The castle shook along with the roar. Their bodies tilted to the left and right and their vision became dizzy, but Grid responded calmly. 

“Stay away from the windows! It is Barbatos’ sniping!” 

It was the intervention of the 8th great demon. The situation was serious. It was a relief because he was better than any of the other great demons. Among the rulers of the deep hells i.e. among the single digit demons, Barbatos was the weakest. In addition, Grid had already fought Barbatos once. He knew how to deal with Barbatos. “Braham, Decoy is useless. He isn’t a sniper that relies on his senses. He is one who sees with his eyes and shoots the targets.” 

“How primitive.” 

“We have to find the ‘eyes’ that are providing him with the vision… gasp!” 

Once again, a huge shock hit the castle. The startled Grid crawled under the table. He had descended from the throne the moment the attack began. It was impossible to sit still while Barbatos was sniping. That was just committing suicide. Just like humans could only hold their breath in an earthquake, Grid also temporarily hid his body. He had to be as careful as possible before Barbatos’ eyes were found. 

“……?” Grid was crawling on the floor beside Piaro when he suddenly noticed that something felt off. He couldn’t see the faces of any of the group apart from Piaro. Only their feet and calves were seen. It was because everyone else was still standing. The only people crawling like cockroaches were himself and Piaro. 

Yura glimpsed the panicked Grid and sent him a whisper. 

–This castle is covered with so many protective arts that it can’t be destroyed by anything other than a dragon’s Breath. Among the great demons, only Baal and Amoract can do it. 

–Maybe it was originally like that but aren’t they down right now? The composition has changed so hasn’t the defense decreased? 

–No… I should’ve told you in advance. I’m sorry. 

Grid knew that the Indestructible Castle was terrifyingly sturdy. Hadn’t he experienced it himself? However, it was impossible to determine how much damage it could bear. It was because he didn’t have the knowledge to measure the function and power of the magic arts. It was the same for Piaro. Grid and Piaro were in a very unfavorable position compared to Yura who could read the detailed information of the Indestructible Castle, Mercedes who could see it with her Keen Insight, and the other messengers with advanced knowledge. 

“Hmm…” Grid slowly got up as if nothing had happened. “What is the possibility of Barbatos’ eyes penetrating the castle?” 

“Nothing can come into the castle without permission of the lord.” 

Grid admired it. The Indestructible Castle. At first, he wondered if Dantalion had the chunni disease when he saw this exaggerated name. Now it turned out that it really was the Indestructible Castle. 

“I can’t feel relieved. Barbatos’ power is to snipe whatever is visible. This castle has too many windows.” 

Barbatos’ sniping was unaffected by obstacles. It was pointless even hiding behind walls. His sniping omitted the process of breaking the wall and struck the target on the other side. No matter how strong a person, they would be shot the moment they were caught in his vision. 

“This is the reason why I was crawling.” Grid straightened his shoulders. He shook off his shame by using reasonable grounds to excuse his unsightly behavior of crawling on the ground. 

The discouraged Piaro also became dignified. “Exactly. However, there is no need to worry. The windows of this castle are magically coated. It is impossible to look in from the outside.” 

“It is… coated?” 

Dantalion must’ve valued his privacy but he also seemed conscious of Barbatos’ power. 

‘Did Dantalion have a bad relationship with Barbatos? Is it to the extent of being vigilant? No, he wasn’t wary of just Barbatos. He was wary of all great demons except himself.’

Grid couldn’t overlook the fact that the great demons were competing with each other. 

‘Dantalion didn’t want to die so he asked to be my messenger… It is natural for him to make a safe nest.’ 

Dantalion’s death occurred only after he lost six heads. Every time he lost a head, his knowledge was lost. Perhaps Dantalion didn’t want to lose the knowledge he had accumulated over thousands of years. He was obsessed with survival. He didn’t aim for a higher ranking and instead forever sought safety in the 25th Hell. 

‘The complete acquisition of this castle… it is a huge profit.’

Perhaps the reward from the Dantalion raid with the biggest value was the Indestructible Castle. Grid was thinking seriously when Braham asked Yura a question. “Is there any way to be freer from the oppression of hell?” 

Grid’s messengers had lost 40% of their abilities the moment they entered the 25th Hell. This was even after they reduced the penalty by drinking the tea and taking the medicine from the incubus to purify the energy. 

“It can improve after obtaining the tuila’s eggs in the 24th Hell.” 

“Tuila? I am unfamiliar with it.” 

“It is a monster that inhabits the sulfur waterfall that is rare in hell. It is said that if you ingest the tuila’s eggs raw, it will purify the demonic energy and death energy invading your body as much as possible.” 

They had to move to the 24th Hell anyway. In the first place, Grid’s purpose was to purify all the hells in their 20s. No matter how cozy the Indestructible Castle, they couldn’t stay here for the rest of their lives. The problem was Barbatos. The sniping that struck the castle without a break seemed to be taunting Grid’s party hiding in the castle as cowards. It was very uncomfortable psychologically and physically. 

There were deafening explosions and the castle continued to shake, causing motion sickness. 

‘Annoying guy.’ 

He was the worst guy based on the first impression. Grid felt severe hostility toward Barbatos and it was the same for the other messengers. The reason Braham wanted to get rid of the penalty was because he wanted to go out and tear Barbatos to death immediately. 

‘If the penalties aren’t neutralized then there is no chance of winning.’ 

In any case, this was the 8th ranked great demon. Barbatos was likely to be stronger than Grid thought. Even Nefelina didn’t act hastily. 

“I can’t sense him.” Nefelina finally spoke after a moment of silence. It seemed she tried to grasp Barbatos’ location only to fail. 

Grid advised her. “You don’t have to look for strong energy. Barbatos is sniping from an invisible distance so it is unlikely for him to come here directly. An inconspicuous familiar might be his eyes so look for a weakling.” 

“Hmm…” Nefelina looked somewhat disbelieving as she closed her eyes and focused. 20 minutes later, she opened her eyes. “There are a few small demonic creatures roaming around the castle and one of them is suspicious.” 

“That’s him.” 

Braham immediately raised his magic power. The moment Nefelina told him the coordinates, Braham disappeared using Teleport and then returned in two seconds. “I took care of it.” 

“Braham!” 

Braham’s white top was stained with red blood. He had been hit by Barbatos while killing his familiar. It was shocking. Braham’s surprise attack took place in just one second. Barbatos’ ability to capture Braham’s appearance and to snipe him in a moment… 

“You were careless based on the way you didn’t use a shield.” Nefelina frowned. Triple casting by simultaneously using Teleport and attack magic while maintaining the shield. Nefelina knew that it wasn’t a very difficult thing for Braham. It was amusing and disappointing that Braham allowed a counterattack. Nefelina actually acknowledged Braham’s skills in her heart. 

Braham snorted. “Of course, I used a shield.” 

There was no need to say it pierced through. Grid and the messengers naturally understood it. Their expressions were serious as they realized how strong Barbatos was. Then Braham urged them. “We should move quickly while the sniper can’t shoot.” 

Their position was found due to Sariel’s aria. If they stayed here, enemies would keep swarming and they were bound to be isolated. Grid’s party went to the 24th Hell to secure the tuila’s eggs. 

***

[100,000 Army Massacre Sword]

[It is a single blow. 

All enemies in view will receive damage that is equal to 6,000% of your physical attack power. Each time a target dies, the damage applied to the next target increases by 100%. There is no limit on the increase. 

Skill Resource Consumption: 20,000 mana, 300 sword energy. 

Skill Cooldown Time: 10 minutes]

[100,000 Army Blockade Sword] 

[It is a single blow. 

Deals 200% attack damage to all visible enemies and gives the ‘blockage’ effect for eight seconds. Blocked targets can’t move and their skills or magic will be sealed off. Additional damage will be dealt when using the 200,000 Army Swordsmanship on the blocked targets. 

Skill Resource Consumption: 20,000 mana, 300 sword energy. 

Skill Cooldown Time: 30 minutes.] 

The power of the original 100,000 Army Swordsmanship transcended Grid’s imagination. He always believed that the 100,000 Army Swordsmanship adjusted by Biban had a power close to the original but the actual situation was completely different. Even the Sword Saint couldn’t draw out the real power of 100,000 Army Swordsmanship. Sure enough, it was a swordsmanship made by Undefeated King Madra, a ‘genius who will never be born again.’ 

‘The attack power coefficient is doubled and the additional effects are greatly enhanced.’ 

In particular, the development of the 100,000 Army Massacre Sword was very dazzling. The range changed from being able to distinguish between enemies and allies and to ‘in view.’ As it was well-known, skills based on ‘field of view’ had a higher utilization and were rare. 

“…It is like shooting a Breath!” 

It was Nefelina who appreciated it the most. The 100,000 Army Massacre Sword used with the Fire Dragon Sword. The majestic flames that burned and destroyed all enemies in their path were purely powerful. Of course, it didn’t achieve the full power of a Breath but it was still vaguely reminiscent of it. 

Braham evaluated it with a rare stiff expression. “If Madra survived then it would’ve been humans, not the gods, who dominated the world.” 

It was in the same vein as Hayate’s shocking statement that Madra would’ve sealed all the dragons if he was alive. 

Grid felt a thrill. He felt proud that the swordsmanship made by the most talented person in this world view was at least partly reproduced by himself. 

‘The downside is that the sword energy consumption is too big…’ 

It was shameless to talk about the consumption of resources after seeing this power. The consumption might be twice as great but the power was convincing. The Fire Dragon Sword once again released fire and the dozens of tuilas hiding behind the sulfur waterfall turned to ashes. The demonic creatures judged as elites of the 24th Hell were destroyed in one blow without showing their inherent defense and survivability. 

Besides, it wasn’t only Grid who was powerful. First of all, Piaro was stronger than before. Just as Grid obtained the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship, 100,000 Army Swordsmanship, Piaro only obtained the Matchless Swordsmanship, but the effect was huge. The Free Swordsmanshp and Free Farming style evolved under the influence of the Matchless Swordsmanship. In addition, the evolved technique had a synergistic effect with the Matchless Heart Technique and the power was increased. Now it was impossible to judge that Piaro was ‘weak compared to other messengers.’ 

The development of Yura was also dazzling. 

She got Lantier’s body technique, ‘Hundred Rings’, so she was better at ‘using her body’ overall. Hundred Rings connected constant movements like a ring and it had a very good compatibility with the Demon Slayer’s characteristic of changing weapons in real time. This allowed her to do combat at ‘all distances.’ The fact that she had to play melee, medium and long range combat was both a strength and a weakness, but now it had been completely sublimated into an advantage. 

The problem was Mercedes. She revealed that she had learned the skills of Miner Gis but there was no real change. Why did she look so happy about it? Grid felt uneasy. 

‘Did she learn a mining skill? I’m happy if she is able to help me obtain minerals but… That’s not it, right?’ 

He didn’t think so, but he couldn’t help becoming more anxious. Just then, rocks fell from the sky. Each rock was as big as a house and there were many of them, smashing the shield that Braham spread out like an umbrella. 

“Avoid it!” Nefelina shouted after using the shockwaves to blow away some of the rocks. Grid’s party immediately scattered everywhere. Only one person. Mercedes was the only one who stood still. 

One hand was holding a pickaxe. It was a pickaxe that Grid had given her. He didn’t want to give it to her because he felt uneasy. However, she had learned the technique of the legendary miner and asked for it as a gift in commemoration, so he couldn’t help giving it to her. 

The pickaxe hit the ground. Then the rocks from the sky covered Mercedes. 

“Mercede…s?” Grid screamed only for his mouth to drop open. It was because Mercedes’ health on the party window remained at MAX. 

Ttaang, taang, taang… 

The sound of the pickaxe hitting the rock made Grid recall an old memory. The death knight of the legendary miner Gis who appeared in the Behen Archipelago. He was invincible during mining… 

The skill that Mercedes learned was indeed a mining technique. Grid didn’t know whether to be disappointed or pleased. 

In the midst of the turmoil. 

“I’m flustered because there are a lot more of you than I thought. Still, it is enough to reduce the number.” The 24th great demon, Nebiros appeared while laughing at the human who was crushed to death without being able to respond to the pile of rocks. “Shudder at my strength. I will kill you.” 

Nebiros had the power to control minerals and plants. The moment he started to use magic power, the mountains and land moved and all types of minerals and plants hit Grid’s party. He specialized in big attacks that would destroy one million troops in no time. Unfortunately, Piaro dominated the land using Field Reclamation and the plants entered Piaro’s control. In addition, the minerals were hit by Grid’s hammer, causing the shape to change and they lost their power. For Nebiros, he met enemies with a very bad compatibility. 

“A blacksmith? A farmer? How?” 

Nebiros overlooked the fact that there was also a miner here. 

Mercedes popped out from the pile of rocks once she glimpsed an opportunity with Keen Insight and attacked Nebiros. Nebiros completely lost any chance of victory. He had relatively high combat power as the 24th great demon, but he was killed in a relatively futile manner. 

The 23rd and 22nd great demons they met afterwards also weren’t opponents of Grid’s party. They weren’t as good as Dantalion who was considered a named monster among the great demons. On the other hand, Grid’s party became stronger due to Dantalion and they ate the tuila’s eggs, reducing the penalties of hell by a further 10%.

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