Chapter 348: The One Who is Remembered
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 348: The One Who is Remembered
The air filled with ragged breaths and the thundering of feet. The panting of orcs high on the thrill of battle, the cries of humans calling out their parents’ names as they charged with swords drawn—the sweat from the troops running ahead of me splattered against my face, carried by the wind. And yet, it wasn’t a bad feeling.
I lifted my head and looked forward. I could see their fortress walls, half-shattered from the explosion of the magic tower that had been filled with holy power. At this point, it was almost embarrassing to even call it a siege anymore, a fact they must have realized as well. The bones and corpses that had made up the walls began to rise, and finally, our forces clashed with theirs.
BOOM!
The sound effect was practically audible as the ogres and human warriors began to tear through them.
Leading the charge were, of course, Goff and the Big Ogre, with Park Han Cheol from the East and the Knight of the North holding down another flank. Ghouls and skeletons continuously soared through the air.
BOOM!
CRACK!
CRUNCH!
A smile naturally formed on my face as I watched Goff and the Big Ogre, who seemed to have already lost their reason, spearhead the assault. The ghouls and skeletons relentlessly threw themselves at the ogres and minotaurs, but it was like hitting a rock with an egg.
A ghoul that leaped into the air was met with Goff’s fist and vanished without a trace. Skeletons that tried to halt their advance were simply shattered. They trampled, crushed, and pushed forward.
Invincible.
A warrior worth a thousand.
Those were the words that best described Goff right now. His eyes were already bloodshot, his breathing ragged for some time now. Thinking that ghouls alone couldn't stop our forces, larger enemies began to appear, but there was no way they could hold.
A single strike. They crumbled with one attack, swept away with the rest of the enemy troops. Arrows fired by undead archers failed to even pierce their skin, and they took magic spells head-on. Despite it all, there wasn't a single scratch on their bodies. No, in fact, they were growing stronger. Holy power rained down continuously on the frontline warriors, purifying the tainted land.
“KWOOOOAR!”
It felt like a massive dump truck was charging at them. If those things could feel fear, they probably would have collapsed to the ground right then and there.
“Monster…” a human soldier muttered, staring at the undead soaring into the sky. That kind of breakthrough power was just cheating. Since I thought so myself, it was no surprise to hear a human soldier say it.
Around this time, I began to survey my surroundings. A battle of annihilation following a major blow was likely to become a battle of attrition. The greatest strength of the undead was their ability to turn corpses to their side, a feat made possible by the mages in their ranks.
Getting wounded was fine. But it was crucial not to die. It was realistically impossible to have zero casualties in a battle this large, but there was more than one way to steer the fight in our favor.
I infused my eyes with magic and began to scan the area. I started spotting liches, emanating magic from various locations.
“Let’s go.”
At my words, the members of the Blood Dagger Clan nodded. We weren’t a clan of assassins, but in a chaotic melee like this, our clan’s swordsmen were far better at singling out targets.
“Enemy mages are the top priority.”
“For Blood Dagger!”
I immediately raised my sword and shot forward. My agile body, enhanced by the stats of an item I’d bought before, was much faster than before. In this situation, it wouldn't be a bad idea to test out an integration with Ridil. In a battlefield that demanded agility, a situation where I needed to conserve stamina, that dagger was the perfect choice.
[Weapon Integration]
[Target - Ridil - The Dagger That Plucked the Evil Dragon's Heart]
[As an effect of Weapon Integration, parts of your body will become draconic. Agility is greatly increased.]
[Agility +15]
Perhaps because I hadn’t had it for long, the integration process was quite painful. An ominous energy began to envelop my entire body, and I could feel my form changing. Scales, like those of a lizard, began to sprout on my hands, feet, and tail. One could call it grotesque, but personally, I was satisfied with the appearance.
In fact, the look was quite to my taste.
It seemed my proficiency was still too low to transform my entire body, but the mana consumption of Ridil, the Dagger That Plucked the Evil Dragon's Heart, wasn't that high.
It couldn't sweep through enemies in an instant like Levatain, nor could it perform a miracle like Mistilteinn, but I had a feeling that integrating with this dagger would become my favorite.
‘A physical enhancement type.’
The amount of mana that continuously drained while integrated was the lowest. This dagger didn't display any outlandish power, but it was incredibly efficient.
- That’s right, brother. Hehe. That crazy sister keeps getting angry, will you be okay? Even that fiery-tempered sister has been acting strange lately.
‘Dain later. For now, I’m counting on you.’
- Leave it to me.
The entire battlefield came into view at once. If anyone were to look at my eyes now, they would probably see the eyes of a serpent. The tattoos on my body were glowing faintly. I didn't know if it was because of my concentration pushed to its absolute limit, these new eyes, or the effect of the draconic transformation, but the entire battlefield seemed to freeze for a moment as it entered my vision.
A giant corpse swinging an axe, a human trying to block the falling axe, the shattering head of an undead, a human being carried to the rear after being stabbed, a skeleton soldier thrusting a spear toward that human, a priest chanting a spell, an undead mage raising its hand, a troll extending its spear, the blood and sweat they shed, a warrior who dropped his weapon—the path I must now run began to appear before my eyes.
CRACK.
The ground buckled as my foot kicked off it.
- You’re amazing, brother!
The head of the giant corpse swinging its axe fell and burst into flames. Burning it with Levatain was good, but the sensation of cutting was not bad either. It truly was a masterpiece.
- You’re enjoying this.
The expression of the human trying to block the axe hadn't even changed to surprise yet. I swung my tail, swatting away the fragments of the shattering undead’s head. I destroyed the spear lunging for the human being carried to the rear. I snatched the still-falling weapon from mid-air and lopped off the head of a charging undead. The priest’s chanting expression twisted into one of shock.
“Blood… Dag… ger!”
The priest’s shout grew more distant, perhaps because my body was shooting forward. All the information that entered my eyes was sent to my brain, and my brain ceaselessly issued commands to my body.
I didn't bother looking back at the enemies charging from behind. A single swing of my tail was enough to shatter their bodies to pieces.
The moment I finally entered the range of the undead mage raising its hand, every undead nearby turned to look at me.
“Kieeeeeeeeeek!”
“Idiots.”
Dozens of ghouls leaped into the air to protect a single lich, swarming me, but I didn't bother to retreat.
I swung my arms, my tail, my legs, my weapon, and the leaping creatures disintegrated in mid-air before they could even hit the ground.
“.....................!”
I had already confirmed the black arrows flying slowly toward me. I drew Gram to block the incoming magic, then infused Levatain with mana.
“Die.”
The fire I unleashed spread in all directions, and the lich before me collapsed. I didn't spare a second glance for the creature crumbling in the flames.
I wasn't the only one on the move. Gark, with his stealth ability, and the other members of the Blood Dagger Clan were continuously carving a path toward the liches, showing visible results. The reason they were still unscathed was that Jung Hayeon and Mev were constantly intercepting the attacks pouring down on the elite Orc swordsmen.
Just as I kicked off the ground to move to another area, a large spear embedded itself in the chest of the lich before me.
“Nice.”
It was Black Spear.
Their mission was also to take out the mages. A spear thrower standing on the front lines of the army was something I had never even heard of. But the solid vanguard and Black Spear’s individual skill made it possible. Every time he threw a spear, a lich capable of reanimation magic collapsed. It was actually more efficient than what I was doing.
‘We’re pushing them back.’
As expected, our forces were pushing back theirs.
“For death!”
I could see some named undead, but that was all. The Queen of the North, Han So-Hye, Choi Seulgi, and the werewolf White Silver Fang would not allow the tide of battle to be turned by individuals. There was no need for any action other than breaking through. I gripped my sword once more and shot forward.
The victory in this region, at least, was decided. If we kept fighting like this, the undead here would be completely devoured. They had two choices: use their front line as a sacrificial pawn, or choose to fight together.
Dropping the magic tower had inflicted a nearly devastating wound, but I didn't think all the undead were dead. The fact that most of our mages were in a state of exhaustion was a small opportunity for them, but seeing the undead continue to bite down on us without turning back made it seem like they were quite desperate.
“A sacrificial pawn, then.”
As I muttered, the answer came from behind me.
“Maybe not.”
It was Choi Seulgi. She had used her unique ability to get behind me.
“It feels less like a simple sacrifice and more like they’re trying to pin us down for sure. That’s the assessment from HQ, too.”
If headquarters, which was monitoring the battlefield through the elven princess Alisha, had made that judgment, it was likely true.
“It’s Eunju. It looks like she’s slowly pulling back the central forces and enveloping us. It doesn’t seem like she’s intending to pounce, but…”
She could have rested, but it seemed she had been watching the situation from the command room.
“So they want to buy time while preserving their forces.”
Choi Seulgi nodded at my words.
What they wanted was a long war. Their goal was to drag this out while draining our stamina.
“The decision?”
“For now, annihilation. We expect enemy reinforcements, but we don’t think they can arrive quickly.”
“So time is the issue.”
“Right.”
If they weren't just sacrificial pawns, then reinforcements were probably flocking here as we spoke. We had abandoned the walls as well; perhaps what they wanted was a grand, decisive battle. The advantage of the undead was that they were free from the limits of stamina. I didn't know how many troops they still had left, but they clearly didn't want us to rest.
The one thing they miscalculated was thinking that the forces currently clashing with us could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
It was then, as I disengaged Ridil and gripped Levatain.
Choi Seulgi stared into the distance and muttered.
“Fucking bastards…”
“............”
Visible far in the distance was a giant dragon made of bone.
“A Bone Dragon?”
I had thought they might have a hidden card, but this was quite a spectacular entrance.