#214
The Tribulation of Jeron (3)
Cool—
Black, dead blood spurts out ceaselessly from the nose and mouth.
I tried to suppress it somehow, but the bleeding was beyond what I could do with my own will.
‘Damn, I’m going to die if this keeps up.’
The blood that flowed out was just part of the phenomenon.
Because he had forced himself too hard, the magical circuits in his body were not only tangled but also tattered and mangled, and the curse that had taken advantage of the gap in control ran wild and greedily devoured his life force.
It was only because I had the symbol that Heinrich gave me that it was that bad. If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t have ended at this level.
And the price he had to pay wasn’t just that…
‘It’s okay though, I was able to make it on time.’
Hesperon laughed bitterly as he felt the necklace he had hung around his neck and kept inside his clothes crumble and disappear.
Gulp—
Immediately afterwards, bloody tears flowed from his right eye.
Slowly, your vision became blurred and soon it became completely dark.
‘···Is it the right eye?’
A dramatic rescue that took place at the moment when the heroine was in danger.
If we were to look only at the exquisite timing, it could have seemed like a cliché of a protagonist awakening in an extreme situation, but…
At least for him now, it wasn’t such a good story.
-Hannibal Strauss: Still, one eye isn’t bad. The more you force your abilities, the greater the price you have to pay. It was worth the effort until the very end.
-Harley: Kahaha! Aaah, it’s just your eyes. Just put on a new one! Like me!
Among the black magic tools that Hans acquired while training the Immortal Army, there were many items with all sorts of extraordinary abilities.
The irony was that most of them required a price in the form of vitality or lifespan, so the undead couldn’t use them.
《The individual grows by achieving the conditions. The skill “Boundary String” evolves into the special skill “Chain of Oath.”》
The necklace Hesperon used this time was one of them.
Thanks to the item making up for some of the skill growth that was lacking, I was able to evolve “Binding String” and summon Riley, the target of the contract.
‘In addition to the additional corrections, you can now exercise a forced influence like just now. The skill’s scope of application has been expanded to even allow you to form bonds with inanimate objects.’
Of course, since the skill has just evolved, we need to think more about its usability, but in any case, the fact that the possibilities have increased is a welcome thing.
“Heron···?”
Then he heard Riley’s flustered voice in his ear.
Well, the moment I thought I was dead, I came to my senses and found myself in the arms of a stranger.
It’s natural to feel embarrassed.
But now was not the time to chat leisurely.
He didn’t even look at her, just smiled and opened his mouth.
“Riley, let’s talk later. Things are a bit urgent right now.”
“···huh.”
Hesperon’s gaze was fixed on one spot from beginning to end.
To the man standing blankly a little way away, Stab.
He still held the strange dagger in one hand, and just turned his head to look at this place.
‘Now all that’s left is to synchronize Riley and me with ‘Chains of the Oath’ and get out of here with ‘Hero’s Footsteps’…’
However, because I summoned Riley too hastily, the connection of the “Chain of Oath” was shaken and it took some time to reorganize.
It was an unavoidable problem since it was an excessive skill usage that did not match one’s original ability, but in the current situation, it was definitely not good news.
“It’s annoying···.”
As expected.
Sweep—
Stab’s body, which had been muttering softly, began to sway vaguely.
‘There’s no way I can wait!’
As Hesperon’s spirit was heightened, “Nervousness” was activated and time around him began to rapidly slow down.
however···.
‘That speed even in this condition?’
In that endlessly stretching world, Stave’s movements were clearly heterogeneous.
Unlike the surroundings that were slowly coming to a halt, the sight of him approaching this way alone with brisk strides was so creepy that it made me shiver.
‘···I’ve been playing around in big waters lately, so I haven’t really felt it.’
Lately, I’ve been hanging out with only big names, both enemies and allies, so I’ve felt like I’ve become dull, but the original level of extremes was by no means low.
Even in the Brokoslak Clan, the third-powerful vampire society that can easily live for hundreds of years, there were only three True Blood members, including the Lord, and in the main sect that boasted the greatest influence on the continent, they were at the level of Paladins and Archbishops, the leaders.
But now, that opponent is rushing towards me with a murderous look in his eyes.
Hesperon gritted his teeth and forced himself to move.
However, when this side barely managed to take a step back with all their might, the other side had already taken five or six steps forward without hesitation.
Although he was barely able to recognize his opponent with his abnormal status and skills, even his current enhanced body was not enough to respond to the knight’s movements at the extreme.
‘Ugh, just a little more!’
In the slow-moving time, the synchronization work was also progressing slowly.
Even though magic power is an energy that is not greatly affected by the laws of physics, the passage it passes through is inevitably a physical body, so it is not completely unrelated, and it cannot be helped.
‘Close combat is hopeless. We must prevent them from getting close as much as possible.’
Eventually, Hesperon began to use every means at his disposal to buy time.
Heinz II’s “Refined Blood” was concentrated into a large number of blood-colored beads, spraying the blood magic imprinted on them in all directions.
Heinrich’s holy symbol, filled with divine power, formed a barrier to block the opponent’s steps.
Needless to say, all kinds of magical tools, including cursed items, were mobilized there.
“Ugh, what a hassle! How on earth did you get all these things?”
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Swack—
Chomp chomp!
But unfortunately.
It seemed like his opponent wasn’t too pleased with his surprise gift.
-Heinrich: It’s not just about being happy. He’s precisely targeting the weakness of the imperfect magic that was manifested through the medium. His skill is definitely better than Geos’s.
Stave approached, gritting his teeth in annoyance, while pulverizing all obstacles with the fiercely burning blade of his Auror.
Now, we’re at a point where we can really say we’re within arm’s reach.
So sore
Could it be because I overused the cursed item?
Hesperon’s entire body felt a sharp pain, especially from his right hand.
But that doesn’t mean I can give up now.
He pulled Riley into his arms and took a few more steps back.
Thud—
In a world that had slowed down, the muscles in his entire body screamed as he tried to keep up with the bastard’s pace, but now was not the time to worry about such trivial things.
“Starve, you! How dare you, this dirty traitor, touch the princess!”
“Ugh! You’re going to die here anyway, so do you think you’ll just take it quietly?”
While he retreated, the few knights who had survived until now blocked his path, risking their lives and holding onto Stave’s ankles.
Although they were already seriously injured and far too few to go against the trend, they were still elite.
At least it was enough power to buy us a little time in this dire situation.
“Ugh, you idiots. Can’t you even stop these guys properly anymore?”
“I’m sorry, sir!”
And that moment was won with the lives of the knights who had died heroically.
It was the moment Hesperon had been longing for.
‘Okay.’
He took a deep breath, looking at the last knight falling to Stave’s blade with his one remaining gaze.
“Whew—you guys.”
And finally, he looked at the faces of the traitors rushing at him from all sides and said softly.
“Go ahead and struggle as much as you want.”
He turned his palm down and dropped the last gift on the floor, activating “Hero’s Footsteps” at the same time.
After that, the space becomes distorted and the vision becomes blurred.
In contrast to the men rushing towards us with a murderous momentum, the sight of Stab shouting something urgently and throwing himself backwards passes by as if in slow motion…
The surrounding scenery changed in an instant, as if the screen was changing.
‘You have a good sense, after all. Well, the real story starts now. From the moment Riley escaped safely, those guys were already in the abyss.’
This applies not only to them, but also to anyone who has anything to do with this matter.
When a desperate attempt to eliminate the princess by committing a terrorist attack on the capital fails, there is an appropriate price to pay.
Oh, by the way, the gift was really nothing special.
It’s just that I didn’t like the things I had brought out before, so I prepared more carefully because I felt it would be a shame to break up like this.
I’m talking about Hans’ special abyss bomb, packed to the limit.
***
A massive invasion by the Immortal Army across the continent.
It was causing damage all over the world that was incomparable to previous raids.
[Kihihihi!]
Crunch! Crunch!
[Join us!]
“Block it with the determination to die! If this is breached, the entire city will be in danger!”
“Hey, wait a minute. This isn’t like anything I’ve heard before!”
“Support! Support yet? Now it’s really impossible!”
The biggest cause was the leadership’s complacent response.
The danger of this attack had already been emphasized several times by Saint Henry—.
The problem was that those who had become accustomed to Hans’ mild invasions thought that it would be sufficient to just increase the level of their existing response.
[Ahh—! Good! How much of a reward is this! This sweet blood and screams excite me! Good, good. More—cry more!]
[In this land— endless horror— eternal death—!]
Even among the invaders who came this time, there were some high-ranking undead who had been locked away in the immortal castle.
I let my guard down, thinking, ‘This level should be fine, right?’ and the situation quickly became chaotic.
As the high-ranking undead, who had been hiding out, led the troops accumulated in the northern mountain range and mercilessly attacked various parts of the continent, the damage to the civilians caught up in them was also growing like a snowball.
An incident sufficient to shake up the current situation, which had been at a standstill due to an ambiguous peace.
However, regardless of that, there were some who worked diligently as always and showed more certain results than anyone else···.
Swish— bang!
[Ugh—!]
Kuung!
The warrior party that recruited new characters this time was the one responsible.
“Situation ended. No special enemies detected in the area.”
The green-haired elf who had blown away the core of the enemy leader, the Death Knight, with an arrow made of wind opened his mouth calmly.
She was Lydia Grandwood, a high elf and leader of the Watchers, a fighting force from the Elven Kingdom, who had joined the warrior party shortly after the Second Summit.
At first, she came to the continent of Ion as the successor to Lapori, who was about to retire, but she naturally joined the party due to the rapidly changing current situation.
Of course, it wasn’t so unexpected that she, who was originally a combatant, came to the continent of Ion as an envoy to actively respond to this chaotic situation.
However, it is regrettable that Laforie’s retirement has been postponed again because of this.
“Saint? Are you okay? You haven’t been able to focus on the battle since earlier and it seems like you’re feeling uncomfortable.”
As the party was slowly winding down, a woman approached Heinrich, who was quietly lost in thought with a serious expression on his face, and cautiously opened her mouth.
She was a small girl with black hair and black eyes, the Empire’s great magician, Isiah Pristine.
“Oh, Miss Isiah. There was something that was bothering me for a bit. It’s okay now. It’s just been resolved.”
Heinrich, who had been observing the situation on the Empire side, smiled gently at her.
Fortunately, unlike Hesperon, Princess Riley was unharmed and safe, so I was able to speak confidently to her.
It seems that the conspirators have completely blocked all communication, so she is not yet aware of the incident that has occurred in Jeron, but she will be contacted soon.
Perhaps she won’t be as calm then as she is now.
“···But this time, the number of casualties is much higher than usual. The undead power is also at a level we’ve never seen before. Are you saying that air raids of this scale are happening across the entire continent?”
“Haa— That’s right. Ah! I also need to help collect the wounded now. I don’t think it’ll be easy for the saintess to handle that number of people alone.”
“Oh, then I guess I should help clean up the area too.”
Isiah turned away from Heinrich, who was hurriedly heading towards the patients, and looked around at the miserable surroundings again, biting her lower lip.
The place they were now was Saridan, a trading city at the southernmost point of the Tulk Kingdom, and among them, the headquarters of the Merchant Union was located.
But now, far from being bustling with people, it was in such a dilapidated state that it felt like we were in the middle of a battlefield.
“···I see. Now I can really feel it. What we’re fighting against.”
The Demon King’s invasion. A land filled with death. The world is on the verge of destruction.
What had felt a little distant until now is now starting to feel real.
After remaining still for a moment, Isae clenched her fists and moved to find something she could do to help.
And Heinrich, who was hurriedly leaving the place because of his guilty conscience, sighed inwardly as he heard her soliloquy.
‘Whew, Hans···.’
In fact, his feelings were not much different from hers.
I just want to somehow end the current situation.
No matter what anyone says, he was a warrior of this world who protected justice and light.
