Level up with swords (280)
There is an area called the ‘Titan Mountains’ as the Titans, the strongest fighting race on earth, live in the depths of the area.
It is a demonic realm whose danger reaches an immeasurable level, and the strength of the monsters polluted by the power overflowing from the <Dimensional Crack> cannot be compared to other regions.
A place where B-rank monsters, which can be said to be the corruption of small and medium-sized fiefdoms, are spread at the bottom of the ecosystem, and even A-rank people can lose their lives due to a single mistake or bad luck.
Long, long ago, the empire that invaded this land with 300,000 troops was unilaterally defeated by the Titans.
However, most of the damage was not from the battle with the Titans, but from being attacked by countless monsters while entering the mountain range.
Even the ogre, one of the A-rank monsters, can only be subdued safely if a group of knights are mobilized.
But what if not one or two, but ten or twenty ogres attack at the same time?
Even a corps made up of at least 10,000 people will exhibit such explosive power that it will inevitably collapse.
… Roll… Roll…
The chest voice, which has become more ferocious as it is suppressed by ‘Dragon Fear’, is revealed as a rough breathing sound. A rotten smell emanates from the mouth, which cannot be properly cleaned of teeth, and the lips, soaked with blood and slobber, twitch as if they want to bite something.
Ogre.
Hundreds of monsters, each one alive and breathing like a disaster, were lined up in rows and rows.
The clearly bulging muscles on the untrained body and the gear wrapped around the bumpy body are items that Vritra has accumulated in her rare over hundreds of years.
A monster that slaughters a thousand people with its bare body was equipped with proper armor, a spear, and artifacts.
It must have been three or four times more powerful than a wild ogre.
【Even so, they are beasts without any intelligence.】
Vritra, who was looking down at the ground with her body wrapped around the highest mountain peak like a snake, whispered softly.
【Even if you arm ogres, gather wyverns, and command trolls and orcs like legions, the limitations are clear. It must be difficult to deal with not only heroes and giant kings, but also mortals who have only slightly exceeded their limits. I don’t expect this body to get there either.】
Are you talking to yourself? No, it wasn’t.
These were clearly words that were meant for someone to hear.
The eyes of the monsters suppressed with ‘Dragon Fear’ were blurry, and none of them responded to the mental waves. Ogres and Wyverns.
A few S-rank monsters retained part of their selves even after being hit by ‘Dragon Fear’, but they did not have the luxury of responding to Vritra’s mental waves.
There were only three beings that could be considered exceptions.
【I will grant you fate.】
As Vritra’s emotionless eyes rolled and looked down at the three, even those who had maintained a calm and weak expression until now could not help but break into a cold sweat.
Tutanka, a twin-headed troll, a two-headed mutant.
Lich Desmond, an archmage who defeated mortality with black magic.
Cyclops King, a huge monster over 30 meters tall.
【It’s insignificant.】
Vritra declared disdainfully at them.
【A shaman who reached the 7th level in the body of a lowly and ignorant troll, a lich who survived miserably for nearly a thousand years and surrendered to me, and a cyclops with a physique that had never been seen even in ancient times.】
If we were to classify the guild’s risk level, it would be SS rank or higher. Monsters, each of which could become a national disaster, were bowing at Vritra’s feet.
Trolls are famous for their regenerative abilities and ignorance, but in rare cases, individuals are born with more than one head. Twinhead, which has potential and lifespan far exceeding that of an ordinary troll, will definitely become ‘Named’ if it can survive.
Lich Desmond could also be said to be a legendary warlock.
Andrei, who wanted to become a vampire lord in Rubena City, was one of the disciples he trained.
The Cyclops King’s case was simpler.
A mutation that occurs once every hundreds of years. Even though it was an S-rank monster, it was a monster that surpassed its limits.
【It’s insignificant.】
Nevertheless, it seemed that Vritra was not very satisfied, and it pointed one of its claws in a nervous gesture.
An unholy power oozes from the tip of the claw.
It was the power symbolizing the Demon King, <Fallen>.
【Giving my power to you insignificant and insignificant people is like a test to prove your qualifications to become subjects of this body.】
Three streams of darkness erupt from Vritra’s claws.
One strand wrapped around Tutanka, one strand wrapped around Desmond, and finally, one strand wrapped around the Cyclops King.
At the same time, the ‘fall’ began.
The further away an entity is from natural law, the more powerful it becomes. Tutanka, who surpassed his limits as a monster, Desmond, who betrayed natural law by turning into a lich, and even the Cyclops King, who can be said to be on a different level among powerful monsters.
The distorted evolution ended with Tutankha.
“Krrrr… Power overflows… Master… .”
The two heads grew to three as one more sprouted out, and several boils resembling a human face appeared on its body, which was covered in grotesque tattoos, and it let out a horrifying groan.
It is a human face window.
Normally, it is a trace that appears on victims of witchcraft, but in this case, it is used as a means to assist witchcraft. They could recite complex and long chants instead, or they could spit poison and curses to intercept approaching enemies.
That’s not all.
Blood-red magic channels appeared like blood vessels all over the body, creating an appearance that would be difficult to call a troll.
“It is an honor to be able to follow the orders of a great being.”
Unlike Tutanga, it is Desmond who responds with polite manners. He had been a noble person ever since he was a human, and it was he who wielded that power as an archmage.
Because I don’t want to die, because I don’t want to let go.
An old monster who crossed the line with his lame need for survival and became a warlock, so he became a lich.
He, who was a collection of thin bones, had also changed.
“Oh oh… ! How dare you share the remains of a great man with this poor old man! This Desmond, I’m just overwhelmed.》
Vritra did not just endow him with ‘corruption’, but also reconstructed his skeleton using the bones of his own people that he had secretly stolen.
Although dragons cannot be compared to dracolichs, lichs corrupted by black magic, they are of a different class from human bones. Not only the capacity of magical power, but also the speed and quality of circulation have also increased rapidly.
There was nothing more to say, as Desmond, the strongest warlock of this era, forgot his pride and fell to the ground.
and.
【—Interesting. I never thought that the one I thought was the least successful among the three would be the most suitable. This is a change that exceeds expectations.】
Vritra looked at the Cyclops King and smiled darkly.
It had to be that way.
The guy who was a 30 meter tall giant before downloading <Corruption> was now closer to 50 meters tall. For super-large monsters, the size of their body is directly related to their strength. This was because not only the mass but also the storage of power flowing within the body increased explosively.
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Gooooooooooo—!
As the Cyclops King, inspired by the power boiling within his body, roared powerfully, the wyvern flock that had been gathered several kilometers away was frightened and flew into the sky.
A majesty that even surpasses ‘Dragon Fear’ in an instant!
Tutankha and Desmond unconsciously harbored jealousy, and their eyes sparkled with hostility toward their rival.
Even though Britra knew all that, she didn’t care.
【Hehe, you seem to like it. Since I can no longer call you Cyclops, I will give you a new name.】
Enlargement was not the only thing that <The Fall> gave.
The Cyclops King’s skin turned bright blue, and the surroundings were frozen in a cold storm whose origin was unknown.
It’s literally like the frost giants recorded in old myths—
【From today onwards your name is Hrimthurs. Born under my protection, he is a destroyer who will freeze all things.】
As if responding to his name, the Cyclops King, or rather Hrimturth, raised his arms and cheered.
Gooooooooooooooooo——!!
The Titan Mountains are frozen by an unseasonable cold spell, and dead bugs fall from forests white with frost.
That’s how three monsters were born.
His name is Sammagang (三魔將).
As apostles of Vritra, minions imitating the Four Heavenly Kings of the past targeted two enemies. Looking down at them, swollen with malice and murderous intent, the evil dragon ordered battle to begin.
【good! The giant king and the warrior. It doesn’t matter which of the two. Whoever takes the life of one of them, I will promise him the throne after me!】
Together with the Three Demon Lords, the monsters of the Titan Mountains begin their all-out attack.
The monsters that moved by the million were literally like waves, crashing down and trampling everything that was in their way.
Just one week from the start of the full-scale march.
This was the time it took for Karpad, a small country near the mountain range, to collapse.
* * *
Area 13 of the steel kingdom of Jugend.
As it is a border area, despite the long period of peace, security was tight, and a signal signal of emergency was fired from the watchtower of the castle wall.
enemy attack.
As soon as the signal was given, the guards who were taking turns running up the castle wall and looking for a position suitable for their role. The person carrying the shell, the person aiming the gun barrel, and the person charging the gunpowder must all be connected in a flowing manner for Jugend’s defense system to function perfectly.
The dwarves’ wide-eyed gaze at the horizon gradually increased its angle every second, until it became a burden to the person facing them.
The scenery seen by the watchtower’s observer rose up to the eye level of the castle wall.
The identity of the cloud of dust rising and the shadows wriggling noisily within it is precisely that.
“Well, that… ?!”
“They are refugees! “I’m being chased by monsters!”
“There is no way I could escape this far…” no way.”
The guess that someone had made without realizing it made the blood of everyone standing on the castle wall run cold.
“Those monsters… Are you putting the refugees first?”
If we got a little closer, we were in the firing range of area 13.
Their defensive tactic is to attack unilaterally from several kilometers away and cut off more than half of the enemy’s troops before they even reach him.
However, if you react like that in a situation like this, the refugees along with the monsters will be swept away by the bombardment. Even though they are not family or neighbors, there is no one who wants to get their hands dirty like that.
That moment of hesitation further narrowed the distance to several hundred meters, and soon a group of monsters and refugees approached the range of the bombardment.
If you don’t shoot right now, it will cause great damage.
The guard commander, who continued to worry until his molar broke in just a few tens of seconds, finally made a decision.
“All forces, ready to fire!”
If someone is responsible for this bloodshed, he will bear it.
The garrison’s mission should be to protect the compatriots of this land rather than the lives of those whose identity they do not know.
“Ready to fire!”
“Loaded!”
“Gunpowder charging complete!”
“Aim complete!”
The dwarves noticed his determination and moved quickly with bloodshot eyes. If the garrison commander was so determined, it would be right to repay that determination.
Hundreds of cannons rotate simultaneously toward the refugees.
When the gunpowder is ignited, it spits out the metal inside at an incredible speed, crushing not only the weak bodies of humans but also monsters into every single piece of flesh.
Although it was of lower quality than the cannon deployed in ‘Mirror Canyon’, this one was superior in terms of rate of fire and efficiency.
Even 10,000 enemy soldiers can be annihilated in one hour.
“… “I, the military.”
In the end, the moment Monster Wave, led by refugees, came within range of the bombardment, the garrison commander’s lips trembled slightly.
Thousands and tens of thousands of people will die because of the orders that will be given from now on.
“foot… … ”
I hold back the words as guilt rises to my throat.
Even if he protects the walls of Area 13, history may say that his decision was the cold-blooded judgment of a massacre.
Will my wife, who is baking sausage bread today, and my only daughter understand this choice? If the bombardment turns those refugees and monsters into a lump of meat, will I be able to remain a proud husband and father?
Thick water droplets flowed from the corners of the garrison commander’s wrinkled eyes.
“Full force!!”
Even if you are not understood, it is a hundred times better than dying.
Even for my family, neighbors, and compatriots.
In this situation, it is correct to fire.
“Fire——”
It was that moment.
Kiiiiiiiing——!
Behind Area 13, a ray of light fell from a distant sky.
A brilliant flash of platinum.
The brilliance penetrated precisely into the border between the refugees and the monster wave, creating a wall tens of meters high in an instant. The refugees ran without knowing what was happening behind them, and only the monsters crashed into the suddenly rising wall.
Keekeeeeek!
Wow!
Kwaeeeeek!
The monsters, unable to stop immediately due to inertia, hit the wall one after another, turning to ash and collapsing in a matter of seconds.
Only then did the garrison commander find out.
That wall was not a beautiful light, but a structure made of ultra-high heat energy. The most similar ability was <Auror Blade>, but the power consumption to cover a large area with that level of output would have been enormous. Even if the Grand Meister came, it was unclear whether he would be able to recreate that with a single blow.
“W-Who on earth… ?”
As if sharing their thoughts with the garrison commander, the dwarves lined up on the castle wall looked back toward where the light had come from.
The sense of impending crisis just moments ago had disappeared.
The epicenter of light that wiped out thousands of monsters.
A young man with platinum wings appeared there.
“Whew, that was close.”
Leon, the man who saved the refugees with a strike from the holy sword, lowered the holy sword while wiping away the cold sweat that had not yet flowed.
If they had not flown at full speed as soon as they saw the flow of the monster wave, thousands of refugees would not have died. The garrison commander and dwarves, who had been stained with the blood of innocents, must have also suffered from guilt for a long time.
El Cid said.
[Hmm, coming this way.]
“I know. “Is it all three?”
Leon agreed with that and glared at the powerful enemies beyond the horizon, who were still quite far away.
It’s creepy.
There is no feeling of inevitability of defeat, but a presence that makes you feel that you might lose if you are not careful. Each one was a bundle of power far exceeding master level.
[You used your brain well. Did one side raise the average level of the monsters, and the other side deploy all the executives?]
“For some reason, I couldn’t see high-ranking monsters like wyverns or ogres.”
It was a good tactic to have Kasim and Leon accompany him, but then the opposing front line would collapse.
So Leon moved to Area 13 with his group.
There is no need for even two grandmasters.
Unless Vritra steps forward, his colleagues alone can overcome this level of difficulty. I believed that, and it was a fight to prove it.
“Three days until reinforcements arrive.”
Until then, we must maintain or overcome this phase.
