Chapter 41 : Chapter 41
Chapter 41. It is Coming
Kwaaaang―!
Alak, the knight guarding the top of the castle walls, squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of the gate breaking.
“Damn it!”
He needed to lead the soldiers down immediately and defend the gate.
However, the resistance from the Lafre that had climbed the walls was far too fierce.
He couldn't move a single step.
‘If only Sir Noctis were here….’
Noctis, the strongest knight in Sylvester, was leading the Gold Gladiators and operating a scouting party.
The purpose of the scouting party was to find out the true nature of the monster called ‘Anesta’.
It was something that had to be done, but the absence of Noctis and the Gold Gladiators was deeply regrettable.
Now that the gate had been breached, the damage would grow exponentially.
Alak fought desperately to shake off the Lafre, but a considerable amount of time had already passed.
“Don't spare your lives! We must break through them!”
With an urgent heart, Alak shook off the swarming Lafre and led a few knights and soldiers down the castle walls.
A swarm of Lafre that would pour into the castle.
Anticipating that dismal situation, he approached the gate.
However, the situation he faced was completely unexpected.
‘…What is this?’
The gate was breached, but the swarming Lafre were gathered together in one spot.
As he approached them with a bewildered feeling, he soon understood the reason.
Kwang―!
Kwang―!
Explosions rang out in succession from within the ashen wave of Lafre.
Someone was surrounded by the creatures, fighting desperately.
The figures of a human and a vampire were briefly visible among the swarm of Lafre.
Hyunwoo and Lucas.
Discovering the brave individuals who had defended the gate, Alak strained the veins in his neck and shouted.
“Help them at once―!”
At Alak's roar, which was infused with mana, Hyunwoo looked back at Lucas and grinned―.
However, he had no strength left to speak.
A moment later, he felt the siege around them loosen.
The arrived knights and soldiers were in the middle of slaughtering the Lafre as they came.
The arrival of reinforcements created a moment to catch their breath.
Hooah―
In that time, Hyunwoo and Lucas were able to break through the encirclement and escape.
“Let's rest… for a bit.”
“……”
The signs of exhaustion were evident on Lucas as well.
Hyunwoo sheathed Cheonbyeondo, massaged his trembling arms, and stepped back.
Among those who came to help, he took in the sight of the knights.
The corrupting fluid of the Lafre couldn't even scratch their mana.
The knights, charging in like tanks without any fear, easily blocked the Lafre trying to cross the gate.
However, even the knights wouldn't be able to ignore the fluid indefinitely once their mana ran out.
So, the fight was not yet over.
After catching his breath for a moment, Hyunwoo raised Cheonbyeondo again.
At that sight, Lucas let out a small groan.
“…Are you going to fight again?”
“The fight is far from over.”
“What on earth do you want that makes you go to such lengths?”
“Peace in the Demon World.”
“……”
“I’m kidding. No need to glare, is there?”
In truth, that was the correct answer.
Because stopping the Calamity of the Demon World was something that had to be prioritized above all else.
If he wanted to survive.
Hyunwoo held Cheonbyeondo and moved his feet back to the battlefield.
Lucas couldn't understand Hyunwoo’s actions.
The human didn't seem like he was mad with slaughter, nor did he seem to enjoy battle.
But, he was moving endlessly with eyes that had a clear purpose.
‘It’s as if… he’s doing something that he absolutely must do.’
The human endlessly cut down the Lafre with an emotionless expression.
The emotion that could be glimpsed from his expression.
It was a kind of sense of mission.
It was similar to the way of acting of those so-called ‘heroes’ that occasionally appeared in the human world.
Lucas, who was watching him, felt a churning in his chest.
‘…What am I doing right now?’
Lucas swallowed a groan.
A sense of shame welled up in his chest on its own.
…The misunderstanding caused by Hyunwoo’s obsession with raising his swordsmanship proficiency was growing uncontrollably.
Lucas lifted his trembling arm and approached Hyunwoo, who was swinging his sword.
And, he quietly swung his own sword.
Chwaak―!
The ashen wave created by the Lafre was split apart.
Seeing that, Hyunwoo grinned―.
“Getting bored watching from the back, are you?”
“…It’s not like that.”
Lucas gave up on understanding Hyunwoo and simply swung his sword.
Just like Hyunwoo.
The front line before the gate, joined by knights and soldiers, was maintained precariously.
However, as the remaining forces from the top of the walls joined in addition, a one-sided slaughter began.
Hyunwoo and Lucas swung their swords among them.
Just then.
⌜Po Dienda Swordsmanship (2-Star)―100%(M)⌟
Time seemed to slow to a stop, and a vision unfolded before his eyes.
He felt a power that seemed to boil up from within his body.
‘This is….’
Hyunwoo became a vampire wearing a red cape under a yellow, rising moon.
‘The founder of Po Dienda Swordsmanship, the Undying King Eternius.’
He felt a power overflowing within his body.
A domineering power that felt as if it could destroy everything, right at this moment!
The world felt through his body felt trivial, and then trivial again.
An arrogance that only he was the sole, complete existence.
Just as the power and mindset of Eternius were about to completely swallow Hyunwoo.
He looked up at the moon and naturally raised his sword.
The starting stance of Po Dienda Swordsmanship.
No further movement was necessary.
Even though he hadn't swung the sword yet, he could feel that the movement was perfect.
The sword was drawn downwards.
Swoosh―
Unlike the small movement, the power felt was overwhelming.
Kwagwagwagwagwagwang―!
The downward-slashing sword cleaved the world apart.
At the same time, Hyunwoo awoke from the vision.
“Hoo….”
Perhaps because he had synchronized with such a powerful being, he couldn't move right away.
Hyunwoo closed his eyes.
And a moment later, when his eyes flashed open, his swordsmanship had suddenly changed.
The first one to notice that fact was Lucas, who was nearby.
His eyes shot wide open.
‘That’s….’
‘Po Dienda Swordsmanship’, a skill whose end even the mighty vampire race found hard to see.
The concentration of immense power felt from Hyunwoo’s sword made him think that it was surely the end of the swordsmanship.
However, contrary to the immense power felt, the sword he swung was quiet.
Swoosh―
A simple downward slash.
But, its aftermath was not simple or easy at all.
Kwaaaang―!
A swordsmanship that seemed to destroy all things with a single blow was unleashed.
With a single slash, the swarm of Lafre was blown to smithereens.
Lucas, who was watching the scene, found his mouth hanging open.
‘What in the world… is this….’
From the moment they had fought back-to-back, he knew that his swordsmanship had surpassed his own level.
However.
‘Mastery…’
Seeing the end of that swordsmanship was another matter entirely.
Lucas was at a loss for words at the sight that surpassed his understanding.
“……”
After unleashing the swordsmanship once, Hyunwoo stopped in his tracks.
The forces driving back the Lafre went ahead, but he lowered his sword and sank to the ground.
His expression as he sheathed his sword was one of deep satisfaction.
‘I achieved it.’
Now that he had achieved mastery of the swordsmanship he had aimed for, there was no need to push himself any further.
Hyunwoo took a deep breath and looked around the battlefield.
“Hoo… looks like it's mostly cleaned up now?”
“Probably… so.”
“……? Why are you looking at me like that? I told you it was a joke.”
“It's nothing.”
Lucas looked at Hyunwoo with a strange gaze, then turned his back.
The two looked beyond the gate.
The ashen procession that had seemed endless was now all lying on the ground.
The ashen fluid spilled by the creatures around the castle spread out like cement.
Hyunwoo came out of the castle and looked up at the walls.
On top of the walls, the soldiers who had already grasped the situation were raising their hands and cheering.
“Waaaaaah!”
“We won!”
The traces of a fierce battle could also be glimpsed on the castle walls.
Collapsed figures from exhaustion and the tattered, corrupted walls were noticeable.
Except for those who were covered in the Lafre’s fluid in the initial clash, there were almost no casualties.
It was a great victory.
In the original flow of events, numerous casualties occur in Sylvester's first siege.
‘That is, if the player doesn't intervene.’
The only one who could change the flow of ‘Masal’ was a being from outside the scenario.
In other words, only himself.
Because he had successfully defended the gate, he was able to reduce the damage tremendously.
One of the knights who was cleaning up outside the castle approached Hyunwoo and Lucas.
It was Alak, the knight who had been the first to run to them when they were defending the gate.
He knew very well who the main contributors to this victory were.
“Thanks to you, we were able to reduce the damage. On behalf of this place, I express my gratitude.”
“Rather than thanks, please just relay our words well to the lord.”
At those words, the knight let out a smirk. He knew well that it was a request for a reward, but they deserved that much treatment.
“Of course. The reward…”
He wanted to talk about the reward, but Alak couldn't continue.
“Sir Alak―!”
Alak narrowed his brow at the sight of the soldier looking for him with an urgent expression.
Then, his eyes shot wide open and he threw himself towards the soldier.
On the back of the approaching soldier, someone was being carried.
Alak recognized that someone at a glance.
“Sir Noctis!”
Sir Noctis, who had left the castle on a scouting mission, had returned covered in wounds.
“Where did you find him?”
“Haa, haa― I found him outside the forest!”
He was a familiar face to Hyunwoo.
The knight who had given him the reward last time.
I had heard he participated in the scouting party….
The entire body of the knight being carried was covered in wounds.
Twitch―
The back of Noctis, who was on the soldier’s back, moved faintly.
He was still breathing.
“…Grgh.”
Noctis let out a bloody foam from his mouth.
“Sir Noctis!”
“……The lord.”
“Keep your mouth shut! Your injuries are severe.”
“Guide me… to the lord. The scouting party was wiped out.”
The knight called Noctis didn't stop talking even as blood overflowed.
“It… it is coming….”
Fear filled the eyes of Noctis as he continued to speak.
And as if his strength had run out, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
“Sir Noctis!! Out of the way!”
Alak snatched Noctis from the soldier and ran into the castle as if flying.
Lucas spoke to Hyunwoo with a tense expression.
“The situation is escalating quickly. What will you do now? Are you going back to the arena?”
Hyunwoo watched the backs of the disappearing knights.
He watched until the knights were out of sight, then opened his mouth in a low voice.
“Go back? It's just getting started.”
“What?”
“Let's go to the barracks. I need to rest first. My whole body is aching.”
Hyunwoo took Lucas and headed for the barracks.
Only one person had returned alive from those sent as a scouting party.
The fear in the knight’s eyes.
From it, he read the existence of Anesta.
‘If I were the lord, how would I move now….’
The Lord of Sylvester is very cautious.
So much so that he didn't show his face even once while the castle was under attack.
But, if he were to hear about the existence of Anesta through the knight, his attitude would change.
For now, Hyunwoo decided to watch the situation and then move.
‘First, Cheonbyeondo.’
Hyunwoo lowered his head and looked at the Cheonbyeondo in his hand.
The 1,000 souls for the 1st awakening condition.
Cheonbyeondo, to which the deaths of 1,000 Lafre had been offered, was glowing faintly.
‘Thankfully, I'll be able to prepare it in time.’
Hyunwoo thought about what to do next and looked around the castle vicinity.