Chapter 538
Now, let’s kill that bastard. (2)
Crash!
Helgenik shattered the spear piercing his chest and rose to his feet. Black smoke continuously seeped from his wound.
“Divine power?”
Not only was the dagger the woman had wielded imbued with divine power, but the spear was as well.
Helgenik ground his teeth.
“These bastards…!”
Before he could even steady himself, a massive mace loomed before his eyes.
“What??”
Boom!
“Gah!”
Struck head-on by the overwhelming force, Helgenik was sent skidding backward. The area of his arm that had made contact with the mace began to burn fiercely.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Parniel, who had pushed through the sea of corpses, charged at him with a furious expression.
She had seen the countless bodies strewn about and was enraged.
“To dare hold back the souls meant to return to the Goddess like this!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With the force to shatter mountains, her strikes came crashing down. Helgenik, unable to regain his composure, stumbled backward.
Even as he raised a shield to defend himself, the sheer destructive power of the mace shattered it with every strike. To make matters worse, each blow was imbued with immense divine energy.
Helgenik recoiled in shock at the monstrous strength.
“A holy maiden?!”
Such divine power was not something just anyone could wield. The rumors were true she was that Holy Maiden.
Just as he was about to counterattack, dozens of daggers filled the space around him.
Whizz!
Helgenik had no choice but to teleport, frantically swinging his hands.
Rumble!
The Death Knights that had been destroyed by Jerome were resurrected. They immediately lunged toward Parniel and Belinda.
At the same time, an overwhelming number of nearby corpses began to encircle them.
However, Belinda swiftly withdrew, carrying Jerome away from the battlefield.
With only Parniel left, Helgenik finally caught a brief moment to breathe.
Slash!
The heads of the corpses blocking the way fell to the ground all at once.
Flash!
And then, from behind them, a man suddenly appeared, swinging his sword.
There had been a considerable distance between them just moments ago.
Slice.
Helgenik’s body was slashed once again.
It was undoubtedly the same man who had cut his chest earlier.
Though he managed to avoid a fatal wound this time, Helgenik couldn’t hide his astonishment.
‘I couldn’t see nor sense it.’
No matter how fast an opponent was, ignoring distance entirely to attack was impossible.
That sword was one that cut wherever the wielder’s will reached. It disregarded all rules, bringing about the intended result the moment the blade was swung.
With his level of skill, Helgenik could discern both the nature of the attack and its limitations.
‘The effect changes depending on the difference in power.’
Had he been weaker, his head would have been severed instantly.
But he was one of the strongest beings on the continent. Because of that, his opponent’s will couldn’t completely overwhelm him.
It seemed the opponent realized it too, as they no longer used that technique.
Even so, the chilling sensation didn’t fade easily. If the opponent's level had been just a little higher, he might have suffered a serious injury.
Because that swordsmanship truly defied common sense.
Drdrdrk!
In the fleeting moment of dodging an attack, Helgenik did everything he could with all his might.
A heap of bones erupted from the ground, blocking the path ahead of him, while countless corpses surged toward the enemies.
More than 200,000 corpses all rushed to block the enemy. Their sheer number momentarily hindered the enemy’s movements.
Seizing that brief opening, Helgenik continued retreating.
“Phew, dangerous bastards. I need to get out of here.”
It was only when the massive horde of corpses stood between him and his foes that Helgenik finally managed to catch his breath.
He had summoned all the corpses he had gathered until now. Unless they flew through the sky, it would take time to break through.
But the situation was so urgent that he momentarily forgot something important.
The spear that had fallen from the sky.
Swaaah!
From atop Dark, who had transformed into a giant crow, Ghislain unleashed his mana and leaped down.
His descent was as fast as light.
Helgenik, focused on maneuvering the corpses while retreating, was too preoccupied to notice the falling attacker in time.
“Hm?”
As he plummeted toward Helgenik’s position, Ghislain swung his sword wide.
Kwaaajik!
“Graaagh!”
Helgenik’s body was slashed deeply from his shoulder down to his side. Black smoke billowed from the gaping wound.
Kwaaaang!
Landing with enough force to carve out a massive crater, Ghislain smirked.
“Oh, you dodged that? As expected, you’re impressive, Helgenik.”
Ghislain’s sword also shone with divine power. Parniel and Piote had blessed everyone’s weapons with divine energy.
Helgenik, severely wounded, staggered back and shouted.
“Grrrgh! Who are you?! Who the hell are you people?!”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“Ghhhhh…”
Helgenik quickly grasped who they were.
There was only one army on the entire continent with this many powerful warriors gathered in one place.
“You… Are you the Duke of Fenris from Ritania?”
“That’s right. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ve got plenty of time.”
“Khhahaha…”
Helgenik let out a low chuckle, his body trembling. If these people were here, it meant the Salvation Church’s operation had succeeded.
“You fools. Do you even realize what it means that you’ve come here?”
“I do.”
“What?”
“You were trying to lure us in, weren’t you? Doesn’t matter. We were planning to wipe everything out anyway. Especially you.”
To Ghislain, Helgenik was also a dangerous threat. The only reason he had left him alone in his previous life was that Helgenik had acted independently back then.
However, now that he had joined hands with the Salvation Church, he had become someone who needed to be dealt with faster than anyone else.
Even if they had to suffer other losses, killing him here would be far more beneficial.
At Ghislain’s relaxed demeanor, Helgenik grit his teeth.
"Don’t bluff... Do you really think you can handle this many corpses?"
There were over 200,000 corpses. Although they had no intelligence, simply trying to bring them down would consume an enormous amount of energy.
As proof of that, even the superhumans who had appeared at the beginning were unable to break through the wall of corpses.
Ghislain chuckled again.
"Who said we came alone?"
"What?"
—Dududududu!
From a distance, the cavalry approached.
Ghislain had moved together with the Mobile Corps. He had only advanced ahead to rescue Jerome after Vanessa’s magic had revealed his peril.
"Wipe them all out!"
At the signal of Gillian’s cry from the front, the Mobile Corps, wrapped in radiant divine power, charged forward.
—Kwaaaaaang!
Armed with divine power, the Mobile Corps tore through the corpses in an instant.
The corpses were swept away so effortlessly by the Mobile Corps’ attacks that it was almost pitiful.
They had no formations, no strategies only hostility toward the living. There was no way they could stop the precise, coordinated assaults of the Mobile Corps.
"Grrrrrrr!"
Still, their numbers were overwhelming. The Kingdom of Parsali’s army had priests as well, yet they had been pushed back all this time.
The reason was simple there were too many corpses for their divine power to handle.
The monstrous horde surged toward the Mobile Corps once again.
The wall of corpses was so thick that even the Mobile Corps’ breakthrough momentum quickly diminished. From this point on, it would devolve into chaotic melee combat.
Fortunately, there was one person here who specialized in such battles.
"Hyaaaaaaah!"
Leaping from her horse, "The Princess of Destruction" Elena swung her massive hammer.
—KWAANG!
"Guehh?"
The corpses exploded upon impact, shattered as they rushed toward her. Each time Elena unleashed her overwhelming strength, a clear path was carved through the battlefield.
Hardened by her battles against the Riftspawn, Elena couldn't suppress her fury. In truth, she was always angry these days.
Seeing this, Gillian bursted into laughter and shouted,
"Follow the princess! Keep pushing forward! Crush them!"
"Hurrraah! Follow the Princess!!!"
—Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Before they knew it, Elena was at the vanguard, swinging her hammer, forcing even their allies to steer clear of her rampage.
Only Rachel stayed as close as possible, keeping an eye on her.
Though Elena was clearing the way effortlessly, the corpses that swarmed in from the sides quickly filled the gaps she created.
Just then, a powerful cry rang out from behind the Mobile Corps.
"O Goddess!"
—ZZZEEEEONG!
Piote’s hair began to turn silver as he followed the Mobile Corps. As he drew upon all of his divine power, a brilliant light spread widely.
Grrraaaahhh!
The corpses that touched the light trembled and burst into flames. They could not withstand the divine radiance, which was the very antithesis of darkness.
The priests following Piote also unleashed their divine power with all their might, protecting their allies.
The Mobile Corps trampled over the immobilized corpses as they advanced.
The true terror of the undead lay in the fact that they could not be permanently killed. But as long as they could be completely destroyed, no matter how numerous they were, they could never stand against a properly trained army.
And Piote was not the only one here.
The undead converging toward the center were taken care of by Parniel.
"Begone, you wicked abominations!"
Kwaaaaang!
Parniel slammed her mace into the ground, sending an immense storm of divine energy surging in all directions.
Graaaargh!
Even the Death Knights had their bodies torn apart, while the lower undead, such as zombies and ghouls, were reduced to ash and vanished.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Other superhumans wielded weapons imbued with divine power, cutting through the undead with ease.
Meanwhile, large-scale magic spells rained down from afar, obliterating hordes of corpses at once.
Despite the sheer number of undead still pouring in, at this rate, their army would soon be annihilated.
If their forces had been only moderately strong, this wouldn't have been a problem. After all, Helgenik's power could block divine energy and continuously resurrect the undead.
But right now…
"So? No matter how strong you are, handling all of us might be a bit too much for you, don’t you think?"
Ghislain smirked coldly. Helgenik gritted his teeth, unable to respond.
He couldn’t afford to waste his strength on the undead. If he did, the enemy standing before him would kill him.
Helgenik slowly surveyed his surroundings and asked,
"…Do you know who I am?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because this is strange."
He had expected reinforcements to arrive. Given the presence of an undead army, priests were bound to show up.
But these warriors defied common sense they had rushed here with uncanny speed and precision.
Bringing only about 20,000 soldiers to face such a vast horde of undead was unusual. Normally, they would have regrouped with the kingdom’s forces to defend against the threat together.
That would have been the safest way to minimize casualties.
Yet, their enemies had acted boldly, bringing only a small number of elites and launching a direct assault against the vast undead army.
This felt as if…
"I see. Your real target is me, isn’t it?"
"That’s right. I told you we came here to kill you. Oh, and while we're at it, we're also here to rescue that adorable little mage lying over there."
"……."
So it was certain now. Their goal was him. They were willing to take the bait, but only so they could claim his head in the end.
Graaaargh!
The number of undead was dwindling rapidly. Without Helgenik’s intervention, they were being slaughtered with ease.
Even around Ghislain, the undead swarmed in.
But he didn’t even need to move.
Fwoooosh.
Spears of mana materialized around him, shattering the undead as if they had a will of their own.
Helgenik gathered his energy.
‘I wonder how he could know so much about me, but now isn’t the time to dwell on that question.’
“You’re quite relaxed, Duke of Fenris.”
Helgenik deliberately kept the conversation going, stalling for time. He was trying to make his opponent let his guard down.
After all, he had no intention of fighting here.
Whoosh!
From the ground where Ghislain stood, dozens no, hundreds of bone spikes shot up.
‘This situation is too unfavorable. The operation was a success, so I should retreat for now.’
It was a shame to abandon so many corpses, but there was no choice. If the fight dragged on, he would be the one to suffer.
Seizing the moment when Ghislain hesitated at the sudden attack, Helgenik attempted to blink backward.
Or at least, he tried to.
Slash!
But before he could, Julien had already cut through the corpses and disrupted the spell.
Thud!
“Gah!”
As his mana flow was severed, the backlash struck Helgenik directly.
Staggering, he looked ahead. His blink had failed.
His opponent could sever what the will intended to reach. Space-bending techniques wouldn’t work against him.
In other words, escape via teleportation was impossible.
“Who are you?”
“Julien.”
Helgenik racked his brain, and the name came to him. The warrior who had recently put down the rebellion in the Kingdom of Turian.
Of all people, it had to be someone with a technique that was exceptionally effective at preventing mages from escaping.
Boom!
The bone prison shattered into pieces as Ghislain stepped forward.
Seeing Julien, Ghislain grinned.
“What the hell took you so long? Damn, I kept chatting with this guy to make sure he wouldn’t run off. I should’ve brought Claude.”
Even for someone like Ghislain, if a mage of Helgenik’s caliber attempted a full retreat, capturing him would be difficult. It would turn into an endless chase.
Even if the distance was short, a well-placed teleportation spell could quickly create a gap.
But with Julien here, escape was impossible. After all, he could disrupt spells and unseen mana flows.
That was why Ghislain had waited for him. They had already planned for this scenario.
“…I see.”
Unlike Ghislain, who was grinning, Julien remained expressionless.
Helgenik turned his gaze toward Ghislain this time.
It wasn’t him who had been buying time it was that bastard.
In the end, he had walked right into their trap.
“Damn you….”
There was no choice, but to fight.
Before others arrived, he had to kill these two.
For the first time in his life, Helgenik realized he had no option but to go all out in a head-on battle.
Rumble!
“Don’t think I’m only capable of manipulating corpses.”
A terrifying aura erupted from his body. He knew he wouldn’t escape this place without putting his life on the line.
Swish.
Julien raised his sword, lowering his stance.
Ghislain smirked.
“Let’s kill him now.”
Boom!
Ghislain and Julien swung their swords at Helgenik.