Death... and me

Roan couldn't see what was happening. However, if Frin could see Roan now, he would notice a faint smile hanging on his face. "If everything had gone according to plan, they should have started fighting by now. I wish I could see their faces just when they notice what's happening."

Back on the battlefield, Kika quickly made her way to the demon beasts' side...or so she tried.

"Leaving already? Why don't you play with me as well? We can't let Frin and your friends have all the fun, right?"

Kika was taken aback as her Spiritual Sense quickly caught the sight of a human-sized mantis barring her passage. "You! You're the Ortei Army's commander, the Green Reaper Mantis!" Kika couldn't understand why the mantis appeared in front of her. After all, who would watch over his own army in case a Transition Realm Zasfin attacked?

Linton smiled in response, replying, "Indeed, that's my race. However, you can also call me Linton."

Linton might look unconcerned. However, the fact was that he was also nervous in his mind. Linton didn't need to follow Roan's orders as Linton was the commander of another army. However, he also knew how much better of a commander Roan was.

Back when Roan received the information about the Zasfin Army passing through the Calau Swamp, he asked a demon beast to deliver a jade slip to Linton. That jade slip had a message attached to it, asking Linton to leave his army behind and help Frin attack Huo's forces.

Linton was in a dilemma as to whether he should come or not. However, Phex had once told him to help Roan in case he asked for it. Albeit somewhat unwilling, Linton made his way to Javeza Hills way before the Zasfin or the demon beasts' forces arrived. After that, he hid there, waiting for the exact moment described in the jade slip.

Roan's message contained in the jade slip was very clear.

-Frin will attack the Zasfins first. The Zasfins, obviously, will try to stop him. Once they understand that their battle severely damages their army, they'll dispatch someone to even the stakes on the demon beasts' side. That's the exact moment when you should come out and prevent the enemy's expert from dealing damage to our forces. Just do the same thing as Frin, and force the enemy to fight over the Zasfins' army. That's all.-'

Everything played out as Roan had exactly mentioned. Now, Linton was in front of Kika, impeding her from going forward. The reason Linton was nervous was because of the same reason as Kika thought of. Now that he left his army behind, they didn't have any Stage Nine Demon Beasts defending it. He didn't believe that the enemy's Transition Realm Zasfins would let that chance pass up. Nevertheless, here he was, following Phex's request. 'I wonder if my army will still be there once I return.'

In any case, Linton quickly shook his head and put those thoughts behind as he muttered to himself, "There's no point in waiting, so let's start!"

In the next moment, more Zasfins were being killed by Kika and Linton's fight. There was nothing that could be done as the aftermath of their battle affected several kilometers around them. Kika felt even more helpless as the battle continued. With her Rank Ten Soul Mark, she could contend against a Stage Nine Demon Beast that didn't have a Divine Bloodline. However, Linton was obviously much faster than her, so he forced the fight to stay on the Zasfins' side because of that.

At the moment, no one knew, but multiple various circumstances came together to create the perfect battlefield for the demon beasts.

First, Roan's orders to let the army leave the Calau Swamp empty, luring the Zasfin forces to the flank of both demon beast armies, Roan and Linton's. Thanks to this fact, the Zasfins, who wouldn't try to pass the swamp otherwise, finally came out, ending a stalemate where both sides didn't move.

Second, Frin's participation in the battle, forcing the battle to stay on the Zasfins' side.

Third, Linton's arrival, which ended the Zasfins' idea of striking back with the same plan. One might think that Frin had to fight two Zasfins at the Transition Realm at the same time. That being said, one of them could still leave that battle and attack the demon beasts' army.

However, Frin was a Divine Demon Beast. If Huo or Deny fought him alone, they would definitely be forced on their back foot. Only by joining forces could they actually put up a fight. Of course, even if any of them was left alone to fight against Frin, they could still flee if things went awry. However, the moment any of the two fled, Frin would be free to hunt the other. In the end, both would be forced to flee, just at different times.

The fourth and the most important reason, Linton's concerns over his army were completely useless. Linton's army was a lot smaller than Roan's. That's why he was the only one defending it while the Zasfin Army also only had a single Transition Realm Zasfin...called Orba!

However, Orba was the same Zasfin that was tasked to look for Roan in the Demon Beast Headquarters. That being said, Orba didn't even know that Linton left since she also thought that this was a good chance to get rid of Roan. She was far away from her army at the moment. There was no way she could attack Linton's demon beast army.

Everything worked out as Roan planned. While Orba spent her time looking for him, which was useless with Roan inside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, Linton helped Frin get rid of Huo's army. By the time the Zasfins found out that they had been fooled, it would be too late!

Things escalated quickly as the Zasfin Army was in chaos. Not only were Frin and Linton's battles quickly whittling their forces, but the Demon Beast Army also wasn't any slower due to their sheer numbers. The Zasfins simply couldn't get a foothold with the world-ending battles happening in their midst.

Huo eventually understood that they had been completely and utterly defeated, so he immediately spread his Spiritual Sense to give his orders. 'Retreat! Retreat! Back to Calau Swamp!'

Unfortunately, they were still too late. Frin and Linton were still there, so over 90% of the Zasfin Army was killed before they finally passed through Calau. As for Orba, she was still looking for a certain black-haired human who disappeared like a ghost.