233. Spring of Hilash (2)
233. Spring of Hilash (2)
- 1 -
- Kyaaak—!!
"Kyaaak—!!"
The sharp screams of zombies and humans filled the streets of Hylash.
Low-grade zombies and skeletons poured in like a tide, and at their vanguard stood a high-ranking undead clad in tattered noble attire.
"Uhahaha—!! The nobles' prosperity is a lie!"
"Kill all the idolaters!"
The hysterical laughter of the fanatics rang out through the undead advance.
With frenzied cheers, they set fire to buildings and went about looting.
Screams continued ceaselessly from every corner of the city.
"Hold them! Hold!!"
"The enemy, there are too many enemies!!"
The Guard Units and Royal Guard could do little more than protect the royal castle and its immediate vicinity.
Just as their names implied.
"Where in the world have all these undead come from...!"
The answer was simple.
The corpses carelessly accumulated over time in the hunting grounds of the royal castle and holy kingdom, and the bodies collected in the recent war on the western border—all of it had been recycled.
On top of that, even the newly dead citizens and soldiers of the capital were being resurrected as undead, so their numbers only swelled exponentially by the minute.
The legion commanders and mages watched the front gradually collapse, their expressions discouraged.
"Like vermin."
The powerful figures now appearing would eventually stop the enemy, but it seemed they would not escape a fall from power.
Kwaaang—!!!
A crimson blaze swept across the street.
Flames that surged up from the ground rose like a wave and swept away the zombies and skeletons in an instant.
A destructive fire that melted the living dead.
"Filthy, vulgar vermin."
The cold voice of the Royal Court Mage echoed.
The hem of his robes fluttered in the hot wind of the blaze.
"How dare you... bring those filthy bodies into the capital!"
Sharp eyes tinged with red glared down at the chaos in the streets as if to annihilate it.
The countless undead, the crumbling noble district, and even the soldiers being pushed back.
"Whatever you are. I'll find you all and kill you."
His hand pointed to the sky, and black clouds covered the heavens. Crimson rain poured down.
Every single drop was a fireball.
Hundreds of flames rained judgment down upon the earth.
Kwakwakwang—!!
With countless explosions, the zombies and skeletons were engulfed in flames.
Their rotting flesh and bones melted away, and stark, strangely white bones crumbled.
But from behind them, even more undead poured out, filling the spaces between the nobles' mansions.
"These goddamned things..."
The mage's lips twitched with displeasure.
His eyes flashed with murderous intent. This time, his fingers pointed toward the ground.
In an instant, the entire city trembled.
The earth shook and cracked open, and magma spouted up through the fissures.
But he soon withdrew his hand. The constraint of having to protect the city shackled his power.
"To have to restrain my own power... just to guard these worthless, pork-guzzling pig bastards..."
He muttered, suppressing the mana that was about to erupt.
The marble at his feet melted.
It was then.
"You're a little late."
Seuak!
The sky split apart, and blade-like rays of light crashed down toward the earth. A silver arc cleaved the ground.
An entire street was sliced away in a single sword strike.
It was an exquisitely precise blow from the Royal Guard Knight Commander.
"It seems you were having a hard time on your own."
Kwakwakak!
The Capital Guard Knight Commander also appeared, tracing arcs of sword-light.
As his sword slashed the empty air, hundreds of undead were instantly shattered.
It was a radiant strike, as if light itself was crushing the darkness.
Chachak!
And so, two knights clad in gleaming silver armor without a single scar stood beside the mage.
The knights possessed of the mightiest power in the capital.
"You're noisy."
The mage glared at them with cold eyes.
"I could have handled this perfectly well on my own. The only problem..."
A red magic circle bloomed at his fingertips.
"The problem was having to protect this filthy city. You two were far too late. Idiots."
'This rotten bastard once burned a servant and chased them away just because he found it too troublesome to follow fate...'
'Unlike you, we're not alone. We had to control our armies and come out.'
The knight commanders felt offended inside but put on awkward smiles outwardly.
They weren't foolish enough to start a fight under these circumstances.
"We'll take charge of this area..."
"So you go find the wide-open spaces and burn them down."
"Hmph. Fine."
Each glaring in a different direction, the eyes of the powerful figures glinted sharply.
The very next moment, they vanished from that spot.
- 2 -
Regardless of their mood or camaraderie, there was no questioning the abilities of those who had stepped forth from the royal castle.
The Royal Guard Knight Commander who wielded a longsword, the Capital Guard Knight Commander armed with sword and shield, and the Royal Court Mage who commanded flames.
Added to them were the First Legion Commander, a master of mounted blade combat, and the Chief Chamberlain who guarded the main gate of the royal castle.
'For mere insect-like fanatics to commit a deed like this...'
The Chief Chamberlain observed the situation coldly.
It was an open secret that fanatics were scattered throughout the city.
Usually, no one paid much attention to whatever they did.
Occasionally, fanatics going wild in their madness actually served as sacrifices that further reinforced the ruling authority of the royal family and the holy kingdom.
A threat that could emerge from anywhere served, in turn, as a pretext for the military might wielded by those in power.
'But after today, that will no longer be possible.'
Now, the fanatics wouldn't even be able to hide anymore.
Every military force would hunt them down, and those caught would be sent straight to the execution block.
'That's what makes this strange.'
The Chief Chamberlain's sharp intuition sounded an alarm.
This was clearly an act of self-destruction.
There was no way that mere fanatics would commit such a reckless act.
- Kyaak!!
Chwaak!
The right hand of the man who had been lost in thought moved in a flash.
A short sword flashed and split the charging zombie in two.
"It's the Demon Realm Archdukes after all."
What came to his mind were the archdukes of the demon tribes who had seized territories on the continent and were establishing power over every nation.
Those who were hell-bent on shattering the balance of the continent and expanding their own territories.
"Peace was bound to break eventually. But it's odd."
The current peace was nothing more than an illusion created by mutual checks.
A provisional peace born because neither the demon tribes nor the humans had the power to completely subdue the other.
"Isn't that right."
His sharp gaze turned straight ahead.
Two figures blocked his path as he tried to move forward to survey another street.
"A presence that's worth paying attention to, I see."
Underneath a black hood, crimson eyes flashed as they stared him down.
Taak!
"So you mean to say words are unnecessary."
Keudeudeuk—!
With a sound like scraping metal, darkness bloomed from his hand.
Dark magic with physical force clawed at everything around him.
The fanatics each took a step to the side, then dashed in again.
Their movements were on a completely different level from ordinary fanatics.
Kwang!!
A crimson explosion burst out toward the Chief Chamberlain.
The explosive power that erupted from the left fanatic's hand was not to be taken lightly.
"Where did you come from. You're no ordinary lot."
Seukak!
The Chief Chamberlain's sword slashed the empty air.
A dark, fated energy bloomed and swallowed the explosion.
At that moment, the other fanatic appeared right under his chin.
Kaang! Kachak!
Purple illusions spread out like a dance, and between them, dozens of blades rained down.
The Chief Chamberlain spread out his gauntlet to unleash darkness, and at the same time quickly swung his sword, selectively parrying only the 'real' attacks.
'Interesting.'
A smile crept onto the Chief Chamberlain's lips.
It was the composure that came from strength.
The output of the two fanatics was far inferior to his own, but the techniques they employed were extraordinary.
The explosions were precise enough not to harm their ally, and the illusions were realistic enough to pierce even that precision.
He was clearly several levels above them in raw power, yet he could not easily overwhelm them.
He knew he was strong, but for someone who had never been able to truly test his strength, this was an intriguing event.
It was then.
Kwoong!!
The crimson explosion the Chief Chamberlain had parried flew toward the gates of the royal castle.
"Oh no!"
He moved on instinct and cast a spell. The explosion could not be allowed to leave even a speck of a scratch on the castle gates.
But by the time he had blocked the explosion and turned back, the fanatics had already vanished.
"It was a stalling tactic."
The Chief Chamberlain gave no further chase.
Now that he knew such powerful foes were lurking, guarding the royal castle was the priority.
- 3 -
"What a strange fellow."
The Court Mage's eyes glinted dangerously.
The fanatic's movements as he leaped and dodged his fireballs were far too agile.
To think they were hiding someone this skilled on top of controlling undead.
"I'll show you something more special."
The crimson blaze gradually darkened.
The denser the mana became, the stronger and hotter the flames burned.
This was the pride of the Court Mage, and the reason the royal family had taken notice of him.
Kwakwakwang!!
Dark red flames exploded outward and closed in around the enemy from all sides.
As if a giant made of lava was clenching its fist.
He was certain the fanatic couldn't possibly dodge this time.
But.
Seureureuk—
A cold flash gleamed from beneath the black hood.
Frost bloomed from the fanatic's sword.
"What is this...?"
A chill spread along the path the blade had traced.
A cold blue light cut through the flames and froze them.
As if it were the natural antithesis to fire, so perfectly, so naturally.
"You bastard...!"
The Court Mage's eyes turned bloodshot.
It was a sight his pride could not permit.
Kwoong!!
This time, a massive fireball burst forth.
A sphere of flame with enough power to dye the heavens crimson. A spell named 'Crimson Flame'.
But the chill radiating from the fanatic's sword did not subside in the slightest.
Seuaak—!
A blue chill shrouded the street.
Wherever the flames touched, flowers of frost bloomed.
It even stopped the movement of the zombies, but at the same time, it also neutralized the mage's fire.
"This is absurd...!"
A murmur tinged with bewilderment leaked from the arrogant crimson mage's lips for the first time.
Though this wasn't his full power, for the flames he had so carefully crafted to vanish so easily...
It was at that very moment.
"What...?"
The mist that had risen where fire and cold clashed cleared, and the figure who should have been there was nowhere to be seen.
- Hooou—!
A golden fox that had lingered briefly let out a cry as if mocking him, then evaporated and vanished.
Only then did he realize.
That the fanatic had already achieved his objective and disappeared.
That he had been stalling for time against him.
Kwang—!!
Everything around the mage erupted.
The walls of nearby mansions were crumbling under the impact, but he no longer paid it any mind.
"How dare...!!! I will find you without fail!!!"
Explosive rage blanketed the nobles' street.
Dark red flames swallowed the mansions one after another.
The mage's fire, caring about nothing, toppled several mansions, but that was the least of his concerns now.
- 4 -
As I watched the four individuals in action on the surface, I realized the time had now come.
In the nobles' street, the advance of the undead was gradually being pushed back.
And because of that, the frenzy of the undead and fanatics who had flooded the commoners' streets was growing even more severe.
"Kill them all!! We kill them all and then we pull out!!"
They sought to kill, destroy, and burn as much as possible, all to make their will known.
"Get ready. Esther. Yurena."
- Understood.
- Yes...! I will definitely... not let you down!
Now it was time for a new hero to emerge.