It was a fine morning.
The villagers woke up as usual, greeted each other, ate breakfast, and then started working in the fields like every day.
Although their workload was usually quite strenuous, no one complained.
Smiles were always present on their faces.
As if "tired" was not in their dictionary.
It was a peaceful day like any other.
However, that peace was destroyed when they arrived.
The ultimate enemy of humanity - the demons.
"You lowly humans! Do you think you can fight against us demons?"
Floating in the sky, the demons were constantly insulting the villagers.
"Everyone run! Run away as fast as you can!"
But even so, no one was stupid enough to curse back at those demons.
They were too strong.
So strong that it was unimaginable.
That was also the reason why those demons were able to rule over humanity for a long time before the appearance of the Seven Heroes.
"Village Chief, something’s wrong!"
"The demons have surrounded the entire village!"
At that moment, the entire village had become livestock trapped by the demons.
The village they loved... had now become a cage that cut them off from life and hope.
"How humiliating! Hahahaha!"
They had all officially become toys for the demons to play with.
A demon waved his hand.
And the next moment, the old village chief’s head completely exploded.
"I don’t want to die!"
Seeing that scene, all the remaining people fell into a state of extreme trepidation.
The villagers started to lose control, and ran everywhere in a panic.
"Hahaha! How funny! There’s nothing better than watching humans fall into despair."
The demons didn’t pay much attention to the panicking people, because to them, these people who only knew how to farm were nothing.
However, those who intended to bet everything to escape from here were a different story.
A man rushed straight towards the weakest-looking demon, holding a rather sharp knife in his hand.
But, before he had a chance to enter the 10 meter area of that demon, the man’s head exploded.
Once again, the demons burst into laughter.
A loud explosion rang out.
But, that explosion was not like the explosions the demons made.
It sounded completely different.
"What was that sound?"
And then, when the demons looked around, they realized that the demon who had just laughed the loudest... was now headless.
Just like what they had done to the innocent villagers.
"Stay here and wait for me, Rudeus!"
Leaving a reminder, Alaric immediately jumped off his steed, running straight into the depths of the village.
A gun formed from aura appeared in The King’s palm.
Then, he aimed at the demon closest to him, the one that was laughing the loudest.
Taking the opportunity that the demon was mocking the villagers, not realizing that he was being approached by someone, The King instantly pulled the trigger.
The bullet flew out of the barrel, heading straight for the demon at a speed that seemed to surpass even sound, piercing through reality itself.
The next moment, the demon’s head was gone.
Not allowing himself a chance to rest and give the demons a chance to realize what had just happened, Alaric aimed at the next one.
Just like before, the bullet pierced through the demon’s head.
Causing its hideous head to explode right away, turning into a horrible mass of goo.
"We’re under attack! Locate the enemy!"
Finally, the demons came back to their senses, understanding their current situation.
But, it was already too late.
If they had immediately located Alaric at the beginning, this battle would have been a bit more difficult for him.
Now, The King had completely gotten used to the terrain of the village as well as pinpointed the locations of all the demons.
Blending into the darkness, he continuously jumped over the houses, not forgetting to fire every single second.
"Where are you hiding, you little rat!?"
"Come out here! Don’t run away anymore, you coward!"
The demons were slowly being engulfed by despair and unwillingness.
They clearly knew that they were being attacked, but they had no idea where the attacker was, let alone how to fight back.
All the demons could do was stand there and wait for death.
Each of Alaric’s bullets could easily take the life of a demon.
A hundred shots, a hundred hits.
At first, when he aimed at the first demon, Alaric’s hand was actually trembling with fear.
After all, the fear of these demons had been with him for decades.
It was not something The King could easily throw away.
It had become his instinct.
The first demon fell.
Alaric’s lips curled up slightly.
The second demon exploded.
The King’s lips formed a complete arc.
The third demon was killed.
This time, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
And then, when the last demon was killed...
...Alaric’s hand was still shaking.
But, this time, it wasn’t because of fear, but because...
"It feels... exciting."
It was as if adrenaline was continuously flowing, like a waterfall, in The King’s brain.
Could it be... that he had overcome that fear?
"...Maybe... the demons aren’t that scary?"
After exactly 10 minutes, all the demons were killed by Alaric Valthor, all by himself.
Now, the village was no longer in danger, only the smell of the demons’ blood still lingering in the air.
It would soon dissipate anyway.
Smiling, The King jumped down from a rooftop.
Alaric suddenly stopped when he realized he was stepping on something.
It was soft, and a little mushy.
Slowly, his gaze slid downwards.
And that thing was the blood and corpse of the village chief, the one who had been killed earlier.
The King’s gaze slowly lifted up again... only to meet the angry gazes of the villagers he had just saved from death.
The seed of emotion from earlier had completely disappeared before it had a chance to become a tree.
"Why didn’t you come sooner?!"