Chapter 57 : The Corrupted Death God, Celestial Tortoise.

The northern forest guarded by the Elves.

Britael, the guardian of this place, yawned lazily.

Normally, the northern forest faced far more frequent beast attacks than the other three regions.

There wasn’t a day when attacks didn’t come several times over.

But yesterday and today, strangely, no beast was in sight.

Perhaps that was why.

Britael felt a rare sense of ease amid the awkward peace.

Leaning against a tree with her spear, Britael gazed at the calm water’s surface.

Her weapon was a spear—one seldom used by Elves.

Ordinary Elves grasp bow and staff from birth.

Being naturally talented in archery and magic was the Elves’ inherent trait.

However, Britael was different.

While others took up bows, she alone wielded a spear.

One of the few melee warriors in the village.

That she became the guardian of the north spoke volumes about her strength.

Unlike archers or mages who fought from relatively safe distances, spear or sword warriors fought on the front lines.

That she had survived this long alone was proof of her prowess.

In fact, when it came to combat skills, she was the strongest among the four guardians.

Her fiery temperament sometimes caused clashes with other Elves, but she was straightforward without grudges.

“Haam, peace is nice, but it’s so boring.”

However, she had just said something she should never have.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the birds in the forest screeched loudly and took flight.

A foreboding aura filled the humid air.

Soon, a massive beast revealed itself in the distance.

Boom—

A thunderous roar shook the earth.

The previously still water began to ripple violently.

“W-what is that?”

Britael murmured, frowning.

A creature she had never seen before.

Its presence was on a whole different level from the corrupted beasts she had fought until now.

Just watching from afar sent chills down her spine.

An overwhelmingly oppressive aura.

Though she had fought on the front lines for many years, she had never trembled like this before.

Even when surrounded by three leader-class beasts, fighting for her life, she had endured.

But this was different.

Her entire body trembled faintly.

It was telling her one thing:

If this continues, everyone will die.

“R-retreat, everyone. Regroup with the Queen.”

In that brief moment, Britael’s decision was precise.

There was no way they could hold their ground here.

Yet, overwhelmed by the presence, she missed the movement of other creatures.

The beasts had already reached the shoreline and roared towards the Elven warriors.

Kaaah—

Gripping her spear tightly, Britael pierced the skull of the closest beast.

This was no time to stall.

She had to ring the bell quickly and warn the village.

“I’ll hold them off. Everyone, ring the bell and fall back to the village.”

The fourth bell, never before rung until now, sounded.

The village’s existence was in grave danger.

No, the situation was far worse than that.

An unstoppable disaster had arrived.

There appeared to be hundreds of beasts.

At least twenty leader-class beasts among them.

But the real threat was yet to come.

From beyond the sea, a creature was approaching.

Once it set foot on this land, there would be no turning back.

Could anyone stand against it?

Britael shook her head.

“Stand against? If we survive even a few seconds, it’s a victory.”

Perhaps they had discovered this too late.

But that didn’t mean she could give up everything.

At least, they had to take down some of the leaders.

With a determined roar, Britael ignited all the mana in her body.

She had already given up on surviving.

Her mission was to buy even a second of time for the Elven warriors heading to warn the village.

It was faintly evident.

Sssh—

A rare crimson mana enveloped Britael’s entire body.

Her heart burned, exponentially enhancing her physical abilities.

It would only last three minutes.

But that was enough.

Snap—

Britael sprang from her spot and swung her spear.

Twenty spears made of crimson mana appeared, swirling fiercely around her.

Then—

Fwoosh—

They scattered in four directions.

Mana-made spears were not offensive weapons.

They were a kind of short-distance teleportation magic.

At that moment, Britael vanished, only to reappear atop one of the red spears embedded in the ground.

She kicked off the earth and spun her body.

To instantly kill a leader-class beast, raw piercing power was insufficient.

If power wasn’t enough, speed would do.

If speed alone failed, then rotation was used.

Katch, jji-jjik, pang—

With one strike, she pierced through a leader’s thick hide.

Concentrating all her power into one point, the beast’s tough skin cracked and then fully penetrated.

Britael’s body was splattered with the leader’s blood.

But there was no time to rest.

Gathering her breath, she moved to the spear lodged in a tree on the opposite side.

Then, she launched herself into the air.

Her movements were concise.

Not a single unnecessary motion.

In those three brief minutes, she pushed her body to the extreme.

She wouldn’t stop.

She would take down as many as possible.

By now, she had slain five exhausted leader beasts.

Only one spear remained.

Her racing heart was beginning to slow.

She could only move once more at best.

Looking around with a tired expression, Britael steadied her mind.

One spear left.

She would end this in a blaze of glory.

She gripped the red spear embedded in the ground.

Then her face hardened with resolve.

If she stabbed the spear into her heart, a massive explosion would occur in this area.

At that point, no one would survive.

But the decision was made.

If death was inevitable, she would burn brighter than anyone else.

Then, just as she closed her eyes to plunge the spear into her chest, a green tree branch grabbed her arm.

“Your Majesty?”

It was the Queen’s magic.

A tremendous roar soon echoed.

She raised her head and looked up at the sky.

“Britael, trying to take your own life is truly disappointing!”

A giant silver metallic mech soared through the sky, spitting flames!

***

Bbyak-bbyak!

After spending a month together, this was the first time Bbyak had shown this expression.

Urgently signaling something.

A massive beast was approaching.

“You say it has a power similar to yours?”

At my question, Bbyak shook its head.

Similar power?

No.

Similar but inferior.

Moreover, considering the overwhelming mana power, it was no match.

If even the immortal Bbyak spoke this way, the opponent had to be formidable.

It might even be the cause of the corrupted beasts.

Bbyak wasn’t the only one wearing a worried expression.

Silpia was also staring toward the north.

“It’s crying.”

She spoke softly, trembling.

The voice of the Seghyesu echoed clearly nearby.

It spoke of the origin of all this.

An unavoidable disaster.

If they were to perish now, they might survive.

She was doubtful.

If they followed the Seghyesu’s advice and perished with the other Elves, the race’s extinction could be avoided.

But how long could they keep doing that?

As long as the danger of corrupted beasts remained, injured or dead Elves would continue to increase.

Standing at the crossroads of choice was Silpia.

With everyone’s life on the line, she could not decide easily.

At that moment—

Shuuyong—Kong—

Somi, who had finished weapon practice, appeared with a confident look.

She had tested more than ten types of weapons.

She had also mastered combat techniques suited to each opponent.

With the power of the colossal mech, even mature divine beasts or death gods were manageable opponents.

As everyone gathered, the system appeared as if it had been waiting.

The first mission received in the 10,459th dimension.

[Eliminate the Corrupted Death God Celestial Tortoise.]

Reward: Purified Celestial Tortoise

Their mission was to kill the Celestial Tortoise.

The “similar power” Bbyak mentioned referred to the death god.

Celestial Tortoise.

One of the Shinsu that governs water, shaped like a turtle with a serpent’s tail.

Could they really stop it with their strength?

They put their heads together and planned the operation.

First, the enemy’s combat power was feasible.

After all, it was a fully grown death god.

Even corrupted, it likely possessed at least SS-grade strength.

Even if a hundred A-rank gathered, they couldn’t face an S-rank alone.

The difference between ranks 5 and 55 was like heaven and earth.

At least they had S+ rank Bbyak and S-rank Toto.

Ah, almost forgot the most important member of this Celestial Tortoise extermination party.

Somi.

Her combat power, wielding the colossal mech freely?

No less than Bbyak’s.

On top of that, Silpia, who commanded the power of the Seghyesu, and the ice witch Seolha, who could obstruct the enemy’s movements.

This was doable.

No general could stand before overwhelming force.

They were a small but elite party delivering a crushing blow.

Operation Name: Turtle Shell.

All plans were finalized.

Celestial Tortoise?

In front of us, it was just a big turtle!

Everyone boarded Somi’s mech.

Flames burst from the thrusters on its back.

“Big size means low mobility?”

Who says that?

Our colossal mech moved at a speed rivaling fighter jets.

Its cockpit was no less comfortable than a sedan.

Riding it felt nothing short of miraculous.

Then—

When they nearly reached the northern coastline, Silpia shouted urgently.

“Britael!”

Britael was the Elf who had opposed the Elven council’s decision.

Come to think of it, someone was fighting alone down there.

Britael, breathing heavily, had slain five leader beasts single-handedly.

Gripping her last remaining spear, she was about to stab herself in the heart!

That was her final resolve against the approaching Celestial Tortoise on the shore.

Silpia hurriedly blocked her.

No matter the threat to the village, she couldn’t allow Britael to take her own life.

Then—

Flash—

We’re here.

No more problems.

Kuaaaa!

The colossal mech arrived, and the Celestial Tortoise roared.

Bbyak trembled slightly.

Being face-to-face with the Celestial Tortoise was overwhelmingly intimidating.

Was this the true power of a death god?

Still, it wasn’t comparable to the young immortal Bbyak.

Just being nearby was suffocating.

But fear alone wouldn’t do.

Somi launched the first attack.

The colossal mech swung a massive hammer at the Celestial Tortoise’s head!

The turtle-shaped body staggered under the blow, even though it was far larger.

Flash—

But it showed no real signs of damage.

If it broke easily, it would have been disappointing.

They hadn’t even revealed their mech’s true power yet.

Bbyak!

Bbyak’s vigorous cry.

At that moment—

A red projectile flew from afar.

What was it?

A rocket-propelled hammer they had seen during training.

Just grabbing it wouldn’t do.

Jumping into the air—

Gagagang—

It crashed straight into the Celestial Tortoise’s head!