Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 208
Meanwhile, as the Western Continent's forces were gathering in the central region...
In the barren wasteland at the center of the Southern Great Forest, the Bone Rock Plains...
Just two months ago, this was the battlefield where the tribes of the Eastern and Western Forests clashed due to Chaos's scheme, and the traces of that battle still remained.
Scattered across the plains were the remains of the Giant Lord that Aden had destroyed, along with countless other giant skeletons and fossilized dragon bones.
These were the remnants of an ancient past, now nothing more than bones.
However, something unusual occurred.
The plains began to shake violently, as if an earthquake was erupting...
*Kugugugugung.*
A massive figure rose from the ground.
It murmured.
-"...It was painful."
It was the skeleton of a dragon.
But it was moving.
As if it were alive, the dragon's bones stretched.
-"For a thousand years, I wandered in darkness, bound by unresolved regrets. During that time, my soul withered away. It was an excruciating experience."
*Hwaaaat.*
A purple light glowed in the empty eye sockets of the dragon's skull.
It was a Bone Dragon.
In this era, Bone Dragons existed only as a concept in the imagination—the strongest of the undead.
Yet, the purple light in this Bone Dragon's eyes was clearer and purer than the usual dull glow of an undead.
That purple light focused on a small figure standing before it.
-"I wandered in pain for so long that I even forgot who I was. But hearing your call, I was finally able to regain my sense of self. Yes, it was you who called me."
"...Yes, that's right. I was the one who called you. I found your tormented spirit, unable to let go of your attachment to this world, and I awakened you."
-"...Thank you."
The dead dragon expressed its gratitude to the human woman.
It gazed at her with its burning, radiant eyes—a beautiful human woman with silver hair, who had pulled it out of the depths of darkness.
-"Human, why did you bestow such grace upon me?"
"Because I need your help."
As the strongest of undead creatures in theory, the Bone Dragon exuded an overwhelming presence that no human could withstand.
But the woman who had created this Bone Dragon looked up at it with unwavering, clear blue eyes.
"If you help me, I will ensure that you can finally rest in peace."
---
Aden stared at the Immortalityum ahead of him. The place was encased in the time-freezing barrier created by the Hermit, where time had stopped.
However...
"It's breaking."
*Jeojeojeojeok.*
Cracks were forming in the barrier in real-time. The power of time-freezing was beginning to lose its effect.
It wouldn't be surprising if that precarious barrier shattered and the time of the Hell Gate and the Imperial City began to flow again.
The moment the barrier broke would mark the beginning of the battle.
Troops were gathered and assembled in the eastern camp.
Aden looked at the various commanders of the allied forces and asked.
"Is everyone prepared?"
Sword Master Tiried, the Border Count, burst into hearty laughter.
"Kuhaha! Don't worry! I have the knights under my command well in hand!"
As a Sword Master, he was leading the Eastern Knights Regiment, composed of a thousand strong warriors from the Eastern noble families.
The Knights Regiment was made up entirely of those who had at least reached the level of Advanced Sword Aura.
Personally, Tiried, the Border Count, had a significant grudge against Chaos.
Not only had the Sedus people been abducted for Chaos's experiments, but the Border Count himself had nearly died from the curse of the 72nd Sword, Labolas, due to their schemes.
Recalling that time, he ground his teeth.
"If I can fight those bastards who deserve to be torn to pieces... I'd welcome it!"
An old wizard, who looked rather worn out from the strain, spoke up.
"Our mage corps is also ready. We can intercept them at any time."
A mage corps composed of five hundred mages from the Anguis Magic Tower State had also joined the war.
They had no other choice.
Hendrickson, the leader of the mage corps, spoke with a determined expression.
"It is true that the mages of the Central Magic Tower of Anguis have committed unforgivable sins. Therefore, we will give everything to atone for those sins."
Not all mages had fallen and sided with Chaos.
It was the mages of the Central Magic Tower, the core of the Magic Tower State, who had betrayed them. The other four great magic towers were unaware of Anguis's atrocities.
However, this alone was enough to tarnish the honor of all mages.
'If things continue like this, our Magic Tower State has no future.'
If they didn't actively participate in this alliance, the Magic Tower State, and perhaps even the profession of mages itself, would be doomed to collapse.
For that reason, all the mages from the four great towers, except for the now-defunct Anguis Magic Tower, had joined the allied forces.
"The Sacred Fire Order is also ready to fight at any time, Lord Aden."
Vali, the high-ranking monk leading the elite monks of the Sacred Fire Order, grinned broadly.
Riding on the back of the giant Golden Wolf, Elise was also brimming with enthusiasm.
"I'll fight hard too!"
-Woof!
To be honest, it was unreasonable to bring someone as young as Elise, even if she was a saint, to such a battle.
So they intended to keep her in the rear and have her focus on healing...
'But this guy, the Lord of the Sacred Fire, turned her into a complete monster.'
If anyone had witnessed the young saint's display of divine martial arts, they wouldn't dare dismiss her as just a child.
Elise was now at a level close to walking disaster.
She was an essential part of this operation.
"The Slaughter Cult is also ready to offer blood sacrifices at any time."
"Ah, I am well aware of that, Saint Merida."
"Kyaaahaha! Slaughter!"
"A blood sacrifice for the Slaughter God!"
The priests of the Slaughter Tower, a battle-crazed religious sect, were already itching to start their massacre.
"Princess Lilith, are you planning to personally join the battle as well?"
In response to Aden's question, Princess Lilianas, now known as the 'Iron-Blooded Sacred King,' nodded.
"I am also a Saint Master. I must lend a hand in this fight to protect the world, under the blessing of the Lawful God."
"Is it not because you've purged so much that the Holy Knights' strength is lacking?"
"Ugh, I have no retort to that..."
The princess gave a bitter smile.
She had been the one to purge many during the process of cutting out the rotten parts of the corrupt Sacred Kingdom.
No wonder she earned the title of Iron-Blooded Sacred King.
However, there was a helper in her ruthless and decisive purges that no one but Aden knew about.
"Thanks to you, I've made a good friend."
"...It seems you've become quite close with Niketa."
Aden clicked his tongue.
After correcting the princess's prejudice against the Warlocks and breaking the Sacred King's curse through Niketa, she and Niketa had grown quite close.
Perhaps it was because they both shared the common ground of being rulers of the underworld.
There might be something that connects fierce women.
But Aden had little interest in understanding it.
'In any case, everyone is gathered now.'
A thousand battle priests from the Three Great Orders: the Sacred Fire Order, the Slaughter Cult, and the Lawful God Church.
A thousand elite knights gathered from the Empire and various nations.
Five hundred mages from the untarnished towers of the Magic Tower State.
A thousand mercenaries, led by Marcus and his Maedala Guild.
And including the troops of the Frozen Autonomy, which Aden commanded, nearly four thousand were assembled.
Around four thousand dedicated warriors.
Their mission was to clear the path to the Immortalityum Imperial City.
When the time-freezing barrier created by the Hermit shattered, they would break through the Talos horde and Chaos's Warlocks that would emerge.
It was a task so perilous that it required them to risk their lives.
Aden surveyed the Frozen Autonomy.
'They've all gotten much stronger.'
They were no longer just a group of mountain bandits with strong bodies.
Amazingly, over hundreds of them had awakened Sword Aura.
They were now a force comparable to any knightly order.
'I'm glad I fed them the Fruit of Human-Faced Flower.'
He had relentlessly fed Wraiths to the Human-Faced Flower to extract the Lesser Potential Awakening Fruits and administer them to his troops.
Furthermore, he had them consume Gehenna's Breath, which pushes the body's potential to its limits, resulting in this outcome.
Muscleless Roider, once the leader of the mountain bandits and now the commander of the Frozen Autonomy, let out a hearty laugh, still proud of his formidable muscles.
"Kuhahaha! I can't wait to show those monsters the greatness of muscles!"
"...Alright. I trust you."
"I was glad to have trained with the Ukurak brothers and learned new techniques! Haha!"
"New techniques?"
-Ukurak almost died learning it.
"...What kind of technique did you develop to make an Ogre Lord cry like that?"
"Kuhaha! You'll see soon enough!"
Incidentally, Ukurak and his monster army were also participating in this battle.
Exuding intense battle spirit befitting a Frost Ogre Lord, he asked Aden.
-Human, will you keep your promise?
"Yes, survive, and you'll live the rest of your life feasting on top-grade
beef."
-Ugooooooo! Ukurak! Fight! Crush! Kill them all!
"That's the spirit."
Given the sheer number of monsters like Aden, Ukurak might have been overshadowed, but he was also a monster of lord rank, possessing combat power comparable to that of a minimum of a transcendent martial artist.
Moreover, he had the ability to command other monsters.
Being able to command such a group of monsters for mere top-grade beef was a highly profitable deal.
"But, are you really going to fight?"
"Yes, Lord Aden."
Lowe responded with determined eyes.
"I want to dedicate myself to this battle. Besides, I can feel that I'm very close."
Just one more step.
Lowe could sense that with just one more step, the wall blocking his way would crumble.
He knew that all he needed was a small trigger to surpass this wall.
Seeing Lowe's resolute eyes, Aden decided not to stop him.
Lowe's awakened trait, Knight's Soul, grew stronger the more he desired to protect his lord.
If he was this confident, then he would surely gain something.
"Alright. But take care of yourself. If you die, I'll revive you as a Death Knight and put you to work."
"Haha, understood."
Lowe chuckled at Aden's words, seemingly taking them as a joke.
*Kugugugugugu.*
Then, a sound was heard.
The time-freezing barrier created by the Hermit...
*Jeojeojeojeojeok!*
...shattered into pieces.
---
[A disaster-level dungeon, the Hell Gate Tartarus, has resumed its activity.]
---
Aden's eyes narrowed.
"...It has begun."
Time, which had been frozen, began to flow once more.
The doom that had been momentarily postponed began to resume.
*Krorrarararal!*
*Kraaaaaa!*
The cries of the enraged monsters of the underground world spread out.
It was the beginning of the Battle of Talos.
---
It was a disaster.
*Krorrararararal!*
*Kraaaaaaa!*
From the Hell Gate that had opened in the sky above the Imperial City, a horde of Talos poured out.
They were like a swarm of locusts, overwhelming in number, as if they intended to devour the world.
"My God...!"
"How can there be so many...!"
The sheer number left the people of the allied forces dumbfounded.
The creatures crawling on the ground alone were uncountable.
And they had to break through all those monsters?
The soldiers surrounding the Imperial City were losing their spirits.
At that moment, when fear threatened to overwhelm them...
*Oooooooo-!*
Fenrir, the divine beast Aden was riding, let out a howl.
That wolf's cry snapped the allied forces back to their senses.
"Everyone, get it together!"
Aden's voice, imbued with mana, rang out loudly to the entire allied force.
"There's no need to worry! Ignore the Talos descending from the sky!"
The allied forces hesitated for a moment at his words.
'Ignore the ones flying down from the sky and just charge forward?'
The saying, "The goblin who runs is outrun by the griffon," exists for a reason.
If they simply ignored and charged ahead, they would be attacked from above.
The number of enemies was far too great for the mages to cover with their spells.
As the allied forces hesitated, doubting Aden's intentions...
*Kraaaaaaa!*
A massive roar echoed across the Imperial City.
*Kwaararararararararal!*
A pitch-black hellfire engulfed the Talos that were descending from the sky.
*Kraaak!*
*Kreeeeeek!*
Around thirty percent of the flying Talos were incinerated.
It all happened in an instant.
"...!"
"W-What...!"
The allied forces were stunned by the sudden turn of events.
"Everyone, look over there!"
Someone among them pointed to the sky, and when they looked, their eyes widened in shock.
*Goooooo.*
Slowly, something massive began to emerge from the clouds.
It was an island.
A fortress of black floating in the sky.
The cradle of those who had left the earth and continued to survive in the heavens.
Aden murmured.
"The Holy Land of Florence's Flame, Shamayim."
The massive magic circle that granted the island its floating power glowed softly, revealing its presence.
The allied forces were once again astonished.
"Wh-What is that!"
"...Angels?"
*Shwaaaaa!*
Hundreds of beings with wings of dark magic spread wide, flying around the island as if guarding it.
Their robes were adorned with the emblem of the ancient Kingdom of Florence.
They were the Warlocks of Florence's Flame.
*Grrrrrrrr!*
A low growl escaped the still-hot breath of the Bone Dragon.
Seated atop the undead dragon was Niketa.
The woman on the Bone Dragon, and the hundreds of humans with black wings, appeared through the clouds alongside the floating fortress.
"Ahhh..."
A few among the allied forces gasped in admiration.
Aden smirked.
"When they were enemies, I hated seeing that sight so much..."
Hated it? That was an understatement.
He shuddered at the mere sight of anything similar to it in the sky.
But now...
"It feels reassuring."
Nothing could be more reliable.
The Silver Witch, Niketa Florence.
In both his previous life and his current one...
Aden could confidently say that he had never seen a woman as noble and radiant as her.
They might have seemed ominous enough to be demons...
But they were too noble to be seen as such.
Everyone in the allied forces was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight.
"Children who carry on the legacy of Florence."
In the future, they would speak of what they had witnessed to others, saying:
---
[The black angels descended from the sky.
They came from the black island in the heavens.
Their one and only queen appeared riding a Bone Dragon.]
---
...like that.
And they would say this:
"I command, in the name of Florence."
---
[The queen of the black angels let her radiant silver hair flow, and with her icy blue eyes, she gazed at the demons pouring through the torn sky, and spoke thus...]
---
"Annihilate them."
---
[From then on, no demons survived in the sky.]