CHAPTER 134 First Encounter

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You will never be able to love anybody else until you love yourself.

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Today's meme is here. [ ]

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Heads fell to the ground with eerie finality, their grotesque expressions forever frozen in death. Jin's movements were calculated, his execution flawless. As the demonic laughter turned to horrified shrieks, the truth dawned upon them – their prey was anything but terrified.

A series of notifications flooded Jin's consciousness, each one acknowledging his success with a clarity that resounded in his mind.

- [You killed an Exceptional Demon.]

- [You killed a Superior Demon.]

- [You killed another Superior Demon.]

The cacophony of death was replaced by a sudden, heavy silence. Jin lightly clapped his hands together, dispersing the lingering traces of mana around him. As he held his hand out, a sharp, pink disk of pure mana returned to his grasp with lightning-fast movement, the power of the Destructo Disc visibly humming within.

A slow smile curved Jin's lips as he surveyed the scene of devastation. His calculated retaliation had proven that he was no easy prey. The demons that once surrounded him now lay in crumpled heaps, their hubris extinguished in the wake of his power.

Jin's gaze shifted towards the lingering Exceptional Demons, their expressions twisted with a mix of disbelief and terror. They had witnessed the annihilation of their comrades and understood that the threat before them was not to be taken lightly.

With the Destructo Disc poised in his hand, Jin's stance conveyed an unspoken challenge. He was a force to be reckoned with, an entity that dared to defy the darkest of nightmares. The silence stretched, heavy with the weight of impending doom, as Jin didn't wait for the demons' next move.

And with a single flick of the wrist, the disc was gone from his hand, and in a matter of moments, it was back. Thud, thud, thud – the bodies of the remaining demons fell down, and this time the Destructo Disc chopped their bodies instantaneously.

He finally recalled when it happened – it was the last Rank C dungeon he cleared with Yu Jin-Ho.

'Right, those Stonemen back then were hiding underground before bursting out like this, weren't they?'

Jin's expression that had darkened from failing to remember brightened up immediately. It sure felt like he had gotten a load off his chest.

Jin took care of the loot from the monster corpses, his face still bright, and began walking away again.

But, only after taking a handful of steps, he stopped again.

He recalled his first days in this world.

"I should have created something like this instead of that much useless fire. With this, Dungeons could have been far easier and time-saving."

Sigh...

"…."

Jin's eyes were now nailed to the ground.

While glaring at the ground beneath his feet, he spoke up.

"By the way, why aren't you guys coming out already?"

No one could tell whether the thing that trembled just then happened to be the ground or the demons' eyes.

"Well, it's your move," Jin said as he lifted his foot and slammed it on the ground while muttering "Shock Wave," soon followed by another set of words, "Earthquake."

And the ground trembled as if it were a magnitude 7 earthquake. Buildings fell and chaos ensued, with many demons dying just from this impact, and all of them getting paralyzed.

***

Jin wasn't able to easily leave the 80th floor.

"Is there a group of really strong monsters somewhere on this floor?"

Yet another of Jin's group returned back to him as shadows. He had no choice but to call them back because his soldiers weren't able to find a single demon. At this moment, he was thinking of ending it all.

This would be the first time this happened.

From the 76th to the 80th floor…

The method of hunting in dispersed groups during the past four floors had yielded the highest efficiency.

"Is it because demons have grown smart enough to understand what is a threat to their lives? Have they grown exceptionally fast in hiding? Aren't the voices in their heads telling them to defend this place?

"Not only that…."

There was something odd here as well: the groups of soldiers that were being attacked all happened to lack a 'captain-class' among them.

The groups with Igris, Iron, Tank, Akame, Buster, Gorr, Zelos, Gold, Susanō, Pikachu, Kluh, Croc, 5, Telo, Mine, Leone, Najenda, Vazl were all perfectly fine. Even the loners like Guardian and Typhon didn't encounter her. However, the other two groups without an Elite Knight Grade were attacked. When they felt overwhelmed, they escaped using some kind of teleportation.

I knew the culprit since I was on the 80th floor, and from this floor, the entrance wouldn't appear after killing all the demons. I had to actively look for them.

Esil Radiru and her group of hunters were actively hunting my weakest soldiers.

On the 80th floor, demons were not only very smart but they also lived in societies and were capable of communicating, a sign of high intellect. From this floor onward, they possessed enough intellect to detect opponents' weaknesses.

Of course, I knew the culprit who was actively hunting my soldiers, but I hadn't done anything yet. I wanted to see if they were fast enough to deplete my mana with insane recovery speed. But it turned out they weren't fast enough to do that. In the last few clashes, I didn't even feel like I was losing mana.

Now I had enough of this testing. There were sixteen groups remaining, including myself, making it seventeen, not counting both Guardian and Typhon. I knew no one in their right mind would even dare to attack them. Not just because of the overwhelming aura they radiated just by existing, but also their sheer size was enough to keep even a mindless predator away from them. But let's put that aside, as the enemy has figured out the soldiers' movement pattern, then their next target was pretty obvious.

The moment he thought that, Jin disappeared from the spot.

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Jin quickly arrived near where the laser beast group was.

In the not-too-far distance, he spotted the Shadow Beast Soldier squad. It was half made up of black bears, Primate Long Arm Apes, Saber Tooth Tigers, and the Spider Queen, who was acting as the leader. Black steam was rising from their bodies. Right in front of the pack, Spider Queen, who would soon be named, was walking slowly but steadily forward.

I was pretty sure the next target would be this group. Tank was originally the pack leader of the Ice Bears. When he was alive, he was strong enough to easily overwhelm the Shadow Soldiers. But now, Spider Queen was leading, and she was powerful with her webs and acid breath. Even as a shadow, not many soldiers could defeat her in terms of sheer physical strength.

Unfortunately, the comparison didn't favor him this time. First of all, the power of the other groups like Iron, Igris, Gold, Buster, Vlaz, and Zelos was on a different level, a different 'grade' to begin with. I created this group as I could always send someone from Akame Ga Kill with them. Even though Spider Queen's level was high, at the end of the day, she was still an elite soldier grade. But others were even higher than elite knight grades, like Akama or Gorr, who enjoyed the prefix of 'Veteran Elite' tacked onto their knight grade. Meaning, there was no comparison here.

Since any enemy who possessed enough intelligence to detect weaker opponents as well as to identify the movements of the soldiers would never attack someone who just had a different air around him. So the next target is going to be here.

I decided to observe for a little while. I hid my presence to the best of my abilities and, while maintaining a fixed distance, followed after my Shadow Beast Soldiers. They didn't even realize that I was following them.

And so, how much time passed by?

Even after a long period of waiting, no enemies showed themselves, and I began tilting my head.

'Was my prediction that bad in math?'

I began suspecting that, but then...

My eyes narrowed.

'Here she comes.'

Maybe the enemies were also concealing their presence until the soldiers got closer to them. I discovered them a bit later than usual. I closed my eyes and focused on my Perception. My enhanced Perception swept over all the presences found within the vicinity like a radar.

'Six presences approaching. My soldiers, 20. Demons hiding underground, seven.'

I opened my eyes. I decided to get rid of the five demons playing possum underground a bit later, and then...

'Stealth.'

I activated the Stealth skill to become invisible and approached my soldiers. Soon enough, I got to confirm the enemies' appearance with my own eyes.

'They are riding on horseback? But the horses look like normal horses rather than demon horses, which I was expecting.'

Rumble, rumble…

'Not only that, they are armed...'

Not just the riders, but even the horses they were riding on were armored. When the enemies came close enough, their names became visible.

The regular demons that walked around 'naked,' whether they be low or high demons, had different names from the rest. I sensed strong hostility from all five of them.

Just as I predicted, they were those that attacked my soldiers.

They all possessed powerful auras and strong hostility. I decided to maintain 'Stealth' and observe the situation for a little while longer.

'Let's see what happens next.'

Since these monsters were always the ones who made their run whenever they felt they were getting overwhelmed, they made their way out of it. I wanted to check out my shadows' battle styles and how long it would take for them to overwhelm them with my own eyes first.

"Monsters capable of massacring Shadow Soldiers for more than a few minutes," he thought, feeling a bit expectant as well. Jin stopped at a suitable position, ensuring he wouldn't interfere with the battle about to unfold between the Shadow Beast Soldiers and the group of demons.

The Spider Queen finally detected the demons with a growl and a hiss. Once the demons got close enough, they dismounted from the horses. Just as he had foreseen, those rides were simply a means of transportation.

Jin continued to observe the demons with great interest. Soon afterward, the Beast Soldiers became excited by the entrance of enemies. They roared out and attacked first, signaling the beginning of the bitter, violent battle between these two groups.

The Spider Queen took the lead, shooting forward with every ounce of power provided by her eight extremely sharp limbs. When she arrived in front of the enemies, she reared up on her hind legs, preparing her webbing.

A regular person would've fainted from the enormous pressure alone. However, the five demons remained steadfast. Even when the Spider Queen swung her massive front leg like a baseball bat, they didn't even blink.

The Spider Queen, her body a combination of shadows and venom, faced off against a formidable assembly of demons. The Demon Noble, surrounded by four Demon Knights, led the assault with chilling confidence. The Demon Noble spun in the air and thrust the spear held in its hand toward the Queen's chest, creating a watermelon-sized hole in her torso.

From that relatively small frame, an explosive aura was clearly evident. It also possessed beautifully simple and clean movements. Jin grew even more intrigued by then.

"Yup, not bad at all."

It wasn't just the Demon Noble. The four Demon Knights were also impressively strong. The battle was one-sided. In short, the Beast Soldiers were no match for the demons. Quite unlike the Superior Demons, which were only big in size but rather easy to hunt, these so-called Demon 'Nobles' or whatever and their humanoid appearances toyed around with the Beast Soldiers.

The Spider Queen's multiple crimson eyes locked onto the malevolent grin of the Demon Noble. Even after being severely beaten, there was no effect on her body. Her legs tapped rhythmically on the lava floor, a prelude to the impending clash. Without warning, the Demon Noble unleashed a wave of dark energy, the air around him crackling with his malicious intent. In response, the Spider Queen released a torrent of corrosive acid breath. The emerald spray sizzled as it clashed with the sinister magic.

The Demon Knights surged forward, their monstrous forms a testament to their raw power. The Spider Queen's shadowy legs moved with calculated precision, narrowly evading the deadly strikes. She retaliated, her spinnerets releasing thick black webs that danced through the air like malevolent spirits, ensnaring the Demon Knights with uncanny accuracy.

"Roar!"

"Keuahahk!"

Even before the Beast Soldiers could regenerate, they were cut, sliced, stabbed through by spears and swords. Nothing happened to them; in just a few seconds, they were back to how they were before. Jin knew very well that, as long as his MP supply held up, his Beast Soldiers were practically immortal.

Even if his MP did run out, they would simply return to him as shadows.

"Kuwaak!"

However, he sure as hell didn't feel pleased watching his own boys getting pummeled like that. Was this how an older brother would feel when his younger sibling came home all beaten up black and blue?

Despite her formidable efforts, the odds quickly began to tip against the Spider Queen. The Demon Noble's dark magic seeped into her defenses, weakening her acid breath and constricting her movements. The Demon Knights pressed their assault, each attack shaking the very ground beneath them.

Yet just as despair threatened to overtake the Spider Queen, a change unfurled in the air. A low rumble sounded as nine huge forms emerged from the shadows. Each one was an embodiment of darkness and fury.

The Beast Soldiers had joined the battle – black bears with fur as dark as midnight, Primate Long Arm Apes with sinewy muscles, and Saber Tooth Tigers with fangs as sharp as their determination.

The battlefield erupted into chaos as the Beast Soldiers charged into the fray, their crimson eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. Each strike they dealt, each roar they emitted, further turned the tide of the battle.

Their bodies were as unyielding as the darkness they were born from, regenerating with any damage inflicted upon them.

The Demon Knights, once an unstoppable force, found themselves outmatched. The combined might of the Beast Soldiers wore them down, their relentless attacks chipping away at the demons' strength.

The Demon Noble, his arrogance now tinged with fear, struggled to counteract the unyielding assault. It was just like the last few times – the beasts never died.

As minutes stretched into hours, the ground transformed into a battleground of shadow and light. The air was filled with the sounds of clashing powers, roars of defiance, and the triumphant cries of the Beast Soldiers.

With every passing moment, the Beast Soldiers' undying nature granted them an advantage the demons could not contend with.

Eventually, the momentum shifted definitively. The Demon Knights fell one by one, their monstrous forms crumbling beneath the onslaught. The Demon Noble's powers waned as the relentless attacks of the Beast Soldiers eroded her defenses. Weakened, the demons' forces wavered.