The Spear of the Abyss and the Knee of the Black Tortoise
The battlefield was filled with every kind of sound imaginable.
The stolen Gatling guns roared like thunder as they spat bullets. The greater demon swung its greatsword, sweeping soldiers clean off the ramparts, only to be shattered by gunfire itself and plummet below. The enemy’s ore ships fired magical cannons with sharp, ringing cracks. Concrete melted into green flames with a sickening sizzle wherever those shots landed.
Baron Finn’s commands were relatively quiet by comparison.
They were transmitted through the visors.
All regular infantry at the right-side third watchtower, evacuate immediately! Enemy bombardment incoming!
What? The chain soldiers on the left second watchtower are all wiped out so you can’t hold? Then collapse the tower and trap the demons inside!
Sir Bazliff! Bind the sulfur demons approaching the command tower with holy chains!
“For His Imperial Majesty!”
The knights’ unified reply was the last real “noise.”
Because soon after, every sound was swallowed into a forced silence.
Ironically, noise can only exist because of empty space. When every inch of space is packed with sound, noise paradoxically disappears.
Kwa-kwa—kwa-kwa—kwang!
The concrete heavy ships slammed into the demon legion’s vessels in a long line. If you took the sound of a chisel striking rock and multiplied it ten thousand times, this was what it would sound like.
The mountain-splitting crack-crack rang out for a moment, then vanished.
The effect was spectacular.
First, the shockwaves swept outward thirty times in every direction. The harbor of Sinal Port shook as if a child were violently stirring a cup of water. The black sea flames burning on the surface from the gasoline were snuffed out in an instant. Waves—or rather, the boundaries of what should have been a tsunami—spun and danced in every direction, unsure where to go.
But soon the waves were devoured by what they had hidden beneath them.
Mud and silt erupted from below, shooting into the air. The entire sea looked like a corpse spewing black bodily fluids as it rose toward the sky.
Naturally, the ore ships and the lead vessels of the enemy fleet that had been the targets of this suicide attack completely vanished from sight.
It took only a few seconds for the entire spectacle to end, yet the spectators felt as if they had been trapped inside the sensation of the world ending for hours.
And then, a short while later—
Space finally returned to the air.
The cheers that had been seeping out from within that space exploded like a collapsing dam.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!”
“Behold His Majesty’s strike!!”
“Long live His Imperial Majesty!!!”
“Die, you demon bastards!!”
The entire Sinal Port fortress was submerged in cheers so loud it seemed the walls might collapse.
Thanks to that, the demons who had landed as the vanguard suddenly lost strength.
“Ugh. How dare mere lower species! This is impossible!”
“Kuaaaaaaaa—!”
These demons, who grew by feeding on human malice and fear, were extremely sensitive to the emotional state of the humans around them. As human morale surged, the blazing flames on the demons’ bodies flickered out, replaced by wisps of white smoke like pathetic candles.
“Good! Let’s dismember every last one of the bastards that came ashore! Chains!”
Baron Finn shouted with a wide grin.
The knights reacted with the precision of a well-rehearsed orchestra, responding instantly to every command.
They immediately hurled the thick anchors and chains they had obtained from Earth toward the demons. As the anchors dug into the demons’ bodies, armored knights swiftly leaped between them, spinning and weaving. They slid between legs, vaulted over railings left and right, and twirled until the massive demons were wrapped tightly in chains.
The demons whose legs were bound screamed as they crashed heavily onto the ramparts.
“Hah! Serves you right! Fire! Shoot them to pieces!”
As if in answer to Baron Finn’s roar, the massive clumps of silt and black seawater that had shot into the sky came pouring down like rain. Between the falling droplets, yellow tracer rounds streaked like beams of light.
Every time soldiers ran across the accumulating mud, leaving behind thick horseshoe-like boot prints from their armored greaves and spent shell casings, the chained demons were torn apart piece by piece.
With the demons’ screams at his back, Baron Finn cheered.
“We’re winning! Are you watching? We’re actually winning!”
“I see it clearly, Baron! It’s real!”
“…Oh, Sally. Are you watching? I’m avenging your blood right now!”
“Die! You who took my mother!”
The soldiers and knights shouted, ran, thrust spears, hurled chains, fired guns, and spat curses all at once.
Everyone who had come to Sinal had written their wills beforehand. They had arrived prepared to die—yet now it looked like they might actually win.
The battlefield transformed into a festive celebration in the blink of an eye.
The demons died spilling white alcohol instead of red blood and clear tears. A battlefield that reeked of liquor had been created.
But Kim Hwang-je did not relax.
If it had been this easy, the eunuch wouldn’t have told the clones to beat him up.
“…What’s that?”
Far in the distance, Kim Hwang-je noticed the dark-blue aura rising before anyone else.
Felix’s flagship was drawing out a spiraling wind of vengeful spirits. And it wasn’t just that ship. A significant number of the warships that had yet to enter the front lines were emitting the same ominous light.
Emperor.
The conventional battle is our overwhelming victory.
Beware the enemy’s asymmetric forces!
You must prepare to defend with full power!
Now! Summon allied troops using your clones!
Kim Hwang-je swallowed hard.
The atmosphere had definitely turned ominous.
“Alright…”
Kim Hwang-je slightly removed his visor and shifted his vision to his main body seated on the throne inside Stronghold.
Around him, the clones sat with bored expressions.
“Hit… me!”
Perhaps thanks to Kim Hwang-je’s resolve, the clones cracked their knuckles with smooth smiles.
* * *
‘…The power of a Prince is incredible. My lord will surely scold me.’
A mere projectile weapon. There was no way a demon would die from something that merely fired tiny metal pellets the size of beans. Without magical processing and the authority of a Prince, those weapons would have been completely useless.
The battlefield was in despair. Defeat was right before their eyes.
But they could not simply lose without even putting up a fight.
Felix spoke.
“Use all the slaves.”
“Kihihihi… Legion Commander… You truly do not intend to return like this?”
Felix did not answer.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he could not answer.
The banshee did not ask again.
Instead of speaking, the banshee withdrew the arm that had been emitting cursed cold air and formed a wicked hand sign.
Immediately, crimson blood poured from both sides of every ship in the demon fleet, including the flagship.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
The fisherman who had been watching cried out urgently.
“It’s a grand spell that uses every last sacrifice! We must protect the gate…!”
But Kim Hwang-je’s eyes were strangely unfocused.
That was because he was currently being collectively beaten up(?) in reality.
Flash—!
However, the words were never finished.
The fisherman looked up at the sky before he could complete his sentence.
A colossal spear of darkness had risen above the flagship. Its length easily exceeded a hundred meters. It felt less like the spear was being held and more like the spear itself was floating in the air with something dangling from it.
“Damn it. Even I couldn’t do anything about Jakturus, yet a monster like that has come in person?”
Nax let out a deep sigh from atop the building she was perched on.
“Dragon sis! Do you know what that is?”
The fisherman asked.
Dragon sis?Nax frowned for a moment—she had never been addressed with such a familiar title in her long life—but she shook her head to brush off the emotion.
“Wasting emotion in front of the Spear of Ten Thousand Lives would be pointless.”
“Spear of Ten Thousand Lives?”
“That is a hellish spell that forges the ‘darkness’ of the abyss into a spear. It requires sacrificing at least ten thousand lives to summon. If even a Prince cannot stop it, we will all die.”
“Your Majestyyyyy!”
Having heard that, the fisherman grabbed onto the hem of the colossal Kim Hwang-je’s pants and tugged desperately.
The soldiers standing guard nearby panicked and immediately reported to Baron Finn.
Before long, Baron Finn came running in a hurry as well.
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
Finn and the fisherman each grabbed one pant leg and shook wildly. The enormous fabric—large enough to cover the entire front of the royal palace—flapped like a massive banner, stirring up wind.
Nax, unable to watch the farce any longer, scolded them loudly.
“Be quiet, you damned humans! Don’t you think your master knows what he’s doing?”
But even Nax was genuinely afraid.
The spear of darkness that Felix was summoning had finally taken on a misty form, dyeing the entire horizon pitch black. Massive eyes and teeth sprouted all over the spear, and the sound of chewing echoed in every direction.
A sense of terror as if the abyss itself would swallow Sinal swept across the area.
“Ugh!”
Nax jumped at the sudden voice of Kim Hwang-je.
When she hurriedly turned around, Kim Hwang-je was grimacing, letting out thick groans and curses.
“Kuuuuurgh… fuck…”
Kim Hwang-je’s face looked ten years older, and it kept changing every few seconds. Seeing the bizarre expressions continue, Nax said,
“What in the world is wrong with your face! Is the curse already eroding you?!”
“…Ugh! I—ack! Ow! It feels like—grk!—I’m taking my own share—ugh! You too… urgh!”
“Your Majesty! Look! An incredibly powerful spear of darkness is descending upon us!”
“Ugh! Don’t—ack!—worry, you idiot! Not there—guuuuurgh!”
At Kim Hwang-je’s bizarre tone, Nax and the fisherman met eyes across the great distance.
Just what was happening to Kim Hwang-je?
* * *
The reason was simple.
Kim Hwang-je, tied to a chair, was being fiercely beaten by Clone #1.
“Black Tortoise Knee Strike! Black Tortoise Knee Strike!”
“Aaaargh! You son of a bitch! Just hit me quietly!”
“No! The skill name is necessary! Black Tortoise Knee Strike! Black Tortoise Knee Strike!”
“Kuuuurgh! That damn eunuch bastard—!”
The eunuch had definitely said that shouting the skill name would increase the effect.
Thanks to that, Seo Jun-seo dropped the black tea he had been carrying the moment he saw this incomprehensible scene.
Clang!
Clone #2 saw the broken teacup, but Clone #1 continued shouting,
“Black Tortoise Knee Strike!”
Seo Jun-seo screamed.
“President!!”
“Kuuuurgh! I’m… the clone… uuuugh!”
“No, what the hell happened in the few hours I was gone on an errand?!”
It had only been a few hours since Seo Jun-seo had left his post. He had gone to deposit gold with a hedge fund—why on earth was the boss surrounded by clones and getting beaten up? And coughing up blood, no less!
Kim Hwang-je had rolled his eyes back and looked ready to die. In fact, his intestines were on the verge of rupturing.
Clone #1 held Kim Hwang-je by the shoulder and delivered continuous knee kicks to his abdomen. The physique trained through years of manual labor combined with excellent technique created truly brutal violence.
But just before he ran out of breath, Kim Hwang-je’s Clone #2 spoke with a compassionate expression.
“Oh dear… That must hurt a lot. Here, drink this quickly.”
“Kugh! Why is your—aaargh!—tone so—ack!—gentle…?”
He couldn’t continue because Clone #2 had poured an entire bottle of potion straight into his mouth.
“It’s healing! Getting better! Good, let’s keep going! Hup! Hup!”
“Kuuuurgh!”
Because Clone #1 put even more strength into the knee strikes, Kim Hwang-je ended up spitting out all the potion he had just swallowed.
“Tsk… This won’t do. Mr. Seo Jun-seo, do we have a long medical funnel for potions?”
“Y-yes…?”
Seo Jun-seo hesitated, unsure whether he should follow Clone #2’s instructions. But the appearance and voice were unmistakably Kim Hwang-je himself.
“Kuuuurgh…”
But the real Kim Hwang-je looked like he was about to pass out!
Seo Jun-seo immediately brought the medical funnel.
Clone #2 inserted the funnel into the screaming main body’s mouth and poured potions in without restraint.
“There, there. Get healthy! Hang in there!”
“Ugh, I’m not—uuuurgh!”
“Haha! Black Tortoise Knee Strike! Black Tortoise Knee Strike! Black Tortoise Knee Strike! This is really relieving my stress!”
“Gurgh! What stress could a bastard who was born fifteen seconds ago possibly have?! Guuuuurgh!!”
* * *
However, a colossal change was occurring inside the kingdom within his body.
“Ooh…”
One side of the sky burned with the dark abyss spear, while the other side opened wide, pouring down auspicious light along with the legion of the Black Tortoise(…).
As the tortoises began landing one by one in front of the ramparts, Felix immediately hurled the spear.
“Take this, Prince! Let us show these lowly creatures what a true clash of authorities looks like!”
A short while later, a powerful response(?) rang out from the center of Sinal Port.
“Kuuuuurghhhhhhh!”
“What a terrifying shout…”
Felix wiped the alcoholic sweat dripping down his forehead.