93th Chapter
The pitch-black sky began to roar. The wind blowing towards the center tossed the dust-covered robe of the boy.
A tranquil fury nested in the boy’s blue eyes, and he was ready to unleash it at any moment.
The boy slowly stepped into the deeply carved pit. The monstrous creature at the center of the pit glared coldly at the boy as he approached.
“Bud.”
With every step the boy took, the dark clouds swirling above quivered with a somber energy, as if they were ready to rain down divine punishment at his command.
“Steam.”
A mysterious smile spread across the Grand Marshal’s face as he looked up at the boy. It was as if he was prepared to pour out all the combat experience he’d accumulated over the past thirty years.
“Scarlet Clouds and Plum Rains.”
The boy’s face was as hard as ice, overshadowed by the dark clouds that created a heavy shadow over it.
Deep within the boy’s body, a massive amount of energy began to gather. It resembled a volcanic eruption about to happen, but in the next instant, it transformed into the stillness of a pond.
“Bloom.”
The boy whispered his spell.
Faint bolts of lightning danced around the Grand Marshal’s ears, teasing the air.
The sky remained silent. The massive lightning that would normally strike down at the boy’s use of “Bloom” was silent this time.
“…”
There was no sound, no light, no explosion.
Except for the occasional sparks emanating from the boy’s body, nothing in the world seemed to have changed.
A chill ran down the Grand Marshal’s back.
Had he been an inexperienced or unskilled opponent, he might have concluded that the boy’s spell had failed.
But Maltiel was no such fool.
“…”
Maltiel began to sweat.
Fear surged, and with it, an equal amount of courage blossomed in his chest.
Though Maltiel had fought against Sword Saints numerous times, this was the first time such a fierce battle spirit had ignited within him.
“Interesting. That kid, who was so clumsy and inept just a few months ago…”
Maltiel did not regard the boy standing before him as prey. He did not even consider him an inferior opponent. Nor did he think of him as an equal rival.
The Grand Marshal, who had slaughtered millions of people across the continent over thirty years of warfare, wanted nothing more than to challenge the boy before him.
This was the pure emotion that welled up in Maltiel’s heart at this very moment.
“Shut up.”
As the boy spoke these words, a small bolt of lightning shot through the air, aiming for Maltiel’s head.
Maltiel deftly dodged, bending his upper body to avoid it, but a stray branch of the bolt grazed his face.
His skin burned, and his flesh split open. Between the holes in his cheek, blackened teeth were exposed, and dirty blood began to trickle down.
Maltiel felt his whole body shiver as the electricity from the boy touched him.
This was different from the lightning of ordinary Storm Mages—it carried something Maltiel had never experienced in his thirty years of battle. It could be overwhelming talent or the fury born from the loss of companions.
Whatever it was, it was something Maltiel had never encountered before, and it was unmistakable.
“…It’s fortunate that your power stops at this level.”
Under the silent sky, Maltiel’s hollow laughter echoed softly.
Nothing moved in response to Maltiel’s laughter.
Neither the boy, nor the orc with the broken leg, nor the storm clouds laden with lightning paid any attention to Maltiel’s mad laughter; instead, they stared at him with an expressionless gaze.
“Stop? Who said stop? I’m just getting started.”
On the other hand, the boy’s anger resonated with all things. Not only the scarlet clouds covering the sky but also the piles of dirt on the ground, and even the hard bedrock hidden beneath, revealed a stark and tranquil fury.
“You, you’re a far more bothersome enemy than that dimwit Sword Saint. You’ve got some resolve.”
For a moment, Maltiel’s unpleasant smile disappeared.
A storm-like wind brushed against the boy’s cheek.
Bang!
A belated thunderous roar reverberated around.
The boy hadn’t even realized that Maltiel had vanished. Even when the dark fist stopped in front of his eyes, he could not track its movement.
Dong!
Maltiel’s extended fist was halted by ‘the blessing of the spirit.’ The heavy vibration created from the collision between the fist and the defensive barrier shook the surrounding air.
‘The defense magic looks flawless on the surface. Still…’
“There’s no such thing as a perfect magic, right?”
Maltiel gently pulled back the fist that had collided with the barrier. Soon after, the thin and faint barrier surrounding the boy dispersed like mist.
“…!”
It was only after the barrier disappeared that the boy with white hair realized Maltiel had arrived in front of him.
“Discharge.”
The moment the boy realized Maltiel was in front of him, he released a huge amount of current from his fingertips.
Maltiel, caught in the explosion, rolled away hundreds of meters away, and in an instant, his left arm and leg turned to ashes and disappeared.
Using ‘Bloom’ did not enhance the boy’s physical abilities. His dynamic vision and cognitive abilities remained below average.
The boy lacked the ability to coordinate with the swift movements of his opponent or to shoot lightning bolts in response to his movements.
The boy had no room to spare to think about the next move based on his opponent’s movements. A minimum distance and time were required for his brain to perceive the fact that the opponent had ‘moved.’
Therefore, the boy entrusted his body to the explosion that erupted from the tip of his fingers.
His tender and slim body ascended high into the sky carried by white light and wind.
Flying hair occasionally obstructed his vision.
The positions of heaven and earth change dozens of times in a second. His ears are filled with the sound of his robe rustling in the wind.
“My dynamic vision can’t keep up anyway.”
In the fight with Maltiel, none of the boy’s five senses could be trusted. In fact, they were more of a hindrance than anything else.
That’s why the boy closed his eyes boldly, abandoning the attempt to follow Maltiel’s movements with his dynamic vision.
When he closed his eyes and focused, the sound of lightning tearing through the air became clearer in his ears.
A faint sound of lightning brushed against the fingertips of the boy with his eyes closed. Following that warning sound, he raised his finger and issued the command.
“Discharge.”
A huge amount of current gathered at the tip of the boy’s fingers and then rapidly expanded. At the center of the explosion created by the boy, Maltiel had his wings spread, his black hand reaching out to the boy.
Soon, the body of the Grand Marshal wrapped in blue lightning plummeted towards the ground.
“Ha!”
Maltiel had lost both of his wings this time. His body was riddled with burns, and fire lingered on his wings. Despite being caught in two massive explosions in succession, the monster’s face was filled with a satisfied smile.
“Closing your eyes in front of an enemy! Bold and wise move, I commend you.”
Bang!
The dark clouds spread behind the boy finally began to unleash the suppressed rage.
A white light pierced through the pitch-black darkness and started moving towards Maltiel.
Maltiel pushed off the ground with his remaining leg to evade the lightning, rolling away.
‘Three seconds.’
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t even take a second for Maltiel to regenerate his wings. However, he was now severely damaged, and only thirty percent of his mana remained.
It would take him three seconds to regenerate his wings. This was the result of abandoning the restoration of his arm and head and focusing solely on the recovery of his wings.
In a battle at the Grand Marshal level, three seconds was enough time to change the situation ten times over. If Maltiel’s opponent had been any other General besides Bin, his defeat would have been determined the moment he lost his wings and crashed to the ground.
“…Is the slow regeneration an opportunity?”
However, Bin’s fighting experience was overwhelmingly lacking. Moreover, he had not witnessed with his own eyes the fact that it took Maltiel 12 seconds to regenerate his body earlier.
The boy hadn’t realized that Maltiel was weakening, and as a result, the golden opportunity to end the battle flew away.
“Plummet.”
Still, the boy wasn’t entirely unaware of any changes. The moment the boy recognized that “Maltiel’s movements had slowed down,” he quickly pointed his finger at the Grand Marshal and gave the order.
Following that command, the dark clouds cried out, then immediately drove a white pillar into the ground.
However, Maltiel’s wings had already sprouted. The monster soared into the sky, evading the lightning, and simultaneously charged at the boy once more.
“Damn.”
It was only natural that the boy couldn’t make quick judgments. He lacked the battle experience of other generals, and he wasn’t originally sharp to begin with.
Even so, he would never forget this mistake of today.
‘Next Spirit’s Blessing in 9 seconds.’
The scales, which had briefly tipped in favor of the boy, were restored to balance. The battle continued, and the threat remained.
…No, the threat was now taking a more concrete form, flying towards the boy with its long claws extended.
“Discharge.”
The third explosion erupted from the tip of the boy’s fingers.
However, Maltiel wasn’t caught in this explosion. He had braked sharply in the air at a distance of only dozens of meters from the boy using his wings, thus avoiding being caught in the massive discharge from the boy’s fingertips.
“A simple but unavoidable deception.”
Maltiel spoke quietly while observing the massive ball of electricity that had fallen onto the dark sky.
At the decisive moment, the difference in experience was what split their fates.
As soon as the electricity covering the air disappeared, Maltiel spread his wings and flew towards the boy.
Soon, those pitch-black claws once again darted towards the boy’s neck.
“Got any more tricks?”
Maltiel instinctively felt
That his hand would sever the boy’s head from his body.
That ultimately, the victory in this long war belonged to the marauders. That all life that had fallen here within a short time would go extinct.
Just as excitement and immense accomplishment were about to blanket the monster’s skin,
Whoosh!
An axe that made the sky pitch black flew in from the edge of the vision and cut off his arm.
“…”
The hand that reached for Bin’s neck was severed again. That night, in that forest, like before.
The axe was thrown by none other than Rex.
From the ground to the sky 2,000 meters above where clouds floated, Rex accurately severed the arm of Maltiel who was located over 2 kilometers away.
“…It’s troubling.”
Maltiel thought as he looked at the orc standing below.
The one-armed orc had a great hornpipe in his mouth.
“That hornpipe… It gave me a terrible headache in the mountains earlier.”
And indeed, the hornpipe in Rex’s mouth was an Artifact nearly omnipotent.
Depending on the user’s creativity and capability, it could not only subdue the opponent but also create necessary tools like ladders or spears using bones.
An Artifact nearly omnipotent.
However, there was a minimal limitation to this Artifact that was nearly omnipotent.
It could only summon undead in places where the sound of the hornpipe reached.
Over a distance of 2 kilometers.
No matter how hard Rex blew the hornpipe, it wouldn’t reach Maltiel who had ascended to a height that clouds touched with just an arm’s reach.
And still, Rex had the hornpipe in his mouth.
The reason was simple.
“Even if it’s just for an instant, I have to buy some time.”
Even though Rex was an excellent warrior, he couldn’t leap over a distance of over 2 kilometers. He didn’t possess the natural ability to step into the air and ascend like a Sword Saint.
This was nothing more than a desperate struggle, clutching at straws.
“Shut up already, I’m in the middle of something entertaining.”
To that desperate struggle, Maltiel replied.
Maltiel’s remaining hand didn’t point towards the boy’s neck in front of him but instead pointed his finger at Rex on the ground, with the hornpipe in his mouth.
Artifacts were fundamentally incomprehensible objects. No one knew when or for what purpose an unknown entity had invented it.
Each weapon had its own distinct capabilities, and accordingly, the backlash or limitations that followed also varied.
There was no way Maltiel could be aware of the individual capabilities of each Artifact. However, given the earlier battle in the mountains, Maltiel distinctly recognized that Rex’s Artifact was “troubling.”
For Maltiel, who was cautious and intelligent, it was all the more reason to be mindful of this desperate struggle.
“So far, everything has gone according to plan. Now, I just need to focus on evading Maltiel’s magic.”
Though his leg bone was broken, Rex was a robust Orc warrior. Even if it was a bombardment from a distance of over 2 kilometers by a Grand Marshal, he had confidence in evading it.
“Samuel.”
However, there was no black light spewing from Maltiel’s finger.
“Who…”
In the next instant, Rex heard the sound of the air being torn.
Something the size of a person was heading towards him at an incredible speed. The warrior instinct that had kept him alive through countless battlefields shouted to fall flat immediately.
There was no more time for him to think.
The Orc threw his body forwards as if falling.
Right after, a high-ranking demon with massive wings swept past like a bullet through the spot where he had stood.
“Originally, I was saving this card for a more important moment, but alas….”
High General Samuel.
The one who had an unblemished record of taking the Achilipthus Forest without bloodshed from Bin, Maltiel’s closest confidant, now unfurled his proud wings as if to erase the disgrace from that day.
Rex, who had thrown his axe beyond the clouds, glanced upwards at the High General revealed before his eyes, suppressing the chill running down his spine.
“You deserve this, Orc. You have the value to have my last card invested in you.”
Numbers advantage, deceit, strategy, and tactics.
Until the very last moment, Maltiel had clearly proven the reason his creator had made him.
