Chapter 161 : Chapter 161
Chapter 161. The Seed of Disaster (4)
The sacred relic of ‘The Maiden Who Heralds the Time’ possessed the ability to signal ill omens.
I didn't know the specifics of its operating mechanism or its limits.
Its previous owner, Marquis Ricardo, had become overly reliant on the relic's power, losing his sharp judgment and bold decisiveness, leading to his defeat.
As the one who had not just witnessed, but executed his final moments, I tried my best not to overestimate Tick-Tocky's abilities.
In fact, there were probably more instances where I pushed forward with an operation despite Tick-Tocky's warnings.
I knew from experience that in Inferno difficulty, you couldn't avoid everything just by trying, and that in this game, a crisis was synonymous with a new opportunity.
This meant I took the warning of an ill omen as an opportunity itself.
But now was different.
“Everyone, halt.”
There's such a thing as a sixth sense.
Martial arts athletes, soldiers on the battlefield, or certain scholars exploring uncharted intellectual territories, and so on.
Those who possessed this sixth sense were all individuals who had reached the human limit in their respective fields.
This was because this intuition, inexplicable by logic, often manifested on stages that pushed humans to the very edge of their capabilities.
It was a funny story, but for me, Warlord Conquest was such a stage.
In a life where all hope had been crushed, I used it as a crutch to not let go of life itself.
Besides eating, sleeping, and exercising for survival, and occasionally visiting my comatose kin, I poured all my time into this game.
Personally, I was confident that I had mastered everything about this game.
The sixth sense I gained as a result had helped me countless times since I fell into this world.
On my first day here.
Surviving the Executioner’s axe, the [Infernal Meteor] magic that struck the execution ground, and the army of thousands of undead besieging the fortress was all thanks to that sixth sense.
That sixth sense, along with Tick-Tocky, was sending a fierce warning.
That death was at my doorstep.
I shouted once more.
“All troops, halt-!”
[Deploying [Lord’s Unyielding Mind].]
[Deploying [Commander’s Roar].]
The expeditionary force stopped.
The eyes of those who stopped turned to me.
I could feel the emotions mixed in their gazes.
Doubt, bewilderment, annoyance, anger, and the like.
“Viscount Ash.”
“…Your Grace.”
[Lord’s Unyielding Mind], which dramatically amplified the power in one's words, was potent, but it wasn't a brainwashing ability that ignored all situations and environments.
Just remembering my first meeting with Olif, hadn't he warned me with killing intent after I persuaded Baron Burken?
Not many in the expeditionary force didn't know me, but I wasn't given command authority.
This meant that acting in defiance of the chain of command, like now, was more likely to backfire.
However, I had faith in something.
“Viscount, I will consider this a mistake just this once…”
“Gabir, wait a moment. Ash?”
I met the Emperor's eyes.
The only man [Lord’s Unyielding Mind] didn't work on.
I could read it in his gaze.
He knew.
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Am I thinking what you're thinking?”
That I possessed the sacred relic of ‘The Maiden Who Heralds the Time’.
I had suspected it since I defeated the high priest, but the Emperor must have known for a long time that I was the holder of two sacred relics.
I could roughly guess why he pretended not to know.
But that wasn't what was important right now.
It was a problem to think about after we got out of here alive.
What was important now was that the Emperor trusted me.
“From this moment on, I delegate full authority over the command of the expeditionary force to Viscount Ash.”
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“That is an order. I will not take questions.”
The order of the iron-blooded Emperor was absolute.
For a long time, he had brought the church, the magic towers, and the pro-imperial nobles under his heel, and above all, he wielded immense power over the military.
In particular, it was no exaggeration to say that the Imperial Army had become the Emperor's personal guard since the civil war.
The expeditionary force was the elite of that Imperial Army.
“Assume defensive positions. Prepare for an enemy ambush.”
With a single command, the force of thousands moved in perfect order.
The infantry surrounded the perimeter, and the mages activated defensive and detection magic.
At the center of the defensive formation, the artillery corps instantly finished fixing their batteries and preparing ammunition, while the mana tanks, split into companies, prepared to maneuver for both defense and offense.
[The Expeditionary Force's 2nd Artillery Battalion deploys [Artillery Stance].]
[The Expeditionary Force's 3rd Armored Company deploys [Ready to Maneuver].]
[The Expeditionary Force's 1st Infantry Squad….]
Seeing the command reports stream into the notification window after a long time, I checked my gear and combat readiness.
My personal condition was somewhat strained due to the two battles.
Most of my [Warrior’s Binding] skills were on cooldown, and I could only summon some human troops and a few Ratmen.
However, the expeditionary force had some leeway.
The Imperial Army's capabilities were maximized in defensive battles.
It was no exaggeration to say that their field defense capabilities, especially with the mana tank units deployed, surpassed even the dwarves.
Besides, we also had a radar.
[The Expeditionary Force's Magic Tower Delegation deploys [Wide-Area Detection].]
“Enemy movement has been detected!”
A tactic known as the ‘Mage Radar’.
It was a joint tactic constructed by all the mages from each of the Empire's magic towers.
It wasn't some unique high-level spell, but rather a feeling of mobilizing all the detection methods available to the Four Great Magic Towers.
Mana detection, temperature changes, variations in groundwater and atmospheric moisture, the flow of air itself, and the trembling of the ground, and so on.
Still, its performance was guaranteed.
It was also a tactic that could only be used when the imperial authority was strong enough to command the Four Great Magic Towers.
Even a reasonably high-level mage couldn't hide their presence within this detection network.
Unless they used spatial teleportation, that is.
“The distance is closing. Five hundred meters to the shared boundary!”
Let's start thinking.
What kind of crisis could we face here?
Two things came to mind immediately.
The Ratmen and the Church.
However, in a situation like this, those two were practically one and the same.
The Ratmen hordes of the Plague City were mixed with the Weird Priesthood.
Other potential threats that came to mind were the remaining million-strong Ratmen horde and the high priest of the Corruption Priesthood.
What means could they possibly use?
We destroyed the plague bomb.
The sword of the frozen knight, Yula Katran, literally turned whatever it cut into ice.
While I was contemplating, the enemies came within close range.
As expected, the Mage Radar could obtain more detailed information as the distance closed.
“The number… appears to be less than a platoon.”
“What?”
“Just as I said. A platoon, no, two individuals.”
A platoon.
Strange.
Our forces could easily crush even a hundred thousand Ratmen.
Even if it were a high priest, we could kill him in the blink of an eye.
“One hundred meters!”
“All troops, prepare for battle.”
What kind of bravado made them show themselves here?
Tick-Tocky's warning grew increasingly severe.
The intersection of hundreds of cannon muzzles aimed at a single point.
Finally, the enemy revealed themselves.
There were two.
A Ratman variant, modified to run as fast as a horse.
And on its back, a Ratman priest from the Corruption Priesthood.
“We meet again.”
The Ratman said.
I didn't answer.
I knew who he was.
The high priest of the Corruption Priesthood.
‘Tick-tock…….’
I didn't know his name.
That was because it always changed in the game too.
The Corruption Priesthood, due to their racial traits, constantly created new variants to replace the original troop types, and that replacement scope included the high priest as well.
The only recognizable element was the necklace around the high priest's neck.
It was a kind of symbol that only the high priest could possess, a switch that could detonate plague bombs within range.
“Mercenary Captain Ash. Emperor Karlos.”
Strange.
He was overly composed.
If push came to shove, we were prepared to obliterate the very ground he stood on with artillery and spells.
“Still, since this is the end, I thought I should stop by and say hello. You are adversaries I acknowledge.”
No matter how much of a Corruption Priesthood body he had, he only had one life.
The jumbled information in my head led to a few conclusions.
He called me Mercenary Captain.
“…Rakkash.”
“Oh, you guessed it right away.”
“How?”
The high priest of the Corruption Priesthood, no, Rakkash, the high priest of the Weird Priesthood who had taken over that body, chuckled.
“I found a fragment of Chincharina’s wandering soul during an experiment. Ah, she is dead. To one of the Lumer Legion Commanders.”
“The ability to escape by splitting one's soul.”
“That's right. I tormented her soul and obtained some spell knowledge. It was a soul on the verge of annihilation, so I couldn't learn it properly… but look, haven't I returned from the grave like this?”
Personally, I think there was nothing more harmful than a villain who comes back to life even after being killed.
They make you suffer all the same and don't give the player a clean victory.
It would probably be the same in other creative works like novels or dramas.
I only watched them in bits and pieces during game loading times, but I think I saw quite a lot.
Pushing aside the stray thoughts, I nudged the elbow of Archduke Gabir, who stood beside me to assist with command.
After confirming his eyes were glowing blue, I asked.
“Are you saying that when that body dies, you'll just move on to another?”
“That’s right. And one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“When this body dies, a bomb will go off. You know what kind of bomb, don't you?”
“The plague bomb has already been eliminated.”
“Why would you think there was only one?”
‘Tick-tock…!!’
Tick-Tocky cried out.
“The beginning and the end are true, the middle is a lie.”
I verified its truthfulness with [Eight Thousand Angels’ Insight].
The soul escape and the extra plague bomb were real.
The bomb detonating upon the high priest's death was a lie.
Judgment and action were simultaneous.
“Volley fire!”
As I gave the order to fire, I simultaneously poured spells at him.
KABOOM! KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM-!
Amidst the explosions echoing through the cavern, I summoned a doppelgänger.
Its location was the center of the bombardment.
Behind him, as sensed by my mana.
“Chiiiik, yes, I…knew you'd show up!”
The high priest, almost a pulp, turned around.
The uniquely mutated bodies of the Corruption Priesthood didn't die easily even when crushed.
With this, I confirmed it once again.
He had memories of me.
This meant it wasn't [Soul Splitting].
It meant that if I could capture his soul here and prevent it from escaping, it would be over.
I immediately slashed his heart and neck with my sword.
However.
“Kik, chiiiik-”
He didn't block my attack.
His last remaining hand was already pressing the detonation switch.
[Deploying [Soul Absorption].]
“Chiiiik, chiiieeeek-!”
He screamed, realizing too late that his soul was being sucked into the magic stone.
It was too late.
For him, and for me.
A dull vibration from afar rumbled through the ground and reached the soles of my feet.
Seven times, in short intervals.
TH-KABOOM!
The ensuing bombardment and barrage of spells evaporated even my doppelgänger.
The Emperor spoke to my main body, which had stopped casting spells.
“Did you defeat him?”
“Fucking cliché.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
This psychopathic emperor.
Let's just ignore the Emperor's absurd remark for now.
That wasn't what was important right now.
The two high priests were dead, but a far greater disaster was approaching.
Seven plague bombs had detonated.