Great Demon King

Chapter 335: The Fruits of Victory

Han Shuo was most concerned about the gates that Chester and Dick were responsible for. But when he reached the gates, he found the soldiers safe and sound. The vestiges of their battle didn’t seem too prominent. The two hundred bandit corpses indicated that the bandits’ losses hadn’t been too severe, either.

“Are you alright?” Han Shuo descended, an aura of victory swirling around him, and looked at the immeasurably self-satisfied Chester and the others, letting out a sigh of relief as he did so.

“We’re fine, my lord. Those cowardly bandits charged us only the once, and then just stayed in the distance and observed the gate. They suddenly retreated just now.” Chester gave a relaxed smile, pointing in the direction that Afie had run off in.

Looking into the distance, Han Shuo nodded, saying “That’s good. Leave three hundred to defend this gate; the rest of you, go help Dorcas.”

“Alright, we’ll depart immediately!” Dick and Chester responded in tandem, turning to give spirited orders to the idle troops, haranguing them to get various appendages in order and head out to aid the other two sides.

Rumble…

A deafening explosion sounded from the direction of the other two walls. Han Shuo flew directly over to Faulke’s defensive perimeter. Dorcas had already demonstrated his military genius during the merchant kidnapping incident, and was now once again doing so in exterminating the bandits. Han Shuo trusted that he was fine.

On the contrary, it was the high-born, stronger Faulke who needed help. Although it may have been because of his status as a knight, but he was bound by a code of conduct that limited his effectiveness. On the battlefield, his formations weren’t flexible enough, and Han Shuo was worried that he might fall into trouble.

When Han Shuo arrived at the city wall under Faulke’s command, he found bandit corpses lying everywhere. Looking at the walls, the bandits seemed to have exacted their revenge in kind, leaving countless soldier corpses riddled with arrows. Han Shuo immediately understood that the battle here must have been very intense.

The bandit group Faulke was fighting was the Battleaxe Mercenary Group. The towering leader of the Battleaxe Mercenary Group, Bynam, wasn’t good at commanding troops like Fass, nor was his head filled with crafty schemes like Alfie. This single minded simpleton had been blinded by the prospect of a million gold coins and had just committed all his troops in a frontal assault.

Defending the wall, Faulke fought against the assault as if his life depended on it. With the battle devolving into a war of attrition, the barbaric Bynam, who’d sustained severe casualties, did not appear to know the definition of “retreat”. He yelled madly at his soldiers to continue attacking the walls. Faulke’s side had lost a hundred men, with around four hundred more with various injuries. The remaining soldiers were all bone deep exhausted.

If it hadn’t been for the citizens of Brettel City joining the fray against the bandits at the tipping point then Faulke’s side would have been in severe danger. When Han Shuo arrived, the battle had once again reached a critical juncture. Tens of ferocious bandits had already stormed the city walls, entangling the soldiers in furious battle.

The exhausted soldiers used their last vestiges of energy to hack, slash, and cut their foes down. A few citizens, unafraid of death in the face of the bandit threat, had willingly joined the fray. Wielding spears and javelins, they furiously stabbed and thrust at the bandits climbing the city walls.

Like a bolt of lightning, Han Shuo slammed into the city wall like a tornado of death.

He whistled loudly and charged the bandits on the wall alone. Like an unstoppable boulder, he tore through bandits using his bare hands, leaving behind a trail of what could only be described as vivisection specimens.

As these bandits died at his hand, there was nothing to stop Han Shuo from starting his loud, long chant with his bone staff. A horrifying army of undead gradually gathered beneath the city walls.

With a single stroke from the evil knight’s killing aura infused bone spear, several bandits were mutilated and swept away. Flocks of gargoyles hurtled by like ravens, unhorsing and carrying off the bandits that had come galloping in on horses. The bandits that were carried off would be torn to pieces by the gargoyles’ claws long before they hit the ground.

This time, when acid marshes appeared amidst the bandits, the sounds of screaming never stopped. Under the corrosion of the acid marshes, scores of bandits became brand-new, snowy white skeletons.

Han Shuo’s actions had completely turned the situation around. Surging waves of magic rippled out whenever the demon-like Han Shuo waved his bone staff. Groups of undead soldiers would rise up, or mind-bogglingly destructive acid marshes would appear. From time to time, a few corpses would even explode. The Battleaxe Mercenary Group’s casualties soared exponentially with every passing second.

The battlefield was a complete rout by the time Han Shuo was done. The furious leader of the Battleaxe Mercenary Group, Bynam, was roaring nonstop. In his fury, he completely overestimated himself, jumping on a hose and boldly charged towards Han Shuo. However, a shake of the bone staff sent a blast of magic towards him. The blast turned into rows of bone lances that flew through the air, a dense rain that blotted out the sun.

There were no flukes. Every part of Bynam and his horse that weren’t covered by armor was pierced through by bone lances. Two bone lances found his eye sockets. Bynam died on the spot without even uttering a sound.

“Boss! The boss is dead!” Han Shuo’s arrival caused panic amongst the bandits. The shocked and fearful bandits began shrieking loudly upon discovering that their leader was dead.

The remaining Battleaxe bandits all bolted as if using this as an excuse, recklessly running from this area. An audacious yet careful bandit pretended to retrieve Bynam’s corpse, secretly taking off the latter’s space ring and pocketing it.

Han Shuo loved looting the dead and discovered the bandit’s actions with a glance. He laughed lightly, flying from the city walls like a specter, silently catching up to the ecstatic bandit who was hurriedly running away. He said, “Sometimes, the wealth of the dead will also cause you to lose your life!”

The bandit who had taken Bynam’s space ring thought that it was an avaricious compatriot who desired a share of the wealth upon hearing those words coming from behind him. He turned around and struck out with a battleaxe with an ominous glint in his eyes.

The battleaxe heading towards him flew away with a “Ding! ” upon meeting a flick of Han Shuo’s right forefinger. The reverb travelled down the bandit’s arm, sending him staggering backwards. . He turned around, finally seeing who the person behind him was.

Once he saw who was behind him, the bandit didn’t dare hold back. He threw himself into a roll and tried to crawl through the underbrush to escape. Unfortunately, in front of the airborne Han Shuo, the bandit’s actions were as transparent as a clear spring. Han Shuo easily impaled the bandit from behind, relieving him of Bynam’s space ring and laughing as he flew back to Faulke.

“Some more unexpected revenue!” Han Shuo laughingly said to the panting Faulke.

Faulke understood that the danger he was facing was gone with Han Shuo’s arrival. Faulke was also fully aware of the magnitude of Han Shuo’s astounding power, and that the battle would be over the instant Han Shuo appeared. The facts proved Faulke’s judgement correct.

The bandits did not dare to linger after Bynam’s death, especially in the face of the undead army’s terrifying combat ability. As such, they retreated from the city like a tide, leaving behind a thousand or so corpses.

The rumbling of the magic cannons from the other side of the city gradually subsided as well.

No longer hearing the sound of the cannons, Han Shuo understood that Dorcas’ battle must also be drawing to a close. This was the first trial that Brettel City had faced, and they’d managed to pull through with everyone’s cooperation.

Having witnessed Han Shuo’s frightening strength, all of the citizens who’d participated in the battle looked at Han Shuo with reverence. When the last bandit disappeared over the horizon, this reverence gradually grew into trust. Loud cheers suddenly broke out around the city walls.

“Today, all citizens who participated in the battle shall be rewarded five gold coins. Faulke, you’ll be responsible for the distribution of the rewards.” Han Shuo instructed, smiling slightly as he looked at the citizens who were revelling in the joy of their survival.

The cheering citizens let out even more excited cheers as soon as the words left Han Shuo’s mouth. The look in their eyes as they looked towards Han Shuo became even more ardent. How grandiose the city lord of Brettel City seemed!

“Rest assured, my lord. I won’t unfairly treat the civilians who have aided us.” Faulke bowed respectfully and looked at the bandit corpses outside the city. The armor and weapons left behind by the bandits will certainly be worth a pretty penny. Also, their money pouches will likely contain plenty of gold coins?

“Yeah, the bandits really have left. You clean up the battlefield, I’m going to go check on Dorcas!” Han Shuo gave instructions to Faulke and then streaked across the sky towards the section of the wall left to Dorcas.

The cannon fire gradually subsided, and Han Shuo looked through the distant, thick smoke from the magic cannons. In the distance, the bandits were beating a hasty retreat. The battlefield was littered with corpses, and the numerous pockmarks were a direct indicator of a battle just as fierce as the other two. Dorcas had not let Han Shuo down.

Arriving at the wall beside Dorcas, Han Shuo found him making a list of their casualties. Taking a glance, Han Shuo found the bodies of tens of soldiers neatly arranged towards the side. Dorcas and the rest of the soldiers were standing in front of the corpses, solemnly saluting the fallen after they had finished their count.

End of part 1 of the chapter.