that the four-horned demon realized it was pointless to continue.

The demon canceled the spell. The dense ball of mana in its palm became a dark black.

It rotated violently, then spat out dark blotches towards the two-horned demons.

The two-horned demons froze in place. A set of wings gradually formed on their backs.

The wings were black and translucent. They took on the form of a bat's wing and shimmered with a faint light.

Once they finished transforming, the two-horned demons crouched down. The ground under them cracked and they shot up into the air.

Roughly fifty two-horned demons were now flapping their wings in the sky. Wind wildly whipped past them as they flew towards the palace.

Ned started to panic.

He shot his firebolts towards the demons, but they were able to dodge his firebolts easily. Despite the futility, Ned was determined to keep trying.

As for Erin, she was trying to cast a spell but was nowhere near finished.

Alyx furrowed her brows.

"I... can't hold them off!"

Apollo raised his bokken with a smile.

"Don't worry! I got this!"

Although he attempted to reassure the others, it only made them more nervous. Still, Apollo confidently waited for the demons to come towards him.

The anxiety of the others shot up dramatically as the demons closed in. Alyx wanted to run, but she knew that was no longer possible.

In fact, she knew that when they decided to battle, they had committed to defending this village. She had just lied to herself to reduce her worry.

Alyx stood in front of Erin. Even if she couldn't do much, she was determined to at least protect her until the end.

Apollo's smile grew wider as the two-horned demons approached. Their sabers were raised and ready to attack.

Suddenly, there was a bang. One of the two-horned demons exploded into pieces.

A young woman who was partially morphed into a dragon showed up. She had yellow hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a white suit adorned with various pieces of jewelry.

She was partially covered in light green scales. Her hands had transformed into claws and a pair of dragon wings extended from her back.

The woman had charged into one of the two-horned demons, using brute strength to blow it apart.

Mildred gasped.

"Ela, You're here!"

Ela gave a nod to Mildred, then proceeded to charge into the swarm of two-horned demons.

A two-horned demon attempted to slash Ela with its saber. Ela's claw batted the saber away, then she used her other claw to slash the demon, ripping it into pieces.

Ela charged into the fray without holding back. She was much stronger than the two-horned demons on an individual level.

However, there the amount of two-horned demons far exceeded one.

Ela swiped with her claws, smacking away sabers and tearing open the demons. Unfortunately, that came at the cost of a slash to her back.

A large tear formed in the back of her suit. Bright red blood sprayed from the newfound gash.

Ela faltered, dropping a few feet downward.

Then, the tips of two dark green horns poked out of her forehead.

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