Chapter 548 Defense Specialization and the Demon King 3

The moment the enemy showed its approach, Maple’s party judged from scant information, assigned roles, and each moved to handle a boss-class abomination. Their assignments were perfect.

“Having Maple in reserve is really reassuring!”

“Indeed. But we can’t let any through. Clearly… they’re aiming for the rear guard.”

The abomination facing Shin and Kasumi had huge wings and flew, its head and arms transformed into cannon barrels—any slip would send fire straight at the rear guard. Designed to ignore the vanguard and strike our back lines, if it got through, it would harm those holding back the Demon King’s endless small minions with heavy fire and break our balance.

“With no flying machines now, it’s time for my skills to shine!”

Shin activated 【Destructor】, mounted the floating swords, and soared into the air.

“Wen, 【Wind God】!”

A storm of wind blades, combined with Shin’s floating swords, slashed the abomination’s flesh. With buffs and debuffs from Frederica, Wilbert, and Hinata, that attack—far more powerful than Shin’s usual rapid strikes—hit with stunning force.

“It should be buffed a lot… but this thing is tough.”

Red bullets, too many to count, fired back at Shin’s blown-back abomination.

“Ha! Don’t underestimate me!”

Shin accelerated the swords he’d kept hovering around him to shoot down the bullets, then used any that passed as platforms to dodge—moving and countering as if on auto-pilot. Years of fighting almost exclusively with 【Destructor】 had honed him to this level.

“Kasumi!”

“I’m on it!”

While defending and evading, Shin arranged the remaining swords like steps, giving Kasumi a path and supporting her attack.

“【Blood Blade】!”

She sprinted up the sword-steps and lashed out with her liquid-like blade, cutting into the abomination. Bullets flew at her too, but Kasumi handled them differently.

“【First of the Swords: Heat Haze】!”

A targeted teleport, unlike rapid moves such as 【Cover Move】. The incoming bullets vanished, unable to track her as she blinked in front of them. She landed a heavy strike, severing the abomination’s torso.

“Not as tough as the Demon King, but still…!”

Even maximally buffed, her blow wasn’t light. The abomination’s high HP and defense meant it would take longer to fell. Judging from its health bar and the battlefield, they didn’t want this to drag on. To push them forward, Maple’s support fire arrived:

“【Ancient】!”

A blue laser scorched the abomination. Maple, using Hinata’s 【Gravity Control】 to hover, found a perfect perch to fire on every foe, joining the attack between holding her shield. The abomination, flinching from the side shot, stopped moving and turned its head toward Maple.

That was its big opening in the breathless clash.

“Wen, 【Shadow Sword】!”

“【Third of the Swords: Lonely Moon】【Fourth of the Swords: Whirlwind】!”

Shin unleashed extra-destructive blows with his now-activated 【Destructor】, and Kasumi leaped in with rapid combos. With no need to worry about the rear—Maple was holding them—and any stray shot wouldn’t matter, the conditions to focus purely on damage were perfect. Their combined strikes forced the abomination’s attention back to them. Though not yet down, they’d made great progress toward its defeat.

“Great support. Honestly, you’d never guess you’re a shield user!”

“I agree. Let’s keep chipping away. We have to reach the Demon King to claim victory.”

“Right. No time to waste!”

The abomination’s barrel-like arms and head clicked and morphed into two cannon muzzles. Accepting that any summoned minions might also evolve, the two redoubled their efforts to remove the immediate threat before facing the Demon King.

Velvet, Draig, and Lily faced a slender abomination wielding a red staff. Each time it tapped the ground, a red magic circle summoned more abominations—like the Demon King’s lieutenant.

“【Aurora】!”

Velvet unleashed pillars of lightning around her, shocking every enemy in range. Ordinarily, this would vaporize standard foes, but both the staff-wielder and its summoned minions survived.

“【Earth Wave】!”

Draig’s wave-skill sent the ground rippling, spraying stones like shotgun pellets. The damage was modest; the real effect was knocking enemies back.

“【Volley Fire】!”

Summoning wasn’t only for foes. Lily’s troops scattered bullets, and alongside Velvet’s thunder, slowly whittled down the abominations.

“Not bad. If we hang on, that lightning downpour will wear the main body down too!”

“Knockback is a great skill. True to being one of the top fighters in Congregation of Holy Swords,” Draig praised. His passive granted knockback on all his skills, making it impossible to approach if not actively countered. Normally he’d follow up with 【Charge】, but this time, he forbade any approach.

As they chipped away, the staff grew from one to two, and the summon rate increased. Lily boosted her summons to keep pace, but the summoned soldiers’ lower durability began to strain the lines.

“If we keep this up, it’ll take too long! I’d prefer a direct strike—if only…”

“I can clear the path! Though it carries risk!”

“Still, we have to try. If things go wrong, Lily can use 【Formation Shift】 to pull us back. We can’t let them push us back.”

Lily waved her banner and signaled their charge.

“Got it!”

“Alright, let’s do this!”

“【Electric Accelerator】!”

Lightning crackled over Velvet and Draig, boosting their speed. They sprinted past hordes of abominations toward the staff-wielder at the back.

“【Rapid Factory】【Reproduction】【Toy Soldiers】【Sand Swarm】【Volley Fire】!”

Lily cast her spells fluidly, summoning a massive force of troops and sending a hail of bullets.

“【Ancient】【Seeping Chaos】【Commence Attack】!”

“Still packs a punch as always,” Lily said.

“Go for it!”

“Got it! That’s enough!”

Lily’s banner-high-five signaled Maple and Hinata.

Their summoned strongest warrior, Maple, descended with relentless aerial strikes. Her onslaught, mixed with Lily’s bullets, battered the abominations.

“【Ground Split】!【Grand Lance】!”

“【Rolling Thunder】!”

Maple’s rock pillars and lightning columns razed foes; Draig’s knockback forced others back.

“【Burning Axe】! Move aside!”

“【Heavy Twin Strike】! Make way!”

They smashed through, forging a path. Survivors pounced on them from behind.

“【Additional Summon】【Puppet Wall】!”

Lily’s summoned troops reconfigured into a thick barrier, separating the two from the abominations.

“No more distractions. I’ll handle this one—hope you don’t mind.”

With their rear secure, Velvet and Draig zeroed in on the lone foe.

“【Charge】!【Full Swing】!”

Draig charged the staff-wielder. Unused to melee, the abomination was hit by his axe, launching it skyward—knock-up instead of knockback. At the moment of descent:

“【Fighting Spirit Awakening】!”

An explosive aura burst forth as Velvet took position beneath.

“【Explosive Smash Fist】!”

Velvet’s strongest punch drove into the abomination, dealing damage no thunder could match. The creature’s body writhed as third and fourth arms sprouted—irrelevant to the two fighters.

“【Power Axe】!”

Draig’s follow-up axe strike sent it airborne again.

“I’ll keep you up there until you die.”

“Next hit… here we go!”

Velvet charged her crackling fists, waiting. With its high durability, the plan was to keep it locked down until it shattered. A brutal tactic, but with Lily handling defense, their focus on pure offense paid off. The two responded to devoted defense by delivering decisive blows.