Amber Sword

At the same moment Brand’s group was ambushed, the Cruz line, overseen by Sir Hoson, was battered by torrential rain and shrouded in darkness. Riding his War Dragon through the forest alongside his monk soldiers, Hoson muttered under his breath, "It’s damn near haunting. Those Eruein can handle this weather, but once is enough for us!" The monk soldiers chuckled softly; Hoson was from the warm northern slopes of Kruzimarl Mountain and couldn’t acclimate to Ambeser’s damp and chilly season.

The War Dragon beneath him stood over three meters tall, its iron armor weighing half a ton, the era’s most common mount for Heavy Cavalry. Each of its steps seemed to make the ground tremble slightly, leaving inches-deep muddy pits in the boggy woodland.

They were here due to a report that a Light Guard Ship from the Kenuolia Fleet was assaulted by unknown creatures while returning after the Eruein Royal Fleet’s attack had ceased. However, the Flying Dragon Cavalry of the Eruein Northern Alliance did not find any trace of the escort ship in the relevant airspace, hence the ground forces were dispatched.

Hoson would bet that the escort ship had definitely crashed, and as they traversed the forest, a burning wreckage of a warship indeed came into view. That once-majestic war machine was now just a shattered skeleton, with broken masts and wind sails scattered about, several cables even clinging to nearby branches.

"This must be the escort ship that was reported attacked and crashed. Quite a massive thing," Sir Hoson thought.

"Heavens, it’s the Bull Shark!" someone recognized the escort ship and exclaimed in surprise, "Who could have done this?"

"I think we’ll find out soon," Sir Hoson suddenly lifted his head and, with a ’zing’, drew his Longsword: "Enemies, prepare for battle."

At his shout, everyone saw a pink monster suddenly crawling out of the warship wreckage, ascending the fallen masts, swiftly reaching the broken section. It was a massive creature resembling both a bat and a humanoid, about two to three meters in height, with forelimbs more developed than its hind limbs, bulging muscles on its upper arms, and a bull-headed face with a nose ring upon its neck.

"It’s a demon, a Barbaric Demon!" Someone with sharp eyes immediately shouted out the creature’s name. Demons were one of the Flame Temple’s sworn enemies, and the monk soldiers had seen these demons’ likenesses in various scriptures and texts.

"Disperse quickly!" Sir Hoson’s reaction was faster than theirs.

Barbarian Demons are the primary air force of the River of Sulfur; young Barbarian Demons possess the power of the Silver Peak, and once they reach adulthood, they possess the strength of the Gold Initial. The Barbaric Demon Lord standing before Sir Hoson had already grown long horns, clearly a genuine mature Barbaric Demon Lord. Barbaric Demon Lords, like many other demons, have the Talent to wield fire and several abilities resembling spells described as fire.

The Fireball Technique is one of them.

A flash of fire erupted within the formation of the Cruz Flame Temple monk soldiers, instantly turning several young monk soldiers into firemen. After casting the Fireball Technique, the Barbaric Demon Lord let out a roar on the broken mast, seemingly reveling in the pleasure of carnage, "Damned demon!" Sir Hoson couldn’t help but be enraged, and immediately ordered his War Dragon to charge forward at full speed, as the Barbaric Demon Lord flapped its wings to fly from the ship, tossing fireballs at him one after the other in mid-air.

But Sir Hoson was utterly fearless, as if traversing through the flames, as he got close enough, he retrieved a Short Spear from his back and threw it forward.

The monk soldiers saw only a golden straight line shoot from Sir Hoson’s hand, striking the Barbaric Demon Lord in the sky the next moment. It was a magic spear, sanctified by the temple, the bane of demons. The Short Spear hit the wings of the Barbaric Demon Lord, and as if a drop of water fell into boiling oil, a blazing white flame erupted.

The Barbaric Demon Lord let out a scream and plunged from mid-air, crashing into the ship’s broken mast, its head instantly severed from its body, pulling the spine several meters out from the muscle. It was instantly dead beyond doubt.

The monk soldiers were stunned momentarily, then collectively let out a cheer.