The sound of hoofbeat reached Leon’s ears, but he paid them no mind as he discussed with Eric.
“I was born in the town we were going to. And no, it was not part of the Demons’ ploy. I simply woke up as an Undead.” Leon said calmly.
Eric silently used a skill and found out that Leon was telling the truth. With a nod, he accepted the answer and asked something else.
“What are your future plans? Do you intend to assist the Demons in their conquest?” This was Eric’s true concern. Although he had already pledged loyalty to Leon, he would not hesitate to kill himself if Leon tried forcing them to kill their own kind in order to help the Demons.
“I just want to live in peace, but doing that is impossible without the strength to back me up. That is why I want to grow a powerful force of my own. Anyway, that is enough talk for now.” Leon said and turned to look at Elena.
The girl was sleeping at the moment. Leon did not want to wake her up, but simply remained seated, staring at her. It was only after ten seconds has passed that he realized how much of a creep he was being and turned away, clearing his throat.
“Ahem…” He turned to look at Eric again, but the brown haired man’s attention was drawn to something outside.
Leon looked out through his own window and suddenly noticed something moving a distance away. Thanks to his sharp eyesight, he was able to spot what most people would not see.
“Stop!”
With Leon’s call, the caravan came to a stop. The people were confused as to why they were stopping, while Leon quickly stepped out from the carriage at the front. His eyes were sharp as he looked around.
“What’s happening?” Eric quickly asked as he stopped beside Leon. He did not think that there were people who were willing to mess with them aside from the Empire of Light, but he did not think that they would have formed a proper response in just mere hours. Besides that, Amelia was expecting Leon to join Richard, so she did not have much confidence in capturing Leon with Richard present, so she had decided to return for the time being.
“We’re surrounded.” Leon said with his hands on his hips.
“What?!” Eric blanched and quickly looked around, his eyes narrowed. Then he also spotted it. “We are completely surrounded.” He gulped and unsheathed his sword. By now, the other warriors that served Leon had also gathered to protect the caravan. Their weapons were out, and their faces were focused.
Dozens of monsters surrounded them from a distance. The distance was not too close, but it was clear that the monsters were all focused on their caravan. But there was one thing they were all confused about. How did these many monsters appear? When the army from the Empire of Light had passed by, there had been nothing close to this, and any monsters they had come across were killed. So, how?
“Eric, I’m leaving the command of the men and women to you.” Leon did not want to be burdened by the duty of commanding them in battle. He preferred to do his own thing, so he unloaded that burden to Eric who was much more experienced with this kind of thing.
“Yes sir!” Eric’s demeanor had changed to that of a proper soldier as he gripped his sword. He turned and began ordering the soldiers into a defensive formation as quickly as he could.
Leon stepped forward with his armor already over his body. He did not summon any of his summons because he wanted to see how powerful this force of new, living subordinates were. He also planned to participate in the battle as well.
A black sword manifested in Leon’s right hand as he stood at the front of the group. From the edge of the path up ahead, the bushes and stones shook slightly, with the vibrations getting stronger each time.
“Ready!” Eric called to his men.
Boom!
A thin tree was pushed to the side, causing its trunk to snap, making it fall to the ground with a loud boom.
“Mages, unleash your spells!”
Whoosh!
Boom!
p A flurry of spells shot overhead as the mages, C rank and B rank, unleashed their spells like letting sand fall from between their fingers. The unfortunate troll that had been at the front of the approaching monster wave was instantly killed as it was met by concentrated spell barrage.
A purple veil of mana covered Leon’s body and he shot forward, turning into a blur that even Eric was not able to properly trace. With the effects of his Gravity magic supporting him, Leon was able to achieve a much higher speed than what a person would normally expect.
“Eat this!” Leon stopped before a three meter tall troll that was pale green skin and brought his sword down on its head. The moment his sword touched its head, its skull was pulverized and its body was sliced into two halves, dropping on either side of Leon.
What Leon had done was that he simply multiplied the weight of his sword multiple times, making it much heavier than what the troll could bear in that situation. It was a bit of a hassle, but he did not want to ruin the forest or start any wild fires. Even the mages of his new following were careful with the spells that they used. Thus, this had given the warriors an excellent chance to showcase their prowess!
“Do not leave a single one of them alive!” Eric commanded as he rushed forward. His steps were carried by a golden light that gradually enveloped him, wrapping him up and boosting his attacks and defense. He did not transform into the golden energy manifestation. Even still, his every move overpowered whatever monster appeared before him!