268. Demon Army (V)

The first monster that broke through was a cyclops. Its taut muscles were heavily adorned with armor, and a giant spiked club was in its right hand.

Trailing behind it were a few small dokkaebi. That was half the size of a human with small horns growing out of its head—each wearing a simple tiger loincloth, jumping around the cyclops making a racket.

It didn’t take long to bring the cyclops down. Time flew by, more and more cyclops came bumbling through the forest, telling everyone of its presence.

On the fourth day, the number of cyclops coming in through the forest doubled. Still, the fight wasn’t terribly hard, allowing many of the city's citizens to think that the demon’s army was nothing.

The rest of the Players and Hunters knew this wasn’t the case. They were amazed at how long Dairen could last, pulling the majority of the weak monsters to himself, cutting down the casualties that would have happened.

It was on the sixth day that Dairen appeared back at the city. He was on an undead tiger, bursting through the forest on its back, exhausted and injured.

“Don’t shoot!” Mike yelled in a hurry when he saw Dairen running out from the forest. “It’s Dairen! Open the gates!”

The loud metal gates opened, allowing Dairen’s tiger to rush through. Mike and Snow ran down, appearing beside him.

Dairen flopped over onto the ground as he went unconscious. The undead tiger disintegrated, disappearing into his shadows.

Snow swooped in like a hawk. She diligently started to check for any possible injuries. Heavy bags were under his eyes as his cheeks were sunken. She could tell that he had over-exhausted himself from the constant never-ending battle, using his magic to resummon and fight against the slew of monsters that came. The only reason he escaped was that he was out of magic to support his skeletal creations and the constant fight without sleep. His clothes were tattered, and the smell of sweat was strong.

Snow’s nose crinkled.

“Is he alright?” Mike had asked worriedly.

“As far as I can see...cuts and bruises here and there, but the worst is his mana exhaustion and sleep deprivation. I wouldn’t be surprised for him to be knocked out for a bit until he recuperates.”

“He deserves it. We can take care of the rest from here.”

“Yea.” Snow was cleaning up Dairen’s wounds and body with water magic before completely healing his wound. She was relieved to see him back safe and sound.

“I’ll leave him to you, Snow. We have a war to win.” Mike pulled away, leaving behind Snow, who was busily pouring healing on Dairen.

The color of Dairen’s cheeks became healthier, and the groaning and heavy breathing started to slow down, telling her that everything was becoming stable. When she stabilized him more and thought he didn't pay her attention, Snow called in for some help to move him to her room. Seeing how he was sleeping, Snow left him be.

Soldiers were rushing to the walls as the war broke out.

The number of cyclops and doakebi’s exceeded over a thousand, trickling in as time went by. More and more monsters swarmed in.

Hellhounds waited with their pack masters. Trolls with a crooked mouth that showed off its pointed teeth and scowling faces were present. Their flabby bodies wrapped in flimsy clothes came bumbling in with a pack of odd-looking creatures that looked like horned rabbits, pulling their sleds that had some kind of primitive contraptions.

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Snow furrowed, realizing that all these monsters were high-level monsters that many low Players and Hunters would have died if they met one.

This wasn’t just the end of the monsters coming through the thick forest, but it was enough to say that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

“How is everything going?” Snow arrived, looking down at the crawling monsters that were running toward them. She was next to Rodney, who had his arms crossed, and staring intently below.

“Not too bad. Those monsters shouldn’t be too hard to fight against. My guild members should be able to clear these monsters out without too much difficulty. How are you holding up? I heard Dairen had come back wounded.”

“I’m ready to win this war and get out of this dungeon.”

Rodney chuckled. “We have only just started.”

“Yea”

Rodney took a moment to observe Snow. Snow's gaze was cold as she stared out into the field.

“I’m guessing something else is bothering you?”

“This dungeon is strange. To see a holy tree in the very beginning followed by a Demon Invasion is odd. The air is polluted if we step outside the city, making it even more difficult to fight. It’s like we are trapped in a cage, waiting for our end.”

“I haven’t thought of it like that.”

“It has been nagging me since we entered the dungeon, and it only reinforced my decisions when we arrived in the city.”

“True, but all we can do now is to destroy the demon army.” Rodney said with a declaration, “we will know more as time goes on what we must do.”

“I hope so too.”

The battle waged throughout the day without any problems. A handful was injured, but nobody died. Such an easy win on the sixth day brought a festive mood as the demon army retreated.

Snow had done her part in blessing the soldiers, hunters, and Players, which helped win the day. When the last of the monsters were slain, it was already sunset. She headed straight back to her room.

Dairen was awake, sitting up as he gazed around, a bit confused.

“Dairen?” Snow asked. He turned toward her.

“Snow?”

“How are you feeling?” Snow took off her armor, pulling up a chair next to him.

“I feel like I have been hit by a truck.” Dairen tried to stretch, but he flinched from pain.

“At the rate that you were fighting, you were exhausted.”

Dairen asked, “how is everything going?”

“A Lot better than I thought. Whatever you were doing helped save many lives and even boosted our potential. I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s nothing much. I just want to get out of here alive.”

The dungeon dive usually took a long time. Better yet, because it was a SS rank dungeon, who knew how long it would take.

Dairen tried to get back up, but Snow reached over to stop him. “Take a bit longer rest. Your magic isn’t recuperated still.”

“I feel a lot better, though.”

“No, it's not enough. Mental fatigue is worse than physical pain. The war will not disappear anytime soon.”

Dairen tried to get back up but was stopped again with a glare. He froze, pulling back the cover onto his body.

“We’ll be fine. Eat up, take a nap, and you can check how the war is progressing the next time you are awake.”

“But Snow, this is war. I shouldn’t be sleeping when something serious like this is happening.”

Snow raised up her hand to stop him from speaking anymore. “No.”

“But.”

“No.”

Dairen gave up. He didn’t want to argue anymore. He reached over to grab a piece of bread but fumbled. Dropping it onto his blanket. “I guess I do need a bit more sleep.”

“You do.” Snow got up. “I’ll check on you later.”

Snow left, leaving Dairen to eat. She headed back downstairs and out of the building. There were many things to do. She had gone to the infirmary to check up on the healers that were healing the injured.

So far, nobody had died, making Snow really pleased at the outcome of the day, but the number of injuries slowly started to increase.

A young priestess walked over, bowing to her respectably. “Saintess, it is good to see that you are alright.”

The Church of Light had sent numerous powerful priests and priestesses to follow this endeavor to conquer the dungeon. She needed every help she could get as this war wasn’t going to be easy.

“Everything is going very smoothly.” The priestess spoke up.

“Any major injuries that I need to worry about?”

“Nothing of major concern. We were able to patch up the worst one without the need of your assistance.” The priestess hesitated. “Though…”

“What’s wrong?”

“With no major issues, we are just surprised that the power of the light is strong in this city. All our healing abilities have increased exponentially, allowing us to use powerful spells.”

“I have noticed this as well.” Snow was glad that one thing was on their side. To have such powerful blessings meant the weaker the demons will become, the closer they got to the city walls. “I'm thinking about bringing together all the healers and players that want to learn about the skill resurrection?”

The priestess spoke up, “To give your special secret so easily?” Her eyes widen.

“It’s not a secret. It’s a blessing. I won’t be able to use such skills if I die. Plus, we can use the power of the light here to our advantage.”

The priestess thought it over. “That is worth a try.”

Snow shrugged. “Anyways, let's meet up in an hour.”

“Yes, Saintess.” The priestess hurried off in a storm of glee.