Chapter 225

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Right after stepping out of the Eastern Jungle.

Two knights hurried back to Shulfern with Sven in tow. As they did, a familiar face greeted him at the castle gate.

“Sven!”

Milena Armadin, the commander of Shulfern’s defense.

She stomped on the ground and rushed to hug Sven tightly. Then, as if finally relieved, she sighed and asked,

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I-I can’t breathe, Milena.” Sven tapped on her arm lightly.

At that moment, her eyes widened suddenly.

“Wait, why is your clothes covered in blood?!

“I just rolled around a bit…”

“That’s not ‘a bit’!”

With her eyebrows raised angrily, Milena shouted at Sven, checking his condition. As he explained what had happened in the jungle, her expression grew serious.

“Now it’s my turn.”

After finishing his long story, Sven glanced at the completely demolished outer castle wall. He then turned back to Milena and asked,

“What happened?”

“Well…”

Milena let out a heavy sigh.

She explained everything that had happened in Shulfern during Sven’s absence, including how not only was the outer castle wall destroyed, but they had almost lost the inner castle too, just barely saved by the arrival of the Knight Order.

“…That’s how it happened.”

In the process, Sven learned why the saintess had instructed him to fetch him.

“She said there was something she wanted to commission me for?”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”

“But why me, of all people…”

Sven tilted his head.

Of course! Why would they hire him when they had someone as powerful as Kadel around?

Just as he was making a confused face, a clear voice suddenly interrupted.

“Ah, I’ll explain that!”

A girl with turquoise hair walked in gracefully. As soon as their eyes met, Sven’s eyes went wide.

At that moment, he knew instinctively that this girl was the “Saintess” the knights had mentioned.

“What I want to commission you for is…”

With a bright smile, Laurea started to say something, but suddenly closed her mouth and turned her gaze away.

Past the castle walls, towards the dense forest.

The direction of the Eastern Jungle.

“I think we should postpone this conversation.”

“Huh?”

“A battle is about to break out.”

“A battle?”

Milena, who had been quietly listening, widened her eyes. Just as she was about to ask how she knew a battle would occur…

Sven’s pointy ears perked up.

“…!”

As if realizing something late.

Sven also looked towards the direction of the Eastern Jungle. Just then, urgent shouts from the sentries on the castle wall rang out.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

“A large number of enemies are appearing from the jungle!”

“It’s a horde of undead!”

The group hurried up to the walls.

What unfolded before their eyes was a mass of troops marching in from the jungle.

“Undead!”

Milena gritted her teeth.

This was double the scale of the previous attack.

Moreover, unlike before, this army was entirely made up of undead. Realizing the severity of the situation, Shulfern immediately took defensive positions.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

“Hurry! They’re coming!”

The Holy Knight Order and Inquisition Officers also sensed the impending battle and readied their weapons.

Meanwhile, at that moment, while everyone was focused on the enemy’s scale, one person was concentrated elsewhere.

…

A middle-aged knight standing guard on the castle wall.

Paladin Master Kadel Dun Shanktus.

He was not looking at the horde of over a thousand undead, but rather, at the vanguard of the army.

“That is…”

A monster wearing a snake mask.

It radiated immense power, holding a gray spear. It felt similar to the force he sensed from the depths of the jungle.

What the heck is that thing?

Just as Kadel narrowed his eyes.

[Graaah!]

the undead wailed.

At the same time, the undead army stomped the ground in unison, moving with the precision of well-trained soldiers.

Kadel drew his sword.

“Oh, holy being.”

After a brief prayer, his sword and shield glowed with light.

Covered in an aura of holiness, he leaped without hesitation over the castle wall.

[Chirp! Chirp!]

As the undead soldiers opened their mouths to charge, they couldn’t even graze Kadel’s form. He had entered the Master’s Domain.

And Kadel was also indifferent to the mere soldiers; his gaze had been fixed solely on the snake mask from the beginning.

‘I shall cut you down in one swing.’

The opponent was clearly a powerful monster.

No need to gauge its strength. Therefore, Kadel concentrated the divine power into his sword.

At the same time, he kicked off the ground and tore through the air.

The gap closed in an instant, and just as he unleashed a flurry of strikes with the power of the domain…

“…!”

Kadel’s eyes widened.

He realized the reason soon enough.

Ka-clang! Ka-pow!

The monster with the snake mask had swung its spear to block Kadel’s strike, despite not moving an inch until now.

‘It was definitely within the domain… why could it move?’

There was only one answer. Only a Master could move within another Master’s Domain.

As soon as he cognized that.

Kadel’s expression wavered.

“I see. Now I understand.”

Just then, the monster with the snake mask opened its mouth.

A gooey, sticky voice, like sludging mud. The blue glow emanating from behind the mask flickered sharply.

“Do you understand why the vanguard was wiped out?”

It seemed the monster had recognized Kadel’s strength.

Then there was no reason to keep talking.

Both secured their respective domains and unleashed full-powered strikes toward each other.

Ka-clang! Kaboom!

Clashes with no quarter given.

The fierce and taut battle obliterated everything around them with its sheer force.

But this posed a problem.

The strongest knight representing the Holy Nation, Kadel, was now completely tied down. The undead soldiers didn’t miss this opportunity.

“Th-they’re climbing the walls!”

Like barnacles, the undead army clung to the wall.

They crouched low and smoothly crawled up like a centipede scaling the wall.

As the situation reminiscent of when the outer castle fell unfolded, the soldiers turned pale.

But there was no need to worry.

“Holy Knight Order, forward!”

“Knock them all off!”

The knights and Inquisition officers.

Sven, who had just returned from the jungle, also joined the defense. Moreover, this time, the saintess Laurea supported the battle.

Bam! Kablam!

Holy lightning swept around the walls. The undead soldiers swept up by the high-level divine spell disintegrated into dust.

“Yes! We can win!”

“Just hold on a little longer!”

Thanks to Laurea’s active participation, the morale of the soldiers defending Shulfern shot up. The same went for Kadel, who was in the frontline battling the snake mask.

‘Shulfern seems safe for now.’

With Laurea joining the fray, unless the enemy was a standout monster like the snake mask, there wouldn’t be any undead strong enough to fight her.

‘I just need to bring down this monster…’

The victory for his side seemed guaranteed.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy, but the hope that they could win was firmly in place. Therefore, he swung his sword of light with even more concentration.

But for a moment.

Kadel’s hope shattered.

“There’s another enemy! More enemies are coming!”

“Undead forces from the west!”

“Over a thousand of them!”

The emergence of enemy reinforcements was the cause.

If it had simply been a horde of undead, there might have been a chance of victory.

However, the vanguard led by an exceptionally peculiar-looking monster appeared before them.

‘…A water buffalo mask.’

A creature clad in a black water buffalo mask.

It towered over 3 meters tall, possessing four arms, each armed with bludgeons or maces.

The biggest problem was that it, too, was likely as strong as the snake mask monster.

‘Where are these monsters even coming from…?’

Feeling the dwindling chances of victory, Kadel tightened his grip on his sword.

Meanwhile, upon the appearance of the water buffalo mask, the snake mask monster hissed discontentedly.

“…Barghal.”

That was likely the name of the water buffalo mask.

Then, the snake mask monster, with an expression filled with dissatisfaction, spoke.

“This is my territory.”

“I know that.”

“Then why are you here?”

Just as the snake mask was challenging him…

Barghal’s reply followed.

“A royal command has been issued.”

As soon as he uttered “royal command,” the snake mask’s demeanor changed. The disgruntled look in its eyes vanished without a trace.

“From the king? What does it entail?”

“To eliminate the Star’s Envoy.”

Barghal pointed his mace at Laurea over the walls of Shulfern. The snake mask likewise recognized her presence.

Overhearing their conversation, Kadel instinctively realized that the target of both monsters was Laurea.

‘I have to stop them at all costs!’

Both monsters were Master-level elites.

Of course, blocking them wouldn’t solve everything, but he couldn’t allow them to reach Laurea. So, Kadel gathered all the divine power he had left.

Just then.

Barghal moved.

“Then I shall carry out the royal command.”

He leaped high like a locust and shot straight towards Shulfern. Kadel tried to block him as if he had been waiting for it, but he couldn’t fulfill his objective.

A spearhead had closed in on him.

The snake mask monster struck out at him.

“Your opponent is here, mortal.”

Kadel gritted his teeth.

He wanted to rush to protect Laurea immediately.

But he couldn’t; the monster was not someone he could easily shake off.

‘If it continues like this…!’

Laurea was in danger.

That’s why Kadel used part of his divine power to boost his voice. He called out the name of the one protecting Laurea.

“Ian Marcus!”

His roar boomed across the battlefield.

Kadel’s voice reached Ian, cutting through the swarm of encroaching undead to reach Shulfern.

He then shouted a warning.

“Risk your lives to protect the saintess! The beast wearing the mask is a Master-level warrior!”

His warning was a divine move.

Ian instinctively maximized his divine power and, in the fraction of a moment, unleashed a stepping domain that could only be maintained for a single step. Thanks to that, he could brace for Barghal’s fierce ambush.

“Found you.”

With a voice that sounded like breaking rocks.

Barghal, who had swiftly reached right in front of Laurea, unleashed an attack.

Ka-pow! Ka-ching!

It felt like the shield would shatter. Ian held on to his domain, gritting his teeth.

Of course, he couldn’t endure for long.

“Cough!”

He coughed up blood and collapsed.

Yet his struggle was not in vain. Thanks to the domain he deployed to block Barghal, Laurea was able to use her sacred item.

Shimmering!

A shield of light enveloped Laurea and Ian.

It was a top-tier defensive spell among protective holy chants.

“A sacred relic of the stars.”

Barghal sneered, as if he understood what that was. Then, all four of his arms swung madly, raining blows upon the shield of light.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Ka-boom!

The impact from the clashes threatened to crumble a portion of the castle wall where Laurea was, but both Laurea and Ian remained unharmed.

‘However…’

It wouldn’t last long.

The divine power imbued in the relic has its limits, and even at that moment, the shield of light was rapidly cracking.

“The light is slowly fading.”

Barghal grinned a chilling grin.

The countless teeth hanging from the lower jaw of the water buffalo mask clashed together, producing an eerie sound.

“Wait. The moment the light fades, I’ll take your life.”

Laurea’s gaze trembled.

Just as the monster said, without the shield created by the sacred relic, there would be no means to block its power.

And at that moment.

The situation was spiraling into a complete nightmare.

“Damn it! The walls are collapsing!”

“Fall back! Retreat!”

Thousands of undead utilized their sheer numbers to bring down the walls.

Moreover, they constructed a wall of the dead to prevent the Holy Knights and Inquisition Officers from getting close to Laurea.

It was truly a perfectly isolated situation.

Laurea bit her lip.

‘If there’s really no choice…’

She was considering using her last resort.

The Prayer of Sacrifice. The most powerful divine spell to be created by dedicating all flesh and soul.

Just as she steeled her resolve.

Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoed.

Boom! Krahrahrah!

Then, a strange vibration followed.

As both Laurea and Barghal felt the source of the tremors, they turned their gaze towards it.

“Looks like Caprae is coming.”

The source of the tremor was to the east.

Priest Caprae was leading a legion of over a thousand undead towards this direction. He probably received a royal command to return here as well.

Barghal concluded that.

However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that his assessment was wrong.

Ka-whoosh! Ka-boom!

Along with a resounding noise like thunder, a gigantic iron mass soared through the air. Upon seeing this, Laurea murmured in shock.

“A-a carriage…?”

As she said, that mysterious iron mass looked as if several carriages were linked together.

Meanwhile, the object floating in mid-air soon succumbed to gravity and plunged into the undead-filled battlefield, rolling madly.

The iron mass trampled numerous undead as it rolled along. What the heck was that? Questions surged, but there was no time to ponder.

Ka-crunch! Crash!

With the sound of the shield breaking.

What soon reflected in her bright yellow eyes were the mace and club coming straight at her.

“Gah! Saintess!”

Struggling Ian attempted to deploy a domain immediately, but it was pointless.

The opponent was a Master-level monster; it was a monster capable of moving freely even within the domain.

“Embrace your death, envoy of the stars.”

There was no time to recite the Prayer of Sacrifice. If she blinked, she would likely vanish from this world.

Faced with the rapidly approaching death.

All the regret she had buried surged back to the surface.

‘I wanted to meet you again…’

The barbarian man with reddish-brown hair.

As she recalled Ulan, Laurea finally seemed to have resigned, letting her arms hang limply.

But in that moment…

Thwack! Ka-crunch!

With the sound of flesh being sliced, the four arms aiming for her were cut off.

[───?!]

Barghal’s expression changed drastically.

Then, a wall appeared before his eyes.

The identity of the wall that squeezed between Barghal and Laurea was a giant golem wielding an axe.

“You’re mistaken, monster.”

With a low voice of negation.

Barghal’s body was split vertically in half.

Wide-eyed, Barghal fell as he crumbled. At that time, Laurea looked on in astonishment.

“Your death will be your own.”

A blunt whisper echoed in her ears.

Then Laurea’s eyes widened.

She finally realized that the voice she had just heard belonged to someone in her memory.

“…!”

The moment she recognized this fact.

The golem blocking her path merged with someone from her memory. Then, the essence of the opponent was revealed through the Reflective Eye.

The blazing flames.

As far as Laurea knew, there was only one being who possessed this essence. When she saw the bright yellow light flickering, the rival finally gazed back at her.

“It’s been a long time, Laurea.”

A voice imbued with nostalgia echoed in her ears.

The moment she heard that, her tense expression melted away like snow. Laurea shouted with a bright smile.

“Ulan!”

The far east, Forest of Life.

The stars, brightening the abyss.

It was the moment when the prophecy bestowed upon Laurea was completed.

Chapter 52. Maze

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