I Became the Martial God's Youngest Disciple

Episode 299

Mir understood her role. She had to break the ceiling of the cave, but she wasn't sure if she could do it.

She stared up at the ceiling. It was incredibly high and far away. She thought it had to be as high as the tower she'd seen at the academy. It meant that no matter what, this wasn't a distance that could be reached by leaping.

In order to get there, Mir would probably have to climb up the wall for hours. She didn't have time for that. Looking at the situation, she only had a few minutes to spare at most.

Thus, there was only one way to break it. Her only option was to throw the warhammer in her hand, that she had been using all her life, and shatter the ceiling in one blow.

Mir wasn't confident. Because it was a throw, she had only one chance. There was a possibility that the hammer would get lodged in the ceiling. Even if it fell back down, she wouldn't have time to retrieve it in the chaos of the battlefield.

Suddenly, she saw Feed in the corner of her field of view. Seeing the hero of the winged race freely moving back and forth in the air made her jealous. If she could fly, she would have been able to play a much more active role in the current situation.

Ah. At that moment, Mir understood why Luan was so desperate to train. This was why he tried to compete against the Heavenly Wind Knight Feed and obtain the power to fly in the air. It was due to taking situations like this into account, where he would hit a wall even if he used all the techniques he had.

Araxad was the same. The various weapons on his back weren't there just for bravado. The same was true for Ramon, who had come wearing a divine relic around his neck, and Razbet, who had vast knowledge and skills about the church.

Then what about me?

What had Mir done? It wasn't like she hadn't gotten time. They'd stayed in Snowville for a week, which wasn't a short time.

She didn't think she'd wasted that time. Except for the day before the plan took place, she'd risen early every morning and trained until late in the evening.

But could she really say that she had done her best? Or had she just overworked her body without thinking about anything?

Stupid!

Mir's face turned red from embarrassment. She couldn't bear it. She felt sorry for herself for wasting all that time.

And yet, her father and Sister Razbet had expectations for her. They believed that only she could overcome this crisis. That meant she had to respond. She was a warrior who had to repay the trust of her colleagues, even if it meant losing her life here.

Crunch!

She couldn't just focus strength into her arms. She needed to coordinate her whole body in order for the hammer to reach that high. She made fine adjustments to her wrists, arms, shoulders, back, waist, thighs, and the balls of her feet. She even controlled the flow of blood, the tension and relaxation of her muscles, and the subtle movements of her internal organs.

She gave a single command to every part of her body that she could control.

Throw it.

"Haaaaaaah..." A strange sound slipped out through her gritted teeth.

Mir's eyes rolled back as if she had lost consciousness as she stared at the ceiling above.

Throw it. One blow. The ceiling. Break it. Everything. No matter what.

The fragmented thoughts echoed in her mind and spread through every cell in her body. Blood flowed from her hand gripping the hammer. Her grip was strong enough to tear the skin of her palm. An unusual amount of mana started swirling around her.

Feed also felt it. The doubtful Heavenly Wind Knight was finally convinced: Their fate rested on the shoulders of Mir Giant.

Kieeeeeek!

It seemed that Feed wasn't the only one who realized that.

Dozens of demons, disgusting beings who had been scattering chaotically and mocking their opponents, suddenly turned their heads sharply to look at Mir. A few nearby ones immediately bared their teeth and charged.

"Protect Mir Giant!" Feed issued a brief command. Then he thrust his spear at the nearest demon.

The thrust instantly pierced a vital area, but for demons, simply destroying the heart wasn't enough to kill them. The demon smiled eerily and approached while still impaled on the spear. Feed noticed that this one's skin color was slightly different from the others.

The demon's skin started swelling up like a pufferfish. Was it trying to self-destruct? It wouldn't be hard to dodge, but then Mir and the other heroes behind her would be caught up in the blast.

Feed clicked his tongue and pulled his spear out in one swift motion. Then the demon's entire body exploded, spraying rotting blood and internal organs in all directions along with a foul stench.

Feed couldn't let these remains fall down below. He gripped his spear and swung it like a windmill. Then he summoned a wind spirit. A strong wind blew and sent pieces of the demon's body flying into the walls of the cave.

Every time the remains touched a solid surface, the rocks hissed and melted. That meant the corpse itself was highly corrosive and toxic.

Feed felt a sharp pain from his right eye. A few drops must've splashed onto his eyes. He blinked a few times, but the more he did so, the darker his vision became. More than half his field of view was covered in darkness.

It was clear that this wouldn't recover during the battle. Maybe he would even be left permanently blind.

So what? Feed thought as he looked at the battlefield again with one eye closed.

Kieeeeek!

The demons seemed to have changed their strategy. They knew they couldn't stop it head-on, so they started moving into the path of Mir's attack. There was even a sense of urgency in their movements. Maybe they were planning to act as meat shields.

One thing was clear. There was something beyond the ceiling that these demons had to protect, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

That meant the heroes' role was simple.

"Make a path!" Feed's shout echoed through the cave. "All those who can attack the air, attack the demons! We need to make a path!"

At that, the expressions of some people changed. A few magicians started to chant spells while those equipped with bows and crossbows aimed for the air. Those without any ranged options hurled their spare weapons up.

The demons flying in the air fell down due to the relentless attacks. However, focusing on offense meant that the heroes couldn't pay much attention to defense.

"Kuaaack!"

"Robert! Damn it! These damn corpses."

Those who were focusing on the demons in the sky were suddenly attacked by the corpses. Some of them were surrounded by corpses, ending up bitten and brutally killed.

Feed took all of it in. It was a sight that he couldn't get used to no matter how many times he saw it. He didn't know if his judgment was right or not, but there was only one thing he could do now: He would give it his all.

The muscles of his forearms swelled as he roared, "Saruda!"

The only one who knew the meaning of this word was Feed.

The cry of an eagle filled the air as the wind spirit Saruda responded to Feed's call. Soon, a fierce wind started to swirl around him. This wild wind soon dwelled in his wings.

Feed stood at the center of the storm and slammed the tip of his spear down. It didn't strike anything visible, but a heavy sound echoed as if it hit the ground. Immediately, a sharp wind swept forth ahead of him, cleaving through the demons in an instant.

He didn't kill all the demons, so the resulting opening was very short. However, Mir had been raising her concentration to an extraordinary level and instinctively sensed that the best opportunity was now.

The ground cracked and caved in. The surrounding heroes realized after a moment that it was caused by the small girl stomping her foot.

Mir roared and threw her hammer into the air. The hammer was surrounded by a white glow and spun like a whirlwind, shooting straight toward the ceiling of the cave.

There were a few demons remaining, but they weren't substantial obstacles. The demons struck directly by the hammer evaporated without a trace.

Baaaaang!

Finally, the hammer hit the ceiling of the cave. Vibrations rippled all throughout, as if some huge being was stepping on the cave.

Did it break? Feed thought as he looked up with clenched fists.

The hammer, now embedded in that vast and high ceiling, looked like nothing more than a stone tossed into a lake. It could cause ripples, but it was impossible for a stone to overturn the lake.

Crack.

However, Feed soon found out that what had been thrown was no mere stone.

Crack.

Craaack.

Craaaaaaack!

The moment cracks spread across the ceiling, Feed shouted, "Watch out for the falling debris! The ceiling is collapsing!"

"Avoid it!"

"Go to the edge! If you're in the middle of the cave, you'll get caught!"

The heroes were prepared in advance and moved quickly. At that moment, the ceiling of the cave collapsed. Stone and ice came crashing down like hail.

The slow-moving corpses were the first to be crushed beneath the initial wave of falling debris. The flying demons were also struck.

Feed showed off his skills by avoiding the falling debris. Then he looked at the ceiling with his remaining eye. His task wasn't over yet.

There!

The ceiling broke apart like a curtain being torn open and a horrific wave of Dark Qi surged out. There, Feed saw the being he had been looking for.

The priest stayed in the air without caring about the collapsing ceiling, floating there as if time had stopped.

No, was this really a priest? She was still human from the neck down, but everything above that was incredibly bizarre.

"Magna Aetas Aurea. Tibi dedico... multa praelia quae hic evenerunt..."

She had no face. Above her head, only her lower jaw remained. To be more precise, only her lower teeth and tongue remained. It was unbelievable to see her chanting a spell even in such a state. It was naturally extremely chilling.

Bam!

Feed's spear immediately pierced the priest's body.

All S-class heroes had gone through all sorts of hardships and learned from their experience. In such a situation, hesitation was fatal.

The sensation Feed felt through his spear was incredibly wrong. It wasn't like piercing flesh and blood; it was more like piercing a wooden board.

For a moment, he wondered if it was a decoy, but that wasn't the case. Putting aside everything else, this being was radiating a dense amount of Dark Qi and she spoke in the language of demons. This was the priest.

Kieeeeeeek!

As if to confirm Feed's suspicion, the corpses on the ground started to go wild. They started fighting each other, ramming into walls and slamming their heads against the ground as if they had lost their minds.

Feed swung his spear, flinging the priest's body away. Then he followed up with a sharp wind that tore apart the corpses.

Even though her head was half-destroyed, the priest had still managed to chant a spell. That meant this kind of cleanup was absolutely necessary.

Feed descended to the messy ground and landed. Then the other heroes approached him.

"Captain. Is it over?" one of the heroes serving as an adjutant asked.

"For now, yes. Don't let your guard down and check your surroundings first. Clean up the remaining demons and corpses, and rescue those caught in the falling rocks. Our next task is to investigate beyond the ceiling," Feed answered.

"I understand." The hero nodded and left.

Feed finally turned to look at the giant girl, now gasping for breath as if she could collapse at any moment. He thought to himself, She really did it.

He might've dealt the finishing blow to the priest, but it was Mir who played the most decisive role. No one could deny that fact.

A slight smile appeared on Feed's face. It was remarkable that such a young hero could perform so well in a real battle.

Luan Badniker and Mir Giant were just two among the numerous youngbloods who stood out in various places. This was an era in which demons and heretics were increasing, but there were also endless young heroes showing remarkable performances.

So maybe he could say that there was still hope on the continent.

I'm not old enough to be thinking like this. I'm still on active duty. Feed chuckled softly, stretched his stiff neck, and looked up at the sky.

This was Feed Skystrider, whose real name was Feed Albero. He was the noblest Eagle's True Lineage of the winged race, a king among kings, and the last sentinel of Mount Morun.

In the final moment of his life, this great S-class hero saw only burning flames and tattered clothes.

Jingle.

The faint sound of bells seemed to come from somewhere.

The adjutant, who had just received orders from Feed, suddenly turned around upon hearing a sound that was like meat being crushed.

"Huh?"

The sight that met his eyes wasn't Feed, lying on the ground in a bloody mess. It was the being that had crushed Feed, revealing an overwhelming presence as it towered over the dazed adjutant.

No one here had seen such a figure before, dressed in tattered robes that made a metallic rattle as they moved. Hellfire burned beneath its white-brimmed hat, which looked like it was woven from straw. The tip of the staff it was holding was a skull reminiscent of a mountain goat, but the eye sockets harbored demonic flames.

At that moment, a brilliant beam of light streamed through the cave's ceiling and illuminated its body.

Most of the heroes who saw this sight thought they were seeing a god. However, it wasn't one of the seventy-two gods they usually worshiped. It was a god of evil that was extremely malevolent toward humans.

Everyone gazed upon this embodiment of despair and instinctively knew that the demon legion commander had descended.