321. The War of the Puppets (18)
-Swish!
Sweat poured down like rain. In front of Fernandez’s eyes, his sweat gathered to form a puddle. The world shook as if an earthquake had struck. But he knew it wasn’t the world trembling—it was him.
His body was hot, and while his muscles screamed with fatigue and pain, his inner self remained eerily calm. Fernandez exhaled deeply and bent his arm.
-Crack!
With the sound of his joints aligning, the puddle grew closer. Moisture touched the tip of his nose, then fell away again.
“Hoo……”
[To me, that looks like nothing but self-abuse.]
“Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference between self-abuse and training.”
[I’ve trained countless warriors and seen more than five War Captains, but none abused their bodies as harshly as you. It’s closer to the posture of ascetics.]
“You hit the nail on the head. I am Diemonica, after all.”
Diemonica is an ascetic, and one worthy of being called a warrior. Fernandez spoke as he bent his arm. He was supporting his entire body with just two fingers—his index and middle fingers—while doing a handstand, loosening his muscles.
Lavirata watched the scene blankly, fanned by her attendants. With his shirt off, every movement revealed the intricate, snake-like ripple of his finely sculpted muscles.
The sound of twisting tendons and clashing joints echoed endlessly around him. After some time, Fernandez lightly dusted himself off and stood up, stretching.
“Finally, my body’s loosening up.”
[……? Loosening up? Is that an idiom for tearing your muscles apart? Modern language is so complicated.]
Fernandez chuckled without responding to her joke. Lavirata thought he looked like a blade as he stretched. Though thinner than when she first saw him, he seemed sharper, as if energy flowed through him.
A blade. Like sharpening a sword, grinding the edge against a whetstone. He was tightening his muscles with near-ascetic discipline.
“I’ve rested my body for too long. It’s time to get up.”
[I thought your weapon was within. I know you’re an exceptional warrior, but is it necessary to push yourself so hard?]
“The best preparation is maximum preparation. The more tools, and the stronger they are, the better.”
[Don’t try to carry too much in one person’s body. This is advice from someone who’s lived longer than you.]
“Thank you for your words.”
[You don’t look thankful at all.]
“I’ll listen when the time comes.”
[Men.]
Lavirata clicked her tongue briefly. Fernandez suddenly grew curious. The Pharaoh’s body was closer to a dried-up mummy, meaning she had no vocal cords. Her clear voice, qualitatively different from other specters, was purely a product of her magic.
‘How did she click her tongue? Did she even simulate that sound with magic?’
-Women.
As Faijashi giggled, Lavirata’s eyes flashed sharply.
[I don’t know if you’re aware…… but you, spellcaster. I hear your voice. How insolent.]
-Oh, my apologies. I’m so used to talking to myself. Thoughts don’t ferment well inside me. Spirits have no guts, you see.
[How utterly rude. Fernandez, why aren’t you scolding him?]
“The more tools, the better.”
Fernandez shook his head and finished loosening his arms. His physical condition was almost back to normal.
His soul and body were crumbling from within, caught between the rapid depletion of his lifespan due to harsh labor and magical backlash, and Diemonica’s divine will to keep his physical performance at its peak.
But Orcis’s gift—the essence of immortality—had temporarily balanced the imbalance between his body and soul. It wasn’t a situation to take lightly, but vitality was returning to his body.
Just as Abel, who had absorbed fragments of the gods, restored her corpse-like body to balance her soul and flesh, the same phenomenon was happening to him.
The problem was……
‘A dragon’s soul can contain divinity, but a human’s cannot.’
The divinity trapped in his spirit form was evaporating rapidly. So, this improvement was temporary—a kind of last glow or emergency treatment. His body was still losing balance, like a domino beginning to fall.
“It’s time to get moving.”
[Apotazar’s reply hasn’t come yet. Are you sure you’re ready?]
“There’s always room for variables. But I have a few capable vassals who can identify the optimal moment.”
[You’re aware of how far the Empire’s legion has advanced, aren’t you?]
“They won’t be late.”
That was his belief. With his life on the line, those who wanted to save him would never be late.
Piel is an incredibly powerful independent information reflector. In other words, she can perceive Fernandez’s actions in real time, no matter where he is or what he’s doing.
And Kirhas is now with her. Kirhas sees the path to victory. Blessed by Kadán, the god of hunting, and mixed with the ‘undefeated’ Kirhas from another world, she can instinctively calculate the optimal move at any moment, even if there’s only a sliver of possibility.
Additionally, Freya is in this Great Wilderness. Though her exact location is unknown, she has been expanding her territory across this wasteland for days. Every event here is within her sight.
Freya can send information by blooming flowers in the area she resides.
If these conditions align, support from the Empire will surely succeed. They will all do their best to save him. In fact, walking toward the undead might increase the operation’s success rate.
All that’s needed is faith—in himself and in his vassals. It was time to move. He had done all he could while sitting still.
[I envy them. Especially that you can rely on someone.]
“I rely on you too.”
[Even if it’s just words, they’re nice to hear.]
“It’s not empty talk. The southern defense line rests entirely in your hands. If Kirzat’s forces approach this area, secure a foothold for the battlefield.”
[Don’t worry about that. But promise me one thing.]
“What is it?”
Lavirata gestured to her attendants. They quietly stepped back and brought out Fernandez’s gear. With gentle hands, they wiped the sweat from his body with soft linen and began dressing him in armor and equipment.
[You cannot refuse my three demands. That was our deal.]
“That’s true, but……?”
[However, I’ve given you a reprieve. I’ll propose those conditions after your death.]
“That’s true, but……?”
[I want to add one more condition. Promise me this: don’t come to me until your lifespan naturally ends. Your body has barely lived twenty years. You deserve to be happy. So, after finishing everything, fully enjoy that happiness and prepare for the journey beyond with peace of mind.]
Lavirata declared solemnly. Though her words were lengthy, their essence was closer to a prayer—a wish for him to live healthily and see the end of this war. Fernandez nodded quietly, shouldered his gear, and walked toward the wasteland.
He went out.
* * *
-Pop!
On the vast prairie, a red flower suddenly bloomed. A bud sprouted among the grass in an instant, and the moment it caught the eye, the flower burst open.
-Pop!
Red flowers, out of time and place, were scattered along his path. It was Freya. She was lighting his way from afar. As if the goddess was blessing his journey, with silent support.
In the dim light of dawn on the prairie, Fernandez walked silently toward the direction where the flowers bloomed. The end of his journey was near.
* * *
“Chieftain? Chieftain!”
“Shh.”
Kirhas stood with her back to the east, staring at the distant horizon to the west. Her ears twitched sharply.
“Bülrang…?”
Beyond that was Bülrang. The ruins that the Beastman Nobility had burned down themselves. Karadskar’s legion had crossed the Great Wilderness and was using it as a forward base to advance toward the heart of the Empire.
She turned her eyes to the Beastman soldiers looking at her. They looked like exhausted, ragged beasts, covered in fatigue and dust.
“Chieftain… We must retreat!”
They were already nearing their limit. Compared to the enemy’s full military force, their small numbers were barely enough to hold off what could be considered a vanguard or scouting party.
But the retreat they spoke of meant defeat. A long-term defeat loomed.
“We go to Bülrang.”
“Are you serious, Chieftain?”
The path to victory stretched westward. Her instincts, almost like battle foresight, pointed to Bülrang and beyond.
“We must follow the Chieftain’s words.”
“Damn it, are we all just going to die together or what?”
“You stay here, Elder Lindtail. Elder Goldentooth and I will follow the Chieftain.”
“Blackfang too.”
A sinister voice came from the shadows of the forest. The elder turned his head sharply toward the shadow, his tail stiff. Partak, with a twisted face, walked out with the other elders.
“All the hawkish elders will follow the Chieftain, Lindtail. You can run away like a coward if you want. Like a tail-less pup.”
“Partak Blackfang. Now you act like a warrior? The one who trembled in the shadows all through the last war?”
“Well, let’s say I was conserving my strength.”
Partak clicked his tongue and grumbled. Who would have thought their lord would suddenly make contact? For a while, there was no word, and with monsters swarming in during that time, they thought he was dead…
‘If the lord returns alive and finds out about my betrayal, he won’t let me live.’
Since receiving Fernandez’s message, Partak had no choice. Though he couldn’t use magic, he was still the most influential elder, and most of the elders from each tribe had some weakness he could exploit.
“Someone fill that coward’s cup with tea. He needs to wet his throat before running away.”
“Damn it, are you all really so eager to die? That place is crawling with zombies!”
“Everyone, quiet.”
A chill ran down their spines. In the deep shadows of the forest, a pair of cold, green eyes glowed. The elders instinctively crouched low. The presence of a spirit, grown through countless battles and representing the will of the gods, began to press down on them.
Kirhas scanned the silent elders and growled low.
“Piel, how is Fernin’s condition?”
“Surprisingly improved compared to a few days ago. Chieftain, he is now advancing straight toward Karadskar’s military encampment.”
“Estimated time of contact?”
“Midnight, three days from now.”
“Can you see the future beyond that?”
“…No.”
Piel hesitated. There were only two reasons her foresight couldn’t see the future: either the subject was dead, or some event was blocking the information.
For days, Piel had said she couldn’t see Fernandez’s future. Since then, Kirhas had asked Piel about his condition daily, and each time she heard the same answer, she grew colder, like a blade.
It felt like her blood was drying up. She also knew that Fernandez’s current condition wasn’t normal. Though she didn’t know his exact lifespan like the others, Beastmen have good instincts. She could tell he didn’t have much time left.
Kirhas clenched her teeth. In her mind, there was a simple formula:
1. -> Your Excellency never carries out a losing operation. No matter how perilous the process.
2. -> Therefore, following Your Excellency’s operation naturally leads to victory.
3. -> Thus, her intuition points to victory where Your Excellency is.
This was absolute faith. Just as the Beastmen sometimes called Kirhas the Undefeated, she considered Fernandez the Undefeated. He was an overwhelming superhuman figure who seemed incapable of defeat.
But why this unease? She tapped the hilt of her sword and bit her lip. In truth, she knew the answer.
Fernandez’s plans didn’t include her safety.
Even if his life was the necessary condition for the grand victory of the operation, he was the type to willingly sacrifice himself if it held enough value. So, Piel’s inability to see the future felt like a death sentence to her.
‘If you don’t have faith, don’t follow. If you follow, believe even through fire and thorns.’
Fernandez had once told her that. Though he likely meant it as a demand for blind faith as a tool, for Kirhas, those words had become an absolute standard of judgment.
But now, she wasn’t alone. Her goal was no longer just Fernandez’s victory, but more inclined toward his survival and happiness.
“We go to Bülrang.”
“Chieftain!! This isn’t our war!”
“How much longer do you plan to run? While the enemy burns the Great Wilderness and advances, will you beg to be their livestock to prolong your lives? Praying that tomorrow isn’t your slaughter day? Will you pass this fate to your children, our descendants?”
Kirhas stood up. She looked down at the elders and the soldiers worn out by long battles. Her presence burned fiercely, pressing down on their chests.
“No! We fight not for our survival, but for the survival of our descendants. As our ancestors did! Not our war? If we turn away from this moment, who will stand by us in the war that will come for us someday?”
Kirhas drew a dagger from her robe and threw it. With a sharp crack, the dagger embedded itself deep into a tree ahead. In response, a bud began to bloom from where the dagger struck.
‘Thank you, Freya.’
She bowed her head briefly and turned to the nobility staring at her. They were too stunned by the sudden event to speak.
“Behold! Even the gods on this earth bless our hunt. Take up your weapons! The retreat is over! Your Chieftain, the proxy of the God of Hunting, has returned. The time of the hunt has begun!”
-Whoooosh!
At her gesture, a rider pulled out a horn and blew. Soon, the sound of horns echoed throughout the mountains. Beastman warriors hidden in the rugged mountains between Bülrang and Paltennoia began to respond one by one.
The entire mountain seemed to roar. It was the response of the Beastmen, who had been running and merely surviving, these natural-born hunters.
The Great Wilderness was burning. All their new settlements had fallen into enemy hands, and they had been hiding in the mountains, surviving on roots and fending off the enemy with sporadic ambushes.
But Kirhas, their Chieftain, had returned. Through the distant wasteland, through that space of death filled with enemies!
-Hearttaker! Hearttaker! Hearttaker!
The Undefeated. The one who broke through the brutal wars of two great nations, the pressure of the Legion of Wraiths, the division and rebellion within the nobility. Their Chieftain, who had never been defeated, now stood before them.
Soon, riders who had been crouching throughout the mountains began to mount their steeds and pour down.
The news quickly reached the allied camp of the Dane Kingdom and the Empire in western Palz.
![[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/TS-Obsessed-Gamer-The-Ultimate-Return2.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return")
