Chapter 500. Disarray (2)
The curtain had finally pulled for the war that would determine Liber’s fate. No, perhaps it had lifted a long, long time ago. Chi-Woo looked to his right and left. Chi-Hyun had told him that he would take care of the rest, but Chi-Woo couldn’t just completely wash his hands of the matter. In order to fully focus on the front, he needed to put in place minimum safety procedures.
“Ru Amuh.” Thus, he called out to Ru Amuh. When he thought, ‘Who can I trust and leave an important task to?’, the first person who came to mind was always him.
“Yes, Teacher.” Ru Amuh, who had been on standby, immediately rushed up to stand next to him. Despite the situation, he was as calm as ever, as if he had nothing to fear as long as Chi-Wo was next to him.
“I’ll put the main team and the fifth team under your lead, so take care of the rear. You can do that, right?”
In other words, while Chi-Woo pierced through the vanguard and the middle of the army, Ru Amuh had to hold out against the enemies coming from the left and right at the rear.
“Yes, sir.” Although he was given a ridiculously difficult order, Ru Amuh didn’t show even the slightest reluctance. He immediately bowed and turned around with his first team and the fifth team led by Apoline, as well as Chi-Woo’s main team. He took with him nearly half of Seven Stars, but it was all right. Those weren’t the only three teams in their organization. Emmanuel pulled out his fleuret, and Yunael twisted her spear. Meanwhile, the enemy came close. There was no need for Chi-Woo to say anything. He kicked the ground and began rushing out alone.
The rest of the Seven Stars followed Chi-Woo as if they had been waiting for him all along. In time, the Shalyh’s expeditionary force also finally began to advance against the rushing enemy. Their march gradually accelerated, hitting the ground violently. Their footsteps shook the earth as their cries pierced through the sky. The battlefield began to fluctuate wildly due to the deadening and harsh collision of the two armies.
When the distance between the two sides was narrowed to within a few hundred meters, Chi-Woo, who was charging in the lead, suddenly jumped into the air. As he went up in a parabola and narrowed the remaining distance in an instant, light emanated from his hand. It was so intense that everyone rushing through the battlefield thought very briefly that there were two suns. All the Sernitas soldiers, who had been running relentlessly, tilted their heads and looked up. The only thing they could see was Chi-Woo as he brought his hand down holding a brilliant light, and then the immeasurable condensed energy struck the ground.
Baaaaaaaam! Like lifting the entire sea and pouring it like water in a bucket, thus submerging the entire area regardless of terrains and vegetation, a huge wave of light spread in the shape of a fan and pushed outwards. The light not only ate up the Demon Empire army that had been rushing toward Chi-Woo but also purified the contaminated land in one swoop.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Demon Empire soldiers were all bursting as soon as they made contact with the wave of brilliant light before scattering into a handful of ashes. Eventually, the light penetrated through the enemy to forge a path in the front for Shalyh’s expeditionary force. At least 80% of the Demon Empire members that the Sernitas revived were extinguished with one blow from Chi-Woo. Another great shout erupted from behind him at his astounding feat, shaking the world once again.
Furthermore, the light remained powerful even then and rushed fiercely toward the Sernitas’ main body. Just before the feast of light resembling the Milky Way struck the nest, the nest shrank for a moment and then expanded as if it was spreading out. At the same time, the wave of light, which seemed as if it would flow to the end of the world, suddenly stopped moving forward, and it failed to reach the Sernitas.
Swoooooosh! It split from side to side as if blocked by an intangible wall and drifted gently away like a river.
—Kuooooooooooooh!
Once more, a creepy echo came from inside the nest. Shortly after, the size of the Sernitas rapidly decreased, and the light that had returned to the area was once again replaced by darkness, while the land purified by Chi-Woo’s exorcism mana was eroded and contaminated again. Furthermore, the Demon Empire army, which had disappeared without leaving a trace, was revived in an instant. Before they could even blink twice, their enemies filled their vision once again.
Chi-Woo clicked his tongue as he saw the Demon Empire coming toward them like a swarm of ants. He had thought he could reach the Sernitas’ main body easily, but as expected, he had to work for it. He wanted to unleash his energy again and sweep all the enemies away, but seeing that the size of the main body had decreased noticeably compared to the first time, the Sernitas must have used some kind of special method. He didn’t know what exactly it was, but considering the Sernitas’ nature, they had probably reinforced and revived the Demon Empire soldiers with as much customized information as possible. Therefore, he couldn’t expect the same attack to yield the same efficiency and outcome as before.
He was playing a zero-sum game with the Sernitas, but he would be wasting energy exponentially the more he attacked. Thus, he needed to make a path with the least amount of power possible, preserving strength to the best of his ability until he reached the main body. Soon afterward, their enemies, who had been rushing toward him like crazy, jumped up all at once and aimed for Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo stretched out his arms as if to shake them off, and a club made up of light manifested. It was then someone accelerated explosively and overtook Chi-Woo.
“Fight meeee!” With a strong shout, a spear that was sharply raised multiplied into dozens, slamming down on the group of enemies going after Chi-Woo. They were killed midair, and their fragmented bodies exploded in all directions like fireworks. With her hair flying like a waterfall, a woman dove in with a somersault while swinging her spear like a windmill.
“Fightfightfightfightfight!” When Yunael swung her spear in all directions, the enemies caught on her spear burst into pieces and scattered away.
“Is this all you can do!” It was the same for Jin-Cheon. “Is this the extent of the oh-so-great Sernitas!” He shouted with a laugh and swung his arms nonstop. Every time he threw a punch, a terrible wind blew and swept away his enemies. Aric wielded his sword next to Jin-Cheon, and Abis shot out arrows without a break. Of course, it was impossible to handle the entire Demon Empire with only the Seven Stars’ fifth team. Since they ran one step ahead of everyone else, they were quickly surrounded by the enemies following behind. However, the fifth team was fighting alongside the rest of humanity and the League.
The expeditionary forces following behind closely all shouted and swung the weapons in their hands. Like this, the frontlines of the Demon Empire army and Shalyh’s expeditionary force clashed. Spears and swords were crossed, arrows flew across the air and pierced soldiers, and countless magic and curses overlapped to paint an almost dizzying scene. It was a battle where immeasurable blood and flesh were spilled and torn. Screams could be heard from both sides, and both allies and enemies collapsed in hoards.
“Arghhh!” Dalgil let out a pained groan as he clashed with a legion led by a great demon. Considering that he was pierced by a sword even though he hadn’t let his guard down, the great demon must have been quite a high-ranking one when they were alive. The price he paid for a moment of faltering was harsh. In an instant, the legion coming at him from all sides left Dalgil with countless stab wounds. Thanks to the partially recovered AI Armor, Dalgil’s vital points were protected; if not, he would have died then and there. Still, the fact that he was seriously injured did not change, but he clenched his teeth and refused to fall to the ground. He beat the legion soldiers with one arm and swung the iron club in his hand at the great demon.
It wasn’t just Dalgil. Humanity and the League both relentlessly confronted their enemies and fought back, even if they would end up pierced by swords and collapsing. It was all thanks to their belief. The belief that as long as they cleared the way and held on somehow, Chi-Woo would turn the tide of this hopeless battle once again. Thanks to their efforts, Chi-Woo was able to cross the battlefield with less resistance than expected.
Of course, the Sernitas were not going to stand by and watch. Chi-Woo sensed a strong energy rushing straight toward him. It was obvious who it was without having to even look—it must be Bael. Chi-Woo did not slow down. Instead, he continued ahead despite knowing the direction she was coming from without turning around, let alone respond in advance. There was no need to because—
Crack! A bolt of fire suddenly stabbed Bael in the side when she had gotten close to Chi-Woo in a very short amount of time. Bael reacted immediately and tried to twist her body away so that the attack would miss. However, the lightning fire branched out like a spider web and slammed into Bael’s whole body. The next moment, Bael suddenly disappeared. She had rolled her feet back just before being hit. However, it wasn’t over yet. The lightning fire also made a sharp turn and chased after Bael, and in the end, Bael gave up on evading it. Coming to a stop, she struck back with a rough blow.
Bam! The atmosphere shook, and a sharp intake of breath could be heard. Bael regained her balance and glanced behind her. As a result of responding to that attack just now, her ambush against Chi-Woo had gone up in flames, and she lost him. Furthermore, she hadn’t completely offset the unexpected attack.
Bael nonchalantly raised one arm. The fist she had thrown was in a wreck, and her blackened forearm was still sputtering sparks. Although she could regenerate the flesh, the speed at which it regenerated was very slow. She dealt with it by ripping her arm off. It regenerated anew at the normal speed. Then she turned around. Her gaze landed on a young man with an air of nobility. He was pointing his fleuret at her.
“You shall not pass,” Emmanuel said as he glared at Bael. “As long as I live, you will not touch even a hair on his head.” He sounded determined to give his life.
The great demon Bael would have snorted and said, ‘I respect your heroic spirit, but aren’t you being too dramatic?’ However, having been absorbed by the Sernitas, she just stared silently at him. Soon after, she lowered her body and got into position as if she had made up her mind. Emmanuel also gripped his fleuret, and then the two lunged towards each other at the same time. The tip of the fleuret and the fist collided fiercely in the middle.
* * *
Chi-Hyun was floating in the air and looking down at the battlefield. There was only one notable thing about it—more than half of the Seven Stars had moved to the rear.
‘I told him to just focus on the main body…’ However, someone like Chi-Woo wouldn’t have just moved ahead without considering the other parts of the battlefield. It didn’t matter though. Since Ru Amuh was one of the few heroes that Chi-Hyun also acknowledged, he would be able to put up a resistance beyond Chi-Hyun’s expectations. With a lower number of combatants, the power of the frontlines naturally decreased, but that was something he could make up.
‘It shrunk again.’ While keeping an eye on the movements of the nest, Chi-Hyun busily coordinated the battlefield to prevent any part of the Shalyh expeditionary force from collapsing.
“!” He suddenly flew fast and moved away.
Swooosh! A second later, something huge shot past where he had been like a storm. Immediately after, hot flames shot down diagonally. Chi-Hyun swung his arm and lightly parried the attack while staring at his opponent, whose mouth was opened wide. The one flying in the air with wings as huge as her body was none other than the Last Dragon. She had been a reliable ally not long ago and a trustworthy comrade who had saved Liber in the distant past. It would be natural for one to feel conflicted when facing a long-time friend turned enemy.
However, Chi-Hyun’s face was as cold as the Sernitas. As if the past didn’t matter at all, he stared at the Last Dragon as nothing more than an enemy for him to destroy. Thus, he could strike the Last Dragon without hesitation as she rushed at him. However, his brows twitched when he saw the Last Dragon, who had been pushed back harshly with his big swing, charge recklessly at him again. The Last Dragon was showing way too many weaknesses that it seemed like a trap. When he was about to raise his hand reflexively, Chi-Hyun suddenly tilted his head and moved away to avoid getting hit in his torso. She shot out another meaningless breath when he put some distance between them. Only then did Chi-Hyun’s brows furrow slightly.
“You…?” Seeing the Last Dragon hurtle around shooting breaths, Chi-Hyun looked visibly taken aback.
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