The Treant Shadow Demons had performed quite well, though the fundamental reason they could achieve such results was also because the Baroness's group was far too weak. Tsukasa began to doubt her previous assumptions. She had originally thought the humans of this world were very powerful, since the group of humans she had seen before possessed monstrous attributes.
Furthermore, the Demon race had cadres of Wakaba-san's level, and above Wakaba-san, there was an even stronger Demon King. If the humans didn't have combat power stronger than those Heroes, they wouldn't be able to withstand the Demon race army at all. Since the system wanted to reclaim energy and make the humans and Demon races fight a great war, it would definitely balance the combat power of both races.
It was impossible for one side to completely crush the other.
The fact that the war between humans and Demon races had persisted for so many years meant that humans truly couldn't be weaker than Demon races. Additionally, since the System Goddess favored humans, humans should be stronger than Demon races. But now, seeing this Baroness and her unit being pummeled by her small-fry summons, she began to wonder if she had significantly overestimated humans.
Although the Baroness's status seemed quite low...
...she was still a noble who officially held a title, a member of the upper class in this world's human society. And yet, such an upper-class individual who was confident in her own strength only had this much power?
While Tsukasa was still thinking about these things...
...Baroness Chronos had already fallen into despair. These monsters hadn't even shown their true forms yet; just those Shadow Magic attacks that looked like tree branches had already crushed her unit. Moreover, her swordsmanship was completely useless against this kind of monster. Her sword, which came from a master weapon shop in the Royal Capital, couldn't even cut through the tentacles the enemy used to attack.
A pitiful swordsman.
Possessing neither great strength...
...nor magic.
One could say that Shadow Demons were the natural enemy of these traditional swordsmen.
"Captain, we'll hold them back!"
The team of fifty had been reduced to just three attendant knights and the Baroness. These were her core supporters, but now they were all gone. Even if she managed to escape and was taken in by that Count, unless something unexpected happened, she would have no further chance to climb the ranks. Thinking of this, she was suddenly overcome with grief.
However, her body was quite honest.
"Fine, I swear I will avenge you all!"
Tsukasa, who had just stepped out, saw this scene and stopped in her tracks. She felt like her appearance now might ruin the atmosphere. Should she let these knights fulfill their loyalty and then wait until they were all dead and the Baroness still couldn't escape before coming out? But she had already walked out; it was too late to go back.
"Who is there?!"
The Baroness, who had just turned to flee, saw a person in strange clothing standing behind her. She was so startled that she drew the sword she had just put away. Tsukasa couldn't understand why she had sheathed her sword before trying to run. Was it because she couldn't run fast while holding a sword? But putting it back didn't seem like it would increase her speed by much.
"A passerby," Tsukasa asked calmly. "Do you need help?"
The Baroness stared at the red wine in her hand.
Damn it, that was grape juice she had put in a different container!
Unaware that she was actually drinking grape juice, Tsukasa elegantly swirled the glass. Although she looked the part, knowing that the glass contained grape juice instead of real wine made the scene feel a bit off. However, at this moment, the Baroness was in no mood to care about this person stealing her grape juice.
"Are you a Demon race?"
The Baroness looked at those Sharingan eyes.
"No, these eyes are just decorations," Tsukasa spoke the truth without shame. She had manifested the Sharingan simply because it looked cooler, but in reality, the tomoe in these eyes wouldn't spin, nor could they perform powerful ocular techniques. However, if one were to speak of ocular techniques, she did indeed possess an Evil Eye.
"Aaaaaah!"
While they were talking, the three knights had completed their final act of loyalty. Tsukasa took a sip of the 'red wine' in her glass without changing her expression. She could have saved them, but the Baroness insisted on wasting time here, so she had no choice but to let them fulfill their loyalty. Besides, she didn't intend to make herself look like a righteous person.
Because that would make it inconvenient to obtain information later.
"Damn it!"
The Baroness saw three more people hung up like human stakes.
She grew anxious immediately.
"If you can save me, I will agree to any request you have!"
Although she was internally extremely
uncomfortable and wary of this strange passerby, she could only seek help from this suspicious person now. Moreover, she had to throw out such a major condition because the other party didn't look like a good person; they might even be a Demon race who had infiltrated, and this whole incident might have even been designed by them.
Hearing the condition she offered, Tsukasa became thoughtful. It seemed her acting was quite good, as the other party's impression of her was even worse than the identity she had initially thought of. Furthermore, the Baroness seemed to think she was an infiltrated Demon race. Thinking this way, it seemed this identity could be reused later, which was an unexpected gain.
The Baroness saw the man who was suspected to be a Demon race simply look up at the reaching shadows. Instantly, the shadows on the ground began to burn, and four hideous monsters crawled out of the shadows, rolling and struggling in the flames until they were burned alive, leaving not a single trace behind.
The human stakes fell down one by one.
The Baroness swallowed hard.
When she looked at the man again, a sense of awe toward a powerhouse had grown in her heart. She had seen many mages in the Royal Capital and had even seen the continent's strongest Archmage, so she had some level of discernment. The magic of the man before her was likely among the top in the entire continent; he might even be a high-ranking figure from the Demon race side.
"I am very grateful for your help, Excellency. As long as it is within my power, I will do my best to accomplish it for you." The Baroness's attitude became exceptionally respectful in an instant. Tsukasa immediately understood why the owner of that letter of introduction thought their elder brother could win over this woman; because while she appeared strong on the outside, she was actually very weak at heart.
Originally, she thought the other party was a hotheaded type.
But she hadn't expected to have overestimated her.
However, this was a good thing for her.
"First, tell me everything you know about the information here."
When Tsukasa saw the woman's expression as she said this, as if she had discovered something, she knew her acting had passed. Next, this woman would definitely be convinced that she was a Demon race. If this woman were the hotheaded type she initially thought, she might have refused to cooperate even at the cost of her life.
But the woman's nature was very weak. In her heart, there was no such thing as racial righteousness, because she was just a woman crushed by the weight of her family mission. Therefore, facing a powerhouse like her who was a suspected high-ranking Demon race, the woman didn't dare to hide anything and told her all the information she knew.
And through Eidor, who was hidden.
Tsukasa was also able to determine whether the other party was lying.
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