Chapter 136: Ancient Legion

Thump! Thump! Thump!

From all directions, Entrees were converging on a single spot.

The sight of giant trees gathering in a swarm was a spectacle unlike any other.

However, to those present, it was pure terror—nothing short of hell.

“Young—Young Master! What do we do?”

Alan shouted urgently toward Evan.

He was panicked by the sight of the approaching Entrees.

‘I knew this would happen. I told you it was reckless!’

Ainis grumbled as she pulled out an arrow.

Evan’s party had pushed through all the way to the location of the Twisted Yggdrasil.

After shaking off many Entrees, they had finally reached it.

However, the aggro of every Entree in the vicinity was instantly drawn to them.

Now, with the latecomers closing in, there was no way to escape.

While everyone was in despair, Evan assessed the surrounding terrain.

‘Would this spot be enough?’

It was close to the Yggdrasil, yet there was nothing in the immediate vicinity.

After looking around, Evan plunged his flame sword into the ground.

He had chosen a precise location to summon the Phoenix.

The moment he stabbed the sword into the earth, Evan summoned the Divine Beast.

A blinding blaze flickered from the blade.

Then, the flames gathered in one place, forming a single sun.

It looked as if a Phoenix was curled up into a ball.

Pe-ee-ee!

Soon, with a bird’s cry, it uncoiled its body and spread its wings wide.

Everyone watched the process in astonishment.

“Th—That is!”

Ainis was so shocked she nearly had a fit.

Even having lived for a long time as an Elf, she had only heard of Divine Beasts through legends—tales of Divine Beasts that had appeared since ancient times.

They were said to manifest suddenly whenever the world was in danger.

This was likely the first time she had witnessed one in the flesh.

“A Phoenix…”

Among them, the sacred Phoenix was famous for destroying evil.

How could a mere human summon a Divine Beast?

It was said that Divine Beasts never followed just anyone and only moved for the sake of the world.

Evan smirked and informed the group,

“Since the Phoenix is here, it will burn everything that approaches.”

The Phoenix held the advantage in terms of elemental compatibility.

It was an extremely strong counter.

In a matchup between forest and fire attributes, the opponent even possessed Magia.

Combined with the Phoenix’s sacred attribute, it would be the worst possible opponent for the Entrees.

Unfortunately, time was not on their side.

‘Because the level of Ascalon is low, the Phoenix’s level is still low as well.’

The Phoenix used its Life Force to manifest its skills.

When all its Life Force was exhausted, it would return to its egg state.

The time required for it to hatch again would be quite long.

‘I have to finish this before then.’

Of course, Evan had no intention of dragging this out.

He turned his head and looked at the site of the Yggdrasil.

It was a massive tree exhaling Magia.

Not a single green leaf could be found on its gaunt branches.

Instead, a black aura was spreading in all directions.

Evan felt a sense of bitterness and regret just looking at it.

“We need to finish this quickly. Everyone, prepare for battle!”

The others, who had been staring blankly at the Phoenix, snapped back to their senses at Evan’s command.

They had a mountain of questions, but now was not the time.

Countless Entrees were drawing near.

Everyone took up their battle stances.

Pe-ee-ee!

The Phoenix let out a roar, soared high into the sky, and began to circle the area.

Then, it gathered fire in its beak and breathed it toward the ground.

Fwoosh!

A beam of flame raked across the earth.

The Entrees in its path were all incinerated.

Seeing the Entrees die helplessly against such overwhelming firepower, Ainis felt a sense of reassurance amidst her awe.

‘I’m glad it’s an ally.’

With that thought, she decided to begin her own task.

Before the main engagement, she had played the role of supplying oil.

She was currently gathering fruits from the forest through the Wind Spirits and extracting large quantities of oil from them.

Her plan was to use the spirits to scatter the oil like rain.

It would make the Entrees burn even better.

‘This is the Essence of Fire, right?’

It was a mysterious magical crystal.

It was said that using it could imbue a weapon with powerful flames.

She thought that the human world seemed to have many of these strange items.

Ainis infused mana into the Essence of Fire she received from Evan and applied it to her arrows.

Crackle!

The tips of her arrows erupted in flames.

Pulling the bowstring taut, she called out to Alan and Reynold.

“Back off the moment I give the signal!”

As she channeled her spirit arts, the Wind Spirits scattered throughout the forest gathered in one place.

Each of them held spheres of concentrated oil in their hands.

“Pour it all out!”

At Ainis’s command, the Wind Spirits began to pour the oil simultaneously.

It created the illusion of a downpour.

Once the Entrees were soaked in oil, Ainis, who had been watching, released her bowstring.

Twang!

The fire arrows flew out fiercely.

Every time a fire arrow struck an Entree, the flames spread in an instant.

Alan and Reynold also saw their chance; they used the Essence of Fire on their swords and charged at the Entrees.

Thus, everyone engaged in an all-out war.

Evan climbed onto the trunk of the Twisted Yggdrasil.

At that moment, plant-like vines burst out from everywhere.

Initially, it seemed like the vines were going to attack, but contrary to expectations, they clumped together to form human shapes.

[The Twisted Yggdrasil has summoned the inhabitants of the Twisted World]

As the message suddenly appeared before Evan’s eyes, a change occurred in the vines.

What had been simple human forms made of clumped vines were now being covered in skin.

They became complete humans.

Even their attire was perfectly replicated—worn-out weapons and the torn flags of a kingdom.

They all had dead eyes, and just looking at them filled one with a sense of despair.

Based on their numbers, which were still growing, they appeared to be a regular army of some kingdom numbering over 2,000.

However, Evan felt even more suspicious.

‘Why are these guys here?’

They were enemies he had met once before.

Specifically, he had faced them in their Undead forms inside an S-rank Large-scale Gate.

He remembered it because he had dealt with a Lich and an Undead army of over hundreds of thousands by himself.

Of course, those before him now were not Undead, but in a more intact form.

‘Does this mean there is a connection between these guys and the Yggdrasil changing like this?’

Inferring from a few things, the Yggdrasil was said to have been attacked by various kingdoms.

They were likely one of them.

‘The estimated period would be around the distant ancient era.’

Unlike when they were Undead, they were much clearer now, making them easy to identify.

They wore sophisticated armor covered in runic characters.

This provided a glimpse into the fact that their technology had been quite considerable.

It seemed they were by no means ordinary soldiers of a kingdom.

‘Armor engraved with runes… Back then, I just thought it was armor enchanted with magic, but the intact form uses runes. No wonder I thought it was strange.’

Then, as he suddenly saw the emblem engraved on their flags, Evan’s eyes flashed.

‘A Red Dragon emblem? Is it related to that again?’

Just when it was about to be forgotten, it appeared again to hold him back.

It was never a small incident; it always played a part in major, significant events.

He could tell from the traces left behind.

‘The mysterious power known as the Pioneer’s Power. If it is related to those things, this will not be easy.’

Evan was about to face them.

Then:

[Resonance Rate has increased]

Without fail, his Resonance Rate increased slightly.

Since he was facing enemies he had fought in his previous life again, his Resonance Rate had gone up.

‘It is not even surprising anymore.’

The things he had just passed over in his previous life were now being faced one by one in this world.

It would be faster to just expect what would pop out next.

Evan gripped his Elemental Sword tightly.

Then, as if remembering something, he opened his inventory window.

‘Wait. If I am facing these guys…’

He felt like another sword would be more appropriate than using the Elemental Sword.

‘The sword I used back then happens to be here, too.’

He pulled out the damaged metal sword he had obtained after defeating the Hydra.

It was a sword he had favored quite often in his previous life.

Furthermore, he had dealt with these guys in their Undead state using this very sword.

‘In the same situation, increasing the Synchronization as much as possible like I did then helped the Resonance Rate significantly.’

Evan brought out the metal sword.

Then, he discovered another piece of equipment sleeping inside his inventory.

‘Right. I had this. I haven’t had the chance to use it until now.’

What Evan pulled out along with the damaged metal sword was the Bracelet of Acceleration.

He had obtained it at the same time he acquired the Elemental Sword.

It was a bracelet that amplified skill proficiency growth fivefold upon use.

It could only be used for 10 minutes once a day.

Evan equipped the Bracelet of Acceleration and gripped the metal sword.

[The Bracelet of Acceleration has been activated]

[Please select a skill to accelerate]

Evan did not hesitate and chose the Aura Mastery skill.

Until now, it had been in a stagnant period, and the skill level had not been rising well.

He would use this opportunity to reach a level one step higher than his current state.

Evan channeled his Aura.

He formed an Aura Blade on the damaged metal sword and charged at the soldiers being summoned.

As Evan lunged, the soldiers began to move as well.

As the runes engraved on their weapons glowed, they utilized the Pioneer’s Power.

“This is crazy,”

Evan clicked his tongue as he looked at them.

They appeared to be ordinary soldiers, but all of them were forming faint Aura Blades.

This meant every single soldier was at the high-rank Sword Expert level.

Since he had to face thousands of them, the pressure was considerable.

A moment later.

Clang!

Evan blocked the soldiers’ swords.

In the blink of an eye, the soldiers had reached right in front of him.

Even their movements were abnormally fast.

Of course, Evan did not fall back and continued to face them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

When Evan’s sword collided with theirs, his Aura Blade was naturally superior.

He shattered their blades and cut them down with a single strike.

Every time he struck them down, significant achievements poured in.

[Proficiency in Aura Mastery has increased]

[Proficiency in Aura Mastery has increased]

[The level of Aura Mastery has increased]

The level of Aura Mastery, which had not budged, finally went up.

To Evan, this was no different from a massive windfall.

Every time Aura Mastery went up a level, it was as if his level of swordsmanship increased.

His Aura Blade became more powerful—sharper and longer.

Even when Aura Blades collided, he overwhelmed and crushed the opponent’s Aura.

‘Is it because the opponent’s level is high? The skill proficiency is rising a lot.’

Evan increased his speed further and began to clear out the soldiers.

He was in the middle of taking down 100 of them in an instant when:

[Resonance Rate has increased significantly]

[The hidden achievement ‘Legion Slayer’ has been synchronized]

[The myth achieved by Lee Han has been synchronized]

[Added to Mythic Power]

He had obtained a new Mythic Power.

Legion Slayer.

The power from when he had dealt with an army of over hundreds of thousands alone in his previous life.

There was a high chance it was of a higher grade than Basilisk Slayer.

Evan’s eyes sparkled as he opened the information window for the Mythic Power: Legion Slayer.