Chapter 734: Retreat and the Crisis of the Demonic Beast Frontline
What the hell?!
What's going on?!
What are we supposed to do now?!
Fujimaru felt like his face had become a rotating display of classic meme expressions, finally settling into an unshakable "black guy with question marks.jpg" look.
What just happened?
A legendary weapon—a divine axe capable of cleaving even Tiamat in two—had just shattered cleanly before everyone's eyes?
Wait, did that guy train his head into steel or something? Even professional scammers don't pull stunts like this!
The first to react was the black-robed man who had taken the direct hit. Like an emotionless machine, even after being struck squarely in the face by the Axe of Marduk, he continued his relentless downward punch without hesitation.
Flowers of paradise bloomed as Fujimaru, still stunned, reappeared a hundred meters away, rejoining Merlin and the others.
Almost immediately, the wild laughter of the Baal Lahmu echoed across the sky. As the light waves from the Sword of Mars gradually dissipated, they flapped their wings, casting venomous glares toward the group.
But their laughter didn't last long—because the smirk had now transferred to Sakatsuki's face. With a cold sneer, he raised his sword, and in an instant, a new guiding array blotted out the sky, locking onto them once more.
An infinite pressure began condensing above the dome once again.
"How is this possible?!" The Baal Lahmu's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. The agony from their previous bombardment by the orbital cannon hadn't even faded—were they really about to endure it again?!
Absolutely not!
With a resonant hum that shook the atmosphere, the Sword of Mars unleashed another devastating beam of divine light. But this time, the prepared Baal Lahmu folded their wings and dove toward the earth.
Before the next wave of orbital strikes could reach them, they landed behind the black-robed man, hoisting him up and using him as a shield.
They were literally using their supposed ally as cannon fodder!
"These guys are downright despicable!" Even Fujimaru, their enemy, couldn't stomach this behavior. "Do they have no shame at all?"
"The Baal Lahmu are born from the black mud—a manifestation of all the world's evils," Sakatsuki remarked calmly, having sheathed his sword at some point. He patted Fujimaru's shoulder. "It's time to retreat."
"Ah, right..." Fujimaru cast one last glance at the shattered remnants of the now-powerless Axe of Marduk scattered on the ground before turning away, vanishing amidst a flurry of petals.
With the Axe of Marduk destroyed, there was no reason for them to stay any longer.
And just as their figures disappeared, the orbital blast chasing the Baal Lahmu made direct contact with the black-robed man.
Under the mocking gazes of his "allies," the black-robed man expressionlessly raised his fist—
With a single punch, the colossal beam capable of drowning entire armies shattered into a rain of scattered light!
The dazzling fragments dispersed in the wind, illuminating the dark golden eyes hidden behind the bone mask and reflecting the stunned expressions of the Baal Lahmu.
Tears of a Star—guided by the fully unleashed Sword of Mars—had been obliterated.
Just... like that?
By a single punch?!
By the time the monsters processed this, they were consumed by uncontrollable fury.
Damn it—they'd been tricked!
Turning to look, there was no trace of Fujimaru and his group left in the divine realm.
Using flashy but hollow illusions, they had already escaped danger and were likely long gone by now!
"Boom!"
The hammer-like pincer struck down, smashing directly onto the hooded figure's head, driving him into the ground like a nail.
Then, as if venting their fury on a toy, the two Baal Lahmus roared and mercilessly slammed the hooded figure over and over, not stopping until the temple trembled and the earth cracked beneath the force of their rage.
When the dust settled, even the resilient hooded figure was left in tatters, his exposed skin bruised purple, yet still struggling to regenerate.
Like an indestructible, unchewable copper pea.
"Tch." The Baal Lahmus sneered at the unresponsive figure before recalling something and yanking him up, tossing him to the ground like a ragged doll.
"Since you let them escape, you're useless now. Go to the battlefield and slaughter your own kind—let their blood and screams amuse me!"
After an agonizingly long pause—so long that the Baal Lahmus began to doubt—the hooded figure finally nodded, his voice hoarse.
"...Fine."
At the same time, a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.
———
"My lord, it's too dangerous!"
Benkei shouted from atop the city walls, while Ushiwakamaru weaved through the overwhelming tide of demonic beasts, clutching a pale-faced child in her arms.
The boy's mother had ventured outside the city to gather herbs, only to be caught in the sudden beast tide. She had entrusted her child to the hero before sacrificing herself.
The beast tide had struck without warning—one moment, the world was calm as the sea, the next, a furious tsunami of monsters surged forth.
Even a hero could barely stand against such a force.
"Hah… Usumidori—Heavenly Blade Shukuhou!"
The white-clad Genji warrior transformed into a streak of light the moment her feet touched the ground. The fusion of tengu footwork and the famed blade Usumidori turned her into a whirlwind of slaughter, carving a crimson path through the horde.
But it still wasn't fast enough.
If she unleashed her full strength, mere demonic beasts would never be able to trap a tengu who soared the heavens.
Yet, mid-battle, Ushiwakamaru glanced down. The boy in her arms, though trembling with fear, bit his lip and refused to make a sound.
His delicate skin was already marred with scrapes and bruises.
If she went all out, she could break free—but the boy, far more fragile, would likely be torn apart by the gale-force winds and violent shifts in momentum.
Should she abandon him…?
The thought flickered for only a moment before she crushed it. Gritting her teeth, she raised her head high, stepping forward through the blood-soaked battlefield as her magic dwindled.
The blade once known as "Spider-Cutter," Usumidori, gleamed like pure snow amidst the darkness and countless crimson beastly eyes.
"My lord, this is too reckless!" Benkei flung another beast off the wall, not bothering to wipe away the blood as he tried to protest. But Ushiwakamaru sharply cut him off:
"Are you telling me to abandon a life, Benkei?!"
The blade trembled. Benkei's pupils shook as he looked down from the high walls—where the endless tide of beasts had been split apart, a blood-soaked path torn straight through from north to south.
Yet his lord, the Genji clan's Shana-ō, pressed forward still.
"To serve as a vassal of King Gilgamesh and yet fail to protect even his people—what face would I have left to stand before such a king?"
The demonic beast roared, its maw parting to unleash a torrent of flame as if alive, scattering embers like living sparks. Before Ushiwakamaru stood a golden-maned lion, revered as the "Great Sun," its imposing presence blocking her path.
The searing light illuminated the girl's narrowed pupils.
Under normal circumstances, she would have endured the blow with the Benkei: Immovable Stance from the Shana-ō's Wandering Tales, then swiftly beheaded the demonic beast Ugall with the edge of her famed blade.
But now—she cradled a frail child in her arms!
"They say that on that distant continent, a lone warrior once charged through ten thousand foes to protect his lord, cutting through the battlefield seven times." Ushiwakamaru smiled bitterly. "Once, I prided myself on matching such valor. But now... I see what a truly staggering feat it was."
The next instant, she turned, shielding the boy tightly against her chest—while leaving her back exposed to Ugall.
The pillar of flame roared closer!
"My lord—!" Benkei cried out, but all he saw was the blinding eruption of fire—and within the heart of the explosion, two dazzling streaks of gold.
A white robe fluttered and settled. Ushiwakamaru clenched her eyes shut, yet no pain came.
Only a sharp kick to her backside.
"How foolish. To play the hero alone—did you think to keep such fun from me?"
"Eh?" Ushiwakamaru blinked in confusion, lifting her head to see a golden-haired, fanged loli clad in resplendent twelve-layered robes, hands on her hips, glaring at her in displeasure. Behind her, two opposing flames writhed in conflict, casting her silhouette into hazy distortion.
Only the twin horns stretching proudly from her head remained unmistakable—proof of her inhuman nature.
"Ibaraki? What are you doing here?"
"For the sake of a mere child... tch." The bristling loli ignored the question, her gaze fixed on the trembling boy as she licked her lips. "Would've been easier to just eat him."
Yet in the next moment, Ushiwakamaru laughed and tossed the child she had fought so hard to protect—straight into Ibaraki's arms.
"Eh?! Hey!"
Fumbling to catch the boy, Ibaraki bared her fangs at the smirking Genji girl. "What is this?! Do you not fear I'll devour him?!"
"Your flames don't require hands to control anyway." Ushiwakamaru, now in high spirits, paid no mind to Ibaraki's bluster. Instead, she gripped her beloved blade and crouched low. "Leave the rest of the path to me!"
With a gust of wind, the oppressive weight lifted. Channeling the secret techniques of the Great Tengu, Ushiwakamaru—clad in wooden sandals—transformed into a raging storm.
"Shana-ō's Wandering Tales, Fourth Scene—"
The flames scattered before the wind, and beneath the glow of her white robes, even the celestial river above seemed to shimmer with newfound brilliance. For an instant, countless overlapping reflections stretched across the sky.
And in the hands of each reflection—a famed blade, its edge gleaming with lethal sharpness.
"Dan-no-ura: Eightfold Leap!"
Innumerable identical figures streaked outward in all directions, piercing through hundreds of meters in a single breath. The sound of rending flesh and shattering bone filled the air before the storm reversed course, carving a shape as beautiful as petals—and as cruel.
And the pigment that filled it? The blood and shattered remains of demonic beasts.
"Tsk, I shouldn't have rushed out to play!" Ibaraki-Douji complained unhappily while looking at the suddenly cleared path, yet honestly tightened her hold on the child and sprinted forward.
Ghostly flames erupted heavily, bursting with dangerous light and heat on both sides of the road, intimidating any demon beasts daring to approach. Meanwhile, razor-sharp sword flashes weaved through the fiery path, leaving countless corpses in their wake, forcing the demon beasts to halt their advance.
Through this seamless cooperation, the two Servants finally reached the city walls, then collapsed simultaneously onto the ground, panting heavily.
They were utterly exhausted.
"Hey, Ibaraki," Ushiwakamaru said with a faint smile as she watched the elderly man tearfully embracing his grandchild. "Why did you come to help me?"
Ibaraki sprawled on her back, letting her twelve-layered ceremonial robe gather dust from the wall. "Who knows? I'm an oni, after all. Acting on whims, unrestrained—isn't that our nature?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but bare her fangs, golden eyes gleaming with delight. "Cutting through hordes of demon beasts in this extravagant outfit... Just thinking about it feels wonderful, doesn't it?"
"Haha, that's so like you."
"Besides... this way, I won't owe this city anything anymore."
"Hm? What did you say?"
"Nothing~ Oh, by the way, what about that other oni woman?"
"You mean Tomoe Gozen? She seemed to have left the frontlines and headed into Uruk on her own."
"Deserting the battle?"
"Who knows?" Ushiwakamaru laughed gleefully. "But if that's the case, I'd love to see the pitiful look on her face when the King scolds her."
"My lords... I'd love to let you rest longer," Benkei approached, lowering his voice, "but right now, the northern walls of Uruk are on the verge of collapse."
The demon beasts' assault was too sudden, too overwhelming.
Moreover, they had lost the usual restraint Sakatsuki provided from behind enemy lines.
With all these factors combined, even Leonidas, renowned for his defensive prowess, found himself struggling.
"Sigh... Hey, golden-haired oni, can you still breathe fire?"
"You should worry about your sword not chipping first. These demon beasts' bones are harder than earth spiders'."
Grumbling at each other, the two forced their exhausted bodies up and climbed the walls once more.
In the distance, countless crimson eyes stretched to the horizon, nearly blotting out the stars.
They stared at the city with greedy, bloodthirsty gazes.
"Just how many of these damned demon beasts are there...?"
Even the valiant Ushiwakamaru and the audacious Ibaraki couldn't suppress their trembling hearts, a lingering doubt rising within them.
Could they really hold the Absolute Demonic Front?
Then, with a beastly roar, flames, venom, and water blades tore through the night as countless demon beasts surged forward in a fearless charge.
A new wave of siege had begun!