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Volume 7 Chapter 176

Holy City Defense Battle (1/4)

On the city’s wall of the Holy City, sentry soldiers were running about in a frenzy.
Just as they were conducting their routine night watch, the Holy Barrier disappeared without any warning.
Following the emergency manual, they hastened to reinforce the defense. However, the defense guidelines were based on the assumption of maintaining the Holy Barrier.
There were no instructions in the manual on what to do when the Holy Barrier disappeared. Until today, the Holy Barrier had never vanished.
Without the protection of the Holy Barrier, the Holy City was virtually defenseless.
Despite having tall and sturdy city’s walls, there weren’t enough soldiers to guard them.
The Holy City Sanctum, where the Great Temple of the Creator God was enshrined, had a barrier that could repel even demons. It was believed that those connected to evil wouldn’t dare to lay a hand on this Holy City.
In reality, the Holy Maiden was often attacked by demons, but this fact was never revealed to the residents of the Holy City or ordinary soldiers to avoid undermining their faith in the gods.
That’s why when the soldiers noticed countless moving shadows in the distance on the plains, they were filled with panic.
Something was approaching the Holy City.
The defense chief responsible for the western side of the Holy City – the side that overlooked the plains – called for a mage to fire a barrage of light spells.
The mage’s light spells exploded in the sky above the plains, revealing the forms of numerous monsters.
「N-no」
「Why are there so many monsters?」
「Are they coming here…… to the Holy City?」
「The Holy Barrier is down now. It’s over; there’s no way to stop them—-」
「Calm down! The Holy Maiden will surely restore the Holy Barrier. In the meantime, our job is to protect this city’s wall with all our might to prevent these monsters from entering the Holy City!」
The defense chief managed to get the panicked soldiers back to their posts. But with the soldiers currently present, even delaying the enemy’s advance was proving to be a difficult task.
That’s why he had sent his subordinates to call for reinforcements—-
There was no time to spare.
「 —-Uggh!」
A sharp claw tore through the neck of the mage who had fired the light spells.
Several flying monsters had arrived and launched an attack. The mage who had used magic to draw their attention became the first casualty.
「Enemy attack! Everyone, defend!」
From there, chaos ensued.
The soldiers defending the Holy City had received training to combat monsters, as long as they were D-rank monsters they were more than capable.
But all the flying monsters were ranked C or higher.
「Ugh, there are so many Elecrows……」
Electricity-shrouded crows known as Elecrows were swiftly flying between the soldiers. Even without making physical contact, they could paralyze anyone nearby, making movement difficult.
The harpies— monsters with female faces and bird bodies, would then attack the immobilized soldiers. Harpies were classified as C-rank monsters, not particularly strong individually, but their intelligence and ability to use weapons and magic made them a significant threat. However, for the soldiers whose movements were hindered by the electricity of the Elecrows, the harpies, with their agile flight and sword-wielding attacks, were a formidable challenge.
One soldier managed to land a hit on the troublesome Elecrow, which was his first priority. However, he was engulfed in a powerful electric shock and incapacitated.
Elecrows can be defeated with ranged attacks like magic and arrows. However, their high-speed flight made them difficult targets, and there were dozens of them.
Only a few soldiers remained who could still fight.
「Damnit— you, do your best to cast a flashy spell into the sky! Inform the city of the emergency!」
The defense chief issued instructions to the surviving mage.
There had been alarms to announce emergencies, but they had already been destroyed by the monsters.
The level of intelligence demonstrated by these monsters, especially their immediate destruction of the alarms, was beyond what could be expected of C-rank or B-rank monsters.
Someone was coordinating these monsters.
The defense chief’s worst fears were about to be confirmed.
「No, that won’t work. Give us a little more time」
The mage, who was about to cast a spell into the sky, had a hand thrust through his abdomen. As the hand was pulled out, the mage collapsed.
Unnoticed, a man had appeared behind the defense chief and the mage, and he had killed the mage.
「If our goal was to inspire despair and fear, showing our advance would be a good idea…… But our Master’s orders are to lay waste to the Holy City. We don’t want to attract too much attention just yet」
Despite the intense battle taking place on the city’s wall, the commotion hadn’t reached the residential area just a short distance away from the wall.
This was because of—- the demon Gusion’s subordinate who had cast a barrier of perception interference around the perimeter of the city’s wall, making it appear as though everything was normal from the residential area.
It was late at night, and most of the Holy City’s residents were already asleep, completely unaware that the Holy Barrier had disappeared.
And the defense chief’s subordinates, who had been sent to deliver the message of the emergency, as well as several terrified soldiers who had run away, had not reached the residential area.
Someone was hunting them down.
Another demon appeared behind the defense chief.
「I’ve killed all the ones who left」
「I see, good work. All that’s left…… is you」
The defense chief found himself alone, with no one else in sight.
「Damn, you!」
The defense chief swung his sword at the first demon that had appeared. He was skilled enough to defeat B-rank monsters.
However— the demon caught the defense chief’s sword with just one finger.
And the sword he was so proud of, which was blessed by the Holy Maiden when he was promoted to the position of defense chief, was easily broken by the demon.
「I-it can’t be—」
「Quite skilled, aren’t you? B-rank by human standards, perhaps? But you’re not at my level」
The defense chief’s spirit was shattered.
The sound of hundred—- no, thousands of monsters approaching the Holy City could be heard.
In front of him were two monsters he couldn’t hope to defeat, no matter how many of him there were.
Moreover, they hadn’t even had a chance to inform the city about this situation.
If this situation isn’t considered hopeless, what word can be used to describe it?
The defense chief dropped his weapon and fell to his knees.
「Forgive me…… Holy Maiden」
「It’s too early to give up」
「 —-!?」
The defense chief, who thought he was the only one still alive on the city’s wall, was startled by a voice from behind.
When he turned around, a woman was standing there.
She was a stunningly beautiful woman, a sight that seemed out of place in this battlefield strewn with countless corpses.
She held a curved sword he had never seen before in her hand.
「Who are you, and how did you get through my barrier?」
「Barrier? …… Oh, you mean that thin membrane. I cut through it」
「You cut through it?」
「And in case you haven’t noticed…… you’re already cut too」
「Wha—-」
The first demon to arrive was chopped to pieces. At the same time, its body began to regenerate, but there were so many cut parts that it seemed to have reached its regenerative limit too soon.
The demon disappeared in a black smoke.
「Who the hell are you?　What in the world have you done to my brother!?」
「I am Tina Elnor. Formerly Tina Haribel. If you are a demon, this name should sound familiar, right?」
「Tina-Haribel」
Bloodlust leaked out from the remaining demon.
To all the demons, Tina was an abomination.
「To the question, what did I do? …… I cut him up. Like this—」
Tina’s hand holding the sword disappeared.
From the sword that was swung at a speed that made it seem like her hand had disappeared, a slash was unleashed.
This was the ultimate sword technique, 『Fierce Sky Slash』used by Tina, the world’s strongest swordsman—- who was also Haruto’s swordsmanship teacher.
Countless vacuum blades easily sliced through the demon’s body, which ordinary swordsmen wouldn’t have been able to touch, and cleaved it apart.
The second demon, like the first, disappeared without uttering a word, consumed by its hatred for Tina.