Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Empire Guardian Sword
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“Attacking the lower levels is tough too. We have no choice but to go down via the pillars, so the enemies are concentrating their defenses there.”
Lucille spoke while gazing at the snow barricade Cheon-ho had erected on the 8th floor.
The party had only made it this far through the outer fringes of the lower levels of the Great Labyrinth, so they hadn’t experienced it themselves, but the frontline assault teams under the God of Healing had to fight the pillar guardians every single time.
[I see why the advance has been so slow.]
It had been about half a year since they’d been stuck on the 23rd floor.
The deeper they went, the thicker the enemies’ defensive lines would become.
“Oh! You’re back!”
It was right then. Lucas appeared from beyond the barricade. He was the one who had punched a massive hole in it while Cheon-ho’s group was down below.
“Hmm, what a gruesome sight.”
Narrowing his brow at the vomit from the three hundred or so soldiers, he pinched his nose slightly and continued.
“As you said, we’ve got the preparations for the project roughly in place. Shall we start right away?”
“We have to start right away.”
They’d gone to the 9th floor and rescued the routed soldiers who had actually fought the Winter King. There was no reason not to begin the project now.
“Understood. Then let’s get to it.”
With a somewhat sinister smile from Lucas, the new project commenced.
* * *
Two days later.
The Death Knight, leading the Winter King’s new vanguard, found himself stalled before the pillar leading to the 8th floor.
He could advance no further.
It wasn’t due to some barrier that disoriented them or powerful holy magic barring undead entry.
It was far simpler—a purely physical reason.
The Death Knight halted midway up the stairs, his purple eyes glowing fiercely in the darkness. He trembled with rage as he stared at the obstacles blocking his path.
Soil and rocks soaked in holy water.
So much soil and rocks. Just an insane amount.
Cheon-ho had thought it through.
There was more than one pillar connecting the 8th and 9th floors. But there was only one in this vicinity.
Magic was hard to use around pillars due to the intense mana waves. And the same held true inside them.
So, block the passage.
Fill it with dirt.
Right now, it wasn’t about going down to the 9th floor—it was about stopping enemies from coming up from there.
Of course, it wouldn’t hold forever.
But it could buy plenty of time.
“Dig it out!”
At the Death Knight’s command, the skeletons lunged at the dirt pile, but their progress was slow. It was because of the holy water saturating the soil and rocks.
‘Bury holy water snowballs between the dirt clumps.’
Let them refill it themselves.
How long would it take to break through the blocked passage and climb up?
Dumping dirt down was one thing; digging through it while climbing a slope was another level of difficulty entirely.
The Death Knight’s roar echoed through the pillar.
* * *
[Undead Destroyer: Attacks against undead are 1.5 times stronger.]
[Undead Express Purifier: The range of purification magic against undead is doubled.]
[Undead Hunter: HP and MP recover slightly each time you defeat an undead. Resistance to undead morale effects is 1.5 times stronger.]
[The God of Cooking bestows a blessing upon your cooking.]
[The God of Cooking marvels at your splendid cooking ingredients.]
[Angels’ Ally Lv6: Angels show you favor.]
From about two days before the Death Knight began his tear-soaked earthworks inside the pillar connecting the 8th and 9th floors.
Having finished blocking the pillar, Cheon-ho mounted Eliel and headed for Sillipian Fortress.
Of course, he wasn’t alone.
Leading them was Lucille, along with all the angels, the Rock Dwarves, and the newly joined Lucilia and Silikiel.
The reason for the rush was simple.
They needed time for the next project.
The next project.
“Ugh, I feel like something’s wrong with me.”
Just hearing the word “project” made her heart race and her cheeks flush.
At Eizel’s words, Aurael spoke soothingly.
“It’s okay, I feel it too.”
“You too, senpai?”
“Yeah, it just makes my heart pound.”
Aurael turned to Raguel, as if to say you feel it too.
Raguel, who had started squinting her eyes slightly at some point, replied with a sultry smile.
“Me too. But Lucille’s probably the worst off?”
At Raguel’s words, the two angels briefly pictured Lucille, then nodded in agreement.
Lucille wore her emotions so openly that you could literally see how excited the word “project” made her.
“Isn’t this kind of weird?”
Angels getting excited over the word “project,” of all things.
“Well, if it comes to it, we can just make the Hero take responsibility.”
“R-responsibility?”
“This conversation feels like it’s going somewhere strange.”
As Eizel spun wild imaginings and Aurael scratched her cheek, Cheon-ho was sketching out the blueprint for the next project in his mind.
The Winter King and his army were strong.
Undead hordes could act independently, but they grew strongest with a necromancer present.
And the horde’s strength varied with the necromancer’s skill.
It had been the same with Bergraf. The Winter King’s army only showed its true power when he was with them.
The vanguard they’d crushed in the pillar hadn’t included the Winter King.
Silikiel estimated—though it was just a guess—that the undead would be at least 1.2 times stronger with him there.
Around 20%.
It might seem small at a glance, but if an entire legion grew 1.2 times stronger, the effect was terrifying.
And the Winter King himself.
The evil god of the mid-layers.
‘He defeated the God of Couriers head-on. Not with some cowardly trick—just pure force, overpowering him from the front.’
Recalling the battlefield scene, Silikiel shuddered slightly. The Winter King’s might struck her anew.
Divinity of death.
Terrifyingly immense demonic energy.
But that wasn’t all.
The Winter King’s sword.
An evil magic sword that didn’t just slaughter angels and heroes but stole their souls.
The Winter King differed from Bergraf.
He was a swordsman first, necromancer second.
Not just any swordsman, but—at the old empire’s terms—one who had reached the pinnacle realm of grand swordmaster.
‘Honestly… I don’t think we can win a straight fight.’
It was impossible at a 5th-rank angel’s level.
His opponent had crushed a lesser god under the Goddess of War and Struggle, Evnail, in direct combat.
But they had to fight anyway.
Behind Sillipian Fortress lay several human territories of the old empire. Letting the Winter King run loose could lead to catastrophe.
So they needed projects and preparations.
Having chosen defense over offense meant they chose the battlefield.
Raise the win rate.
Shape the battlefield environment to favor them and disadvantage the enemy.
‘About six days left.’
Time until the Winter King’s main force reached the pillar.
Time to break through the pillar trap.
And time to maneuver from the 8th floor pillar to Sillipian Fortress.
“Round-the-clock work is a must.”
Especially for the angels and Rock Dwarves.
The project blueprint solidified in Cheon-ho’s mind.
* * *
Sillipian Fortress had more than just the garrison left behind—troops were gathering from all over.
Thanks to Count Burck and Count Orlando, who recognized the battle’s importance and dispatched reinforcements.
Count Burck in particular had arrived in person with his forces.
A young count raised in the Great Labyrinth.
Handsome in a rugged, manly way.
He had plenty of other striking traits, but Cheon-ho just filed him away mentally as “Count #2.”
‘So that’s why.’
The reason Father’s stories had so few men.
No, it wasn’t specifically about men—it was just that he’d been too busy with urgent matters at the time.
‘I did tell guy stories plenty of times, didn’t I? Don’t you remember? No, I didn’t?’
Father would’ve said something like that if he were here, but regrettably, he wasn’t.
After greeting Count Burck, Cheon-ho dove straight into the project.
As he’d thought on the way, it was a task needing the angels’ and Rock Dwarves’ strength, effort, and passion more than his own.
Of course, the fortress garrison wasn’t idle either. Reshaping the battlefield environment required all the manpower they could get.
“Work for your keep!”
Lucilia stepped forward with spirited shout, igniting everyone else’s passion.
It was essential to stop the Winter King, but it was also her innate power.
The power to lead others.
Not quite on Cheon-ho’s level, but Lucilia had the qualities of a hero too.
Two days passed like that.
While the Death Knight spat curses at the holy water bursting from the soil.
Cheon-ho stood alone in Sillipian Fortress’s training grounds, away from the bustling project site.
“Hoo…….”
He exhaled long, then assumed his stance again.
The starting form of Dal Senyo Kingdom Swordsmanship.
He wasn’t deluding himself into thinking he could master swordsmanship now and beat the Winter King.
It was the power he’d unleashed in the fight with the Death Knight.
It was still unstable. Output was high, but he couldn’t control it properly.
That’s why he’d had to halt despite being able to take another step forward.
Time was short. But he had to raise its completion even a little.
[It’s improved a lot, though.]
Mitra spoke encouragingly.
Lately, Cheon-ho and Mitra had been together almost nonstop, day and night.
Days were spent training in the grounds like this; nights in the mental world.
Night training was mostly spars.
Silikiel said the Winter King used imperial swordsmanship. Mitra had witnessed its creation and evolution firsthand.
He’d learned counters to imperial swordsmanship.
He’d familiarized himself with it.
“Hoo?.”
After another refinement of his power, Cheon-ho dropped his shoulders. He was drenched in sweat.
[My liege, why not rest a bit? You’ve sweated so much—a bath would be good.]
[I’ll heat bathwater with hot holy water in no time. Or cold water? Lukewarm’s fine too—just say the word.]
Mitra’s earnest care for him was touching, but ever since learning her Lewd level was 7—not 1—he couldn’t take it purely at face value.
“Mm.”
[My liege?]
“No, it’s nothing. It’s not like it’ll wear out. Especially since it’s you, Mitra.”
[Wear out? And ‘you’?]
Her voice conjured an image of Mitra tilting her head cutely, but instead of explaining, Cheon-ho shook his head.
“Anyway, a bit longer. It feels like it’s time to move to the next phase starting today.”
His training plan had three stages, and these two days had been just stage one, repeated.
But now it was time for stage two.
[Mm, still, don’t overdo it.]
“Of course. Hoo? Man, it’s tough though. It was different in Father’s stories.”
[Different how?]
“Well, you know. On the brink of death against a strong foe, bam! Sudden awakening. Or unlocking hidden power… Anyway, powering up out of nowhere at the crucial moment to beat the enemy.”
His favorite parts of Father’s tales.
But Mitra said gravely.
[My liege, never speak like that again. You’ll die. What guarantee is there that such convenient ‘hidden power awakenings’ happen repeatedly at the perfect moment? And if it’s power that awakens then, why not sooner? Why risk awakening mid-fight? It’s dangerous.]
Every point rang true.
“What about Leon?”
[Leon always fought diligently. What you described? Only once.]
“Once?”
[Yes, in the final battle with the Demon King.]
“What kind of awakening?”
[Still a secret.]
“Why?”
[It was tied to the Hero’s ultimate technique. You’ll learn when the time comes.]
“Hmm.”
Hero’s ultimate technique.
Cheon-ho nodded, then refocused on training.
As Mitra said, he’d learn in time.
“Anyway, let’s start.”
Exhaling long to loosen up, Cheon-ho set Mitra down briefly. Placed her carefully on the training ground floor, he turned toward where the carrier stood.
The true use of the magic armor and carrier Mother had taught him.
Cheon-ho clenched his fist. He drew up mana and simultaneously unleashed the magic armor’s power.
Golden mana lines traced over the blue magic armor, extending across his body like circuits.
The keyword to activate the armor: Armored.
And the additional keyword.
“Union.”
The moment Cheon-ho murmured low, golden light flashed from the carrier.
It was the start of stage two in his three-stage training.
* * *
One day later.
The Death Knight and his undead legion finally emerged from the pillar.
It had been a long, grueling, exhausting ordeal.
It wasn’t just about digging out dirt.
They couldn’t block the main force following behind, so they couldn’t simply dump the excavated soil below. They had to haul it all the way out of the pillar.
The pillar was tall, the stairs endless.
Carry dirt down the stairs, dump it outside, climb back up, dig more.
A nightmare even to imagine, but fortunately, they had over ten thousand troops. Undying undead at that.
Even so, it wasn’t easy.
Holy water-soaked soil and rocks repeatedly hampered their efficiency.
And the half-melted holy water snowballs that burst out occasionally.
How they’d even made snowballs from holy water was a mystery, but each explosion made working undead shriek, and the Death Knight roar.
About a day, all told.
The Death Knight finally succeeded in clearing the path. He ascended the stairs with proud dignity and exited the pillar.
Never having cried since becoming undead, he nonetheless felt tears welling.
Outside was deep night.
The cold night air welcomed him like applause.
But the Death Knight couldn’t relax.
The snow barricade encircling the pillar outside.
‘What the hell?’
No signs of life.
Undead sensitive to the living’s aura. They weren’t hiding behind it. Just the barricade before them.
Narrowing his glowing eyes, the Death Knight steeled himself. He sent skeleton scouts ahead.
Unlike when the three knights came—there was no massive central passage—the scouts had to climb the barricade.
The instant one touched it.
The skeleton scout collapsed shrieking.
And in that moment, golden letters lit up across the entire barricade.
Holy script.
The Death Knight finally grasped the barricade’s true nature.
A barrier.
A wall of sacred light barring undead approach.
While most soldiers hauled dirt, the Rock Dwarves and angels had clung to the wall, inscribing those words.
Like the dirt blocking the pillar.
They’d break through eventually.
But it would take time again.
The Death Knight roared. They began new earthworks to dismantle the barricade once more.