Chapter 264
Chapter 264
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: Mad King (3)
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The massive fist plummeting down evoked the image of an avalanche.
Kuuuung—!
The shockwave it unleashed instantly tore through the surrounding space, triggering a massive earthquake across the area.
A gigantic crater formed in the earth, dirt and dust scattered in all directions, and a fierce storm swept through the surroundings.
This was the result of a single blow.
The aftermath of a mere ordinary punch.
“Kuhahaha! This is thrilling!”
But his opponent didn’t flinch at the sheer power and moved immediately.
Hari, who had bulked up to his maximum size—around 15 meters tall, reaching the giant’s thigh—charged like a beast, his entire body covered in dark red scales.
Kwaduduk!
He slashed at the enormous forearm with his sharp claws.
The tough muscles tore apart in shreds, and in an instant, white blood stained the surroundings.
But—
Pueok—!
Kwang!
The giant swung his arm without a care, smashing Hari as he tried to retreat.
With a reaction speed unimaginable for his size.
“You’re annoying, barbarian. Do you think flying around or scurrying like that will let you do anything to me?”
The giant growled in irritation.
The wound on his arm had already regenerated in the blink of an eye.
Of course, thanks to the madness stored in his body, Hari sprang back up right away, but the overwhelming difference in total power made every exchange heavily unfavorable for him.
‘On top of that, his senses are too sharp. It’s hard to exploit my smaller size and speed. No matter how unpredictably I move, he counters as if he was waiting for it.’
When fighting as Hans, the all-around pressure and overwhelming force made it hard to notice, but clashing head-on like this truly revealed the fraudulent nature of the giant’s abilities.
Even for Hari, who thought he had grown quite strong, there was no way he could beat this guy, even in his wildest dreams.
‘Good thing I lured him as far from the city as possible. Otherwise...’
Only about a minute had passed since Hari and the revolutionary started their one-on-one, but the surrounding area already looked like it had been bombed into ruin.
The ground twisted and screamed from the horrific physical force, and the clashing energies mixed with auras and madness made the ambient mana rage wildly.
‘...I still need to pull him further away. Tarac is Hubert’s base city; I can’t let it get damaged by mistake.’
They were already at least five kilometers away, but given the situation, even this distance felt precarious.
It would’ve been better if Hubert had fled farther.
The giant had caught up sooner than expected after Hari snatched Diana during a lapse in his attention and fled.
Even though he’d pushed his expensive suit to its limits, reaching supersonic speeds and requiring a separate protective magic tool.
“Kahaha! Definitely not easy! Unlike the others, you’re not just big for nothing, huh?”
“Hah! How dare you compare me to those fools...”
At that moment, the giant’s relaxed expression froze solid.
He whipped around like lightning...
Whiuuung—!
...and swung his massive forearm through empty air.
The fierce whirlwind scattered what few bushes remained in the area.
And right after.
“Tch, you even noticed that. Annoying.”
A cold voice emerged from a short distance away as a man quietly revealed himself.
Heinz 2nd, the Sacred Blood vampire who had tried to sneak in an ambush using Existence Denial.
He casually straightened his clothes and clicked his tongue.
As the giant scowled and opened his mouth to retort—
A second anomaly occurred.
Paaat—!
A brilliant light bloomed a little farther off, adorning the sky.
“So here you were. Evil spawn defying the will of the Main God.”
A man appeared with the flash and continued calmly.
The holy light aura rising from his body spread wide, instantly suppressing the raging mana nearby.
Heinrich, the saint of the Church of the Main God, who had joined using Blessing: Leap.
Naturally, the transcendents now surrounded the giant from three directions.
The giant narrowed his eyes in silence for a moment before twisting his lips upward.
“Khat! First a mongrel barbarian, now a vampire lord and the Church’s saint? This is really... Hm?”
But the giant’s mocking words didn’t continue to the end.
His expression twisted subtly as he whipped his head around to glare piercingly at Hari.
His gaze shifted to Heinz 2nd, then to Heinrich...
“...What are you?”
He unwittingly spat out the bewildered question bubbling from within.
He wasn’t certain. He lacked the olfactory ability suited for that.
p>
But the sense of wrongness from them was unmistakable.
Of course—
“Kuhahaha! I am Hari, the Overlord of the South!”
“Hmph, you’re dead anyway. Just vanish quietly.”
“Heretic defying the Main God’s will and disturbing the world. I’ll judge you here and now.”
‘They’ had no intention of resolving his doubts, not even a speck.
***
Kwaaang—!
A heaven-shaking roar reverberated through space.
A massive explosion sent plumes of dust skyward, and the shockwave from ground zero swept outward...
“The aftershock’s coming! Prepare to respond!”
“Reinforce the barrier!”
It even affected Tarac’s walls, about ten kilometers distant.
Kururung—!
The shockwave compressed the air, warping space as it rushed in, while the protective barrier enveloping the city glowed more vividly.
The barrier wobbled perilously under the fierce impact but stabilized thanks to the mages’ desperate efforts, averting yet another crisis.
“Whew— that was chilling.”
A knight guarding the northwest walls of Tarac let out a sigh of relief.
It was a sentiment shared by everyone atop the walls, but the relief didn’t last.
No one could predict how many more such waves were coming.
“Damn it, if the walls hadn’t crumbled, it wouldn’t be this bad! What about repairs? Still not ready? What do the mages say?”
“They’ve set up a temporary structure to hold for now, but fully restoring the barrier in this situation is impossible! At least it hasn’t completely collapsed, so we can manage somehow...”
“...Shit, should we be grateful they’re fighting that far away? If that monster rampaged in the city...”
It wasn’t a joke—the entire city might have evaporated cleanly.
The knight glanced at the bustling mages before turning toward the source of the disaster.
Kuung—!
Another shockwave burst from the origin.
This one was smaller than before, so no need for panic now.
As the mages groaned, he channeled aura to enhance his vision and stared grimly at the battlefield.
“Unbelievable. What the hell is that...”
“H-ha... insane...”
He wasn’t the only one staring dumbfounded.
Other knights on the walls with no specific tasks, unlike the mages, broke into cold sweats as they gaped at the spectacle.
Beyond the flattened trees and hills blocking their view.
Even from this distance, an ultra-giant whose size was instantly apparent.
A monster whose ferocious aura made it seem hundreds of meters tall.
Its mere existence was violence incarnate.
Simple movements churned the air, and each thrust warped space, propagating destruction.
Just looking at it burdened the mind immensely—it couldn’t be fought normally.
The knights endured only thanks to distance, barriers, and their own realms; ordinary soldiers had collapsed upon sighting it long ago.
Kururung!
Before those barely qualified to watch, a legendary battle straight out of tales unfolded.
“...Am I dreaming? This feels too unreal.”
“Puhuhu— I’ve heard ‘amazing’ plenty, but the rumors were downplayed. We’ve been frogs in a well...”
Not just matching the untouchable ultra-giant, but pushing it back—
Three beings moving in perfect organic sync, like one body.
The hero-like savior and Church saint who appeared like a messiah, a vampire seemingly from neighboring Talia, and finally...
“...No way, is that the beastman Hari? I heard he left a while ago.”
“Hari? Hari? I heard he shone in the Steel Citadel defense, but... is that red giant really him?”
“Hmm, so little’s known about beastmen...”
A massive lifeform clad head to toe in dark red scales, armed with razor-sharp claws and fangs.
Though only reaching the white giant’s thigh, he toughed it out head-on, pinning it down.
To let the others land clearer strikes.
Hari lunged at one of the giant’s legs like a great tiger.
The giant reacted instantly to kick him, but blood-red chains wrapped one arm at the perfect timing, throwing off its balance momentarily.
Heinrich appeared in its face then, slashing near its eye with a holy sword wreathed in a pillar of light; the giant reared back to dodge...
Kwang—!
...and Hari’s devastating body tackle slammed into the leg as intended.
As the staggering giant struggled not to fall, the vampire and saint shredded its body again.
“Kraaak—! You pests—!”
The giant’s bellow echoed thunderously.
The follow-up combo was the same.
The three worked in uncanny harmony, methodically cornering the giant, slowly tightening the noose like hunters on a colossal beast.
“Beautiful... That’s the pinnacle of joint techniques.”
“Whoa— the vampire’s never trained with them, yet their breathing’s perfect? Do masters like that read minds?”
“Kuhum, just watching makes my stomach churn. Without the barrier, civilians would be dying in droves.”
As knights marveled at the precision—like dividing one breath into thousands—
Unlike the idle ones, mages fought a war-like struggle.
“Magic stones! How much longer? Bring whatever you’ve got, quick!”
“Don’t just stand there—move faster! If this falls, the citizens get massacred!”
“Rotate! Rocapelli Tower out, Tenuer Tower center! Hurry!”
Domain and tower mages clung to the walls, shielding the city from endless destructive waves.
As their faces paled from the grind,
[“It looks quite precarious. Allow me to lend a hand.”]
A unfamiliar woman’s voice rang clearly in their minds.
The refined mana control was so exquisite it drew involuntary gasps.
“Huh?”
“Wait, who’s this...!”
As startled mages looked up—
Jjejejeok—!
The wall’s surface froze instantly.
It spread in a blink, covering the crumbled sections, emitting odd waves that began substituting the broken barrier.
“W-what... Overlaying the barrier circuits via ice magic?!”
“She mapped the entire massive wall circuit?!”
“More than that, this mana output? This isn’t just any grand mage... No way...!”
High above the bewildered mages.
Archmage Isea, who’d remotely aided the city’s defense, met eyes with her floating companions and nodded slowly.
“But I wonder if we can help in a fight like that. Hope we don’t get in their way.”
“Let’s prioritize supporting the saint for now. Using the skies like this should minimize risks, right?”
Lydia, the high elf once strongest in the Elven Kingdom before Harris, and Riesta, the Church’s top saintess with peerless holy power.
The entire hero party, staying at the great temple during the Pope’s funeral, had rushed after Heinrich.
But the reinforcements weren’t just them.
Other powerhouses gathered on the ground too.
“As expected of the High Lord! Not even bowing to the Church saint!”
“Ahh— this life, I offer for the hybrid’s glory!”
“Hmm, can’t use giant blood, probably. Tricky.”
Phrygia Brocoslak and multiple True Blood hybrid vampires...
“Heh heh heh, you lot just provide support. Don’t overdo it. This opponent looks fun for once.”
“Yes, Lady Briky!”
...and another Sacred Blood vampire, Briky, had arrived in Tarac.
To thoroughly crush a single revolutionary.