Chapter 613
One Big Task is Finally Done. (2)
Kwaaaaaang!
Parniel swung her mace.
It was a simple swing, yet at that moment, the air itself seemed to tear apart with a deafening noise, and the surrounding monsters scattered in all directions as if they had exploded.
"Hrgh!"
Thud!
Flesh and blood rained down like a storm. She took a step forward with a fierce expression.
With that single step, the ground trembled and cracked as if it were crying out in agony. The monsters staggered as if caught in the eye of a storm.
Parniel’s massive mace once again tore through the sky.
Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!
Each time the mace swung, shockwaves blasted through the surroundings. The bodies of the monsters converging toward the center were torn apart, crushed, and sent flying in all directions.
As time passed, Parniel's attacks grew even fiercer. Alone, she was resisting and overwhelming the relentless tide of monsters.
Her terrifying strength left even the elite soldiers of the Ritania Kingdom's army momentarily stunned.
To their eyes, Parniel looked like a walking calamity.
Kwaaaaaang!
Parniel’s mace split the sky as it came crashing down. It struck a troll's head, shattering its skull completely and crushing its body in the same motion.
Kraaaaaaah!
Despite witnessing her immense power, the monsters consumed by madness did not cower. They simply continued to charge, driven purely by instinct.
"Hoo…"
Parniel tightened her grip on her mace, glaring at the approaching horde.
On either side of her, mages were tirelessly casting spells. That meant she only had to deal with the monsters swarming the center.
As she channeled an immense amount of divine power, her body began to glow even brighter. Seeing this, the monsters grew even more frenzied.
They no longer paid any attention to the fortress.
Shockingly, every single monster in the area was now focused solely on Parniel.
Kraaaaaaaaah!
A crazed ogre charged wildly, swinging its massive club.
Although Parniel was large by human standards, she was nothing compared to an ogre.
Yet, she blocked the ogre’s club with nothing but her thick forearm.
Kwaaaaaaang!
A thunderous crash echoed, revealing an unbelievable sight.
The ogre’s massive club shattered like a brittle twig. Shards of wood scattered everywhere like a deadly rain.
Amidst the raining debris, Parniel stood as solid as a rock.
Not a single strand of her hair swayed, not even the tip of her toes moved.
"…Kruk?"
The ogre, unable to comprehend the situation, stared blankly at its broken weapon.
In that instant, a sharp glint flashed in Parniel’s eyes.
Whoosh!
With a piercing sound, her mace shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Kwaaaaaaang!
The ogre's massive body burst apart like an overripe fruit. The sickening sound of bones shattering and flesh tearing echoed across the battlefield.
Parniel gripped her blood-soaked mace and stepped forward once more.
Kyaaaaah!
A powerful wave of divine power spread widely around her. The more it expanded, the more frenzied the monsters became, shrieking madly as they charged straight at her.
Parniel narrowed her eyes at the sight.
‘These things… could it be…?’
Something felt off within her divine power. It was faint, almost ticklish, but there was undoubtedly something there.
As a Saintess, Parniel wielded divine power that was closer to the goddess’s essence than that of ordinary priests.
Because of this, she could perceive the subtle disturbance infiltrating her divine power far more keenly than others.
‘Enough. I’ll think about it later.’
Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!
She cast aside her concerns for now and swung her mace. There were simply too many monsters rushing at her.
Thanks to her overwhelming strength, the central horde of monsters could no longer advance toward the fortress. A single warrior had single-handedly stopped them all.
Kwaaaaang!
Even as the monsters swarmed her, they barely managed to leave a scratch. And even when she was wounded, her injuries healed almost instantly.
Parniel stood firm like an iron tower, holding the monstrous tide at bay.
This was the true power of the woman who, in her past life, had fought alone against Helgenik’s army of the dead.
Her impenetrable defense and divine destruction made her untouchable, even by the Seven Strongest on the Continent.
Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!
But she was still human. The longer the battle dragged on, the more her divine power drained and her stamina waned.
There were still more monsters yet to come than those she had already slain. Fighting alone like this was unsustainable.
Just then, a powerful voice rang out from atop the fortress.
"Support the Saintess!"
The fortress forces began moving to her flanks.
With the monsters unable to break through the central line, only those climbing the sides, past the magic bombardment, needed to be dealt with.
From the newly cleared space in the fortress's center, about a hundred priests emerged led by Piote, they had come as reinforcements from various temples, alongside the Priestly Order that had accompanied Parniel.
Surrounding them were Temple Knights, standing in strict formation to guard them.
At the forefront, Piote closed his eyes and began to pray.
"O Goddess, grant your servant the blessing to banish the darkness."
The priests behind him chanted in unison.
"Grant us your blessing."
Fwaaaaaaaah!
Piote’s hair began to shimmer with a radiant silver glow. The overwhelming brilliance of his divine power surged outward from his body.
The gathered priests also began to emanate divine power as they continued their prayers.
The holy energy spread throughout the battlefield, enveloping the soldiers who fought against the monstrous horde.
Among them, Parniel received the most divine power of all.
A grin spread across her face as she gripped her mace tighter.
"Now, this is more like it."
A surge of overwhelming divine power filled Parniel’s entire body.
This was the combined strength of Piote, who possessed divine power rivaling that of the Saintess, and over a hundred priests channeling their energy together.
With that power coursing through her, Parniel had become the Saintess of War, stronger than anyone on this battlefield.
“Hoo…”
Taking a steady breath, Parniel swung her mace once more. Without hesitation, she continued pushing forward.
Kraaaah!
The monsters charging in were now completely drawn to her. Even flying monsters began swooping down to attack her.
Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!
She mercilessly tore through the monsters in her path. She was so swift and powerful that now, more monsters were targeting her than those attempting to climb the fortress.
With some of the pressure relieved, the soldiers atop the fortress could finally catch their breath and they couldn’t help but be awestruck by what they were witnessing.
“So that’s the true power of the Saintess…”
“They said the Priestly Order makes her invincible, and it’s true.”
“Piote and the priests are incredible too. How can they fight this effectively with so few people?”
Their admiration wasn’t reserved for Parniel alone. Piote, who remained standing in prayer, received just as much reverence.
His serene, prayerful form exuded a sacred radiance, carrying an almost untouchable majesty.
The entire battlefield was now engulfed in divine power.
Bathed in its holy presence, everyone found renewed strength to fight.
The soldiers' morale surged to its peak.
“Waaaaaah!”
“We can win! The Goddess fights with us!”
“We are the strongest army on the continent!”
Their triumphant shouts rang across the battlefield.
Hearing them, Piote smiled faintly.
His heart was overflowing with gratitude toward the Goddess.
‘O Goddess! Thank you! Thank you! I can hardly contain my gratitude!’
The original battle plan had been vastly different.
Piote had initially been meant to stand alone at the front. As long as he had divine power, he wouldn’t die, even if the monsters swarmed him.
The plan was simple:
Piote would act as a decoy, drawing the monsters toward him. Parniel and the priests would supply him with divine power to keep him alive, while the rest of the army fought the monsters from a safer position.
Piote had vehemently opposed this suicidal idea.
But the others had all silently pressured him to comply.
The one who saved him from that fate was Parniel.
— "I’ll just go out and fight. That way, we can get rid of the monsters faster."
Piote’s combat abilities had improved significantly.
With his strong divine power and sacred relics, he had become resilient comparable to a cockroach in sheer survivability.
He could even stand against a Transcendent, but that didn’t mean he had Parniel’s sheer destructive power.
In the end, Parniel had taken the front lines instead.
Piote, hiding his emotions behind a calm smile, quietly offered a prayer of gratitude both to the Goddess and to Parniel.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
Kraaaaaaaah!
The battle raged on.
The soldiers' triumphant shouts and the monsters' frenzied screams echoed endlessly across the battlefield.
But louder than all of it was the sound of Parniel laying waste to everything in her path.
Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!
Before anyone realized it, she had strayed far from the fortress, still battling relentlessly. The monsters all of them were focused solely on her.
Thanks to this, the catapult units, archers, and mages could freely bombard the monsters' rear lines.
Kraaaaah!
The monsters were dwindling at an even faster rate. Now, it was time to aid Parniel, who was isolated at the front.
Tennant descended from the fortress, mounted his horse, and raised his spear.
Behind him, 20,000 troops from the Mobile Corps were already waiting.
"Support the Saintess!"
Rumble!
The colossal steel gates, sturdier and taller than the fortress walls themselves, slowly began to open.
The moment the gates parted, Tennant and the Mobile Corps surged forward like an unleashed flood.
Thudududududu!
Thanks to Parniel’s successful efforts in luring and pushing back the monsters, there was enough distance for the charge to reach full momentum.
As the Mobile Corps accelerated, their spears lit up.
Ziiing—!
As mana surged, flaming projectiles burst forth from their spears—20,000 firebolts rained down upon the monsters ahead.
Kwaaaaaaang!
Kyaaaaah!
The larger monsters withstood the magical flames, but the smaller ones were incinerated the moment they were struck.
The firebolts fired not once, but three times in succession.
The monsters that had been rushing toward Parniel were suddenly overwhelmed by the barrage, driven back in an instant.
Before they could even recover, Tennant and the Fenris Mobile Corps crashed into them.
KWAOOOOOM!
The tide of monsters collapsed under the onslaught.
The Fenris Mobile Corps didn’t slow down, they continued charging forward, pressing the attack.
Leading the charge, Tennant unleashed an even more fearsome Aura Blade than ever before.
Every monster caught by his spear was skewered.
Not even giant monsters were spared.
Rumble!
The Mobile Corps lost momentum as larger monsters blocked their path.
But the charge was far from over.
Thududududu!
Lumina and the mounted archers suddenly burst forth, attacking the monsters from the flanks and rear.
Fwaaaaaah!
Arrows rained down, avoiding allied forces and striking only the monsters.
The mounted archers never stopped moving, constantly drawing the monsters’ attention.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
Following them, infantry units from the fortress stormed the battlefield, with mages and priests moving in to support them.
The catapults, now relieved of their previous targets, focused solely on the most distant enemy ranks.
Everything was perfectly synchronized.
And at the very heart of it all leading the charge with overwhelming strength stood Parniel.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Ritania Kingdom's army numbered 100,000 strong.
With their full force now engaged in battle, the monsters whose numbers had already dwindled could no longer hold out.
The once unstoppable tide of monsters was now completely buried under the Ritania army.
And the losses were almost nonexistent.
That was only because Parniel had placed herself in the most dangerous position from the very beginning.
Then, after a little more time…
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The last giant monster remaining on the battlefield had its skull crushed under Parniel’s mace.
"Hoo..."
Thud!
Parniel lowered her mace and let out a deep breath. Her body was drenched in the blood spilled by the slain monsters, turning her completely red.
One by one, the soldiers began lowering their weapons, murmuring among themselves.
"It’s over…"
"We actually killed all of them."
"I knew we’d do it."
It had been a grueling battle, but not once had they doubted their victory.
Their pride as the strongest army on the continent was what had driven them to fight until the very end.
Tennant raised his spear high and roared.
"We have won!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
As always, the soldiers erupted into cheers, celebrating their triumph.
And at the very front where she had endured the greatest danger stood the true hero of this victory, Parniel.
"As long as the Saintess is with us, we are invincible!"
"The Goddess always watches over us!"
"O Goddess! Bless the Saintess!"
The soldiers cheered with overflowing joy, showering Parniel with praise.
Yet, her hardened expression did not soften.
Even as the victory celebrations continued around her, she remained lost in thought troubled by the strange presence she had sensed during the battle.
‘Why…?’
She had known that the monsters were being controlled by a dragon’s magic.
But this wasn’t merely magic manipulation.
There had been something else, a hidden force embedded within the monsters.
A presence so subtle that no one had noticed it…
No one but her.
As a Saintess, her connection to divine power had allowed her to sense it faint, but unmistakable.
Surrounded by cheers and victory cries, Parniel stood still, staring down at the countless corpses of the slain monsters.
Meanwhile…
With the Transcendents, mages, and fortress forces working together, the Monster Wave had been completely repelled.
Now, the monsters of the Shadow Mountains were nearly wiped out.
After an exhausting battle, everyone rejoiced in their victory none more so than the people of the Turian Kingdom.
For years, the monsters of the Shadow Mountains had ceaselessly gnawed away at their kingdom.
Now, with most of those monsters eliminated, it was only natural that they celebrated.
Of course, in time, the monsters would return.
But if the dragon the source of it all was slain first, then there would be nothing left to fear.
Upon receiving the victory reports from every fortress, Ghislain broke into a satisfied smile.
"Good. We've finally taken care of a major task. Now, it’s time to prepare for what’s next."
Before the dragon appeared, he planned to leave only the necessary reinforcements behind while dispatching the rest to hunt down any remaining enemies.
The only ones needed to fight the dragon were the Transcendents and mages stationed here.
After assembling all the commanders to organize the situation, Ghislain finally allowed himself a well-earned rest.
And once again, he dreamed.
Lately, his dreams had been becoming more frequent.
But this time… the dream was different.
"…What is that?"
As always, the United Human Army and the Salvation Church were clashing.
That part was no different from before.
But this time…
There were new figures among them.
As Ghislain watched their battle unfold within his dream, his expression grew increasingly rigid.