"Kill them! Kill them all!"

I could hear my soldiers shouting as they plunged into the smoking ruins of the lair that once belonged to the League of Shadows. Despite the devastation the dragons had wrought with their powerful spells, the underground lair wasn't completely destroyed. Built like a bunker, with most of its interior underground, there were portions of it that had withstood the attack.

Not that it mattered. We had the assassins surrounded. The prowler legion was on standby, sniffing out the assassins who were emerging from the shadows because of the distance limit built into their shadow walk spells. The rest who had chosen to remain and fight were slowly picked off one by one, overwhelmed by the sheer number of orcs and kobolds who had charged in, along with the expendable undead.

Those skilled enough to break out of those numbers were cut down by vampires. The elite vampire knights, led by Larson, as well as the armies led by Stryker, Mallory and Eleanor.

The dragons, being as whimsical as they were, had left upon the accomplishment of their task. They considered the mopping up of the assassins beneath them. I just let them go, mostly because they would just get in the way, particularly given their size. They wouldn't fit into the demolished lair, and it was harder for them to surround the place where the escaping assassins were emerging from the shadows.

Fortunately, Silvia was equal to the task, she and her dark mages and elves freezing the entire place and capturing the assassins before they could vanish into the shadows once more.

I stepped into the lair, flanked by Billy Cantwell and Doug Dubinsky. Stella took up the rear, ensuring that I wouldn't get stabbed from behind. This time, I was the real thing, not an illusion. Pushing my glasses up, I smirked and strode through the dark, shifting corridors, slaying assassins as I went.

They were aware of who I was. Some might criticize me for being foolhardy, for recklessly plunging into a battle where every assassin was out for my head. Not that I cared. That was precisely the point. By presenting myself, I was drawing them out into the open and luring them to attack me so that I could kill them. I was the best bait there was.

The assassins knew that if they wanted to end the war, they would have to kill me. They had no choice but to strike at me.

Unfortunately, they did not have the ability to slay me.

An assassin emerged from the shadows, his dagger scything toward my neck. I stepped to the side and allowed the short blade to cut through empty space before stabbing the astonished assassin in the chest. Kicking his corpse off Nocturne, I flicked the blood off the black blade and continued. This time, a second assassin appeared from behind me, her dagger lancing toward my back. Without turning, I reversed my grip on Blood Angel and stabbed her in the chest. She gurgled and dropped her dagger before falling to her knees. Once again, I kicked her off my crimson sword and proceeded onward.

Stella and the two Prowlers dealt with my other assailants. A hooded assassin lunged from the darkness, only for Stella to dispatch her by cleaving through her body with her crimson sword. Billy tore out the throat of another assassin the moment he showed his head above the shadows, his fangs dripping with blood. Doug sank his talons into the flesh of another assassin the moment he popped up, eviscerating him. The poor assassin writhed, but Doug quickly finished him off by slashing his face. Billy then ripped the head off another assassin who charged at me, clamping his talons on either side of the guy's masked face and twisting his neck with a sickening crunch.

Stella then spun around and stabbed another assassin before decapitating a third who tried to strike at her. While she was entangled with those two, I stepped in and rammed my Nocturne through the head of an assassin who was sneaking up on us from the rear before beheading an assassin who thought he could get the drop on me when he fell from the ceiling.

"Bloody hell," Billy muttered as he tore an assassin into two, splitting the poor guy nearly in half with his talons. "They just keep coming!"

Then he leaned over and bit the throat of another assassin before she could swing her daggers down, crushing her windpipe and leaving her to both suffocate and bleed to death.

"They are just one legion, though," Doug remarked as he crushed an assassin's head with his talons before letting the poor guy drop. "We have at least five on our side."

"Seven, to be exact," Stella reminded him as she ducked under an assassin's venomous blade. Before she could retaliate, Doug reached over and eviscerated her assailant, leaving her to stagger and clutch at her fatal wound. Stella then finished her off before nodding her thanks to the prowler.

"But two of the demonic legions aren't joining us in this fight, are they?" Doug asked. "And I haven't counted the dragons, who chose to leave the battlefield prematurely."

"Yeah, well…having this many people is overkill." I sidestepped an obsidian sword before countering with a slash from Nocturne and obliterating the assassin's heart.

"Better safe than sorry."

I glanced up and caught sight of Eleanor and her forces fighting to link up with us. They cut a bloody swathe through the cl.u.s.tered assassins, their vampire eyes scanning the shadows for any signs of movement. The darkness was of no disadvantage to us vampires – we had natural night vision.

"Only by displaying an overwhelming demonstration of force will we be able to persuade the neutrals to pledging themselves to us." the strategist gave me a strict look. "No compromise. No mercy. All those who oppose us will face total eradication."

"Depends on your definition of opposition," I reminded her. I had grown weary of the fighting, even as I stabbed another assassin who was trying to take my life. "If they don't attack us first, then they aren't the enemies. No point conquering other domains and making enemies unnecessarily."

I then grinned.

"But if they get attacked, then I couldn't care less about them. Since they aren't under my banner, I have no obligation to protect them from other enemies."

If they wanted their independence, they couldn't rely on me for defense. They couldn't have their cake and eat it. Either they served me and enjoyed the security and cooperation I would bring or they could fend for themselves "independently." I wasn't such a pushover to let them leech off me while they enjoyed their own independence or whatever.

"Klein Pearson!"

The voice reverberated throughout the entire lair. I looked up and caught sight of Ralph Da Ghoul approaching me. He swatted aside zombies and ghouls, and I caught a glimpse of the merged Miranda-Mikhail and fused Herman-Irene lying among the mound. They weren't completely destroyed yet, and could be salvaged with necromancy. Lindley would complain to me later about the wasteful effort, but I had no intention of letting any of them die so easily.

But it was telling that even their enhanced physiques (since Herman was the Hero) were no match for Ralph Da Ghoul. Well, Herman couldn't use his magic or blessings (neither could Irene, who was currently fused to him), so it wasn't as if the former Hero could fight at full strength. If anything, the zombie version was several times weaker than when he was alive.

Oh, well. It didn't matter. I would much prefer to deal with Ralph Da Ghoul myself, and to send a strong message to all the other demons across the Demonic Empire.

"Let's finish this once and for all," I said and approached Ralph Da Ghoul. The master of assassins glared at me.

"Agreed," he snarled. Then he produced a sword before lunging at me. I crossed both of my blades, deflecting his strike to the side before kicking him. He grunted before whirling about to retaliate with a kick of his own, but was forced to withdraw his leg when I slashed downward with Nocturne in hopes of amputating his limb.

The guy was skilled.

Ralph Da Ghoul wasn't the master of assassins and the Divine General of the Shadow Legion for nothing. He attacked with swift and precise strokes, nearly overwhelming my defenses and driving me back. I blocked and parried as best as I could, exchanging several dozen blows with him. I could see the venom lining his blade and knew that even a single cut would be debilitating.

The leader of the League of Shadows was no pushover. Ralph Da Ghoul was making use of his vast combat experience to push me back. I found myself giving ground, forced to dodge and deflect his deadly blade more than a few times.

Spinning around, he kicked at me from below after knocking my swords aside. I recovered quickly and countered, but he simply danced away. He grinned and waltzed around me, teasing me with pinpoint strikes at what would be my most vulnerable spots. I tried to counterattack, but found my hasty attempts frustrated time after time.

Shadow spikes erupted from the ground, Ralph Da Ghoul putting his shadow magic to great use. However, in terms of magic, I had the upper hand. His shadow spikes futilely shattered against ice shields that froze around me, surrounding me defensively and thwarting the shadow spells from impaling me. in response, I had icicles burst from the ground and air to stab him, but Ralph Da Ghoul's reflexes were nothing short of amazing.

Despite his age, Ralph Da Ghoul was able to avoid the icicles or counter them with shadow shields. Or perhaps it was because of his age and vast experience – he was able to anticipate with near preternatural reflexes and an impressive intuition that he had honed over decades on the battlefield. Maybe even centuries, if I got Sheldon Umbra's age right.

"You are 1,000 years too early if you think you can best me in combat!" Ralph Da Ghoul sneered before striking at me once more. I sighed, deflecting his poisoned blade while simultaneously conjuring four ice shields to block his shadow spikes.

"Where have I heard that line before?"

"Sorry. I have quite the penchant for the dramatic." Ralph Da Ghoul shrugged before slashing at my neck. I parried the blow with Blood Angel and retaliated with Nocturne, but he deftly danced away, just frustratingly out of reach.

"Yeah, and I have the tendency to make cold jokes." I sighed again before allowing him to push me back. Making use of the immense impact of his strike, I rode on the momentum and retreated to a safe distance. Then I unleashed my ultimate spell. "Absolute Zero."

"Not this again!" Ralph Da Ghoul growled, annoyed. "Can't you use any new spells?! Why do you always use Absolute Zero?!"

"Uh…because it's my most powerful ice spell?"

"I know, but it's as if it's the only spell you know! You've been using it since the beginning of the story! It's the same old spell again and again!"

"Well, you know what they say. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." as if I cared what Ralph Da Ghoul thought. As long as Absolute Zero worked, then I would use it.

However, the master of assassins smashed through the ice and lunged at me, his poisoned sword flashing. Fragments of frost rained down around us, and shadows surged out, only to crash against icy shields. I staggered from the ferocity of his assault, a little taken aback.

"Huff…"

Ralph Da Ghoul breathed deeply, his exhalations coming out in white fog. He glared at me, but generated a battle aura that allowed him to withstand the extreme cold. The ice that gradually expanded over his body shattered, only to reform, and then get broken again.

"Impressive," the master of assassins admitted, even as he traded several blows with me, his strength slightly diminished because of the extreme temperature. "In a battle of attrition, you'll eventually win. I can feel your spell sapping my energy, weakening me. I've to expend a colossal amount of mana and vitality just to move, never mind attack. This is truly an amazing spell. If you were fighting against any other opponent, you would definitely have won."

He then shoved me back, the venom on his blade frozen before emitting acrid fumes when he channeled his energy into it to melt the ice. With another strike, he drove me back and I almost tumbled into a wall of ice that was of my own making.

Ralph Da Ghoul smirked and smashed another wall of ice with his sword, trying to cleave my neck from my shoulders. I managed to parry his blow and blast him with another chilling wave, forcing him to retreat slightly. Even so, Ralph Da Ghoul continued to attack, undaunted.

"Unfortunately for you, your opponent is me."

"Uh huh. And so you think you will win just because you can withstand my ultimate ice spell?"

"Isn't that the case?" Ralph Da Ghoul sneered. "Your trump card failed to defeat me. Unless you have any other tricks…"

"Who says I don't?" I asked with a shrug. Ralph Da Ghoul laughed in a condescending manner and simply slashed at me…

…only to jump back when the entire area around me appeared to explode, azure mana surging outward and expanding rapidly.

"W…what is this?!" Ralph Da Ghoul snarled. I smiled and pushed my glasses up my nose.

"Weren't you complaining about how I couldn't use any new spells? So I'm going to show you a new ice spell that I have…one that surpasses even Absolute Zero."