Chapter 137 : Legion Spawning Ground (5)
Chapter 137: Legion Spawning Ground (5)
The blood of Dragons flowed through the direct Imperial Family of the Hestia Empire.
Whenever the Empire faced a crisis, they stood at the very forefront and annihilated its enemies.
That was their duty.
And the reason they had been able to rule the Empire for so long.
“How dare you repay the Empire’s grace with betrayal. Were you in league with the criminals all along!”
Anger filled Evangeline’s eyes.
Craaaack!
Frost spread across the ground.
As expected of someone who inherited the power of an Ice Dragon.
The claim that she possessed one of the highest synchronization rates among all Imperial Family members throughout history was no exaggeration.
Yohan wet his lips with his tongue.
‘An unexpected opportunity has come my way.’
At first glance, it might seem like the worst possible situation, but looking at the bigger picture, a perfect stage had been prepared.
‘If I can save the Emperor here and uncover the truth….’
He would be able to recruit Evangeline as a companion, the absolute highest-priority mission that had to be completed in the Hestia Empire.
Just thinking about Evangeline, who could cover both close and long-range combat, made him feel as reassured as though he had eaten two hearty bowls of soup.
‘Eye of the Prophet’ observed the target.
[Evangeline von Hestia]
Occupation: Dragonkin
Astral Rank: March(月) 7-Star(星)
Unique Ability: Dragon’s Wrath
Strength 39 Agility 41 Mana 65
Physical Defense: 190
Magic Defense: 200
Traits: [Royal Blood] [Twilight Rampage]
Details: An Imperial Princess born with a tragic destiny. She bears the duty of sacrificing everything for the Empire. She lost her beloved mother during the First War against humanity and carries an incurable wound deep within her heart.
It had been a while since he had seen stats this incredible.
[Twilight Rampage], which allowed her to become a Dragon if she lost her reason.
On top of that.
There was even the highest-tier Trait [Royal Blood], nearly equal to Seo Changhee’s.
Simply checking it was enough to draw admiration from him.
‘Especially since Royal Blood is a Trait even the Heavenly Demon is after.’
One of the essential requirements for becoming a True Immortal.
There were probably elites dispatched by the Empire somewhere around here as well.
After carefully examining the status window, Yohan slowly chose what he needed to say.
“A night ordained by fate comes for everyone someday. They say life is a journey to find someone with whom you can spend that night.”
This was probably the right answer.
The only key capable of soothing the wounded and furious Imperial Princess’s heart.
At that, Evangeline’s pupils trembled violently.
“How do you know that passage…?”
Those were words Evangeline’s mother used to tell her.
When she went to her because she was afraid of sleeping alone.
And when her mother stroked her head to reassure her before departing for the final war.
She had always told her those same words.
“It was written in a book I owned. I don’t really know why, but if I ever met Your Highness again, I wanted to make sure I told you.”
“…They’re good words. But if one side leaves on their own, then they become nothing more than meaningless words.”
She had wanted it to be a night they endured and overcame together.
Even if the end was miserable, she had wanted her mother to remain by her side until the very end.
But her mother had gone to the battlefield alone.
And never returned.
It was a common story.
“Perhaps she had circumstances that left her no other choice? For example, protecting someone more precious than her own life.”
“…….”
The Imperial Princess tightly clenched her fist.
Then she finally asked.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Do you still believe the Emperor is truly the Emperor? I want to ask whether you can truly be certain that someone who cuts down his allies and breaks his covenant is the same person Your Highness knows.”
“Such insolence! That is an insult to the Imperial Family!”
Whoooosh!
Frost surged once again.
However, unlike before, its momentum had weakened.
She knew it herself.
The Emperor wasn’t acting as he normally did.
This was enough.
Evangeline would no longer be able to give everything she had to stop them.
Because a tiny stain called doubt had already begun spreading across the pure white canvas.
Yohan nodded toward Seo Changhee.
“You were fairly skilled. Female knight. We’ll settle our match another time.”
Boooom!
Seo Changhee immediately slipped past the Imperial Princess and plunged deep into the Knights.
“Wait!”
The Imperial Princess shouted and tried to pursue him, but strangely, her steps felt heavy.
“Stop him!”
“Protect His Majesty!”
The knights formed a defensive formation.
However. It wasn’t enough to stop Seo Changhee now that he had fully shifted into an offensive stance.
Craaaash!
Spirituality’s breakthrough, which summoned a storm, was on an entirely different level.
‘What? He’s much stronger than I expected?’
Even Yohan tilted his head.
Even for a protagonist designed to monopolize Fortuitous Encounters, the extent of his growth was excessive.
Well, this was a welcome miscalculation.
The stronger he became, the higher the probability of clearing the later Episodes with ease.
Right then.
Thooom!
A massive man rose like a towering mountain.
“Sir Kaisel!”
The one guarding the final defensive line was Kaisel Rockfellun, Commander of the Imperial Central Knights.
A top-tier powerhouse who had reached Mid-April Rank, effectively representing the military might of the Hestia Empire itself.
“Excellent skill, young man. Would you care to exchange a few moves with this old man?”
Kaisel drew an enormous greatsword.
Tingle.
A vicious killing intent engulfed the surroundings.
The other knights were far from weak, but Kaisel stood several levels above them.
Under normal circumstances, one would have been crushed by this pressure and unable to move.
The problem was.
“I’ll give you my autograph later. Considering your age and those bad joints, I’ll even give you a three-move handicap.”
The one Kaisel was facing was just as far removed from ordinary.
Whoooosh.
The atmosphere turned cold.
Their conversation ended there.
Their gleaming gazes crossed, and their swords immediately collided in midair.
Clangclangclangclang!
An exchange impossible to predict even a single move ahead continued.
Boom! Thud! Thud!
Every strike was a killing blow aimed at a vital point.
A sword swept through the space where a head had been.
Red lines were carved across cheeks and arms.
Slashslashslash!
Dozens of sword scars were engraved into the ground.
Seo Changhee barely escaped that hell before slipping toward Kaisel’s left waist.
Green fangs erupted from his left palm.
[Skill ‘Medusa’s Assault’ is activated!]
A support-type Skill that inflicted Stun when a surprise attack from a blind spot succeeded.
Its duration was only 0.1 seconds, but that was enough to create a meaningful result.
However, the battle-hardened veteran had already anticipated it.
Crunch!
Kaisel blocked the fangs with his gauntlet and smirked.
“Your talent is exceptional, but you’re still unripe. You lack experience.”
Boooom!
Kaisel sent Seo Changhee flying.
Seo Changhee, who was thrown dozens of meters away, immediately regained his stance.
The Commander of the Knights truly lived up to his title.
Even Seo Changhee couldn’t gain the upper hand against him one-on-one.
Despite that, there was one reason the balance remained even.
[Fixed damage is added to the Skill!]
Yohan’s intervention.
Because he supported Seo Changhee with various spells through ‘Time of the Annihilating Moon’.
The Magic Corps likewise supported Kaisel, but the difference in instinct and timing was simply too great.
1 minute. 2 minutes.
As time passed, a strange atmosphere began spreading among the knights.
Commander Kaisel, whom they trusted without the slightest doubt.
Perhaps….
He might actually be defeated by those two.
“Keugh.”
A heavy groan actually escaped Kaisel’s mouth.
He had been caught by the combination of ‘Void Predator’ and ‘Earth Spikes’.
Right then.
“This will not do.”
The Emperor, who had remained silent all this time, spoke for the first time.
“Y-Your Majesty. Please trust this servant a little longer. I shall surely offer you victory.”
Kaisel immediately bowed his head.
“No, this is enough. It’s disappointing, but you’ve drained a reasonable amount of their strength, so it isn’t bad.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by…. Keugh?”
Stab!
Kaisel’s eyes widened as he looked down at his abdomen.
A long pincer leg had pierced through it.
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“Could that be….”
Everyone’s faces twisted in shock.
Because the appearance of the sole existence they trusted and followed had completely changed.
[Class-1 Combat Species ‘Armadan’ releases its mana!]
“Keeeeee!!!”
An ear-splitting roar filled the battlefield.
That was the beginning.
“Enemies appearing from the flank! Th-there are an enormous number of them!”
“They’re pouring in from the front too!”
Dudududu!
Black clouds appeared from every direction.
It was an army too vast to count.
Until now, they hadn’t been attacked by the Parasites because of the Emperor. More precisely, because of Armadan hiding inside the Emperor’s body.
But now that there was no longer any need for that, the situation changed completely.
“Those who could interfere with Mother will be eliminated here. It would have been difficult if you were at full strength, but now that you’ve exhausted yourselves fighting each other, this will be child’s play.”
Armadan flicked out his tongue.
Red blades covered his entire body.
He was a Combat Species specialized in close combat.
‘Exactly what I wanted.’
Opportunity bloomed within crisis.
Every card he wanted was already in his hand.
Yohan stepped forward.
“This can’t be.”
“Wh-why….”
“His Majesty… His, His Majesty….”
As he rushed forward, he saw knights and mages standing frozen in shock.
With the Emperor, their central pillar, gone, even a Knight Order as powerful as this one was bound to collapse.
And.
‘My role is to make them fight again.’
A true veteran overturned the very course of battle.
No matter how unfavorable or hopeless the situation was. He found a path to survival within certain death.
That was all.
Tap!
He arrived beside Imperial Princess Evangeline.
She, too, wore an expression as though she had given up on everything.
“Pull yourself together! If even Your Highness collapses, it really is over!”
“But… His Majesty is already….”
“He isn’t dead yet! If we can extract the Parasite inside his body, we can return him to normal.”
“I-is that really true?”
At Yohan’s words, focus returned to Evangeline’s eyes.
“Of course.”
“Even if that’s true, it’s already too late. Can’t you see? How could we possibly break through that many enemies?”
There were enough enemies that they needed an army, not merely a Knight Order.
Even if they somehow rescued the Emperor, escaping this place seemed impossible.
“Trust me and follow me. Then, we can definitely succeed.”
Yohan smiled and extended his hand toward Evangeline.
“…….”
Countless people had tried to sweet-talk her until now.
Yet why?
The man before her was somehow different.
His unwavering gaze and voice filled with certainty seemed to speak of only one possible outcome.
Evangeline took his hand.
And rose to her feet.
＊＊＊
Whoooosh!
Amid the raging frost.
Those who refused to give up opened a path.
Evangeline with her golden hair fluttering behind her, and Seo Changhee standing beside her.
The combined assault of two heroes who would one day brilliantly decorate countless pages of the Episodes cut through the Parasites.
Yeah, this is it.
The synergy that appeared as powerful companions gathered one by one.
Nothing could compare to that sweet, exhilarating carbonation.
Moreover, once the Imperial Princess took the lead and fought desperately, the despairing knights and mages also came to their senses.
“Follow Her Highness! It isn’t over yet!”
“For the Hestia Empire!”
Tiny embers gathered and became a flame.
However, it wasn’t enough.
No matter how fiercely their fighting spirit burned, the difference in strength was simply too overwhelming.
Armadan must have known that as well, which was why he could remain so relaxed.
“Bwahaha! Yes. Struggle harder. Only then will you be able to come even one step closer, won’t you?”
Mocking laughter burst out.
“We can’t keep fighting like this! There are too many!”
Seo Changhee shouted.
“Keugh.”
Evangeline also struggled to swing her sword imbued with cold energy.
“Keeee!”
“Keeee!”
Cut one down and two appeared.
Kill two and ten more leapt out.
They had already defeated more than 100, but hundreds of times that number remained.
“Just a little. Just a little more.”
Yohan watched the Parasites’ movements and waited for the right timing.
To achieve the maximum effect, even more enemies needed to gather.
“I’ll join you!”
Having recovered from his injury, Kaisel charged in with his greatsword.
Boooom!
The weighty sword crushed the head of a medium-sized Parasite.
Using that as the signal, the knights began joining the front line one after another.
Of course, the Parasites had multiplied severalfold in the meantime as well.
Before long, insects completely filled every direction.
And at that moment.
“Your name was Armadan, right?”
Yohan addressed the Royal Guard.
“That is correct.”
“If you’ve revealed your identity. That means the Queen gave you permission… is she watching this place right now too?”
“Hooh. You know quite a bit about us. Yes. Mother is watching with us.”
As expected.
She was observing the battlefield through [Shared Vision].
Naturally, she would also be using [Shared Mana] to distribute her power to Armadan and the other Parasites.
Those two Traits were the greatest advantages possessed by a collective species.
But.
At the same time, they could become fatal weaknesses.
If they lost a large number of forces all at once, a portion of that damage would be transmitted to the Queen as well.
That was precisely why Yohan had deliberately dragged out the battle and waited for even more of them to gather.
“Look forward to it. From now on, I’ll show you why mages shine on the battlefield.”
Yohan released his Subspace.
[‘Fate of the Falling Star’ is activated!]
[180,000 Durability is consumed!]
The sky turned black.
Crackle!
Crack!
Black lightning gathered between the clouds.
Sparks erupted in every direction, beginning to completely fill the sky above the Parasites’ heads.