Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Assault on the Hidden Village
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Surprisingly, there was something like a village on the ridge.
Dead trees had been used as camouflage, and it seemed they had even set up a kind of barrier using the mana in the natural surroundings.
“…….”
But it could not be forgotten.
“I’ll tell you the mission details.”
In this era where darkness had descended, ordinary people could not survive outside the cities.
Living outside the city meant either risking becoming monsters themselves, or hiding away because they couldn’t live as fugitives.
Or else.
“Destroy everything in sight.”
Something major was being hidden.
Kolan said.
“Every human in sight….”
Kolan and his subordinates moved quietly.
Vallak and the others moved in sync with them.
“Eliminate them.”
The mission was simple.
“…….”
Tension hung in the air.
Especially the Black Sword members from Dante were even more on edge.
‘What in the world could it be?’
Kolan from the main house was moving, and he had called in Dante’s Black Sword.
Questions arose, but they couldn’t ask.
“Is it a surprise attack?”
But since it was a mission, they asked what needed to be known.
At Vallak’s question, Kolan and his subordinates glanced at Vallak for a moment and replied.
“No.”
Step.
Kolan took a step forward.
“We’re not doing any surprise attack.”
His subordinates followed behind him.
Their footsteps were utterly confident, without a hint of hesitation.
By the time they neared the crude village.
Pwoooo!
The sound of a horn signaling an intrusion began to echo from the village.
“Mission start.”
Kolan’s words were the signal.
Tatatak!
His subordinates charged in first.
They ran toward the fairly high wooden fence and drew their swords without hesitation.
Whooo.
The moment mana swirled like a vortex into their swords.
Kwa-kwang!
The aura that poured out shattered the fence.
Amid the thick smoke rising from the broken fence.
Pashit!
Finally, Kolan and his subordinates entered the village.
“Intruders!”
“Enemies!”
No sooner had the startled villagers shouted than sharp sword tips pierced their bodies.
Chwaa!
In an instant, they were torn apart and could no longer scream loudly.
“Uwaaak!”
Their identities didn’t matter.
What mattered was that their opponents were from Demorus.
That they were Kolan.
Chwaa!
A merciless massacre unfolded.
At that brutal scene, Vallak, Sebu, and the others froze, unable to close their mouths.
“…….”
The villagers’ behavior was strange.
Even though enemies had invaded, all they did was run away.
“This… these aren’t enemies?”
Beings that couldn’t be called enemies.
Just as a sense of disconnect arose from massacring civilians.
“You just gonna stand there?”
Jane drew his sword.
Chwaa!
He slashed down a villager who was fleeing toward them.
Sebu and Vallak ground their teeth at that decisive strike.
“Sorry you had to see that.”
Finally, the two of them began to move as well.
This was a mission.
A mission in front of Kolan Demorus, no less.
All their actions right now represented Dante.
Chwaa!
Whether powerless or resisting, it didn’t matter.
This was something they had to do.
Because they were people of the underworld.
Still, it was a relief.
Twitch.
Because these people weren’t just ordinary folk.
When nearly half the villagers had been killed, some of the dead villagers began to twitch.
“Kieee!”
They were undead.
*
*
*
The villagers who had been killed began to rise again.
“……!”
Undead. Those resurrected from death finally began to counterattack against Kolan’s group.
At first, they were just zombies that could be treated as mere mob monsters.
But soon.
Grgrk!
Abominations formed by the corpses of the dead villagers merging together appeared.
Only then did the faces of the summoned Black Sword members brighten.
“This is it.”
Massacring powerless villagers brought guilt.
But if they were monsters.
Kwang!
They could face them without hesitation.
Though resurrected as undead, they were no match for Demorus.
Jane, having felled a zombie knight, looked toward Kolan amid the chaos.
“…….”
Kolan stood there doing nothing. Jane wanted to see him fight, but the enemies here weren’t even worth Kolan moving for.
Slash and stab.
“P-Please… spare…”
Kill those who begged.
Puk.
Kill them again.
Less than 30 minutes passed before the hundreds of villagers were all torn to shreds.
“Whew.”
Just when they thought it was over, Kolan began to move again.
“What the hell is this place…?”
Sebu muttered to himself, thinking the mission was complete.
It was an experience he’d never had while carrying out missions in Dante.
“Found it.”
One of Kolan’s subordinates approached and reported.
He was one who had briefly vanished while dealing with the villagers.
“Well done.”
Praising his subordinate, Kolan moved with him.
The Black Sword followed suit.
And the place they arrived at.
“…….”
There were broken walls and floors, and a distorted barrier.
The village on the ridge had just been camouflage.
The real thing was right here.
“…A dungeon?”
Dungeon.
A space where black mages in the past hid away, built their forces, and conducted research.
And the treasure troves filled with the wealth and treasures they had amassed were dungeons.
Pajit.
When Kolan placed his hand on it, the dungeon entrance spat out lightning.
Pajijit!
Yet Kolan endured the lightning and kept forcing his hand in.
‘Crazy bastard.’
Jane thought as he watched.
It was insane.
The barrier sealing the dungeon entrance was practically the essence of black mages.
Forcibly opening it like that was no different from smashing the entire dungeon at once.
Pajijijjit!
The surging mana would overwhelm even a superhuman and blow them apart.
Kolan was trying to rip open the barrier with sheer force alone.
Kwajik!
The sound changed.
The moment the flashing lightning turned to a deep red hue.
Kwaaaang-!
The dungeon entrance exploded.
Kolan Demorus had pulled off that insane feat.
‘How much mana does he have?’
Kolan didn’t give the impression of being that strong based on looks alone.
He had never properly shown his skills before, making it hard to gauge.
But this one move.
It proved Kolan’s true power.
“A monster.”
He was a monster too.
“Entering.”
*
*
*
The dungeon was unfamiliar even to the Black Sword elites.
Dungeons had once been places they frequented, but in this era, black mages no longer needed to hide.
The many dungeons had been abandoned, and raids no longer happened easily.
“…….”
Curiosity about the mission filled their heads, but no one asked.
Then.
“Kieee!”
Undead filling the dungeon appeared and began attacking.
“Annoying.”
The moment Kolan, who had only watched outside, spoke in a bored tone.
Paaang!
The charging undead horde exploded in an instant, turning into chunks of meat that splattered against the walls.
“……!”
Everyone except Kolan’s subordinates was stunned.
‘What did he do?’
‘Just now….’
A single strike they couldn’t even follow with their eyes.
“…….”
The only one who sensed and saw it was Jane.
“Jerjoa.”
When Kolan called one of his subordinates, the man nodded and advanced quickly.
Kwang!
A small explosion started.
Kwakwakwang!
And continued massively.
Jane could feel what he was doing.
He was literally smashing through the traps the dungeon’s master had set to defend against intruders.
‘Barbos, was it?’
Kolan’s direct subordinate unit, Barbos.
Jerjoa was one of them, he’d heard.
Kwang!
After the final explosion, no more sounds came.
“Whew, impressive.”
Sebu was genuinely impressed.
He’d cooperated with the main house’s forces before, but never on a mission with someone of Kolan’s caliber.
Seeing the main house’s power properly for the first time, it was truly beyond the heavens.
Dante’s Black Sword was said to be strong, but these guys were beyond imagination.
“But….”
So the question was inevitable.
“Why bring us along?”
With that level of skill, they wouldn’t even need support from Dante.
“You’re realizing it now?”
“Huh?”
“They brought us because we’re useful.”
Sebu was slightly flustered by Jane’s uncharacteristic tone.
“R-Right?”
“Yeah. So shut up and focus on the mission.”
Sebu stood there blankly for a moment, sensing the shifted atmosphere.
“I’ll guide you.”
Jerjoa, having finished his task, approached Kolan and bowed.
And they resumed moving.
Finally, they reached their destination.
Wooong!
It was an altar radiating massive mana so thick it was hard to breathe.
Burning flames and sacrificial offerings were visible.
Strange magic circles emitted mana forming a strict barrier.
“Hmm.”
The barrier’s intensity was incomparable to the one guarding the dungeon.
Kolan reached out his hand again, just like before.
Paaaht!
The bursting flash was so intense it stole everyone’s vision for a moment.
“My lord!”
Kolan’s subordinates rushed to him in alarm.
It was just a clash with the barrier for a moment.
Chiiik.
Kolan’s hand that had touched it was blackened and festering.
Even after hastily applying potion, the wound didn’t heal easily—it was like a scar from mana damage.
“This’ll be tough.”
It seemed impossible to open the barrier Kolan’s way.
And it was clear that beyond that barrier lay the true objective of the mission.
They couldn’t give up here.
“Hmm.”
Kolan, pondering a solution, finally spoke as if he’d found an answer.
“Black Sword, will you lend a hand?”
A fairly polite attitude.
“I’d like you to throw yourselves at this barrier.”
But his follow-up words were utterly despair-inducing.