Chapter 73: End of the War (4)

They had been aiming for the orc army, but it was as if fire was about to fall on their own backs.

The wizards hurriedly began to activate their defenses.

Unlike the ignorant knights, weren’t they seekers of Truth, wizards after all?

“Barrier magic?”

“We have precisely layered it fifteen times. Any more overlap would just increase mana consumption.”

Allan kept his eyes on the attendants reporting to him.

He wanted to snap back at them, questioning how they could be so confident just because they had layered the barrier a dozen or so times, but he held back.

“In addition, we have prepared over three hundred trap spells, boundary magic, and artifacts.”

“Understood.”

He gave a slight nod and dismissed the attendants.

At this moment, the plain where they had gathered looked fairly well-fortified.

But would that be enough to face those terrifying forces?

No, could they even hold them off for a moment?

“This is strange.”

Yes, strange indeed.

Allan muttered as he frowned.

That was because the knights, who they thought would be wiped out quickly, still seemed to be fighting.

“Kruooaar—!”

The monstrous roar echoed, filled with rage and menace.

Yet, within it, Allan sensed a faint trace of agony.

Not only that, the booming sound stirred memories of a fierce battle within his mind.

“What on earth is happening?”

He hoped to feel something else, some clue, but no matter how he focused, he could only sense magic everywhere.

Just as his thoughts tangled and spiraled, Allan’s sharp intuition caught something.

Raising his head, he looked beyond the barrier and saw a lone fierce beast.

“A lion?”

A pure white, formidable White Lion.

Allan’s gaze fixed on the deep blue eyes, like a spring nestled within snowy mountain ridges.

Should he capture and tame it?

The Marx Family’s unique and fervent desire for ownership and conquest flared within him.

His lips curled into a smile at the lion’s alluring white form.

Then the lion smiled back.

No, he thought again.

He had not been mistaken—the lion bared large fangs in a mocking grin.

Not a pleasant smile, but a clear sneer.

At the same time, Allan’s senses caught something else.

Looking reflexively up at the sky, two stars were falling.

***

Kwaaaang—!

One star fell first.

The barrier that someone had proudly boasted about began to crack.

Kwaaaang—!

The second star followed.

The fractured barrier could not hold and shattered with a crash.

“Ugh, uuaaagh! “

“It’s an ambush!”

The wizards, who had been tense moments before, leapt up as if scorched by fire.

Even so, the trap spells were steadily activated, fired toward the stars.

Explosions continuously echoed.

The wizards themselves could barely grasp the situation.

They were only terrified by the overwhelming magical pressure suffocating the air.

“Kraaak!”

“Damn humans!”

Amid the dense trap magic, furious voices rang out.

They were the Liches who had fallen here on the stars.

Kuum—!

The magic they unleashed swept violently in all directions.

“Damn it all!”

What could possibly enrage them so?

The Magic Alliance, caught off guard by the enraged beings spewing wild magic, had no time to understand the cause.

***

“Ughk!”

Screams never ceased.

From unknown arms scattered on the ground, red blood gushed.

“How can it be so cruel…!”

Someone shouted.

Roland, the Lord, recalled the words.

“That is cruel?”

His eyes burned red.

No flesh remained on the weathered bones.

Black darkness layered over their original forms!

Not beautiful at all—

Swallowing the words rising to his throat, Roland stared at the Liches.

“It’s painful! It couldn’t be more painful!”

“From start to finish, it all goes wrong! Because of that damned human!”

Their pure, raw anger shook the ground as magic.

Magic launched without sparing mana was sharper than any weapon.

Human members of the Magic Alliance were scattered like leaves.

The Alliance, despite overwhelming numerical superiority, was making a poor response.

The sudden influx of magic into those inside the barrier was truly dreadful.

Limbs stiffened, mouths froze.

If even a body as fragile as flesh could suffer so, how much more the mind that wove complex calculations?

“Get a hold of yourselves, you idiots!”

Only when Allan Marks shouted, filled with mana, did a faint glimmer of awareness flicker among them.

Ugh—

The young prodigy ground his teeth, glaring at the Alliance.

Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

The seekers of Truth, proud members of the distinguished Magic House, now cowered and trembled.

All because of two bones.

Some were even dying.

“Wizards! Stand up and annihilate the enemies!”

“We don’t have enough mana! Hey, bring some potions!”

“Roland, Lord! Why are you just standing there doing nothing?”

The Lords shouted loudly.

Among the explosions, their words were unintelligible.

Even this irritated Allan.

The current conduct of the Alliance was exactly like a group of incompetent recruits.

Watching the situation calmly, Allan stepped forward.

Despite his small stature, a thick, dense magic power surged from him.

For a brief moment, it was strong enough to push back the magical pressure itself.

“Activate—”

“Hey, young Master Allan.”

Roland pushed him aside.

The usual polite tone was nowhere to be found.

Allan, standing alone before the Liches, brandished his staff.

“You must not reveal your mana attribute.”

It was still too soon.

The boy, chewing on his words, began weaving magic arrays.

Three red magic arrays before his staff.

Five blue arrays beside them.

Five yellow arrays on the opposite side.

Dozens of spells manifested in an instant.

Kwaaak! Kwaaak! Kwaaak!

A thick cloud of dust rose.

Between the dust, the boy’s sharp voice rang out.

“What are you waiting for? Bombard them immediately!”

Snapping from annoyance, the Lords refocused and continued weaving magic.

No matter how shocked they were, the leaders of the house were no fools in combat.

Kwaaak! Kwaaak!

The two Liches howled in pain.

Their bones shattered and scattered.

Those who had escaped death were again being dragged toward it.

But they couldn’t just let it end there.

The Lich, Krombel, looked back at his fading body.

He saw a young human scowling fiercely.

He could tell.

This child was a rare genius, not easily found.

And the malice and violence hidden within were nothing less than a tyrant’s.

He thought of one more human who could never be enough no matter what.

“…This will be the last desperate act.”

“Not a bad choice.”

As the end neared, the Curse Rune that had darkened began to vanish.

In its place was the Rune of Amplification.

Using the last of his mana, Blink was painfully activated.

The Liches, caught in the midst of the bombardment, appeared before Allan’s eyes.

“Ku…”

Allan gasped, swinging his staff.

It was remarkable that he could create so many magic arrays in that instant.

However, compared to his genius ability, his combat experience was still lacking.

Tip—

The Lich grabbed the young human’s wrists.

Krombel poured all his mana into the small head.

It all happened in a flash.

“I grant you the qualification.”

“Become a tyrant. Shake this world with your darkness.”

With that, the two Liches crumbled into dust.

***

Moving corpses had become all too familiar.

Rather, unmoving corpses were the strange ones.

Among the dead, only those who had been beheaded could not move.

And in front of Polin Castle, it was filled with nothing but such beings.

They had killed the beasts once more, and with their own hands, cut down their comrades.

There was no sadness in it.

Such tender emotions were foreign to the knights, whose resolve was as solid as iron.

“It’s over.”

“What remains…”

They all raised their heads to look at the sky.

The other side was nearing its end as well.

“I will remember you! I swear! I will stab you with my mighty arm, and your ugly head will be buried beneath the river of hell—!”

A hole torn in the sky, the Red Giant unleashed a vicious curse.

Red blood painted over red flesh, making him appear all the more terrifying.

“I am Kalgos, the Grand Army Commander of the Great Plague Lord! I shall unleash the plague’s curse upon this land!”

Swoosh—

Red blood poured down like an explosion.

Amidst the foul stench of blood, Kalgos began to retreat beyond the fissure.

No, the massive star’s force had simply pushed the Red Giant back.

“Hmph, get lost.”

Vallach, who had been leisurely observing, clicked his tongue and spoke.

The star pressed harder, pushing Kalgos’s upper body fully backward.

“Next time, I will surely kill…”

The curse that had been poured out to the very end abruptly stopped.

The fissure finally closed.

No cheers or shouts followed as they should have.

The knights with outstretched swords turned their heads to one side of the battlefield.

There stood Richard von Bartenberg.

The young lord, looking as pale as a corpse on the corpse pile, was staring in one direction.

The knights silently followed Richard’s gaze toward the south.

There, familiar magical energy surged from the ground where the wizards gathered.

Then, suddenly, it vanished as if melting away.

Not long ago, the place had been noisy as if all the world’s whispers were gathered there, but now, not even a breath could be heard.

Neither Richard nor the knights made a sound.

Only for a moment.

“Ah! Say something, you bastard!”

An orc snapped.

Then, as if they had all been holding their tongues, the knights began to press Richard.

“How, is it over? Eh??”

“Hurry up and say something, Saint!”

“Ugh! Why are you so silent, scaring us?”

The atmosphere shifted from solemn to tense in an instant.

The men stared only at Richard’s mouth, swallowing their spit anxiously.

As if Richard were the judge of this war.

They seemed to think that unless he declared it over, the war would never end.

Suddenly—

Brilliant light burst forth from Richard’s body.

Unlike usual, it was more radiant, more auspicious.

Gleaming—clang!

The shining light made the knights’ hearts pound as if ready to burst.

From his lips fell the long-awaited decree.

“The war is over.”

[Deep and vast darkness has been suppressed.]
[Achievements completed: 3/3]
[Divine Power ascended.]
[Some Divine Powers unlocked.]
[Priesthood titles unlocked.]

Richard waved his hand, dismissing the System Window.

At this moment, he did not want to be disturbed.

He turned to the knights and gave them a sly smile.

“What are you all staring at? It’s over, you fools! Shout it out!”

“Waaah! Waaaah!”

Only then did the men finally embrace each other and raise cheers.