The superhumans who were welcomed on the battlefield were, of course, those who specialized in large-scale military operations.
Notable among them were war mages specialized in offensive and mass destruction magic, and necromancers and elementalists who controlled armies of the dead and spirits.
Ihayul was among all three of them.
As a result, Ihayul set up defenses, summoning golems, spirits, and elementals before entering the inner world.
‘Mistake... book...’
Ihayul, rolling helplessly on the ground, realized his error.
The plan had gone awry. He had expected injuries, but never imagined he’d become so crippled that he couldn’t even move.
To make matters worse, his mental energy was completely drained, and his body was barely hanging on.
Thanks to that, he couldn’t escape the battlefield and was left sprawled out on the ground.
Unable to even stabilize his own body, Ihayul was now an easy, high-quality target for monsters.
The monsters, with their eyes red, rushed in from all directions, and the hastily summoned spirits stood in his defense.
The odds were clearly against the spirits.
The monsters of the inner world were of a higher rank and were enhanced by the inner world's unique powers.
In contrast, the spirits were empowered by Taesan, but also suppressed by the inner world’s oppressive forces.
On top of that, the battle formation surrounding Ihayul was chaotic, and the consciousness of his summoner was half-faded, making their orders disorganized.
In the opening, one monster forced its way in.
The monster, transforming its body into a fluid form, slithered through the formation, drawing a sickle-like claw and aiming to strike at Ihayul’s neck.
Kwok! Just as the monster’s terrifying claw was about to strike Ihayul’s throat, Aelrus, emerging from the ground, bit the sickle in half.
Aelrus, tearing the monster’s neck open with a savage roar, spread bloodlust in all directions.
The spirits that hadn’t been left behind desperately huddled around Ihayul to protect him.
But the disadvantage didn’t change.
It was a chaotic battlefield where monsters and spirits fought, died, and revived.
In a battlefield already engulfed by the inner world’s presence, it was not an easy task to find a fallen Ihayul in such a short time.
‘Taesan?’
Despite the confusion, Lee Jiyeon was able to detect his presence.
From atop the city walls, where she had been consistently raising meat shields of spirits, she suddenly lifted her head.
In the chaos of the battlefield, she felt the presence of Taesan, which was similar to but different from her own.
It reminded her of the immense presence Ihayul had created back in China when he had made a massive crater.
“What, what’s going on? The elementals are suddenly...”
That was just the beginning.
The elementals, which had been steadfastly supporting the frontlines, began to act erratically and aggressively.
These elementals had been summoned by Ihayul in advance for the defense.
The aftereffects weren’t limited to Ihayul’s elementals.
As though spreading like an infection, the elementals began to glow violently and launched fierce attacks, moving forward.
Seeing all the gathered data, Lee Jiyeon was struck with a decision.
But she wasn’t sure.
Action carried responsibility. If it succeeded, there would be gains, but if it failed, there would be losses.
Her own lack of certainty made her hesitate.
She weighed the loss and responsibility over the potential gain of success, which caused her to falter.
Lee Jiyeon was aware of her own weakness.
She couldn’t be certain of success. Especially when the value of others' lives was at stake.
This was her vulnerability.
Cautious decision-making was a virtue of leadership, but in battle, lives and victories could be decided in an instant.
“...Amak squad, break through the frontlines immediately!”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Lee Jiyeon issued a loud command.
It was common to issue commands like this on the battlefield, but it was only natural for those under her command to feel puzzled.
Why go into the frontlines when the defenses were being maintained so well?
How far exactly did she want them to break through?
There wasn’t much to glean from her urgent order. The hesitation created doubt in the minds of those receiving it.
“Follow me in a wedge formation! Move quickly toward the target!”
“““Yes!”””
However, the Amak squad followed Lee Jiyeon’s lead without hesitation, leaping into the battlefield below the city walls.
Was it because Lee Jiyeon was their leader? Because she was the rightful heir to the family?
That was part of it. After all, the reason they had followed her here was because she was the one giving the orders.
‘What was that? Our lady’s presence, what is it?’
‘Wow. I thought she was the head of the family for a moment.’
‘If we argue, we might get our heads chopped off.’
But the real reason was that no one dared to think of defying Lee Jiyeon’s command.
Automatically, the Amak soldiers followed her, clearing the path behind her.
The overwhelming presence, like that of Taesan, left no room for argument.
Not only that, there was a reassuring sense that following her without question was the right course of action.
This was the same sense of security they always felt when working with the current head of the family, Lee Jia.
The monstrous extension ability that Lee Jiyeon had activated exploded at the forefront.
The monsters blocking the way were obliterated, and Lee Jiyeon and the Amak squad carved a path through their bodies.
“Ah...! Purification squad! We’re also breaking through!”
“Yes! Hey, kids! The young master is in danger! Charge forward!”
Hong Yeonhwa, who had noticed the change in atmosphere a moment later, also braced herself.
Upon hearing the news of Ihayul’s danger, the purification squad, who had hurried to his side, charged through the wave of monsters with her.
“Alright, Man-Gyeong squad! Chang-Pa squad! We’re going too!”
“Ai, such a pain after the work is done... Break through between the flames and Taesan!”
Under the orders of Baek Arin, the Man-Gyeong and Chang-Pa squads, who had been pulled into the battlefield without completing their territorial duties, also rushed in.
Within moments, the combined forces of the three major families had advanced.
Whenever a fire erupted, monsters screeched and the earth trembled.
The ground rumbled, swallowing the monsters, pressing them down, and the dead monsters were turned into spirits that attacked the living.
The frozen blocks of ice collided, shattering, and the waves that surged through the battlefield quenched the flames, reviving the earth’s vitality.
“Ah, ah? Kids? Where are you going...!”
But there was more.
Suspiciously desperate elementals had begun to defy their contractor’s orders, pushing the monsters with full force.
Riana, in response, began to drain mana and released most of the elementals, and the monsters above rank 4 that appeared were instantly pulverized by a flash of light.
The association’s extermination force, receiving the observational data, also broke through the frontlines and joined the battle.
The monster wave, which had initially surged forward with force, faltered and began to retreat.
“...Huh?”
“Hmm...?”
It was then.
As the Amak squad approached the target, the faces of the soldiers at the front began to show signs of doubt.
The growing energy was becoming clearer. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation. In fact, it was so familiar it felt like something they had already encountered.
With the explosion of Lee Jiyeon’s ability, monsters were blown away, and the path ahead was cleared. Lee Jiyeon, at the forefront, widened her eyes.
“Junior...!”
She couldn’t help but scream.
A few spirits were holding off the monsters in a circular formation, and in the center of that formation, something lay slumped on the ground.
At first glance, they couldn’t be certain. The state was so severe it made survival doubtful.
“This... these damn monsters─!”
Lee Jiyeon’s anger exploded, and with a forceful stomp, she crushed the ground.
Every monster in the area was torn apart by the spikes that erupted from the earth, buried under the ground until they were unrecognizable.
Ignoring the devastation she had caused, Lee Jiyeon rushed toward Ihayul.
“Damn...! What happened?”
Seeing Ihayul up close, his condition was even worse than she had imagined.
Before she could find a place that wasn’t badly injured, she struggled to even locate a part of his body that wasn’t badly burned.
His right arm, completely charred, and his left arm, which had been replaced by an artifact, was now completely empty.
She placed her palm on Ihayul’s back.
There was no warmth—only cold, lifeless skin that made her shiver.
“He’s still alive...”
He was still alive. His faint heartbeat and the slight, feeble energy emanating from him confirmed it.
Lee Jiyeon carefully channeled every last bit of life force she had into Ihayul.
“...What’s that?”
“I don’t know. Just stop it!”
Ihayul’s injuries were too severe to leave him.
While the Amak squad’s healers helped with emergency measures...
The rest of the squad formed a temporary defense around Ihayul, but none could hide their stunned expressions.
The condition of Ihayul, the special admission student from Siyoram, was nothing short of horrific.
Why was he here? How did this happen? What was the cause of this?
Before they could even ponder these questions.
Ihayul’s right hand, buried in the ground, began to glow.
The uniqueness emanating from that hand was all too familiar.
“That’s Taesan...”
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“Damn, I told you...! Just hold on for now...”
Taesan.
The word echoed in her mind as her eyelids trembled.
At that moment, the forces from Geobhwa and Changhae arrived in full force.
“Ah, ah...”
Hong Yeonhwa couldn’t focus on Taesan. She was too focused on Ihayul’s near-death state, desperately trying to hold herself together.
“...What the hell...”
“...”
Baek Arin cursed, rushing to Ihayul’s side, while Elia kneeled beside him, pouring healing magic into him.
Among the numerous healers clustered around Ihayul, Baek Arin was one of them.
Changhae’s magics had restorative properties, and Baek Arin had some natural aptitude for healing magic, with much effort put into developing it.
She could provide more than just basic emergency treatment—she could assist even with life-threatening wounds.
Just as she was about to activate her healing magic, Ihayul’s body suddenly convulsed.
“Huh?”
A surge of magic poured forth. The healing magic enveloped Ihayul’s body, healing him.
The ice that had been covering Ihayul’s body froze the damaged parts temporarily, healing them as much as possible.
“...?”
“...Huh?”
Baek Arin’s eyes widened in surprise. This wasn’t her Changhae magic. It wasn’t any of the Changpa squad’s magic.
This was Ihayul’s own Changhae.
This sudden, unreal phenomenon left everyone frozen in shock.
Ihayul, who had nearly lost consciousness, was unaware of what was happening. His survival instinct kicked in, and his body reacted.
His fingers, buried in the earth, began to exert small force. Boom! The ground trembled. Ihayul’s hand absorbed the life force from the earth.
This was Taesan’s manifestation.
For the record, Ihayul was known as the wielder of Geobhwa.
“...”
“...”
In the middle of the battlefield, where no one could afford to relax, everyone stood frozen.
Geobhwa, Changhae, and Taesan—the warriors present couldn’t speak, exchanging stunned glances as they processed the overwhelming scene.