( Leo's POV )
Unaware about the storm that his actions were causing behind the scenes, Leo solely focused on taking down the Demon Counts alongside Ben.
With the Demon Counts now being on full alert and flying quite close to one another, there were not many opportunities to take them down, however, that did not discourage the master-student duo, who kept stalking the demons like they were prey.
Eventually, as Ben heard the distinctive sound of cackling flames getting closer and closer, he realized that time was running out for him and Leo, as he decided to take a slight gamble.
"Don't reveal your real body boy….. use [ Mirror World ] to distract the enemy–" Ben instructed, as both him and Leo created dozens of clones.
Without revealing their real positions, Ben and Leo scattered the clones in the nearby vicinity, drawing the attention of the demons flying above them, as the demons unleashed attacks upon the clones from range.
[ There! I see the enemy! ]
[ I see two of them? No wait three …. Just how many enemies are there? ]
[ I just killed one! But there's another right behind him ]
The demon counts spoke amongst each other in Demonic tongue, as they unleashed truly spectacular attacks from distance, which battered the landscape of Thumba City.
*Kaboom*
*Rumble*
*Shudder*
*BOOM*
*Crunch*
*Destructive noises*
Dust fell from window-sills above Leo's head, while the Earth trembled beneath his feet.
The attacks unleashed by the Demon Counts were so powerful that they destroyed everything within a certain radius of the attack, destroying buildings, streets and other government buildings to rubble.
In terms of sheer power, had Leo faced even one of these attacks head on, he would probably have been granted an instant and painless death, where his body would have blown to a million pieces before the pain could even be registered in his brains, however, thankfully, he did not face any of these attacks head on, with his only role being to distract the Demon Counts.
The real predator waiting for an opportunity to strike was Ben, and just as he saw a Demon Count too focused on attacking a decoy, he found his opportunity to strike.
Within a split second, Ben explosively covered the distance of close to 40 meters, launching himself high into the air in a feat of athleticism that Leo had never seen before.
Positioning himself perfectly in the blind spot of the Demon, Ben sailed through the air, closing the distance between them, with his dagger at the ready.
With his aura concealed, and his movement soundless, and his opponent too focused on killing a decoy, Ben managed to sneak-up on him undetected, as he plunged two daggers straight into the back of his target's neck.
*Stab*
*Stab*
Before the Demon Count could even realize what had happened to him, Ben stabbed him with 10 more daggers, killing him instantly before dropping down as soundlessly as he arrived.
*Thud*
*SCREECH*
It wasn't until the dead Demon Count rolled off from his mount and fell on-to the ground below, causing his wyvern mount to screech loudly that the rest of the Demon Counts realized that another member of their team was dead.
[ What? The enemy got Fabion too? How did he get Fabion? ]
[ The enemy killed Fabion in the air ….. the enemy is much stronger than we imagined ]
[ Should we ask the king for help? We have already lost 3 members to the enemy's attacks now ]
[ Perhaps humans are not that weak after all. Perhaps the stronger ones are not present here in this city right now ]
[ Everyone be more careful, the enemy is more crafty than we think ]
The demons said to one another, with panic now evident in their voices.
Somehow, Ben and Leo had single-handedly managed to put the fear of human opponents into the hearts of demon's, to the point where they no longer pretended like this was an easy hunt.
Everyone was wary and constantly on guard against the stronger opponent, which was not a scenario that they had expected coming into this city at all.
Ben on the other hand, had already started to retreat alongside Leo, as he no longer saw any point behind fighting.
The Demon King had finished burning half of the city, and the other half was starting to catch fire naturally through the wind, without the Demon King having to do anything much.
Nonetheless, the Demon King and his black dragon still made sure to hasten the process of burning, giving Ben and Leo only a narrow margin to escape before they were trapped within a city of flames.
"Master, why are we running away? Although the city is burning we can probably take out a couple more Demon Counts if it's the two of us?" Leo asked while following Ben to the exit, as Ben simply shook his head and brought Leo back to reality.
"We are Assassin's my boy, not warriors. We can only trap, surprise and kill our opponents fast, but we can't fight them on even terms.
With the element of surprise no longer on our side and our maneuverability gone within a burning city, it's best to retreat while we are ahead" Ben instructed, as he gave Leo a valuable life lesson.
Leo was too hot-blooded and since he was a player with nothing to really lose, he often failed to understand the difference between probable risk and suicidal risk since his life was not actually on the line.
The worst that could happen to him was that he lost a couple levels after dying and dropped a few items alongside, however, for Ben the risk of losing his life was very real.
To take probable risk, was to show courage.
However, to take suicidal risk, was to show foolishness and thankfully Ben knew the difference between the two.
Satisfied with killing three Demon Counts and extracting a couple drops of blood from the Demon King himself, Ben exited the burning Thumba City before it became a giant funeral pyre.