The Garbage Collector Who Stumbled Upon Mythical Weapons! - Chapter 44
Johann and Boaele. Both were warriors of equal strength, and no matter how many times their swords clashed, the battle remained undecided.
When Boaele unleashed fire magic, Johann’ shield, imbued with anti-demonic power, deflected it.
Johann, superior in swordsmanship, knocked away his opponent’s sword and slashed at his shoulder with full force. However, the demon’s powerful regeneration allowed him to heal instantly.
As the two fought on equal footing, the overall battle situation also began to shift.
At first, the demons had completely overwhelmed the humans. However, the human side was beginning to push back. The arrival of three thousand infantry played a big role, but even more significant was the adventurers’ fierce resistance.
“Even among demons, there must be weak ones, just like humans! Not all of them are strong! What now? Things aren’t looking good for you, are they?!”
Johann taunted Boaele. Boaele clicked his tongue and glared at Johann as he scanned the battlefield.
“Don’t get cocky, human! If I kill you and join the fight, this will be over in no time!!”
Boaele raised his sword high and swung it down with all his strength. Lightning crackled along the blade, and Johann staggered backward as his shield absorbed the impact.
“Guh…!”
However, Johann immediately counterattacked, slashing Boaele across the face.
Boaele barely managed to dodge at the last moment. He leaped backward, but a faint scar remained on his cheek.
Their power was indeed evenly matched.
Johann had fought many demons before, but he had never encountered one this strong. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he realized that Boaele was likely a high-ranking officer of the Demon Lord’s army.
Boaele was equally shocked by the unexpected strength of the human before him.
Most of the strongest warriors from various nations had been summoned to the allied forces, so he had assumed that no particularly powerful opponents remained.
“Damn you, human…”
Grinding his teeth, Boaele glared at Johann. At that moment—
A chilling sensation ran down Boaele’s spine. Johann felt it too and quickly looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.
He instinctively looked up into the sky.
Something was there—
The dark, cloudy sky seemed covered in a black haze. A small dot appeared in the distance and slowly descended.
“That is… No way!?”
Johann’ face tensed as he looked up. Boaele, too, could not take his eyes off the sky.
“Impossible! I was told this was my responsibility… So why!?”
Seeing Boaele’s expression, Johann became certain. The descending figure was now clear to the naked eye.
Long golden hair. Black armor adorned with gold. Grayish skin. A black sword with a red gemstone hanging from the waist.
“Demon King Istas Zaharo!! He came all the way here?!”
Demon King Zaharo spotted Johann and smirked.
“Lord Zaharo! Why are you here? Did I fail in some way!?”
Boaele shouted toward the sky in desperation. Zaharo descended with an expressionless gaze, looking down at Boaele.
“No, you have done well. There is no problem.”
Zaharo’s deep voice echoed.
“T-Then…!”
“As planned, your role ends here. …You have served well.”
“Planned? What do you mean…?”
Boaele was confused. He had never heard of such a plan.
Demon King Zaharo stopped about twenty meters above the ground and raised his right hand. From his hand, dark energy erupted, swirling ominously in the sky.
“What are you planning to do!?”
The black energy in the gray sky twisted into a massive sphere, its ominous presence spreading across the battlefield.
“Ah… guh!?”
The demons suddenly clutched their chests, writhing in pain. Their bodies crumbled, turning to ash, and were sucked into the black vortex.
The human soldiers also lost their strength, collapsing one after another.
“No… this can’t be!?”
Boaele let out a scream.
His own body began to disintegrate. Unable to believe what was happening, he turned his eyes toward Zaharo, who continued conjuring the black vortex above.
His own body, along with the other demons turning to ash, was being absorbed into the dark sphere.
With his consciousness fading, Boaele reached out his hand, as if begging for help.
“Why…?”
Boaele’s body completely turned to ash and was carried by the wind into the vortex above.
“This is… Life Absorption—Energy Drain!!”
Johann stabbed his sword into the ground and desperately held his ground, glaring at Demon King Zaharo.
He had heard of this magic before—when a demon made a contract with the Demon King, their entire body would be absorbed, and even humans would have their life force drained. However, he had never imagined he would witness it firsthand.
Johann looked at his trembling hands.
All around him, the demons had disappeared, and the kingdom’s soldiers had collapsed. Even the adventurers had fallen, with only a few still standing.
“At this rate…!”
A massive amount of magic energy was gathering within the Demon King. Enough to destroy an entire town—or even a whole city.
“Whoa, that took longer than I thought!”
Garm soared through the sky. While his cape granted him the ability to fly, his leg armor’s Sky Walk skill provided even greater speed.
“It’s a bit tiring, but if I don’t take down as many demons as possible, that’ll be a huge problem.”
Fully equipped, with the Overlord Dragon Eldorado’s Demon Sword in hand, Garm felt invincible. He was eager to cut down as many demons as he could.
But when he reached the northern town of Crave, what he saw left him speechless.
“…What the hell?”
A dark mist covered the entire town. As he approached from above, he saw countless people collapsed on the ground.
They appeared to be adventurers and soldiers. But what concerned him the most was the complete absence of demons—
“Wait… Where are the demons!?”
There were clear signs of battle. That meant the demons had fought here. So why weren’t they anywhere to be seen?
Garm’s mind raced through the possibilities.
“No way… Could the battle already be over?”
He landed on the ground and checked the pulse of a fallen soldier.
“He’s still alive.”
The heartbeat was weak, but he was definitely still alive. That meant they hadn’t been killed by demons. Then what happened…?
At that moment, Garm instinctively looked up.
“Ah!!”
He spotted a lone demon. Black armor. Black wings. Grayish, lifeless skin.
“Found you! My demon target!!”
Garm sprinted forward, using Sky Walk to kick off the air and close in on his target.
With a massive bounty of guild points and a reward of one million lira, demons were nothing short of treasure in his eyes. Garm eagerly raced toward his prey.