Chapter 328 : Chapter 328
Chapter 328. These Young Kids These Days Are Scary (3)
The annihilation of the Magellan Kingdom and the Harbor Duchy.
This instilled a serious sense of alarm in the allied forces, who had been confident of victory.
In fact, if they couldn't come to their senses here, there was no hope.
How could they not come to their senses when 70,000 had been wiped out in a single preliminary battle?
They hastily gathered their forces and reorganized their formation.
While doing so, they were wary of a counterattack from the Yusef Kingdom, but the Yusef Kingdom was strangely quiet.
It almost felt as if they were being considerate, telling them to prepare thoroughly for a proper fight.
And so….
With the Imperial Sword Saint, Duke Carlos Dante Reynardo, as the commander-in-chief, the reorganized allied forces officially began a fierce battle with the Yusef Kingdom.
It was the beginning of the cursed war that would later be called the Outer God War.
Year 1531. July 1st.
The Imperial Sword Saint personally led the allied forces and attacked the main camp of the Yusef Kingdom.
“Do not retreat! The enemy is the enemy of the entire continent!”
“Paladins to the front! No matter how strong they are, the enemy is undead. Melt them with holy power!”
At the commander's order, the paladins of the Holy Theocracy all stepped forward, made the sign of the cross on their chests, and unleashed their holy power.
“Oh, Yupinel. Return these beings who have strayed from order to the earth. Turn Undead!”
“Turn Undead!”
“Turn Undead!”
The holy power unleashed simultaneously by hundreds of paladins and monks was fatal to the undead created by the black mages.
The undead that came into contact with the holy light literally melted away, and some of the black mages also seemed to be injured.
However….
“Insolent fools…. Did you think we wouldn't be prepared for such petty tricks?”
From the Yusef Kingdom, Greed, a direct disciple of Jonsa, ground his teeth and ordered.
“Deploy the Red Knights.”
“Yes!”
Following his order, the knights clad in red armor advanced to the front of the line.
They too, with some exceptions, were undead, so they should have been vulnerable to holy power.
However….
CLANG! RUMBLE!
When Aura Blades formed on the swords of all of them, the story changed.
They withstood the holy power of the paladins by unleashing their aura to push back its influence.
And then….
“Go! Kill them all!”
As soon as Greed's order fell, they charged towards the enemies in front of them.
Their number was at least 200.
More than 200 knights emitting Aura Blades.
“What are those monsters?!”
The Imperial Sword Saint shot up from his seat and shouted.
Hearing that the vanguard of the allied forces had been annihilated, he had thought there must be some hidden card.
But he had never imagined something so absurd.
7-Star knights filling the front lines and charging?
Even if he gathered all the 7-Star knights of the Empire, it wouldn't even be half of that, so what in the world was going on?
While he was in shock, the Red Knights had already descended upon the paladins and monks standing at the forefront.
And….
“Kuaaack!”
“Yupine… Keoheok….”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
A terrible tragedy occurred.
The paladins had been placed at the front to deal with the undead monsters summoned by the black mages, but they had not expected to clash head-on with such a force so suddenly.
The moment the two sides made contact, the paladins and monks collapsed like sandcastles struck by a wave.
“No! Protect the Paladins!”
The Imperial Sword Saint shouted quickly and personally drew his sword and leaped forward.
When he jumped in, naturally, the knights of the Empire also shot forward.
The relationship between the Empire and the Holy Theocracy was usually not good, but the situation was different now.
The enemy was the black mages.
Their specialty was summoning the dead and demons from hell.
To deal with them, the existence of the Holy Theocracy was indispensable.
Without them, they could not effectively respond to the black mages' undead summons.
To save even one more paladin and monk, the Imperial Sword Saint leaped forward and unleashed a full-power strike.
“Ooooooooooooh!”
Although he had relinquished the title of the continent's strongest, the Imperial Sword Saint was still the Imperial Sword Saint.
Two of the Red Knights caught in his blow vanished without a trace.
Inspired by the Imperial Sword Saint's performance, the knights of the Empire also bravely clashed with the Red Knights.
“These bastards….”
“Do not underestimate the Empire!”
The Imperial Sword Saint and the 30 7-Star knights guarding him.
Although their overall strength might be inferior, their counterattack opened a glimmer of hope on the battlefield.
The relentless advance of the Red Knights was momentarily halted, and there were those who had to do their job without missing that gap.
“Now! Pour it on!”
As the order from the Tower of Truth's 2nd Sage fell, the hundreds of mages who had been pre-casting simultaneously unleashed fire, ice, and lightning.
KABOOM! CRASH! BOOM!
The ground vibrated slightly from the terrifying explosion.
The Tower of Truth, which in a sense could be called the antithesis of the black mages, had unleashed terrifying firepower.
Their magical barrage inflicted serious damage on some of the Red Knights and the ordinary troops of the Yusef Kingdom following behind them.
However, they were not the only ones capable of this.
From the rear of the Yusef Kingdom, black mages in black robes rose into the air.
And then….
“I'll return it tenfold!”
Las, one of Jonsa's direct disciples, and his subordinates cast simultaneously.
Then, a black fireball was instantly created above their heads and began to grow in size.
Las chanted one spell, and numerous black mages added their power to it, increasing the magic's power.
It was a secret art that only black mages with completely identical mana properties could perform.
“Block it!”
“Don't let them fire it!”
The Seven Sages knew well the power of that attack.
The magic swordsmen urgently flew up and tried to stop the black mages' casting.
However….
“Too late!”
With Las' voice full of joy, the largest-scale magic was finally completed.
“Hell Fire.”
A high-level super-heat magic that could only be used when one's proficiency in black magic had reached the highest level.
If that hellfire fell on the allied formation, a terrible thing would happen.
“No!”
“Block it!”
The Seven Sages urgently deployed protective magic and tried to protect their allies somehow.
And at that moment….
Flash!
Almost simultaneously, two streaks of light shot up into the sky.
One was a golden flash of light wielding a huge Aura Blade over 10 meters long in both hands, and the other was a blue flash of light even faster than that.
And….
SWOOSH!
The blue flash of light unleashed a powerful single slash and split the black mages' magic in half.
The Hell Fire split in half.
And the golden flash of light that flew in after it mercilessly shredded the split flames of hell.
[ Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms: Fourth Form: Twin Dragons Wild Dance ]
CRASH!
The Hell Fire, torn into dozens of pieces by the Aura Blade, finally exploded in mid-air.
The ones who blocked this terrifying attack and saved the lives of tens of thousands of allies were April Schneider of the Schneider Duchy, and….
“Ooooh….”
“Kenonier!”
Kenonier Gras.
A Guardian, the greatest power of the Tower of Truth, who had not shown himself until now.
He landed on the ground and spoke to April in a blunt voice.
“Thank you for your help.”
“…It's nothing.”
April had a slightly surprised expression, unlike her usual self.
That was understandable, because….
‘We jumped at the same time, but he was faster than me.’
This was the first time, other than Patrick.
The first time she had been outpaced in speed.
She had expected him to be strong since he was the greatest power of the Tower of Truth, but she had thought he would be just a little stronger than Riman Ciera.
But this was on a different level.
‘At least on par with the Imperial Sword Saint, or maybe even stronger?’
Now that she looked closely, he wasn't clad in lightning.
His body itself had transformed into an incarnation of lightning.
Even the sword he held in his hand was made of lightning.
Was this also possible if one's use of a soul weapon reached the extreme?
To the admiring April, Kenonier said.
“It seems we must join in as well.”
“I understand.”
“I will take the left. As for you, Your Highness…”
“I'll go to the right.”
The two, their eyes meeting, nodded at the same time.
And right after that.
Zip! Voom!
April, charging explosively.
Kenonier, moving at such a high speed that not even the vibration of sound was left behind.
Although their tendencies were different, the two streaks of light crossed the battlefield and penetrated the main camp of the Yusef Kingdom.
* * *
“Hahaha. This is good. Very good!”
Greed was filled with joy.
This was it.
This was exactly what he wanted.
The ceaseless screams of sorrow and the death throes.
The thrilling killing intent of the powerful individuals charging to take his head.
All of this excited him.
He had to endure and suppress it until the day of the Falling Sun came, but everything he pursued was here.
“Alright. Shall we play one more of our cards?”
And as he raised his hand, a man appeared from behind him, holding a giant two-handed sword.
Hegemon King Cierion Baisus Yusef.
He stepped forward.
The Hegemon King, charging across the battlefield.
His target was the big shot who was fiercely holding back the Red Knights with his subordinates.
The Imperial Sword Saint.
“Come.”
The Imperial Sword Saint, sensing the presence of the Hegemon King charging towards him, did not flinch in the slightest.
Rather, he raised his Aura Blade to its limit and prepared to meet the Hegemon King.
And….
RUUUUUUMBLE.
The King's Sword.
The symbol of the Hegemon King and the proof of the 8th Star.
However, unlike before, it was not a brilliantly shining pure white sword, but a deep jet-black sword that rose high on the battlefield.
And the Hegemon King's sword came down.
In response, the Imperial Sword Saint also moved forward and swung his sword to meet it.
CRRAAAAAASSSHHH!
The clash between the two 8-Star levels sent everyone who was fighting fiercely nearby flying, and….
BOOOOOM!
One of the two who had clashed was also sent flying backward.
And the result shocked the knights of the allied forces.
“Huk?”
“Your Grace!”
The one who was sent flying was the Imperial Sword Saint.
The knights of the Empire hurriedly ran to the Imperial Sword Saint who had been sent flying back after taking the Hegemon King's blow.
At that, the Imperial Sword Saint slowly got up and raised his hand to stop them.
And….
“These young kids these days are scary.”
The Imperial Sword Saint slowly rose to his feet.
He was covered in dirt and dust, but his body itself was fine.
Absolute.
The Imperial Sword Saint's unique technique, which even Patrick had trouble with, had saved him from the Hegemon King's blow.
He looked at his tattered armor and….
RIP! TEAR!
He ripped it off.
And his trained upper body, which belied his age, was revealed.
‘Armor is meaningless anyway.’
It was better to lighten his body even a little.
It might not be a big difference, but still, you never know.
When fighting a real battle against an 'equal', shouldn't one pay attention to even the smallest differences?
“I will take your head here and end the war.”
“……”
The Hegemon King did not answer.
He just raised his sword.
From the Hegemon King's appearance, the Imperial Sword Saint could tell that his condition was not normal, but he did not have the luxury to be considerate of him now.
“I will come at you with all my strength.”
And right after that.
CRASH! CLANG!
The Imperial Sword Saint and the Hegemon King began to clash in earnest.
* * *
The battlefield was hell.
Was it because the Red Knights had heavily defeated the paladins in the beginning?
Holy power did not reach every corner of the battlefield, and taking advantage of that gap, the black mages indiscriminately raised undead monsters.
“Ugh… Uwaaah!”
“No. Don't come!”
The soldiers who had died on the battlefield, regardless of friend or foe, rose as zombies.
It might not have been a serious threat to the ordinary knights, but it induced serious fear in the soldiers.
The fact that they could become like that when they died threw the soldiers into a panic and made them deaf to the commanders' orders.
The ground battle turned into a chaotic melee, and in the sky, a fierce firepower battle continued between the black mages and the mages.
“Curse Fire!”
“Frost Arrow!”
The magic duel between the Tower of Truth and the black mages was fierce.
The Seven Sages personally stepped forward and used magic, but they could not gain a clear advantage.
Greed, Las, Envy, the direct disciples of Jonsa.
The power of these three was by no means inferior to that of the Seven Sages.
No, rather, their combat experience overwhelmed the Seven Sages.
When had the Seven Sages, who had only been researching in the Tower of Truth their entire lives, ever experienced such a real battle?
Compared to that, the direct disciples of Jonsa were those who had been selected by Jonsa after risking their lives and crossing countless lines of death in the shadows of the world.
That difference was revealed in its entirety.
So the Seven Sages increasingly focused on defense.
They thought that even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they had to at least prevent fireballs from falling on their allies' heads.