"I was planning to go even without you saying so. Yeah?"
Rem said, grinding his teeth as he turned.
From all directions, things drooling saliva and targeting this village were approaching.
In a way, you could call it efficient.
Now there was no need to search for monsters or Demon Beasts one by one. Even wandering-type monsters that they'd searched for a while without seeing a trace had appeared.
Caaaaw—!
In the distance, a single Harpy boasting eagle feathers and solid chest muscles floated in the air, flapping its wings.
A wandering-type monster called Dremüler's Minion.
It led a pack of ten, and every member of that pack could also shoot invisible blades, they said.
Since the main body was a Harpy, naturally the pack was also Harpies.
Eleven monsters that could shoot condensed invisible wind blades all night long.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Before long, the ground shook faintly. It seemed like an earthquake, but it wasn't. It was the sound of many heavy things charging. Vibrations and sounds recognizable from battlefield experience.
Throwing his gaze into the distance, he saw a herd of rhinoceros Demon Beasts with horns jutting upward from their noses.
Among Demon Beasts, those that had awakened special talents were rushing out of the Demonic Realm to eat a special meal.
The appearance visible through the dust cloud and vibrations didn't look like ordinary Demon Beasts.
He guessed that in the process of coming here, they'd fought among themselves too. Fighting over delicious prey was instinct.
Enkrid had fully anticipated this moment. Because he'd anticipated it, he smiled. And said this.
"It's a party."
The Eroded beside him, a Demon-Man, widened his eyes in surprise at those words.
What party? A party where you sacrifice us all as offerings and watch?
Such questions were natural for a moment.
They'd seen the black-haired man kill the Minotaurus, but this situation was different.
They'd left the Demon-Lord's protection. The fence that had guarded them was now gone. So death was predetermined.
Those who'd struggled and flailed to survive would breathe in the inhale of despair and exhale the exhale of frustration.
"Aaaaah."
One of the residents let out a scream-like roar. Hearing that, all the residents tried to let out the same roar.
Luagarne approached the one she heard and gripped his throat with her hand.
"Gack."
Watching the suffocating man, Luagarne puffed out her cheeks and shouted. A Frog's cry was always booming.
"Siiilence!"
The tremendous roar made everyone look at her. Some of the Madman Knight Company also glanced back at her.
The effect of the shout was certain. The mouths of those watching closed. Frog's mouth opened, having captured everyone's gaze.
"Repeat after me."
Luagarne was a Frog, but she also called herself an entertainer. She'd actually worked in a theater troupe.
She knew what chant was needed now.
"Demonic."
"...Huh?"
"Knight."
In the meantime, wind blades fell from the air.
Shhhhhiiiiik.
The sound was audible, but invisible. Thus the sound itself became fear.
Rem lightly swung his axe and nullified it. Simultaneously with him swinging his axe, the sound of something shattering was heard.
Crash!
It was like the noise of crushing a glass bead with force.
"Planning to play from above, is that it?"
Rem said, raising the corners of his mouth.
Well, your specialty is throwing things from afar, is it?
There was no need to take out the weapon called a sling or throwing sling, called that on the continent but 'knee-sling' in the west.
Rem's left hand wavered. That's how it looked to everyone's eyes. To those who could see with dynamic vision, starting with Enkrid, it looked a bit different.
His left hand took out an axe from his waist and threw it upward. It was hand movements twice as fast as when he'd thrown it at Jaxen earlier.
The flying axe was faster than a hawk snatching prey.
Boom!
The axe that broke through sound with a tremendous roar pierced straight into the Harpy leader's head.
Its head burst and the body was pushed upward in the air. Because it was hard to gauge distance, in a way it looked like something had gripped the leader's neck and pulled it upward.
Then black rain fell from the sky. Rem stepped back a few paces to avoid the rain the monster spilled.
A Harpy with a build as large as a bear plummeted. The body that fell with a thud twitched a few times then stopped.
"Perfect for warming up."
Rem said, watching that.
Enkrid saw all of Rem's movements broken down. Combat senses close to superhuman perception made him recognize what Rem had done.
'Gathering shamanic power to amplify muscle strength momentarily.'
Right before throwing the axe, moving to a position that would draw the optimal trajectory.
Just a few steps, but he would have drawn a virtual line toward the Harpy leader that way.
'Then detonating shamanism to throw the axe.'
In the process, a trick similar to point explosion through Will was added.
Finally, by adjusting shamanic power extremely precisely and meticulously, he eliminated the recoil from the point explosion.
'Drawing out exactly what's needed.'
Like the Will that Rynox had shown in Zaun, used without even a bit of error. Rem did it naturally.
Indeed, he was worthy of being called a monster bastard.
As much as Enkrid grew, these crazy genius bastards also followed. If they fought right now, it seemed he could win.
But who knew what would happen in a few more months?
That was the difference between genius and mediocrity, between genius and the untalented.
'Even with an advantage from inexhaustible Will, only to this extent.'
If asked whether he resented it, not at all.
It was enjoyable. So fun and exhilarating. Ecstasy filled his entire body. Though he'd experienced it often, it was new every time.
"Fun, very fun."
That feeling overflowed and came out as a mutter.
But to the surrounding residents, he was just a madman. Watching monsters and Demon Beasts swarm and calling it fun.
Could the Demon-Lord have descended borrowing that man's body? Even if not, the perception that he was as dangerous as the Demon-Lord was imprinted in everyone's minds.
But what did Frog say earlier?
Some among the watching residents shouted in unison.
"Demonic."
"Knight."
It wasn't that loud. The sound gradually grew louder. Before long, all the residents shouted enthusiastically.
"Demonic!"
"Knight!"
The cry that hundreds of voices gathered and burst out had that much power. Like how words shouted with one heart by a hundred people had more persuasive power than one orator.
Enkrid turned to one side, thinking it was Frog's nasty prank, but to Luagarne, there was no better naming than this.
Demonic—the most fitting epithet for him.
Look, even now he was radiating charm to summon Balrog here.
"You won't let me rest quietly."
Shinar also stepped forward.
"Pel, Lawford, stop playing around."
At Enkrid's words thrown while running, those two also moved.
Roman also roughly caught on now. Though monsters and Demon Beasts charged from all directions, this wasn't a crisis.
Why?
Because the bastards here were all monsters.
Ragna walked leisurely to one side. As he walked and drew his sword, his greatsword shone through the darkness of night. A sword resembling the sun that rejected moonlight stood tall amid the darkness.
Roman, who'd been getting an earful from Lawford, also joined.
Thud thud thud thud.
For now, the charging rhinoceros Demon Beasts were most urgent, and Audin and Teresa stepped forward before them.
"Let's push them!"
Audin shouted, catching with both hands the horn of a rhinoceros charging from the front and throwing it sideways.
Huh? Did that make sense?
Even if Oara came back to life, she couldn't do that, could she?
Moreover, he thought divine power was his specialty, but he hadn't even manifested divinity. A duet of strength and technique.
The ground beneath Audin, the bear beastman, carved out and drew a semicircle. His body, including hands, arms, and legs, became a pillar of unbreakable steel, pushing the rhinoceros Demon Beast aside with force as if throwing it.
Boom!
A tremendous sound like lightning striking a boulder burst out. A sound that made eardrums tingle.
The rhinoceros Demon Beast fell along with several other Demon Beasts. The Half-Giant standing beside him showed a similar feat.
Instead, this side did it with a shield. Catching with the shield and pushing sideways. Her feet also drew a large semicircle. Footwork created from shedding force.
No matter how lacking in discernment Roman was, he was a Squire Knight. He knew how excellent a technique those two had performed.
'Monsters!'
Such a cry burst out from within.
Among them, the most brutal monster stepped forward. The darkness of night made his cloak look pitch black. Roman also knew that cloak was actually dark green when seen in daylight.
Flap flap flap!
As he leaped forward, the cloak fluttered in the wind. The cloak that had somehow changed to an elongated form was just like a scarf.
It stretched out long. The end of a black line alien to the night's color.
"Assimilate!"
He swung his sword while uttering incomprehensible words. A Ghoul with the assimilation ability to camouflage in surrounding environments was split vertically before him.
'When?'
It was a monster that knew how to hide its appearance. It was cut and split. As black blood and entrails spilled to the ground, it seemed like darkness greedily devoured it.
"Demonic!"
"Knight!"
Behind them, everyone shouted at Frog's direction. Those shouts seemed to summon madness.
Roman accepted all of this. In the process, naturally, a desire to contribute to this task also arose like wildfire. It was a fierce blaze like lighting fire on dry fields.
"Uoooooh! Here goes Roman of Oara!"
Roman's greatsword, intoxicated by the atmosphere, stretched straight forward.
Thunk!
A large Troll's head got caught on that greatsword.
"Uoooh!"
Shouting a battle cry, he pulled the sword upward with force. The Troll's head split. No matter how excellent its regenerative power, it died if its head split.
Now, look. I am Roman of Oara!
He seemed to say that. A shadow brushed past beside him, and a calm voice poured a bit of water on Roman's flames.
"No. You put too much strength in your body. You should use joints more softly and give strength when needed and withdraw it when needed."
"If it could be fixed by saying it, it would've been done already. Leave him, if he dies flailing like that, it's all his fate."
This was another shadow. The first was Lawford, the second Pel. Lawford continued speaking while running.
"That's why I'm telling him not to do that."
"That's why I'm saying it's useless."
"You might be that way since you stuffed a man-faced dog's penis in your ear holes, but this person isn't."
"Hey, you said excessive cursing makes a person look cheap?"
Lawford, who mocked but avoided excessive profanity, felt self-loathing for a moment after unconsciously speaking like Pel.
Was he becoming a bit similar from associating too much?
That thought made him feel even more unpleasant.
Therefore, now was the moment to show who was superior.
"Let's see who kills more..."
"Good."
Before Lawford's words finished, Pel agreed. The two scattered left and right. There were things more dangerous than the Troll Roman had caught. It was a good environment for competing.
Roman's eyes saw that too.
Rustle, a few pieces of rock popped up from the ground, then boom— a fountain of dirt and stone shot up.
'Worm!'
A giant worm monster that seemed like it could coil and kill a bear in one swoop burst from the ground.
"Mine!"
The man called Pel killed it. Launching his body into the air, he curled his body round and swung his sword. Such a feat was something Roman couldn't even attempt.
The Worm tried to rampage with its head split, but the man called Pel just carved it to pieces.
Casual sword swings were like swings pouring in his utmost effort.
'Sword work so mastered through repetition that it comes out unconsciously.'
That principle struck him anew.
Beside the fallen Worm, five Ghouls drooling saliva charged, and Lawford blocked them. He calmly cut each one's neck.
The entire process felt so natural and inevitable. But breaking it down, it wasn't.
'Like prey caught in a spider web.'
That impression remained. He restricted the Ghouls' movements and when necessary, bold sword strikes followed.
After that, it was hard to pay attention to others' fights. Roman had to move busily too. So many things swarmed.
Starting with Harpies, then Ghouls, Man-Faced Dogs, Ogres, Trolls, Armored Skeletons, Plague Maidens, poison-spewing demons, etc.
Well, it was nothing much. That's what he thought. What was the big deal about fighting all night for just about two days?
All the residents who'd been chanting Demonic Knight went inside their homes early and hid. To Luagarne, there was no reason to bring them outside and expose them to danger.
After that, Luagarne also entered the fight. She commanded from the village center as if filling gaps.
Luagarne-style Tactical Sword, which became the foundation of Enkrid's orthodox swordsmanship, was an excellent technique even in the form of commanding a unit.
And so, two days. Roman saw the corpses of dead monsters and Demon Beasts.
Not as a metaphorical expression, but the sight of corpses piled like mountains.