Chapter 189: morial Portal. (2)
Inside the morial Portal.
The deepest part of the battlefield, filled with a nauseating stench—a foul mixture of blood and smoke.
Crack! Craack!
“Aaaaaargh!”
“P-Please, spare eeeee!”
Hundreds of soldiers and knights scread in agony.
They swung their swords and spears, shot arrows desperately…
But before long, they were reduced to ash and scattered into the air.
At the center of it all, the one creating this massacre was a single knight.
“Co. Co closer. You pitiful weaklings.”
A man stood tall, with wolf-like hair and eyes—and a horn protruding from his forehead.
Veritarun Lindel Chain.
Roughly ninety years ago.
A man once called the Sword Saint of the Fabian Empire, or the rcenary King.
Now a subordinate of Demon King Shagrath, a Dark Mage Knight who had taken the lives of tens of thousands of humans as a high-ranking mber of the Demonkind.
He wielded a massive greatsword, larger than his own body, slaughtering without pause.
Yet, standing in the heart of this frenzy like the embodint of destruction itself… his face showed nothing but weariness.
“So dull.”
A flat, emotionless murmur devoid of any real feeling.
Even this didn’t seem to co from his own thoughts—it was more like a reflexive muttering.
morial Portal.
A place where ti was distorted, endlessly stretching and looping… He had lived here for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years.
Enough ti to erode the mind and blur even the most glorious mories of the past.
Now, only instinct remained.
“Co. More, more, more.”
Crack! Craack!
His movents were rough, like a beast.
With every swing of his sword, three or four n were cleaved in half and scattered into ashes.
There was no emotion. No sense of danger. Just one continuous act of slaughter.
Even as the storm of death raged on—
Psshhhh!
“Kill that bastard!”
“In the na of God Faeron, punish the heretic who sold his soul to a demon!”
From behind, new knights and soldiers erged, joining the frontline.
They died, were reborn, swung their weapons, and were cut down again.
“So dull. So very dull.”
“Aaaaargh!”
A aningless repetition of slaughter—an endless hell.
“Co at . More, more, more…”
“Kill! Kiiiiiill him!”
How long had this emotionless carnage continued?
Boom!
Suddenly, sothing subtle stirred within Veritarun.
It wasn’t visible, nor particularly strong… but the strange sensation of mana—an unfamiliar ripple—tickled his skin.
Sniff, sniff!
Veritarun flared his nostrils like a wolf—no, like a dog.
Then, very faintly, beneath the sll of blood, a strange and nostalgic scent pierced through.
A blend of salt and seaweed… the scent of the sea.
And in that mont—
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
Veritarun let out a roar and slashed his greatsword sideways.
Boom!
“Aaaaaaargh!”
A ripple of crimson-black energy spread out in a circle, instantly reducing the surrounding hundreds of troops to ash.
And for a brief mont, silence fell over this infinite space.
Veritarun ground his teeth and muttered to himself.
“Varlach Daphne…”
A hideous grin twisted across his face.
---
---
Sowhere within the morial Portal.
“Damn it! Don’t slow down!”
“T-That’s easier said than done!”
Sothing was off.
Tension filled the faces of the Imperial Knights under Lucilis’s command.
— Krrrrrr!
Crack! Craack!
Monsters surged endlessly from all directions.
They were cut down without pause, yet sward in again like nothing had happened.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
“They’re coming again!”
“Damn it! Are they just ignoring the phantoms now?!”
As if they had adapted to the situation, the monsters began charging straight through the illusions, increasing their speed.
But the real issue was sothing else…
‘These bastards… they’re not afraid of dying.’
‘They’re all thinking they’ll at least land one strike before they go down.’
Their movents were entirely different from any normal monsters or humans.
No fear, no hesitation—just a single-minded will to hurt their enemy, even if it cost their life.
No matter how overwhelming the difference in strength, this alone made them troubleso.
For example…
— Kieeeeeek!
One of the monsters lunged at Lucilis.
“Hrrrgh!”
Craack!
His sword flared with a flash of light as he cleaved the creature in two.
— Kehehehet!
As if waiting for that mont, another monster darted in from his blind spot.
The one that had just fallen wore a chilling grin as it collapsed—almost like it was proud to have created an opening with its death.
A wicked smirk twisted across the second monster’s face as it thrust the two tentacles from its back toward Lucilis.
But of course—
Slaaash!
“…Pathetic trick.”
As a 4-star Knight, Lucilis effortlessly overpowered even that.
But not everyone was like him.
“Aaaaargh! My arm—my arm!”
“H-Help !”
Screams erupted from all sides.
No one had sustained fatal injuries yet, but wounds and exhaustion were steadily piling up.
“Aaaaaargh!”
“They’re coming from the side!”
Monsters lying in ambush attacked from unexpected positions, and among the regular soldiers, casualties had begun to appear.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if things got even worse.
“Vice-Captain, casualties are mounting. Shouldn’t we slow our advance and regroup?”
“….”
At the aide’s grave report, Lucilis’s brow furrowed.
At this point, even a fool could see it.
If they pushed ahead any faster, they were bound to face disaster.
“…Fine. We’ll do that.”
When Lucilis reluctantly nodded, his aide added quickly.
“While we’re at it, why not position the Daphne forces closer to us? If they could cover any potential blind spots, our advance would be much more stable.”
“…They won’t be much help.”
This wasn’t just about disliking them or feeling embarrassed.
In a different light, it was even an act of consideration for Daphne.
‘Those guys won’t survive this.’
He had crossed swords with these monsters himself—felt it in his skin—and he understood.
These creatures… were not sothing that knights from so third-rate Viscounty could handle.
And then—
— Kieeeeeek!
Boom!
Suddenly, a massive pillar of earth erupted from the ground.
“Wh-What the hell is that?!”
“Whaaaa?!”
Everyone’s eyes went wide as they froze on the spot.
What burst through the ground was a monster.
Not like the others they had faced so far—it was incomparably larger, a grotesque creature with three heads and eight arms.
The demonic energy it emitted made their skin tingle instantly.
And worst of all…
— Gwooooooooh!
It had appeared dangerously close to where the mages were standing.
“H-Holy shit!”
“Protect the mages!!”
Lucilis and the knights shouted in a panic.
‘Damn it! If the mages go down, we’re finished!’
The mages were responsible for a significant portion of the firepower that carved a path forward.
If they had been re soldiers, maybe it wouldn’t have mattered—but if even one mage got injured… this entire operation would fall apart.
The problem was, most of the knights were positioned at the front lines.
— Kieeeek!
“Damn it, get back!”
“Aaaaargh!”
In an instant, their formation crumbled, and the monsters they had been fending off broke through their ranks.
The knights were barely managing to hold the line as it was.
Several had turned their backs prematurely and were struck down by the monsters.
It was utter chaos.
— Gwooooh!
“Daaaamn it!”
As the colossal monster charged toward the mages, Lucilis dashed forward with all his speed.
But anyone could see it—the monster was going to get there first.
“F-Fireball, charge it now!”
“We won’t make it in ti!”
The mages were trembling, their faces pale with fear.
— Kieeeek!
“No! We’re too late!”
Just as the monster swung its eight arms fiercely—
Slash!
Dozens of blue lines streaked through the air.
Waves—shimring with a fluid, wave-like motion—drew vivid lines across the space.
— Grrrgh…
A look of confusion twisted across the monster’s face.
And beneath the wave—
Stood Hardin, gripping a black sword tightly in his hand.
“Get your filthy hands off, you bastard.”
Imdiately after—
— Gwooooh!
Thudududuk!
The monster’s massive body split into dozens of pieces, spraying blood into the air.
“Phew… Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Thank you, Young Master!”
When Hardin grinned and asked, the mages quickly nodded in response.
But they weren’t the only ones surprised.
‘W-What was that movent just now?’
With a single strike from that sword… he shattered that colossal beast?
Lucilis, frozen in place, stared wide-eyed at Hardin.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
“Hyah-cha-cha-cha!”
“Die, you bastards! How dare you co at us!”
The knights at the front line, who had been locked in lee with the monsters—
Amidst them, Daphne’s knights had now joined the fray, swinging their swords alongside them.
‘Who are those guys?’
Lucilis narrowed his eyes.
Each ti the Daphne knights swung their blades, a translucent black sword shimred with a wave of blue energy, leaving behind an afterimage.
And more curiously…
‘Their sword timing is bizarre.’
Their attacks didn’t follow the usual flow—instead, they would slow down suddenly and then surge forward with explosive speed, slicing cleanly through the monsters.
If he had to put it into words…
‘A wave?’
Yes, a wave.
Waves surged from all directions.
And they crashed hard into the monsters that had breached the lines of the Imperial Knights.
‘How is this even possible?’
Aside from a few exceptions, most of them seed to be 2-star Master-level knights.
Compared to the Imperial Knights, their mana circuits should have been far inferior.
And yet they were handling these death-defying, fear-immune monsters with ease and precision—as if it were routine.
Perfectly, with no wasted motion.
And indeed, the Daphne knights themselves were beginning to feel it too…
‘These guys… they move a lot like Ghast.’
‘They’re faster and stronger, sure—but the way they move is really similar.’
‘I was worried when I heard they were monsters, but this is totally doable.’
The more they clashed with the creatures, the more confident they beca.
‘Just… what is going on here…?’
As Lucilis blinked blankly in disbelief, a voice ca from beside him.
“What do you think? Our house’s boys are a bit more capable than you expected, right?”
“Young Master Hardin.”
“What are you standing there for? Don’t just watch—let’s help out too.”
“…Alright. Let’s do that.”
Lucilis raised his sword high into the air and shouted.
“Coordinate with the Daphne knights and drive back the monsters! Any spare units, stay with the mages and guard them!”
“Yes, sir!”
At his command, the Imperial Knights began reorganizing their lines once more.
---
---
Monts later.
The corpses of monsters were strewn all over, and pools of blood gathered in every corner of the battlefield.
“Huff, huff, huff… That was rough.”
“Tend to the wounded! Get those potions distributed, quickly!”
“Yes, sir!”
The exhausted knights collapsed to the ground, while others busied themselves tending to the injured.
After completely sweeping the monsters in this area, they had earned a brief window for rest and regrouping.
“Khh. That was aweso earlier, Brother Beryl! Hahaha!”
“Aweso? That’s just standard! But seriously, Unit Commander Manton, you’d better step it up, eh?”
“You treating this like so kind of match with winners and losers? How vulgar.”
“What was that? Vulgar?”
While the Daphne knights chuckled among themselves—
“Huuuuh…”
Hardin, just like the other knights, had dropped down to sit on the ground, catching his breath as he checked the scratches on his body.
‘Tch. Still not like the old days.’
Back in his days as Varlach, it wouldn’t have mattered whether he faced thousands or tens of thousands of monsters—not a single one would’ve co close to touching even a strand of his hair.
Sure, the wounds were from protecting other soldiers and knights…
But still—getting nicked by these kinds of low-tier monsters? It was enough to seriously piss him off.
‘Ah, the passage of ti…’
As he let out a deep, bitter sigh, lanting his backwards aging (so to speak)—
“Here, take this, Duke Hardin Daphne.”
“Hm?”
At the voice from in front of him, Hardin peeked up.
‘What the hell is this?’
Lucilis, the vice-captain, stood there holding out a potion with one hand, right in front of him.
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