“Bang!”

After three rounds of firing, the marksmen finally met the charging front line of the demon army.

The long spears, once thought to be sharp, failed to pierce through the heavy armor of the front-line demon warriors. Ruth grabbed a few spears, swung them violently, and threw several soldiers away.

The dense phalanx of spears disintegrated before the onslaught of the demons, leaving a large group of gnomes to break through as well. If not for the lords and their armored personal guards still holding their positions behind the fray, many soldiers would have fled already.

Even these lords wore expressions of grave concern. The demons wasted no time probing the defenses and launched a full-scale assault with their elite warriors right off the bat, followed by several dozen heavily armored demons, and finally a swarm of ordinary demons.

This simple three-pronged attack smashed through the allied forces’ formation. If this continued, the entire front line would collapse within ten minutes.

Just as the lords struggled to hold their positions, Ron stepped forward with over twenty crusaders to bolster their ranks.

Richard had no intention of using the demons to weaken the lords either, as it would be troublesome for him if they were defeated.

Soon after, he ordered Ron to lead the Crusaders to the front lines.

These human warriors in their unique armor naturally caught Ruth’s attention. After all, anyone who could wear a suit of iron that left only their eyes exposed could not be an ordinary soldier, and twenty-odd quasi-knight humans would pose a bit of a problem.

Ruth signaled for two other demon warriors and some elite demons in heavy armor to gather around him, preparing to deal with this minor trouble.

Clang!

Ron, leading the charge, quickly engaged Ruth, the collision of their weapons making a loud noise as sparks flew.

Ron took the first blow, losing his grip on his sword despite being at the peak of human knight strength. One could imagine just how powerful Ruth was.

At the same time, Ruth, who had gained a small advantage, was surprised. He had fought knights before, but Ron was undoubtedly the strongest among them.

Indeed, holding his own against Ruth in a direct confrontation was already quite an accomplishment. After all, Ruth stood at the threshold between the rank of demon warrior and chief, and demons had a natural edge over humans. It would likely take a Great Knight to consistently best him.

If Ron’s performance left Richard merely surprised, what happened next truly alarmed him. At long last, he began to understand the source of the humans’ confidence.

Each of these human soldiers encased in iron shells ignited with fighting spirit.

Their previously invincible charge faltered, and those iron shells, impenetrable to blade and spear, were easily pierced by swords infused with energy.

Bolstered by both Richard’s combat techniques and the specialized abilities of the Knights of Lorent, these crusaders, who should have been mere quasi-knight material, became powerful knights capable of taking on multiple enemies at once.

These armored ogre warriors struggled to hold their own against their onslaught; only the demon warriors stood a chance against them, but there simply weren’t enough of the latter. A single demon warrior was outnumbered two or three to one by the crusaders, and the moment Ron fell back, at least four surrounded Ruth.

The battle-seasoned Crusaders quickly realized that Ruth was no easy opponent, and the best way to show respect for a strong enemy was to surround and overwhelm him with numbers.

Ruth, who had been swinging his sword around with flair, now found himself facing five or six longswords all jabbing at him, their blades crackling with energy. A single slash would easily cut through his thick armor and slice open a bloody gash in his flesh.

Ruth thought it best to take out the most dangerous opponent first, even if it meant getting injured in the process, but these knights, though encased in what appeared to be cumbersome suits of armor, swiftly dodged his attacks, refusing to engage him directly and leaving him at a disadvantage.

When it came to ganging up on an opponent stronger than themselves, the Crusaders were seasoned veterans. Compared to behemoths and nine-headed snakes, Ruth was merely a lowly underling, easily toyed with by Ron and a handful of his knights.

Aside from those besieging Ruth and facing off against the Ogre Warriors, more than ten Crusaders held down the spearhead of the Ogres’ charge—their elite armored warriors—keeping them at bay with relative ease.

Dozens of elite Ogres, possessing both thick hides and an advantage in numbers, managed to hold their own against the Crusaders’ onslaught.

“Attack!” Richard’s orders were clear, and the army charged forward as one.

After the crusaders suppressed the momentum of the demon attack, especially after Ruth, the leader of the elite warriors, was subdued, the morale of the human alliance had greatly improved.

None of the lords hesitated to follow Richard’s orders, drawing their swords and leading their men forward. After all, these lords relied on the Wilderness, and while they might not be great fighters, they could at least execute Richard’s orders as long as it wasn’t a suicide mission.

With the combined might of five noble houses launching a counterattack, the hundreds of soldiers under their command were already formidable. Add to that the fact that each noble lord was a knight in their own right, and the power of these five alone was enough to crush any army.

Granted, these knights were weaker than usual, making them struggle against demon warriors, but they had no trouble defeating ordinary demons.

With the combined efforts of both sides, the demons, who were already barely holding on, finally began to falter.

“Roar!” On the other side of the battlefield, Ruth, surrounded by Ron and the crusaders, let out another bloodcurdling howl. His armor was slashed to ribbons, and he was covered in blood.

Once again, Ruth’s attempt to escape the crusaders’ pummeling failed, and in his rage, he let out another roar. He could feel his strength fading away, and some of the wounds were so deep that he was rapidly losing blood.

Clang!

Ron’s sword struck down again, and Ruth raised his wolf fang club with difficulty to block.

There was some logic behind the use of the wolf fang clubs by the demon warriors—given the level of their blacksmithing skills, using weapons like swords would mean they’d be easily cut in half by the human knights’ weapons imbued with energy. Only these sturdy clubs could remain usable even after being reduced to splintered chunks.

Even though Ruth successfully blocked Ron’s sword, it was not enough to escape unscathed, as another sword strike from Ron’s comrade-in-arms bore down on him from the side. Despite his best efforts, he could not dodge this attack, and what was originally aimed at his head became a strike aimed at his neck instead.

“Thwack!”

A thick arm was severed, blood gushing from the stump…

Watching from atop his brown warhorse, Richard saw the entire ambush on Ruth unfold clearly. If he had to comment on the situation, he would have used one word: “Despicable.”

But despicable was good…

As he watched his men act so despicably, a hint of a smile crept up on Richard’s lips…