“I think you're looking to die, you little bitch! Sewer rat!”

Consumed by rage, Boluoge swung his hand viciously toward the pink-haired girl without the slightest trace of mercy. He made no effort whatsoever to hold back.

With the physical strength of a mid-stage fifth-tier warrior, if this blow landed, the third-tier pink-haired girl would undoubtedly die on the spot.

But Boluoge didn't care.

With Abyss Demons already flooding the city, he had no intention of continuing to drag around such a weak burden.

Although the captain had ordered them to protect the child, so what if they didn't?

If the captain questioned him later, he could simply claim that the girl had been killed by Abyss Demons. It would be easy enough to brush the matter aside.

Who would seriously pursue a fifth-tier swordsman over a lowly slave girl?

Not to mention...

He was the son of a count.

Besides...

Whether the captain would even return alive was still unknown.

Thus, Boluoge completely abandoned all restraint. He intended to send this burden away with a single slap.

He had no desire to keep escorting some worthless slave.

However—

Just as his hand, wrapped in brown Holy Aura, was about to strike the girl's cheek, a terrified cry from one of his companions suddenly seized all of his attention, causing his movement to stop abruptly.

“A-Abyss Demon?!!!”

?!!

What?!

An Abyss Demon?!

The moment he heard those words, Boluoge's heart violently trembled.

He whipped around in panic and looked toward his teammate, Lanmeng.

The next instant, under the horrified gazes of the two Asumos Church knights, a ferocious tiger-shaped Abyss Demon descended from the sky.

It stood six meters tall.

Its body was covered in eerie purple markings.

And it possessed two heads.

The monster landed directly in the direction they had intended to flee.

After stabilizing itself, the Abyss Demon immediately locked its murderous gaze onto Boluoge and Lanmeng.

Then it released a bloodthirsty roar.

“ROOOOOAAARRRRRR!!!”

The earth-shaking roar shattered the windows of nearby buildings.

And in an instant, it shattered the courage of the two knights as well.

?!!

An Abyss Demon?!

And a sixth-tier one at that?!

H-How?!

In an instant, the savagery vanished from Boluoge's eyes, replaced by endless terror.

His heart accelerated wildly, as if it might burst straight out of his chest.

Compared to Boluoge, however, the bald knight Lanmeng was even more terrified.

The reason was simple.

He was only three meters away from the monster.

The oppressive Shadow of Silence Power radiating from the Abyss Demon, its horrifying aura of corrosion, and its overwhelming stench of blood continuously assaulted the young knight's senses, pushing his mind to the brink of collapse.

Yet under the gaze of the Abyss Demon, making any reckless movement was practically suicide.

He needed someone else to attract the monster's attention.

Only then would he have a chance to escape amid the chaos.

And as for a suitable candidate?

Wasn't there one right beside them?

Thinking of this, Lanmeng hurriedly turned toward Boluoge and shouted anxiously:

“Boluoge! Hurry and throw that little girl in front of you over he—?!”

Unfortunately...

Before he could finish speaking—

“BOOM!!!”

Accompanied by an ear-splitting explosion—

The ground shook.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Under Boluoge's horrified gaze, his former companion Lanmeng was instantly smashed into a disgusting pile of flesh by a single swipe of the Abyss Demon's claw.

Dead beyond all doubt.

A chunk of something resembling a liver even flew through the air and splattered directly across Boluoge's face.

Looking down at the bloody, unidentifiable mass sliding off his cheek and dropping to the ground—

Boluoge's pupils violently contracted.

“Lanmeng...?”

Watching a comrade whose strength rivaled his own get casually flattened like tofu, the final trace of fighting spirit within Boluoge disappeared completely.

Only one thought remained.

Run.

Avenge his companion?

What a joke.

Who in their right mind would challenge a monster like that?

Staring at the sixth-tier Abyss Demon that had already focused its attention on him, Boluoge revealed an expression mixed with terror and brutality.

He had to escape.

He absolutely had to escape.

But how?

There was no way he could outrun an Abyss Demon.

Hm?

Wait...

Suddenly, a thought nearly identical to Lanmeng's flashed through his mind.

The next moment—

Boluoge viciously turned toward the pink-haired girl behind him.

A cruel glint emerged within his brown eyes.

Under that gaze, the pink-haired girl immediately felt overwhelming fear.

She seemed to realize what he was planning. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Frantically shaking her head, she looked at him with terror and pleading in her blue eyes.

A faint shimmer of tears even began to appear.

“N-No... don't do this!”

However—

Her desperate pleas failed to evoke even the slightest sympathy.

Only one thought remained in Boluoge's mind.

Survive.

As for everyone else?

Who cared?

“Get over here!”

With an angry roar, Boluoge ruthlessly grabbed the girl's thin wrist.

The girl cried out in terror and struggled desperately.

“N-No! D-Don't you remember what that big sister said?!”

“Big sister? You mean the captain?! Who gives a damn about her orders at a time like this?!”

Boluoge sneered disdainfully.

Then, completely ignoring the girl's miserable cries, he swung his arm.

The pink-haired girl was hurled straight toward the horrifying Abyss Demon behind him.

The only thing seemingly awaiting her was a despair-filled death by dismemberment.

Yet Boluoge didn't care in the slightest.

Nor did he feel any guilt.

Sacrifice a lowly slave in exchange for the life of a noble?

That was absolutely worth it.

The slave should feel honored.

After coldly laughing to himself—

Boluoge paid no further attention to the monster behind him.

Having thrown the girl back as bait, he unleashed all the remaining Holy Aura within his body and sprinted forward with hysterical desperation.

?!!

“N-No reaction?!”

As he ran while practically shedding equipment along the way, Boluoge was overjoyed to discover that the sixth-tier Abyss Demon wasn't pursuing him.

That meant—

He had succeeded.

He could escape.

He could survive!

The joy of surviving a disaster instantly surged through him, causing a crazed smile to spread across his face.

Unfortunately—

The smile didn't last long.

“RUMBLE!!!”

??!!

What?!

W-What now?!

The next moment—

Accompanied by trembling earth, billowing dust, and spreading black light—

Two spider-shaped Abyss Demons suddenly burst from underground and landed directly in front of him.

Their bodies were covered in spikes.

Each possessed eight pairs of purple eyes.

Feeling the oppressive Shadow of Silence Power emanating from them, Boluoge nearly burst into tears.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably.

The tiny flame of hope that had just reignited within his heart was instantly extinguished by the despair before him.

Abyss Demons?

And they're sixth-tier too?!

Y-You're kidding me!!

The sudden appearance of the two savage monsters frightened Boluoge so badly that his face turned completely pale.

Acting purely on instinct, he turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

At this point, the young knight seemed to have completely forgotten that another terrifying sixth-tier monster still stood behind him.

Then—

When he turned back and saw the terrifying two-headed tiger shrouded in black mist—

His heart instantly plunged into an endless abyss.

However—

Alongside terror, after clearly seeing the scene before him, an even greater emotion arose within him.

Confusion.

Absolute, incomprehensible confusion.

Because at this very moment—

The slave girl whom he believed should have already been torn to pieces by the two-headed tiger was completely unharmed.

Not a single scratch on her body.

Not only that—

She was standing directly in front of the Abyss Demon.

And...

She was actually stroking the monster's head.

WTF?!

Trembling violently, Boluoge raised a shaking finger toward the pink-haired girl.

At this point, he was beginning to doubt his own eyes.

“Y-You... y-you... just what... what exactly did you do?!”