◈ Episode 393. They Can't Stop Us (2)
The resurrection of Discus.
Upon hearing the news, the Crusader Allied Forces immediately assembled at the Iron Castle.
The only one who failed to join the assembly was Skal.
“You’re saying he found traces of a dragon?!”
Nam Tae-min asked back.
Lorentz—a living legend and romantic adventurer who had accompanied Skal—had just returned to the Iron Castle after passing down his exploration secrets to Skal.
“That’s right. It’s always fascinating to see a human obsessed with something. Above all, I felt a madness in Skal similar to my own. That’s why I taught him how to track a dragon’s footsteps.”
Lorentz shrugged.
“Well, it’s nothing special. Aren’t they dragons who make all things tremble? That’s why the traces left on the land, mountains, fields, and sea are so distinct.”
It had swallowed evil.
Because of that, it was a dragon that could fall into an Evil Dragon at any moment.
Someone had to check on its condition.
In fact, if it were Skal, the Dragon Knight, he could be called the perfect man for the job.
Leoni muttered.
“……
But why has he been speaking informally to us since earlier?”
He looks way younger than me though?
Leoni’s gaze toward Lorentz was not favorable.
Considering Leoni’s absolutely diminutive stature and Lorentz’s youthful appearance.
The two looked like friends, with no need to determine who was older or younger.
Lorentz laughed it off maturely.
“Haha. Those who haven’t lost their dreams don’t age. Please don’t think me rude. I too will suddenly grow old and disgraceful the moment I reach the end of my dream.”
Whether he did or not.
The truth was, Leoni didn’t care at all.
Shhk, shhk.
‘That skeleton resurrected?’
Leoni was busy sharpening her twin swords.
Even just moments ago, she had been killing demons scattered across the Arcana Continent.
But now, Discus—the Demon Realm Lich that our great Commander, Lee Hoyeol, had slain—had revived. Hisagi, who like Leoni had been honing his dulled spearhead with magic, opened his mouth.
“Is it because it’s a Lich that it can even revive itself?”
At those words, the Dwarves shuddered.
“The Commander said we can handle it too, so I should lay aside my doubts and step forward, but… That skeleton bastard, it is utterly incompatible with us.”
The combat power of Dwarves?
Objectively, it was considerable.
Individually, their combat skills weren’t outstanding compared to their excellent equipment, but in army-scale battles, they boasted firepower that ranked among the best on the Arcana Continent.
For such Dwarves to be making a fuss…
“What do you mean by incompatible?”
When Nam Tae-min asked, Walsewail nodded.
“I am confident that the equipment I have refined can block any attack on the Arcana Continent. Because they are made of the legendary mineral, Adamantium. But that skeleton is a being of the Demon Realm. As you can see, the damage has not recovered despite multiple refinings.”
Clang.
Walsewail tapped his corroded helmet. The Adamantium helmet corroded by Discus’s breath could not be fully repaired even by the hands of the Dwarves’ greatest blacksmith.
The Dwarf leader, Chainwalker, added.
“But we haven’t the luxury to worry about compatibility. If the Commander has issued an order, we need only trample the resurrected one in the name of the Crusader Allied Forces.”
Vroooom—
The Iron Castle soon traversed the Arcana Continent via spatial leap. The Maw of Behemoth. It led the Crusader Allied Forces to that terrible place once again.
Lorentz brightened.
“It’s been a while. Witnessing the threshold of the Demon Realm, that is.”
At any rate… certainly, the Demon Realm Lich that Hoyeol had slain was reviving and calling forth its legion. At the sight, Nam Tae-min raised his greatsword.
Shhring.
“Time is on the enemy’s side. The more time drags on, the more it will expand the undead legion exponentially. We have to pour out our full strength from the beginning to have a chance at victory, no?”
“Full strength.”
Chainwalker thought of the Iron Castle’s firepower.
However, he set aside that thought with a firm nod.
Because he wanted to clash with it head-on.
Because he wanted to experience it once more.
‘We need experience.’
Before entering the Demon Realm.
Combat experience against Demon Realm beings was invaluable, something they could not help but cherish.
And they needed to know their place.
‘We need to know whether we’ll be a help or a burden.’
The Commander had crushed the Demon Realm Lich.
Even if not crushed, without borrowing his power.
They had to reach a level where they could slay it on their own.
Chainwalker said to Walsewail.
“I will transfer control of the Iron Castle to you, Walsewail. If it’s you, you’ll know the right moment to use the Iron Castle’s firepower.”
“……
What?”
“However, please trust us if possible.”
Grooom.
With those words, the Dwarves led by Chainwalker, and the Crusader Allied Forces at the forefront of the great alliance, teleported via mana stones to the Maw of Behemoth.
And they confronted them.
“Wh-what?! These skeleton punks?!”
“The bones are sticking together all willy-nilly?!”
“It looks grotesquer than before, Captain!”
At once familiar yet unfamiliar was the army of Discus.
Their forms were uneven, as if assembled incorrectly.
To use an analogy, they looked like broken graphics.
Class: Magic Spearman.
Hisagi, familiar with the flow of magic, noticed the change.
“It seems magic is manifesting unstably.”
Crack!
A greatsword crushing bones as if scolding them.
Nam Tae-min pulverized a rushing skeleton and asked.
“So what do you think is the reason for the unstable manifestation?”
Zing.
Hisagi gazed at Discus, visible at the far end of the deathly host.
Reviving this many dead pawns meant there was no problem with the amount of magic. Which meant the problem lay in the process of searching, interfering, and manifesting.
Hisagi muttered.
“The Lich is making errors in the manifestation process…?”
In that moment when he couldn’t find a suitable reason.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang out.
When they turned their gazes, there was Lorentz—his innocent expression wasn’t even the half of it; his clear pupils were sparkling.
“I forgot something I ought not to have. It seems I erased it from my head because it was such a terrible memory.”
“What do you mean……”
“That is probably not a resurrection.”
“What?!”
Lorentz recalled a hazy memory.
In the past, when he had accidentally set foot in the Demon Realm.
Lorentz had experienced his body and mind separating.
There, he encountered.
Existences so distant he dared not even look upon them.
Just recalling them made his spine shiver again.
“You wanted to know why magic manifestation is unstable? The cause is probably that the Demon Realm Lich—that one—has no mind. It means it’s reviving the dead with only the instincts of its flesh!”
Crack!
As expected, the reason was more trivial than he had anticipated.
Nam Tae-min furrowed his brow.
“Are you saying it’s nothing more than Discus’s shell?”
“Yes. As you can see, hasn’t this fellow already met its end at your Commander’s hands? That is probably another body it had prepared in advance to survive in the Demon Realm.”
“Another body? Damn, is that even possible?”
At Leoni’s question, Hisagi nodded.
“Because it’s a Lich. It’s entirely possible.”
“No, why would it go through such trouble in the first place?”
“Because it’s the Demon Realm. Of course it has to be that way.”
Lorentz replied as if it were obvious. Because of his youthful appearance, he somehow felt like he was imitating Hisagi, but no one here doubted his experience.
Kaboom!
“Lorentz, I must speak with you further.”
Chainwalker shattered a skull and took stock of the situation.
“Then the words the Commander left for us through Lady Hiel were not wrong? Since it’s merely Discus’s shell, the Commander must have judged that even we can sufficiently defeat it.”
Nam Tae-min smirked.
“Isn’t it more correct to interpret it as us having to pull this off effortlessly to be taken to the Demon Realm? Anyway, the fact that we must do our best remains unchanged.”
And so.
[Skill, ‘Rampage’ is activated.]
Babababang!
Nam Tae-min charged with all his might toward Discus’s shell.
It was [Rampage], which greatly amplified the Barbarian’s unique stat, [Savagery].
In exchange for a drastic increase in physical ability.
He had to pay an appropriate price.
“!”
Hisagi’s snake eyes widened.
It was Nam Tae-min, who served as the prodigy of the great alliance. Because every time he activated [Rampage], he would destroy his own greatsword. Yet the greatsword that normally would have been discarded long ago remained in Nam Tae-min’s grip.
And.
Kkuuk—gripped firmly.
“……
Don’t tell me.”
Hisagi flinched.
“Have you succeeded in controlling it? The savagery?”
Hisagi’s guess was accurate.
“Huff. Huff. Huff.”
Rough but regular breathing.
Nam Tae-min was not dominated by the savagery.
He was controlling the surging savagery with his own will.
A reward for faithfully completing class quests?
No, don’t reduce it to merely a quest reward.
[Greatsword Mastery (Master)]
The greatsword proficiency that had stagnated at 99 percent had reached Master.
Added to that were the fruits of his Sword Qi training, which he had never neglected. The realm of Unity of Sword and Body, where sword and body become one as his teacher Halkon had spoken of, still felt distant, but…….
‘I will never let go.’
Whoosh.
Nam Tae-min could now wield a greatsword imbued with savagery.
The reason such growth was possible?
As expected, it was thanks to Hoyeol yet again.
What allowed him to break through the wall of his greatsword proficiency were the countless buffs active across the Arcana Continent. More precious than those buffs was the teaching he had received from Hoyeol.
—“Levels are just numbers.”
Thanks to that, Nam Tae-min could comprehend it for the first time.
‘So this was the view Mr. Hoyeol had always seen?’
A realm beyond levels.
That growth stood out on the battlefield as well. Nam Tae-min alone opened a path through the vast undead army. Leoni, chasing after him, bit her lip hard.
“Ha, that musclehead, really.”
How shameless, running ahead alone.
“It wasn’t the time to be smug. That was a mistake.”
After gaining access to the Magic Tower and comprehending magic.
Hisagi had been confident that he had definitely surpassed Nam Tae-min.
But as expected, Nam Tae-min wasn’t easy.
The man he had acknowledged as his rival long ago.
“However.”
Hisagi’s snake eyes grew calm.
“Alone, it will be impossible.”
Had they said it was merely a shell?
However, it was a being that had revived an army using only the instincts engraved in that shell. Even if the process was flawed. It meant the vast amount of magic the Lich possessed was no different from the Discus that Hoyeol had slain.
Crackle—
The evidence supporting that prediction was right before their eyes.
The skeleton Nam Tae-min had smashed revived in the blink of an eye. Because the geographical characteristics of the Maw of Behemoth meant corpses suitable as necromancy fodder were overflowing.
Furthermore.
Sizzle!
For the first time, Nam Tae-min’s movements were constrained. Because the magic the Lich instinctively emanated was so vast. It had formed a barrier with pure magic alone.
“Huff.”
Sizzle.
Piercing through magic with pure physical strength alone? That was impossible unless an overwhelming gap existed. Thus, Hisagi moved.
Swish.
A spear sweeping the battlefield with elegance.
[Skill, ‘Magic Spear Technique—Water Dragon Ascension’ is activated.]
Splash!
A stream of water surged from the spear tip.
[Skill, ‘Magic Spear Technique—Thunder Strike’ is activated.]
Crackle!
Water droplets scattered from the sky.
Lightning poured down between them.
An attribute magic chain.
The pinnacle of the Magic Spearman, specialized in mass slaughter.
That was not the end.
Hisagi recalled the knowledge of the Magic Tower.
Not merely compatibility that remained at the skill level.
The profound affinity of magic that bites and is bitten.
‘Vast magic. Similar to Pure Magic.’
In the Magic Tower, Pure Magic was called both the strongest and the weakest. Because depending on absolute magical power, it could become magic no one could approach, or magic swayed by any other magic.
‘But it is only similar.’
That is not Pure Magic containing the Magic Tower’s essence.
Which means.
It means it is easily swayed by simple attribute magic.
[Skill, ‘Magic Spear Technique—Fire Release’ is activated.]
Thuk.
Hisagi’s spear, wrapped in flame magic, pierced the magic barrier.
At the same time.
The magic in the area began to evaporate, engulfed in a giant flame.
Fwoooosh!
That became the signal.
The Crusader Allied Forces charging toward Discus’s nth body.
They felt no fear.
It was only natural.
Suddenly, Lorentz’s gaze turned toward the heavens.
He was gazing at a Demon Eye.
For some reason, only one Demon Eye shone brilliantly silver, gazing warmly upon the Crusader Allied Forces. Lorentz took his quill pen in hand.
“Let’s see. What rose in the night sky was the Demon Lord’s eye. No, that isn’t right. It’s too stiff. It lacks romance, romance.”
Adding an ode to romance, he embellished with flowery language.
“In the endlessly deep darkness, what emitted a brilliant light was the crooked eye of the Demon Lord. No, it was the dawn illuminating the darkness. Oh, where brilliant dawn accompanies, defeat cannot exist……”
Soon, it appeared in the players’ field of vision as well.
“……!!!”
[The effect of ‘The One Who Awaits the Dawn’ is activated.]
[The Commander is gazing at you.]
[Your morale has greatly increased.]
…….
His presence.
*Flutter—
[The One Who Awaits the Dawn 5/5]
[Set item effect applied.]
[Currently applied set effect: 5/5]
[1. When you are the Commander, allies’ morale becomes ‘Maximum’.]
…….
Even I had my reasons.
There was a reason for everything.
I definitely didn’t don the Dawn Jacket just to look cool……!