Chapter 29 : Chapter 29
Chapter 29. Colluding with a Foreign Race, Total Annihilation
At the same time, inside a small Secret Realm in the Northern Frontier, the stench of blood and demonic energy intertwined into a suffocating web.
Kroll II wore dragon-scale armor stained with blood. With a single swing of his sword, he split apart a Cave Crawler lunging toward him. Behind him followed several legendary powerhouses whose auras had already become chaotic as they fought while retreating.
His dragon had been killed moments earlier. In order to block a fatal blow, it had been pinned to the stone wall by a massive spear.
“Your Majesty, the Derek Family has gone mad. They actually reached an agreement with the Cave Race.”
Keli waved her staff. Ice spikes shot forward, piercing the skulls of entire clusters of Crawlers. Her voice trembled with disbelief.
“The seal of this Secret Realm was forcibly broken through a Sacrificial Ritual using living people. If we do not leave now, it will be too late.”
“I can sense that there are even larger creatures that have not yet emerged.”
Kroll II suddenly turned his head, his gaze locking onto the figure standing in the enemy formation.
It was Duke Derek.
The old man wore a dark-golden robe. Several shadow priests of the Cave Race surrounded him, and he watched coldly as human soldiers were torn apart and devoured by underground creatures.
“Derek, you traitor of the human race!”
Kroll II’s roar shook the air.
“You sacrificed ten legions and eighty thousand civilians to activate the sealing formation and release these monsters.”
“Are you not afraid of the punishment of the gods?”
Duke Derek’s lips curled into a cold smile. His voice carried through magic and echoed across the battlefield.
“The victor becomes king, the loser becomes dust, Your Majesty.”
“If I cannot have the Northern Frontier… then neither can you.”
Before his words even finished, the legendary warrior of the Cave Race beside him suddenly attacked. A jet-black pillar of energy shot straight toward Kroll II.
The three dukes stepped forward simultaneously.
Dou Qi and magic intertwined into a shield that barely blocked the attack, but the three of them spat out blood at the same time.
“Your Majesty, retreat!”
Duke Lane wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and roared.
“The Secret Realm has already been occupied by the Cave Race. If we remain here, the entire army will be wiped out.”
“We must leave first and make plans afterward!”
Kroll II looked around at the soldiers fighting desperately in the blood-soaked battlefield.
Their armor had long been corroded by the acidic fluids of the monsters, yet they still roared and swung their swords.
Those were the legions he had personally assembled—the kingdom’s sharpest blades.
And now those blades were being devoured.
“Retreat.”
He bit out the word through clenched teeth, each syllable sounding as if it had been dragged out of blood.
The horn of retreat sounded.
The surviving soldiers began withdrawing in orderly formation. Sky Knights and the Mage Corps rose into the air, attempting to eliminate the pursuing Crawlers.
But the Cave Race was simply too numerous.
They surged from the depths of the Secret Realm like a black tide, relentlessly biting into the tail of the retreating army.
At that moment, the banners of the remaining Third, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Thirteenth, and Nineteenth Legions suddenly turned.
The legion commanders drew their swords simultaneously and shouted toward the heavens.
“For the King! For the Kingdom!”
They led their remaining soldiers forward instead of retreating, plunging into the black tide like six iron nails.
Swords clashed with claws.
Blood, flesh, and mud mixed together as they forcibly tore open a temporary gap among the pursuing monsters.
“Your Majesty—go!”
One legion commander was dragged down by several Crawlers. His final roar pierced through the chaos of the battlefield.
Kroll II turned abruptly.
When he saw the wall of flesh and blood formed by those soldiers, his eyes instantly reddened.
Keli seized his arm and forcibly tore open space.
“Your Majesty, this opportunity was bought with their lives. We cannot waste it.”
A flash of light appeared.
Kroll II and the three dukes left the Secret Realm under the protection of nine legendary powerhouses.
Behind them, the soldiers of six legions continued fighting in the blood-soaked battlefield.
Their battle cries gradually weakened.
In the end, they were completely drowned out by the shrieks of the Cave Race.
Outside the Secret Realm, the freezing winds of the Northern Frontier swept snow against Kroll II’s pale face.
He stared at the entrance to the Secret Realm as it slowly closed.
The sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. His knuckles had turned white from the force of his grip.
Derek’s Sacrificial Ritual.
The ambush of the Cave Race.
And the twenty legions that would remain forever inside that Secret Realm.
Everything felt like a poisoned dagger stabbing directly into the king’s heart.
“Derek…”
He murmured the name in a low voice. His tone was both icy and burning with fury.
“If I do not grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes, I swear I am no man.”
Outside the entrance of the Secret Realm, the freezing wind howled.
Four legendary mages had just stepped out of the Secret Realm, yet despite their exhausted magic, they immediately sat cross-legged.
Threads of pale-golden magic gathered at their fingertips, weaving intricate sealing runes in midair.
They had to reinforce the seal as quickly as possible.
Even if they could delay the enemy for only a moment longer, it would buy precious time for the kingdom’s reinforcements.
Kroll II looked at the gradually forming magical formation in the sky and took a deep breath, suppressing the rage and grief surging within his heart.
He turned toward the leading mage.
Irene.
“How long can this seal last?”
Irene’s face was pale as paper. Cold sweat dripped down her temples, and her voice was hoarse from magical exhaustion.
“It is hard to say… The corrosion of the Cave Race is extremely strong. The formation will constantly be worn down.”
“But if the four of us continuously supply magic and remain at the formation core… we should be able to hold it for about a week.”
“A week is not enough.”
Kroll II shook his head, though the calm authority of a king had already returned to his eyes.
“But it does not matter.”
He raised his hand and took out a crystal engraved with Runes.
“I will call for help from the royal ancestors. They will not stand by and watch.”
Then he turned to the three dukes behind him, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
“You three should not remain idle either.”
“Once you return, mobilize all legions and Knight Orders within your territories.”
“They must gather in the Northern Frontier within three days.”
“The Derek Family has betrayed the human race and colluded with monsters. This debt must be repaid in blood.”
He paused, his tone softening slightly—but the temptation in his words was unmistakable.
“As for the resources inside that Secret Realm…”
“After compensating the families of the fallen soldiers, the remaining resources will be divided—each of your families will receive thirty percent.”
The three dukes’ previously grim expressions immediately brightened.
Thirty percent of the resources.
That alone would compensate for their losses—and perhaps even strengthen their territories.
They all knelt on one knee simultaneously, their voices ringing with determination.
“Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Serving the kingdom is our duty. We will not fail our mission.”
Kroll II nodded without another word.
He knew very well that what these dukes valued had never been “loyalty,” but tangible profit.
But at this moment, he needed their strength.
Binding them with benefits was the most direct and effective method.
The sealing formation of the four mages had now taken shape.
A pale-golden barrier covered the entrance of the Secret Realm. Within the barrier, shadowy figures could be seen colliding against it violently, producing dull thuds.
“Your Majesty, the formation is complete,” Irene said weakly.
Kroll II looked up at the barrier of light, then toward the direction of the kingdom.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
They had to hold on until reinforcements arrived.
Derek’s betrayal was like a poisonous thorn.
It had pierced not only his heart—but the very foundation of the kingdom.
This was a war he could not afford to lose.