In this world, there were two kinds of Demons: those who stayed behind the Obelisk's Barrier, and those who were expelled from it. Naturally, there was something apparent, aside from their size, that made the two different—the power they possessed.

As the living conditions of the Demons that stayed behind the Barrier were harsh, they were naturally stronger compared to those who lived outside.

Because of this, there was also a significant difference between Demons of the same class and kind. The Middle Class Demons Hobgoblins that lived outside the Barrier would never be able to defeat those from behind the Barrier.

Such a case also applied to Spells: Demons that lived behind the Barrier received less damage from the same Spell one used to kill Demons that lived outside of the Barrier.

In Basil's case, his [Bloody Mist], due to his lacking Magic Circles, could only repel those Middle Class Demons that lived outside and below. As for those that had just gotten out of the Barrier, the story was different.

ROAR!

Naturally, Basil didn't cast a Spell that could harm his families on the Barony where his family would spend their days until the Outbreak ended, however he still couldn't prevent something like this from happening.

The Spell he had cast was like a magnet: it repelled some Demons and attracted some Demons. To say that it was calling the stronger Demons would be a stretch, but the fact that it attracted them was undeniable.

Just like people who believed in their power whenever they saw a strong individual—they would itch to exchange some pointers—the Demons also wanted to know what kind of being the mist was hiding.

They, who had lived a life full of competition, would naturally feel that they should defeat whoever being the mist was hiding that managed to repel the weaker Demons.

Basil couldn't prevent that from happening, nor could he help his family when that time came, so he had asked Thompson for help.

3 days after their arrival—that was the time he needed them to protect his family from the Demons. Though he had said that, he didn't mean that the onslaught of the Demons would stop after three days.

He had asked the Knights to protect his family for three days, because by that time, they would have killed enough Demons that could be used as a sacrifice to activate the Magic Circle he had Carved around the hotel.

That Magic Circle would then envelope the hotel, completely isolating it from the outside. Only he knew the way to cancel it, so that way, his family would be safe from any danger ... At least, if an unexpected thing didn't happen.

He had also actually prepared many of his Assassins protect his family before that time came, but he had still asked Thompson for help for 'just in case' situations to make it more foolproof.

He was right in doing so, because the amount of the Demons coming there were more than he had expected.

"These accursed Monsters! Just how strong are they?"

"Watch out for its attack, Sylvia!"

"AAAACKKK!"

While the others were paying close attention to each of their step so they didn't receive any of the Middle Class Demon's attack, Sylvia was trying her best to attack it. Of course, she failed miserably at that, causing her to be thrown away by a swing of its mace.

"Sylvia!"

"Don't mind her—focus on the battlefield! She'll be fine!"

Although it technically wasn't the first time they had seen Sylvia got thrashed by a Demon, many of the Knights of Hauler still couldn't get used to see it—especially Jake. He cringed everytime he saw it happened.

All of them understood well what Sylvia's Aura Ability: [Anesthesia] could do—numbing her pain receptors and dramatically raised her regeneration speed—but seeing how she got used to being a meat shield saddened them a little bit.

Jake couldn't even hold himself back from helping her most of the time as he couldn't stand seeing her suffer, in spite of it not being the case. Most of the time though, Thompson was there to stop him from hampering Sylvia.historical

"I'll kick this brainless creature's arse for you Sylvia!"

No matter how saddened they were whenever they looked at what Sylvia had become, an undefeatable meat shield, they were still thankful of her nonetheless. Her "sacrifice" always helped them in defeating their enemies after all.

Boom!

Just like this Hobgoblin they were battling as a party, as Sylvia had distracted it by allowing herself to get struck by its attack, Jake was given the opportunity to strike its head with his humongous hammer.

His attack that was powered by his Aura Ability: [Unfathomable Strength] was enough to turn the Hobgoblin's head into mush, despite it being a Demon who had survived the harsh life inside the Barrier of the Obelisk.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief at the death of the Hobgoblin, but none of them lowered their guard.

Even Sylvia, whose foot was still mangled awkwardly, was still on high alert as she stood up from the ground. She couldn't feel pain as long as her Aura Ability was activated, but she still didn't want to waste her Qi on getting injured.

Looking at her surrounding just like the other, she saw the 10 Shadows had just managed to kill three Hobgoblins by themselves.

She could easily tell the strongest amongst them was probably just an Early Stage Green Core Knight, but despite so, they still managed to deal with three Hobgoblins, whereas her party could only handle one at a time.

The Shadows didn't use any fancy Relics or anything; they relied purely on teamwork and an admirable coordination. Even though it wasn't their first time seeing it, the Knights of Hauler were still astonished at that.

It had been their second encounter with the Demons from behind the Barrier, and so far they had killed 8 Middle Class Demons. Even though the Shadows were the ones who had taken care most of them, the party was still exhausted nonetheless.

To say that they were exhausted physically would be a blatant lie; they were exhausted mentally as they mused about how much worse the situation would be for them in the near future. They could easily see it was just the beginning.

"Alright, we need to move. We can't stay in one place for too long, unless we want to risk the live of Basil's family," Thompson said to his party.

He actually didn't need to do that for his party didn't have any intention to laze around. He needed to reassure the competent group of Shadows, however, that his party wouldn't drag them down.

He could easily see they were already agitated at the fact that they traveled slower than they had expected. Being Basil's loyal subordinates, they must be eager to arrive at the side of their master's family as soon as possible.

There was more than one time Thompson had noticed the Shadows showing their intention to leave his party and him behind to move independently. He couldn't let that happen, because he would put his party in danger if he let that happen.

Although the Shadows hadn't directly helped them, just by facing the rest of the Demons that they couldn't handle was already a significant help for them. If he let the Shadows go, his party would be having a hard time.

Parting the purple mist to create a new path to thread with the item Basil had given him, Thompson led his party once again, followed closely by the Shadows. Their travel this time was surprisingly smooth as they didn't encounter any Demon in their way.

Due to their speed, they reached the destroyed gate of the Barony in 15 minutes. They could immediately see a single luxurious carriage there, and the Shadows immediately surrounded said carriage in the next moment.

The Hexapod Horses tied to the carriage were surprised at the Shadows' sudden appearance, but Danzel who had gotten out of the carriage didn't even blink his eyes at the shady people's appearance.

He seemed to already know about the Shadows, so instead of paying attention to the Assassins Basil had enslaved, he looked at the incoming Knights instead.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Danzel." Thompson extended his hand after he bowed politely.

Danzel smiled softly then grasped Thompson's hand. "Thank you for your willingness to hear my son's request. I didn't expect that my son has just asked a bunch of Green Core Knights to act as an escort."

"I heard that you were no longer an active Knight." Thompson slightly recoiled in surprise. "Judging by how you have just figured out my level of Mastery means that it was lie, wasn't it?"

"Hahaha. I'm just an old, ordinary man who loves his family." Danzel smiled mysteriously, then gazed at the purple mist covered Barony. "I heard that he had done something amazing but... What actually has he done?"

Thompson glanced at the purple mist, then scratched his head awkwardly. "I honestly don't understand much about it." He chuckled then said, "I think it is time for us to go, Mr. Danzel. It is not safe out here."

"Very well." Danzel nodded his head. "We will be in your care."

Danzel turned around, then entered the carriage. Thompson took the lead once again, then motioned the carriage to move when he and his party were ready to move.

The Shadows, like before, were guarding the rear, and also the sides that the Knights of Hauler couldn't cover.

On their way back to the hotel, the aura from the surrounding was getting more sickening and frightening. They didn't encounter any problem even after 5 minutes of travel, however they were still on edge due to how uncomfortable the atmosphere was.

They looked at their surrounding warily, anticipating for Demons to ambush them from the side as they couldn't see anything other than the area that was not covered by the mist, which was highly limited.

They had been ambushed from the sides on their way to pick Basil's family, so they didn't want that to happen on their way to take Basil's family to the hotel.

Much to their surprise however, even after 30 minutes of careful travel, they still didn't encounter any problem. They were elated, but unfortunately it didn't last long.

A trouble greeted them when they were just a few meters from their destination.