Woosh! 

The gargoyles began to fly towards the ground while flapping their flaming wings.

Kieeeehhk!

It was terrible and bizarre to see dozens of fireballs flying toward them in a fit of anger. But the Red Moon Valley elves calmly maintained formation, preparing for the gargoyles’ attack.

Shuah!

The elven warriors got into groups of three or four, and as the gargoyles rushed towards them with their long claws extended, the elven warriors swung the wooden sticks that were hanging from their backs. The sticks were made from connecting knives of water buffalo horns with the wood found from the hardest trees from the Great Forest. They had been prepared beforehand.

Thud!

Since the gargoyles’ entire bodies were made of stone, only a dull sound resonated as the sticks made contact. The attacks seemed ineffective. Nevertheless, the elven warriors continued to take turns pouring out attacks without rest.

Kieehk! Kiek!

A gargoyle let out a beastly cry before grabbing an elf and flying up into the air.

“Ugh!”

The captured warrior floundered, flustered by the tremendous grip and heat. His colleagues jumped in at once and focused their attacks on the wings of the gargoyle.

Thud! Thud! Boom!

Along with an explosive sound, the gargoyle’s wings shattered into pieces.

Kieeeek!

The gargoyle crashed into the floor after losing its wings, and the elven warriors all flocked towards the fallen creature.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Kieeeeek!

Even a gargoyle was helpless when its entire body was being pummeled with countless sticks. The attacks eventually began to show effect, and some of the creatures’ bodies were broken into large pieces. THey were nothing more than stones on fire after they lost the life given to them by magic. 

“It’s working! Kyarararararah!”

Gargoyles were exploding and shattering into pieces all over the place, and triumphant shouts of the elves resounded. After a while, quite a few gargoyles had turned into chunks of flaming stones.

It was going exactly as Raven intended.

Gargoyles were made of stone, and they could not be cut by blades. It was even worse for the Red Moon Valley elves, who used weapons made of buffalo horns. There was no way for their weapons to contend against the gargoyles when metal weapons were ineffective.

Raven had faced the gargoyles in his life as Raven Valt, so he devised a way to deal with them in advance. In the past, the demonic army had also struggled in the battle against the gargoyles.

Only soldiers equipped with blunt weapons such as warhammers or morning stars were able to leave chips in the gargoyles. All the spears and swords had been useless.

However, someone threw a torch amidst the chaos, which appeared to have an effect on the gargoyles. The gargoyles had been left alone in the outdoors for a long time, which had caused moss to accumulate all over their bodies. When they came into contact with fire, their entire bodies were quickly consumed by flames. With various, small cracks forming in their bodies from the fire, they could be damaged by spears and swords.

“Eltuan!”

Raven shouted when he saw a gargoyle heading towards him. Eltuan and the elven warriors surrounding him quickly faced the creatures blocking their way.

As Raven and the elves quickly dealt with the gargoyles while rushing towards its way, a look of shock appeared on the red gargoyle’s face. It had been watching the situation unfold at the top of the labyrinth’s entrance with its arms folded. Until now, all the invaders who had reached this place had died by their hands, regardless of race. However, this batch of intruders were completely different. 

They knew how to deal with the gargoyles, and from their quick reactions, it appeared as if they were expecting the gargoyles to be situated in this place.

“Kiririt…”

A red flame fluttered in the eyes of the gatekeeper. It was the only one who possessed self-consciousness out of all the gargoyles guarding this place.

They were pretty good, but they were only elves and humans.

His subordinates only knew how to charge and engage in physical battles, but he possessed other means of attack.

“Kiyaa…!”

The red gargoyle opened its mouth.

A deep blue light started to radiate from inside its large mouth, then ice-like crystals began to form.

“Kyaaahk!”

A long, shimmering, blue arrow burst out of the mouth of the red gargoyle.

If a wizard had been present, they would have become astonished at the sight. The gargoyle had produced a type of ice arrow, which was a unique ability granted to the lords. The gargoyle lord had been imbued with their creator’s mana, which bestowed them the unique ability.

Kwakwakwakwa!

The surrounding air froze over in an instant, and an arrow as big as a human leg flew towards the ground. It was heading straight for the human knight at the forefront of the intruders.

The red gargoyle, the gargoyle lord of the labyrinth, had no doubt that the arrogant human being would freeze in an instant. 

Unless they possessed an object containing the power of a strong wizard, no armor or weapon could block or destroy the ice arrow.

Anything that came into contact with the arrow would become a statue of ice…

Fwooosh!

That was as far as the gargoyle lord’s confidence reached. 

Even after seeing the ice arrow, the human knight continued to run without hesitation. As soon as the gargoyle lord saw the translucent, silver-white flame fluttering over the long sword of the human knight, it sensed something was wrong.

Kwarara!

A crescent strike of flames was released as Raven swung his sword. The ice arrow had been freezing its surroundings as it neared Raven, creating a weblike trail of ice behind it. However, as soon as the flames made contact with the arrow, the arrow was split in half.

“…..!”

A shocked expression appeared on the gargoyle lord’s face, and the flaming strike completely decimated the ice arrow before continuing towards it. 

“Kyaaah!”

The gargoyle lord became greatly surprised and hurriedly flapped its wings to rise into the air. He was made of stone, just like his subordinates, and he also possessed natural resistance to flames. However, he had a strong hunch that he needed to avoid the flaming strike no matter what.

However,

Crassh!

“Kiyaaaahk!”

The flame brushed past the groin of the gargoyle lord, who had barely emerged into the air.

Rattle!

A silver-white line appeared between the legs of the gargoyle lord and quickly spread to its chest. Soon, its entire body was covered in fractures.

“Kie…”

Craccck!

The gargoyle lord let out a faint cry, unable to believe the changes that were happening on its body. Before it could finish, its body scattered into dozens of pieces.

“Kieeeehh…”

The rest of the gargoyles had been busily attacking the elves. As soon as their lord perished, their flaming bodies fell to the ground as well.

Boom!

With the lord’s death, the rest of the gargoyle lost their powers and reverted into stone statues. The airborne creatures fell to the ground and shattered into many pieces.

“Heuk! Heuk!”

Eltuan hurriedly observed the surroundings while breathing heavily. The elven warriors stood guard against their surroundings as remains of the gargoyles blazed on the ground. Some of the elves had minor burns, but the overall damage seemed to be minimum.

However, the situation might have taken a turn for the worse if the battle had continued. Eltuan turned towards the one responsible for the quick ending.

“Ha…”

After taking a long breath, Raven put his sword back into the sheath and took off his helmet. He was covered in sweat, and his complexion appeared a little pale.

“Are you all right?”

“Hm.”

Raven nodded with a small grunt before wiping off the sweat from his face. In reality, he wasn’t completely fine. His whole body was throbbing and burning hot, as if he had walked through a bed of coals. 

Dragon Blade consumed quite a bit of his physical and mental strength. He became quite exhausted after using it once.

But this time around, he had little choice.

Magical creatures with lords tended to lose their powers the moment their lord was destroyed. Thus, Raven had the elven warriors occupy the gargoyles while he took care of the gargoyle lord as quickly as possible.

It had been the best way to minimize the damage. 

“It seems like we were not much help this time around…”

Eltuan noticed Raven’s exhaustion and spoke in an apologetic tone.

But Raven shook his head.

“No, it would have been much more difficult without your help. It would have been hard to deal with the lord after dealing with all of the gargoyles by myself. The Red Moon Valley elves played a critical role by sticking to the plan.”

“Hmm!”

Eltuan’s expression got a little brighter.

Indeed, the human’s sword of light could cut and destroy anything, but it could not be used indefinitely. If it were not for them, Raven would have been forced to deal with all the gargoyles alone, expending even more of his energy.

“But don’t be too relieved just yet. This is just the beginning.”

“Yes…”

After taking on a calm expression once more, Eltuan nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Raven and the warriors of Red Moon Valley walked towards the entrance of the labyrinth, which looked like gaping jaws of an ancient devil.

***

“Krrr…”

A glimmer appeared in the eyes of the Troll King as it observed the intruders passing through the entrance of the labyrinth through a transparent crystal ball. It had been somewhat expected, but the gargoyle lord had fallen without being able to display its strength.

The Troll King was possessed with the desire to lead its soldiers and tear apart the limbs of the intruders.

Fwoosh!

As its beastly instincts boiled, the Spirit of the King reigning over all the creatures of the Great Spirit started to fill the ancient palace built to worship ancient gods.

“Oohh…”

The monsters prostrated as they faced their king’s fury.

It was then.

“Do you mean to defile the greater works?”

A cold voice of unknown origins echoed throughout the palace.

“Krrr!”

The Troll King jumped up in surprise. 

Woosh!

In front of the Troll King was an ancient altar made for sacrificing to the ancient gods. All of a sudden, gray flames began to flutter inside the altar.

Even though there was no wind, the flame began to flicker while growing larger, then soon formed into the shape of a human. As the flame morphed, an astonishing scene unfolded. The Troll King bent one leg and bowed in front of the flame.

“Mas. Ter...”

Step. Step.

As the gray flames scattered like a mirage, someone walked out from its midst and stood in front of the Troll King. Despite being on one knee, the Troll King was still twice as large compared to any other trolls.

“Viciousness and fury are the source of your power, but it is not yet your time to step forward. Do not forget your role, my loyal servant.”

“As. You. Wish…”

The Troll King lowered his head even further.

Even though their king was bowing to a mere human, the monsters remained unmoving. On the contrary, their expressions were filled with greater fear as they looked at the back of the sorcerer draping a long gray robe.

“Remember. Your role is to delay as much time as possible. Until the arrogant queen, the one who defied the laws of causality arrives… You must exhaust and delay the man who possesses power he should not have, then bring him here.”

The sorcerer’s voice contained an immeasurable force. None of the monsters, including the Troll King, could resist his words. 

Jean Oberon walked past his creation and headed towards the vacant throne. Finally, he climbed onto the throne that was much too big for him. As he sat down, his shadows stretched out as if it were alive, then dyed the entire throne black.

The shadow throbbed like a pair of black wings, and a gentle voice flowed from his mouth.

“The world does not flow as humans desire. There are gods, there are dragons, and there are wizards. But when the gods simply look on from the sides and the dragons watch, the wizard sings for the world. A song that kills the gods and dragons for the good of the world…”

The sorcerer hummed an unknown song as he looked down at the altar and the King of the Monsters. His eyes were so empty that it was hard to gauge its depth. 

*** 

Bang!

“Keugh!”

Along with a dull sound, a lizardman fell backwards with its chest caved in.

“Keung! Little lizard bastards are trying all sorts of things. They don’t even look tasty.”

Karuta snorted as he shook off flesh and blood from his weapon.

“Hey! Are you finished?”

“The one Karuta killed was the last of them. I’m hungry. Can I eat this?”

Kratul replied. Then, Karuta spoke with a grin on his face.

“Come on, you orc. There are so many delicious things in the world. Why would you sour your mouth with that?”

“Well, true. All the food made by the Pendragon scarecrows are delicious.”

“I can’t wait to go back and eat. Kereuk!”

The orcs were quite the gluttons. Drools filled their mouths as they recalled the delicious foods. After setting out, they did not have a chance to feast on ‘real food’, but even so, it was truly befitting of the orcs to think about food immediately after experiencing a battle of life and death.

“Anyways, why are there only these weak lizards and birdheads? I haven’t seen any proper enemies yet.”

Karuta looked around with regretful eyes. The only enemies they had run into while scouting were harpies and lizardmen. He had been expecting a wonderful time with strong enemies, worthy of being the orcs’ opponents, but this was just way too easy.

“Kukeke! I know. But I still like the fact that I can feel the energy of the Earth God better than anywhere… Kuet?”

Kratul spoke with a laugh, then suddenly jerked around and swung his staff.

Pababak!

Something became embedded in his staff.

“Kue? What is this?”

Kratul spoke in a questioning manner as he looked down at the small thorns sticking out of his staff.

Then,

“Kyarararararara!”

A bone-chilling screech stimulated the ears of the Ancona Orc warriors.