Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Fall of the Iron Wall
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KABOOM!
A ferocious explosion ravaged the inn's courtyard.
At the same time, a thick poison mist filled the air around them.
Whoosh!
Rafila cleaved through the toxic fog with a swing of his axe, swallowing hard.
His attention had been caught by the anomaly in the magic circle, leaving him no chance to check below.
That glimpse of black hair and blue tones amid the shadows just moments ago.
A Dark Elf.
But the Dark Elves had all vanished due to some incident.
'A Half Dark Elf.'
Yet the real reason Rafila was truly rattled was something else.
The Iron Wall Fortress had one critical weakness.
It could block any attack from the outside.
However, if no attack was incoming and the enemy slipped inside to strike...
The absolute defense of Iron Wall Fortress wouldn't activate.
'He knew the weakness of Iron Wall Fortress.'
Whether he knew what he was doing or it was pure luck.
Either way, the blast left his vision spinning.
His ears rang with tinnitus, and he'd inhaled some poison, leaving his stomach churning.
If Rafila hadn't lived up to his moniker of Iron Wall with his tough build...
That explosion might have taken him out in one hit.
'What kind of magic is this?'
The problem was, even a battle-hardened veteran like Rafila had never seen this type before.
'And this power...'
Dangerous.
He couldn't even figure out what this opponent was.
'The mages...'
The shattered magic circle meant the Mage Guild members were done for.
The Steel Wolf Guild's elite Wild Wolves unit had been with them.
Had they all fallen in that single instant?
'Were there more unaccounted for?'
Just like that Bronze Hero-level Pioneer had been beside the Sword-Tooth Clan member.
There could be another hidden player.
This wasn't good.
He'd committed once combat broke out, with no way to back out.
But another Bronze Hero-level changed everything.
'My reactions are too slow.'
Aftereffects of the explosion.
His mind hadn't fully cleared yet.
Swish!
In that moment, shadows coiled around his feet.
Crack!
He instantly swung his axe, slicing through the shadow.
Rafila leaped back, putting distance between them.
His brother's revenge had never mattered from the start.
This was the Steel Wolf Guild's act of retribution, to avoid looking weak.
Of course, he hadn't considered the guild getting wiped out.
"Everyone, pull back now! Don't fight!"
The enemies were far more dangerous than anticipated.
Acknowledging his miscalculation, Rafila called the retreat.
And then, a heavy silence fell.
"......"
The surroundings were unnaturally quiet.
Only then did he realize there were no presences left at all.
A chilling premonition pierced through him.
"Everyone?"
A voice shattered the stillness.
A lone Half Dark Elf sauntered out from atop the shadows, relaxed as ever.
Unlike typical Dark Elves, his face was rugged and menacing.
He'd clearly altered his appearance somehow.
His robe, embroidered with green thread, fluttered as he impassively declared,
"You're the only one left. What nonsense is that?"
Rafila's eyes began to widen slowly.
The Steel Wolf Guild had sent a total of sixty-two members here.
Six of them were the elite Wild Wolves.
And now, this guy was saying they'd all been taken out.
The area was dead silent.
Suddenly, it felt like there was no one left but him and the Half Dark Elf before him.
Rafila quietly swallowed.
The aura emanating from him wasn't Hero-level, for sure.
But that fact only pressed down on Rafila harder.
A Half Dark Elf was, at best, eight Ascensions.
Mid-tier Pioneer.
Was he hiding his power? Or just a fraud?
No telling.
Instead, he reeked of danger.
"......I'm Rafila, Guild Master of the Steel Wolves."
Hearing this, the Half Dark Elf raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so that's it?"
He nodded as if only now piecing it together.
"Revenge for your brother, huh."
Blades flashed in Rafila's eyes.
The man had just admitted to killing his brother.
And this was blatant provocation.
A provocation to make Rafila move first.
'Confirmed.'
He knew the weakness of Iron Wall Fortress.
That was why he was luring Rafila in.
"I don't have much to say about your brother. But we were the ones attacked first."
He maintained that laid-back demeanor throughout.
His brother Liren had a rotten personality by nature.
Liren had always been compared to his brother.
To hide his low self-esteem, he'd committed all sorts of atrocities.
Rafila knew exactly why his brother had turned out that way.
But Rafila wasn't exactly a saint himself, so he'd let it slide.
And that had come back to bite Liren.
"......Even if my brother was a nasty piece of work, he knew his limits."
Liren had grown up watching the powerhouse Rafila.
So when a strong foe appeared before him...
He knew exactly how to handle it.
"He always tucks tail against the strong."
He never picked a fight he couldn't win.
That was Liren's ironclad rule.
"You didn't show your strength on purpose in front of Liren, did you? Acting all cocky like now to toy with me."
Rafila nailed the blind spot.
"Pretending to be an eight-Ascension Pioneer. Disgusting."
Hearing this, the Half Dark Elf Leyzon fell silent.
'Eight-Ascension Pioneer. That's exactly what I am.'
Man, the world was too harsh.
Getting called out for acting like what he actually was—an eight-Ascension Pioneer.
But he had used it as bait, that much was true.
And Leyzon was brazen enough to do so.
"Your fault for not seeing it."
"......"
Leyzon flashed a bright, genuine grin that shut Rafila up.
This was a world where the strong made the rules.
The world's top powerhouses weren't called Lords for nothing.
Strength was power, and before power, people were helpless.
Rafila knew this down to his bones.
Weaker power got devoured by stronger power.
That was the reality.
Rafila had chased power his whole life.
His mother died of syphilis; his father got stabbed in a drunken brawl.
He'd grown up in back alleys, stealing with his little brother.
Taking by force, taken by force.
So this time was no different.
He'd lost because his power fell short.
The problem was...
'This time, it's my life on the line.'
Rafila gripped his axe tightly, swallowing a groan.
He slowly shifted his back foot into position.
"Will you let this go if we talk?"
His final question met a shrug.
"No reason to take the risk."
No point sparing someone who'd bought a grudge, only to make it worse.
The man had been consistent from the start.
If anything, that put Rafila at ease.
His decision was swift.
The axe shot from his grip, hurtling through the air.
It bore Endless Pursuit [A].
At the same time, he charged with his tower shield, Iron Wall Fortress, thrust forward.
The massive tower shield made it look like a wall was barreling toward him.
Leyzon simply watched the approach.
'Acting cocky.'
The axe streaked through the air toward Leyzon.
Just before Rafila's axe reached him...
KABOOM!
A surging red shadow shattered the axe.
'That shadow that's been moving around...'
And even the staff in Leyzon's hand.
'Necromancer after all.'
The Empire hunted Necromancers.
Which meant...
Once he revealed his magic, they were coming to kill him.
'You think I'll go down easy?'
He had spare axes aplenty.
No idea how long he could keep that shadow busy, but he'd create an opening.
His axes launched endlessly from beyond Iron Wall Fortress.
Clang! Clang!
The red shadow smashed every one.
But it let him steadily close the distance on Leyzon.
The enemy knew he was closing in but didn't retreat.
There was a trap, obviously.
But if he couldn't close the gap because of that, he couldn't win.
'Just once.'
Break through and take his head.
Rafila's body, leading with Iron Wall Fortress, began to swell.
His arms and chest ballooned.
Bones and muscles screamed from the rapid growth.
Thud!
But in that instant, his flesh transformed into something else entirely.
His skin and form gleamed like steel.
Iron Giant [S].
Rafila's Iron Wall mode, maximizing physical prowess and defense.
With Iron Giant active, Rafila could smash even massive Phantasmal Beasts with brute force.
Thud!
But Rafila activated one more skill on top.
Flesh Bullet War Demon [S].
Thud!
Rafila's legs pounded the ground like a horse's hooves.
Dust whipped up.
His charge now transcended mere speed.
He'd become an unstoppable wild stallion.
Iron Wall Fortress filled Leyzon's vision.
In battle, a moment's arrogance could end a life.
Leyzon had underestimated Rafila.
So he'd trusted the shadow and given ground.
Now...
Thud!
He would teach him that was arrogance.
Thud—!
In that instant, Rafila's right foot sank into the crumbling ground.
A small hole, enough to trap his foot.
Shadows swirled beneath it.
Rafila's eyes widened slowly.
Between the cunningly obscured view under the tower shield...
Leyzon stood in the exact same spot.
'I knew there'd be traps.'
So he'd been cautious.
But he'd expected life-threatening ones.
Not this petty snag.
His stance collapsed.
Fatal in combat.
Leyzon's attack was coming.
The moment Rafila realized this and raised Iron Wall Fortress...
He spotted the writhing shadow on the back of the tower shield.
Only then did he realize Leyzon had kept the sun at his back the whole time.
Rafila's eyes flew wide.
Facing the sun meant the shadow of the tower shield was constant.
He'd never dreamed it'd been planted there.
The moment he grasped it all...
He realized he'd been completely played by Leyzon.
Leyzon's grinning face overlapped with the shield.
Rafila boldly hurled Iron Wall Fortress away.
No telling what attack it'd deliver once the shadow stuck.
With swift judgment, he drew another axe.
Leyzon's gaze locked on.
This was meant to be his trump card.
But not using it now meant his defeat.
Light gathered at the axe's tip.
Flash—!
The erupting brilliance flooded the area.
Flash Axe.
It only produced intense light, but it could dispel shadows in a pinch.
Seizing the moment the shadow vanished, he yanked his trapped leg free.
And immediately faced the staff aimed at him.
At its tip swirled a pitch-black sphere laced with blood.
And it was far larger than before.
Currents of air whipped around the sphere.
Chill!
A shiver crawled across his skin.
"Grrgh!"
Resolved to take them down with him, he swung the axe with all his might.
CLANG!
But it halted before advancing.
Five swords blocked it.
Rafila's eyes blazed.
Leyzon had never planned to fight alone.
The Five had hidden, waiting for the perfect moment.
"Coward!"
Rafila bellowed.
Leyzon smirked at the shout.
"Cowardly?"
Leyzon's fierce poison blood sphere radiated full brilliance.
"I'm a Necromancer."
Use every tool at your disposal to win.
That was victory.
So thanks for the loser's praise.
Deadly Poison Aura [SS]
Fierce poison output reaches extreme levels.
As Deadly Poison Aura [SS] activated, the fierce poison's power surged to extremes.
The moment it turned crimson...
Leyzon chanted the activation word.
"Fierce Poison Explosion."
Abundance
Staff enhancement amplifies spell potency.
BOOM!
The light laced with fierce poison engulfed everything.
Rafila tumbled wildly across the shattered courtyard.
Even with Iron Giant boosting his defenses, Leyzon's fused magic was impossible to withstand.
Crash!
He rolled across the debris-strewn ground.
"Gah."
Rafila vomited a gush of blood.
Iron Giant faded, his body trembling.
His armor was crumpled and shattered, organs ruptured.
His body creaked.
His breaths came uneven.
Something had felt off when the explosion hit.
'If I fight...'
Rafila forced his head up.
'I can still... fight.'
His eyes locked on Leyzon and the Five.
The Five stood guard around Leyzon, unmoving.
They were a step above Rafila—Bronze Hero-level.
Combined with Leyzon's erratic magic, there was no way through.
'That Necromancer's battlefield control is unnaturally sharp.'
The magic itself was simple, power aside.
But the applications were insanely versatile.
It felt like the heavens were watching his every move.
And being a Necromancer was another blind spot.
The Empire had rounded up every Necro, drying up their numbers.
So Rafila naturally lacked knowledge on them.
Lack of intel created gaps.
And Leyzon wasn't your typical Necromancer.
He was one with fangs, who knew how to use himself as bait.
As he hesitated on his next move...
"Syria."
Leyzon called a name like it sealed the end.
"Urk?!"
Rafila belatedly noticed his body sinking into shadow.
Above him stood a pretty girl.
White hair tipped with jet black.
The face beneath those long strands...
Drained the color from Rafila's face.
"Th-that... ah..."
Her red eyes gleamed like twin crimson moons in the sky.
Rafila felt himself drawn into those moons.
His body fragmented.
His mind shredded.
The world spun in a vortex.
No more voice came.
The tips of his hair turned bone-white.
Cold sweat soaked his face.
What in the world was this being?
Just her gaze felt like a giant peering down from the clouds.
Syria's lips curved up.
Despair.
Despair was smiling.
Rafila plunged into the sensation of eternal night.
And he realized.
This monster was the one who'd killed his guild, elites and all.
"Bring him with the shadows."
With Leyzon's final words...
Rafila's consciousness faded.