Chapter 278
2.
At the shout of the relay spirit, Seong and his subordinates immediately reacted and moved.
Since they didn’t know what the special effects of the demons would be, moving quickly was the right call.
Seong had already learned from Helena that the effect of the "Severance" was something Nemesis had, and it could potentially be imbued in other demon swords.
That’s why he had prepared, summoning corpses from the realm of the dead in case such a situation arose.
He didn’t summon additional subordinates just in case.
Preparing for the worst was important, but he had already prepared for summoning subordinates, so he prioritized summoning the corpses.
And, as expected,
The demonic energy surrounded them, and Keron, holding a spear imbued with demonic power, shouted.
"『Severance』!"
[Due to the effect of the 『Severance』 skill, no summons or subordinates can be summoned into this area.]
Following this, as he swung the staff imbued with demonic energy, Beltaine also shouted.
"『Domain』!"
[Due to the 『Domain』 skill, the area fills with negative energy. Entities that do not possess demonic power cannot naturally recover mana or health.]
And finally, with a demonic greatsword in hand, the leader, Jaya, shouted.
"『Devour』!"
[Due to the 『Devour』 skill, all skill costs within this area are doubled, and damage is also doubled.]
With the final blow from 『Devour』, these were all overwhelmingly complex effects.
Each weapon had its own demonic special effects, but only one skill could be used at a time.
In other words, they couldn’t use other special effects beyond these.
This was the most powerful combination they had in mind.
Seong quickly understood the situation and nodded as he saw the effect preventing the summoning of subordinates and corpses.
It was good that he had already prepared for this and summoned corpses instead of subordinates.
Though the number was small—only a few thousand—given the short time, it was still a significant number.
As the army of thousands of soldiers, devoid of souls, rose from the dead—
Jaya, the leader of the Forbiddenz, saw this and shouted.
"Scatter!"
At this command, Beltaine and Ired, who were stationed in the back, moved away from each other, as did Jaya and Keron at the forefront.
Like a massive wave crashing in, the undead legion surged forward, and with the release of demonic energy, powerful attacks were unleashed.
Demonic sword energy and spear energy scattered around.
From behind, countless arrows and black magical spells imbued with demonic power followed like a bombardment.
But before the legion of death could reach them, they were torn apart and turned to ash.
Seong acknowledged this, his eyes watching them.
‘They’re no joke.’
Each one of them was stronger than the sword saint, Ragna Eckrion.
And there were three of them.
And though not as strong as Ragna, Ired, the sharp-eyed archer, would have been a major problem if he had a demonic bow already.
Though each one was stronger than Ragna, dealing with them all was still a monumental task.
But of course, Seong now was a different person from before.
He had three subordinates with him.
And corpses were ready as well.
This was his battlefield.
As they took action, Seong’s subordinates also weren’t standing idly by.
Silvanor, the elven swordsman, moved toward Keron, who wielded the demonic spear, while Helena, with a seductive smile, moved toward Beltaine, who wielded the demonic staff. Finally, Fiora approached Ired, the youngest.
The leader, Jaya, was the one to face Seong.
The first to engage in combat were the close-range fighters: Keron and Silvanor.
Chaeng—!!!
The sharp clash of sword and spear rang out as Keron laughed wildly and muttered.
“Good to see you again.”
“Heh, the feeling is mutual.”
As they spoke, their swords and spears moved with swift precision.
The spear, becoming a single point, multiplied and began to shoot outward, eventually filling the space with countless points, forming a surface as it shot down.
A gray demonic spear, like a rain of energy, scattered outward, but the sword, skillfully swung, transformed from a line into a surface, flowing through the air as if it were cloth.
Pooom, poom, poom!
The spears, falling like rain, couldn’t break through the surface of the sword and were stopped.
[Ah! Keron tried to take revenge on Silvan, but it’s not breaking through! It’s like a battle between sword and spear, or rather, sword and shield!!!]
The relay spirit commented as the spear attacks sped up, but still couldn’t penetrate the surface of the sword.
So, Keron, focusing all his demonic energy, zeroed in on a single point.
A piercing attack was more effective against a point than a surface.
Concentrating all his demonic power on a single point, it shot through the air and pierced the surface, tearing through the sword.
The surface of the sword shattered, and the debris scattered into the air.
As the spear that pierced the surface was retrieved, Keron tightened his grip on the spear, preparing to fire again.
But before he could act, the energy tore through the air, and the once ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) smooth and flowing sword energy disappeared.
Instead, from behind, the sword shot forward again.
The energy solidified in midair, and pieces of glass-like shards of energy, along with the sword, flew toward Keron.
“......!!!”
The surface shattered into pieces, each one carrying sharp fragments that flew toward their target.
Behind them, additional swords followed, countless blade tips pouring down.
Like the strike Seong had unleashed, these countless points.
However, each of them resembled the points Seong had condensed and shaped.
Instead of spreading like a surface, they became individual points that poured from Seong.
In response, Seong summoned magic and spun his spear in defense.
Boom—!!
“Ugh.”
Some attacks were inevitable.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
[Ah! Seong has been counterattacked!!! He retreated, but Silva follows immediately!!!]
The commentator’s words were distracting, but Seong continued his spear technique with everything he had.
He didn’t know how long he could hold out, but.
He could not afford to lose here.
With that resolve, he charged, but.
Silvanor watched Seong and muttered with a tone that seemed regretful.
“Your spear techniques are sharp, but they will never reach me.”
There was a trace of sadness in his voice, but his tone remained resolute.
At those words, Seong gritted his teeth and charged.
Was this how the weak, who had been easy opponents until now, felt?
A feeling of regret, however slight, crept in.
Had he truly pushed others to the point of despair?
But before such thoughts could fully form, the one thing that remained in his mind was.
He wanted to pierce through that sword-wielder before him!
Fueled by that singular thought, he held his spear tight and gathered magic to shoot himself forward like a spear, charging at Silvanor.
Silvanor, in turn, tightened his grip on his sword and prepared to meet the attack.
If his opponent showed conviction, he would show it as well.
A sword containing the essence of a single branch from the World Tree rang out with a sharp metallic sound, reverting to its original form.
The wooden sword, made from the branches of the World Tree, exhaled the energy of young shoots and shimmered with a delicate, verdant aura.
It felt as if one had stepped into the heart of the forest as the blade struck.
As Seong advanced with his spear, now like the forest itself, he declared he would strike through the forest with his spear.
A fierce clash ensued.
Before Seong and Silvanor collided, Ired and Fiora watched them from afar.
Naturally, Ired didn’t let his guard down when facing Fiora.
“Ha! The weakest looking kid’s here?”
His words were filled with arrogance, but he remained cautious.
Despite the bravado, Fiora responded sheepishly.
Ired was slightly taken aback by her meekness.
Was she really one of the Demon King's followers?
He knew the followers were powerful, but to see one like her so timid?
It was unexpected.
But Fiora was frequently featured in videos as one of the followers, so Ired wasn’t fooled by her appearance.
He quickly used his skills based on his class to fire arrows rapidly.
Swish, swish, swish, swish—!
Though his class was lower than the others in his group, it was still a Unique-class Archer.
And his skill in using it was top-notch.
The skill chain, though seemingly chaotic, had perfect timing, each shot designed to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm.
However.
‘...She’s not dodging?’
The arrows surrounded her, but Fiora simply stood there, moving only her arms, which resembled slime-like appendages.
What was she trying to do?
Ired knew Fiora’s ability was transformation.
The way she transformed would dictate how he could counter, so he quickly assessed the situation.
But there was nothing to see.
Just before the arrows reached their target, Fiora’s arms transformed, and in a flash, Ired caught sight of something.
‘Crab claws?’
Her arms had become pincers, like those of a crab or lobster. No, they were probably better described as claws.
Fiora suddenly spread her pincers wide and swung them around.
Then.
Thud, thud, thud, thud—!!!
A torrent of magic erupted from her pincers, like a machine gun.
The magic bullets, fired like gunshots, shot toward Ired’s arrows.
But that alone seemed insufficient to block them.
‘There’s no way she can block it with that...’
Ired thought, but just as he anticipated the bullets would fail.
The magical bullets spiraled like bullets from a machine gun, striking the tips of the arrows.
In an instant, the arrows veered off course, twisting in strange directions.
Ired’s intended path was completely disrupted, and none of the arrows managed to reach Fiora.
‘What is this...’
Shocked by the absurdity of the situation, Ired quickly readied another set of arrows.
But this time, Fiora’s legs twitched and began to transform as well.
Whoosh——!!!
The air exploded with a sound like an artillery shell, and a sonic boom erupted across the arena.
Ired realized it was coming for him.
When he saw Fiora in front of him, her legs now resembled those of a cheetah, and he immediately fired his strongest shot, pouring all his energy into the arrow.
Just then, Fiora’s tiny head twitched and transformed into a dragon’s head, opening its small mouth and exhaling a breath of force.
Kraaah—!!!
As Fiora’s breath clashed with Ired’s final arrow, Helena smiled, almost with pity, shaking her head.
She looked at the violet flames and inky darkness that collided, and muttered to herself.
“Silvanor and Fiora really need to pick up the pace.”
Helena, the first to finish, gazed at the battle, her expression calm despite the chaos.
“Seong is doing just fine, though.”
With those words, Silvanor and Fiora gathered around Helena, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
Naturally, Seong and Ired were dragged away in a fainted state.