Chapter 372
Chapter 372
Chapter 372
"Damn it! Block them!"
Zeros shouted while launching magic towards the monsters climbing up the castle walls.
The guards beside him thrust their spears and shields to knock the monsters down from the walls.
Just then, a flying beast appeared from the air and aiming straight for Zeros.
"Mage!"
A guard shouted towards Zeros.
But Zeros was too busy blocking other climbing monsters to respond to the beast's attack.
At that moment, a flash of light sparkled from afar and something pierced through the beast's neck.
KEEEEEK!
Behind the fallen beast stood Yelin wearing Hersion.
As she stretched out her hand, the dagger that had flown away changed direction and returned.
It was a dagger enchanted with magic that Hades had made for Yelin.
Then Luther and Omar approached Yelin's position while swinging their swords at the monsters.
Zeros spoke to Yelin and Luther.
"There are too many enemies. At this rate, the castle walls will soon be breached."
Although Hades was helping with magic from the air, there were limitations.
If he revealed his true form, he could easily sweep away monsters of this level, but doing so would result in karma restrictions, limiting the power he could use.
While Yelin, the Black Sword Knights, and Ishtar's Assassins were pushing back the monsters swarming from all over the walls, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
The number was so great that the corpses of dead monsters began filling the moat and gradually piling up, creating a path to climb the walls.
But that's when it happened.
As if the situation wasn't desperate enough, something appeared in the air.
TSUTSUTSUTSU!
A black-robed mage appeared riding a ghost horse.
Surprisingly, the hooded mage's face was a skull, and blue ghost fire was rising from within its empty eye sockets.
The skeleton mage stretched out his hand and began chanting spells toward the dead monsters.
SAAAAAAAH!
As the skeleton mage's spell settled into the dead monsters, the corpses began to rise.
GRRRRRR!
The monsters thought to be dead rose as undead.
Seeing this, Zeros, Yelin, and Luther's faces turned pale.
"I-impossible. To raise so many corpses at once..."
This was an ability impossible for human necromancers or ordinary liches.
The Abyss and Jiemens had dispatched two powerful high-ranking demons to sweep away Julius and Zeke together in this invasion of Dorta.
Viper, a servant of the Endless Devourer, though willful, possessed strength that even other demons avoided.
The skeleton mage leading the monster army was also a high-ranking demon comparable to, or in some aspects even stronger than, Viper.
The Abyss and Jiemens had invested considerable effort and resources into this invasion of Dorta, determined to succeed as it would accelerate the continental war.
The skeleton mage who raised the monster corpses stretched out his hand and shouted to those inside the castle.
『Foolish mortals! Stop your futile resistance! The longer you delay, the more your suffering will increase!』
Even Hades, who was fighting flying beasts in the air, frowned upon seeing the skeleton mage.
"Isn't that a high-ranking demon? What is karma doing! How dare they let such a being roam free!"
Hades, angered that his own power was strictly controlled while the summoning of high-ranking demons wasn't prevented, ground his teeth and shouted.
"Damn it! I don't get it! Hey! Karma! Seriously, you should let this one slide!"
Hades stretched out his hand to create summoning circles.
Then, from within several summoning circles floating in the air, his guardians appeared.
These were new guardians improved together with Gelion, the Soul Craftsman, and Feinan, the magic structure expert, at Agamemnon Castle.
Hades deployed the summoned guardians across various points of the castle walls.
CLANG!
The guardians, made of various types of armor, began operating as soon as they landed on the walls, their eyes emitting light.
WHOOOONG!
The guardians drew the greatswords from their backs and swung them at the undead monsters climbing the walls.
KWADDDUK!
The monsters hit by the greatswords exploded and scattered, falling below the walls.
While the walls seemed to gain momentum temporarily thanks to the guardians' efforts, the monsters' invasion showed no signs of subsiding.
And shortly after, an even more grim situation unfolded.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Giant rhinoceros-like monsters approached and began ramming their horns against the castle gates.
KOONG!
The entire wall shook from the impact of their charge.
Zeros looked at Yelin and said.
"At this rate, this place will be breached soon. While I buy time, Lady Yelin and Lord Hades should escape to the Central Continent. Using a portal should be possible right now."
Yelin shook her head with a determined expression.
"A warrior of Ishtar never flees from battle."
Then Luther turned his head and pointed at the sky.
"That, that!"
Luther, still not fluent in the common tongue, pointed and shouted urgently.
The floating skeleton mage had activated magic again.
KUGUUUUU!
Green mist began spreading thickly around his body.
Zeros saw this and shouted.
"Oh no! Wind! Wind!"
He urgently used wind magic to try to push the mist outside the castle walls.
However, the green mist ignored Zeros' magic and slowly but surely penetrated inside the castle.
The mist reached one of the guards.
"Huh?"
Blisters rapidly formed on the skin of the guard who touched the ominous mist.
"ARGGGHHHH!"
The guard whose body was instantly covered in blisters screamed.
The blisters burst and pus poured out, causing the same symptoms in other guards who were touched by it.
"ARGGGHHHH!"
The number of guards suffering from blisters and pain gradually increased.
Zeros shouted toward the knights.
"You must not touch that mist! It's deadly magical poison!"
Zeros shouted toward Hades.
"Lord Hades! We need to burn that mist with fire!"
Hades, watching from above, was clearly realizing how terrible the power of the green poison mist created by the demon race was.
After contemplating, he snapped his fingers.
SNAP!
At that moment, flames arose and engulfed the poison mist.
Normally, poison would be destroyed by flames.
But this poison mist was different.
TSUTSUTSUTSU!
Rather, when the fire touched it, it began growing even larger.
Hades, who created the flames, opened his eyes wide in shock.
"Huh? How did this…?"
Then Hades, feeling a great shock in his heart, clutched his chest and stepped back.
"UGH! Damn... Karma, are you really going to do this?!"
Restrictions had been placed on Hades' actions.
The poison mist engulfed in flames spread thickly and wrapped around the entire castle wall.
Though Zeros dispersed some with wind magic, it wasn't enough.
Additionally, monsters kept climbing up the castle walls.
Zeros felt despair.
'Is this the end?.'
Zeros, who had rarely felt despair as a genius in Nirvana.
But since following Zeke to the battlefield, it had been nothing but despair.
He never imagined his magic would be this powerless when he was in the laboratory.
'Damn! What genius mage! What warlock and sorcerer!'
But he couldn't give up here.
Zeros pushed away his feelings of helplessness, clenched his teeth, and steadied his breathing.
"Please cover me!"
At his shout, Yelin and Omar covered him from both sides, and Luther jumped out to cut down approaching monsters before they could get close.
Zeros closed his eyes and chanted a spell.
Then a massive wind arose from his body.
KUGUUUUU!
A huge gust of wind arose from Zeros' body as he squeezed out every bit of magic power he had.
Soon the gust took the form of a giant.
KWAKWAKWAKWA!
Zeros controlled the wind giant to wrap up the mist at once and send it far outside the castle walls.
Simultaneously, he created a gust toward the floating skeleton mage.
WHOOOOSH!
Though the huge gust enveloped the skeleton mage, he didn't budge on his ghost horse.
The skeleton mage stretched out his hand again.
『Foolish human. Wail as you face true terror.』
KIAAAAAAH!
A horrific wailing sound leaked from the skeleton mage's body.
Breaking through the wind, countless spirits were summoned and flew onto the castle walls.
KIAAAAAAH!
The guards and knights exposed to the spirits' wailing turned pale and trembled in terror.
"No... We're all going to die."
"God has abandoned us! AAAAAH!"
The spirits' wailing stimulates human fear and brings despair.
Those who fell into panic due to them completely lost control.
Guards began appearing who threw away their weapons and jumped down from the castle walls.
The knights attacking monsters below the wall were quickly crumbling away.
Zeros, who summoned the gust of wind, was also gradually losing strength.
'Has God really abandoned us......?'
BOOM! BANG! BANG!
It was the very moment when the giant monsters were trying to break through the castle walls.
CRACK!
The giant monster in front of the castle wall instantly froze.
The frozen giant monster blocked the castle gate, becoming a huge wall that prevented other monsters from passing through.
At the same time, a huge light fell from the sky.
CRACKLE!
Hundreds of streaks of lightning swept away not only the monsters on the castle walls but also all the spirits.
When the spirits' wailing disappeared, the knights regained their senses first.
Zeros, Yelin, and Luther also raised their heads and looked up at the sky.
Hades pointed his finger and shouted.
"He's here! Finally here! You annoying bastard!"
A knight of light riding a horned horse running through the sky, wearing Hersion, with a wind-blown cape and wielding a shining sword.
Zeke revealed himself.
Bucephalus charged towards the skeleton mage riding the ghost horse.
WHOOSH!
Meanwhile, Zeke took out a chain-connected hammer, spun it around, and threw it towards the skeleton Mage.
The hammer flew at high speed towards the skeleton mage.
Seeing this, the skeleton mage stretched out his hand and screamed.
『Insolent human! I'll give you the most painful death!』
Along with the cry, the skeleton Mage unleashed his magic.
A spirit overflowing with black energy sprang from his hand and rushed towards the hammer.
The spirit imbued with poison energy was fatal to humans.
However, before the poison spirit could approach Zeke, it was hit by the incoming hammer and immediately vanished.
『Huh?!』
The skeleton Mage only then realized that this hammer that destroyed the poison spirit in one blow was no ordinary artifact.
The skeleton Mage, who had been maintaining a noble posture, quickly dodged the hammer flying towards him by riding his ghost horse.
WHOOSH!
But it was useless.
Zeke controlled the chain to pursue the fleeing Mage to the end.
WHISTLE!
As the hammer chased after him as if it had eyes, the skeleton Mage couldn't help but be flustered for a moment.
However, he quickly regained his composure and decided to target Zeke, who was controlling the hammer.
HISSSS!
A terrible poisonous mist flowed from his body, and thick green mist struck Zeke.
Even with Hersion equipped, fine poison components could seep through it.
The skeleton Mage thought Zeke would die instantly upon encountering the poison mist.
But he was mistaken.
SLASH!
Through the hazy poison mist, a Radiant blade of light flew towards the skeleton Mage.
SLICE!
『KYAAAK!』
The radiant blade of light condensed with purification power cut through the skeleton Mage's body.
『URRRGH!』
When the area hit by the blade of light didn't heal, the skeleton Mage retreated for now.
At that moment, a bright golden aura began to flow through the poison mist.
WOONG!
Soon after, the poison mist subsided, and waves of powerful golden aura spread in all directions.
The great purification skill that Zeke unleashed extended towards the castle walls and the knights fighting the monsters.
WOONG! WOONG!
The huge golden waves colored the entire battlefield.
HISSSS!
The knights and guards enveloped in the golden waves that Zeke emitted felt the blisters caused by the poison mist heal instantly.
At the same time, those who had fallen into fear due to the spirits could also regain their senses.
"A miracle, it's a miracle!"
The knights and guards stood up and shouted while looking up at Zeke in the sky.
"The Knight of Salvation! He has saved us!"
That cry spread throughout the battlefield, completely changing the flow of battle.
That's when it happened.
Those who saw something appear in the sky above shouted in surprise.
"Th-that is!"
A giant phoenix revealed itself in the battlefield sky, breaking through the clouds.