Richard looked at the demon with a unique aura. He curiously opened its stats panel.

[Barossa Bloodthirsty (Flame Demon)]

[Hero Unit]

[Level: 5 (Elite hero, magic damage increases by 30%.)]

[Potential: D-rank]

[Class: Demon Commander (Ordinary, spellcasting effect increases by 5%.)]

[Mana: 200 points (Recovers 2 points per second)]

[Skill: Enslave Demons (D-rank) — Wields the flame whip in hand, forcibly represses the demon troop under one’s command.]

[Soul Whip Tap (D-rank) — When lashed with a flame whip, the demon deals direct soul damage and inflicts excruciating pain.]

[Bloodlust (D-rank) — Allows subordinates to thirst for blood and slaughter, increases strength by 30%. Deprives pain perception. Lasts for 3 minutes. Cooldown Time: 5 minutes, consumes 50 mana.]

[Petrified Skin (D-rank) — Makes the subordinates’ skin as hard as a rock. Increases defense by 30%. Lasts for 3 minutes. Cooldown Time: 5 minutes, consumes 50 mana points.]

[Hero Characteristic: Increases strength of all demons by 20% when commanding them.]

[Race Talent: The more demons the commander has, the stronger he is.]

[Tie-commander: The commander has more than one company of demon troops. The troops’ efficiency in carrying out orders has increased by 20%.]

[The demon troop led by the commander has more than three squadrons, and the troops’ efficiency in carrying out orders has increased by 40% (activated).]

[The demon troop led by the commander has more than five squadrons, and the troops’ efficiency in carrying out orders has increased by 60%.]

[Description: The demon commander can give orders to the chaotic demons in battle. And it is best not to let them gather vast troops.]

This demon hero not only had two buff spells, but they were also very compatible with the demons.

Using a whip to suppress the chaos of the demons and make them listen to orders was perhaps, a characteristic of the demons.

Common sense could not infer the lives of the chaotic evil faction.

“All inferior demons, listen up! Attack and destroy this village! Devour their souls!”

The roar of the abyssal blasphemy interrupted Richard’s thoughts.

He did not know this kind of evil language, but he understood what the demon commander meant.

It was the characteristic of a high-level language, close to the power of magic.

‘Woo! Woo!’

The demon’s deep horn sounded.

‘Pak!’

The commander’s flame whip waved in the air and exploded into a flame.

The surrounding inferior demons with ferocious expressions trembled, immediately roared, and charged forward.

However, they could not fight in a disciplined manner even with their commander due to the chaotic nature of the battle. Instead, they charged forward.

The demon commander once again waved its long flame whip, and a red light enveloped the dozens of inferior demons who charged at the front.

Petrified Skin!

The inferior demons only felt a powerful force that surged into their bodies, and their bodies became hard.

They immediately fell into excitement.

The tunnel into the village was concave.

Dozens of arrows shot out as the inferior demons got closer.

But with the fortification of their petrified skin, they didn’t dodge at all. Instead, they charged at the arrows.

The arrows hit them as if they had hit a thick cotton coat, and their lethality was greatly reduced.

However, the pain did not stop the strong-willed inferior demons. Instead, they went crazy from the intense pain.

At this moment.

“Release!!”

In the depths of the tunnel, five crossbows stood side by side. The cold arrowheads reflected the unique light of metal.

Arrows as thick as an arm flew out after a cold shout.

‘Puchi!’

The inferior demons in front of them strung up like candied haws.

Blood splattered everywhere.

They were unable to block the crossbows even with the Petrified Skin spell.

The smell of fresh blood made inferior demons’ scarlet pupils turn even more violent.

They charged forward and roared furiously. The human soldiers at the back also roared and charged forward at this moment.

Close combat!

The battle instantly turned bloody.

“Quickly pull the crossbows to the second line of defense! Archers, fire with all your might! We must not let these damned demons enter our village!!”

Even the bravest veteran would have a heavy heart fighting against demons in close combat.

Richard could not see the battle in the depths of the tunnel. But the arrows disappeared from the outermost layer of the human body. So he could know just how much pressure the demons had put on them.

“Lord, when do we launch the attack?”

Gray asked in a deep voice.

Richard was about to answer when the system’s notification rang in his ear.

[Ding~ Triggered the side quest—a choice between good and evil.]

[You witnessed a demon attack on a human village.]

[1. You can choose to join the human camp and fight against the demon together.]

[2. You can choose to join the demon camp and invade a human village together.]

[3. You can either stand by and watch or turn around and leave.]

[Note: It is currently in the free exploration mode.The reward of the side quest is unknown. You can make any choice, and every choice you make will affect your next encounter.]

‘A choice between good and evil?’

A hint of playfulness flashed in Richard’s eyes.

‘Sorry, I’m in the neutral camp…’

“The main mission is to protect White Tower Town. There’s no reason why the side quest has nothing to do with the main mission.”

Richard gave a decisive order.

“Gray, get ready for battle!

“After the demons throw all their forces into battle, you will lead your troop to attack the demon hero. You must not let him live! After strangling the demons, take over the village. We need to learn more from them. Moreover, this dungeon only has four factions—demons, undead, holy church, and humans. It’s too monotonous. Twilight City doesn’t mind becoming the fifth camp.”

Since Richard could explore freely, he wasn’t willing to complete the mission honestly.

Two things gave him the greatest feeling of jumping out of the framework, from Adele’s hero recruitment mission to the sudden incident at the Phoenix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce.

He recruited the Phoenix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce first before he recruited Adele. Also, he honestly didn’t save the Phoenix-Tail Flower Chamber of Commerce from the desert bandits. Instead, he obtained the precious blueprint of the Hero’s Altar, which couldn’t be considered as a reward under normal logic.

This meant that there was not only one path for the mission of the game “Shining Era.”

Moreover, the main task was to protect White Tower Town, but there was no stipulation on how to protect the mission.

When it heard Richard’s words, the faint blue soul fire in Gray’s empty eye sockets burned fiercely.

This mummy hero especially admired and respected the spirit of his lord.

“As you wish, Great Lord!”