Chapter 140
Thirty years since the Dragon-Demon Great War reached its peak and devastated the continent.
Humans could no longer stand idly by and watch the ever-expanding war between dragons and demons.
Warriors of the sword, spear, axe, mace, hammer, bow, fist, scythe, staff, and more gathered.
They gathered to form a single army, becoming an allied force to strike down the dragons and demons.
A dazzling story that will remain forever in history.
A stroke that would become a brilliant true history.
However, the process was horrific.
"Wake up!!"
Kuuung!!
The brave warrior of the tribe.
Titeo witnessed the corpse of his comrade, who died trying to save him, disappear into ashes without leaving a trace.
The dragon breathed fire with its roar, spewed poison, and spewed all sorts of divine artifacts from its mouth, annihilating his comrades.
The demons were worse.
They corrupted comrades, constantly uttered blasphemy against the gods, and cursed all living things. They preached that gods were not beings who rewarded faith, and wielded bizarre weapons to constantly slaughter.
"Damn it, Matana has been corrupted!!"
"Fuck! I knew something felt off! What are you doing! Hurry... strike them down now!"
Even while sleeping, we had to shake off the demons' whispers, and if there was even the slightest sound of the wind, we had to immediately grab our weapons and rise.
The demons whispered, and the dragons flew in the sky above, burning everything on the ground.
It didn't matter if it was morning or night. With physical abilities superior to humans and Gangi coating their bodies from birth, dragons were an enemy feared by all.
The demons' weapons tore apart humans who cried out to the gods and deceived the eyes of the dragons.
[I was afraid]
Taking one step forward, a comrade who shared a chat before sleeping died.
Taking two steps, a child's father died horribly, and the moment I took three steps, a warrior representing the Fearless became corrupted and turned into an enemy.
We had to kill them, who had become moving corpses and servants of the demons.
Yesterday's comrade. Today's family.
We had to kill, and watch die, the beings who would be tomorrow's lovers.
The war to obtain peace.
The war to preserve tranquility.
Tortured everyone and drove them into despair.
[Humans are weak]
The war that escalated into a three-way battle was chaos itself, and between the dragons and demons, humans were merely infinitely small beings.
Only large in number.
Both in strength and spirit, they were only weak.
"Titeo!! Don't lose your mind!"
However, even amidst that, a shining star existed. She was the light.
The dream embraced in our hearts.
Hope.
"Snap out of it, you bastard! How long are you going to just stare at Stella!!"
"I got it! Vlad."
Chwaak!!
Slashing through the moving corpses.
Trampling over the dragon sub-species, he took in the battlefield he had approached.
Warriors fighting the dragons.
Demons aiming for the gaps between them.
"Lady Stella!!"
Stella, running while stepping on the dragon's tail, was completely surrounded by the petals of the sword.
Slashing the dragon's tail. Slashing its torso.
Climbing up its neck and slashing off its head.
There was not an inch of deficiency in her movements, and her divine swordsmanship commanded the heavens.
Sareureuk.
Before long, the battlefield was rampant with petals.
We loved her, the one who bloomed flowers on a battlefield full of only despair.
"Pahwaro."
Kwaaaaaaaaa!!
Kuuuuung!!
With her single strike, the ground distorted, a storm of blood raged, and earth-shattering roars erupted from all directions.
Both demons and dragons were equal beings before her sword.
It was not rare for a hundred dragons to have their necks severed by her single strike.
One strike.
A being who shook the battlefield with a mere single strike.
That was the Transcendent.
The Dragon Slayer. The Holy Saint of the Sword.
The one who infinitely approached the divine.
Stella.
Her petals swept through the area, spilling dragon blood on the floor, and turning the demons' impurities into fertilizer for the earth along with it.
However, the dragon race and the demons also had many powerhouses equal to her. She, the beacon of humanity, was gradually growing, but the war was steeply heading towards its climax.
Humanity relied on her.
They forced sacrifices upon her.
Humanity was weak, and she was strong.
Nevertheless, the battlefield tormented humanity, and hatred piled up layer upon layer, leaving emotions that could not even distinguish what was good and what was evil roaming the battlefield.
"……."
Many died.
Dragons, demons, humans.
Everyone died.
They died, died, and died again.
The blue earth was devastated, shattered and shattered again until it became sand.
The finely shattered sand soaked in blood.
The sand turned red.
The sky also turned red.
However, the war did not end.
Even after killing and killing again, there was no sign of the war ending.
Like the reinforcements of humanity rushing in.
The dragons and demons were the same.
However.
Even so, we.
Had to move forward.
We were protecting peace with our deaths.
[I wept sorrowfully]
* * *
Seureureuk.
Kalias, opening his eyes, realized he had reached the door.
It was the door leading to the next floor.
But he did not touch it carelessly.
[The swordsmanship of humanity's savior, Stella]
[You have witnessed the true Pahwaro of the Silver Flower Splitting Sword. Technique +3 increases.]
Technique rose just from seeing it.
The Technique that had barely reached 19 over the past years rose to 22.
It meant that the true realm of Pahwaro was at a tremendous level.
[You have witnessed the Silver Flower Splitting Sword, Pahwaro. You will be able to glimpse the true meaning of Pahwaro.]
[If you inform the Valterus Order of this fact, they will greatly reward you.]
[……]
[You have already acquired the Silver Flower Splitting Sword, Pahwaro. However, that is a degraded version with artificially reduced power.]
[Your skill, having glimpsed the true Pahwaro, takes a step forward.]
Kalias slowly drew his sword.
Roas, drawn from the scabbard, exuded a cold tone.
The massive Door of Corruption.
Kalias stood his sword upright toward the door, which depicted a scene of the Dragon-Demon Great War engraved in intaglio.
Hwaaah.
Sword Qi coated his sword.
Soon, the silver Sword Qi scattered in all directions and bloomed into petals.
Each piece of Sword Qi that looked like a petal possessed incomparably powerful strength compared to before.
And now this.
'Biganhwa.'
He could even mix the properties of Biganhwa.
Each piece of Sword Qi that looked like a petal was the same as a bomb.
Of course, his intuition told him he wouldn't be able to use it like Stella in her prime.
However, it clearly told him that he had become stronger than before.
A smile of joy definitely formed, but.
It was soon withdrawn.
The gruesomeness of the battlefield.
Their sacrifice.
The sense of helplessness before a mighty enemy.
All of that had been conveyed to him intact through Titeo.
Hesitation dwelled in the hands of Kalias, who had drawn his sword.
The emotion dwelling in his eyes was not fear.
Deep regret.
A kind of guilt.
But he soon shook his head.
He, too.
Like them from those days.
Had no choice but to move forward.
Kalias stepped forward.
He pushed toward the door to the next floor. Unlike before, the door was firm.
As if asking.
Are you prepared?
Kalias answered.
Kuuuuu!
The wide-open door of the floor was Kalias's answer.
He does not stop.
* * *
"Hey, Titeo. You alright?"
"I'm fine. You've got a greatsword again, Vlad."
Vlad was Titeo's comrade.
His close friend, and his family.
His greatswordsmanship easily cut the necks of even dragon sub-species, and ruthlessly shattered the demons' temptations.
Titeo was proud of him.
Unlike himself, a coward.
Because he was strong.
"I brought a shield that suits you."
"This is?"
"I harassed the shield bastards and got it."
"Ooh..."
"Since we don't serve the Shield God, we can't use its true power, but even so, there's nothing as sturdy as this."
Vlad, who gifted the shield to Titeo, let out a satisfied smile.
It was because Titeo, who received the shield, rarely got excited and tested his shield techniques.
Vlad spoke bitterly to Titeo, who had been testing the shield for a while and was wearing a satisfied smile.
"Survive. Titeo."
"Of course! Vlad."
A friend born and raised in the same tribe, participating in the Dragon-Demon Great War together.
With him, it was possible.
It was difficult mentally and physically, but if it was with Vlad.
They could return together until this war ended.
He believed that without a doubt.
...4 years since humanity joined the war.
Fighting dragons was their daily life, and resisting the demons' schemes gradually began to become familiar.
They ran following the backs of Stella and the other Fearless warriors growing.
They themselves, chasing after them, were also the same.
The hope that had faintly glowed gradually spread a strong spark.
Hope sprouted.
The sprout stretched its roots.
Perhaps.
Perhaps this war might end soon.
Because we live finite lives.
Unlike them, our growth is so steep that we will write a myth.
Hope bloomed.
[Trampled mercilessly.]
Kwang!!
"Keok!"
The hope that had bloomed was trampled in vain.
"Titeo!!"
Titeo, whose wrist was severed by the demon's sword, let out a groan.
Vlad, startled, fought the demons at Titeo's side.
"The dragons have joined hands with the demons!!"
Perhaps because they felt threatened by humanity.
The dragons and demons joined hands.
Making the name "Dragon-Demon Great War" meaningless, those noble dragons had joined hands with the demons and began to trample humanity.
"Titeo! Snap out of it! It's just one hand! You're a strong warrior!!"
Even at Vlad's shout, Titeo couldn't come to his senses.
The shock of losing the hand he had since birth paralyzed his reason with fear, and the unbearable pain made him unable to make proper judgments.
The fear of the battlefield he had been suppressing burst out like an explosion.
[I was foolish.]
"Titeo!!"
Vlad, who struck the chest of Titeo who had lost his hand, stared straight ahead with futile eyes. Right before his eyes, the inescapable claws of the dragon loomed.
Sharper than a sword, harder than a hammer, the dragon's claws were coated with Gangi, and from below, the demon's sword flew in.
"I'm sorry."
Vlad's grinning smile.
Kwajik! Chwaak!!
That was the end.
"Aah, aaah! Aaaaaa!! Aaaaaaaaaa!! Vlad!!"
* * *
[Miserably, I survived.]
[I was relieved by his sacrifice. But I was also angry, yet terrified.]
[What I could do]
[Was only weep sorrowfully.]
[There was nothing I could do.]
Seureureuk.
Opening his eyes, Kalias felt a presence along with the sight of a massive cavity.
Kiik.
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok.
Dung, dung, dung, dung, dung, dung, dung.
The torches on the walls lit up one by one.
What soon appeared was a knight.
An iron knight holding a greatsword. It was a skeleton knight armed in full iron armor.
Death Knight.
"Vlad."
-Geoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeo!!
Ttakttakttakttakttakttakttakttak!
Intense killing intent.
His whole body stiffened hard.
The warrior Vlad who experienced the Dragon-Demon Great War.
Although he had become a Death Knight, the power he possessed in life had not faded.
Soon, Kalias's body became as heavy as a thousand weights, a headache arose, and his vision blurred.
However, it was a fleeting moment.
The worn on Kalias's hand emitted a red light.
As the notification of resisting a mental attack popped up, Vlad charged.
The skeleton that lost its ego did not have the justice or spirit of the brave knight from his lifetime.
All it had was murderous intent towards humans.
Obsession with life.
And thirst.
Only envy and jealousy.
Vlad's roaring greatsword aimed for Kalias's head.
The greatswordsmanship of the Death Knight Vlad, striking down as if to split a dragon's head, was astonishing even in Kalias's eyes.
It possessed a majestic aura capable of splitting Mount Tai.
Kalias, who had drawn Roas to counterattack, hastily twisted his body to dodge.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!
A power enough to shake the earth's axis.
The floor of the cavity was deeply dented.
The greatsword cleaved through the smoke and rushed toward Kalias, who was trying to regain his balance.
'I can't parry it.'
The greatsword with overwhelming power.
Kalias judged it to be a sword he could not parry with his own strength.
And that judgment was accurate.
Kwaaaaang!!
Once.
The swordsmanship of Vlad that struck down dragons and demons.
The power contained within it was on a trajectory that Kalias could not rashly block.
Even if he had become a moving corpse.
It was not much different.
Dodging Vlad's greatsword, Kalias subtly brought his sword close.
It wasn't parrying either.
He was just avoiding the bastard's greatsword and lightly placing his sword against it.
It was an action to change the trajectory ever so slightly, but the recoil was huge.
"Keuk."
Throbbing.
They hadn't even clashed a few times, but his wrists were already starting to throb.
Power surpassing humans.
Techniques honed against dragons and demons.
And inexhaustible stamina.
Death Knight Vlad was strong.
To the extent that he, in his current state, couldn't handle it.
Therefore.
"My mood is foul."
Kalias was not feeling good.
Because he was strong?
No.
Because he met an enemy he couldn't handle?
No.
Because Titeo, who made Vlad into a moving corpse, ruined my mood? No.
Kalias, with a face that looked like he was having a hard time enduring it, thrust his hand into thin air.
And what he pulled out was.
An old shield.
It stopped.
A shield that seemed like it would shatter into pieces if you just tapped it with a hand.
A round shield patched with old planks and iron plates, looking like something bandits would use.
But precisely because of that.
Vlad's greatsword, which could even shatter Mount Tai, stopped in front of the old shield.
Kalias's mood was at its worst.