“So that’s how it is…”

Alte spun the spear in his hand, then hurled it with force. The flying spear was like an armor-piercing round, killing a fleeing demon on the spot.

“One.”

Before anyone could even react, Alte had already flashed to where the spear had landed.

“How long do you think you can keep running?”

Looking at this Dragon Knight Captain, who slaughtered demons as easily as chickens, the lead demon’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat.

This Dragon Knight seemed able to use the spear’s position to flash directly through space. Every time he threw the spear, he would instantly arrive where it was.

It was almost like a teleportation spell.

But this technique was far more terrifying than teleportation magic, because it required no chant at all.

At that moment, the lead demon remembered Alte’s other title—the Lightning Dragon Knight.

Paired with this flashing, traversing technique, the title couldn’t have been more fitting.

“Ahhh!!”

In the few seconds the lead demon was distracted, Alte struck again and killed another demon. Of all the demons present, only the leader remained.

“Damn it!!”

Seeing Alte’s terrifying speed, the lead demon understood that trying to stall for time by running was no longer possible.

He pulled out his phone. On the screen was the prison’s surveillance footage.

The moment he brought it out, Alte stopped and frowned at him.

In the video, the last Brutal Demon stood by the prison cells. Flames burned across his entire body. In front of him was a group of pitiful, helpless women and children.

“Hahahaha!” Seeing Alte stop attacking, the lead demon burst into arrogant laughter. “Come on! Kill me if you can! The moment my subordinate senses my death, he’ll turn all of them to ashes!”

Driven into a corner, the lead demon could only threaten Alte with hostages.

But it had to be said, the move was extremely effective.

Demons could sense one another. Once the leader died, the demon in the prison would immediately notice and slaughter them all, causing a tragedy.

On top of that, no one yet knew where the ticking bomb was hidden.

Still, Alte had one question. Why would the Demonkin, who weren’t good with technology, have something like a timed bomb?

As he thought, Alte gave orders to the police officers around him.

“Officers, fall back first. Start evacuating from the outer perimeter.”

As for the Dragon Knights, Alte had a different order.

“Yes.”

Everyone clearly understood that the mad demon before them intended to drag everyone down with him. So while he was locked in a standoff with Alte, the officers quietly withdrew from the hotel bit by bit.

The evacuation was discreet and slow, so the lead demon didn’t notice. He kept staring at Alte nervously, because he knew full well that the one before him was a Radiant Sun Tier Dragon Knight.

The slightest lapse could ruin everything.

“Well? There are only two minutes left. Dragon Knight Captain, don’t think about running. You’ll be buried in the ruins with me!”

The lead demon laughed like a madman, as if victory were already in his grasp.

In the entire lobby, only his laughter echoed. No one else said a word. Everyone’s heart was in their throat.

Two minutes was already short. In such a tense atmosphere, many officers began to panic and ran for the exits.

But the lead demon had no intention of stopping them anymore. All he wanted was for the Dragon Knights Order’s captain before him to die with him. If he could do that, then even death would be worth it.

“Only one minute left! Hahaha! For His Majesty the Demon King!”

As the demon laughed wildly, he had no idea that the Dragon Knights had already reached the prison. With their help, Alte had also learned the location of that Brutal Demon.

So Alte hurled his lance straight at the wall.

The thrown spear pierced through who knew how many walls, then skewered the Brutal Demon standing before the slaves straight through the heart.

At the same time, a large number of Dragon Knights took all the slaves away. On the surveillance feed, they smashed through the walls and used wyverns to evacuate every last one of them.

Just like that, the lead demon’s final trump card was broken by Alte.

“What?!”

After seeing what Alte had done, the lead demon was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

“Surrender.”

Before the demon could finish being shocked, Alte had already rushed forward. He subdued the demon on the spot and pinned him to the ground. Even the blazing black flames couldn’t make Alte retreat a single step.

“Heh heh…” The Brutal Demon let out a pained sneer. “What’s the point? The bomb is about to go off. You saved those slaves, sure—but can you save the officers here?”

Although many had already withdrawn, some officers still hadn’t made it out. And the bomb’s countdown had less than thirty seconds left.

This was the third-floor lobby. Even if they tried to run, escaping was extremely difficult for ordinary officers.

After mocking Alte, the lead demon swallowed poison as well. He quietly waited for death, intending to leave the Dragon Knights with no information at all.

“I’ll lie right here and watch you all get blown sky-high by the bomb! Hahaha!”

“Tch…”

Alte looked at the despairing officers and felt a headache coming on.

“Officers, gather around me.”

Ten minutes earlier, after Favna delivered the warning to Alte, she hadn’t rushed off. Instead, she took the initiative to search for the bomb’s location.

With the help of the cameras, Favna found where the bomb had been planted and brought it back to the surveillance room.

Looking at the bomb in her hand, Favna scratched her head in confusion.

“This doesn’t seem to be a countdown bomb… It looks like it’s controlled remotely by phone.”

She had long heard that the Demonkin weren’t good with technology. Who would’ve thought even their timed bomb needed outside accomplices to trigger it?

After placing the bomb on the table, Favna took out her laptop.

If it really had been a timed bomb, handling it would’ve taken some work. But if it relied on a remote phone signal, then dealing with it was extremely simple.

Just jam all the signals in the entire hotel.

As an information broker skilled in hacking, Favna just so happened to have signal-jamming software on hand.

Not long after Favna blocked the signal, the Dragon Knights had already rescued the slaves, and Alte had finished setting up the magic formation, preparing to help the officers withstand the blast of the magic crystal bomb.

As for the Brutal Demon lying on the ground, he used the last of his strength to laugh madly and say—

“Three, two, one… Come to hell with me!!”