“Did you just say that there is a formidable opponent in the seas of the Dungeon they are raiding now?” Lord Focalor asked as he switched on the broadcast from the seaport he was stationed at. With the help of his mages, he watched the ‘show’ as he continued to listen to the reports they had received intently.
He and his navy were mighty seafarers, yet the exhausted Earl Furfur under the King orders, still came by to enlist them for their help not too long ago. Focalor had not agreed to anything on the spot since his expertise was after all the sea. There was no way he would willingly send his troops to a meaningless death. There were more than enough Demon Nobles with their own armies better suited to fight on land.
“Indeed they have confirmed that the enemy has a naval presence. That is a real treat we can’t miss out on.” Captain Kenway, one of Lord Focalor’s trusted aides, pointed out.
“True, though you surely saw their firepower. One hit was all that was needed to make those useless toys of Stolas disappear. Do you want to fight against that?” Focalor questioned his aide.
“For the most renowned demon pirate of the oceans to show such caution… did you wake up with the wrong foot today, my lord?” Captain Edward teased. Unlike other nobles, Focalor was the only Demon Noble who had refused to take any position in the Demon Metropolis. However, his ferocity and tenacity, as well as the ability to take on any Ocean-based dungeons with ease, had made King Baal recognise his exploits.
His title might have been granted merely for show, though Lord Focalor’s reputation preceded even some of the Dukes. He was similar to Marquis Forneus who preferred to rule the sky with military might than to dabble in some outlandish city politics. The King had showered these two individuals with gifts, lands and power more than any higher-ranking nobles since their service was undeniably beneficial to their King.
“Hah, doesn’t it just means I can finally go all out?! You two always seem to deny me such opportunities. Besides, if some boats become casualties in the fight, we might as well use the opportunity to get some new ones from the King.” Lord Focalor replied, and his two aides laughed.
“HAHAHA! Just one simple request from you and the King will literally throw twenty more ships at us! Why wait till they get destroyed?!” Kenway mentioned as he slammed his drink on the table.
“Idiot, it’s that stupid old sailor myth where we cannot just abandon our ships till then end after serving us for long.” Edward interrupted Kenway’s laughing with his rationale.
“Who cares anyway? Even if we meet with bad luck and drown, we get resurrected. There is nothing wrong with that. I have the money to pay for my crew and the other ships a hundred times over. There’s no way some stupid sailor myth will get me.” Captain Kenway challenged back.
“Enough! Kenway, Edward. Prepare the men for battle. We’ll bring everything, the whole armada! The sea there seems wide enough for the whole lot. Let’s heed the King’s call and perhaps give that Prince some sorely needed help. Since I myself am looking forward to testing that metal ship’s durability. We shall see if it can withstand the might of the Leviathan.” Focalor ordered and the two of them nodded their heads.
(While the two were called captain in status, the both of them are equivalent to Rear Admirals with Lord Focalor holding the rank of Admiral in the Demon Fleet Leviathan.)
——————–
As Barbatos was charging to the frontlines, his Giants instinctively picked up on their leader’s decision. They immediately formed a barrier facing the Stalingrad in case the ship decided to intercept their leader. As for the rest, they maintained a spearhead formation and attacked not caring for their lives. If their Lord was ready for death, they would follow him through hell and back.
The Mad Giant acknowledged his troops’ sacrifice and swore to himself that he would make sure it would be worth it as he charged further forward. However, he suddenly was met with a small yet sharp bloodlust intent emanating from the barricades beyond.
While his giants were still making a mess at the frontlines, Barbatos could feel that the murderous intent was directed exclusively towards him.
“Well, well, well. I thought this aura seemed familiar!” Barbartos grinned widely. The presence disappeared from the distance and emerged from a small portal directly in front of Barbatos.
A scythe was aimed straight at his face, yet the magically enhanced Barbato shielded himself with the power of Granite. His face changed to stone, and the scythe failed to leave behind a single scratch.
“It’s been a long time, Baphomet. And here I wondered why there was such a murderous intent within the group of adventurers. You should have stayed out of the Dungeon World!”
——————–
Kraft was surprised and stared at Moloch and Qiu Yue when he saw the goat demon was sent to face Barbatos. “Isn’t that suicide? And how come I, the person who should have all the intelligence on every goddamn monster, did not know that he hated Barbatos?”
“Who knows, maybe you missed it?” Moloch gave a lazy smile. For the first time, Kraft saw that this sneaky cotton butt had some tricks of his own. The fox decided to play it cool and shrugged shoulders, pretending not to care and returning to face his laptop.
“Still, what can that goat demon do? Buy a few seconds of time?” Kraft scoffed that they didn’t use Pandjilla. Even if he missed out on some personal history of one of Jin’s monsters, the intelligence officer was sure he knew exactly the capabilities of all of Jin’s monsters on their own.
“That’s why I said. Maybe you missed out.” Moloch teased once more as he took a card out and sent it flying out of the room. The King of Clubs continued to fly swiftly out of the room and towards the battlefield.
“Watch it… Otherwise, I might get tempted to investigate what else I might have ‘missed out’ on, starting with you.” Came the not so subtle threat from the Bellator.
——————–
The blow on his face sent Baphomet flying backwards, yet Barbatos wasn’t done yet. He followed up grabbing the former with his one remaining hand by the throat and suplex him on the floor. (The Giants thought that their boss was hitting some nuisance fly.)
The Goat Demon spat out blood from the attack as his opponent left him injured on the ground since he had more important things to care about. As Kraft predicted, this exchange had only lasted a couple of seconds.
To Barbatos, that trifling issue of him accidentally eating some of Baphomet’s offspring should have long since been resolved. They were, after all, ‘hiding’ inside his food when he had swallowed them whole, and the Mad Giant had already apologised by paying adequate monetary compensation for Baphomet’s loss.
“Why would he care so much to waste his life on a useless head-on attack when he can make more of those things with his dick?” Barbatos thought to himself as he shook his head and moved forth. Were the circumstances any different, he would have finished him off, but his giants and the success of his attack were his primary concern. The petty person trying to take revenge against him would live to see another day, another try.
Meanwhile, Moloch’s card came out of another barely visible portal and landed on Baphomet’s chest where it embedded itself into the Goat Demon’s body.
