It was a massacre. The elites of the army were powerful and managed to exchange blows with the demon general, but they eventually fell.
My dragon-scale cloak then dispersed. As the general closed in, I yelped:
"Index—!"
In a split moment, Index swooped in, deflected Dragonborn's blade, and kicked him away.
"Shouldn't he be fighting Incus?"
"Arbitrary writing."
With a nod, Index lunged at the general, but he seemed to pause whenever he tried to protect an elite soldier.
Their battle wasn't as destructive as when Incus was in combat. Instead, they both moved with incredible speed, barely visible to the eyes, their swords swift with intent to kill.
It was amazing.
"Let me take this time to teach you a lesson, my dear disciples."
Sheathing his short sword and putting both hands on his dull steel blade, he began teaching:
"When fighting a demon, you don't want to treat them as a human opponent. You must treat them as an animal."
Index swung downward. Dragonborn dodged the attack.
"Don't swing down at demons. An overhead slash is only effective for finishing them off, not for long-term battles."
Unsheathing the short sword, he slashed from side to side, landing a few blows.
"That's why you should attack horizontally. You won't leave yourself open, and your follow-up strike will be much more devastating. However, if you attack downward and do leave yourself open…"
Deflecting an attack, he swung downward with the dull steel blade, his movement seemingly slow on purpose.
When Dragonborn was about to counterattack, Index pierced him through with the short sword covered in a blue aura. Index smiled.
"You should have a second weapon with you. The smaller and lighter, the better."
As they continued their battle, both sides accumulated damage.
"Compare status, Index, and Dragonborn."
==[Stat Points Comparison]==
Physical:
Index [6] > [9.5] Dragonborn
Stamina:
Index [5.5] > [8] Dragonborn
Intelligence:
Index [7] < [6.5] Dragonborn
Mana:
Index [5] = [5] Dragonborn
==[Skills Comparison]==
Skill amount:
Index [7] < [6] Dragonborn
Skill potency:
Index > Dragonborn
========
They were at even odds despite the fact that Index's stats were far inferior.
Blocking an attack, the Dragonborn broke his short sword and formed a massive wound on Index.
With a wide smile, Index retaliated by giving a wound of similar size.
Pointing his palm toward me, Dragonborn summoned the blood from the dead demons and shot it.
Pushing me out of the way, Alleus took the blow to her shoulder.
"Alleus!" Taking out the recovery potions from her pouch, I opened her mouth and made her gulp them down. Looking at her eyes, the eyepatch was gone.
"Scales, veil her shoulder." Stopping the bleeding, I helped her stand up.
"…Thanks, partner."
Soon, Dragonborn stomped on the ground, pushing everyone away. He then expanded his wings and flew into the air to meet Incus, who was standing on top of one of her hero swords that was covered in a vortex of wind.
Continuing their battle, swords flew in the air. In the next moment, the hero's swords clumped together, then spun. In a blinding flash, Incus formed a gaping hole through Dragonborn.
"Take the scales off my fingers. Use them to increase the wrapping around her shoulder."
"No, there's no need." I shook my head.
Just when was this battle going to end?
Answering my question, the rapid striking of yellow thunder erupted behind me.
A roar echoed.
Turning my head, Dragonborn was slowly turning into a grotesquely muscular dragon.
"You're the first human to force me into this form. The first one ever was my liege, the Demon King." His voice was so loud that even I could hear him despite being on the ground.
The air around them then shifted, showing a scene of Dragonborn in his dragon form battling a figure that I suspected was the Demon King.
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Chapter 119: The Dragon Demon General
…
"ExcaliBolt, ExcaliGale." A cloak of lightning and wind shrouded her.
"ExcaliBright." Holding the [Light Hero's Sword], she summoned glowing bright armor.
"Scales of dragon, strengthen me." The [Dragon Scales Armor] wrapped itself around her.
Pointing the swords at the Dragonborn, she began to mock:
"You've gotten a little bigger, so what? It doesn't change the fact that you'll die by my hands… no, by your wife's sword." Grabbing the [Dark Hero's Sword], she gave a gentle smile.
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Thanks to Index, the army of humanoid demons was drastically decreased, with the elite army taking care of the rest. But Index made sure not to kill all of them, just in case the novel might use them again.
┌─────═━┈┈━═─────┐
Chapter 119: The Dragon Demon General
…
Flying around Dragonborn, she formed a few wounds on him with the [Dark Hero's Sword].
"ExcaliVoid." Chains of shadows then appeared out of nowhere, binding Dragonborn in place.
Stomping on the ground, forming an earthquake, Dragonborn slashed the air with his giant claws. The force formed deep cuts in the earth and created a vertical void in the kingdom's walls.
"You dare sully my beloved's sword!"
"Do you know what this sword is called? It's called the Dark Hero's Sword!"
Jumping into the air, she slashed downward, but Dragonborn reinforced his scales. Her attack did not cut through.
Grabbing the [Fire Hero's Sword], she slammed it against the [Light Hero's Sword].
"ExcaliBurn!" Her attack pierced through his skin.
"Gragh!" Swiping Incus away, Dragonborn began to charge up a breath of fire.
Unleashing it, Incus disappeared. The cloak of lightning increased her speed drastically.
'I'm running out of mana. I must finish this now!'
Activating [Limit Surge], Incus was not only double in strength but was now slightly stronger than Dragonborn.
"Die!" Slashing downward with all her might, a splatter of blood escaped Dragonborn. But it wasn't going deep enough.
"Steinen!"
Upon hearing his name, Steinen squatted down and jumped into the air. Without much communication needed between them, he stood on the [Wind Hero's Sword] alongside Incus and pushed the blade downward despite his broken shoulder.
"…Haaaaaaa!" The two screamed with desperation and determination.
The blade began to slowly rip through Dragonborn's skin.
"Urrgh!" Stepping back, he began maniacally slashing the air, cleaving the wind.
Eyes widening, the armor of light shattered completely. Caught off balance, the two began falling from the sky. Pulling Incus toward him, Steinen used his body to absorb the impact of the fall.
"My lady, are you alright…?"
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