Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter 144 : Winter Castle Attack (2)
Winter Castle’s Knight, Gunnar Winterheart, faced the enemies flocking before his eyes.
About twenty strange assailants who suddenly attacked Winter Castle.
Normally, no matter how many of such assailants came, they would have become hedgehogs pierced by arrows without being able to climb Winter Castle’s walls, but as if mocking that fact, the assailants climbed the castle wall too easily and staged a massacre.
Although Gunnar had also received a report about this, initially he thought the situation would be sorted out quickly.
But as time passed, far from the situation being sorted out, the damage to the soldiers grew larger and larger.
Eventually, by the commanders who judged that only meaningless sacrifices would increase with just soldiers, knights and special task forces were deployed.
Contrary to the calculation that they could easily end the situation based on numerical superiority, the situation faced fierce resistance due to the narrow terrain on the castle wall and the martial power of the assailants which was much stronger than expected.
“Everyone maintain formation!”
“The enemies’ spirit is formidable!”
“Still block them somehow!”
It was not simply a level where the enemies’ resistance was fierce, but from some moment, Winter Castle’s knights and special task forces began to be pushed back.
Above all, the most unbelievable fact was that each and every assailant was overwhelming the knight forces.
What kind of existence is a Knight of Winter Castle?
As those standing on the forefront of Winter Castle, called the shield protecting the Empire, knights undertake the most dangerous and important missions.
Therefore, Winter Castle’s knights are each veteran warriors, and also the core of Winter Castle.
It should certainly be so, but the numerically superior Winter Castle’s knights and special task forces were being pushed back instead of gaining the upper hand against the assailants.
It was an unbelievable event.
Especially considering that the assailants pushing the knights were all fallen into madness without exception.
“Watching you from the darkness you can never avoid me. I see through everything about you your fear, your despair, your pain, everything flows into me and only makes me stronger. You are merely my prey. I will gnaw at you and make you mine.”
“Everything in the world is all lies there is no truth only madness is the truth I know the truth the truth no one else knows you are all being deceived your eyes and ears are all just lies only my eyes see the truth only my ears hear the truth I am the only existence who has realized the truth of the world.”
Despite it being obvious at a glance that they were not in a normal state, the madness they exuded was threatening even to the knights.
Added to that, the energy like black smoke they exuded had something that evoked ominousness.
Gunnar’s forehead furrowed.
‘Magic? No, it is too alien to be magic.’
Although Gunnar doesn't know every magic existing in this world, at least he knows that magic has a certain form.
However, the black smoke the madmen were emitting right now had no form or format determined, merely emitting ferocious energy towards the surroundings.
‘Come to think of it…….’
Recently, he had received information about such people from the Empire side.
‘Demonic person.’
Madmen who started appearing in various places in the Empire recently, said to be ominous existences eroded by Demonic.
Although there wasn’t much Gunnar knew about Demonic persons, at least the various characteristics the assailants showed matched with Demonic persons.
“Keo-heok!”
In the ensuing battle, the chest of one of Winter Castle’s knights, Raynan Winterborn, was pierced by a snake of black energy.
“Raynan!”
“Kkeureuk…….”
Starting with Raynan Winterborn’s body crumbling, the knights’ formation began to collapse rapidly.
Demonic persons rush in without caring even if they get hurt, receive fatal injuries, or even if one of their body parts gets cut off.
However, if knights get hurt even in one part of their body, beyond their combat power weakening rapidly, they rather become a hindrance to allies.
Due to such fundamental differences, the situation began to worsen rapidly.
“Following God's revelation to purify the world is our calling those who lack prayer deserve to die we become the light of truth and illuminate the darkness leave the holy war right now otherwise you will receive god’s judgment there is no mercy for those who do not believe in god as light drives away darkness we will save this fallen world.”
“Repent.”
“Kahak! Kahahak!”
Along with the surging madness, black energies covered the knights.
“Kuaaaak!”
Demonic persons run wild on the castle wall.
Knights and special task forces tried to block their advance somehow, but the black energy emitted by Demonic persons oppressed human bodies just by getting near.
It was already an unfavorable fight, but since they couldn't even exert proper power, the result was obvious.
A shadow cast over Gunnar’s face.
‘……Should we retreat?’
Even if the knights retreat right now, an event where a castle of Winter Castle's caliber falls to merely twenty or so Demonic persons won't happen.
Only, the damage to the soldiers will become tremendously large.
However, if it cannot be blocked with knights alone, it was better to preserve the knight forces, drag the Demonic persons down below the castle wall, and then form a new encirclement.
If they tried to deal with them clumsily with knights alone and the knight forces were annihilated in this place, it was no different from Winter Castle’s future disappearing as well.
At the moment Gunnar was examining the situation and about to order a retreat.
Sswaaaeek──!!!
Along with the sound of wind heard from somewhere, the shoulder of the Demonic person in front of his eyes exploded.
“Kueooo!”
What is it?
While unable to hide his puzzlement, Gunnar didn't miss the brief opening.
Gunnar’s sword flashed.
Chwaak!
The neck of the Demonic person, who was fine even after getting stabbed in the chest and having one arm fall off until now, flew off at once.
No matter if it’s a Demonic person, it couldn't remain alive after its head flew off.
“Phew…….”
Have I only cut down one just now?
Gunnar recited self-mockingly and tried to figure out what the abnormal phenomenon that happened just now was.
And, not long after, he discovered the 4th Special Task Force on the opposite side of the castle wall.
‘……Indeed, was it the Mage of Thunder?’
He had heard rumors about the Mage of Thunder several times and actually saw his performance a few times, but experiencing it directly was different as expected.
‘Using magic of this level of power at this distance……. Absurd.’
Gunnar, who was dealing with them directly, knew well the durability and strength of the Demonic persons.
But magic that can inflict a fatal wound from such a long distance on such a Demonic person?
What was even more dumbfounding was that despite using such ruthless magic, the recoil from paying the price was hardly visible.
Even though another mage tried to produce similar power, they would have had to give up at least one arm.
‘He is nothing short of a monster.’
Gunnar made a short evaluation of the Mage of Thunder and looked at the enemy in front of his eyes again.
Taang!──
Along with the roar that rang out again, the head of one of the Demonic persons exploded.
And Gunnar saw.
That the unidentified magic that flew in just a moment ago contained black energy similar to what the Demonic persons were emitting.
‘Why is the same energy as theirs felt from the Mage of Thunder’s magic?’
Regrettably, there was no time to worry about that.
Even now, the Demonic persons were rushing in while emitting madness, and Gunnar was in the middle of that battlefield.
“It is now! Push them back!”
Along with the support of the Mage of Thunder, the situation began to tilt towards Winter Castle knights’ side in an instant.
He didn't know what on earth happened, but the Demonic persons who didn't budge even when knights cut and stabbed them had their limbs explode and heads burst just by getting hit by the Mage of Thunder’s magic.
The magic of the Mage of Thunder itself was very powerful, but in Gunnar’s view, it was a scene that seemed to hide some secret beyond simple power.
‘Anyway, thanks to him, we passed a crisis.’
As the tight balance of power began to tilt to one side, the formation of the Demonic person side collapsed rapidly.
No, originally it was a cluster that was awkward to call a formation, but now even that was broken.
“Charge!”
Gunnar took the lead and swung his sword towards the Demonic persons without hesitation.
At that moment.
Before he knew it, a blood-red hexagram revealed its appearance in the air in front of Gunnar’s eyes, and the hideously distorted mouth of the Demonic person was seen.
“Contract…… declaration.”
“Damn it!”
Wasn't he just a madman drunk on madness?
Did he have reason remaining to make a new contract?
Although he didn't know what contract that Demonic person was trying to make right now, he definitely didn't get a good feeling.
Gunnar’s sword extended out.
However, that sword eventually couldn't reach the Demonic person.
“……Ah.”
Gunnar could feel it.
To be precise, he couldn't feel anything, but because of that, he could know that the Demonic person in front of his eyes right now did something.
“Great, Heaven…….”
The Demonic person’s eyes glinted with madness.
“Ferocious and Cruel Unjust Courage.”
Along with the incantation recited quietly from the Demonic person’s mouth, a huge flame arose swallowing the Demonic person’s whole body.
Magic of Self-Sacrifice.
As if telling the size of the price paid, it was not a simple flame.
The raging blaze soon rose like a single giant dragon, then began to swallow everything in the surroundings in an instant.
“Dodge!”
That was no longer something that could be done about with human power.
What humans could do was just hope that disaster-like magic would pass by.
-Kuuuuu!!!
The dragon of fire swept everything in the surroundings without distinguishing friend or foe.
Among them were Winter Castle’s knights, but rather there were more other Demonic persons close to that Demonic person.
“Fi, nally…….”
“Heaven, I am going.”
Until the moment they were swallowed by the dragon of fire, the Demonic persons didn't let go of madness from their hands.
Despair settled in Gunnar’s eyes.
‘My mistake.’
He should have thought that there might be a mage among the Demonic persons, but being possessed by the madness the Demonic persons exuded, he couldn't even think that the opponent possessed reason.
Trying to deal with them as he usually dealt with demonic beasts was the losing move.
Even while knowing better than anyone else that mages are a kind who don't know what they will do if driven into a corner.
When the dragon of fire started running wild and burning everything in the surroundings, a familiar person revealed his appearance in front of Gunnar.
It was the Mage of Thunder.
“……Run away.”
Gunnar spoke, but the Mage of Thunder took a step towards the dragon of fire without caring.
“What are you doing now! Back off!”
Gunnar couldn't understand.
He already confirmed just a moment ago that the Mage of Thunder is a great mage, but that was no longer a disaster of a level that could be resisted with a human body.
But what on earth is this act?
“Sir Gunnar.”
At that time, at the sound of someone calling Gunnar, Gunnar’s head turned sharply.
“……Sir Edric?”
“Try trusting my subordinate once.”
“What do you mean by that! The Mage of Thunder is a precious force of Winter Castle! We must not lose him like this!”
“Haha. Do not worry, since Vell also probably has no intention of dying in the slightest.”
“What on earth does that…….”
The Mage of Thunder stood facing the dragon of fire.
The dragon of fire also looked at the Mage of Thunder and spewed a bestial roar.
“No……!”
A scream burst out from Gunnar’s mouth.
In the breath the dragon of fire spewed, there was power that could burn even a human without leaving a trace.
The Mage of Thunder will die.
At that moment when despair settled on Gunnar’s face watching that destined ending.
Jiiiing──!!
A brilliant light that seemed like it would never be seen again began to spew from the Mage of Thunder’s hand.
Because that light was so holy and noble, Gunnar almost knelt without realizing it.
“Th, that is what on earth……!”
And Gunnar saw.
That dark ominous energy he saw from the Demonic persons began to rise riding that holy sword blade.
What on earth is happening to that holy light?
The question wasn't that long.
Because the dragon of fire, which reached the Mage of Thunder’s close range before anyone knew it, pounced on the Mage of Thunder with its maw wide open.
Gunnar didn't know.
What was held in the Mage of Thunder’s hand right now was the Divine Sword that destroys Demonic and cuts Magic.
“Get lost, lizard.”
Along with the eviction order recited quietly from the Mage of Thunder’s mouth.
Kwakakaka──!!!
White Light scattered in all directions.