Chapter 270: Sign of Retreat

The Supreme Commander Demon Lord was shocked.

Staring at Max, the Radiant Knights’ summoner, he suddenly witnessed him break through and manage to save the Demon Hunters just in time.

At the same time, the Sword Emperor had already begun intervening after sensing that the Imperial Army had suffered far worse than the Demon Hunters.

It truly appeared that the war had ended in failure.

He clenched his fists tightly before eventually loosening them.

In the end, for the remaining three hours, he decided to retreat, ready to be punished by his Master.

At the same time, he recalled how the war had gone.

The first week had made him understand how truly difficult it was to invade the Empire, which had allowed them to survive for a millennium despite how much stronger the Demon Kingdoms were.

And how he had successfully reclaimed a piece of the Empire’s territory.

But in the end, despite the initial success, the final result would always matter.

And the result was a complete defeat.

Of course, he could be satisfied with the number of humans who had died in the war, but compared to the demons he had been forced to sacrifice as a result, he could not be satisfied at all.

His mood turned sour.

An hour passed watching Max and his Radiant Knights slaughter the forces he had believed could eventually kill him, making him decide to stop the demons from advancing beyond the Southern Border.

He then ordered the Void Lord to appear so they could finally retreat.

As the remaining demons outside the Southern Border walked away, any humans on the frontline could perceive the massive gap widening between the demons and the Southern Border.

The demons had finally stopped appearing.

They had accepted defeat!

The sudden realization invigorated them even more, and they fought fiercely against the remaining demons.

Max naturally perceived the sudden changes among the demons and gazed toward the Southern Border.

His eyes widened when he discerned the Sword Emperor’s silhouette blinking in and out of existence as he moved toward the Southern Border.

He immediately raised his communication device and called him.

The Sword Emperor’s silhouette soon changed into his actual appearance as he accepted the call.

"Let them retreat," said Max.

The other end of the communication device was silent for a while before the Sword Emperor asked,

"What do you know that makes you want me to do that?"

Max rolled his eyes.

As if I don’t know your intention.

"Their retreat is the sign that we have won the war.

What more do you want?"

Max glanced at the High General in the far distance and met his gaze.

The High General was stunned. As a Sword Emperor, he naturally perceived how much Max had grown stronger.

At the same time, Max’s foundation was unfathomably deep, but there was still a clear space for his growth.

If the war continued, the demons would only face the same impending defeat.

Before long, Max and his Radiant Knights would be able to slay them.

However, it was obvious that Max wanted the demons to retreat not because he was afraid that their last struggle would be able to defeat him, but because he was worried about the Demon Hunters’ condition.

They could not last for a few more nights.

What they needed was a few weeks of rest before they were ready to fight against the demons again.

The High General frowned.

"If you are planning to venture into the Ashen Expanse, your Demon Hunters should expect a far worse condition than this."

Max shook his head.

"I’m afraid you’re wrong.

First, my Demon Hunters have been way outnumbered over the past month.

Second, the equipment, potions, and inventions from my Guild are not sufficient for this war, nor for the upcoming campaign to the Ashen Expanse.

Third, I have already achieved...

No, we have already achieved what we needed to achieve in this war.

It’s not only me who finally has a class advancement."

The High General was stunned.

He then swept his gaze across the Demon Hunters Guild members and was shocked to see that four individuals were ready for their class advancement.

Except that, compared to Max, what they needed was proper guidance from someone of a higher class than them to complete their class advancement.

Those four individuals naturally included his son.

He perceived how Lancelot’s Sword Intent was reaching the threshold.

Lancelot’s sword even trembled, as if the mere quality of the sword could barely handle his Sword Intent at the moment.

Lancelot was more than qualified to ascend to the Sword Sovereign Class.

The Holy Knight as well—his Divine Blade was already comparable to a Quasi-A-rank.

Seraphina’s Authority of Salvation had already reached the threshold and was ready to break through, visible within her mana core.

Lastly, Danny.

His command range was almost comparable to that of an A-rank Tactician, as far as the High General could perceive.

These four individuals were ready to ascend to A-rank.

It was even more astonishing when considering the reason they were suitable for their class advancements.

They had grown rapidly during the battle against the demons.

At the same time, many Demon Hunters had already reached B-rank over the past month.

At least, only a quarter of the remaining Demon Hunters were still at C-rank.

Yet, of course, even at C-rank, with the help of their equipment, potions, experience, and understanding of fighting against demons, they could fight toe-to-toe with the Greater Demons.

Not to mention the other Demon Hunters from the eastern and western parts of Mirefall Province.

At the same time, the Sword Emperor glanced at Angelo and already admired how much he had changed.

Despite appearing to reach his bottleneck three weeks ago and suffering a huge blow during the fight against a Demon Lord with sealed power, it did not stop him from pursuing his desire to mentor his son, who had reached B-rank and grown stronger in the process.

Now, Angelo and his three-weeks-ago self appeared to be completely different people.

He had been very low-key and focused on the Quasi-Demon Lords targeting Max from a far distance, but still within the Sword Emperor’s sight.

He killed them with ease.

In other words, Angelo could fight toe-to-toe with an early Demon Lord now.

The Sword Emperor, at this point, understood that Max and his Demon Hunters had won the war.

The former Emperor’s peaceful life seems about to be broken after this night...

The Sword Emperor smiled in amusement and glanced toward the Southern Border.