“......!”
The moment Ariadon sensed the magic gathering overhead,
was after that magic had already taken shape.
—What in the world is that.
Not only Ariadon.
The giants who had been charging in high spirits to smash the Wall.
The Association’s Awakeners.
Even the Demon Realm’s monsters.
Everyone’s gaze
turned toward the sky of the battlefield.
Anyone with the ability to sense magic,
a cloud holding magic so enormous it made every hair stand on end.
Beneath that gigantic dark cloud that completely blanketed the sky above the massive fortress.
—Native species......?
A cold-looking man,
with his hands tucked into his pockets.
CRACKLE.......
was looking down at the battlefield.
*****
A man wearing a uniform, yet giving off a strangely intellectual air.
Honestly.
If that were all, there would have been no reason for everyone’s attention to focus on him.
No matter how powerful a monster or an Awakener was,
there was no reason to be impressed just by seeing a human face from that far away.
And yet, if everyone’s eyes were drawn to him,
it was because of this.
COO......?
“What is that.......”
A mysterious existence wandering around his body.
A gigantic, translucent snake made of yellow light
was circling him as if protecting him.
And then......
[Magic Transfer]
[Magic Source - Too-Deep Underground Mine]
From the fortress behind him,
magic with no visible end flowed out,
headed toward the snake’s body,
“Whew.......”
Magic that far, far surpassed the limits of what a human could handle
passed through the translucent snake’s body and was refined, then seeped into the man’s body.
And.
That gathered magic.
[Skill]
[Thundercloud]
CRACKLECRACKLECRACKLECRACKLE.......
flew toward
that gigantic dark cloud
hanging over the battlefield.
In the past.
A gigantic invasive otherworld created by those who had crossed over from a ruined world.
A young man who had rendered the greatest service in cleaning up that otherworld,
and who had belonged to the Legion,
the reason he could reach level 30 overwhelmingly faster than the other team leaders.
—......!
Ariadon, seeing that sight,
quickly gripped a spear in his hand.
To pierce that man’s body,
he drew the spear back as far as he could...... at that very moment.
“Then, first.”
The young man looked down at Ariadon’s actions with an impassive expression,
then,
“Let’s remove one. And start.”
He pointed with his finger
at the giant with that tremendous power.
......And.
That was enough.
—No way.
The gigantic dark cloud settled above the giants’ heads.
The lightning stored inside that dark cloud.
—Brothers......!
Too enormous,
a thick pillar of lightning with no other way to describe it except divine punishment.
—Run aw—
KRAKABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
covered Ariadon’s body.
*****
[Spear of the Icicle Ariadon]
In the past, he had led the king’s knights and roamed the battlefield.
Among the Frozen Souls, [Belsnickel], he was one of the beings most skilled in battle.
In life, he had been nothing more than a wandering knight of a petty kingdom.
Even so, the fact that his merits were recognized and he could rise to the seat of Grand Lord—only twenty in all—
was enough to guess how incredible his achievements in war had been.
And while Shin Youngjun was unconscious, the reason the Frozen Souls could lead their army and break through the Association’s defensive line in an instant
was also something made possible because his command ability was that outstanding.
KRAKABOOOOOOOOOM!!!
His body.
A pillar made of thick light wrapped around it.
‘Divine punishment.......’
In the current situation called war.
A being with such overwhelming influence that even the other Grand Lords acknowledged his command.
THUUUUD......!
But no matter how great a being he was.
Under that pillar of light that was no different from divine punishment,
he was not even permitted to leave a trace.
—Knight Commander!
—Sir Ariadon......!
That huge body that had been clinging to the fortress
was slammed roughly into the ground.
[Boss Monster, Spear of the Icicle Ariadon has died!]
[The effect of Fear, ‘Arctic Fear,’ that had spread across the battlefield is canceled!]
CRACKLE...... CRACKLE.......
A corpse burned so badly you couldn’t even make out its shape.
The charcoal-like lump with faint electricity flickering through it looked like something you couldn’t even guess had once been a living, moving being.
—No way!
The giants’ eyes turned toward the sky.
RUMBLE.......
CRACKLE.
After [Belsnickel] brought Gyeonggi Province’s climate under their control,
only massive snow clouds had floated in the sky, blotting out the sun.
But now.
‘What is that dark cloud?’
Between those pure white clouds,
a black cloud, alien beyond measure, suddenly appeared.
Figuring out who caused it was not hard.
“.......”
With that dark cloud at his back,
looking down at them with an utterly indifferent gaze.......
a native species.
“......Tsk.”
Maybe he was in a bad mood.
The man frowned.
He looked down at those on the ground.
The Grand Lords of [Belsnickel].
‘Like we’re trash.’
With a gaze like he was looking at insects.
—So the native guardian we faced back then wasn’t all there was to the native species.
With a single point of a finger,
a monster-like existence that erased their brother without even leaving a trace.
‘That kind of strike...... wasn’t that the power only that empire’s created emperor ever showed?’
‘An existence with that kind of power existed among the native species too?’
He still did nothing but frown as if indifferent and look down at them.
Yet the moment they received that gaze.
The lords with tremendous power.
Fear took root in their minds.
Last time.
The native guardian who had mercilessly cut them down while they were unable to move due to the seal’s gap.
The same fear as when his blade moved!
‘The empire’s emperor was personally exterminated by our king.’
‘But right now, we have no king.’
‘If that one...... moves his finger just a few more times.’
Now, without the king’s protection,
they too would follow the same path as Ariadon.
An ending where they were reduced to nothing under that lightning.
But.
“.......”
—......Why isn’t he attacking?
He still only looked down at them with his hands behind his back.
No further attacks came.
—Why?
The one among them specialized in combat.
It was an attack that killed Ariadon in one blow.
He should be able to erase the others even more easily.
So why didn’t that attack continue?
Some of the giants felt strange about it.
—Hmph! Now I get it!
THUUUUD.......
One of them
spoke in a confident voice as he stepped forward.
—That attack just now was all that bastard had! He can’t do the same attack again, so all he can do is stare down at us......
As he said that,
the giant started stepping toward the Wall.
SWISH.......
The man who had been watching them indifferently with his hands behind his back,
his hand moved.
—......!
Toward the giant heading for the Wall.
And......
“Two.”
That was enough.
KRAKABOOOOOOOOOM!
A second pillar of divine punishment
covered that giant’s body.
[Boss Monster, Glacier Hammer Olodon has died!]
[The effect of Fear, ‘Glacier’s Heat,’ that had spread across the battlefield is canceled!]
—.......
—.......
A second brother
was erased by that lightning.
‘No way.’
The giants staggered back from the Wall and looked up at the sky.
Then.
SWISH.......
The young man’s hand that had been pointing at them returned.
Back to his posture with his hands behind his back, looking down at them.
Only after seeing that could they realize it.
‘That’s a warning.’
The Grand Lords of [Belsnickel] became bodies that could never sweat again after dying once.
And yet.
They felt the illusion of cold sweat running down their backs.
‘That divine punishment will be inflicted on anyone who tries to cross that Wall...... a warning!’
As long as that unknown man kept looking down at them,
they would not be able to enter inside that Wall.
*****
A man who simply, indifferently,
restricted their actions with just a finger.
That attitude
was something only an overwhelmingly strong person was permitted to have.
Permitted only to those who could hold an enemy’s life in one hand and toy with it.
That kind of attitude.
And what was infuriating was,
—How dare......!
—Are you trying to restrict us!
in reality.
They truly had been restricted by a few finger points.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!
Ariadon had succeeded in tearing off a significant number of Artillery Battery emplacements by clinging to the fortress and rampaging,
but the fortress in the sky
was still pouring out artillery fire.
Their brothers were shrinking in number at an incredible speed.
‘Our brothers’ bodies are too frail.’
‘If only we could use the bodies we seized in our homeland......!’
That was their problem.
Unlike the twenty Grand Lords who could bring their bodies over intact,
most of their brothers had failed to bring over the bodies they obtained in their homeland.
The Grand Lords’ power was certainly strong.
But aside from them, the other brothers were only many in number.
If you went by average fighting power, they were weaker even than the Association’s Awakeners.
That was why they had coveted human bodies with limitless potential.
‘If not for the energy that settled over this land!’
Normally, they wouldn’t have cared about bodies being destroyed.
But death on this battlefield
meant death for them as well.
—If we lose any more brothers......
—We’ll be in danger too.
Only they could endure the artillery fire from the sky.
In the end, if every other brother was erased,
they too would be in danger after losing the troops that backed them.
So, in the end.
—......I will sacrifice myself.
—!?
Somehow.
They had to break through this situation.
[Marquis of the Barrier, Ramenon of the History-Bearing Blizzard]
A giant stepped forward and spoke.
A giant with an especially old-fashioned way of speaking.
—The power that native species wields reminds me of that of the old empire’s emperor. But...... unlike the emperor, it seems he cannot display it many times in a short span of time.
Handling power of that scale was never easy for a native species.
Even though he was erased.
Olodon’s judgment—advancing because it would be difficult to keep using that attack—was clearly correct.
But.
‘Twice was possible.’
‘Then...... how many times is possible?’
That thought
had only bound their feet.
—I will take the lead and withstand his attack. Since it is the power that erased Ariadon, I cannot endure it either...... but I can create an opening for you to act.
—Marquis!
—I...... have lived too long, even after becoming a brother. Just being able to serve the king for this long is satisfaction enough. So...... instead of me, you must save the king’s soul.
A ghost with an aged soul, despite his solid body, walked toward the Wall.
—Now, strike me! O native species who rules the sky!
“.......”
—But know that you can only look down on us for a brief time! If our king returns to our arms, you will fall to the ground. And we will present new bodies and a fortress to the king!
The giant kept shouting up at the sky.
—What are you doing! Why won’t you bring down that lightning!
“.......”
Even though the giant’s body had nearly reached the Wall,
the human in the sky did nothing but look down at them indifferently.
—......?
That dreadful divine punishment
did not fall anymore.
Not only that.
The man controlling that dreadful power in the sky was, how should one put it......
“......Khmm.”
As if even standing properly was difficult,
he swayed strangely.
When the expected lightning didn’t fall,
around the time the giants started to feel uneasy.
“Yeah, I knew it.”
—......!?
The giants close to the Wall.
There was a voice coming from beneath their feet.
“Of course the bluff operation wasn’t going to work. Sergeant Lee Minjae didn’t want to do it so bad, and they forced him anyway.”
The first thing they saw was
a huge warrior with a body so big you’d doubt he ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) was the same species as the other natives they’d seen.
“Look at him clenching his teeth just to not fall over.”
Wearing massive gauntlets on both hands, each as big as an average native,
he walked out of the forest.
“Hey, what are you talking about, Corporal Jeon.”
Around him.
A greatsword, a dagger, a spear, a hammer, a halberd, and more......
“We got enough results just from successfully binding the enemy’s feet this much.”
“Hm. I guess that’s true?”
Warriors holding a variety of weapons
revealed themselves.
“Isn’t it because Sergeant Lee Minjae bought us time that we could form up like this?”
“Well, sure. That’s true too.”
Right before that fortress started pouring out artillery fire.
There had been countless shapes that burst out through the Fortress Gate
and fell to the ground.
‘Those are... from then.’
Hundreds of soldiers armed to the teeth with their own equipment.
And behind them followed an enormous number of tanks and armored vehicles, mobile missiles, and self-propelled artillery as well.
‘An army.’
A massive army that had completed its battle preparations.
That very group, gathering in one place the essence of violence humanity had piled up,
was advancing toward the giants in formation.
“Alright, then! Sergeant Lee Minjae opened this fight while bracing himself to be knocked out for weeks!”
The huge warrior walking at the very front
looked up at the giants, grinned broadly, and shouted.
“Then we’ve got to charge while bracing ourselves to get knocked out too.”
To the giants, natives were small enough to be less than insects.
But.
It wasn’t hard to understand what they meant.
—You bastards, how dare.......
—You think you can face us with nothing but that pathetic power......!
The giants roared in fury.
A massive blizzard rose from their bodies.
“For the Legion’s......”
“For victory.”
The soldiers of Gangwon Province
charged at them.
