Chapter 85: The Minotaur Horde
Minotaurs, as far as the eye could see!
Their massive forms, at least four meters tall, were unclothed, their thick hides covered in coarse fur, their muscles bulging beneath their skin. They wielded crude, rusty battle axes, their movements brutish and uncoordinated.
Their heads were adorned with enormous, curved horns, their tips sharpened to a razor’s edge, their surfaces gleaming with a metallic sheen. Their faces, resembling those of bulls, were fierce and menacing. Their eyes, large and bloodshot, glowed with an eerie green light in the moonlight.
Their thick legs ended in massive, blood-red hooves.
It seemed Candice had done her job well. Lomond had sent an army to intercept them. This was his chance to separate from the others.
He whispered in Ekaterina’s ear, his instructions brief and precise. She, though confused, nodded, her obedience absolute.
“Minotaurs…”
Loseweisse’s face darkened. She hadn’t expected to encounter these creatures, especially not in such numbers.
It was as if they had anticipated their arrival, their ambush carefully planned.
Natia’s expression turned serious.
Minotaurs, though considered low to mid-ranking Demons, possessed incredible strength and resilience. Their massive bodies, however, housed simple minds.
A well-trained squad of ten could easily handle them.
But their strength lay in their numbers, their rapid breeding cycle ensuring a constant supply of fresh troops. When they gathered in large numbers, their destructive power was amplified.
And like goblins, they had a… disturbing… habit of kidnapping human women, their victims often meeting a gruesome fate.
They wielded crude weapons, their every limb capable of delivering a crushing blow. They even hurled their axes at distant or airborne enemies. Their lack of intelligence often led them to throw all their weapons at the beginning of a battle, leaving them to fight with their bare hands.
In short… all brawn, no brains!
But when thousands of them charged across a battlefield, they were an unstoppable force, their blood-red hooves trampling everything in their path. Their lack of fear, their unwavering aggression, made them formidable opponents.
And amidst the horde, they saw him, a monstrous figure, his size dwarfing the other Minotaurs, his body as large as a nobleman’s villa, his muscles like slabs of iron, his horns long and sharp, their surfaces stained a dark crimson.
His eyes, the size of human heads, gleamed with a primal ferocity.
The Minotaur Chieftain, Minotauros.
Only the strongest, the most savage, earned this title.
He was also the Demon King’s brother-in-law, Lomond’s uncle. His sister was one of Nagath’s wives…
Qin Chu couldn’t fathom the Demon King’s… taste…
This was bad. Minotauros, his power only slightly inferior to Lomond’s, was a formidable opponent. And with an army of thousands at his command… even they would struggle to defeat him.
The Minotaurs, forming a massive circle, charged towards them, their speed increasing with every thunderous step.
The ground trembled, rocks bouncing into the air.
Their roars, a guttural symphony of rage, echoed across the plains, a deafening chorus of primal fury.
Dust billowed, obscuring the moonlight, their forms a dark wave crashing towards them. Even from a distance, their oppressive presence was palpable.
The horizon was a sea of charging Minotaurs, their rusty weapons glinting in the moonlight.
Green eyes, countless green eyes, pierced through the dust cloud, their gaze chilling.
Loseweisse swallowed nervously, her gaze darting between Natia and Ekaterina. They needed a plan.
Killing them all was… impractical… though not impossible. It would take too long.
Circumventing them was also impossible. They were surrounded. Avoiding them would require a lengthy detour, and time was of the essence.
“Eka…”
Ekaterina interrupted her. “Every man for himself. Get past them.”
She drew Flame Extinction, crimson energy swirling around its blade.
“Whoever breaks through first, go assist Benson.”
Loseweisse’s eyes brightened. It was a good plan.
If one of them could reach Benson, his burden would be lessened, giving him time to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
She nodded, milky white light emanating from her body.
Ekaterina channeled her power into her greatsword.
Pierce the Stars.
The same attack she had used against Qin Chu at the Holy See.
Flame Extinction hummed with power, its blade trembling, its tip glowing with a crimson intensity.
The power was the same as before, but this time, she wasn’t exhausted. She still had reserves.
Since her master had begun… favoring… her, her Star Flame Battle Qi had progressed significantly. She hadn’t broken through to the eleventh layer yet, but her power had increased.
Her master… even his… affection… brought her benefits.
The Minotaurs were upon them, their grotesque faces, now mere meters away, twisted in feral rage. Ekaterina shouted, her arm whipping forward, releasing her blade.
Pierce the Stars!
Flame Extinction, a blazing meteor, tore through the air, its heat intense, its trajectory unwavering.
The first Minotaur, its massive body struck by the blade, exploded, its flesh, muscle, and bone instantly incinerated.
The blade’s momentum continued, its path a crimson spiral of destruction.
Minotaurs, caught in the spiral’s path, were obliterated, their screams swallowed by the flames, their bodies reduced to ash.
A thick layer of white dust covered the ground, the plains transforming into a desert.
Ekaterina, carrying Qin Chu, leaped forward, following the path carved by her blade. As its momentum waned, her hand shot out, grasping the hilt, her swing swift and precise, a fiery arc cleaving through a hundred Minotaurs, splitting their bodies in two.
Her movements were fluid, her combat instincts honed to perfection.
Even Qin Chu was impressed.
But she was a warrior, her fighting style inherently limited. She couldn’t avoid being surrounded.
Loseweisse, however, had an easier time. The Holy Light emanating from her body, though gentle and soothing to humans, was devastating to Demons.
The Minotaurs, instinctively fearing her power, roared and charged, but they kept their distance, hurling their axes at her from afar.
Their attacks were futile. She weaved through the flying axes with ease, her movements graceful, her progress swift. Despite being the weakest of the three, she was the first to break through their ranks.
Natia’s approach was far more… destructive…
Fire, ice, lightning, wind…
She unleashed a barrage of high-tier spells, her casting effortless, her control precise.
Mages, though physically frail, were mobile artillery, capable of inflicting devastating damage.
And Natia, a Sage, could even transform low-tier spells into deadly weapons. Her attacks, a symphony of elemental fury, cleared swathes through the Minotaur horde.
Flames engulfed the ground, Minotaurs screaming in agony as their flesh burned. Ice shards, sharp and deadly, rained down from the sky, impaling them.
But her most devastating spell was a wind vortex, a swirling tornado of razor-sharp air, its rotation shredding flesh and bone, leaving behind only bleached white skeletons, the ground littered with gore.
Her destructive power, her ruthlessness, drew the attention of Minotauros, the Chieftain.
He charged towards her, his massive form a terrifying sight.
Natia, forced to confront him, couldn’t escape.
Qin Chu, watching Loseweisse, his gaze fixed on her retreating form, smiled.
He had intended for her to be the first to leave, the first to reach Benson.
Ekaterina was still fighting her way through the horde.
A Minotaur, its size dwarfing the others, its green eyes burning with rage, its roar a guttural challenge, charged towards them, its massive axes raised high.
It was a Minotaur Warrior, one of the largest and strongest in the horde.
They were rare, their numbers few, their ferocity legendary.
Each Warrior had earned its position through countless battles, its strength forged in blood and fire.
Its level was seventy-five, its strength amplified by its berserker rage. Even stronger opponents struggled to defeat it.
It had targeted Qin Chu and Ekaterina, their embrace, their closeness, enraging it.
It plowed through its own kind, its massive body a battering ram, reaching them in a matter of seconds, its axes swinging down in a deadly arc.
“Bloom, Holy Light!”
Qin Chu chanted, his voice a low rumble.
The light that erupted from him was even brighter than Loseweisse’s, a blinding silver radiance.
Blades of light, countless blades, shot outwards, piercing the surrounding Minotaurs, their bodies smoking where the light touched them.
The Warrior, its thick hide pierced in several places, roared in pain. It was tough, its vitality incredible. These wounds wouldn’t kill it. But the blinding light forced it to close its eyes, its eyeballs burning, blood dripping from its tear ducts.
It stumbled, its movements momentarily disrupted. And then a black spear, spinning rapidly, shot out from Qin Chu’s chest, piercing the Warrior’s heart.
A gaping hole, a gruesome wound, appeared in its chest, its heart, along with chunks of flesh and bone, pulverized.
“Thank you, Anthea!”
It was her spear.
“Let’s go!”
Ekaterina, her Battle Qi surging, flames engulfing her, her greatsword a blur of motion, carved a path through the horde, then, carrying Qin Chu, followed Loseweisse.
He wasn’t worried about Natia.
She was powerful, and her temper, when unleashed in battle, was… terrifying…
After several kilometers, he ordered Ekaterina to stop.
Shaye materialized on his shoulder, her gaze fixed on the ground.
She guided him, her instructions precise, as he drew a complex pattern on the ground.
A teleportation circle!
…
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