Chapter 39

"Roarrrrrrrrr!!"

With six-meter-high horns on its head and standing on two feet, the abyss demon emanated a dense hellfire and roared with hostility toward the group of Asumos knights.

The earth-shattering roar caused the group to lose their courage and their souls to waver.

Under Galena's command, the squad hastily retreated.

Their small team was powerless against the five mid-tier, fifth-ranked abyss demons. Retreat was their only choice.

However, would these bloodthirsty demons with strong fighting spirits let their prey escape so easily?

They charged at the group with an echoing roar!

The Asumos knights who came to the aid of the pink-haired girl were also around the fifth rank, but the physical prowess of the abyss demons far exceeded that of humans of the same rank. Moreover, after battling the mercenary corps, Galena and the others were already physically drained.

Under such conditions, how could they possibly outrun the abyss demons?

In just a blink of an eye,

The abyss demon roared and appeared before them.

Faced with the terrifying sharp fangs and claws, as well as the blood-red eyes that chilled one's soul, the fear deep within the hearts of the knights was triggered.

Their relentless grip on their weapons began to tremble, and cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.

Although these knights had participated in encirclement operations against abyss demons, they had only faced solitary demons.

This was their first time being surrounded by multiple demons at once.

As warriors taking their first trial in the northern borderlands, they had no experience.

Moreover,

The northern border demons were stronger than those they had hunted down due to their proximity to the Demon Temple.

Overwhelming pressure attacked them from all directions, causing the Asumos knights to experience an indescribable suffocating feeling.

Under the stimulation of fear, Kakalo let out a hysterical roar,

"Damn abyss demon!! Don't come any closer!!!"

With his roaring voice,

The blue holy energy suddenly erupted from Kakalo's body and converged on his twin axes! All of his physical enhancement magic activated in an instant! Kakalo's robust figure was immediately enveloped by the magical aura!

His momentum began to rise rapidly!

The fear in the eyes of the burly man seemed to be suppressed by the increase in his own power.

"combat skill - Beheading Slash!"

As he yelled out his technique, Kakalo leaped into the air.

Under the watchful eyes of the Asumos knights, he aimed his axe at the abyss demon's head!

However,

Reality was always cruel.

No matter how strong one's momentum is, it couldn't change the huge gap in strength...

and at The next moment,

As everyone stared in disbelief,

The abyss demon suddenly raised its hand and effortlessly shattered Kakalo's defensive magic with a slap, sending him crashing to the ground.

Before Kakalo could stand up in frustration,

The abyss demon stomped on him.

In an instant,

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, organs flew through the air, and the burly knight was reduced to a puddle of gore...

"Kakalooooo!!!"

Galena couldn't help but let out a sorrowful roar.

The fear in her eyes was magnified at this moment, and the other Asumos knights felt the same way.

If even Kakalo ended up like this, what fate awaited them, whose strength was inferior to his?

They couldn't even grip their weapons tightly due to trembling. Facing the abyss demon, this was undoubtedly lethal.

Even trembling to the point of being unable to grip their weapons tightly, the knights knew that facing the abyssal demon would undoubtedly be deadly.

In the next moment, under the horrified gazes of everyone, the ferocious attack of the abyssal demon suddenly descended upon them.

For a time, an atmosphere of despair permeated this small band of knights.

However,

There was one exception.

That was the pink-haired girl who was saved by Galena and now shielded behind her.

There wasn't even a trace of fear in the girl's eyes.

All she had in them,

Was a deep sense of disappointment.

'This? Is this it? Is this their level?'

Undoubtedly, the girl was very dissatisfied with the performance of these Asumos Church knights.

Extremely dissatisfied!

--

A few minutes earlier,

Deep within the Winter Forest,

Having seen the battle between the two forces outside the forest through the video on the crystal from the abyssal demon, Yumo couldn't help but reveal a playful expression, her curiosity bubbling up inside her.

Because,

To her surprise, she found that one of the battling parties was actually the knights from the Asumos Church.

You see,

According to the script,

The Asumos Church was one of the most powerful forces against the abyssal demons! And after the heroine joined the church, it would also become her aid in destroying herself.

Thus, Yumo always wanted to get a good understanding of the strength of the Asumos Church.

Both at the grassroots and the upper echelons.

The fact that Li Mo and Li Yu wiped out the Hero Squad previously had deprived her of the opportunity to test, which was somewhat regrettable~

Now that the opportunity had come knocking again, how could Yumo be willing to let it go?

A slightly chilling smile appeared on her face,

She wanted to observe closely,

To personally observe these knights' battle up close. Additionally, if possible, she wanted to blend into the nearby town to see for herself, as she had always been curious about the living conditions of the people in the city since she arrived in this Ancita Continent.

But being unable to move, she could only stay helplessly in the Winter Forest.

Now that she finally had a body, she might as well take the opportunity to venture into the city.

According to Sebastian, one must have a legal identity to enter the border cities of the Northern Territory, or they would face strict scrutiny by the guard force.

However,

If it were slaves or the like, the scrutiny wouldn't be as stringent...

"Hehe,"

With that thought in mind,

Yumo let out a cold chuckle, her gaze seemingly thoughtful as she looked in the direction the pink-haired girl had left earlier.

'I'll borrow your appearance for a bit.'

The next moment,

A wave of red, shadowy energy slowly rippled around Yumo, and the red light enveloped her entire body.

When the red light dissipated,

Yumo's appearance had changed drastically. Her black and red gradient hair had turned into a cute pink, her crimson eyes gradually changed into sapphire blue, and her height had slightly decreased...

She had transformed into the likeness of the adorable pink-haired girl, almost identical in appearance. Of course, there were still some subtle differences,

But blending in shouldn't be a problem~

After examining her current appearance through the reflection in the abyssal demon's eyes,

Yumo nodded with satisfaction,

'With this, it should be quite easy to deceive them~'

At that time, she would boldly mix into the slave group and be taken back to the city by the knights, a completely logical development!

This plan was just perfect.

Hehe~

Yumo stood with her hands on her hips, a proud and smug smile gracing her face.

As she laughed, several Abyssal Beasts, who were prepared to put on a show, poked their heads out from the woods.

After all, Yumo had to come up with a good explanation for why the mercenaries that were chasing her were defeated.

Being dealt with by the Abyssal Beasts in the Great Winter Forest? That should be a more than a fitting excuse, right?

...

--

Back to the present,

Watching the nearby knights being taken down one by one, Yumo, now disguised as the pink-haired girl, couldn't help but pout in dissatisfaction.

Her eyes twitched with irritation.

'Ah, this...'

'How,'

'How,,'

'How could they be so weak?! They're so weak that it's infuriating!'

Yumo felt like crying but couldn't find the tears.

She had already taken into account that these Asumos knights might have already used up much of their strength! So, she sent out the weakest and most reckless of the Tier 5 Abyssal Beasts, the Minotaurs! And she only sent out five of them.

'Why, why, why can't you even beat these?! Are you kidding me?!'

She just wanted the Minotaurs to be targeted, so she could observe what kind of skills the Asumos knights used!

'But how?'

'How could they almost wipe them all out?'

'Were they really that weak?!'

As Yumo watched the female knight in front of her, about to be crushed by an Abyssal Beast's fist, she couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed, even wanting to cry. Deep down, she was filled with regret.

She suddenly realized,

She might have overestimated these people.

She originally hoped that after these knights had eliminated the four Abyssal Beasts, they would 'save' her and take her to the nearest city.

But now, it seemed that they might not even survive, let alone take her anywhere.

'Should I have the Abyssal Beasts go easy on them?'

Yumo couldn't help but exchange a subtle glance with the Minotaur closest to her.

'Hey!! Use less force! Got it?!'

However, the very next moment, Yumo's small gesture came to an abrupt halt.

An inexplicably familiar aura suddenly entered her perception.

??!

'What?!'

'This, this aura?!'

Just as Yumo was about to have her Abyssal Beasts take it easy, a dazzling silver figure suddenly burst into her field of vision like a swift bolt of lightning, interrupting her thoughts.

This caused the Abyssal Beast Master's pupils to shake, her cherry lips slightly parted, revealing an incredulous expression.

'wait..., this girl?!'