Chapter 510 Battle in the Jungle

Zieg opened his eyes weakly, coughing raggedly.

“Who are you......”

“Please do not move. Your wounds are severe. I can save your life, but you will need a long period of rest to fully recover.”

“Thank you......”

Zieg’s gaze wandered, taking stock of his surroundings. When his eyes fell on the golden-haired, crimson-eyed man in the crowd,

he froze in utter shock.

“His Highness Drehack?!”

......

Earlier,

on a mountain beyond the Allied Forces' defensive lines,

Drehack stood at the cliff edge, staring out at the vast forest ahead.

A golden-haired woman dressed like a secretary stood silently at his side,

and seven personal guards were scattered at various positions behind them.

“......Ugh, this is so boring. I wanna go out and fight something.”

A man with unkempt fiery red hair lay on the ground, staring up at the sky with dead fish eyes and complaining.

“I say, Lord Drehack~.”

He arched his body dramatically backward, looking upside down at the golden-haired man at the cliff edge.

“Can’t we take the initiative and attack the demons?”

“Barbas——!”

The emerald-haired mage shouted in anger,

“Watch your tone! That’s no way to speak to his Highness!”

“Tch, you’re such a nuisance, you midget.”

“Ha...... midget?”

The emerald-haired mage’s eyes darkened instantly.

“I’ll kill you, you know that?”

“Oh? You wanna fight?”

Barbas flipped to his feet in an instant, cracking his knuckles.

“Bring it on! I’m ready anytime, brat!”

“Barbas, Frederica——”

The golden-haired woman at Drehack’s side pushed up her glasses,

“If you two keep fooling around in front of his Highness...... I’ll lose my temper.”

“......”

After a few seconds of silence,

“......Hmph, you maniac. You got lucky today.”

“Heh, midget. I’m just letting you off the hook today~!”

Just then,

BOOM——!

A distant roar suddenly echoed through the air.

The sound was far away, faint by the time it reached them,

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but every single person here detected it the moment it rang out.

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye,

all of them moved into a defensive formation, surrounding Drehack protectively.

Drehack slowly shifted his gaze toward the source of the roar.

“It seems something has slipped through.”

“Your Highness, your orders?”

Ella asked softly, awaiting his command.

Drehack raised his right hand silently and waved it forward.

“Hahaha~! Your wish is my command!”

Barbas punched his palm in excitement.

“I’ve been waiting for this! Demon brats, here I come——!”

BOOM!

Flames erupted into the sky,

and Barbas lunged off the cliff.

......

Back to the present, where Zieg had just escaped death.

“......I see. It was his Highness Drehack who saved me.”

Zieg finally understood what had happened.

BOOM!

The sounds of battle continued to ring out nearby.

He looked in that direction,

catching sight of the figures fighting the demons,

and spoke hastily:

“Miss...... I’m fine now. Don’t worry about me, go fight with them...... huh?”

Ella suddenly helped Zieg to his feet and led him toward Drehack,

her voice calm and flat as she said:

“Do not worry. Leaving it to them is more than enough——”

On the other side of the battlefield,

after a period of fighting, Bafon finally grasped the gravity of the situation.

Damn it!

What the hell is with this group of humans?!

Why are they so damn tough?

I never heard of a human squad with so many powerful fighters!

Elsewhere on the field,

“Hahaha~! Two A-Rank demons——!”

Barbas laughed maniacally,

“This is awesome!!!”

“I’m fired up——!”

BOOM——!

Gigantic fiery fists slammed relentlessly toward Bafon.

“Demon! Let me have a real good time~! Hahaha!”

CRUNCH!

The violent impact sent Bafon stumbling backward again and again.

Damn it!

Is this guy insane?!

“Hehehahaha~!”

Bafon fell silent as he stared at Barbas, who was laughing wildly with his tongue lolling out.

It seems...... he really is out of his mind.

“Arrgh!”

A scream of agony from Dunan rang out from the other side.

Bafon glanced over,

his pupils contracting sharply in shock.

What?!

Unlike himself, who was only facing a single opponent,

Dunan was being completely suppressed by four humans attacking from four different directions.

There was also that green-haired human girl launching relentless assaults on him—attacks that made even Bafon wince in secondhand pain.

It was only Dunan’s tough, thick skin that had kept him from being killed on the spot.

This can’t go on......

Bafon immediately realized the danger of their situation.

If Dunan was killed, those humans would turn their attention to him—and he would not survive......

They had to fight together if they wanted any chance of winning!

With that thought,

he charged straight toward Dunan’s side.

“Huh?”

Watching his opponent flee, Barbas cracked his neck and chased after him in excitement.

“Don’t you dare run~!!!”

On the other side,

a sonic boom tore through the air, and Frederica sensed the danger instantly.

She raised her right hand and unleashed a barrier in that direction without hesitation.

But the next second, she realized something was horribly wrong.

Beneath us?!

“Get out of the way——!”

BOOM——!

Two long, blade-like arms burst forth from the ground.

The four humans restraining the burly demon leaped back in an instant, dodging the attack.

But the assault on them was merely a feint—its true purpose was to free the bound Dunan.

Crack!

The binding ropes snapped apart,

dissipating into the air as tiny light particles.

“ROAR——!!!”

The freed Dunan threw his head back and let out a furious roar.

“Damned humans!”

He lowered his head, his eyes blazing with murderous rage.

“I’ll slaughter every last one of you—urk!?”

CRUNCH——!

A gigantic fiery fist slammed into his jaw without warning.

THUD! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

His massive body tumbled across the ground like a ball, finally coming to a stop only after slamming into a huge boulder and shattering it to pieces.

“Hehehe~!”

Barbas waved his flame-wreathed fist, grinning widely:

“Now that you’re free, I’ll be your opponent~!”

“Hey, Barbas!”

Frederica glared at him in annoyance.

“I don’t like fighting cowards who just hide and run, so——”

Barbas pointed a finger at the slender demon,

“I’ll leave that guy to you.”

“And the rest of you too—this one’s mine. Don’t you dare interfere!”

“Tch......” Frederica clicked her tongue, “You’re such a selfish bastard!”

“Brode, you lot come with me to take on the other one. Let this maniac have his fun alone!”

At the same time, Bafon reached the fallen Dunan’s side.

“You fool, get up!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh......

Behind them, the sound of approaching sonic booms rang out, growing closer by the second.

“Damn it!”

Bafon cursed, then grabbed Dunan by the scruff and hurled him backward.

Frederica and the others leaped back to avoid him—all except Barbas, who charged forward to meet him with eyes blazing with excitement.

“You idiot! It’s a trap——!”

SWISH!

As the warning left his lips, the blade-like arms shot out from behind the burly demon, slashing toward Barbas.

HUM——!

A barrier unfurled at the last possible moment, blocking the strike.

“Hahaha! Eat my fist!”

“ROAR! HUMAN!!!”

Dunan, his senses finally clear, swung his fist in a rage as well.

BOOM!

At the center where their fists collided, a terrifying shockwave erupted, blasting away every tree within a dozen meters in all directions.