Chapter 183

The spatial magic cast by a Class 9 Grand Magus was indeed extraordinary. Leonard, whose vision was maintained within the flow of spatial distortion thanks to the heightened powers of his Dragon Eyes, looked around in wonder.

This spell was on an entirely different level from the spatial portal used by the Atlantis Maritime Alliance. Dozens of kilometers whisked past every fraction of a second. The intent was clear: a direct journey to their destination without any stops.

As expected, a Class 9 mage, just like a Demigod Tier knight, is in a league of its own and has a completely different status compared to experts at lower Tiers. To complete a transference spell superior to a spatial portal in just seconds...

He couldn’t help but feel a tinge of bitterness as he recalled the arduous struggles he and his companions had endured to return to the Cardenas family. Before Leonard could fully process his thoughts, the shimmering mirage of the spatial magic dissipated. They had arrived close to their destination.

“Ugh! What is this?”

As Leonard stepped onto solid ground, his nose was the first to detect something amiss.

A noxious stench wafted through the air, though it wasn’t the odor of decay or refuse. This smell was evidence of a spiritual phenomenon—one that was profoundly harmful. The presence of something lethal to all living beings, regardless of race, signified their proximity to a “land of death.”

The seasoned veterans in the group were also sensitive to the stench. They narrowed their eyes.

“Cruella, you didn’t miscalculate the coordinates of the spatial portal, did you?” Wade asked.

Cruella firmly shook her head. “No, the jump was accurate to within a meter. According to my calculations, this area should still be outside the Corroded Realm’s influence.”

She swung her broom around as if to confirm her surroundings, sighing heavily. Though this situation wasn’t unforeseen, it certainly raised the expedition’s difficulty.

“The Corroded Realm’s area of erosion expanded five kilometers in just one day. We can now confirm that at least two Apostle-class beings are present.”

“Based on this phenomenon, can you infer the apostles’ True Names?” Wade pressed.

Cruella responded without hesitation, “It’s not Grafvitnir the Gnawing Wolf or Grafvollud the Field Devourer. If it were, the erosion would have spread twice as fast. It’s likely two of the other five.”

“I see.”

The task of identifying two out of seven potential apostles was now identifying two out of five. With this small victory before officially entering the Corroded Realm, Wade faintly raised an eyebrow and turned to his troops.

The Red Dragon Knights stood in precise formation, demonstrating their skill and discipline despite the disorientation caused by Class 9 spatial magic. Even as they sensed Nastrond’s decay, the foul presence of the Corroded Realm, their composure remained unshaken. Such was the nature of an elite force. Even when ordered to march to their deaths, they would not hesitate.

“We will now enter the Corroded Realm. Follow me.” Wade’s monotone voice resonated like thunder in the ears of those on the battlefield.

Without faltering, he led the thousand-strong expeditionary force across the barren plain, stepping past the boundary hidden within the desolate land.

The moment Wade crossed, his figure vanished.

“Well then, shall we follow?” Cruella, who had sidled up next to Leonard, tugged at his sleeve. Her eyes glinted with a curiosity befitting a mage and darted up and down as she studied him.

Leonard didn’t mind her attention; he welcomed it. A Class 9 Grand Magus like Cruella could have the answers to questions he’d been pondering.

“I’ve heard that the Corroded Realm isn’t a separate subspace like the Rift. Is that true?” Leonard asked.

“Hmm? That’s right. The reason Wade became invisible is because the boundary zone functions like a barrier where the laws of the worlds collide,” she replied without missing a beat.

As expected, Cruella’s explanation flowed effortlessly.

She said, “The laws of our world and the external laws of the Corroded Realm clash beyond that boundary. The space beyond is closer to Nastrond than to this world. Even if we destroy the core of the Corroded Realm, the contamination here might take ages to heal.”

“Is the power of the Outer Gods so overwhelming that they override our world’s natural equilibrium?” Leonard asked, intrigued.

“It’s a bit more complicated. Our world’s laws weakened when the Divine Throne became vacant at the end of the ancient era—oh.” Realizing her slip, Cruella hesitated and whispered cautiously, “Don’t tell anyone I said that, okay? Especially not that you heard it from me. Understand?”

“Is it classified information?”

“Sort of. You can probably gain clearance soon, but if it’s known you learned it prematurely, it’ll be a hassle for both of us.”

Perhaps enjoying the rare opportunity to chat, Cruella cheerfully skipped ahead and entered the Corroded Realm. Leonard, after briefly watching her disappear, followed suit.

The moment he crossed the boundary, an intense revulsion climbed up his spine. Simply existing in this area made him nauseous. It took Leonard a moment to adjust and notice the changes around him.

So this is the Corroded Realm Nastrond.

The barren wasteland was gone. The sun, which should have blazed above, was now a sickly green and failed to provide proper illumination. The sky resembled a dim, starless night despite it being midday.

Shapes resembling clouds were only faintly visible in the sky, but Leonard’s Dragon Eyes soon discerned their true nature.

“Bones...?”

What loomed above was a serpent’s massive backbone, so enormous it defied comprehension.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Cruella remarked, “The venom seeping from it falls like rain, dissolving the bodies and souls of sinners, and flows through Nastrond as rivers.”

“We’ll have to be careful,” Leonard replied.

“I’ll shield you from heavy downpours, but if it’s just a few droplets, you’ll have to dodge them yourself—huh?”

Cruella, watching the Red Dragon Knights enter one by one, suddenly widened her eyes. Her gaze locked onto Leonard. “What’s going on? Your strength is rising!”

Leonard was startled by her words, and he quickly examined himself. To his surprise, his Dragon Heart was fiercely pulsating, circulating energy, elevating his power beyond the Transcendence Tier.

This wasn’t an entirely new phenomenon. He had experienced it before.

This ability only manifested when I encountered a core in a Rift. Does it trigger just from being in a Corroded Realm?

Unlike a Rift, which was a mere outpost, the Corroded Realm directly expressed the influence of the foreign world. Dragons were designed as the guardians of the world, so it was inevitable that the dragon gene within Leonard would react.

Leonard closed his eyes to calm the raging Dragon Heart within him and suppressed the energy threatening to form an augmented energy shield.

Seeing this, Cruella murmured in understanding, “Ah, as a person bearing the blood of a race designed to protect the world, you must have been designated as an agent of the world’s laws when you encountered the Corroded Realm.”

Compared to his efforts to subjugate the Rift in Atlantis, Leonard had advanced several steps forward in his journey.

With the blessing of the world’s laws, Leonard was now on an entirely different level than when he could barely manifest the Five Elements Augmented Qi. He felt as though he could invoke a Demigod Tier being’s power more than ten times within the Corroded Realm without straining his body.

Even Demigod Tier entities could no longer afford to disregard the current Leonard.

In a head-to-head confrontation, I can hold my own for at least ten moves. If I catch them off guard, I might even inflict a fatal wound.

The reason why Transcendence Tier experts couldn’t overcome Demigod Tier experts was that, at the conceptual realm, the gap in their level was so vast that it created an almost impenetrable barrier.

Even Demian’s Reflection could block unique traits. During a sparring session, Leonard had used his most powerful technique, but any move that hadn’t reached the Demigod Tier level was nullified.

Conversely, if Leonard could bridge this gap, he would be able to kill or severely injure a Demigod Tier entity.

“...Once again, you’ve surpassed my expectations,” Cruella muttered.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed Leonard’s transformation. Wade, who had taken a step ahead, had returned and was standing close to Leonard. He raised an eyebrow—a rare display of emotion—and remarked, “You likely won’t be able to take down an apostle on your own, but you should be able to buy time or exploit an opening.”

Cruella was startled by Wade’s comment. She loudly protested, “Wait! Don’t tell me you’re planning to take this child to fight the apostles?!”

“Of course. If he were a burden, I’d leave him with the main forces. But with his prowess, he should at least be able to take care of himself.”

“His potential is so rare that it might never appear a second time, even in the Cardenas family. Two apostles aren’t good enough to threaten you, isn’t that right!? There’s no need to take such a pointless risk!”

Wade frowned slightly before turning to Leonard. “It’s your decision. Will you join me in fighting the apostles or stay here and focus on delaying them?”

Leonard, whose goal had always been to follow Wade, answered without hesitation, “I will follow you, Commander.”

The responses to his declaration were split. Wade smirked in satisfaction, while Cruella openly expressed her dismay.

“What?! You, are you serious?!”

“I knew you’d say that,” Wade replied calmly.

Cruella looked as though she wanted to argue further, but before their conversation could continue, uninvited guests announced their arrival. From a distance, an overwhelming presence surged toward them like a tidal wave.

Even though their enemies were still several kilometers away, the ground beneath them trembled from their enemies’ approach. The rhythmic vibrations—

thud, thud, thud

—brought to mind the charge of a centaur horde, but on a far grander scale.

This is insane! A vanguard numbering in the tens of thousands? That’s a legion!

Leonard, using his heightened senses to gauge their numbers and his Dragon Eyes to scan the horizon, froze in shock. The sheer scale of the enemy far exceeded his expectations.

In contrast, Wade and Cruella appeared unfazed.

With a few hand signals, Wade reorganized the Red Dragon Knights into formation before turning to Cruella.

“About forty thousand Undead, huh? Their strength isn’t great, but more than half of them will revive even if I wipe them all out with my flame power. I’d prefer to avoid meaningless losses.”

Since ancient times, the otherworldly dimension of Nastrond had unleashed an inexhaustible supply of Undead. Engaging them in a battle of attrition was tantamount to certain defeat.

While the living tired and faltered, the dead continued relentlessly. And within the influence of the Corroded Realm, recovery was excruciatingly slow while consumption was exponentially faster than normal.

It was precisely for this reason that the Wickeline family had dispatched Cruella, the Grand Magus ranked third in Pentagon.

“So, you’re leaving me to handle all the dirty work, huh? I’m already not thrilled about being dragged to a battlefield at my age.”

Pouting like a child, the Grand Magus mounted her broomstick and flew into the air. Her youthful appearance and playful demeanor made it hard to believe she could stand against an Undead army numbering in the tens of thousands.

Leonard couldn’t help but feel doubtful.

Noticing his unease, Wade reassured him, “You need not worry. When it comes to large-scale battles, there’s no one more qualified than Cruella.”

“Pardon?”

Wade offered no further explanation, confident that Leonard would understand soon enough.

And indeed, understanding came swiftly.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

From beyond the horizon, the Undead surged forward. Their sheer presence, accumulated over countless ages of suffering, was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

As long as Nastrond sustained their immortality, only a few of the weaker Undead would stay dead when killed, even if Wade cut them down personally. For all intents and purposes, they were an

immortal

legion.

Whiiiiing—!

Hovering in midair, Cruella crossed her hands and chanted. A colossal, ominously glowing magic circle spread across the ground, distorting the surrounding space.

The magic circle was different from that of a teleportation spell or a spatial portal. Leonard analyzed it with his Dragon Eyes and deduced it was a kind of subspace.

“...No way!?”

Sensing what stirred within the subspace before anyone else, Leonard turned to Wade in disbelief. Now he understood why Cruella was considered the ideal candidate for large-scale battles and why she had been sent to reinforce the expedition.

Facing the Undead Legion of Nastrond, Cruella smirked coldly, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And for an Undead army?”

The answer was simple.

“We fight them with even stronger Undead. Don’t you agree, everyone?”

As if in response, a dark knight clad in jet-black plated chainmail emerged from the entrance created from the subspace magic circle, charging forward.