< Chapter 72 - The Royal Road >
Chapter 72 – The Royal Road
Chorus’ chest was split open. It was a long, diagonal cut, snapping his collarbone and sending out black blood.
It was the muscle of Koros, as strong as armor, but it was the sword of the Seven-Slaughter Sword, Seryu.
The silvery sword energy, resembling soft moonlight, was sharp enough to cut through Koros’s flesh.
But at that moment, when the black blood gushed out, Seryu also vomited blood. He was pushed back hard and staggered.
“Ha.”
It was no mistake that Seryu’s sword cut through Koros’s body.
It was a clear reality.
But it was also true that Koros’s fist struck Seryu.
“Ugh.”
The moment the silver sword pierced his chest, Koros, instead of retreating, advanced.
The sword of the Seryu split his collarbone and then he extended his fist.
It wasn’t something I thought about. It was just Chorus’ instinct, which could be called reckless behavior itself, reacting on its own.
And the effect was sufficient.
They struck the opponent with the same blow, and the power was also great, but their toughness was different. They had different physiques, different weights, and different races.
The fist size of the giant Koros, who was over 3 meters tall, was almost as big as Seryu’s upper body, if a little exaggerated. Even though he threw his body backwards the moment he was attacked and reduced the damage, the blow Seryu received was enormous.
“Kuheuk··· hmph······.”
Seryu stumbled as he vomited blood again, and Koros gritted his teeth and glared at him.
It seemed like if I landed just one more blow here, I could crush the small and delicate Seryu, but I couldn’t take a step forward.
It was impossible to just pull out my body and head towards Soluzia.
interval.
Although he was staggering and spitting out blood, and looked as if he might collapse at any moment, Seryu was still able to swing his sword.
The chorus itself was within the gap of the current.
‘As expected, Ten Swordsman.’
One of the ten proud swordsmen of the Kingdom of Seilun.
Even Koros himself was weakened by the blow to his chest. If he charged here now, it was clear that both his speed and power would be lacking compared to before he allowed the blow.
And that’s how much you get hurt.
The series of attacks that had blocked Seryu’s attacks could no longer be carried out.
‘You just have to take your time.’
Seryu was desperately trying to catch his breath, but his recovery was slow. He was still human after all. The fact that he had vomited so much blood meant that his internal organs were damaged, so it was natural that he would not recover easily.
On the other hand, Koros himself was slowly but surely healing the wounds in his heart.
It was because he was a mine that had united with the devil.
Koros had a regenerative power that was so powerful that it could not even be compared to the natural healing power of humans.
So, you just have to buy time.
Until you are fully recovered.
While Koros himself had regained his skills, Seryu was still struggling, and all he had to do was endure until that moment came.
But Chorus didn’t do that.
No, I couldn’t do that.
‘Sony.’
Soluzia.
The sky in the northwest was turning green.
An immense amount of death magic was released.
We had to hurry. We couldn’t let this fight drag on.
“Go.”
Koros spoke as if declaring something, and Seryu didn’t say anything. From the very beginning, she had been focusing only on Koros since the fight first started.
“ha.”
Seryu exhaled. He controlled his body with his breathing, and dominated his body with his strong will. He crouched down and put strength into his hand holding the sword.
And then at some point.
bang!
The chorus charged, kicking the ground. It seemed foolhardy to confront the massive onslaught.
But Seryu did not back down. He looked at Koros, saw the fist he was pulling, and kicked the ground as he held his breath.
One book and one sword.
A move between Mine and Geomho crossed paths.
&
Solusia knew the five heroes of Paragon.
They were truly mythical beings.
‘Those who defeated the Demon Prince.’
Among the demons with titles, they are the archdemons, ranked just below the Overlords of Hell.
The gap between the Demon Prince and humans was truly enormous.
Compared to them, it would not be an exaggeration to say that humans are nothing more than wriggling insects.
However, the Paragon heroes defeated the Demon Prince in human form.
It wasn’t just broken either.
They fought in the Demon Prince’s domain.
He fought not only the Demon Prince but also his army at the same time, and eventually overthrew the Demon Prince.
Iron Man Landius.
The Sword Demon Kamael.
Saint Archangel Lena.
Three people defeated the Demon Prince.
It was a miracle upon miracle, but they managed to defeat the Demon Prince with only the strength of three people.
And the other two.
Necromancer Belkian and Druid Fran.
They held off the Demon Prince’s army.
It gave the three people in front time enough time to defeat the Demon Prince.
How could that be possible?
What made it possible?
Soluzia found out. She witnessed part of the answer firsthand.
“Come, my army.”
Green magic covered the sky.
As Belkian, mounted on Phantom Steed, reached out his hand towards the ground, a groan rang out.
“Kiaaaa …
From the green sky, spectres were summoned. They began to howl and take shape, and in an instant they covered the walls.
And then it rained sparks.
A meteor shower covered in green flames poured down from the green sky, slamming into Solusia’s army.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It wasn’t a simple attack. The meteor that hit the ground rose up with green flames and took the form of a giant.
Over ten giant golems rose and roared.
And here’s one more thing to add.
A move that truly shows Belkian’s personality of not sparing any effort.
“Come.”
Belkian made a seal. He chanted a spell, and with it he twisted the world.
The strongest servant horse has descended to this land.
Kuoooooooooooooo-!
The space was torn apart.
A large green flame rose from the ground, revealing itself among them.
Death Knight.
No, it’s something more than that.
The most powerful masterpiece created by the necromancer Belkian.
The world was shocked as soon as it appeared.
The heavens and the earth shook.
The green flames scattered roughly, making the pitch-black existence stand out even more.
Night Lord.
King of knights.
Its green eyes flashed in the pitch-black armor. It glared at Soluzia from above the gigantic Phantom Steed. And then, powerful beings appeared beside the king.
Dragon teeth soldiers.
An elite group of knights made from the teeth of the black dragon Tarax.
Solusia gasped for breath as the army was summoned before her eyes.
I instinctively thought of Belkian’s nickname.
One-man army.
He always moves alone, but can summon thousands of troops anytime, anywhere.
“good.”
Belkian commanded firmly.
And at that moment the sky fell down.
The sight of hundreds, even thousands, of ghosts rushing down the walls could only be described in that way. The sky was covered with a roar of thunder. The wrath of the green flames swept across the earth.
“Kiaaaa …
The crackling noise drowned out all sounds.
That is why the terrified screams of the demon followers did not resonate. In the silence created by the overwhelming noise, the demon followers were not even able to utter their last words.
And at that moment the king of knights charged forward.
Death knights made up of dragon teeth followed the king.
This time there was no sound.
But its presence alone was enough to shake the world.
“Eww!”
Solusia roared in devotion to evil. She spread all four wings with a roar, and the King of Knights’ eyes flashed green from within his pitch-black armor. He swung his great pitch-black sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thunder exploded.
The King’s sword and Solusia’s wings clashed several times, and the mines and dragon soldiers clashed.
And Solusia thought.
I have to run away.
I have to get out of here.
The necromancer Belkian was truly the worst opponent.
In some ways, it was worse than Landius or Kamael.
‘Connie!’
It was too much to do alone.
Even if he could somehow deal with the King of Knights, if something else were to join him, even Solusia herself would not be able to withstand it.
He had to flee while his mid-level minions were holding back the dragon soldiers.
“Eww!”
Solusia deliberately let her power run wild. She released the demonic power that she had been suppressing in order to exist as a mine.
By doing so, he became a being closer to the devil.
Of course, it came at a cost.
The pain that felt like my soul was being ripped apart was nothing special.
‘Solusia.’
The devil’s voice.
It was an illusion.
The demon had long since become one with Solusia herself.
But Soluzia knew.
The closer you get to the devil, the more you lose Solusia yourself.
The moment I became a mine, I was already a transformed person, but even that self was taken away.
But this was not the time to be picky. I needed more strength to get out of this place.
“Ahhhh!”
New wings sprouted from Soluzia’s back.
The two pairs of wings now became four, and Solusia swung her newly sprouted wings to attack the King of the Knights. Immediately after she knocked him back, she flapped her wings once more to shake off the encroaching magic of death.
“Kwaaah!”
Belkian gritted his teeth and let out a blast of magical energy. The King of Knights charged at Solusia again, but by then Solusia had already flapped her wings once more.
“Kill the humans!”
Solusia commanded.
And at that order, the demon followers lost their reasoning. Instead of fighting the phantoms in fear, they attacked the remaining Royal Guard and the Royal Guard.
“Nooooo!”
Belkian burst into laughter.
But Soluzia smiled, because she knew well what kind of people the five heroes of Paragon were.
“Hahahahahaha!”
The flapping of Solusia’s wings became huge blades of magical power that struck the survivors. The king of the knights protected them by swinging his pitch-black sword, and Solusia took advantage of the gap to advance further. She soared high into the sky of the royal capital.
Belkian saw it but couldn’t chase it right away.
Because the ghosts had to be controlled.
“Destroy the devil followers!”
Belkian shouted in suppressed anger, and the wraiths attacked the demon followers abandoned by Solusia, protecting the survivors.
Belkian closed his eyes and read the flow of magic.
A clash of great forces was taking place in the palace.
A strong mine force was also felt from the south gate.
And the entire royal road.
People were afraid. Zombies that were neither dead nor alive were running wild and causing death.
I had to hurry.
It was not the time to catch the escaped mine.
Belkian took a slow breath. He turned his attention from the distant places to nearby places.
Survivors.
There wasn’t much.
But I couldn’t abandon them.
“The secret of life.”
He spoke softly and unleashed his power. As he unleashed the magic of life, rain with the power of healing poured down from the sky.
But it wasn’t absolute.
A peaceful death for those who are already near death, and a speedy recovery for those who will survive anyway.
It was just a little help, not a miracle at all.
That’s why Belkian had to make a decision.
“Kuoo-.”
Phantom Steed cried softly as he headed towards the ground.
Two people collapsed near where Solusia was standing.
They were people who had accumulated incredible strength for their age.
The woman’s condition was gradually improving as she received the healing rain, but the man showed no significant reaction. This was because he was on the verge of death.
Belkian thought.
It is possible to save a man.
But to save it, you have to spend a considerable amount of time.
‘There is no time for that.’
The time available to invest in a man was only about ten seconds.
That amount of time wasn’t enough to save the man, but there was nothing he could do.
Because once the Ghost Army wiped out the nearby demon followers, they had to move straight to the center of the capital to save the people.
‘So I’ll leave it up to you.’
Belkian opened the pouch on his waist and took out a pill the size of a fingertip.
Belkian, who had breathed some magic into the silver pill that reminded him of soft moonlight, opened the man’s mouth – Gale.
‘The essence of the silver moon.’
It was an item received from the druid Fran.
‘If you endure, you will survive.’
It will not only allow you to regain your past strength, but you will also be able to transform into a much more powerful being.
But it wasn’t easy.
According to Fran, there is only one chance out of a hundred that can be saved.
The man in front of me seemed to have trained considerably, so I thought he would have a higher chance of survival, but it would only be one or two out of ten.
‘I wouldn’t normally use it, but······.’
It was a medicine that I wouldn’t even consider using because the survival rate was so low. In the first place, the medicine I received from Fran was not for emergency use, but for other purposes.
But right now, there was nothing else I could do.
‘and······.’
A strange intuition.
If it were Fran, she would have said it was fate.
The essence of the moon could only be used once a month, on the day when Selene and Helen’s powers were at their peak.
But today happened to be that day, so maybe it really was fate at work.
‘If, if I really come back to life······.’
Belkian didn’t forget the thought any longer. He pushed the essence of the moon into Gale’s mouth and immediately stood up.
“good.”
I used up all the time I could for Gail.
Belkian, once again aboard the Phantom Steed, headed towards the center of the capital with his army of wraiths.
And time passed.
The rain of recovery pouring down from the sky became lighter, and the ghostly army’s groaning grew distant.
A thin moan escaped Adelia’s mouth. She had not regained consciousness, but her breathing was gradually becoming more stable.
And beside Adelia, Gail still didn’t move.
His body was still growing cold.
But at some point.
At that moment, the guardian deity covering the royal capital suddenly weakened.
Ripples began to rise deep within Gale’s soul.
&
< Chapter 72 - The Royal Road > End
