Chapter 153
Chapter 153
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Searching for Traces of the Gale (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“High Master!”
“Block it!”
Thud!
A goblin High Master had been hiding there, disguised as a regular soldier.
Those who sensed the incredibly dangerous aura reacted a beat too late, but by then, it was already over.
The Silver Lion Knight who reacted first and leaped forward had his body pierced clean through as if erased from existence—yet the arrow didn’t lose any momentum. The angle was too tricky for the others to throw themselves in its path a second time.
It was a sniper shot from the start, positioned where even a desperate dive wouldn’t reach.
‘Emperor or Ancient Emperor...’
Rokan was no exception. Though he’d spotted the attack even faster than the Silver Lion Knights, he only had one chance to intervene.
Hesitate even a fraction of a second, and that chance would vanish.
So he had to choose: shield the Emperor, or protect the Ancient Emperor’s body.
After agonizing over it in a time frame split finer than seconds, he finally decided.
“Suppress!”
Clang!
The Chains that Seal Destruction—its cooldown reset by the Emperor’s buff—unfurled with its special ability, coiling around the Ancient Emperor’s body.
Boom!
“...!”
It was the Arrow of Annihilation, capable of reducing anything to nothing.
Not overwhelmingly fast, but a silent projectile that devoured sound itself, delivering instant death upon contact.
Yet even that proved meaningless against sheer item power.
The chains wrapped the Ancient Emperor’s body in an instant, and the arrow bounced off with a dull thunk—completely drained of force.
The chains’ energy had stripped away even the power of annihilation.
‘...It actually worked.’
Rokan wasn’t confident he could’ve blocked it with Berserk or by clashing with Wild Slaughter. It was a desperate gamble, and it paid off.
Rokan stared in disbelief, wondering what had just happened.
“Kill that bastard!”
In the meantime, the human side’s High Masters charged at the goblin High Master like lightning.
A fellow High Master or not, fighting in such tight quarters was a death sentence for an archer-class fighter.
The goblin glared murderously at Rokan—the one who’d foiled its plan—before activating a combo skill to escape.
At this point, the mission was a failure anyway. Better to save its own skin.
“Retreat!”
The goblin ranks stirred at their High Master’s shout.
It was an unannounced pullback, and after sacrificing so many troops without securing victory, they hesitated—wondering if they should really fall back.
A failed mission meant no good end at home regardless.
Some obeyed and withdrew, but others charged the humans with grim resolve.
The orc, troll, and undead contingents looked flustered by the goblin’s sudden move, but without command authority, they started gauging the situation.
For the same reasons as the goblins, though, they chose to fight to the death.
If they could just pin down the High Master, maybe they could turn it around...!
That gambler’s mindset glued their feet in place. And it became the poison that doomed them all to annihilation.
“Secure the perimeter. Reinforce our numbers and bolster defenses!”
Once the storm had passed, the Emperor immediately ordered reorganization.
They’d lost a fair number of Masters, but if they could revive the Ancient Emperor and the Red Cross Army...
A thousand Masters and ten High Masters would more than compensate—they’d dominate the other races.
As damage reports rolled in, madness filled the Emperor’s eyes.
“Well done. You’ve done splendidly, Count Regalia.”
“I’m honored, Your Majesty. I merely did my duty.”
Rokan responded humbly to the Emperor’s praise—a subtle thanks for seeing through his stealth.
[You’ve earned 30,000 Merit Points.]
And as a bonus, a whopping 30,000 Merit Points.
Add in the two Masters he’d slain and the one he’d tossed their way, and it totaled 55,000—an enormous haul in just minutes.
A perfect reward for the brutal difficulty of facing a swarm of Masters.
“Reorganize quickly! We’re almost there!”
Casualties were swiftly replenished. When the Emperor stakes everything on a push like this, it’s only natural.
NPCs didn’t respawn infinitely, so Master numbers were capped—more quantity over quality, but the enemy faced the same limits.
Four hours remained.
Thanks to the Emperor’s trust after Rokan’s heroics, he spent the time cranking out mechanical engineering items on demand.
[Mechanical Engineering proficiency has increased by 0.1%.]
A golden opportunity. Success rates and proficiency gains in Mechanical Engineering hinged heavily on material quality.
With the Emperor’s backing, Rokan feasted on top-tier materials impossible to buy, raising his proficiency nonstop for nearly four hours.
More raids came, of course. But nothing on the scale of the first assault—Rokan’s Suppress and Berserk handled them easily.
Masters were rare on their side too, after all.
“Oh, finally...!”
And at last, the moment arrived.
The Ancient Emperor’s revival.
‘Time to bail.’
As the Emperor and council poured massive mana into the Ancient Emperor’s body, Rokan quietly prepared to slip away.
No telling how the revived Ancient Emperor would react.
‘Worst case, we all die.’
If corrupting power had stripped its sanity entirely, it could wipe everyone here and bust out.
Ready to bolt if needed, Rokan watched as dazzling light consumed the mana.
It was fully absorbed into the Ancient Emperor’s body.
[At last... the time of revival has come.]
The Ancient Emperor’s eyes snapped open. A satisfied smile spread, as if it had foreseen this. Fortunately—or not—its eyes weren’t fully crazed.
‘Damn, no effect?’
Rokan grew uneasy. He’d gone to lengths to infuse corrupting power into its neck, but if it had no impact... Was it already mad, so corruption changed nothing?
His pupils shook, cold sweat beading.
[You lot are my descendants? I sense a faint bloodline aura flowing through you.]
“Yes, indeed. I am Kaisman, 79th Emperor of the Restonia Empire.”
Even Masters could tell at a glance how overwhelmingly powerful the Ancient Emperor was.
Knowing this, Kaisman prostrated himself flat. His dream wasn’t just holding the throne—it was humanity’s resurgence.
[So be it. What’s the situation outside? It seems we humans aren’t at our former glory. You’ve revived me, after all.]
“My apologies. The truth is...”
Kaisman spilled every detail to the Ancient Emperor. Humanity’s innate limits, scorned and oppressed. Even mistreated within the Golden Lion faction.
The Ancient Emperor listened quietly to the near-lament, then kindled subtle fury.
[Those vermin dared...? Fear not, my descendant. Humanity’s era will return. My knights and I will make it so.]
With that, the Ancient Emperor moved. It swept its gaze around, then raised a hand, unleashing energy.
Rumble.
The lab shattered, a path opening. Deep underground, sunlight poured through the collapsed ceiling. The Ancient Emperor’s body soared like Superman’s.
Already superhuman, a mere leap achieved flight.
Absurd to most, but Rokan understood.
‘That’s Grand Master power...’
The pinnacle the Ancient Emperor reached before death: Grand Master, beyond High Master.
Invincible across the continent, it had soloed hordes of Masters and High Masters. How much returned was unknown, but at minimum, High Master level or higher.
“Let us return. And await his arrival.”
The current Emperor rose, eyes brimming with emotion, tracking the departed Ancient Emperor. He decreed a return to the palace.
‘Gotta hurry.’
As soldiers and knights packed up, Rokan moved first. The lab’s destruction had lifted spatial transfer restrictions.
Whipping out his Rune Book, he teleported straight to the Ancient Emperor’s tomb.
“Not here yet, huh.”
Luckily, Rune Book beat superhuman flight.
Whirr.
Rokan activated the device, dashed inside the tomb toward his target.
“Bombardment! Wild Slaughter!”
Boom boom boom boom!
Upon arrival, he went all-out, unleashing every skill.
Crack crack! Crumble.
‘Gotcha!’
His targets: the metal dolls shaped like the Red Cross Army, the Ancient Emperor’s direct guard.
Once indestructible objects, revival stripped that—now mere “Inert Steel Dolls.”
‘Penalty sucks... but still worth it.’
Destroying inactive foes meant slashed EXP and drop rates versus full specs. But against motionless prey, it was plenty.
“Berserk!”
Rokan even popped Berserk, rampaging. Immobile or not, their durability was insane—even his attacks struggled.
So he maxed attack power, ignoring time limits. Ancient Emperor incoming meant game over anyway.
To minimize revivable Red Cross Army numbers, he smashed indiscriminately.
[10 seconds until Berserk ends. 9, 8, 7...]
The spree halted only when Berserk expired.
“Rune Book— to Taimura!”
Next: escape. Before the Ancient Emperor arrived, Rokan bailed—leaving a tiny trace.
‘Corruption Wave worked for the Black Dragon Legion. Time for something different.’
Amusingly, gnome-related.
He’d slipped a gnome-exclusive Mechanical Engineering material into a corner.