Side Story – Blood Battle [4]
[47]
Relay Station.
The facility known as the ‘Relay Station,’ constructed at key strategic military locations, was responsible for the core defensive functions of the Empire’s fortresses.
The relay station controlled nearby mana veins and also played a role in supporting and commanding the mages of the Imperial Legion.
No matter how brilliant a mage might be, it would be impossible to control the actions of mages spread across a wide battlefield one by one.
In such situations, the relay station acted as a central hub that coordinated the manifestation of magic by numerous mages within the legion, enabling efficient firepower projection.
If the relay station ceased to function, there would be no avoiding a drastic reduction in the magical firepower and focus of the legion’s mages.
Therefore, the Imperial Legion had to quickly restore order in Luthern and reactivate the relay station.
However, Ulte’s mind was entirely focused on the darkness approaching from beyond the horizon.
“…”
The sky, once glowing red, was now being enveloped by an unending, thick darkness.
This dark hue, born from the cursed mixing of blessings, swelled around the entity known as the Demon King and rolled over from beyond the horizon.
Despite the resurrection of the wailing spirits covering Luthern, those with keen senses froze momentarily at the sight of the approaching darkness.
The darkness, which had been faintly rippling beyond the horizon, was now rapidly descending toward Luthern.
Although they needed to turn the wailing spirits back into dust and reactivate the relay station, Ulte instinctively felt that the descending darkness would cover Luthern first.
BOOM!!! KOOONG!!!
Mages of the legion attempted to manifest their magic to stop the approaching darkness.
Even without the relay station’s coordination, their weakened magic still caused the ground to tremble with the force unleashed by the legion.
Nevertheless, the speed at which the darkness swallowed the sunlight did not slow down even slightly.
As the imperial legion watched the approaching darkness, they harbored terrible imaginings, yet they could not remain rooted in place.
If pouring out magic proved insufficient, they would ultimately have to block the enemy with their bodies.
THUD!
A heavily armed knight stepped boldly onto the ground first.
The knight’s name was Jeremy. Though Jeremy was a knight who had reached the Graduated level, his stepping forward wasn’t solely based on his own confidence.
Jeremy was equipped with artifacts heavily focused on defense.
Each artifact covering his body was classified as top-tier even within the empire, allowing Jeremy to take the first step despite his fear.
Along with Jeremy, a special unit of about 20 members advanced to halt the entity known as the Demon King.
Of course, while only 20 were at the forefront, the imperial legion prepared to support their operations.
Suppressing both his fear and heightened emotions, Jeremy stepped onto the land beginning to darken.
TRICKLE!
Simply stepping into the spreading darkness made the artifacts react.
And it didn’t stop there—most of the artifacts protecting Jeremy began glowing all at once, warning him of danger.
CRACKLE!!
“…?!”
The artifacts glowed as they resisted the darkness.
However, before long, the artifacts that had spewed chaotic flames at their seams began to lose their light, succumbing to the darkness.
Without direct confrontation, merely stepping into the darkness had already affected them.
The internal circuits of the artifacts tangled, their power sources corroded and cracked.
The high-performance artifacts managed to function properly for only a few seconds.
The darkness swirling around the Demon King was the cursed mixture of blessings and a world born from the Demon King’s hatred.
Within this absolute domain of darkness, the artifacts, once proudly considered perfect creations of human hands and technology, lost their light far too easily.
CRUNCH!!!
The armor shattered like old, corroded metal scraps as the darkness invaded the body.
With the unexpected collapse of the artifacts, Jeremy was left in confusion.
Neither Jeremy nor the others at the front could decide whether they should continue advancing into the darkness or flee immediately.
At that moment,
Ulte and Resina landed behind Jeremy.
“…”
High-ranking knights, draped in expensive artifacts, couldn’t even approach.
Facing the seemingly overwhelming concentration of malevolence, Ulte grasped Genesis in his hand.
Genesis. A weapon created using one of the twelve roots that the World Tree originally extended into the earth.
Although its power has weakened compared to the past, Genesis was undoubtedly one of the greatest divine instruments possessed by the Elven race.
WHOOSH!!
Freed from the curse, Genesis emitted a deep blue vitality, revealing an entirely different presence.
The true blessing of the earth spread, creating a brief space where breathing was possible amidst the darkness.
Only then could Jeremy and the rest of the special unit suppress their confusion and firmly grip their swords.
However, that too was fleeting.
SWISH!
Something was swung within the darkness.
In the instant Jeremy noticed it, a dark trajectory resembling thousands of wriggling worms was already approaching.
The edge of the trajectory caught Jeremy, who barely twisted his waist to evade, but the other members of the special unit weren’t so fortunate.
PAHSH!!
The bodies exposed to the dark trajectory crumbled into ash without even spewing blood.
One member of the special unit, whose arm was severed, was consumed by the darkness flowing through the cut, dissolving like melting wax.
Metallic armor and artifacts held no meaning.
Holy power? There was a cleric among the special unit, but they had long since knelt, their light lost to the encroaching darkness.
Spirits? They screamed and vanished the moment they entered this darkness.
Driven by survival instincts, Jeremy took a step back, but Ulte couldn’t stop him.
Ulte stifled a groan, revealing his astonishment.
“This… What is this…!”
Ulte had placed implicit trust in the ‘vitality’ emanating from Genesis.
The vitality flowing from Genesis was warm yet assertive.
Regardless of the adversary faced, it would elegantly penetrate any gaps, root itself like water seeping into the soil, and spread its vitality.
However, the darkness Ulte now confronted was simply… dark.
There was not a single gap for vitality to root itself; it was completely overlaid with malevolence.
The vitality Ulte trusted without doubt couldn’t fully counteract the darkness.
“Lady Resina…!”
Ulte pleaded, and Resina responded to his plea.
An arrow imbued with the World Tree’s blessing from Resina was crafted and added to Genesis.
Ulte squeezed every bit of Genesis’ strength, not yet fully restored to its former glory, into the arrow as he drew the string.
ZIIING!!!!
Amidst the roar of the aftermath, a streak of lightning carved a path through the darkness.
Though thin, the streak of light momentarily illuminated the center of the darkness.
CHINK!
In the brief flash of light within the darkness,
Ulte locked eyes with a pair of crimson irises.
The crimson irises lacked any trace of reason… only aimless hatred and regret lingered faintly within them.
“…”
Anthonyus.
Ulte murmured the name under his breath.
The voice filled with sympathy and sorrow never reached Anthonyus.
The darkness deepened.
Confronting it head-on was madness.
Firm in this belief, Ulte, having reloaded the arrow provided by Resina, tried to create distance.
With the blessing of the World Tree now handled by a human form, Ulte was confident in his speed and stealthy maneuvers above all else.
It was this confidence that allowed him to enter the darkness without hesitation and maintain distance while occasionally hindering Anthonyus.
It was a mistake.
“…!”
Resina detected the danger first.
She immediately twisted Ulte’s shoulder sideways as a warning.
“Left side!”
“?!”
To Ulte’s immediate left, the darkness coalesced, forming the figure of the Demon King.
Illusion? No, it wasn’t an illusion.
ZEETTT!!!!!
Without any finesse, Ulte blocked the swinging Command Blade with Genesis.
The massive impact broke the bones in Ulte’s forearm, forcing them through his elbow.
Amidst this, Ulte shielded Resina and slid backward.
However, Ulte still hadn’t escaped the radius of the darkness, and behind his back, the darkness coalesced again, forming the figure of the Demon King.
ZZZZIIIING!!!
Sharpshooter Mir’s lower body was obliterated like ash by the Demon King’s attack.
Even as Mir sacrificed herself to save Ulte, she fired her final shot, and Ulte also shot a streak of light towards Anthonyus.
The streak of light fired by Mir lost its brilliance before reaching the nearby Anthonyus.
The streak of light fired by Ulte embedded itself in the sharp scapula covering Anthonyus’ left shoulder, causing sparks to fly.
But that was all.
The streak of light was soon eroded by the darkness, losing its original form and slithering along the ground.
“…”
Ulte moved his broken arm.
The broken arm dangled uselessly, unable to move as intended due to the shattered elbow bone disrupting the flow of mana.
THWACK!
Ulte pulled out the bone piercing his elbow and jammed Genesis through the gap, securing it in place.
With this setup, at least for a short time, Ulte could use his arm and Genesis as mutual supports to properly shoot the arrows given by Resina.
With Genesis fixed to his forearm, Ulte immediately accelerated, holding Resina in his arms, and Anthonyus once again blocked his path emerging from the darkness.
KAGAAGAAGAAGAAACK!!!!!!
In the blink of an eye, dozens of streaks of light blossomed and then fell silent within the darkness.
Focused on escape, Ulte successfully exited the darkness in just a short amount of time, as he had originally anticipated.
And in that short span,
At least twenty elite human and elven forces were expended to aid Ulte’s escape.
The Grand Swordmaster Alexander, hailed as the Cardinal of the Holy Order and the Shield of the Empire,
Along with Alexander and the southern elite troops under his command,
How could the core forces of the continent suffer near-annihilation at the hands of a single entity?
Only after facing it directly could Ulte realize how arrogantly he had underestimated the situation.
The existence Ulte faced was the worst Apostle in history—the Demon King.
A calamity requiring Lord-level cooperation to overcome. Lesser powers dare not approach.
BOOM!!! KWAHHHAAAANG!!!
The magic unleashed by the Imperial Legion began bombarding the darkness again.
However, the magic entering the darkness lost its shape, failing to unleash its full potential before being swallowed whole.
Defending Luthern was impossible.
Realizing this reality, Ulte lowered the Genesis-fixed forearm and loaded an arrow made of pure light.
