249
shift
The Swallows watched the rebels advance in the distance.
The imperial army was lined up tightly around the capital. There were so many of them that you couldn’t see any gaps between them.
The rebels were advancing towards the imperial army, advancing without hesitation like arrows aimed at the gates of a castle.
The first ones were the Knights Templar. Led by Joanna, the Knights Templar were blazing white light as they opened the way.
As they got closer to the gate, the pressure grew stronger and more people fell, but they did not stop.
Swallows clenched his fists.
“Those guys are really energetic.”
The Northern Winter giggled. The Northern Winter, who was already a child, had become even smaller.
“What are you looking at?”
The northern winter, as they say, had no front teeth.
“no.”
“Why are you jealous of people getting younger? Because you have so many wrinkles.”
Swallows laughed awkwardly at the eccentric joke that seemed out of place.
“Are you jealous? If you’re jealous, you should climb over the wall too.”
In the northern winter, when there was a lot of talk, Swallows nodded while observing the situation.
One of the Templars was captured by the Imperial Army and torn to pieces. Another Templar quickly took his place. It was as if nothing had happened.
In contrast, this side was somewhat peaceful. Even though this side controlled the aura, the Imperial Army did not target this side.
“···If I go over the wall, will it become harder every time I use magic?”
Swallows tried to change the subject.
“No, they are all different. You could be a frog.”
A frog… I thought it was a bad joke, but judging by the unchanging expression on his face, it seemed like he was serious.
“···Are you talking about a frog?”
“Yes, because each of us has different karma. Don’t we have no mother or father?”
Swallows frowned at the sudden mention of parents. The northern winter was particularly fixated on parents.
“Unlike the master of the sword who is good at finding the way, I have no mother or father, so I die every time I use my strength. You are probably a frog. You resemble a frog.”
Swallows touched his cheek as she continued to speak. Does she really look like a frog? Swallows, who was confident in his appearance, could not admit it.
“So you’re saying that if you go beyond a certain level of strength, it has side effects?”
“Similar. I call it the force of fate. What does it matter what you call it?”
“···Is this fate?”
“This place does not welcome unruly transcendent beings. If you cannot tame them, they will disappear. And I am disappearing.”
“If it’s here···.”
“Don’t bother me. Just understand.”
Swallows nodded at the rough answer. It seemed that if she became as strong as she was, there would be some kind of side effect.
‘Then Aaron too···.’
Swallows muttered as he looked at Aaron, who was in the center of the battlefield. It was clear that he had suffered the side effect of becoming ignorant.
“Do you know what my dream was?”
The northern winter asked, yawning deeply. It seemed as if it was opening its mouth repeatedly to hold back the sleep that was pouring down.
“I don’t know.”
“Live until you are old and covered in wrinkles.”
As she spoke, her face was not only covered in wrinkles, but also covered in fluff.
“Hey, ugly buddy! Is there something back there?”
A grating voice came from below. Dylan, standing next to Kanna, pointed behind her with his thumb.
That was where the supplies were stored. There was something in this empty field… At that moment, I felt a small echo.
I could see the imperial flag in the distance.
It seemed like they had set aside some troops.
‘···Where on earth is it?’
I’ve checked several times on my way here. There were no signs anywhere, so how could they turn around such troops?
“You buried them in the ground. You poisonous bastards.”
As she said, the armor of the men behind her was full of dirt.
‘No matter what, they are burying the troops in the ground…’
Even if the Imperial Army is nothing but monsters, how can he bury his own army in the ground?
“Imperial forces! Imperial forces! They’ve cowardly hidden their troops!”
Dylan suddenly screamed, his characteristically shrill voice instantly waking up everyone around him.
The tension that had been lax due to being slightly away from the battlefield was filled. The troops of the noble union hurriedly moved to the rear. It was a quick reaction.
However, the number was insufficient.
“Quick! Fire the signal flare! Our forces can’t stop them!”
At that moment, the green tower bell roared. Its ears were pricked up, as if it was paralyzed with fear.
The other wizards were in a similar state. Their faces were pale with fear.
“Signal flare, don’t fire.”
At that moment, Dylan glared at me, spinning the dagger. His gaze was so sharp that it sent a chill down my spine.
“If we turn our troops now, we’ll all be defeated.”
Swallows regained their composure at Dylan’s words. He was right. The front was already more than halfway toward the gate.
That arrow was already fired. It couldn’t be turned back.
“We’re not kids, we should be able to handle things like that.”
Swallows nodded at Dylan’s continued words. That was the purpose of the troops deployed.
but-.
“···What are you doing?”
I asked, watching Dylan skillfully attach the dragon to the device. Dylan nonchalantly tied the device tightly to the dragon.
“If it doesn’t work, I’ll have to cut it.”
It was a very calm answer. If things were bad, it seemed like they would just connect the device to the dragon and escape into the air.
Swallows tightly closed his eyes as Dylan confidently said that he would abandon so many people.
That was right. The purpose of the rear was to revive the mana amplification device anyway.
“If we can’t hold this, the front will collapse anyway! White Tower! Request support!”
Those below urged him again. The towering pillars that had been weighing so much now looked truly pitiful.
“Those things are the magic tower? The future is bleak.”
The northern winter crumpled his face and clicked his tongue. His hands had shrunk so much that he could barely hold a cane.
The winter of the North had certainly shown him the power of those who had crossed the Wall. Perhaps as a reaction to that, he was now unable to even properly hold his staff.
Swallows calmly calculated the situation. Still, there were troops from the Noble Alliance on this side. They were not completely pushed back.
Since there were magicians and magicians, they had the upper hand in terms of power.
The problem was that the concentration of mana surrounding the device that amplified divine power was skyrocketing. Swallows let out a short breath and nodded.
“I will do it.”
As he spoke, Northern Winter raised its eyebrows. Its eyes seemed to ask, ‘You?’
“If it doesn’t seem to work out, please step forward.”
As he said that, the Northern Winter, who had been laughing, suddenly held out his staff. It was a dazzling staff worthy of its reputation as the one who had surpassed the wall.
“This is a wand that contains the breath of the stars and the wishes of fairies in a branch of the World Tree. Take it.”
“Why this···.”
“I can’t use it anymore anyway.”
Northern winter chuckled as I spread my hands. They were certainly too small to handle a staff.
“Then I’ll borrow it for a moment.”
“Then you were thinking of having it? You’re a dirty bastard.”
Swallows smiled bitterly and bowed his head deeply.
When I raised my head again, the northern winter had its eyes tightly shut. It seemed to be sleeping.
“Are you okay, bro? You’re a piece of shit.”
Dylan, who was tied tightly to the dragon, asked. He looked ready to run away at any moment.
Swallows looked at Kanna next to Dylan. She was so focused that her eyes were tightly shut and her mouth was moving. Vivian next to her was also suffering, her veins standing out.
Only Adela in the center was fine. She was still screaming my name loudly though.
“I am the white magician.”
“So that’s bullshit······.”
The Swallows ignored the bastard’s words and went down.
Dylan was the kind of guy who would not hesitate to take action if things didn’t go his way, even if he didn’t have to say anything. Kanna would be safe.
“I told you to call for support quickly! Our mana density is so high that we can’t use magic! We’ll have twice as many troops as the noble alliance!”
“If we get pushed back, it’s over anyway!”
As we came down, the magic towers rushed at us.
Swallows slapped the sticking men’s bread one by one. They were all knocked out by a single punch.
Swallows clicked his tongue and shook his cold fist. The fallen tower masters looked up at Swallows with bewildered faces.
“You can’t use magic? You can. It’s just a little painful.”
It’s not like it can’t be used because the mana concentration is high. It just requires a bit more concentration, and it’s just painful.
“······A little bit? A wizard tried it earlier, and he’s still having a seizure!”
The green magician roared. In the place he pointed, a wizard was foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
“Then die.”
Swallows said, adjusting his staff.
It was certainly not an environment suitable for using magic, as they said, with the mana concentration being extremely high.
Just moving the concentrated mana will fill up your mana blood vessels and cause symptoms of mana overload.
However, mana overload was not an unfamiliar word to Swallows.
“Are you going to use magic with this mana concentration? Are you crazy! You’re going to have a mana overload! How horrible that pain will be-.”
The green-haired man with a bruise on his right cheek grabbed Swallows’ sleeve. He felt it was a bit stiff, but he seemed to have some affection for it.
“it’s okay.”
“Are you okay? You’re saying that because you don’t know about Mana Burst yet, but it’s not a phenomenon that can be overcome simply by willpower! Think about it again!”
Instead of answering, Swallows adjusted his wand. It felt as if the wand was welcoming him.
After a while, the mana was circulated. The concentration was definitely very thick, and a huge amount of mana that I had never experienced before was moving.
Pain followed the use of mana beyond its limits. It was a mana overload phenomenon.
Pain rose as if the mana circuits were burning, but it was less painful than the real mana surge that Swallows had experienced.
It was also because I had become quite accustomed to it···.
‘The cane is giving it away.’
The staff given by the northern winter helped the circulation of mana as if it had a will.
As the pain was relieved, only the thick concentration of mana remained. It was a situation that was actually beneficial to Swallows.
However, because the concentration of mana was so high, Swallows couldn’t use magic like someone who had just jumped over a wall.
The Swallows then tried another method.
Swallows knew his own abilities well, so he didn’t think of doing it alone.
Swallows looked behind them at the frightened wizards. With a high concentration of mana, one could use magic that was higher than the magic they normally used.
They simply could not complete the magic because they could not endure the pain that came with it.
‘If I bring them the pain they will go through-.’
Swallows’ eyes became clearer.
Just like during the Matapju succession ceremony, Swallows drew a huge magic circle in the air.
I tried to simplify it as much as possible so that the viewer can easily understand it.
Translucent magic circles appeared around the Swallows.
The magic circles were useless in themselves, since their centers were empty. They were simply foundations.
But the faces of the magicians who were looking at him were filled with astonishment.
“So··· What the hell are you doing······.”
The green hawk looked at the Swallows with tired eyes and asked.
The magic circle drawn by Swallows was a kind of converter and output device.
It was a magic circle that guided him to Swallows, as other wizards could not bear the pain that followed the concentration of mana.
There was no need to explain, so Swallows closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
The magic tower masters who realized the intention moved their mana.
The other magic tower owners screamed as they moved their small mana, but the Swallows who were actually enduring him were silent.
I just kept my mouth shut and endured it.
Soon, magic began to fill the air around the Swallows.
“He’s a strange guy.”
The northern winter looked down, holding its heavy eyelids.
To form a magic circle so that useless people can use magic – it was an incomprehensible action in the winter of the North.
However, he went to such a pointless length to do so.
It would not have been possible to do this simply by casting a magic circle. It would have required an understanding of the magic that was created through the magic circle.
It was said that he knew all of those numerous magic spells.
The bastard’s fanatical obsession with magic was fully apparent.
The combination of the magic of different casters in one man’s hands was a sight never before seen even in the northern winter.
It was like a magical collection. Or a library.
The bastard was sobbing under countless spells.
All the magic accumulated in the man’s subsequent gestures poured out at once.
“I really might turn into a frog.”
The northern winter muttered in small admiration.
***
Open the King’s Path!
Someone’s scream echoed throughout the room. Screams and the sound of clashing weapons could be heard from all directions.
I was confused by the disgusting smell of spilled sewage and the stench of blood.
This was hell.
The soldier screamed and thrust his sword into the Imperial soldier’s neck. As the sword passed between the armor and helmet, red blood flowed down the sword and soaked his hand. His blood was cold.
At that moment, the soldier’s eyes widened at the sudden pain. The man who had been stabbed in the neck swung his sword and cut open the soldier’s abdomen.
The soldier tried to use his sword, but it was useless because it had been pierced through his abdomen.
Open the King’s Path!
The soldier gritted his teeth and fell forward at the scream heard from somewhere. The weight increased and the sword embedded in the guy’s neck went in deeper.
The wound on his abdomen widened further. Knock-. The Imperial Army’s helmet fell beside him. The face revealed was extremely ugly.
Skin that had melted as if scorched by fire and eyes filled with white pupils. It was not a human, but a monster.
Even though the sword was more than two inches deep into his neck, the bastard slowly lowered his head.
The soldier sensed the end for the man who was looking at him. He thought he had talent, and that was why he wanted to add his name to the legend-.
I never thought I’d end up getting killed by a mere punk.
I was so shocked that tears welled up in my eyes.
At that moment, the bastard’s head suddenly shot up into the air.
Is this a dream? As I was mumbling softly, a handsome man appeared. It was a face I couldn’t help but recognize.
‘The King of Demons···.’
The soldier looked up at him quietly, forgetting the pain.
The king was also in a mess. The flesh and blood on his entire body was no less than that of the soldiers.
The king approached, stomping on the heads of the imperial soldiers rolling on the ground and making them burst.
The king looked down at the soldiers silently.
The eyes were deeply sunken.
“What’s your name?”
It was noisy with screams all around, but the king’s soft voice was clearly heard.
“Mu··· Mur··· Toon···.”
The soldier answered, his pronunciation choking on the wound in his abdomen.
“Yes, Murtun. I will remember.”
Although it was obviously a lie, Murtun found great comfort in it.
Because he really felt like the king would remember him-.
“You’ve worked hard. Rest well.”
Murtun closed his eyes at the king’s warm words that followed.
***
“Richard, Wallace, Ark, Murthun.”
I muttered and readjusted my grip on the sword.
Richard was the one with the monkey’s whiskers, Wallace was the one with the big mole between his eyebrows, Ark was the innocent one with the eyes like a cow, and Murthun was the young one without a beard.
Even if I don’t recall it, I will remember it forever, but it was a kind of habit. Or maybe a prayer.
“Open the King’s Road-!!”
At that moment, the annoying scream burst out again.
They built a wall between me and them to protect me.
From knights, to soldiers, mercenaries, and knights-the wall was extremely thick.
Blood spurted everywhere, screams erupted, but none of it reached me.
He clicked his tongue slightly and stared straight ahead. There were numerous lights.
They kept shouting, ‘Open the way!’ and somehow managed to advance.
The voices shouting for relief were filled with desperate hope.
It was a bit of a pain in the ass to follow others, but it was the best I could do.
Since I was the only one who could deal with him, it was right to conserve my strength as much as possible.
A stream of flames poured down from the side. The sweltering heat evaporated the blood that had pooled on the battlefield. A sticky smell filled my nose.
When he turned his head to look at it, he saw a squirrel crowing in the distance. The squirrel stepped back because its size was a hindrance.
At that moment, a loud noise erupted from the front. Soldiers were lifted into the air as if a catapult had been dropped. They were the Apostle’s rascals.
Then Joanna confronted them, swinging her greatsword at them.
Joanna’s white armor was broken in several places and no longer functioned as armor, but her swinging of the greatsword was still nimble.
‘You really fight well.’
Joanna was very effective against them. Joanna, covered in white light, was slaughtering them.
Another man jumped towards Joanna through the gap. It was dangerous because it was a large sword.
At that moment, Mini Joanna intervened appropriately. Mini Joanna’s greatsword cut a long line through the torso of the man who was aiming at Joanna.
Mini Joanna showed some ability, although not as much as Joanna.
Above all, Mini Joanna knew Joanna’s weaknesses very well. Mini Joanna filled in Joanna’s shortcomings with ease.
It showed high efficiency by filling in the shortcomings of Joanna, who has a strong tendency for straight lines.
On the contrary-.
“I just caught two.”
“Well, there are three of me, so I have one more.”
“Oh, I misspoke. There are four of us.”
“Then five.”
Ben and the five eldest sons were polar opposites.
The two of them didn’t get along well together, and were each focused on increasing their numbers. The combination was good in a different sense from Joanna’s side.
Approaching Hyeseon was pretty smooth.
However, as they got closer to the gate, their power increased – and the number of corpses piling up increased proportionally.
“Are you right-handed?”
“···I’m left-handed.”
“That’s fortunate.”
The five elders, whose right arms were completely cut off, stared at me with complex expressions.
The bastard still had a sullen expression on his face, but his skin was pale, perhaps because he had lost a lot of blood.
“What about the severed arm?”
“······I got eaten.”
If I had taken the severed arm, Brighton would have attached it later… I clicked my tongue slightly.
“Can’t you play it?”
“···How could that be possible?”
“Weak guy.”
The guy furrowed his eyebrows at my muttering. I ignored him and looked straight ahead.
Now they have almost reached the city gate. As such, their power has grown stronger, and now the five eldest sons have reached the point where their arms are cut off.
The five eldest sons are not cheap and unlucky, but they have decent military power. If that guy was able to get hurt, what about the others?
As the corpses piled up, the ground was rapidly becoming muddy.
However, they did not back down.
I somehow managed to move forward while filling the gap.
And by all means-.
Opened the way.
A long, heavy path made of red blood and flesh stretched towards the gate.
They built a barrier around the road and stared at me.
A man with a sword stuck in his stomach, a man with one of his limbs cut off, a man crying for his parents – all these different men stared at me with different eyes.
They finished their job.
Now it was time to change shifts.
I walked down the street with the corners of my lips raised heavily.
***
‘···Is this a door?’
Balhar Khan stuck out his tongue at what was before him.
The gate was made up of people, crumpled like bricks, waving their hands and cursing.
It’s as if telling me to come in here.
It was dark as a bottomless pit inside. Nothing could be seen. Only endless screams leaked out.
It looked like a door leading to hell.
Who will go to hell?
Even Joanna, who had been leading the way with a gleam of light, stopped walking. For the first time, fear appeared on her previously unchanging face.
If she could do that, what about others?
It was okay to retreat backwards. Some people were so scared that they lost their minds and ran towards the imperial army.
They reached the castle gate with their heads up, but a strange phenomenon occurred where they retreated as soon as they reached the gate.
“Wow… Where is the king! The king of demons! The king!”
At that moment, a knight shouted. He was the knight who had shown his spirit when facing the imperial army, but now he was backing away and making weak sounds.
However, no one rebuked him. Instead, they sympathized. They called out to the king with a different feeling than before.
He came to the king like a moneylender who came to collect a debt.
‘No matter how much of a bastard he is, how could he······.’
Balhar Khan chewed his lip.
As I moved forward with hope, the gate I encountered was the gates of hell. The gap was so wide that my despair was deep.
I had to catch the hypocrisy to end this situation, but it was so demoralizing… It wasn’t good.
“Your Majesty… Your Majesty!!”
At that moment, a shout erupted from behind. I turned my head and saw Aaron across the long, forked road.
Aaron walked silently along the path of corpses and blood.
When they saw him, the others cheered loudly. The frightened ones placed their irresponsible hopes and expectations on him.
Balhar Khan bit his lip and looked at the man. Aaron just looked around at the weaklings and didn’t say much.
Although he had the usual inscrutable expression, Balhar Khan felt that Aaron was afraid for some reason.
No, it was a natural thing to say. Who wouldn’t be afraid of being pushed into the gates of hell?
Balhar Khan made a list of those who would go in with him. If we were to estimate those who had not backed down······.
‘I don’t have a fever.’
There were so many people, but less than ten could fit in at once.
Even for himself, it was best to endure fear, so what about the others? With less than ten people, he had to catch that god. It was bleak. It seemed like he had to drag them in by force.
Joanna nodded as she removed the broken armor, revealing a strong, scarred body beneath. Johelia was startled by this.
“Joanna! Are you thinking of going in there?”
Nod.
“We’ve already done enough! We’ve paved the way here! Look at your condition! Don’t eat the cake inside the armor!”
Johelia shouted at Joanna.
However, Joanna ignored him lightly and stood behind Aaron. Johelia, her face furrowed, hurriedly stood next to Joanna.
“He left this behind.”
“hmm.”
“Thank you, that’s enough. Since you picked it up.”
Knight Ben, whose breastplate was torn off and whose chest was covered in blood, held out his severed arm to the five eldest sons. The five eldest sons who received him made a puzzled expression.
After bickering for a while, the two stood side by side behind Aaron.
“What a happy day! It’s definitely your birthday.”
“I’m so full I can’t eat any more.”
Then Vermunt and Sophia stood behind them, giggling.
There were two swords stuck in Vermunt’s stomach, but he didn’t seem to care at all.
The line behind Aaron was short. Even though it was the center of the battlefield, there was a strange sense of peace. However, everyone’s voices were trembling.
Aaron looked around at the men and then looked at Balhar Khan. Balhar Khan looked at him for a moment and then took heavy steps.
‘I’m crazy… to go in there on my own two feet.’
I picked out the guys in good condition and put them in the back. I had to somehow catch the hypocrisy here.
“Balkhar Khan is right behind you, the rest of you line up a little further back.”
Everyone moved briskly at his command. Valhar Khan’s eyes welled up with tears. Why was he the second?
I couldn’t protest, though. I could only mutter curses while looking at the back of his head.
Soon I stood in front of the gate. As I approached, my feet became heavier. My whole body refused to go in.
The man standing in front was so respectable. He readied his sword and entered the gate without hesitation.
However, Balhar Khan could not keep up. His feet would not move.
In the thick darkness, the bastard looked back.
He had an expression on his face that I had never seen before. The corners of his mouth were raised, and it was awkward, like he was forcing a smile. His eyes, which were usually steady, were trembling.
The guy was afraid.
Balhar Khan was surprised that even he felt fear.
It was a natural reaction to be faced with something like that, but I had a feeling that he didn’t know the emotion called fear.
At that moment, Balhar Khan met eyes with the man and furrowed his brow.
‘no way-.’
No matter how much of a bastard he is······.
As I stared blankly at him, he slowly opened his mouth.
“It’s a shift.”
The bastard swung his sword as if joking.
Then, as if something had snapped inside, the door closed at a very fast speed.
In the meantime, I saw a guy going forward alone.
thud.
Soon the gates were completely closed.
Balhar Khan felt a sense of wretched relief as he looked at the closed gates.
At that moment, those at the back rushed out. However, the gate was already firmly closed.
Unlike the others, Balhar Khan stood in an ambiguous position.
Then Balhar Khan realized why the bastard had put him behind him.
From the beginning, he had planned to deal with hypocrisy alone.
