Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Immortal King vs Hero Party (1)
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Corrupted warriors with dark blue veins bulging across their entire bodies, fiends lunged at them from all directions.
"Kieeeek!"
"Kurghek! Keheok!"
Everyone's faces stiffened at the sight of their gruesome state.
The fiends had completely lost their reason, their bodies already halfway turned into undead, but in exchange, their combat prowess had been strengthened to a level incomparable to before.
"...We can't delay any longer. Let's go all out."
As soon as Heinrich, at the lead, finished speaking, Blessing: Holy Sword activated, and a beautiful holy sword rose from his hand, radiating brilliant light.
At the same time, unprecedented power dwelled in his body, pushing all his abilities to their absolute limits in an instant.
Hwaaak—
A divine might that forcibly elevated him—who hadn't yet reached Transcendence in terms of realm—to the pinnacle of humanity.
It influenced various skills like Grand Blessing: Knight of Light and Blessing: Fortification as well.
The aura that had calmly rippled around his body now blazed fiercely, spreading even to those following behind.
"Ooh... this is?"
"Woooaah—! Follow the Hero!"
"Grant peaceful rest to our pitiful brothers!"
He hadn't even used a large-scale holy spell, yet the Hero, now accustomed to wielding the holy sword, simply scattered a wide-area buff across the entire battlefield by existing there.
Not only mental support that eradicated fear and boosted morale, but also substantial increases in physical abilities and overall combat power.
This was one of the reasons the Hero was revered.
The chosen of the gods.
The hope and beacon of humanity.
The suicide squad drove back the charging fiends and advanced into the darkness-shrouded city center in perfect formation behind Hero Heinrich.
"Miss Misty. Are you really okay?"
"...I can't just stay out of it now after dragging everyone else into this hell. Don't worry, I won't get in the way."
At the center of the formation, Misty gave a strained reply to the Saintess's question before gripping her ritual tool—woven from bones and feathers—and began casting a spell.
She was already utterly exhausted, her lifespan draining away in real time, but she could still assist in activating the brands engraved on the warriors.
Riesta let out a small sigh upon seeing her overexerting herself.
But there was no stopping her now.
Instead of worrying, it was better for everyone if she gave her all as well.
"Lord Main God, grant your lambs—the creatures you made—the strength to rise again when weary and to stand against evil."
With the Saintess's prayer, a holy spell enveloped everyone.
Empowered by the multiple overlapping buffs, they pressed forward at high speed.
Their target was the massive building at the city center, still spewing thick abyssal darkness.
Valteon's residence and the Immortal King's stronghold.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ If the Hero Party went all out, reaching the target wasn't particularly difficult.
No matter how relentlessly fiends and undead—seemingly summoned from the Immortal Fortress—charged at them.
Even with the evil energy permeating the entire city constantly empowering the enemies.
This level couldn't halt their advance.
Still, they advanced cautiously, conserving strength as much as possible.
Even that was overwhelmingly superior compared to others.
"Horia, Equistine."
With a soft whisper from High Elf Lydia Grandwood, arrows infused with spirits of fire and wind shot forth, turning the front into a sea of flames.
"Thunder Buster!"
Isea's incantation pierced the darkness blanketing the sky, slamming a lightning spear into the ground.
"Hup!"
Gios's spear thrust with a shout simultaneously shattered the heads of the oncoming foes.
"Kuhahaha!"
The fiends colliding with Harley charging like a bulldozer flew apart like bowling pins struck by a ball.
While the Hero Party broke through the front, the southern warriors infiltrated the gap, blocking reinforcements and clearing the path.
So the main players of this battle against the Immortal King could arrive at their destination with strength intact.
"Push them back! The high ground is near!"
"Kreaaak!"
"We won't just fail to help—we won't hinder either. This is our land; open the way with your lives!"
The warriors' weapons slammed into the fiends' bodies, now tougher than monsters.
But the fiends, burning even their last drop of life force, didn't die easily even with split skulls, steadily accumulating casualties among the warriors in the process.
"Kakagak! Kehek!"
"Aaah—rest easy now, brother. I'll follow soon."
[Kyaaaak—!]
And the abyssal-empowered undead hordes stretched on endlessly as well.
The southern warriors were literally paving the way to the center with their own blood.
'...He's really gone all in, Hans. Treating humans like consumables. How far will you fall?'
Heinrich, advancing with eyes only forward using their sacrifices as footing, finally gritted his teeth as the target came into view.
Swinging the holy sword gripped tightly with rage-filled hands.
Great Chieftain Valteon had forcibly injected madness into the warriors for war, turning them into 'Berserkers'.
Like when Harley first absorbed madness, their physical abilities would have exploded.
The difference was they had lost control of their bodies and were remade to obey Valteon's commands utterly.
Up to that point, there might have been a chance to reverse it, but Hans's subsequent injection of 'Death' had snuffed out even that slim possibility of recovery.
Thanks only to the madness already corrupting their flesh, they weren't fully undead yet—but those fiends were practically dead already.
'And the abyss spreading through the air is a problem too. It's still low concentration, so the warriors blessed by Riesta are holding out fine, but who knows after more time passes.'
The source of the spreading abyssal energy and undead army was Hans.
Defeating him... no, even just disrupting him would vastly improve the situation.
The best way to minimize casualties was to reach him as quickly as possible.
'Straight ahead like this...!'
But.
Things don't always go as planned.
The central building they targeted.
Now fully shrouded in black energy, looking like an entrance to another world, right before the front passageway.
"Paha! So you made it here after all."
A fiend slightly smaller than Harley, covered in mottled purple and black corruption, blocked their path.
Flanked by numerous fiends radiating auras stronger than any attackers so far.
"Valteon..."
Misty murmured lowly, her already pale face from overusing spells hardening further at the sight of him.
"Heh heh heh, Misty. Thought you'd run off like a rat, but you boldly walk right in."
"...Is this what you wanted? Sacrificing not just yourself but all your followers to the Immortal King? Hah, for the glory of Kalkos, my ass. Just flowery bullshit after all."
That had been former Great Chieftain Valteon's justification.
Unite the South's power, march north, escape this barren land, and seize fertile territory.
He'd suppressed tribes wanting peace and pushed aggressive war policies too hard, leading to his exile, but still.
"Ah, this was an unexpected accident for me too. Originally, I planned to swallow the Empire's South amid continental chaos and renegotiate."
He shrugged nonchalantly at her accusing tone, then turned to gaze at the abyss-corrupted fiend warriors and the endless undead reinforcements pouring from the rear passageway.
"But this isn't bad either."
A twisted smile crept across his face.
"Empire's South? No, with the Immortal King and this supreme army, we won't stop there—we can take the whole Empire! Destroy the Azerion Empire and usher in the Kalkos Empire's era!"
Mad light blazed in his blood-red pupils amid black sclera.
Fueled by twisted convictions and stubbornness, with not a shred of humanity left.
"...You're insane. Teaming with the Immortal King bent on turning the world into a land of death leaves only ruin."
"No, he's different from the previous Immortal King. Even that saintess over there knows it. That's why she proposed that ridiculous bet in the first place!"
That's why, despite being ready to fight to the end with the jade seal, he'd chosen to ally with the Immortal King.
It was his lifelong unfulfilled wish, the desperate desire he'd harbored even upon entering the Oath of Reverse Heaven and opening the abyss.
"Kuhuhut—after sweeping away those damned Empire dogs. I, Valteon, shall become the first Emperor of the Kalkos Empire...!"
But his ravings, lost in self-delusion,
"Jeez, you talk too much."
"What?"
were cut short by the sudden interruption—
Kwaang—!
"Guk!"
and he himself rocketed away like a missile from the impact, smashing through walls and buildings before vanishing into the distance.
Kuung—Kwang! Kwaaaang—!
Leaving only echoing explosions far away.
Humans and the posing fiends alike turned stunned gazes to one spot at the unexpected turn.
Where Valteon had just given his speech.
Where Harley now stood with a sullen expression, fist extended.
"Ah, screw the Empire or whatever—I don't care. Let's just fight!"
He grinned excitedly, scanning the surroundings.
Toward the fiends tensing up and readying for battle at his sudden move.
'Nice, nice.'
Even just Great Chieftain Valteon, who had accepted the abyss and reached Transcendence, was satisfying enough, but with three pinnacle-class great warriors stronger than before, plus over a dozen fiend warriors just shy of that— what a feast!
"Pfuhuhu... this should be pretty fun, huh?"
A ferocious smile spread across Harley's lips.
After completing Ultimate Evolved Lifeform and reaching Transcendence, he hadn't had a truly satisfying fight even once.
At best, tormenting Hans's weakened minions with the Hero Party or occasionally beating on white giants.
What had been Harley's purpose in coming here?
Wasn't it for more brutal, bloody struggles with flesh and blood flying?
In that sense, the prey before him seemed ample to sate his cravings.
But for true satisfaction, one prerequisite remained.
"Hey, leave this to me and go on ahead. You're in a hurry, right?"
Pruduuk—Kkigik!
Pushyik—
Metallic twisting sounds came from Harley's heated body as massive steam erupted from energy combusting all at once.
He blocked the passageway Valteon had guarded, glancing back with blazing eyes at the Hero Party.
As if saying he'd handle this, so they should take care of the rest.
Of course, the meaning in his gaze was entirely different.
'These are mine! I already marked 'em! Not yielding a single one—get lost!'
As even Heinrich eyed him dubiously,
"Yoooou bastard—! How dare yoooou—!"
Valteon's enraged roar exploded from afar.
Along with horrific shockwaves syncing with the surrounding abyss, devastating everything.
"Ah, I said go already! Oh, and you there, miss—you'd better back off with your friends too. Can't be responsible for the aftermath."
But quick-witted Misty was already herding the warriors back.
Heinrich sighed and led the Hero Party into the building where Hans awaited...
"I'll kill you—!"
Kuwaaaang—!
And at that instant, Harley clashed fists with Valteon, now right before him.
"Oh! That's the spirit! While you're at it, tell your buddies there to join in too! Kahahaha—!"
With the brightest smile yet.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kkiiik—Kk—
"Sigh, what to do with Harley. Seems like he'll be a handful in a whole different way from Hans."
Hugo grumbled but trained his body in the home gym as usual.
Auteerica was in constant turmoil daily, but on Earth time, it had only been two days since the main body fell asleep.
Naturally, nothing notable happened here, so aside from checking the main body's status, he just went about his routine.
'Harris is decent at least—he sleeps so much he doesn't even join brain meetings. But with Harley, you never know what mess he'll cause.'
So what if incidents were shared?
He acted first without thought or warning, even mid-activity.
The epitome of 'a bad body makes the head suffer.'
'Ah, and the situation's getting dicey. When will the main body wake? If we could just get through one more day unscathed...'
As Hugo sighed worriedly mid-workout,
in the mansion's most heavily secured bedroom, shrouded in layers of security.
Guntul—
On the bed, where someone lay asleep like the dead, a finger—
twitched ever so slightly.
As if heralding something soon to come.