Chapter 228
Chapter: 228
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 228
>Chapter Title: Defense Battle (1)
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"Ice Wall Base is in danger!"
Seongjin's sudden declaration left the group utterly dumbfounded.
Hadn't they just repelled the enemy and caught their breath? Why this all of a sudden?
But no one could dismiss the prince's words lightly. After all, wasn't it Prince Mores who had warned them in advance about the Glacier Troll attack that no one had anticipated?
Above all, the prince, who always wore a sullen expression, was showing rare signs of intense agitation.
"We have to warn Ice Wall Base about the other danger posed by the Glacier Trolls right away!"
"What other danger do you mean, Your Highness?"
At Masain's question, Seongjin tilted his head awkwardly. In his vision, the faint guide window's text stood out with unusual clarity.
〚If the user does not specify a separation location, the entity's position will be randomly designated within the ice.〛
If his hunch was correct and they exploited this...
"...I'll just show you directly."
With that, Seongjin scanned the entire Ice Wall.
If this were the regular world, a small map for selecting the ice monster's position might have popped up.
But moving regular world objects from the Delcros Main Plane required the user's strong will or intense focus.
So couldn't position selection work the same way?
'It feels like this will do...!'
Concentrating on a specific spot where he wanted No. 2 Ice Beast to separate, Seongjin mentally scrolled through the window.
〚Entity 2 is fused with the ice. Would you like to separate the entity?〛
〚Temperature Scroll: Active (Ice Separation) -/----- Dormant (Ice Fusion)〛
Then.
Rumble rumble rumble.
With a deafening roar, the entire fortress began to shake violently.
"Wh-what is happening now?!"
Sir Hans let out a scream-like wail and collapsed to the ground. The man, who had been enjoying a peaceful retirement, looked a full ten years older from the day's events alone.
"Look over there."
At the prince's cue, an astonishing sight unfolded before the group's eyes.
From the inner entrance of the intact Ice Wall, massive chunks of ice suddenly broke away and began surging outward.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Like a tunnel being dug, a huge passageway formed as enormous ice blocks kept pouring out endlessly.
They rolled and gathered in one place, eventually forming the shape of a colossal giant towering toward the sky!
"......!"
Once the vibrations subsided, a new Glacier Troll stood proudly inside the fortress, where none had been before.
And at the end of the Ice Wall, now hollowed out to the depth of the massive ice monster's volume, a large empty ice cavern gaped open—the very spot where Seongjin had urgently evacuated the soldiers.
"Your Highness? What in the world...?"
Orden, who had been diligently hacking at the entrance with his sword from inside, peered out with a baffled expression as the view suddenly brightened.
"...No way..."
The implication of the prince's demonstration was all too clear. Realization dawned, and the group's faces paled in an instant.
"That's right. If even a single Glacier Troll touches the Ice Wall, it stops being a complete barrier."
Seongjin drove the point home.
He was confident he could ignore the obstructing Ice Wall entirely, let the Ice Beasts pass through unscathed, and charge straight into the territory.
As long as he could conjure a clear image like now and back it up with precise control.
Of course, from what he'd seen earlier, the enemies didn't seem capable of such finesse.
'But even if they don't select a position and just separate randomly in a crude manner, the result won't change.'
Glacier Trolls fused into the Ice Wall could punch massive holes anywhere depending on their separation points.
If they kept fusing and separating repeatedly, the Ice Wall's internal structure might eventually weaken and collapse all at once.
Meanwhile, they had no way to attack the hidden ones without completely demolishing the Ice Wall.
Even if they somehow managed to take them out, about two thousand Lycanslopes would swarm the now-breached perimeter.
Defeat was inevitable.
"It can't be! Never once has it been possible for Glacier Trolls to do that...!"
"Well, no one's tried directly controlling one until now."
Seongjin added, holding up the ice heart in his hand.
"And who knows how many more of these things they have."
"......"
A heavy silence fell over them amid the hopeless reality.
"...It might already be too late, but first, let's inform Ice Wall Base of this."
Sir Oscar spoke in a trembling voice, and Seongjin nodded.
"Yes, that's for the best."
Seongjin pondered deeply while fiddling with the ice heart.
Even with the Decaron Knights and Wolf Knight Order, if Glacier Trolls rampaged inside the fortress, chaos would ensue.
Would Margrave Baek have received his warning in time? If so, they might pull back forces quickly to the territory and mount a defense there...
Masain, watching him intently, spoke softly.
"...Your Highness wants to go provide support at Ice Wall Base."
"Huh?"
Startled, Seongjin shook his head.
"N-no! It's not that I haven't thought about it. But Vincent the elder and Sir Ilma are there too, right? Anyone can see their situation is better than here."
"You're worried about leaving the fortress if you go, since Lady Maria and I would have to follow to guard your back."
"......"
It was exactly that. With most troops already gone from the canyon fortress, only those two were upper knights or above.
If they left too, the next assault would surely overrun it.
That's why Seongjin...
"You're not thinking of just sending Vincent and the others over there, are you, Your Highness?"
Gasp! Sir Masain, are you a ghost?
Seongjin's eyes widened, and Masain's face hardened.
"As expected. After serving you this long, I can guess your thoughts now."
"......"
"I don't know the principles behind that heretical thing. But one thing's certain. If you send them far away where control becomes difficult, you'd throw your body aside completely like before and cling to it, wouldn't you?"
Seongjin guiltily averted his gaze.
It was true he'd wondered if, feeling that oneness with the Ice Beasts again, he could control it from afar without even looking.
'Ice Wall Base is still worrying me...'
But Seongjin was aware of how much he'd worried Sir Masain up to now.
"Sigh..."
Yet Masain, who had been subtly radiating menace, suddenly pressed his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Take Sir Valerie with you, Your Highness."
"...Huh?"
"He's the Inquisition's representative, so even if you openly control that heretical thing, the Church won't dare reprimand you."
Sir Masain?
Seongjin blinked in disbelief at the unexpected words, and Sir Valerie quietly interjected from the side.
"Excuse me? Since when was I the Inquisition's representative, you two...?"
"Besides, our forces won't suffer much loss without Sir Valerie."
"...No, Sir Masain?"
The red-haired inquisitor, suddenly branded useless as a knight, raised his hand in protest, but no one paid attention.
"And take the young lord too. Who would easily believe an outsider suddenly riding in on a demonic beast is friendly? He'll be needed later to communicate when joining Ice Wall Base's people."
Orden, freshly freed from the ice cavern, approached with a puzzled look.
"W-what are you all talking about...?"
Shut up. Who asked you, Orden?
Your opinion doesn't matter right now.
"We'll stay here at the fortress with the Wolf Knights, Your Highness. Don't worry about the fortress."
"......"
"As long as we firmly block the Glacier Trolls, this fortress will remain safe indefinitely. Even hordes of Lycanslopes won't easily cross this Ice Wall."
Seongjin had expected him to stubbornly insist on following, but he didn't know what to say to this resolute man. Bewilderment, gratitude, and guilt squeezed his chest all at once.
Watching Seongjin's conflicted expression, Masain smiled faintly.
"Then Your Highness won't throw your body away completely like before again, right?"
"......!"
Ugh.
The pang of conscience stabbed like a dagger.
* * *
[Groooaaar...]
The alien demon king groaned, desperately clinging to his fading presence.
But from his body, nearly bisected diagonally, the last dregs of black demonic energy poured out endlessly.
At this rate, even his soul would vanish completely before long.
'Is this the end for me? After ruling and fusing countless dimensions over eons?'
For someone who had charged in so confidently, the outcome was pathetically anticlimactic.
Lifting his head in bitter anguish, he met the utterly indifferent silver eyes gazing down.
Just facing that gaze made the demon king feel suffocated by the immense pressure emanating from him.
'...Is that thing really just a god's proxy?'
He'd flown in lightheartedly because a human dared play king of a dimension.
Yet what he faced was something more alien than anything in the world.
A human, one of the rare few among kings, yet more inhuman than any. Detached from causality yet deeply entangled in it.
Yes, like the distant ancient gods amid chaos.
'How can such a thing exist!'
Shouldn't humans be forbidden such existence? No, shouldn't this world forbid it!
As the demon king inwardly screamed, the Holy Emperor suddenly glanced somewhere and spoke.
[Time to end this. Another fool, lured by pointless schemes, is heading here.]
Yes, pointless schemes.
Idle demon kings who fell for those sweet temptations were now rushing here to avoid losing their lead.
[...Please let me go.]
The alien demon king, cautiously assessing the situation, opened his mouth with an anxious expression.
[Let's make a deal! If you send me back unharmed, I'll personally get revenge on the one who incited me to invade here! Wouldn't that help you too?]
[Incited?]
[Yes! A high-ranking demon king lured me here. He tempted several others too! It must be a plot targeting you and your dimension, right?!]
The Holy Emperor, who had been staring silently, tilted his head curiously.
[...Truly incomprehensible. One who personally oversees the life and death of all in his dimension knows nothing of the causality tied to himself.]
His voice carried a hint of pity, separate from his statue-like impassive face.
[Was that high-ranking demon king really targeting this dimension? Did the demon kings he tempted really come here?]
[......?]
[How do they usually view your dimension? Did they perhaps yield the order to come here to you?]
[......!]
...No way.
Gazing down at the deathly pale demon king, the Holy Emperor continued calmly.
[You say you followed a scent on the wind, yet you don't know where that wind blew from. Understandable, though? The intent is hidden so cleverly across layers.]
[I...!]
[So die here. Even if you return, only beasts waiting to devour your flesh await you.]
With that.
Slash.
The elongated white blade of holy aura mercilessly cleaved the demon king's head in two.
Unable to even scream, it began fading with eyes wide in shock.
Fwoosh.
The last scraps of insignificant demonic energy scattered futilely into the dimensional rifts.
It would be a long day.
The Holy Emperor sighed, sheathing Chamyeongeo.
He'd just dealt with one that charged in to complete a hidden quest, and now this idiot who didn't even notice his home being robbed.
All invaded this place at suspiciously timed moments with their own excuses, but the Holy Emperor knew well the source of this wind.
'And next...'
Before drawing in another space, he closed his eyes briefly. To check on his children during this fleeting respite.
As he focused for a moment, a deep sigh escaped the Holy Emperor's lips.
'...My son!'
No wonder he'd felt uneasy earlier—his troublemaking son had just crossed a razor-thin line.
-You knew. It was all foreseen from the start, wasn't it?
The elder had warned him.
But what could he do? Ever since deciding to walk with that child, every moment had been like this precarious tightrope.
-Aaargh! Glacier Troll attack!
-Don't attack! It's friendly!
-We'll pass through, so move aside! You might get trampled!
And now the kid was up to another absurd stunt.
Thud thud thud.
Perched atop the rampaging ice monster, wreaking havoc on the territory's borders.
As always, everything that child did turned into a total mess.
'But my son. I know you'll overcome life's trials on your own.'
That was enough.
Slowly opening his eyes, the Holy Emperor aimed Chamyeongeo at the next approaching foe.