He never expected it to be him leading this assault. He just hoped Ryker wouldn't disappoint him, and he remembered Ryker had one critical weakness: his pride. A little provocation was all it would take.
Then Gail started putting on a show. "Come on, little soldiers. Come tickle me."
Ryker looked like he had been struck by lightning. Then his face twisted with rage. "You actually just turned your back on us."
He drew his blade. "Move in. Take him down."
In an instant, guns and cannons opened fire all at once. This was exactly what Gail wanted.
"That's right. Come at me all at once. Give me everything you've got."
Gail didn't dodge a single thing. Ryker was readying his own attack. Under the relentless barrage, Gail stood completely still.
And for all his reputation, Ryker's strike only knocked off a hundred and fifty of Gail's HP. The regular soldiers were even worse, barely managing twenty. But even combined, their attack rate couldn't keep up with his regeneration. He hadn't put a single point into stamina, but his level up bonuses had pushed his defense considerably higher. The damage they were dealing was nowhere near enough. They needed to hit at least sixteen hundred per second.
"Are you kidding me? Did none of you eat today? Hit me with everything you've got."
The human soldiers were horrified. Their attacks had done nothing. His wounds had already healed.
Ryker completely lost it, letting out a string of curses. "That regeneration is absolutely broken."
He immediately ordered the second unit to join the assault. Both units unleashed everything they had. Then a machine lit up red. A laser weapon. It locked onto Gail in an instant. As it finished charging, a beam of golden light blasted out and hit Gail dead on, but there was no fear in him, only the laughter of a man getting exactly what he wanted. He taunted them to keep going.
Hawk watched from the wall as Gail took hit after hit. He was genuinely stunned. What is wrong with this guy? That regeneration is insane. No way. Was he actually serious this whole time? From the very moment he said they should fight, he had been planning to take on the entire human army alone.
Gail was thrilled to be taking hits. "Yes, now we're getting somewhere."
The more the human army fought, the more unsettled they became. "What is he planning? There has to be some kind of trick to this."
Watching his HP actually drop, Gail burst out laughing like a madman. "Yes, yes, yes. Keep going."
Just then, his passive skill triggered. One unlucky soldier lost eight thousand HP in an instant. He spat blood and crashed to the ground. The rest stood there in shock.
"What happened? What just happened?"
The man was barely hanging on. "This is no ordinary demon. That reflected damage is absolutely insane."
The soldiers cried out in horror. "Bing. Bing is dead."
Ryker sensed something was deeply wrong here. Very wrong. He immediately ordered all soldiers to cease fire.
He recalled something General Sin had told him. That the Dusk Realm had once produced an SSS tier King of Demons with a regeneration ability so broken it defied all logic, who had single-handedly brought down several human nations and seized the three great abyss dungeons, giving the demon race the power to stand against humanity. But that King of Demons had died long ago.
So who exactly was this guy?
Gail was not pleased. "Hey, why did you stop? Ten thousand soldiers and you can't take down one guy."
The human army noticed something new. "Look, his wounds have healed again. Something is seriously off about this guy."
Ryker agreed. Gail was no ordinary opponent. He told his men to hold their ground and not advance. More importantly, their mission was to draw out the strongest demon forces. The mission was now complete. It was time to pull back. It would also spare them unnecessary casualties.
Gail was completely dumbfounded. The demon army was equally baffled. "What is going on? They're actually retreating."
Silvara was not having it. "Royal Guard, follow me. We are not letting these humans get away."
She charged out first on her battle mount. The cavalry behind her surged forward to follow. Wynn gave the order for a full advance. Every soldier who received the order was fired up and ready.
Gail was caught off guard. Why had every single one of them entered high spirit again?
The demon army was fully awakened, transforming into dragon riders and cutting down the retreating human forces.
Ryker was rattled. What is happening? They're coming at us like they've lost their minds.
His ultimate was still on cooldown.
The demon army roared as one. "Those who invade our land will be destroyed, no matter how far they run."
Hawk found himself deeply moved by Gail. He really was getting old. This world belonged to the young now. Gail truly had both the courage and the mind for it. The title of King of Demons was well deserved.
Then Hawk entered high spirit himself and ordered all soldiers to answer to Gail's command from that moment on. Today, he would make sure these insects never found their way back. Explosive power surged through every part of him. The soldiers accepted the order without hesitation.
Just as they were about to join the battle, an urgent voice rang out. "Report. We have a problem."
Hawk's heart sank. The human army had played them. The assault on the front gate was nothing but a distraction. A feint to draw their attention away. On the other side, a powerful human force had broken straight through the west gate into the Dusk Realm.
Every soldier at the west gate had been killed. Not one survived. The people inside the Dusk Realm were now being slaughtered. Not even women and children were spared. The human army at that moment was more demonic than any demon, and they were the real strike force of this invasion, cutting a path all the way to the palace, aimed directly at the sovereign.