Episode 54.
Ziiing!
The moment Mongmu's heavy strike met my sword, I felt an impact as though my grip was tearing apart.
So intense that the shockwave alone caused my ears to ring.
But that was all.
"…What?"
My weapon had not been destroyed.
Of course.
*Guardian*
The ability of Sir Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table.
Originally an ability akin to a protective barrier that absorbs damage dealt to me, but I had infused it into my blade.
I chewed through his weapon destruction with that barrier.
'And that's not all.'
What happened next.
Crack!
"Huh!"
I smashed Mongmu's club to pieces instead.
*The Strongest Sword*
Lancelot, the Knight of the Lake, the greatest among the Knights of the Round Table—his other epithet was Breaker.
An ability not unlike weapon destruction in nature.
But I had neutralized Mongmu's ability with Guardian, while he could not.
Shhk!
With both arms raised high, I plunged between them and cut deep into his waist.
Mongmu's eyes went wide.
Thud!
At last, he fell to his knees.
"Remarkable."
Staring straight at me, he continued.
"To think such a strong one was hiding in the unorthodox world."
His voice carried a sense of futility.
"I dreamed of being the greatest under heaven, yet everything was naught but a dream."
Sswuk.
His severed waist threatened to split apart, but he barely held it together with his left hand, clinging to life.
All to offer his final respects.
Chuk.
Mongmu brought both hands together in the fist-and-palm salute, conveying his respect.
"Your victory."
Sseureureuk.
Even as he acknowledged his defeat, his upper body slid and separated from his lower half.
Tuk.
As his torso finally fell to the ground.
Pass-
As if it had all been an illusion, his flesh turned to grains of light and crumbled away.
But there was no time to savor victory.
'What about the rest?'
I looked toward my companions who had gone in the opposite direction.
'While I deal with Mongmu, eliminate Wangjeon.'
A special order had fallen upon the party.
While Yunchan faced Mongmu in isolation, they had to lead troops to fight against Wangjeon and his two hundred thousand strong grand army.
Thirty thousand, plus one hundred twenty thousand refugees, expected to fight a regular army.
Yet not one among them judged it unreasonable.
"Geuu-"
"Geuuuh!"
Because the zombies raised by the Death's Guide, Jeong Dohwan, were filling the gaps in their numbers.
These revived zombies knew no fear—in a way, the very form of soldiers any general would most desire.
The more they fought, the longer the battle raged, the war inevitably turned in the party's favor.
"Do not retreat—attack!"
An army that grew stronger the more it killed.
Wangjeon, a world-class strategist, couldn't help but panic at this warfare he had never experienced.
It was a contest of battlefield momentum.
Despite their advantageous situation, once their momentum faltered, they were helplessly driven back.
Moreover, the generals commanding them—Hero and William—possessed considerable might.
Afterimages of fists bloomed from every direction.
Through his training thus far, Hero's martial arts had already transcended the realm of humans.
Peopeopeopeopuk!
The surrounding troops collapsed with futile ease from those casually thrown punches.
But the enemy did not simply roll over either.
"Waaah!"
Spearmen rushed forward with a roar.
Maintaining their distance, they thrust from all sides.
But.
Swish!
Their spears failed to touch Hero's body and broke instead.
"Where do you think you're going!"
It was William.
His sword—though a sword was clearly shorter in reach than a spear—he broke every single spear.
The reason it was possible:
Fwoom!
The faint trace of light blooming from the sword he held: Sword Qi.
A very special power that could cut steel like tofu.
An ability only a swordsman who had reached the pinnacle could manifest; no matter if one was a Sword King, they would have to achieve evolution to even mimic it, yet William was emitting it now, however faintly.
That it was possible was because the katana he held was a blade forged by a master of the past.
『Transcendence Effect(★★): Manifests a mysterious power that makes the sword even sharper』
Thanks to that, William's sword held a special strength capable of cleaving even wrought iron.
Though not to the level of a divine weapon, it had reached a point where he could manifest something mimicking Sword Qi.
Hero and William, backs against each other.
These two who held the potential of the Ten Extremes moved in their respective directions and began ruthlessly slaughtering the enemy.
Fear of killing?
Having already been told this was an illusion, there was no hesitation in their hands.
Rather, this was excellent training.
As it was, the unique domain was a place where fantasy and reality were difficult to distinguish.
Slaughtering hundreds, thousands of enemies there, they were erasing their instinctive aversion and fear of killing.
That was growth at a tremendous speed.
"...."
But there was one growing even faster than they who raced across the battlefield.
Suuu.
It was Jeong Dohwan, absorbing the souls of the dead refugees and soldiers who had perished in the fierce close combat.
The unique domain was an illusion, but real.
Therefore, absorbing those souls was possible, and Jeong Dohwan wandered the surroundings, accumulating them in his soul vessel.
And.
"Geuueuk!"
He raised zombies from the corpses of those slain in battle.
Since he could replenish as many souls as he spent, there was no reason to hesitate.
Moreover.
"...Bring death to the enemy..."
He even raised soldiers of death, not mere zombies.
Originally, it was something impossible to dream of without being an Awakened One, due to the lack of souls.
But now there were so many corpses and souls that there was no need to conserve them.
After all, he could continue collecting souls.
'Not much left.'
Expectation filled his eyes as he created the soldiers of death.
The remarkable exploits of Hero, William, and Jeong Dohwan.
As if they were the only ones performing feats of valor.
"Kill the enemy!"
"Victory is ours!"
Spurred on by the exploits on the front lines, the troops' morale rose and they began fighting with renewed strength.
The allied forces, who had originally been waiting only for death, now charged at the enemy with multiplied courage.
This was not merely morale raised by feats alone.
There remained the effect of the Twin Dragon Sword, and the power of the saintess performing miracles from the rear.
Chachachang!
They charged and clashed with the numerically superior enemy.
"...."
In the rear, the eyes of Wangjeon as he watched the battlefield gleamed.
"Follow me."
Leaving the battlefield with his personal bodyguards, he secretly ran toward the enemy camp.
『Rear Assault』
Wangjeon's unique skill.
Moving to the enemy's rear with a small force, he left barely any trace to be found.
It was difficult even with concentration; in the chaos of war, discovery was impossible.
Wangjeon moved secretly alongside ten bodyguards wearing the same half-mask as him, and his target was Jeong Dohwan in the rear.
'He is performing sorcery.'
Wangjeon's eyes were sharp.
In that brief moment, he had grasped that Jeong Dohwan was raising specters, and moved a detached squad to eliminate him.
He had instantly judged that Jeong Dohwan was the key holding the most important role in this war.
Swish.
He pointed at Jeong Dohwan with his finger.
Shiik!
The bodyguards, advancing at an astonishing speed, collided with the guards protecting Jeong Dohwan.
"Grrk!"
"Kkak!"
Dozens of guards lost their lives in an instant.
The bodyguards who had approached stealthily and cut throats in one breath—their next target was Jeong Dohwan.
"...."
But even at the death of his guards, Jeong Dohwan remained only calm.
He merely stared silently at Wangjeon's bodyguards surrounding him.
The enemy's unexpected composure.
"Die!"
But Wangjeon was focused solely on fulfilling his objective.
Approaching Jeong Dohwan personally with his bodyguards.
Swish!
He swung a chain sword moving like a living serpent, aiming for the enemy's vital point.
And not just him.
Papapapapat!
From all sides, a combined assault without a single gap crashed down upon Jeong Dohwan's body.
"Come."
Together with those deathly words that resonated in that moment.
Ziiiiing-
A green magic circle engraved upon the ground.
It was a special power only the Death's Guide could wield, a summoning of the dead.
Appearing alongside the green light illuminating the surroundings was a young girl who looked as though she had just entered middle school, a weakling who did not appear to have the strength to hold a single sword.
Suuuk!
Of course, neither Wangjeon nor his bodyguards hesitated in their movements.
Whether a girl had suddenly appeared or not, for now they only put strength into their hands for the sake of eliminating the enemy.
Ddaang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out once.
"Keuk!"
The bodyguard at the very front hurriedly retreated from the impact.
And it was not limited to him alone.
Ddadadadadang!
"Keuheup!"
"Eueuk!"
Like the bodyguard from before, the others faltered and stepped back.
Ddaang!
Wangjeon was no different.
"...."
His eyes visible beyond the mask—those eyes filled with shock stared straight ahead.
"Grandpa... I protect."
The slender girl's hands and feet repelled Wangjeon and the dozens of bodyguards.
Without using a weapon, but bare-handed.
"Aah-"
Jeong Dohwan, who rarely revealed his emotions, was overcome with joy.
How could he not be.
The girl before his eyes was the precious treasure his daughter had asked him to protect, his only granddaughter, Yun Seoyeong.
By raising one hundred soldiers of death, he had met the conditions for evolution, and he had finally succeeded in granting Yun Seoyeong free will.
Although her ego was not yet complete, a dedicated summon of Jeong Dohwan's, stronger than any other dead, had been completed.
『+99(★★) Yun Seoyeong
Classification: Exclusive Summon
Unique Effect: Permanently manifesting 'Aura of Death,' which increases the stats of all nearby dead.
Reinforcement Effect (9/99): Slight increase to Aura of Death range.
Reinforcement Effect (15/99): Slight increase to Aura of Death stat boost.
Reinforcement Effect (20/99): Designate 1 bodyguard; moderate increase to target's stats.
……
Reinforcement Effect (99/99): Increase number of bodyguards to 3.
Max Effect (Max): Partial use of Death's Guide abilities.
Transcendence Effect(★): Evolve some nearby soldiers of death into Death Knights for 10 minutes.
Transcendence Effect(★★): Acquire special unique skill 'Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood (屍山血海).'
Description: The Death's Guide Jeong Dohwan; the strongest dead containing his fervent wish.』
An exclusive summon permitted only to the Death's Guide—that was another identity of the resurrected Yun Seoyeong.
She was not the only one who had been completed.
Ziiiiing-
Green magic circles drawn upon the ground.
Dozens of them manifested green light.
Cheokcheokcheok.
Dozens of soldiers of death aligned around Yun Seoyeong.
Soldiers of death were the most powerful summons Jeong Dohwan could currently command, created by slaying Awakened Ones.
And not just that.
Ppeudeudeudeuk!
When Yun Seoyeong's Aura of Death touched them, their bones twisted with sounds as they underwent transformation.
"Death...."
"Slaughter...."
Those boasting red pupils were the dead of a higher grade than soldiers of death—Death Knights.
Though not all soldiers of death had transformed, about twenty percent became Death Knights, emanating a deathly aura far stronger than before.
"Realize the will of death."
And at Jeong Dohwan's command.
Papapat!
Yun Seoyeong, the Death Knights, and the soldiers advanced at a shocking speed.
That astonishing movement displayed a visage not inferior to the bodyguards—rather, it overwhelmed them.