Chapter 538: Now, Let’s Kill That Bastard. (2)

Crack!

Hellnik broke the spear that had pierced his chest and stood up. Black smoke continuously seeped from the wound in his chest.

"Holy power?"

Not only the dagger wielded by the woman, but even the spear had been imbued with holy power.

Hellnik ground his teeth.

"Those bastards...!"

Before the enraged Hellnik could regain his stance, a massive mace appeared in front of him.

"What??"

Boom!

"Guh!"

Hellnik was struck directly by tremendous force, sent sliding backward. The part of his arm that touched the mace began to burn intensely.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Parniel broke through the sea of corpses and charged at Hellnik with a furious expression.

Seeing the countless undead, her anger boiled over.

"How dare you trap souls meant for the Goddess!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Her attacks rained down with the force of a mountain collapsing, and Hellnik stumbled backward, unable to regain his balance.

Though he conjured shields to block her strikes, the sheer destructive power of her mace shattered them with each hit. Every attack carried immense holy power.

Startled by her overwhelming strength, Hellnik shouted.

"A saintess?!"

Such powerful holy energy could only come from one person—the saintess of legend.

As Hellnik prepared to counterattack, dozens of daggers surrounded him, sealing off his space.

Swish!

Hellnik was forced to teleport, swinging his hands in frustration.

Roar!

The Death Knights Jerome had destroyed earlier resurrected. They charged toward Parniel and Belinda.

Meanwhile, the countless surrounding corpses began encircling the two women.

Belinda quickly moved, picking up Jerome and retreating from the battlefield.

Parniel was left alone, finally catching her breath, when—

Slash!

The heads of the corpses blocking her path fell simultaneously.

Whoosh!

A man suddenly emerged from behind them, swinging his sword.

The distance between them should have been significant.

Slash.

Hellnik's body was cut again. It was undoubtedly the same attacker who had slashed his chest earlier.

Though he avoided a fatal wound this time, Hellnik couldn't conceal his shock.

'There's no sign at all.'

No matter how fast someone was, such attacks that ignored distance were impossible.

That sword could strike wherever its wielder willed it. It defied the laws of nature, creating the intended result through sheer willpower.

Hellnik's strength allowed him to discern the nature of the attack, even identifying its weaknesses.

'The effectiveness depends on the difference in power.'

If he were weaker, his neck would have been severed instantly.

But he was one of the strongest on the continent, which prevented his opponent's willpower from fully overwhelming him.

It seemed his opponent realized this, as they didn't use the technique again.

Still, the eerie sensation lingered. If the attacker's skill had been slightly higher, Hellnik would have suffered a severe injury.

The technique was utterly beyond comprehension.

Rumble!

In the brief moment he avoided the attack, Hellnik used all his strength to counteract.

Masses of bones emerged from the ground, blocking his front, and countless corpses charged at his enemies.

Over 200,000 undead surged toward the attackers, temporarily halting their movements due to sheer numbers.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hellnik retreated further.

"Phew, dangerous foes indeed. I need to escape."

Hellnik finally caught his breath as the sea of corpses created a wall between him and the attackers.

He summoned every corpse he had gathered. Unless the attackers could fly, it would take considerable time to break through.

But in his haste, he forgot something crucial—the spear that had fallen from the sky.

Whoosh!

From the back of a massive dark raven, Ghislain leaped down, his mana erupting.

Ghislain's descent was as swift as light.

Hellnik, preoccupied with maneuvering his corpses, noticed the falling figure too late.

"Hmm?"

Ghislain swung his sword powerfully as he plummeted toward Hellnik.

Slash!

"Aaargh!"

Hellnik's body was slashed from shoulder to side, black smoke pouring from the wound.

Boom!

Ghislain landed, creating a massive crater and grinning slyly.

"Ah, you dodged that. Impressive as always, Hellnik."

Ghislain's sword glowed with holy power, thanks to the blessings Parniel and Piote had imbued into everyone's weapons.

Hellnik, heavily wounded, retreated and shouted.

"Grr! Who are you?! Who are you people?!"

"Can't you tell by looking?"

"Grr…"

Hellnik quickly identified his opponents.

There was only one army on the continent with this many powerful warriors.

"You're Duke Fenris of Lutania, aren't you?"

"That's right. If you're curious, ask anything. I've got plenty of time."

"Guhahaha…"

Hellnik let out a low, rumbling laugh. The fact that they were here meant the Salvation Church's plan had succeeded.

"Fools. Do you know what it means that you've come here?"

"I do."

"What?"

"You're trying to lure us here, right? Doesn't matter. We were planning to wipe you all out anyway. Especially you."

To Ghislain, Hellnik was a threat. In his previous life, he had left Hellnik alone because the necromancer had operated independently.

But now that Hellnik had allied with the Salvation Church, he had become an enemy that needed to be eliminated as quickly as possible.

Even if it meant incurring losses elsewhere, killing Hellnik here would be far more beneficial.

Ghislain's confident attitude made Hellnik grit his teeth.

"Don't bluff... Do you think you can handle this many corpses?"

There were over 200,000 undead. Even without intelligence, defeating them would require an enormous amount of effort.

As proof, the superhumans who appeared earlier hadn't been able to break through the wall of corpses.

Ghislain chuckled again.

"Who said we came alone?"

"What?"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

From a distance, a group of cavalry approached.

Ghislain had moved ahead with his mobile army. When Vanessa's magic revealed Jerome was in danger, they rushed to rescue him.

"Crush them all!"

At Gillian's command, the mobile army, glowing with holy power, charged.

Boom!

The holy-power-infused cavalry tore through the undead effortlessly.

The corpses fell apart with shocking ease under their attacks.

Lacking formation and driven only by hostility toward the living, they couldn't withstand the precision of the cavalry's assault.

Roar!

Still, the sheer number of corpses was overwhelming. Even though the Parsali Kingdom's priests were present, they couldn't handle this many undead, which was why they had been pushed back.

The massive horde of undead charged toward the cavalry again.

The thick wall of corpses quickly reduced the cavalry's momentum. A chaotic battle was inevitable.

But among them was one person who thrived in chaotic melee.

"Yaaahhhh!"

Jumping off her horse, the "Princess of Destruction," Elena, swung her massive hammer.

Boom!

Roar?

The corpses exploded wherever she struck. Each swing of Elena's immense strength cleared a path through the undead.

Trained in battles against the riftborn, Elena, unable to contain her fury, charged ahead alone. She always seemed to be angry these days.

Watching her, Gillian burst out laughing and shouted.

"Follow the princess! Keep pushing forward! Leave none standing!"

"Waaah! Princess of Destruction!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before anyone realized it, Elena had taken the lead, swinging her hammer wildly. Even her allies had to steer clear of her range.

Only Rachel stayed as close to Elena as possible, keeping a watchful eye on her.

Elena was breaking through the horde with ease, but the corpses quickly swarmed back to fill the gaps.

At that moment, a loud voice rang out from behind the mobile army.

"Oh Goddess!"

Clang!

Piote's hair began to shimmer with a silvery glow as he unleashed all his holy power, spreading brilliant light in all directions.

Roar!

The corpses touched by the light trembled and burst into flames, unable to withstand the holy power that was their natural antithesis.

The priests following Piote also poured out their holy power, protecting their allies.

The mobile forces trampled over the now-weakened corpses as they pressed forward.

What made the undead so terrifying was their inability to be permanently killed. But if they could be destroyed, no matter how numerous, they couldn't match a regular army.

And Piote wasn't the only one present.

The corpses converging toward the center were dealt with by Parniel.

"Begone, you vile abominations!"

Boom!

As Parniel slammed her mace into the ground, a storm of immense holy power erupted outward.

Roar!

Even the Death Knights were torn apart, while lesser undead like zombies and ghouls were reduced to ashes.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Other superhumans wielded their holy-powered weapons, cutting through the undead.

From afar, large-scale spells obliterated clusters of corpses.

Although the sheer number of undead meant they kept coming, at this rate, the army of corpses would soon be annihilated.

If the enemy were moderately strong, it wouldn't have been an issue. Hellnik could have countered their holy power and kept reviving the corpses.

But now...

"How does it feel? No matter how strong you are, handling all of us must be a bit much."

Ghislain gave a cold smile. Hellnik ground his teeth, unable to respond.

He couldn't spare his power for the undead. If he did, the one in front of him would kill him.

Hellnik slowly surveyed the scene and asked, "...How do you know so much about me?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because it's strange."

He had anticipated reinforcements. With such a massive undead army, he had expected priests to come.

But for such overwhelmingly powerful figures to arrive so quickly and precisely?

Even stranger was that they had brought only about 20,000 troops against such a large army. Normally, one would coordinate with a kingdom's army to minimize losses.

That was the most logical way to handle it.

Yet these people moved boldly, leading only a small number of elites against an enormous undead horde.

It was as if...

"You were targeting me all along, weren't you?"

"That's right. I told you, we're here to kill you. Oh, and to rescue that wounded mage friend of ours lying over there."

"..."

So it was true. Their goal was him. They had allowed themselves to be lured, but only to take his head.

Roar!

The number of undead rapidly dwindled. Without Hellnik's support, they were being pushed back helplessly.

Even as corpses swarmed Ghislain, he didn't need to move.

Fwoosh.

Spears of mana formed around him, automatically destroying the approaching undead.

Hellnik gathered his energy.

He was curious how they knew so much about him, but now wasn't the time for answers.

"You seem very confident, Duke Fenris."

Hellnik deliberately engaged in conversation to buy time. He needed to lull his opponent into carelessness.

He had no intention of fighting here.

Whoosh!

Dozens, hundreds of bone spears erupted from the ground where Ghislain stood.

'The situation is too unfavorable. The plan succeeded, so I'll retreat for now.'

It was a shame to abandon such a massive undead army, but staying would mean his death.

Taking advantage of Ghislain's brief hesitation from the bone attack, Hellnik attempted to Blink backward. Or rather, he tried.

Slash!

Yulian, who had slipped through the undead, interrupted the flow of mana.

Thud!

"Guh!"

The disrupted mana flow directly shocked Hellnik.

Staggering, he looked ahead. His Blink had failed.

The one before him could cut through the very flow of intent. Space manipulation would not work against him.

In the end, Hellnik couldn't escape using teleportation.

"Who are you?"

"Yulian."

Hellnik searched his memory and realized. This was the saviour who had recently crushed the rebellion in the Kingdom of Turian.

Of all people, it had to be someone with the perfect skill to prevent a mage from fleeing.

Boom!

The bone prison shattered as Ghislain walked out.

He glanced at Yulian and smiled.

"What took you so long? Ugh, I kept chatting with this guy to keep him from running. Should've brought Claude instead."

Even for Ghislain, capturing someone as skilled as Hellnik would be difficult if he openly fled. The chase would be endless.

With teleportation magic, even over short distances, Hellnik could easily widen the gap.

But with Yulian, escape could be prevented. His ability to cut through unseen flows made that possible.

That's why they had planned for this moment in advance.

"...Fine."

Unlike Ghislain, who grinned widely, Yulian remained expressionless as he responded.

This time, Hellnik looked at Ghislain.

It wasn't he who had stalled for time. It was the man before him who had trapped him in this situation.

"You bastards..."

There was no choice. He had to fight. Before reinforcements arrived, he had to kill these two.

For the first time in his life, Hellnik realized he would have to go all out in a head-to-head battle.

Boom!

"Don't think I'm only capable of controlling corpses."

A tremendous surge of energy erupted from Hellnik's body. He knew he wouldn't escape this place without risking everything.

Clink.

Yulian raised his sword, lowering his stance.

Ghislain grinned and said, "Let's kill him now."

Boom!

Ghislain and Yulian swung their swords toward Hellnik.

[T/L: I am in dire need of support. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]