Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Core of the Demonic Realm (3)
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The horrific screams of the flesh had become somewhat familiar by now. It was a filthy noise that one could never truly get used to.
At least it was easier to adapt to than death. Even after dying so many times and facing death so often...
Death was still frightening and painful. But if he didn't take this path, even more people would die.
And unlike him, they wouldn't come back. That was what Cain feared most.
It wasn't some idealistic dream of saving everyone. He knew full well that he wasn't cut out for that.
But at least... he wanted to become someone who could protect those around him. That was why he chose this path.
"Hup!!"
The sword, imbued with ominous death force blazing like flames, slaughtered the chunks of flesh. Flesh severed by death force couldn't regenerate.
Paradoxically, that was exactly why the Core of the Demonic Realm would flee its position at the slightest injury.
So why the hell was it following him around? What was drawing it to him? He had no clue.
But there was no time for stray thoughts. The flesh lumps merged into one, soon forming a massive arm.
Cain hadn't expected it to form an arm so quickly in mere seconds, so his reaction was quite late.
Thud!! With a sound like a hammer slamming into iron, the flesh fist instantly pulverized Cain's body.
"Fucking hell."
The sensation of organs spurting from his mouth wasn't amusing. Not that he knew if they were organs or just blood clots anyway.
Spitting curses, Cain opened his eyes again. The first thing that entered his vision was his blood-red gleaming sword.
He rewound to the moment when he had struck first, blocking the Core of the Demonic Realm's scream.
This time, he'd lasted about thirty minutes. A new record. At first, he couldn't even hold out ten minutes before dying.
Of course, if he fought just to endure without trying to kill it, Cain could last a long time against the Core.
But... what was the point of mere endurance? The key was killing that monster.
"It's trying to flee! Slash all the flesh lumps in the fifth segment on the left!"
Was it from dying so many times and accumulating experience? Now he could read its intentions just from the way the flesh writhed.
Unfortunately, Cain alone couldn't stop the monster from escaping. More precisely, there wasn't time.
So he immediately ordered the most suitable candidate, Scardi, who carried it out effortlessly.
"It really can't escape now! What principle does this thing even move on?"
"Probably similar to humans. That part seems to serve as legs. Of course, even that regenerates soon enough."
"You figuring that out in such a short time makes you look like the same kind of monster."
"Who're you calling a lump of flesh?"
With their brief banter over, Cain charged at the flesh again, Scardi hot on his heels.
Gazing at Cain's back, Scardi realized something anew. Seeing someone else's back like this was practically a first for her.
On the battlefield, she had always been at the vanguard, facing only those swinging weapons at her head-on.
But Cain was different from the core. He didn't fear death; he used his own body as kindling to burn bright.
Drawn to that beauty of self-immolation, Scardi had, at some point, been following Cain with her eyes nonstop.
She didn't want to lose. She didn't want to fall behind that man. With that sole resolve, Scardi kept swinging her sword.
"Sis!!"
"Foolish little brother, tired already?"
"No! This is just the beginning!!"
It wasn't just Scardi influenced by Cain. Even her brother Chris felt it.
Facing an enemy that endlessly multiplied and regenerated, body and soul gradually wore down. He wanted to drop his sword at any moment.
Yet there was a man charging ahead alone, heedless of those around him. Seeing that, they gritted their teeth.
A little more. Swing the sword at least once more! They endlessly whipped themselves onward.
Breathing raggedly with lungs bursting at the seams, they swung their swords. They never stopped charging forward.
Ironically, Cain's death-defying suicidal charges were pushing the two masters beyond their limits.
'Why? The situation isn't even that good...'
'Just keeping up with Sis and Blackguard is suffocating enough to kill me...'
I'm starting to enjoy this a little.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Empire and the Alliance were more incompatible than water and oil. No matter the event, they were irreconcilable enemies who could never coexist.
At least until now. But someone had personally demonstrated what everyone believed impossible.
Cain Blackguard, the Empire's undefeated famous general and young hero. Arnold couldn't help but inwardly admire his handiwork.
'Even Crown Prince Siegfried, the Sword Demon, and Sword Radiance are following his orders as if it's the most natural thing. Is this even possible?'
Though the Alliance's situation wasn't great either, Arnold surprisingly hadn't worried much until now.
The Empire had a glaring weakness it could never abandon. A flaw exposed by the dragon blood in its veins and its abundance of talent.
It was arrogance. An arrogance born of innate strength they couldn't shed. An overwhelmingly powerful iron beast.
But because of it, they refused to bow and were doomed to shatter. At least, that was the Empire before Cain appeared.
But Cain Blackguard's emergence changed everything. The once-arrogant crown prince was using honorifics.
The Sword Demon, no different from a lone wolf, was for the first time acting as someone's limb. Did this make any sense?
'The shackles we thought would hobble the Empire for centuries were snapped in an instant. That man made it all possible.'
Whether by overwhelming ability to silence mouths or something else... Cain was at the center of the change.
The Empire, freed from its shackles, would grow several times stronger than now. Enough to crush the Alliance with ease someday...
Arnold, who had clashed with the Empire countless times and even waged wars against it, felt this keenly.
"It's trying to flee! Slash all the flesh lumps in the fifth segment on the left!"
"Who can even understand that?!"
"Shut up and do it! Fail to perform diligently, and you'll face military law!"
"Ugh!"
Look at that right now. None other than the uncontrollable mad Sword Demon was meticulously carrying out orders.
Arnold, who had clashed with Scardi several times, fully understood her madness. She was a double-edged sword.
Docile in her sheath, but once drawn, a demonic sword that slashed owners and foes alike without mercy.
Yet that demonic sword now recognized its master and faithfully fulfilled its role. Arnold clicked his tongue in astonishment.
"Arnold! What are you doing? Your title as the Alliance's Rock is weeping!!"
"Damn... I got lost in thought. Sorry."
"Then move! You trying to turn the soldiers' spilled blood into a pointless sacrifice?!"
Cain's words carried power. A force that compelled everyone to follow. And backing it were actions.
Facing an unknown monster, in a death-risk situation, he swung his sword at the very front.
His powerful words and deeds proving them compelled even Arnold to obey.
But the most terrifying part wasn't just words and actions—it was the concrete results.
'The Core of the Demonic Realm is starting to get pushed back. It's even ghosting its escape attempts like last time.'
Did that mean, in this short time, he'd perfectly read the Core's movements and prepared countermeasures?
Anyone with even one experience commanding troops would know how absurd that was.
Yet Cain achieved that near-miraculous command. Its implication was brutally clear, and utterly unwelcome.
Talent.
Not just any talent, but an overwhelming, heaven-sent gift that appeared once a millennium, unfairly so.
And it wasn't just command. Word was Blackguard's sword aura rivaled Scardi's.
'A monster perfectly versed in both pen and sword. Even now he's this much—if time passes and experience builds...'
A chill ran down his spine.
Arnold, bearer of the moniker "Rock," got goosebumps all over from mere imagination.
If Cain Blackguard grew... and invaded the Alliance with the Empire's full backing...
Would anyone in the Alliance be able to stop him? That figure dominating the battlefield, overwhelming the enemy.
Wasn't it the very reincarnation of a war god?