Chapter 70: End of the War (1)

How many times had the thick dust swirled?

Kkeeek—!

Beyond the shattered castle walls, an eerie howl erupted.

Immediately, the air around changed in an instant.

An oppressive, unbearably ominous and sticky murderous aura weighed down the entire battlefield.

“Just as expected from the Beasts. So this is it.”

Richard muttered grimly.

No matter how much they were controlled by high-ranking demons, these were originally fierce monsters by nature.

If they were attacked continuously, control or not, their true nature would inevitably reveal itself.

“Gkkeee!”

They tore through the dust and charged out beyond the walls.

Their red and yellow eyes burned with anger and murderous intent, gripping the heart like shackles.

These were the Beasts.

The proud pillars of the Demon Realm’s survival-of-the-fittest order.

“1st Army!”

The commander shouted.

In response, the highest-ranked knights drew their swords and leapt fiercely from the ramparts.

Only they could stand against the Demon Realm’s Beasts.

Blades and spears shimmered with Aura, flickering relentlessly.

Soon, they charged straight at the Beasts.

“Shoot! Do not hold back your arrows!”

Pish-sh-sh-sh!

An unceasing hail of arrows and earth-shattering magical bombardments rained down.

Amidst the raging storm, knights and Beasts clashed fiercely.

“Grrraaah! Kill them all, damn monstrous offspring!”

The unique piercing Aura in the air hissed sharply, while the Beasts’ razor teeth and claws tore through flesh.

Screams, screams, screams, screams…

Death, death, death!

As always, war continued in chaos.

The scent of blood and screams made it impossible to tell if they were human or monster cries.

“Damn it! The arrows aren’t piercing through!”

“Just keep firing anyway!”

The knights positioned on the ramparts pulled their bows until their fingers nearly bled.

“The enemy of my mother is our enemy!”

The Elves shouted spells at the top of their lungs.

Kwa-ang, kwa-ang—!

The Beasts, blinded by the endless barrage, howled in pain as limbs flew through the air from direct magical hits.

Some even lost their heads to Aura-laced blades.

Meanwhile, human casualties kept rising.

A knight’s arm grotesquely torn off, a man whose chest was pierced by a Beast attacking from behind, a veteran who fell dead right after cutting down an enemy.

Although there were visibly fewer enemies than usual, their ferocity was beyond description.

“Damn it, I’d rather be facing Undead than this.”

One man muttered bitterly as he nocked his arrow again and again.

The highest-ranked knights they had always respected were now falling, and frustration boiled inside them.

But what else could be done?

If an average-ranked knight stepped forward, it would only mean certain death.

Instead, they resolved to pull the string even harder, even if their fingers were cut off, to be as effective as possible.

That was when—

“De-Death Knights! Lord-class Death Knights!”

Above the Beasts’ heads, armored knights clad in black steel came charging like flying missiles.

Their bodies were wrapped tightly in dark Mana, the pattern utterly different.

“We will take the lead!”

Four Lords of the alliance blocked the path.

Kyaaang!

Blades clashed fiercely.

***

“It’s like watching the Grand War of Saints and Demons.”

I looked down upon the battlefield.

Gore and blood everywhere, the endless screams of a merciless battle.

The Beasts in front of me were far more horrific and ugly than I had imagined.

They knew no fear.

They felt no pain.

If they saw an enemy, they charged.

If cornered, they wouldn’t even hesitate to tear apart their own allies.

“Chweek!”

Huger, relieved to finally get a break from the fierce fighting, swung his axe with an expression of both pain and exhaustion.

His scarred red body was newly marred by dozens of wounds.

Not only that.

Several of the 3rd Knight Order’s highest-ranked knights were spilling blood mixed with tears.

Among them, some had become cold corpses laid out on the dirt floor.

Those guys… they were close to me.

They swore they wouldn’t die, but in the end, they did.

They fought tooth and claw with dragons, but why did they fall to those monsters?

I already knew.

Entrusting the Beasts entirely to the highest-ranked knights meant some sacrifices were inevitable.

That someone might be an unfamiliar knight, or like now, a close comrade.

I had known all this and chose the best course of action.

“I’ll go fight too!”

“No, you can’t. Don’t go.”

“Young Master!”

Aaron’s eyes snapped wide open.

His gaze was filled with determination and despair.

“I am also a highest-ranked knight capable of wielding Aura. Why am I excluded from the 1st Army?”

That’s right.

I had excluded him.

But it wasn’t out of some foolish desire to protect Aaron.

“Don’t be foolish. You have things you must do. Just wait quietly until then.”

I couldn’t help but snap at him.

But that was enough to shut Aaron’s mouth.

“Who says sitting around is the right choice?”

Yet, I couldn’t help but speak out.

“I want to go down there and fight right now. But are those enemies the end? Will the war be over just by killing all of them?”

Our real enemies were the three Liches holed up deep inside the dungeon.

We had to save strength to face them.

So, myself, Aaron, Leon, and the main forces of the 1st Knight Order were held back from the 1st Army.

We didn’t watch the knights get torn apart without reason.

“…I’m sorry.”

After a long silence, Aaron finally bowed his head.

I wasn’t angry at him anyway.

I just didn’t like the situation.

After confirming that, I turned my gaze back to the battlefield.

Kwa-ang, kwa-ang!

Explosions rang out in quick succession, but one area was especially chaotic.

It was the battle of the Lords and the Lord-class Death Knights.

The ground was constantly shaking.

Every time swords clashed, the earth shattered like brittle glass,

and Beasts that charged without warning were torn apart.

I raised my head to look at Polin Castle’s fortress.

The walls had been smashed repeatedly by countless bombardments, a complete wreck.

Yet, the fortress remained unyielding without a trace of collapse.

“Barrier.”

A large, crimson barrier completely enveloped the fortress, briefly flickering then vanishing.

Even at a glance, it was a solid Barrier.

That was why the Liches could comfortably immerse themselves in their rituals.

Unless you were a freak like Vallach, that Barrier was practically impenetrable.

Besides, countless traps and spells must have been laid inside the fortress beyond the Barrier.

There might even be something more vicious than the Beasts themselves.

“This was already expected.”

The enemy was running a desperate, all-or-nothing plan.

They wouldn’t be stupid enough to act solely on the Beasts’ blind faith.

Since three dark mages had already stationed themselves inside, Polin Castle was basically a ‘dungeon’.

A very dangerous, vicious kind of dungeon.

Just then, Moritz approached and spoke to me.

“Richard, the crimson barrier is a Barrier specialized only for defense!”

I knew that. Why suddenly ask?

“Why? Because while the Beasts are all distracted, we should rush in! They’re performing some kind of ritual— we need to disrupt it immediately!”

Moritz urged with a frustrated expression.

But I shook my head and waved him off.

Mages are also known as spiders.

Charging into a place covered in thick webs was the worst decision possible.

“Do not retreat!”

“The left side is open! Hurry, block it!”

Meanwhile, the fight grew fiercer.

A giant monster collapsed with a thud, a blade sprayed black Aura breaking in two.

A brutal war of attrition.

Still, the knights maintained the upper hand.

***

The black earth, stained with Mana, was painted red.

On it lay Beast blood, and atop that, clumps of flesh once human.

The final piece was the massive Beast’s severed head.

“Waaaah!”

The knights who had finally exterminated all the Beasts shouted out.

It wasn’t a triumphant cheer but a victory cry marked with deep wounds.

Some trembled with exhaustion.

Some shed tears for fallen comrades.

Over two hundred knights had died in a single clash.

That was just under half of the 1st Army.

As was always the case for the fallen, hymns softly echoed over the battlefield’s noise.

But the battle was not over.

They had only dealt with the foot soldiers; the enemy commanders were still inside the fortress.

The knights clenched their bloodied swords and glared fiercely.

Grief for lost comrades was turned into hatred for the enemy, and fear was conquered by duty.

The charge order could come at any moment.

“Western forces! Fall back from the front lines and regroup!”

But what came down was a retreat order from the commander.

The knights, their fervor still unspent, withdrew behind tree trunks.

Though their faces were pale, no one hesitated.

Kugagak!

Two stars of Faith shone above them.

They radiated with a brighter, fiercer light than anything I had seen before.

“We will not charge in. We will only lure the enemy out.”

Richard said, merging the two stars into one.

Kaaaah!

The blazing Aura roared like a storm.

A star containing the Faith of a million souls.

Too powerful to waste in a single strike.

“Can this pierce the red Barrier?”

No, it was impossible.

That’s why Aaron was needed.

“Yo, Young Master?”

Suddenly, Aaron’s eyes widened at the star I pushed in front of him.

Then, he straightened his expression and extended his hand.

Goooo!

Purple Aura forged by pure strength rode atop the pure white star.

“…An impressive sight.”

Vallach, standing with arms behind his back, clenched his fist.

As a Swordmaster, he couldn’t hide his excitement at seeing such a star firsthand.

A star powered by God’s might combined with a special kind of Mana!

The Aura emitted by the shadow creatures fighting inside Polin Castle was in stark contrast.

“But even that won’t break the Barrier. Young Master.”

“I know.”

It was impossible to face that depth of darkness with mere low-level Faith.

The quality gap was overwhelming.

Still, Richard lifted the corner of his mouth.

“This is just a nail anyway.”

A nail to pierce the annoying red Barrier.

His gaze turned toward Leon.

Ching—!

The commander drew his sword.

From the straight blade burst a deep indigo sword light.

A Swordmaster.

Even in this dire situation, he was a knight who had reached the very end of mastery, aiming even higher.

He would become the hammer.