"Bullshit!" However, not all of them were pushovers. "This camp is the property of the Ironblood Knights! Do you still dare attack it after knowing that?!"
Aster turned to the source of the voice, not breaking his roleplay. "Hmm? You... Are you a mber of the Ironblood Knights too?" He asked with a cold tone. "Then, let start with you. I have a bone to pick with those guys, you see?"
*SNAP!*
Right then, a thunderbolt struck... just an inch before the man. Despite not hitting him directly, the electricity that surged through the air grazed his skin, shocking his entire body.
In re monts, the man collapsed forward, smoke rising from his body like he had just co out of an oven.
"That's one down!" Aster grinned, a hint of madness glinting in his gaze. "Now, who's next? Rember, you have two choices!"
The man was still alive, of course. Argus had deliberately missed the target, ensuring the strike wouldn't be fatal. It was an impressive display of control, even with the little puppy stationed hundreds of ters away.
Naturally, Aster could've used his own abilities to put on a show, but demonstrating the lightning elent, one that was rarer, made for a stronger impression.
"Hiik!"
"N-No way I'm fighting that monster!"
"Mages! Prepare the portal for the non-combatants! The rest of you, we'll buy ti until everyone's safely escaped!"
Just because one loudmouth "died" didn't an they would all lose their cool. A few retained their composure, quickly deciding what needed to be done to protect everyone's lives.
"Good judgnt! But there's no need to slow down. I swear, as long as you're all planning to escape this camp, I will not attack of my own volition!"
Aster raised his hand as if making a solemn pledge, but no one trusted his words.
"As if, you monster!" a female knight cried out, her voice trembling, her eyes brimming with tears. "How dare you do that to Kevin! I'll take your life myself, no matter what it takes!!!"
"H-Huh?" Aster blinked in confusion. "That guy's still alive, you know?" he said, pointing casually.
But his words fell on deaf ears.
The female knight, another mber of the Ironblood Knights, charged forward, sword ready. Her footwork was deceptively fast, her movents hard to predict. But Aster didn't need to "predict" what he could see clearly. He watched as her sword ca crashing down toward his head and sighed.
"You thought I was a mage type, didn't you? Weak against lee?" He sneered, catching the blade between his middle and index fingers. "But that's futile, pretty lady."
"Ugh!"
Instantly, with the sword as the epicenter, a freezing wave surged. The blade froze over, then her hands, locking the weapon in place. The ice crept down her body to her feet, encasing her in a solid sheet of frost—only her head remained untouched, her body trapped in a frozen prison.
"Alright! Ten seconds!" Aster's voice took on a cruel edge, his earlier mirth darkening. "I'm giving you brave ones ten seconds to get her out of my sight. If you don't, I'll shatter the ice... and her body with it~!"
He laughed, the sound now more of a deadly promise than a threat.
"One~!"
As Aster began counting, three more knight-like adventurers rushed forward. However, only the one leading the charge had his weapon ready; the other two focused entirely on the frozen female knight, clearly intent on saving her.
"Two!" Aster continued, stepping back just enough to give them room to maneuver. "FIVE!" He suddenly skipped over counts three and four, speeding things up to add urgency to their steps and a fresh wave of panic to their faces.
"Hahaha! This is fun! Seven!"
By then, the two empty-handed knights had reached the frozen woman, carefully lifting her icy body and rushing it back toward camp. The remaining knight, flas licking the edge of his blade, bravely swung his sword, drawing an amused grin from Aster.
"A flamberg, huh?" Aster mused aloud. "If you think your puny fire can lt my ice, you need to go back to elentary school, buddy!"
Without breaking a sweat, Aster froze the very flas on the knight's sword, killing his montum. The man's eyes widened in shock before he quickly jumped back, clearly spooked. Aster could see right through him—he was just stalling for ti, his eyes darting to his allies behind him, checking if they had safely retreated.
"If you want to run, then by all ans." Aster shrugged, raising his hand as if signaling he had no intention of striking him in the back.
The knight didn't utter a word, but his retreat was cautious, one slow step at a ti, his gaze never leaving Aster.
And then...
"NOW!"
A booming voice echoed from the distance. At that mont, the sky darkened, and hundreds of spells and projectiles flew in a high arc, blotting out the sky, all aiming directly at Aster.
"I told you, it's futile."
Despite the overwhelming barrage, Aster remained unfazed. Calmly, he grabbed his sword, and with a deliberate motion, enveloped it in a mysterious elent. He swung it diagonally, cutting through the air in a wide arc from left to right.
"Elental Sword Slash—SPACE!"
It was a technique unique to Aster, born from his whimsical thoughts. He once asked himself, "What other elents could I possibly use in an attack?" And from that, this skill erged.
As his blade cleaved through the air, sothing extraordinary happened. The space in front of him appeared as though a perfectly straight black line had been drawn through it. From Aster's perspective, everything that crossed that line simply vanished—sucked into oblivion.
That's right, the Space Elent of the Elental Sword Slash cut through space itself, erasing everything in its path!
It was a powerful technique—almost too powerful. Using it to farm monsters was impractical since anything hit by the attack disappeared into the void, leaving behind no loot, no EXP, nothing.
The volley of attacks, which the adventurers had been so confident would bury Aster alive, vanished like an illusion. For a mont, the knights stood frozen, their faces blank with disbelief. Slowly, the reality of what they had just witnessed sank in. Find adventures at empire
"M-Monster..."
Demon Lord... The title no longer felt like a joke. Aster had quietly earned it.
With that final display, any will left to fight evaporated. Every adventurer scrambled toward the teleportation array, which the mages had already activated. In a flash of light, the camp beca a ghost town.
"Well, that makes things easier."
Aster smirked, strolling casually toward the teleportation array. With one swift motion, he carved a deep "X" into the intricate patterns of the array, shattering its delicate design.
And just like that, without expending too much effort or risking lives more than necessary, Aster had managed to delay their pursuers considerably.
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