Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Crushing the Vanguard
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‘Don’t hold back—go all out. It’s best to take them down before they can unleash their full strength.’
An Imperial Knight wielding Leon’s swordsmanship.
A surge of competitive spirit welled up. Cheonho wanted to test his own sword skills. He could tell the opponent felt the same.
But there was something that took precedence.
Victory.
Protecting everyone.
“Come on!”
The Death Knight unleashed a ferocious wave of energy. Pitch-black aura erupted like flames. Cheonho saw it. Following his father’s teachings, he went all out.
Mother’s blood.
The divinity beginning to awaken.
The power absorbed through Divinity Devouring.
The Four Guardian Kings Martial Arts taught by his father.
It all unleashed in an instant. The explosion of divinity shook the passageway, momentarily drawing the eyes of everyone fighting in the various spots.
Cheonho’s eyes gleamed gold. Holy Sword Mitra’s blade shone brighter than ever before.
The Death Knight stood right in front of Cheonho. But he missed the moment Cheonho kicked off the ground. Only when Mitra’s strikes rained down on him did he snap back to his senses.
He desperately raised his sword to block Mitra. But it was only for a moment. The Death Knight instinctively knew he couldn’t hold out.
The Death Knight looked at Cheonho.
And realized one thing.
The sun.
The dazzling magic of the sun.
The Death Knight’s sword shattered. Mitra cleaved not just his head but his entire body in two.
One breath.
The Death Knight, split in half, dissolved into black smoke and scattered.
Even the emotionless undead froze.
Silence dominated the battlefield, until a cheer erupted at some point, shaking the passageway.
“Hero!”
Lucille shouted. Eizel bounced in place, and spears of light rose one after another.
And Cheonho moved.
He charged at the Death Knight exchanging blows with Aurael and her spear.
* * *
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have completed the hidden quest ‘Crushing the Vanguard.’]
[The Labyrinth World remembers your astonishing tale.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have completed the hidden quest ‘Crushing the Vanguard.’]
[The Labyrinth World remembers your astonishing tale.]
Cheonho stopped, letting Mitra hang low. Standing atop the shattered barricade from the battle’s aftermath, he exhaled hot breaths.
Spears of light rose one after another.
Compared to Cheonho’s actual strength, his level was still low, and the enemies he’d defeated were formidable. Thanks to that, even though he hadn’t been in the mid-layers long, his level had already reached the late 60s.
Rewards were granted.
The level of his Ally of the Angels title rose, and a new title—Hope of the Fallen Empire—was acquired.
Among the preparations for this battle, he’d most desperately wanted mana potions, so the hidden quest reward was a set of mana potions.
Cheonho closed his eyes.
Rather than trying to calm his excitement, he simply accepted it.
The moment he felled the second Death Knight.
He dodged its spear with a graze and charged, slashing its chest. As it staggered back, he unleashed a flurry of strikes to topple it, then thrust Mitra into its chest. He absorbed the Death Knight’s life force with Life Drain.
He didn’t stop there.
He mounted Ellie and soared into the air. Like a falcon, he dove at the final Death Knight, who was clashing with Saschiell and her group midair.
He took down three Death Knights in succession. Back on the ground, he methodically smashed the undead legion, thrown into chaos without their commander.
It was an army of twenty thousand. Even with the elite soldiers of Silphian Fortress, the sheer numbers meant the battle naturally dragged on.
“Haa.”
He exhaled. And for the first time, he truly felt it.
He had grown stronger.
Now he understood what Lucille always meant by “a rise in realm.”
In a way, it was a drastic change. Thanks to the various rewards from ascending from the lower to mid-layers, the divine power shared by the God of Healing, the divinity devoured from Bergraf, and the awakening of his mother’s blood, he’d leaped up several stairs at once.
But he could wield it fully.
It wasn’t like the power borrowed from the God of Healing back on the 4th floor.
It was Cheonho’s own power.
“Mitra.”
[You will grow even stronger.]
Mitra chuckled softly at Cheonho’s call.
Mitra knew exactly how Cheonho felt right now.
Because Cheonho was a warrior before he was a hero.
He wanted to grow stronger.
To become better than he was now.
It was a natural desire. The yearning to grow stronger was like a warrior’s instinct.
Cheonho stroked the golden gem on Mitra.
He opened his eyes again and surveyed his surroundings once more.
The sun had already set.
Beneath the sunset sky stood the pillars and barricade, with the undead legion sprawled across the floor. Along with white snow.
“It feels surreal somehow.”
[It’s a victorious battlefield, so it doesn’t seem too bad.]
Seeing the soldiers raising victory cheers from the barricade and across the field, Cheonho’s face broke into a smile.
“We did well building it, huh?”
[It was hard work, but yeah, we did well.]
Four days by the calendar. Three in real time.
That’s how long it took to build the barricade.
He’d set the frame with the soldiers, piled on snow, poured water to freeze it, then added more snow?
Given the scale of the barricade, it couldn’t be helped that it took so long.
‘Mana consumption was insane too.’
He’d emptied all the mana potions in the carrier his mother sent.
Mitra’s own mana wasn’t enough, so he’d had to pour in his own mana steadily.
But it was worth it.
Thanks to the barricade, they’d clashed head-on with an army of twenty thousand and won without major losses.
[About five thousand escaped, but no problem. It’s our great victory.]
[I’m proud of you.]
“I’m proud of you too, Mitra.”
[Then won’t you give me a reward?]
“What, a lap pillow?”
[I’ll think about it.]
“Then I’ll think too.”
[About what?]
“The reward from you. You said you’re proud of me.”
[Hmm, got it. Let’s think about it together.]
What reward could he get from Mitra?
Cheonho pondered briefly, then chuckled.
[Why are you laughing?]
“Just.”
He was curious what reward Mitra would ask for.
As Cheonho chatted amiably with the holy sword, he turned his gaze elsewhere.
Angels led by Lucille were treating the wounded. Cheonho had grown himself, but Lucille had become almost unrecognizable in her strength.
When they first met on the 1st floor, she was just a talented but ordinary 9th Rank Angel.
Now she was a 5th Rank Angel, an apostle of the God of Healing.
[Eizel said it’s because she hit the jackpot.]
“From my perspective too, it’s a jackpot.”
First Lucille, then Mitra. It was hit after hit.
But saying it out loud made him wonder what Eizel was doing. Squinting into the distance, he spotted a silver-haired angel girl crouched among the soldiers.
“So basically, it’s like this.”
“Oh… Seeing it drawn out makes it so much easier to understand.”
Soldiers gathered in groups peered down at the picture Eizel had drawn with magic.
Over half of them had been born in the Great Labyrinth, so quite some time had passed, but since they’d always been on the frontier, many were ignorant of the overall situation.
Full-scale攻略 of the Great Labyrinth had only begun less than ten years ago anyway.
“So? To reach the lowest floor as fast as possible, you chose to break through the center, right?”
“Yes, the Great Labyrinth is so vast that fully clearing layer by layer would take too much time. At first, we didn’t even know how many layers there were.”
Currently estimated at around thirty layers, but no one had anticipated that depth initially.
“The pillars leading to lower layers are clustered in the center too.”
In truth, Eizel had never been to the Great Labyrinth’s center herself; she was just reciting what she’d learned at headquarters.
“So the center is basically the supply line. That’s why angels and heroes stay in the mid-layers instead of all going to the deep layers together.”
“Yes, not just food and supplies, but reinforcements too—all come through the center.”
Heroes summoned from the outside world varied in strength, but many weren’t ready for the deep layers right away.
The basic plan was to level them up sufficiently in the lower and mid-layers before sending them to the deep-layer assault teams.
“I see, so that’s the structure.”
“Those staying in the mid-layers are guarding the supply line too.”
“Yes, you all catch on quick.”
As Eizel smiled prettily, grins bloomed on the soldiers’ faces.
“That’s because you explain it so well.”
“Yeah, sweet and cute.”
Eizel was an angel, after all. A girl angel descending into an all-male army was bound to be popular.
“Ehehe.”
It was when Eizel beamed, as if asking for more praise.
“I see, so the Plague God stirring up chaos in the lower layers was to cut off the righteous gods’ supply line.”
The distance was considerable, but as a superhuman, Cheonho could clearly make out both Eizel’s drawing and her voice.
[We already knew, but… seeing it illustrated really highlights the problem.]
“You mean the supply line is too long?”
[Yes, strategically, it’s not a great situation.]
Moreover, according to the angels, it had been over half a year since the deep-layer assault team got stuck on the 23rd layer.
It was natural in a way, but their advance slowed with each layer descended.
[Now I see why the God of Healing has such high hopes for you.]
A super rookie to breathe new life into the deep-layer assault team and break the deadlock in one go.
Cheonho smiled bitterly, then shifted his gaze. Aurael was flying toward him in a panic.
“Hero!”
Her already pale face was ashen.
Cheonho startled and shot back.
“No way—Raguel fell?!”
“N-No! Raguel’s still fine.”
[Still?!]
As Mitra fretted alone, Aurael reached Cheonho and pointed toward where the God of Healing’s banner stood.
“It came through the angel network while reporting our victory!”
That was enough. Just from Aurael’s face and voice, Cheonho could guess what followed.
The interception force that was supposed to take down the Winter King on the 9th layer.
The expected answer slipped from Aurael’s lips.
* * *
The interception force was defeated.
And not just defeated—they were utterly crushed.
“We got completely played.”
Deep layer, 23rd floor.
The God of Healing groaned at the frontline.
The interception force numbered forty thousand.
Ten thousand more than the Winter King’s thirty thousand.
Of course, a ten-thousand difference in field battle didn’t guarantee absolute superiority. It was a number that could be overturned by the commander’s tactical skill.
But the God of Healing had expected victory. The interception force was led by the strongest among the heroes and angels left to guard the center.
Moreover, overall command was under the God of Messengers, a lesser god of the Goddess of War Evnail.
But they lost.
The causes of defeat were two.
First, the Winter King had hidden troops.
As if splitting his forces to the 8th layer was mere deception, once the clash began, a staggering twenty thousand reinforcements appeared on the field.
They hadn’t marched from afar. They were troops hidden underground.
Something only possible with an undead legion of the already dead.
Naturally, the reinforcements emerged behind the interception force, sandwiching them front and rear.
The second cause of defeat cut even deeper.
The Winter King was strong.
The God of Messengers died to the Winter King.
Not only that—numerous angels and heroes fell before the Winter King’s sword.
That was all the God of Healing knew.
It was the news barely delivered through the angel network by survivors who escaped the field.
So what now?
What move would the Winter King make?
And how to stop such a Winter King?
The God of Healing opened her eyes again. At a small alarm sound, she looked at the spear of light.
Following the unexpected defeat report came an unforeseen victory report, awaiting the God of Healing.
* * *
The Winter King sensed the defeat of his three knights.
The Seven Knights were more than loyal retainers—they were like his hands and feet.
All three knights had vanished. That could only mean defeat.
Impressive, Mitra. Impressive, master of the holy sword.
The one who wielded the haughty holy sword that no one else could draw.
The Winter King let out a hollow laugh from within his helm.
The Soul Eater, having devoured the God of Messengers’ divinity, chimed in with a sinister chuckle, as if in harmony. It whined to the Winter King, craving the holy sword.
The Winter King soothed the Soul Eater by thrusting the black demon sword into the chest of a chained angel. The nameless 5th Rank Angel with four wings screamed in agony, and the Soul Eater devoured her soul and flesh with greedy relish, as if even the scream pleased it.
Four knights gathered at the Winter King’s side.
Though fallen now, they knelt before the once-great Warlord—who was still great and mighty—the Winter King.
What would the God of Healing do now?
Directly ascending to the mid-layers from the deep-layer frontline, locked in daily fierce battles, was impossible.
Whether to defend the center or intercept the Winter King himself, she’d need to rally the mid-layers’ forces once more.
And that would take time.
The Winter King turned toward the center.
But he did not advance there. He harbored no intention of attacking the center.
Mitra.
The sword guarding the Empire.
Yet not guarding the Empire.
A frail voice whispered in the Winter King’s ear. But as always, the Winter King ignored it.
He drew the Soul Eater from the withered angel and issued a command.
The Winter King’s desire.
The four knights obeyed.
The Winter King’s army began its march.
Toward the 8th layer.