Chapter 341: Black Sky (5)

“W-What the hell...?”

Thousands of soldiers appeared with a dazzling golden light.

The demonkin who had been arrogant until now suddenly froze. They looked around with dark expressions at the beastkin and dragonkin warriors, all heavily armed and gripping weapons.

“No way. Don’t tell me...” The demonkin trailed off, trembling in disbelief. “You’re really trying to invade Niflheim?”

“

Ha.

” With a single scoff from someone, all the demonkin bent over and clutched their stomachs, shaking their shoulders as they burst into laughter.

“

Hahaha!

”

“Those mutts and lizards dare to invade Niflheim?”

“These little bastards are hilarious!”

The demonkin looked at the beastkin and dragonkin with utter contempt.

“You’ve spent your life getting crushed like bugs. Now you take one small step forward and think the world belongs to you?”

For the past hundred years, the Khan Kingdom had been under demonkin rule. The Dragonian Kingdom had avoided direct rule, but they had been forced to hide like rats in narrow, rugged canyons.

“And now these damn dogs can’t recognize their masters and dare come baring their teeth?” A red-haired demonkin walked toward the beastkin warriors.

His name was Kaldene, the demonkin who ruled the Khan Kingdom before Kalike. He had massacred countless beastkin warriors a hundred years ago and crushed them beneath his feet.

Kaldene smirked as he looked at the beastkin, who stared back at him with trembling eyes.

“You guys remember me, right, you little mutts?”

Some of the beastkin warriors visibly flinched.

Kaldene’s infamy as the former chancellor was still passed down decades after he stepped away from power.

He burst into mocking laughter as he recognized the fear in their eyes. “Seriously, you pathetic little dogs. We take your leash off for a second, and you come running at your masters? What a joke.”

With a sneer, he took another step forward.

Just then, a beastkin with silver fur blocked his path. “I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

Kaldene scowled. “Riarc...? No, that guy’s already dead.” He cocked his head in confusion and clicked his tongue. “Damn. You mutts all look the same. I can’t tell your faces apart.” He gave the beastkin blocking his path a few light taps on the cheek. “So? What exactly have I misunderstood?”

Riarc grabbed Kaldene’s hand that had tapped his face. His crushing grip tightly held onto Kaldene’s arm as if it were caught in a hydraulic press.

“

Ggh

... Y-You bastard!” Kaldene twisted in panic as he tried to pull away.

Riarc’s grip didn’t budge an inch as he looked at Kaldene with deep, dark eyes. “Listen up, you brat.” His white teeth gleamed menacingly. “We’re not dogs. We’re wolves.”

Kaldene’s arm tore off at the shoulder, and dark red blood gushed out like a fountain.

Squelch!

Kaldene screamed in agony, “

Aaaaaaaaagh!

”

In the downpour of blood, the silver wolf’s eyes gleamed with feral fury.

Crunch!

Riarc grabbed Kaldene by the throat and hurled him like a shot put. The demonkin flew through the air like a missile and crashed pitifully to the floor, rolling over helplessly.

“Wolves! The time has come to repay the humiliation we’ve endured for over a century!” Leoru, the new khan after Riarc, roared.

The beastkin warriors, who had been cowering, let out fierce howls and began transforming into their werewolf forms.

“

Grrrrrr!

”

“Kill the demonkin!”

The beastkin warriors furiously charged at the demonkin. The once dark, ritual hall that resembled a cult gathering instantly descended into chaos.

“Let’s hit ’em with something big too!” Song Ha-Eun said.

“Yes, Maiden!”

While the beastkin fought head-on, the dragonkin joined in with long-range magic attacks. Blazing firestorms swept across the battlefield, burning the demonkin alive.

“

Gaaaah!

”

“Damn these lizard freaks! Kill them first!”

“Not so fast!”

The beastkin excelled in close combat while the dragonkin, empowered by the Stigma of Draco, unleashed overwhelming firepower from afar. Though they didn’t have much experience fighting together, they possessed remarkably well-balanced and powerful synergy.

However, no matter how well-balanced, it wasn’t possible to completely overwhelm the demonkin.

“

Urgh!

”

“

Gah!

M-Maiden!”

Even though they had similar numbers, the individual skill differences between them were far too significant.

“Elder!”

“Yup! Time to teach these bad guys a lesson!”

Naturally, they never assumed that the dragonkin and beastkin could defeat the demonkin alone.

Baek Mu-Kang drew his Star Sword and leaped into the demonkin. His sword struck like a wild beast. Unlike Allen, who used incredibly precise swordsmanship, Baek Mu-Kang’s attacks looked so brutal and feral that one wondered if he’d been a beastkin in a past life.

With each swing of the Star Sword, white snowflakes scattered violently in the air.

Swoosh!

The beautiful sight could mesmerize anyone at a glance until they realized that touching those white petals would freeze and shatter their flesh. Then, they would never dare to call them beautiful.

“

Aaaagh!

”

“Holy crap, where did that monster come from?!”

Even the demonkin were horrified by Baek Mu-Kang’s overwhelming skills.

Though he was slightly weaker compared to Allen Oskar, Baek Mu-Kang was still powerful enough to be a member of the Seven Stars. On top of that, with a divine relic like Deneb’s Star Sword, he was thriving as he tore through the demonkin.

This is good.

So far, everything was proceeding smoothly.

Of course, things could change quickly if the higher-ranking demonkin recovered from the surprise attack and joined the battle.

All we need to do is stop the ritual.

They hadn’t come here to wipe out all the demonkin in Niflheim. Their sole objective was to stop the Heavenly Demon’s seal from being broken.

I need to destroy the magic circle.

Kwon Oh-Jin approached the magic circle where the demonkin were bowing earlier. The geometrical pattern emitted a radiant light as the thousands of intricately linked circles turned precisely like an engineered machine.

“

Hup!

”

Condensing lightning at the tip of his spear, Kwon Oh-Jin gripped it in reverse and slammed it down onto the magic circle etched on the ground.

Crackle!

From the point of impact, the ground split apart for dozens of meters.

Rumble!

As the ground cracked, parts of the magic circle were damaged as well.

“What the hell?”

Even though some of it had been destroyed, the magic circle continued to glow brightly and spin.

So, breaking part of it isn’t enough to stop the ritual.

He had assumed that damaging even one section would affect the whole thing since the parts were so interconnected, but he was wrong.

Then, just where do I need to strike?

Not knowing anything about magic circles, Kwon Oh-Jin had no idea how or where to attack to stop it as he frowned at the magic circle. Vega, who had been searching for him amid the chaotic battle, flew toward him after hearing the explosion.

“My child! There you are!” Vega’s eyes landed on the eerie, glowing magic circle turning below. “This is...”

Even as s North Star Celestial, she felt a chill run down her spine from the magic circle’s overwhelming presence.

“What in the heavens is this?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” He had no idea what it really was. “But I think that magic circle is probably the key to releasing the Heavenly Demon’s seal.”

“Then we must stop it at once!”

“I know, but...” Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression darkened.

He knew he had to stop it, but he couldn’t fathom how to bring down a magic circle spanning several kilometers.

“Wait a moment.” Vega soared into the air and spread her arms wide.

Blue lightning arced in all directions, zipping through the magic circle’s vast network.

As if realizing something, her eyes gleamed. “A massive triangle...” She flew back to Kwon Oh-Jin and shouted, “I’ve figured out how to stop it!”

“How?”

“That magic circle has three cores.” With blue lightning, she marked their locations.

As she said, the three cores of the magic circle were situated near the vertices of a massive triangle.

“So I just need to destroy those?”

“Yes, but all three must be destroyed simultaneously for the circle to be completely disabled.”

Kwon Oh-Jin bit his lip in frustration.

“I’ll take the one over there, Mr. Oh-Jin!” Isabella, drenched in demonkin blood, approached Kwon Oh-Jin.

Had she been listening while fighting nearby?

“Got it.”

If he and Isabella each took one core, that left only one unclaimed.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and turned to Vega. “Can you take out the last one?”

“That’s...” Vega trailed off as her expression darkened. “With my current strength, I don’t think I can do it.”

Destroying one of the magic circle’s cores required an immense amount of power. In her current state of manifestation, Vega couldn’t exert enough power to destroy it.

“Ha-Eun and Riarc are...”

Kwon Oh-Jin turned toward the other two, but they were each leading the dragonkin and beastkin against the demonkin. They clearly couldn’t step away. Baek Mu-Kang was no different. Surrounded by dozens of high-ranking demonkin, he was in the middle of a brutal life-and-death battle.

Damn it.

No one else could destroy the third core with Song Ha-Eun, Riarc, and Baek Mu-Kang all tied up.

After a moment of contemplation, Vega finally made up her mind. “Then, I shall use my Sacred Ground.”

“That’s...” Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression hardened.

This Sacred Ground wouldn’t be like what she had used before to muffle the surrounding sounds. To release enough power to destroy one of the massive cores, Vega would have to accept restrictions far harsher than any she had previously endured. In the worst-case scenario, she could completely vanish from this world.

“No, you can’t do that,” Kwon Oh-Jin refused.

“But there’s no other way.”

“I’ll bring the Elder.”

“My child.” Vega blocked Kwon Oh-Jin’s path. With a faint smile, she caressed his cheek. “It’s all right. Don’t worry.”

“Vega...” Kwon Oh-Jin bit his lip and clenched his fists tightly.

If only they had one more person, just one who could lend him their strength.

“Oh my, then I suppose I don’t need to destroy the last one myself?”

A chilling sound, like a serpent slithering across the ground, echoed out as a dark shadow spread out beneath their feet.

Shhh.

Perched on a throne made of hundreds of snakes, Cassia looked down at Kwon Oh-Jin with a mischievous grin.