As the elf rangers reminisced about the past, Louise rode at the head of the mounted archers atop the miryam.

The miryam were sheep-like beasts that instinctively flocked together, which made training them to obey individual commands difficult. But under the influence of Louise’s master, their wild temperament had calmed, and they no longer resisted having humans on their backs.

When Ian heard the report, he smiled in satisfaction and said, “Well done.”

Louise liked that expression. Whenever Ian devised a strategy, confidence naturally appeared on his face. Knowing he had contributed to that confidence filled Louise with quiet pride.

And now—

The miryam herd they had released crashed straight into the demon procession.

— Baaah!

The miryam cried out pitifully. Their thick wool tangled around the demons, wrapping around their limbs whenever they tried to move. The demons crushed any miryam they managed to seize, only to become entangled with another moments later. Escape was impossible.

Louise still didn’t understand how Ian had done it.

Just twenty minutes ago, those same miryam had been inside Ian’s dungeon. Louise and the mounted archers had been there as well. Then Ian had patted their shoulders and wished them luck—

And in the next instant, the scenery changed. They found themselves standing in a forest.

Through a spirit messenger, Ian informed them this was the “forest dungeon” and that they had been dispatched to support their allies.

Louise didn’t fully understand the explanation.

But that was fine.

All he needed to know was what he had to do.

“Everyone, nock your arrows.”

Louise and the mounted archers urged their miryam forward to rejoin the flock. Miryam possessed a powerful instinct to gather together. Even if separated by some distance, they would always try to return to one another.

Bowstrings drew taut.

The archers calmly began firing at the demons trapped within the dense wool of the miryam. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Aim for the palanquin.”

Thwack!

The dwarves carrying the palanquin collapsed like insects struck by stones, their bodies riddled with arrows. The demon nobles intercepted or deflected the incoming shots, but none of them bothered protecting lowly slaves.

The former slave masters—now slaves themselves—rolled helplessly across the ground.

The palanquin tilted violently.

The miryam beneath it bled out as they collapsed one after another. The demon nobles cursed when they saw the palanquin begin to slide.

“Lord Archduke!”

If the palanquin fell, who would suffer the Archduke’s wrath?

Fortunately, disaster was narrowly avoided.

The nobles hurriedly stabilized the palanquin before it could topple, though cold sweat still ran down their backs. They knew their master’s temperament all too well.

The Archduke of Pride despised anything that damaged his dignity.

“...Is everything alright? Did the master not become enraged?”

No one answered.

Fear sealed their mouths shut.

Fortunately, the master appeared to be in an unusually forgiving mood. No furious outburst came from inside the palanquin.

The relieved nobles were just about to vent their frustration by beheading some insignificant creature when an elf shouted provocatively:

“You’re just leaving it like that? Better finish us off now! Otherwise, you might lose us!”

A young human replied coldly,

“They won’t chase us. That monster doesn’t even have legs.”

— Hiss!

The Demon of Pride erupted in fury.

A lowly, legless creature.

Even among demonkind, he had been mocked for failing to evolve into a proper bipedal being.

And now a human dared to ridicule him?

His blood boiled.

With a deafening crash, a massive corpse serpent burst out from the palanquin.

Ian watched the entire scene unfold.

“They’re coming.”

Louise’s provocation had worked even better than expected. The Demon Archduke ignored every other elf nearby and focused solely on Louise.

‘What exactly did he say to him?’

In the game, provoking demons had always been effective. Selecting the dialogue option “Insult their race” almost guaranteed they would lose their minds and focus all aggression on the player.

Ian still didn’t fully understand what demons considered a racial insult.

‘Something about their parents?’

Personally, he had been immune to insults since childhood. He genuinely couldn’t understand why people got angry over them.

Meanwhile, Louise abandoned his mount and fled without hesitation. Thanks to the trait of a traitorous clan hunter, his speed nearly rivaled that of an elf.

His hair whipped through the air as the rotting serpent pursued him relentlessly.

The creature’s maw twisted grotesquely, its flesh hanging in strips. Every time its tongue flicked out and venom dripped onto the ground, smoke billowed upward.

Acidic venom.

The serpent opened its jaws wide enough to swallow Louise whole—

“Momii.”

“Got it!”

At Ian’s signal, a hidden entrance opened beneath Louise’s feet.

He dropped straight through.

The wolf led by Contacca caught him immediately. Kicking off the ground with powerful hind legs, it sprinted away at full speed.

BOOM!

Unable to stop its momentum, the giant serpent slammed headfirst into the narrow passage entrance.

The tunnel absorbed most of the impact.

— SCREEEECH!

BOOM!

Every violent swing of the serpent’s head sent tremors through the dungeon. Its rotting face forced its way into the opening.

CRACK...! CRAAACK...!

The entrance began collapsing.

The entire dungeon shook violently as the ceiling groaned overhead.

But the enraged Demon Archduke didn’t care whether the cave collapsed.

He would devour the insolent creature that mocked him—even if he had to swallow the entire dungeon alongside it.

Metal bars, shattered bones, and furry beasts alike disappeared into his jaws.

He had first gained life through magic within a graveyard.

No tombstone.

No mourning.

The first sensation the reanimated corpse felt was hunger.

Endless hunger.

Perhaps he had starved to death before becoming a corpse. Desperate to fill the emptiness inside him, he devoured everything he encountered.

Eventually, awareness emerged.

That was the moment the corpse beast became a demon.

From then on, he struggled endlessly to escape the stigma of being a stinking corpse.

He wanted to evolve.

To cast away everything rotten about himself.

He dreamed of smooth, powerful flesh—

Yet what he gained was the leaking hide of a reptile.

He dreamed of replacing his shattered legs with a magnificent body capable of soaring above the earth—

Yet what replaced them was a bloated belly that oozed slime.

Even after reaching the pinnacle of his evolution...

He remained nothing more than a rotting corpse.

A serpent of the demon realm.

A beast crawling at the Demon King’s feet.

A pet.

He despised being looked down upon. He constantly sought greater status and power, which was why he had clawed his way to the title of Archduke.

But beneath that title lurked overwhelming inferiority.

He was still hungry.

If he expanded his territory...

If he became stronger...

If he devoured even the Demon King himself—

Then no one would mock him again.

No one would pity him.

— SCREEEECH!

The foul stench exhaled by the hellish serpent spread throughout the cavern, climbing unnaturally upward and blackening the ceiling itself.

Venom gathered overhead in thick droplets before falling back down with a hiss against the serpent’s acidic flesh.

Toxic vapor filled the cave.

‘This is insane.’

Among the Four Demon Archdukes, the Northern Demon Archduke was infamous for being the hardest to kill—primarily because of his overwhelming area attacks.

Worse still, he specialized in dragging enemies into enclosed spaces. Even when confronted outdoors, he always found a way to force the battle underground.

Once trapped inside, he continuously inflicted nerve paralysis that ignored any purification below level 7.

And level 7 purification was absurdly difficult to achieve.

For most players, it was practically impossible.

‘Seriously, who designed this thing?’

Fortunately, Ian had recently reached purification level 8.

Which meant he had prepared this battlefield specifically for this moment.

‘The bastard crawled right into the trap.’

Light gathered at the tip of Ian’s arrow.

Almost simultaneously, Louise burst out of the tunnel passage atop the wolf.

“Duck!”

Louise instantly flattened himself against the wolf’s back.

The purification arrow screamed over his head.

THWACK!

The arrow embedded itself in the ceiling.

Radiant purification light spread through the cavern, restoring the blackened stone to its original color.

The paralysis afflicting the undead beasts vanished immediately.

— Coo! Coo!

The graveyard pigeon cried mournfully.

Ding!

Ding!

Buff notifications rang out one after another.

To Ian, the sound was pure music.

Ghouls clawed their way out of the earth beneath the graveyard. Rotten flesh dangled from their fingers as they slowly rose from the soil.

The ghoul legion began to move.

‘Perfect.’

Why else had Ian gathered monsters in that exact order?

Efficiency.

The graveyard pigeon’s buff affected every undead creature residing within the graveyard—except enemies.

In other words, every monster Ian placed in this field received the enhancement.

And the monsters he had carefully arranged here created perfect synergy together.

Buff stacking.

“[Liquid Property Manipulation]!”

The tower mages cast simultaneously.

From the serpent’s purified bodily fluids, something wriggled free—

A spinning snail.

The creature, which secreted toxic mucus wherever it moved, easily merged into any liquid environment.

The spinning snail latched onto the serpent’s rotting hide like a parasite.

CRUNCH... CRUNCH...

Its shell scraped horribly against the ground.

The massive serpent’s advance abruptly halted.

Before the enraged demon could recover—

“Fire.”

Archers hidden behind gravestones emerged all at once.

Silver arrows rained down like a storm.

Ian intended to turn this place into a graveyard for demons.

‘No.’

Not just a graveyard.

A slaughterhouse.

— Hiss!

The rotting serpent twisted violently, knocking away the incoming arrows.

Ding!

[Skill: Roar]

Intimidation effect activated.

Enemy movement halted for 0.5 seconds. Incoming attacks nullified.

‘Completely broken skill.’

Ian inwardly cursed the balance design. How was anyone supposed to clear a raid boss with an unavoidable stun?

But if the enemy had a broken skill—

Then so did they.

Ding!

[Skill: Steadfast Mind]

Your mind has been tempered through ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ training.

Intimidation effects ignored.

The Holy Knight’s passive skill activated.

While everyone else froze—

Only Keith moved.

His blade cut cleanly through the air.

SWOOSH!