Chapter 333: The Northern Reclamation War (5)

Black fog began to spread around Kai. It was the effect of the Knight of Nightmare ring worn on the ring finger of his left hand. Of course, it was obvious what kind of beings that fog would summon.

Clatter, clatter!

Fifty skeletons were summoned, creaking their jawbones and joints.

Then, another one of Kai’s rings lit up and the Appoint skill was activated. One of his signature combos, the N.O.N - Appoint combo, was now complete.

The dullahans were newly reborn in an instant, and Kai gave them weapons just like a king granting land to the nobles under his command.

As soon as the distribution of fifty Rare and Unique weapons was complete, Kai summoned one more entity.

“Summon Warrior of Light, Desmond.”

A crimson whirlwind swirled, and a handsome pale-faced man stepped onto the battlefield.

—

Hmm.

A battlefield, is it?

Kai summoned Desmond since Harley was left behind at the Siris Fortress just in case.

“Yes, as you can see.”

Desmond scanned the battlefield with his signature arrogant gaze, then shook his head.

—An encirclement formation,

huh

. However... It's a mess that ignores all the basic principles. The commander lacks competence.

Then he looked at Kai with a pitiful expression.

—Is this your work?

Kai shrugged. “Well, yes.”

—There’s nothing more foolish than surrounding a larger force with fewer numbers. Do you plan to be crushed?

“I was just about to fix that part.”

—In a battlefield where every second counts, there's no way to recover from a fatal mistake like—

“There is.” Kai cut off Desmond’s nagging as another ring began to glow. “Hymn of Angels.”

Holy power that couldn’t be contained by the ring burst out and washed over the field.

—Hey, seriously! Can’t you at least give me a heads-up for things like this!

Desmond, who despised holy power, had already distanced himself quite a bit.

Regardless, a pleasant voice reached Kai’s ears.

Ni~nanino~

Ni~nanino~

It was the sweet singing of the angels summoned by using the Hymn of Angels. The angels floating above their heads were, quite literally, impossible to look away from.

At that moment, when everyone, regardless of being a friend or enemy, was staring blankly at the angels, the notification Kai was waiting for appeared.

Ding!

[You have heard the hymn sung by the angels.]

[Physical damage received is reduced by 30%.]

[Magical damage received is reduced by 30%.]

[All status effect resistance is increased by 40%.]

The skill effect of Petra, an Eternal Legendary-grade item, was insane. It wasn’t just crazy, it was completely over the top, and for one reason only.

“

Huh?

This feeling is...”

“It feels like a divine power is protecting me!”

“

Oh

, the Solarian God is watching over us!”

The skill applied its effects to every ally who heard the hymn, and that included allied NPCs.

Kai had already experienced it in the Battle of the Bir Plains, so he wasn’t too moved this time.

—

A-ahem

. At this level... I suppose things are balanced now.

Even Desmond, who despised holy power, couldn’t help but acknowledge the strength of this one.

But Kai smirked and teased him. “What do you mean? I’m not done yet.”

—What?

“Of all people, you shouldn’t be the one to forget this.”

Looking at Desmond, who was blinking dumbfoundedly, Kai spoke each word clearly, “Heart of the Legion.”

Ding!

[Heart of the Legion has been activated.]

[Summons' attack power increased by 30%.]

[Summons' defense increased by 30%.]

[Summons' health increased by 30%.]

[All stats of summon increased by 15%.]

Feeling the overwhelming power surging through his entire body, Desmond asked in a trembling voice,

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

—What is this absurd power?

“

C’mon

, you already know,” Kai replied slyly as Desmond clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly.

—I see. So this is the power that destroyed my kingdom.

“Hey, I didn’t destroy it, okay? Brookheim is doing fine, and it’s super popular with players right now,” Kai stretched his right hand forward as he corrected Desmond.

That was the exact direction where the main force of the Muldine army was stationed.

There were two reasons I insisted on this operation despite knowing our numbers were low.

One was that he trusted in his overpowering buffs and his legion. Especially the buffs, but more than that, Kai had absolute faith in his dullahan army and the reason was simple.

A force capable of defeating these guys? Well, maybe an imperial knight order at minimum.

When the battle with Harley in the Black Sea ended, Kai was at level 474. After taking a long break to focus on managing his territory, he had finally leveled up again just a few hours earlier by wiping out 50,000 of the Muldine army. And that was how the current dullahan army was completed.

[Dullahan LV.506.]

Each and every one of them had a level over 500, forming the strongest army, worthy of being called named bosses.

The dullahans were influenced by the summoner's level. In other words, it meant that Kai’s level had also surpassed 500.

And the second thing I believed in.

From the hand Kai had extended, droplets of water began to fall from a ring.

I’m confident I can completely wreck the enemy’s formation.

The ring, dripping like a loosely closed faucet, began to glow with a blue light.

“Pressurized Water Cannon.”

At the same time, a powerful stream of water shot straight across the vast plain, where the 150,000 troops were positioned.

“

Gaaaaah!

”

“W-where did this water come from?!”

“You idiots! It’s pressurized water! Don’t block it and dodge! Scatter!”

Pressurized Water Cannon couldn’t be blocked with shields or countered with magic.

Believe it or not, this is the strongest attack skill of a Sea Serpent.

As if to prove that absolute faith, the Pressurized Water Cannon split the Muldine army’s formation in half.

As soon as Kai confirmed that their lines had broken, he shouted, “Now! Wipe them out!”

The dullahans drew their weapons and charged at the enemy like reapers of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Pressurized Water Cannon began to lose power and showed signs of dying out.

Can’t let that happen.

The enemy formation being broken like now was of course advantageous to his allied forces.

It’s my first time trying this, so I’m not sure it’ll work, but...

Kai reached his left hand toward the water cannon.

“Absolute Zero.”

As he cast the skill, the water cannon froze over, releasing sharp ice spikes. It was also the moment a line was completely drawn to divide the enemy formation. Though it lasted barely a second, Kai was able to confirm the overwhelming power of Absolute Zero.

What a dangerous skill.

If he hadn’t focused the power of Absolute Zero into his left hand, it might have harmed his own allies. He decided he needed to practice this skill a bit more as he kept his eyes on the battlefield.

Thanks to Hymn of Angels, Count Hind’s army, now with dramatically boosted defense, was fighting well against the Muldine forces. However, they were merely background players in this battlefield.

Crash!

Boom!

The true stage belonged to the dullahans. With nothing to fear, they pushed forward relentlessly, sweeping away every enemy in their path. Wherever they passed, not a single enemy remained, just as if a swarm of locusts had gone by.

Hmm, the side without dullahans is definitely struggling more.

After ordering the dullahans to clean up the enemy’s left side, Kai took Desmond and headed toward the right.

“Heretics who do not believe in Muldine! Die!”

“No, you die.” Kai charged straight into the midst of the enemies harassing Count Hind’s forces.

Summon Holy Sword.

The moment he grabbed the Holy Sword that resonated with his Holy Power, there was no enemy who could block his sword.

“In Muldine’s name!”

“

Oh

, then I’ll go with Helik’s name.”

With a casual tilt of his chin, Kai dodged an incoming sword and swung his arm, and a Dark Knight’s arm went flying.

Left side.

Slightly turning his head, he saw a massive blaze of darkness flying toward him.

Is that the Church of Muldine’s divine magic?

It was Kai’s first time fighting the Holy Wizards of the Church of Muldine, but they weren’t that difficult.

After going up against those Black Bee guys, it’s definitely easier to deal with long-range spellcasters.

It was the kind of composure that only someone who had already defeated the final boss from the start could have.

Kai effortlessly dodged through the relentless bombardment and steadily closed in on them.

“Y-you monster...! Dark Explo—!”

Before the spell could be cast, Kai drove his sword into the caster’s throat. With a gurgling sound coming from the caster, the spell was canceled.

“Flood of Blades.”

Pulling out the Holy Sword spinning like a blender, Kai sensed several presences and turned around.

“

Hah

.”

Three Dark Knights were charging at him, ready to die if it meant taking him down.

“

Oh,

” Kai let out a small sound of admiration for a simple reason.

These guys, they’re named?

It was the first time he had seen Dark Knights who each had their own names. On top of that, they had higher levels than the other knights, suggesting they were dispatched from the Church of Muldine’s headquarters.

Interesting.

Kai smiled and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly before swinging it diagonally. It was Sword Wind, the technique he learned after mastering Swordsmanship of the Dawn. While it couldn’t deal fatal damage, it was the best skill for pushing enemies back or disrupting their movement like now.

“

Ugh!

”

“

Argh!

”

As one of the Dark Knights flung backward, rolled across the ground, and lifted his head, their vision was filled with sharp sword strikes.

“

Gaaaahhh!

”

Even after succeeding in his attack, Kai didn’t lower his guard. In fact, the other two named knights were still charging at him, regardless of their comrade’s fate.

Kai turned around, extended his left hand, and shouted, “Blue Plague!”

“What?!”

“

Heup!

”

Taken aback, the two knights held their breath, but it was already too late.

One breath. The difference of just a single breath.

The Blue Plague, created by the Church of Muldine, was a skill that dealt additional damage based on the user’s Intelligence stat. Currently, Kai’s intelligence exceeded 2,600. No matter what poison skill one used, it couldn’t compare to the Blue Plague.

“

Kugh

...”

“

Argh

.”

The faces of the two named Dark Knights turned black.

Kai helped them so they would feel no more pain.

Like a tiger running through a flock of sheep, no, like something even more fearsome, the Dark Knights of the Church of Muldine were infamous for their lack of fear.

However, thirty minutes into the battle, not a single enemy dared to approach Kai.

It’s over.

He could clearly see the collapse of morale on the enemies’ faces. And as expected, Count Hind's troops, their spirits soaring, shouted and drove them back.

“By the way, what’s taking Blizzard so long to finish off that one extra?”

He thought Blizzard would take care of things quickly and rejoin him, but he hadn’t returned yet.

When Kai teleported to where Blizzard was, he furrowed his brows. “Hm?”

Blizzard is losing?

The duel had gone on for over thirty minutes without a victor. Additionally, considering that Blizzard received an enormous buff midway through, it meant the opponent was far stronger than expected.

“

Argh!

”

Blizzard staggered back after his shoulder was deeply slashed by the sharp edge of the scythe.

Krom, who slashed through even the armor made from Harley’s scales, licked the blood around his mouth as he said, “Why don’t you try using that fancy skill of yours again?”

Counter was Blizzard’s greatest skill, and one that could even defeat stronger opponents. However, it had the flaw of its effectiveness dropping drastically once an enemy became aware of its existence because activating the Counter skill required a unique stance.

“Blizzard.”

At Kai’s call, Blizzard lowered his head. He was feeling overwhelming defeat and emptiness.

“I’m sorry, Master... I tried so hard to stand at your side... but I couldn’t even handle a mere grunt like this...”

“It’s fine, really. Life’s like that sometimes.”

As Kai patted Blizzard’s shoulder to comfort him, Krom, who had been watching, burst out in anger, “You've been saying grunt and extra since earlier, but who the hell are you that?!”

Beating his chest with his fist, Krom declared boldly, “My name is Krom! Inquisitor of the Church of Muldine and the Supreme Commander of this war!”

“

Huh?

You are?”

“Now that you know, come at me yourself. Kai, I’ll take your head myse—”

“

Oh,

then this war would be over if I catch you.”

Krom felt a chilling sensation creep down his spine. One of the reasons for it was that Kai suddenly vanished from his sight, and the other was that Kai's voice echoed right beside his ear.