68 Destroying the bridge

Vlad began to work, engraving the Corpse Explosion Runes in the demonic beasts' corpses using a large metal stake and their blood. It was a delicate process, but thanks to his stronger body, he could carry on quickly and without flaw.

After engraving the Corpse Explosion Rune in one hundred demonic beasts, Vlad focused on the Abyss Mantis. The stronger the body, the more powerful the explosion would be, so while the demon Champion's corpse had many uses, it was the only thing that could trigger a strong enough explosion to shatter the main beam.

Runes covered the entire chest of the Abyssal Mantis by the time Vlad finished, and a smile appeared on his face as he felt the energy ready to detonate with a signal. Now that he had the explosives, it was time to place them at critical structural points to ensure the bridge collapsed.

Vlad's eyes were sharp as he began to search for the specific point where to put the explosives. "I need to put explosives near support structures such as columns, piers, and abutments, as well as along the span of the bridge to weaken its structural integrity."

With the locations for the explosives already in his mind, Vlad began to work, placing the corpses at the key points. He even went beneath the bridge, putting the highest number of corpses, including the Abyssal Mantis.

It was already night by the time Vlad finished placing the corpses, and after making sure everything was in order, he left the bridge. Once he reached the landmass, it was only a matter of activating the detonator rune in his hand, and the bridge would collapse. But just as he was about to carry on, a meaningful light appeared in his eyes.

Vlad stared at the bridge for a moment before heading into the large tree and saw that the high demonic horde was less than four hours away, and that was not the only thing he could see.

'Those angels say five thousand, but this horde is definitely not smaller than eight thousand.' A somber expression appeared on Vlad's face as he saw the massive size of the high demonic horde.

He could explode the bridge now and return at full speed toward the Silent Wind Military Base, but he had a chance to not only delay their movement but also cause a lot of damage.

It was dangerous, and many things could go wrong, but taking that path would make things much easier for the Silent Wind Military Base. In the end, a sharp light full of determination appeared in Vlad's eyes as he hid the corpses from sight and began to rest, waiting for the incoming high demonic horde to reach the bridge.

"Rumble."

Vlad's eyes opened, and he showed immense focus as he heard the earth tremble under the steps of thousands of monsters. He hid in the tree's crown, making sure to conceal his presence, and his eyes were sharp as he focused on the marching demons. It was still night, but he could more than see the thousands of monsters marching.

The bulk of the high demonic horde was made of demonic beasts. While ferocious, a Level 1 Warrior could take them down one-on-one, but there were thousands of them, and if that was not enough, there were dozens of demons that unleashed a much more powerful aura and seemed to have access to energy pools, marking them as Champions.

The high demonic horde was undoubtedly massive, and there were all sorts of creatures in it, but as Vlad's eyes moved through them, he narrowed his eyes as he saw a giant figure. The demon was massive, nearly four meters high, and had a dark mantle that covered his entire figure.

As he focused on that demon, Vlad could not help but feel that there was something special around it. However, he could not afford distraction, and he saw how the demonic horde began to march through the bridge.

Killing intent and a sharp focus appeared in Vlad's eyes as he saw more and more demons appear on the bridge. He was waiting for the place to be packed and was pushing his mind to the limit not to allow anxiety to make him rush things.

Just as half of the bridge was full of demonic beasts, the massive entity covered in a dark mantle stopped, and the high demonic horde did the same, showing that he had a very high level.

Vlad could not help but feel something was wrong as he saw the massive demon focus on the bridge, and his eyes went to the undersection full of corpses. The demon stared at that place for a moment before raising his head and turning his eyes straight into the tree where he was hiding!

'Dammit!' As he saw those eyes, Vlad shouted inside his mind and immediately triggered the detonation rune in his right hand!