Chapter 332 : Chapter 332
Chapter 332. Are You Okay? Still Alive? (2)
Year 1531. November 7th.
This was the day the seventh battle between the allied forces and the Yusef Kingdom's army took place.
However, what was different from before was….
“Enemy attack, it's an enemy attack!”
“Emergency! Everyone, get out!”
This time, it was the Yusef Kingdom that attacked the allied forces first.
The leaders of the allied forces were flustered by the sudden attack.
They had not expected the enemy, who had consistently maintained a defensive posture until now, to suddenly launch a preemptive strike.
And the sight they saw when they went outside was….
“What is this? What in the world….”
“Heh… heheh….”
The end of the world.
From the beginning, they had been mistaken.
Even after the Imperial Sword Saint died and they suffered repeated defeats, they had held the vague and irresponsible thought that the allied army, which had gathered the strength of all the nations of the continent, would eventually win.
Even though the black mages were just slowly toying with them like a cat playing with a mouse.
But now, there was no need to play.
Now that all the energy needed for the Outer God's resurrection had been gathered, the black mages had, for the first time, deployed their proper military strength in this war.
A march of zombies stretching to the horizon.
Demons of hell revealing their presence in between.
And the sky filled with Bone Wyverns and demonic beasts of hell….
It was a sight that made the word 'give up' come to mind just by looking at it.
“This is…. Ha… haha….”
“It's over.”
Even some of the knights lost their will to fight and collapsed.
How would the morale of the soldiers be?
Humans who faced overwhelming death and despair could not even think of fighting back.
However….
“Entire army! Form ranks!”
There were those who did not give up even in this situation.
All eyes focused on where the voice came from.
What the people saw there was.
The figure of Grand Duke Schneider, who usually showed such a benevolent appearance that he was felt to be weak, personally holding a sword and giving orders.
No matter how weak he seemed, he was a man who had lived his entire life neighboring the Great Forest.
He was a man who had already faced and overcome a Monster Stampede once.
He was usually calm, but when a life-or-death crisis struck, the blood of the Schneider family flowing in his veins boiled.
“Do not give up! Do not run away! If you are a man, take up your sword and die fighting!”
The first to respond to Grand Duke Schneider's cry were….
“As expected of Father!”
The hot-blooded warriors who would burst into flames with just a small spark.
Starting with Tutan, countless Orc warriors stepped forward with their weapons.
And Tutan, standing at the forefront, raised his stone sword high and shouted.
“Even if we die, let's die like warriors!”
“Uoooooooar!”
“Oooooooooh!”
In a critical situation like this, reason can sometimes be nothing but a hindrance.
Relying on the wild instincts of the Orcs, they stepped forward, and following them, the soldiers and knights of the Schneider Duchy stood together.
“Knightly order to the front! We are the vanguard!”
“Damn it, let's do this!”
“Let's gooo!”
And the Double Dragon Knightly Order ran at the very front.
Without waiting for Grand Duke Schneider's command, the knightly order, with Sanson and Oliver at its head, charged straight at the enemy.
And….
“Don't fall behind!”
“Wooooooar!”
Following them, a green wave crashed in once more.
The attack of the two forces was nothing more than a single wave crashing against a rock compared to the massive scale of the enemy.
However….
“Wooooooar!”
“Smash them to pieces!”
That wave did not break even when it crashed against the rock.
Rather, it was pushing forward, and although it was little by little, it was pushing back the enemy while penetrating the huge rock.
That sight showed a glimmer of hope to the despairing and fallen allied nations.
“What are you doing? Are you going to leave it all to the Schneider Duchy!”
Garcia, holding the national treasure of the Empire, Venator, inherited from his grandfather, shouted.
“We are the knights of the Empire!”
The Imperial army rose.
“Oh, Yupinel!”
The paladins of the Holy Theocracy, shrouded in brilliance, stepped forward.
“Damn it! Let's do it!”
“We'll die one way or another!”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
Even before the commander's order fell, from the rank-and-file soldiers to the knights, everyone charged forward.
At this moment….
The allied forces were truly united as one and moving forward.
Their strength, though temporary, even pushed back the mighty undead and demons of the Yusef Kingdom.
“Amazing.”
“It seems they really are father and son.”
“Hmm….”
The only ones maintaining their composure in this situation were the Sages belonging to the Tower of Truth.
The Seven Sages had always thought that Grand Duke Schneider and Patrick were too different.
But the decisiveness that Grand Duke Schneider was showing now, without looking back, certainly reminded them of someone.
“Let's join in as well.”
“We must. If we are defeated here, there is no after.”
And all of the Seven Sages rose into the sky.
With them, all the mages and magic swordsmen belonging to the Tower of Truth, and the Elven warriors shrouded in spirits, flew into the sky.
Before their eyes, a huge swarm of undead Wyverns and strange demonic beasts of hell, whose names they did not even know, were teeming.
Looking at that sight, the 1st Sage gripped his staff tightly.
He had never thought he would experience such a massive real battle in his lifetime.
He hadn't, but….
“If we lose here anyway, there is no after. Everyone, pour everything you have without thinking about the next step!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
And soon after….
CRASH! KABOOM!
Countless spells began to explode in the sky.
The explosion of magic, reminiscent of a natural disaster, was the result of the Tower of Truth and the Elves doing their utmost to protect the skies above their allies.
The number of endlessly swarming enemies showed no sign of decreasing, but it didn't matter.
“Fire! Keep firing!”
“Fire until your hearts burst! This is the decisive moment!”
The Seven Sages, encouraging their disciples, personally stepped forward and rained down attack magic.
As they said, this was the decisive moment.
It was not the time to think about what came next.
* * *
‘Over there?’
At that time when the entire allied army was fighting like an erupting volcano.
Only one person was calmly doing what she had to do.
April Schneider.
She, who had earned the title of Flash Queen, was now crossing the enemy lines, searching for something.
“Kuhahaha. Die!”
A demon of hell charged at her, swinging a giant hammer, but….
Slice!
Without the slightest wavering, she cut down the demon in one blow.
“K… kugh…. This bitch… a mere human dares to attack me, a second-class demon….”
“……”
“Remember this. My name is Barba….”
“Shut up!”
SQUISH!
The demon was trying to say something, but April frowned and stomped on the demon's head with her foot.
And so, the demon named Barba-something was returned to hell.
‘Can't even concentrate….’
April clicked her tongue and continued to swing her sword.
She still had to cut down the demonic beasts, undead, and demons that were charging at her.
While doing so, she continued to spread her senses wide.
What she was looking for was the source of this demonic energy.
It was difficult to find because demonic energy was everywhere, but she had to find it.
‘I have to hurry.’
The allies were fighting well.
No, to be more precise, they were holding on well.
The entire allied army, whose morale had risen for a moment, was united as one and was holding back the overwhelming enemy offensive well.
However….
‘They won't last long.’
No matter how she thought about it, the difference in numbers was too great.
Everywhere she looked, undead, demons, and demonic beasts were lined up beyond the horizon.
Although soldiers and knights of the Yusef Kingdom were mixed in here and there, they also had the eyes of someone who seemed to be on drugs, not in their right mind.
Even she hadn't known the power of the black mages was this great.
It was to the point where she couldn't understand why they had been hiding in the shadows of the continent and operating secretly with such power.
But in other words, it meant that the enemy's main force now was the black mages.
And she had already fought a black mage once.
Lust, one of Jonsa's disciples.
And her disciples.
At that time, the black mages had summoned countless undead and demonic beasts of hell, just like now, but on the other hand, the moment the black mage herself was dealt with, the undead and summoned creatures were also naturally resolved.
In other words, what she was aiming for now was….
“Found it.”
Her eyes sparkling, she instantly turned into a golden flash of light.
BOOM!
The moment she dashed, nothing could block her way.
After about a minute of dashing, crushing any enemies that got in her way….
The place she was aiming for came into view.
Three huge magic circles.
A large number of black mages, who at a glance were emitting a density of demonic energy that was anything but ordinary.
Some of them seemed to be used as sacrifices in the middle of the magic circles.
As a result.
Above the magic circles, countless demonic beasts and demons were gushing out.
The moment she found her destination, she did not hesitate.
Deploying Unlimited.
April's whole body overflowed with aura.
And from the twin swords she held, a sword of light, so huge it seemed to be well over 10 meters, was generated.
She held those two giant swords of light crossed behind her back.
And then….
[ Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms: Second Form: Great Dragon Cross Sword ]
April's all-out strike.
It momentarily left a huge cross-shaped scar on the earth.
RUMBLE!
A huge cross-shaped slash, its extent unknown, was carved into the ground.
Her attack completely crushed the magic circles and annihilated the group of black mages without a trace.
However….
“Amazing. That was quite a close call.”
“Where did such a monster come from?”
“Hoho…. To think I'd see an experimental subject more covetable than the Salamander Princess.”
There were those who withstood April's attack.
Greed, Envy, Las.
These three, the direct disciples of Jonsa, were unfazed by April's attack.
In fact, they had no choice but to be unfazed because they had done nothing against April's attack.
No matter how high their realm, their essence was that of mages.
Not warriors.
Meaning, they were vulnerable to surprise attacks.
It was not them who had blocked April's sudden attack.
“Good thing we had them as guards, right?”
“Yes. You were right, so stop showing off, Envy.”
The ones who had blocked April's attack in front of the black mages were the Hegemon King and the Sword King.
April stood before the two of them.
‘I wanted to deal with them with a surprise attack if possible….’
Looking at those two, it was clear that they were being controlled by the black mages, having had something done to them.
So she had hoped that if she killed the black mages with a surprise attack, the restraints placed on those two would also be released.
But the result was a failure.
Now, she had no choice but to face these two head-on and overcome them.
“Give up, Flash Queen.”
Envy said to April.
“You already know, don't you? That you alone cannot fight and win against these two.”
“……”
“I'll make you a groundbreaking offer. If you surrender obediently now, I'll let you live. I'll even make you my retainer, and when the Day of the Falling Sun of Salvation comes and I ascend to godhood, I can make you my direct apostle.”
“……”
“Wait, if it's an offer like that, I want to make it too.”
“Indeed. Such talent is coveted. I'll make the same offer.”
“……”
April did not answer the black mages' offers.
No, she was simply not dealing with them.
Completely ignoring what they were saying, she was now looking back on her own life.
A life where it was natural to die.
A mother who had tried to save her in the midst of it.
After her mother's death, the terrible despair, fear, dread, and pain that followed….
The one who had saved her from all that was….
[Are you the one? The quack bastard who was talking about a curse?]
A smile formed on April's lips.
‘Young Master….’
The benefactor who had saved her life and given it meaning.
And the person who had even loved her, which was more than she deserved.
She had never thought she would be able to become his wife.
But when he learned of her feelings, he had accepted her without hesitation.
Unlike the Elven princess or the other one of legitimate royalty, she was nothing.
The one and only being more precious than her everything.
“For you, there is nothing I must spare.”
April had made up her mind.
And her hand quickly struck a certain part of her own body, a pressure point.
If Patrick had been here, he would have been startled to see this sight.
This was a technique Patrick had not taught her.
But he knew what that technique itself was.
Stimulating the Chest Center, the Solar Plexus, and the Heavenly Chimney in order to break the vessel of qi gathered in the dantian.
And the overflowing energy from the broken vessel flows through the entire body's meridians as if rampaging, creating immense power.
The Blood Explosion Grand Art, or the Heaven-Defying Grand Art.
It was called by various names, but its purpose was one.
The final move for mutual destruction.
The final move used to kill an irreconcilable enemy, putting one's everything on the line.
Patrick had never taught April such a terrible method.
But April, who was born with a natural talent for martial arts, had found a technique like this on her own.
And now, she used it.
“Hmph….”
The pain of lava flowing through all the blood vessels in her body.
In proportion to that, an immense power, incomparable to before, began to be emitted from her body.
Unlimited Overflow.
April Schneider.
She began to burn her own life.