I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

"SCROARRR!!!!" Its cry sounded like the mix of a high-pitched screech and a trembling roar, sending a shiver of fear to all those who met its ugly face.

The creature looked like something pulled out of a horror film with its long-shaped snout and feminine hair that cascaded down its long worm-like neck.

It had a slippery, slimy tongue that seemed to refuse to get back in its mouth and its body was red and slippery, with oozing black liquids emitting from its eyes and a long dinosaur tail. It had six legs like an arachnid, with the first pair serving as its pedipalps.

The creature smashed into the Carriage, pushing it to the other side of the road with a loud snarl, screeching in rage as it smashed its pedipalps into the carriage. The three horses neighed in pain as they were slammed into the ground without a care in the world while the Mercenaries were left in awe at the sight. The familiar-looking demon sent a cold shiver down their spines as the loud cries of the Merchants present in the carriage turned into a bloody mess of tears.

"What are you doing?!" Raph cried out in annoyance as he pulled a longsword from his storage ring.

He sprung into action before the others could even react to the situation, jumping over the carriages until he got to the creature.

'7th tier Demon: Walking Worms'.

He thought as he slid his long sword through the appendages of the creature's pedipalps, slicing it off its body.

The demon snarled in pain as it retreated from the destroyed carriage, pulse and blood gushing out from its open wound.

Raph landed on the side of the rocky peak at the other end, his sword glistening with blood as it formed a crimson arc through the air. He smashed his feet into it, projecting himself forward and sliced through the demon's head in a full clean sweep.

THUD.

Silence followed as Raph landed on the ground, swinging his sword in an arc through the air to get rid of the blood, while the demon's head landed next to him in the next second.

'Firstly the Red Peacemaker Bastard, and now this?' He thought to himself when he heard footsteps approaching him.

Turning towards the direction, he locked gazes with Azby and the rest of the mercenaries, their expressions filled with wariness. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

"....What do you think you're doing? Transfer the goods. We have to keep going!" he said as he walked towards the 5th Carriage, ignoring the gazes of the people that followed his action.

Azby remained silent for a moment, the shock still lingering within her, but soon enough, she got over it. She glanced at her teammates and signaled for them to gather.

"He just killed a Walking Worm, didn't He?" Colyn stated, his voice shaky from the sight.

"....that's not what bothers me. He did it without a drop of sweat….like he was used to it. The way he targeted the limbs first, and then its head when it was caught off guard...he's well vested in killing demons," Azby said with a sigh. Her intuition was one thing she relied on in her line of work, and it had proven its usefulness time and time again.

"...I–I could have killed it too," Rodrick interjected, and his teammates glanced at him before continuing their conversation.

"We should get the merchant's body, and transfer the goods to a storage ring," Azby said.

"We can't. The storage rings don't preserve perishable goods. They'll spoil too quickly". Cruz said with a sigh while Azby clicked her tongue.

"But we have to do something; the threat may be gone, but we have to leave here as soon as possible,"Lucky said, her voice shaking from the event.

As they conversed on what to decide, Rodrick felt a pang of pain in his chest, and perhaps denial at what he just saw. He had always wanted to prove himself on the battlefield, and he had done so, with hard work and persistence. '.....but this kid that showed up from nowhere and soloed a 7th-tier Demon. How dare he'

His thoughts were muzzled with something else until a familiar screech pierced their ears into another wave of fear.

Azby looked up with the others and descending the Rocky Peak were hordes of Demons. 7th tier demons to be precise, and of course, Walking Worms, their bloodied appearance sending a wave of panic to the people.

"De–demons!!!" A merchant cried out, and in the next second the first carriage was on the move.

"Go–Go damn it! We can't die here!" The coachman whipped the horses, and the third carriage was on the move. Soon enough, the fourth followed after, but sadly to them all, the Demons changed their course and ran towards them like rabid dogs.

"Fuck! We didn't tell them to go!" Azby screamed out when she heard the sound of metal scrapping as a figure ran past her. "Rodrick! You fool!" She cried out in annoyance as she glanced at Cruz and Lucky.

They nodded in unison and ran after him.

Azby clicked her tongue as she instructed their Coachman to ride after them as she and Colyn jumped over to the top of it.

"Kael!" Azby called, and Raph popped out of the carriage, his gaze lingering on the horde of Demons.

"Please, help us," She said, her gaze lingering on him.

Raph remained stationary for a moment until he nodded and climbed out of the Carriage.

"Those demons didn't just appear out of nowhere," He said as he pulled out his longsword.

"Someone's controlling them from the top of the Rocky Peak".

Azby stared at him for a moment, then at Colyn. She tapped him on his shoulder. "Take charge".

She said, before glancing at the peak.

"How do I find it?" She asked.

"Have you been to a gate?" He asked

Colyn and Azby glanced at him in unison, their surprise palpable.

"Ye–Yeah," She replied.

"Good. The sound of a Gate. Listen to it, and you will find the mastermind," He instructed, and for a moment, the two mercenaries were caught by their own words.

Colyn glanced at Azby, and she looked at him.

"Is that it?" She asked, and Raph nodded.

She turned towards the Rocky peak and in the next second, her figure turned into a black mist and dispersed into nothing.

"Alright then. That's one thing taken care of. Shall we kill these stupid demons" Raph glanced at Colyn before taking off into the air.

"Colyn, you're an archer right? Focus on the appendages of the demons that Rodrick is attempting to kill". He instructed as he landed on the side of the rocky peak with a loud thud.

His feet formed a crater beneath his figure and attracted some of the demons due to the noise, and without waiting for their response, he charged forward with lightning speed.

'Let's see…..starting with the Flying Crane Footwork'. As he charged forward, his legs formed small craters that anchored his body sideways on the Rocky Peak.

His gaze filled with determination, focused on the Demon that charged at him. It swung its sickle-like pedipalps through the air, forming a crescent arc aimed at Raph, but the boy stumped his right foot in the ground, spun his body through the air with the wind pressure caused by the force of his stump, and flipped right over the demon in a heartbeat.

He landed at the other end and slid across the side of the Rocky Peak like a flowing dragon, slicing through the appendages of the beast as he slid under the mass of the demon.

It screeched in pain when it was silenced by a sword that pierced through its snout as it crashed to the ground.

He quickly jumped over another, flipping through the air and slicing the head of the demon as it rushed past him, and fell to the ground limply, splattering into blood and pus.

He landed safely, and slid to his left, dodging a sickle and bent over as another formed an arc of death through the air past him.

He held onto the rocky platform as soon as he lost balance, throwing his sword in the air at the same time as another swung its pedipal like a guillotine towards his head.

'Oh, how amusing', he thought, spinning his body in the air and kicking the front pair of legs, causing it to tip forward and miss its target by a long shot.

Raph then proceeded to acrobatically kick his sword upwards, preventing it from falling out of reach and pulled himself into the air.

He grabbed the demon's worm-like neck and pulled it downwards as he landed on the side of the Rocky Peak. He then proceeded to grab it over his head and smash it into the rocky peak, causing the demon to cry in pain as blood splurged out of its reddish flesh-like body.

He then flipped over in the air, and flung the demon to the ground, causing it to burst into red flesh, blood and pus, before landing on the side of the Rocky Peak, smashing his feet into the surface to anchor himself.

He grabbed his longsword before it fell past him and pointed it at the two demons that were already charging at him.

"Come".