The situation for the Blood Fang Tribe's army became tragic in just a matter of minutes. From the front, a white wave of skeletons pressed forward; from the back, another cut off their retreat; and from above, mages sowed fiery destruction.
As if that weren't enough, the Spirits, constantly summoned by the Obelisks, struck every gap in their formation, tearing apart the wounded and exhausted warriors.
It was total checkmate.
"It's over for us!" the werewolves shrieked, losing the last of their morale. "How is this possible?! Where did he get such an army?!"
Verial, still clutching his flaming club, couldn't believe what he was seeing. His grand plan to conquer the Forest of Chaos had crumbled into dust. He was trapped in the very center of a murderous trap, and his "invincible" pack was shrinking by the second.
Lilith, meanwhile, watched the cascade of notifications before her eyes with undisguised delight:
[You killed a Werewolf. Gold +9!]
[You killed a Werewolf. Gold +45!]
[You killed a Werewolf. Gold +90!]
"Ooo..." Lilith raised her eyebrows, analyzing the numbers. "So I get different amounts of gold for different werewolves. Those stronger ones are worth a fortune!"
Kala, who until now had been yawning from boredom, suddenly straightened up and pointed a finger at Verial, who was emanating a red aura in his battle frenzy. "That one there... he's a Hero, right?" she asked with a predatory glint in her eye.
Lilith, who had used Analysis right at the start, nodded. "Yes, that's their leader. Analysis told me he's even Level 2."
Hearing this, Kala smiled widely. Without warning, she grabbed Mina - who was sitting on her shoulders - and tossed her toward Lilith like a sack of potatoes. The Monarch instinctively caught the small succubus, while Kala simultaneously shot downward like a missile.
"He's mine!" she threw over her shoulder, baring her fangs.
Lilith looked at Lysandra standing next to her. "Do you want to move a bit too?"
Lysandra smiled mysteriously, conjuring an ice dagger in her hand. Lilith pointed her finger at the Werewolf Mage, who was frantically trying to counterattack. "That werewolf mage is also a Hero."
"Thank you, Lilith," Lysandra whispered, and with an elegant movement, she folded her wings, diving toward her target.
Mina, who had already managed to scramble onto Lilith's shoulders and settle comfortably, began to squirm with impatience. Lilith, thinking the little one also craved a spectacular fight, pointed to the last of the Heroes, who was trying to hide in the crowd of ordinary soldiers.
"See that one? He has Hero status too. Go on, show him..."
She didn't get to finish.
Mina simply reached her hand toward the canyon and clenched her fist. In that same moment, a forest of green, thorny vines erupted from beneath the hiding werewolf's feet. They skewered him through in several places, hoisting the corpse high into the air before he could even draw his weapon.
A notification sound rang out:
[Mina killed a Werewolf Hero. Hero Soul +1!]
Lilith froze. She looked at Mina, then at the "great" Hero's carcass hanging from the roots, and felt almost foolish.
"Seriously?" she muttered under her breath. "That was supposed to be a Hero? Why did he die in such an embarrassing way, like a common foot soldier?"
She felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the system balancing this world. Apparently, no amount of experience points protected one from being a complete idiot who doesn't watch their step in the territory of a succubus who can control plants.
"Good job, Mina..." Lilith added with slight disbelief. "But next time, at least let him scream, because you're ruining the drama of the battle for me."
Mina, hearing Lilith's praise, beamed and transformed into her human form in the blink of an eye. To keep her balance on the Monarch's shoulders, she instinctively grabbed what was closest - Lilith's breasts.
Lilith raised her eyebrows, feeling the sudden squeeze, and tilted her head back to look at the small succubus. Mina gave her the sweetest look she could muster.
"I worked hard, so I deserve a reward, right?" Mina stammered, not letting go of her "handles."
Lilith sighed, shaking her head slightly, but didn't push her away, allowing the little one this moment of play. Her attention, however, quickly returned to the floor of the Canyon, where something unsettling was happening.
Her eyes widened sharply. "Damn, what is she doing?!" Lilith cried.
Mina leaned over her shoulder to look down. Both saw Kala, who was racing through the battlefield like a bloody hurricane. Instead of breaking straight through to Verial, Kala was diving into the largest clusters of ordinary werewolves, massacring them with her bare fists.
"Didn't she want to kill that big leader? Why is she wasting time on these small fry?!" Lilith fretted. "The skeletons can handle them on their own!"
Mina gave a pearly laugh, a strange glint of admiration and fascination appearing in her eyes. "Lilith, look closely at what Kala is doing," she whispered with excitement.
Lilith narrowed her eyes, analyzing every movement of her strongest warrior. At first, she saw nothing unusual - just brutal strength. But after a moment, she tilted her head, trying to keep up with the red blur Kala was leaving behind.
"Is she... isn't she getting faster?" she asked uncertainly.
Mina bounced on her shoulders, nearly knocking Lilith over. "Not just faster! Look!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger. "Before, she needed two blows to take them down, and now? She's punching straight through their chests with one strike!"
Lilith went still. Mina was right. Kala was already moving at a speed the human eye wouldn't be able to register, and every one of her strikes triggered a shockwave that tore opponents to shreds.
"How is that possible?" Lilith choked out.
"It's Kala's talent," Mina explained, smiling deviously. "Every subsequent attack she makes during a fight is stronger and faster than the one before. She's simply... charging up."
Lilith opened her mouth in wonder. "Wow... damn, that's a powerful talent."
"That's exactly why she's fighting those 'small fry,'" Mina laughed loudly. "She's using them as punching bags to boost her stats to an absurd level. When she finally reaches Verial, she won't just be a succubus anymore. She'll be a living disaster."
Lilith looked at her army of 900 skeletons, and then at the werewolves who were now serving as "fuel" for Kala's destructive power. She felt a strange prickle of satisfaction. Her new subordinate had turned the battlefield into her private gym, and every enemy killed ensured the final duel with Verial promised to be a one-sided slaughter.
***
Verial felt his world falling apart, but what followed went beyond the boundaries of his worst nightmare.
He turned sharply as the temperature in the canyon suddenly dropped by a dozen degrees, and his breath turned into grey smoke. In the moonlight and the glow of the burning obelisks, a demonic, white silhouette flashed by. Silver hair fluttered in the freezing wind as the figure, with a single wave of her hand, conjured gigantic pillars of ice and massive walls.
A wall of frosty crystal erupted from the ground with a boom, cutting off his Hero ally from the rest of the army.
"Damn, what's going on?! Where did this demon come from?!" Verial choked out, but received no answer.
Instead, from the very center of his pack, a crash resembling a meteorite strike reached him. The ground shook, and fountains of blood and werewolf remains shot upward. In the heart of the Blood Fang Tribe's formation, a second silhouette appeared - blood-red.
It moved with such speed that it resembled a blurred smudge. It was a butcher, and his army was merely helpless livestock.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" Verial roared at the top of his lungs, pure, unbridled panic ringing in his voice for the first time since entering this world.
He watched as this single being, alone and with bare hands, tore his elite warriors in half. This wasn't a fight; it was a macabre display of strength, a slaughterhouse where every movement of the demon meant the death of a dozen werewolves.
"So this is the Demon King..." Verial whispered, feeling sweat flood his eyes. "Damn, it's not some undead corpse, but some powerful demon!"
Suddenly, his fear turned into a desperate, crazed fury. If he lost his entire army, he'd be dead anyway. "STOP KILLING MY PEOPLE!" he shrieked, throwing himself forward at full speed.
In his head, despite the chaos, a spark of hope appeared - typical of a player seeing a final chance.
It's a good thing this idiot showed himself! he thought bloodily.
If he had stayed huddled behind those walls of skeletons and spirits the whole time, we wouldn't have stood a chance... But now he's here, down on the ground!
I just have to kill him, and all of this will disappear!
The muscles in his powerful legs tensed to their limit, tearing his skin. Verial landed on all fours, turning into a pure beast.
"ACCELERATION!" he rasped.
With gargantuan speed, he shot across the chaotic battlefield. He was like a projectile; with unbelievable agility, he bypassed the swirling spirits, leaped over rows of skeletons, and rammed his own fleeing subordinates.
Nothing mattered except that one goal. He had to reach that red silhouette; he had to crush the skull of the "Demon King" before all his subordinates died at his hands.