Chapter 112. Subjugating Phenex (2)
The command headquarters in central Sariwon was on high alert.
News had arrived that Arioc had been killed at a nearby fortress.
Apparently, a handful of humans had suddenly broken in, thrown the entire fortress into chaos, killed Arioc, and vanished almost immediately.
“Still no contact from Lord Phenex?!”
“Who cares about those Fallen Demons? He should’ve just left them to die!”
“Do you not understand Lord Phenex’s deeper intentions? This may be a cunning surprise attack by the humans!”
“This could be the surprise attack! It might be a diversion!”
The staff officers gathered in the command room were all in a panic.
The news that humans had suddenly infiltrated their territory, killed a command-level officer, and disappeared in an instant was simply too shocking.
The fact that Phenex happened to be away only made their confusion worse.
“How did no one notice the humans entering in the first place?!”
“We did notice them! They attacked the fortress before we could locate them!”
“Then why can’t we track them now?! What are the search units doing?!”
“Maybe they’re only moving through places where our security is weak?”
“How would humans know where our security is weak?!”
“Could it be... that someone among us is secretly cooperating with them?”
"..."
At the sudden suggestion, the staff officers fell silent.
“No. Surely not...”
“What would anyone gain from cooperating with humans?”
“Exactly. Maybe coastal merchants would do something like that, but our command staff...”
“But if they infiltrated after perfectly identifying every gap in our security, then the only explanation is that someone of fairly high rank leaked information...”
"..."
Naturally, every staff officer in this command headquarters was an experienced, mid-ranking demon.
Even so, the current situation was enough to throw all of them into confusion.
“We cannot afford to panic among ourselves like this.”
At that moment, the oldest-looking demon among the staff finally spoke.
“Wouldn’t it be better to think about why this happened later? What we need to do right now is capture whoever killed Lord Arioc.”
“Hmm. That makes sense...”
“I’ve already sent all of my subordinates outside Sariwon, including my personal guards.”
“Even your guards?”
“Yes. We don’t know whether the humans came by land or sea, but either way, they’ll eventually try to return to human territory.”
“Ah, of course! Then we should concentrate our forces near the border routes leading back into human territory!”
“Capturing them quickly is important, but preventing their escape is just as important.”
“This isn’t the time to stand around! We need to redeploy the troops!”
“Yes! Exactly!”
“We should issue orders to every unit!”
The staff officers hurriedly began moving.
Orders were relayed one after another, and the forces gathered throughout Sariwon began dispersing southward.
Then...
BOOM!
A massive vibration suddenly shook the building.
“W-What was that?”
“An earthquake?”
“No, wait...!”
The staff officers looked around in confusion.
CRASH!
A second impact struck.
Part of the wall collapsed.
"...!"
The staff officers gasped.
A man appeared through the ruined wall.
A human man with his hair swept back.
He wore tight-fitting black clothes, and in one hand he held an iron ball attached to a chain.
The tremors they had just felt...
had been caused by that iron ball smashing through the wall.
“W-Who the hell are you?!”
One of the staff officers managed to shout without shrinking back.
An instant later, the iron ball flew into his face.
Everyone trembled as they watched him crash into the wall.
“W-What... who are you, sir?”
Another staff officer spoke in a thoroughly intimidated voice.
The man calmly pulled on his gloves and raised his chin.
“I came under the orders of the great ‘Nameless King’ to smash every last one of you.”
“N-Nameless King?”
“Who is that?”
The confused staff officers looked at one another.
Seeing that, the man’s expression became slightly harsher.
“Right. You might not know him.”
“H-Hold on. Perhaps we should talk first...”
“I’ll teach you his name, so make sure you remember it.”
The man kicked off the ground.
“I’ll teach you the name of the great Constellation, the ‘Nameless King.’ Even after you return to Hell, don’t you dare forget it.”
A merciless slaughter began.
“He really is smashing everything.”
Lee Jukheon frowned while listening to the noise from above.
“I’m pretty sure we told him those guys were staff officers, not combat types, so he could take it easy.”
“Haha. Kang Yujin has always been like that.”
“Grrr!”
Chimera growled beside Seok Taejun as if agreeing.
“There!”
“Where the hell did they come from?!”
Urgent voices came from behind them.
They were probably troops stationed inside the headquarters.
“Lee Jukheon, what should we do?”
“You stick to the plan and scout the surrounding area. I’ll handle these guys.”
“Got it.”
Seok Taejun raised his spear as he answered.
It was a modified Durandal Replica, an imitation Holy Sword, so it possessed considerable power against demons.
“Then I’ll leave them to you!”
“Yeah. Go.”
Lee Jukheon slapped palms with Seok Taejun as he ran off.
Then he stepped forward alone.
A large number of demons soon appeared through the corridor.
“Why are they all so damn huge?”
Contrary to Lee Jukheon’s expectations, every one of them was nearly three meters tall and heavily muscled.
Their skin looked as tough as a rhinoceros’s.
An ordinary blade probably couldn’t even scratch them.
“Human... I assume you’re prepared to die?”
“To sneak into our command headquarters... You must not value your life.”
Even their voices were terrifying.
Back when Lee Jukheon had been leading the Iron Blood Squad in the central-western region, the pressure alone might have made him unconsciously step backward.
“You’re the ones who should be worried.”
“Hm?”
“You all willingly rushed over and surrounded me. Looks like you’re the ones who don’t value your lives.”
But the current Lee Jukheon smiled confidently with one hand on his waist.
“You insolent human...!”
One demon at the front raised both arms and charged.
The next instant...
Swish!
With the sound of air being cut apart, both of the demon’s raised hands dropped to the floor.
