Carrying the Scales of Obedience, Vincent walked quickly out of the secret passage, placing it under the sunlight to examine it carefully once more.
"This magic item seems somewhat familiar. Could it be the Scales of Obedience?"
Immediately, Vincent let out a sneer.
"Impossible. If this were really the stronghold of Aura the Guillotine, how could it be so easily occupied by us? I must be overthinking it; it's just a rare magic item, that's all."
As a Court Mage, he was knowledgeable and recognized the extraordinariness of this scale at a glance, though he had no clue how to use it.
Just as he wanted to inject mana to experiment, a commotion occurred outside. The sound of massive footsteps and armor clashing rang out, as if preparing to welcome an enemy.
Frowning slightly, he hid the Scales of Obedience in his pocket and ran toward the outside of the mansion. The knights and Mages who were originally guarding the door were nowhere to be seen.
Activating Mana Perception, he sensed a Demon with weak mana arriving at the main gate.
When seizing this stronghold previously, Vincent had detected a Demon possessing extremely strong mana. However, Zari had impulsively and crudely started the battle directly. In the end, that extremely strong Demon didn't make a move but instead fled with the remaining subordinates.
"Could it be that group of Demons fighting their way back?"
At this moment, a rectangular section of the stronghold's tall perimeter wall was cut open. Nanoda walked in as if taking a leisurely stroll in a courtyard. Welcoming her were Zari, holding a heavy sword, and hundreds of knights, densely packed into a large mass. Through Mana Perception, she could also sense several Mages hiding in the rear.
"Tch, where did that kid Vincent go?"
The moment Nanoda cut the wall, Zari immediately ordered his subordinates to assemble for battle. The soldiers did not hesitate, quickly gathering into formation. The ones who came this time were all elite troops of the Empire, with very strict discipline.
"Oh, how lively. Hello there, I am just a passing Demon."
Nanoda waved her hand to greet Zari. Aura couldn't control the field with the Magic of Obedience, she feared Qual might act without restraint, and Linie was injured, so this time she wanted to resolve it alone.
"You're with the Demons who were beaten by me and fled in all directions a few days ago, aren't you?"
Zari glared at Nanoda, giving her no friendly expression. To Zari, all Demons were enemies.
"Fine, I'll lay my cards on the table. You killed fifteen of my subordinates. Hand over fifteen people in exchange, then leave this place. How about it? I won't hurt you."
Hearing Nanoda's calm words, Zari laughed loudly.
"Are you joking? Relying on just you, a tiny broken-horned Demon?"
Nanoda was somewhat speechless. Why was she always looked down upon by others?
Clang.
Zari smashed his heavy sword into the ground, grinning to reveal a ferocious smile.
"Surround her! Don't let her run away!"
Hundreds of soldiers quickly formed an encirclement, their spears, lances, and longswords pointing straight at Nanoda.
"Truly impolite."
Nanoda snapped her fingers. Severance Magic activated instantly. Precise, invisible slashes cut through all the weapons in the soldiers' hands. Everyone jumped in fright. Looking at their weapons broken in two, some involuntarily took a step back.
"What kind of bizarre magic is this?"
Zari hadn't seen clearly what happened just now at all. This Demon who barged in single-handedly indeed had some skill.
Seeing the soldiers flinch, veins bulged on Zari's forehead as he roared in anger.
"I'll deal with her personally!"
"Zari, what happened?"
Vincent arrived late. When he saw the broken-horned Demon in the encirclement, a strange premonition surfaced in his heart. His intuition was telling him that things seemed somewhat bad.
"Just a bluffing Demon, that's all!"
Zari gripped the ruler-shaped heavy sword with both hands. Battle spirit faintly permeated his body. He swung forcefully at Nanoda. At the same time, a phantom image of a heavy sword formed by sword qi smashed ruthlessly down from above Nanoda's head.
"Wah, why does everyone love playing with ranged attacks?"
Nanoda raised a single hand, pinched her five fingers together, and blocked this sword qi with incomparable precision. Then, with a slight exertion of force, she directly crushed it.
While previously fighting Linie, Nanoda had learned to use mana to reinforce her body. Even in a state of emptied mana, as long as she condensed a small amount of mana in one part, she could erupt with extreme strength.
Just as Nanoda crushed the sword qi, five fireballs condensed and formed high in the sky, smashing directly toward Nanoda and rolling up a wave of fire.
"To actually easily block the Heavy Wave Slash I've practiced bitterly for years."
Looking at the Demon who was completely burning, Zari was extremely astonished. Even an opponent with strength equal to his own would have difficulty parrying that move.
"Zari, don't be careless. She's not dead yet!"
Cold sweat broke out on Vincent's forehead. Without casting Defensive Magic, after being hit by five large Fireball spells, the mana fluctuations of the Demon before him actually increased instead of decreasing.
"Not enough kick. Hellfire Magic is still hotter."
The flames burning on her body surface seemed to be isolated, unable to harm Nanoda in the slightest. She blew a breath, and the flames extinguished completely.
"Great Demon!"
Vincent sucked in a breath of cold air. This must be an unknown Great Demon who had lived for hundreds of years. She could actually conceal her mana. He and Zari might be done for today.
Even for a Court Mage, dealing with a Great Demon required the protection of a large army and the cooperation of many people. Let alone just himself and the reckless Zari right now. The Imperial soldiers looked elite, but there were only a few hundred of them this time; they were no match for a Great Demon's area-of-effect magic.
"Haha, truly interesting. I really want to chop off her head."
Zari gripped the heavy sword tightly, blood squeezed out from within his palms. Although the soldiers surrounding Nanoda felt some panic in their hearts, without an order to retreat, they did not make any concessions.
"You fool whose brain is filled only with fighting. I think you've gone mad."
Vincent sighed, holding his brown-black wooden staff and standing side by side with Zari.
"Why don't you take the chance to flee?"
"Going back alone like this, His Imperial Majesty would directly behead me."
"Wouldn't it be fine to find a place to hide?"
"I don't want to live a life without privileges."
"Hmph, hypocrite."
Nanoda held the broken horn in a reverse grip, her expression indifferent. Since this group of guys wouldn't listen, she could only make them suffer a bit.
The small Demon troop she had painstakingly mooched off Hafleet was gone just like that; she wanted to make these arrogant guys pay the price.
As for their objective, Nanoda decided to teach them a lesson first and ask later.
"So, are you ready?"
There was no answer, only Zari shouting "Get her together!" Just as everyone was about to move, Nanoda, who was originally surrounded, vanished from her spot like a ghost.
____
New Story: Junji Ito: I Shall Smash Hellstar Remina
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead on every series!
✅ Unlock supporter-only perks and news!
Let's reach these milestones together:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all readers
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 bonus chapters for all series!
👻 Walnutchan on P...