Shing! Clang!
Boom—
"Arghhh!!"
"Die!!!"
Grrrrr—
…
Amidst the battlefield, a cacophony of sounds filled the air, as chaos unfolded.
The eerie growls of demon beasts mingled with the fierce shouts of warriors, creating an intense and chaotic atmosphere.
'Just what is happening…?!' Leo shouted in his heart as he slashed his greatsword at a bear-like demon beast.
The bear-like demon beast didn't even flinch as it caught his greatsword without difficulty.
…!
Leo's pupils dilated as he hurriedly utilized his strength in order to pull his greatsword out of the demon beast's clutch.
To his dismay, the demon beast didn't budge even by a little bit.
'Urgh, I can't believe I'm wasting my aura on this…' Leo didn't waste any time as he utilized his aura and chanted,
[Burning Sword Style, Second Form: Flickering Flames]
Boom—
The air around him rose in temperature as he stepped heavily, producing a booming noise in the process.
Seeing that he was able to pull his greatsword, as well as put some distance between them, Leo smirked.
'My son is really a genius!'
It was one of the forms devised by Jin with the intention of giving him more ways to utilize his aura and the Burning Sword Style aura art.
Woosh!
However, the joy on Leo's face didn't last long as he hurriedly dodged an attack from the bear-like demon beast.
After putting some distance between them again, he observed the bear-like demon beast.
'If I'm not wrong, then that should be a Dreadpaw Bear…' Leo clicked his tongue in worry.
Dreadpaw Bears are magic beasts that couldn't utilize mana or aura, but they had immense physical strength in exchange for that.
'But now that it had been corrupted with demon energy, not only would it's physical strength increase, it would also be able to utilize the demon energy…' Before Leo could continue thinking, the Demonic Dreadpaw Bear attacked again.
Leo wielded his greatsword skillfully as he fended the attack of the demon beast.
"Leo, behind you!!" Someone called out from afar.
Almost instantly, Leo utilized the Flickering Flames again as he jumped up.
Below, he could see a bull surrounded by electricity charging to the place where he was earlier.
The bull and the bear clashed, creating a shockwave that affected everything in a 20-meter radius.
Leo landed a couple of meters away from the two demon beasts who were now fighting each other.
'Strange…' Leo squinted his eyes as he looked at the two demon beasts.
Before he could think any further, a man who was fighting a boar in flames shouted, "Phew, I'm glad that you're alright!"
Leo turned his head and smiled, "Thank you, Ryan!"
Ryan was a Second Class Warrior like him.
However he didn't have any elemental affinity nor does he have a powerful aura art.
Thus, he could only be said to be mediocre unlike Leo.
Ryan scratched his head before his expression turned serious, "The castellan and the others need you at the frontline."
"But how about you…" Leo couldn't continue his words as he saw what was happening around him.
He could see the exhaustion on the faces of the other warriors in the surroundings as their bodies were continuously covered by injuries.
Clang!
"Don't worry about us! Just help the castellan first so you can help us right after! Not that we need any help cause this is just a piece of cake for us!" Ryan fended the flaming boar's tusks with his shield before slashing at it with his longsword.
"Right! We can handle these ourselves!"
"Go Leo!"
"Do we look weak to you!?"
…
The other warriors also shouted while fighting with demon beasts.
Leo clenched his greatsword tightly and shouted, "Alright! I'll be back later so make sure to not die!"
"""Hahaha!"""
The warriors all laughed as if telling Leo to not worry about them.
Leo picked up an arrow that had fallen to the ground and threw it to the boar that Ryan was attacking.
The arrow accurately pierced one of the boar's eyes, making its attack patterns predictable.
"Thanks!!" Ryan shouted as he continuously slashed at the boar's body.
Leo only waved back in response while making his way to the frontline.
As he ran, Leo could see the warriors fighting not only for their lives but also the lives of their loved ones.
He made sure to distract the demon beasts by all means such as throwing rocks at them, hoping that this little bit of assistance would give the warriors even a sliver of time to breathe as he passed by them.
* * *
In the building located at the Training Center…
A bulky old man with a long white beard was pacing around, looking as if he had something in his mind.
'Tsk! I wonder how the investigation is going on right now…' Director Ver thought as he stopped to look at the Stygian Forest outside the window.
Originally, he wanted to go with Axton and the others to investigate what was happening in the forest.
However, Axton told him to stay behind to protect the fortress alongside Commander Reginald and the other remaining warriors.
Thus, Director Ver couldn't do anything but pace around his office while waiting for them to return.
Unbeknownst to him, the investigation mission of the warriors turned into an all out war with the demon beasts in the Stygian Forest.
Bang!
The door suddenly opened, making Director Ver almost trip in surprise.
"Agnes! How many times have I told you to knock first before entering my offi–" When Director Ver turned his head, he saw the uneasy expression on Agnes's face. "Is something the matter?"
Usually, Agnes would talk back to him while disobeying his every order.
However, Agnes only nodded hurriedly before speaking, "There are demon beasts and lower demons approaching the fortress from all directions!"
"What!?" Director Ver widened his eyes in shock.
Demon beasts were magic beasts that were corrupted by demon energy and the Stygian Forest was a home to a variety of magic beasts.
However, the Stygian Forest also serves as the border for the human kingdom and demon continent.
That was the reason there were demon beasts normally seen in the vicinity of the forest.
Demons on the other hand…
"What kind of lower demons are there!?" Director Ver didn't waste any time as he got to the point.
"I don't know how many, but the watchmen reported that they saw ogres and goblins among them!"
Director Ver's expression was filled with worry as he ordered, "Assemble all the remaining professionals in the fortress!"
"Yes, director!"