Demon General Class Ogre

'What…?' 

Leo stopped running as he glanced back behind him, feeling goosebumps all over his body.

He felt the waves of powerful aura that couldn't have possibly come from any of his comrades.

After all, he saw everyone's state earlier.

They were all injured and had severe exhaustion on their faces.

Therefore, it could only mean one thing…

'Core Ignition…' Leo felt a lump in his throat as he forcefully turned and kept running.

Core Ignition was a technique that, as its name implied, burns one's energy core in exchange for an explosive boost in power.

However, after this boost, one would suffer dreadful consequences.

In the case of Warriors, who utilizes aura and stores it in their energy core, the consequences would be even more severe.

The reason for this was because their aura was connected directly to their life energy, meaning that the boost would be more powerful but would also directly burn their life itself.

This would lead them to death right after they run out of "fuel" to burn.

'Their sacrifice… I can't let it go to waste…'

Leo thought as he ran with determined eyes.

He swore in his heart that he would save the fortress and the loved ones of his fellow warriors in their stead.

* * *

Gyarrrrr—

Roarr!!!!

Crack— Splatter*

In the midst of a battlefield, an old man cracked a goblin's skull barehanded, ending its life in a brutal manner.

"Hah!" Director Ver grunted as he kept fighting the endless hordes of demons.

"Director!" At this moment, a brown haired woman went towards him as she killed demons and demon beasts with her war axe.

Director Ver turned his head and smiled teasingly, "Oh, Agnes! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the East Gate with Commander Reginald?"

His smile and his brutal way of fighting barehanded created a contrast with each other.

Agnes blushed a little but still maintained her seriousness, "We just received a report from the Southern Gate that a Demon General Ogre was there… General Mika is now heading towards there from the Northern Gate as we speak."

Director Ver's expression turned serious when he heard Agnes's words.

"Director, don't worry about us! We'll defend the West Gate with our lives!" A warrior who was fighting goblins shouted.

A smile bloomed on Director Ver's face as he yelled back, "Don't die brats!"

Director Ver and Agnes immediately set off for the Southern Gate afterwards.

"Director."

"Yes?"

"How long do we have to defend the fortress without any reinforcements?" 

"For as long as we can."

After that, the two kept silent as they ran.

They knew how dire their situation was, making them feel heavy inside their hearts.

After a few minutes of running, the two reached the Southern Gate of the Cabanary Fortress.

In the distance, they could see a monster that was more than 4 meters tall. It also had brownish skins and two protruding fangs on its lower mouth.

Swinging the huge hammer in its hand, it sends a powerful shockwave that not only causes casualties but also damages the walls of the fortress.

The warriors wanted to stop it but they couldn't even get close because of the shockwaves.

"Is that it?" Director Ver said with a heavy expression.

A red haired man walked towards him and replied, "Yes, director."

It was Clyde.

He proceeded to give the details of the whole situation to both Agnes and Director Ver.

"We can't let it destroy the fortress walls. Agnes, Clyde, support me!" Director Ver shouted as he rushed towards the ogre.

"Hyah!" His war cry echoed in the battlefield as his already bulky body bulged even more, ripping some part of his shirt.

Agnes brandished her war axe before following him while Clyde notched a few arrows on his bow and fired, covering for them.

ROARR—

As they went near the ogre, its resounding roar made them dizzy.

"Shit, is this the power of a Demon General!?" Director Ver cursed out loud while forcing himself to maintain his calm.

Agnes and Clyde took a few more seconds to recover.

"Director, can we really fight a Demon General? We're only First Classes, after all…" Agnes said to which Clyde agreed immediately.

Director Ver glanced at them, "Do we have any choice?"

The ogre noticed the three humans who weren't knocked back by its swings and became frustrated.

It clutched its hammer tightly before performing a huge swing with it.

"It's coming, watch out!" Director Ver shouted as he jumped sideways.

Agnes and Clyde followed suit and hurriedly dodged the ogre's attack.

"Although it's a Demon General, it still has weaknesses. I'll distract it and create an opening so you brats attack its eyes!" Director Ver's body glowed with aura before he dashed towards the ogre.

The ogre saw the bulky old man running around, it clutched its hammer again and performed a big swing.

However, Director Ver already expected this and was able to dodge.

"Haha! Is this all you've got!?" He laughed, taunting the ogre.

GRRRR—

The ogre raised its hammer again and took a swing.

This time, Director Ver jumped and landed on its left hand which was holding the hammer.

[Penetrating Punch]

Aura covered his fists as he rapidly punched the wrist of the ogre.

Director Ver knew that normal punches wouldn't have any effects on the tough skin of a Demon General.

Therefore, he specifically used this Martial Aura Art which made it so that the force of his punches would penetrate the defenses of the ogre and damage it from the inside.

ROARRR— 

As expected, the ogre felt the pain in its bones and muscle as it roared in pain.

It kept flailing its left hand, but it had no effect as the human latched onto it and was still repeatedly punching its wrist.

Angered, the ogre raised its right hand and planned to swat the human away.

However, at this moment, another human holding a huge two handed war axe attacked its right hand.

Agnes tried to chop the ogre's wrist but failed to do so.

"Now!" She shouted loudly.

Director Ver glanced at Clyde who was emitting powerful waves of aura and Agnes who was keeping the ogre's right hand occupied.

He understood their intentions and proceeded to punch the ogre harder.