SWNOVELXO Chapter 523
Chapter 523: I Came to Save You (1)
“What’s your name?”
The one clad in silver armor spoke up.
The ‘Lord of the Undead’, deeply wrapped in a tattered gray robe, replied.
“You’re worthy of hearing my name. It’s Helgenik.”
“I see. I’m Aiden, the Executor of the Salvation Society.”
Around the two, countless corpses were piled up.
The state of the corpses varied; some had started to decay from being dead for a long time, while others looked like they had just recently died.
Among them were the bodies of knights in silver armor and a good number of those that looked like bandits.
This spectacle had unfolded as the troops Aiden brought clashed with the corpses summoned by Helgenik.
Strictly speaking, it was Aiden’s loss. A significant portion of his troops had died.
“This is why dealing with necromancers is a hassle. It’s hard to have a proper duel.”
The legions of corpses summoned by necromancers could fight endlessly without tiring.
Thus, for Helgenik, there was no need to engage Aiden in a one-on-one battle; he could simply keep producing troops until all his magic was expended.
Aiden swept his disheveled hair back and continued speaking.
“You’ve really made me waste too much time. At this rate, the church will doubt my abilities.”
“Hmmm… So, are you asking me to lose? I’m still quite capable.”
Helgenik still had quite a bit of magic left.
Of course, Aiden was in better condition. Being aware of how necromancers fought, he had kept his troops back to conserve his strength.
He usually preferred to exhaust his opponents in battle before delivering the final blow.
That way, he could reap the glory without taking damage.
However, Helgenik was the worst matchup for Aiden. He had already lost enough troops to have received complaints from the church. The opponent’s skill was much greater than expected.
Aiden looked around while swinging his sword.
“It’s too much of a loss to continue like this… You really must be quite renowned at the edge of that continent.”
If Helgenik continued to summon corpses and then fled, it would be a disaster. Aiden pondered for a moment.
‘I see.’
There was a way to make up for his losses and improve his standing.
With a dazzling smile, Aiden said, “How about we join forces?”
“Hmm.”
Helgenik crossed his arms. What a funny guy. Asking to join forces after killing so many of his own?
It was clear he was being serious. It was painfully obvious that he was an extreme hypocrite only concerned about his reputation.
Helgenik smiled from the shadows of his robe, finding it amusing.
“What can you do for me?”
“I heard you were experimenting by capturing our priests, right? With your skills, I could probably spare a priest or two. As for ordinary humans, I can fetch as many as you want.”
Helgenik couldn’t help but chuckle at Aiden’s proposal.
“Hoo hoot…”
Even if he was only half-cooked, offering to hand over a priest who had reached superhuman status for experimentation was proof that this guy wasn’t quite right in the head either.
Helgenik found Aiden’s offer agreeable. Joining hands with the Salvation Society, which was rampaging across the continent, would allow him to live comfortably for the time being.
After all, gathering corpses and experimental materials himself was a bit of a hassle.
“Can you also let me investigate the rifts? I’m curious how they’re created.”
Helgenik added the condition as if it were a stroke of luck.
The monsters emerging from the rifts were undoubtedly not of this world. It piqued his curiosity.
Aiden readily nodded.
“That’s not difficult at all.”
“Good… What should I do in return?”
“Just clear out anyone who gets in our way. With your strength, you’ll be a great help.”
“Sounds like the usual for me.”
Helgenik smiled at Aiden. Killing people was no different from what he had been doing all along.
But thinking like that made him even more curious. He had been killing people for the sake of creating minions and conducting research, but he couldn’t grasp their goals.
“Why do you kill people? What’s your purpose?”
Aiden replied nonchalantly, “Ah, it’s nothing special. The church says they’re going to resurrect our god and create a new world. Apparently, the true rulers of this world are different.”
“Hoo hoo…”
Those claiming to create a new world using people as sacrifices and summoning monsters. I might not be sane myself, but these guys were something else entirely.
“Indeed, you’re not a normal religion.”
To Helgenik, it was a rather silly reason. They were not much different from the cults that had appeared over the years. Though they seemed to possess mysterious knowledge for opening rifts, that was about it.
Seeing Helgenik’s reaction, Aiden chuckled.
“Funny, right? Fanatics are like that. But I’m not following for such purposes.”
“Then what is it?”
“What else? Do we need a reason to conquer the world? We can become the rulers of the world and be worshiped eternally. Is there a better reason than that?”
“Hoo hoo…”
Helgenik laughed again. The more he looked at him, the more he seemed devoted to fulfilling his desires.
From the shadows of his robe, he licked his lips.
‘That soul looks truly delicious.’
Consuming a soul that corrupted would provide immense satisfaction. It was regrettable that this guy, unlike his appearance, was quite strong, making him difficult to catch.
Yet, he felt it would be fun to team up with him.
“Understood. So what’s our next move?”
“There’s currently a civil war going on in the Ruthania Kingdom. We need to address that first. Our target is Count Penris.”
“Count Penris…”
“The Revolutionary Group has also decided to join us. You’ve killed quite a few, but… If you help us, there shouldn’t be an issue.”
“The Revolutionary Group, huh…”
Helgenik knew about the Revolutionary Group as well. They were a bunch trying to overturn the world by any means necessary.
The corpses, dressed and armed like bandits, were the troops of the Revolutionary Group.
The Salvation Society had suddenly and unexpectedly taken action more rapidly than planned, leading to numerous resistances. Amidst this, Helgenik had indiscriminately killed people, even killing priests of the Salvation Society.
Aiden’s mission was to bring in the Revolutionary Group to bolster their forces and eliminate Helgenik on their way back.
By coincidence, instead of eliminating him, they had slightly changed their plan to sway him.
“Alright, this is a good situation.”
With two forces aiming to overturn the world joining hands, the continent would plunge into greater chaos.
For the time being, Helgenik decided to stay with the Salvation Society. The more the Salvation Society rampaged, the better for him.
He was a necromancer who thrived on the despair and fear of people.
*
The Ruthania Kingdom had completed its war preparations under Ghislaine’s command.
At first, there was much discussion about where to aid first, but Ghislaine, now the Supreme Commander of the Kingdom Army, quickly organized things.
“Let’s start with the nearest and most urgent. After all, we need to address everything eventually. We’ll head to the Seiron Kingdom first.”
Partly due to the proximity of Seiron Kingdom, there was another reason.
“Our administrators need to live without worry, don’t they?”
Many of those in Penris Territory were alumni of the Seiron Academy.
While most of their families had migrated to Penris, many remained in Seiron. There were also numerous relatives and friends of the administrators in the Seiron Kingdom.
Of course, Ghislaine had sent troops to assist in their evacuation as soon as the rift incident broke out.
However, regardless of his own safety, the destruction of their hometown would undoubtedly be a great shock to the people.
Ghislaine glanced at Claude.
“Tsk tsk… You could have just come with us from the start.”
Since they decided to go first to Seiron Kingdom, Claude had shown signs of restless anxiety.
Claude had sent people to Seiron Kingdom multiple times but had not found Anna, his former lover.
Since the entire kingdom was in ruins, it was impossible to know where she had fled.
“This country is too small to hold on properly.”
Seiron Kingdom was a small nation, and rather than blocking the rifts, all troops were barely managing to secure the area around the capital. It wouldn’t have been unusual if they had fallen long ago.
At least they had been able to hold out until now because they were next to Ruthania. The Salvation Society focused on Ruthania and just left the rifts open.
They had judged it would collapse on its own due to being too weak.
“Alright, let’s move quickly.”
As usual, Ghislaine led the mobile troops and some wizards. Behind them followed the reorganized Northern Army of 100,000.
The allied forces that participated in the civil war had left to help other kingdoms, including the Raybold Army led by Amelia.
Upon entering the Seiron Kingdom, Ghislaine was greeted by cities and towns that had turned into ghost towns.
“Serious problem here.”
There were only three rifts opened in the Seiron Kingdom, given its size. However, even those couldn’t withstand the pressure and had fled to the capital.
The blue mist spewing from the rifts was gradually expanding its territory, making it a foregone conclusion.
Ghislaine clicked his tongue in disbelief as he surveyed the surrounding area.
“Did they just run away without even fighting? What the hell are these guys?”
Even taking out the Cracked Beings would noticeably slow the rate of the rift’s expansion. That’s because when new Cracked Beings crossed over to fill the vacancies, they would have to rely on Equidema’s power.
However, if the number of Cracked Beings increased, Equidema could only focus on expanding the territory.
As a result of neglecting the rifts, the three rifts had grown large enough to cover the entire Seiron Kingdom.
“Let’s clear the path to the capital! Let’s go!”
Thud thud thud thud!
Ghislaine and the mobile troops charged straight into the mist covering the route to the capital.
It wasn’t the same method as before, grouping up and pushing slowly. The Northern Army had become too strong for that.
Kaaarrrk!
As they entered the area, the Cracked Beings surged at them like a tidal wave. It seemed their numbers were enormous, likely due to the steady buildup over time.
First, Vanessa and the wizards unleashed magic. Behind her stood six 6th Circle Mages and twenty 5th Circle Mages.
“Chain Lightning.”
Zap!
The bolt of lightning shot forth from Vanessa, branching out in all directions. Following that, the storm summoned by the wizards whirled around, and pillars of fire erupted all over.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
Kaaarrrk!
The Cracked Beings, charging thoughtlessly, burst apart before they could even approach. The massive Area of Effect Magic swept them away without hesitation.
However, it was impossible to deal with all the amassed Cracked Beings using magic alone. With the rift expanded to this extent, there were at least a million present.
Kaaarrrk! Kaaarrrk!
Despite thousands of their comrades disappearing all at once, the Cracked Beings kept rushing in. The wizards spared no magic and continued to unleash their spells.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
The 7th Circle Mages and 5th and 6th Circle Mages continued to attack the charging Cracked Beings with their bare hands.
By the time they used up all their magic, half of the Cracked Beings were gone.
Boom!
As the wizards withdrew, Parniel stepped forward with a fierce grin.
“Good.”
The Cracked Beings had no strategy. They simply overwhelmed by numbers.
There was no better opponent to mindlessly fight against, especially as an enemy they had to eliminate as a Saint.
Boom!
Parniel dove fearlessly into the crowd of Cracked Beings. The divine power radiating from her body incinerated the approaching Cracked Beings.
Kaaarrrk!
Even Cracked Beings that seemed impervious to pain twisted their bodies when they approached her. Just getting close to her caused them to emit black smoke and burn.
There was a reason Parniel was at the front. All the Cracked Beings focused their attention on her, imbued with divine power.
“Let’s go too!”
Ghislaine shouted loudly as he charged forward. Following him were Gillian and Tenant. Belinda stayed back to protect the wizards and priests.
And as always, Kaor followed with a grimace and a string of curses.
“Damn it, for real. Why won’t the Aura Blade show up again?”
Such mass slaughter wasn’t something they encountered often. He wanted to rampage joyfully, but the Aura Blade wasn’t appearing.
Thud thud thud thud!
The Penris Mobile Army followed closely behind Ghislaine. All of them had tightly gripped their spears and charged toward the Cracked Beings.
Boom!
The Cracked Beings that had been rushing towards Parniel were swiftly cut down. The superhumans and the charge of 20,000 mounted troops was no different than the wizards’ Area of Effect Magic.
“Oh Goddess!”
From the rear, Piote and the priests poured all their strength into blessing the knights at the front.
Kaaarrrk!
Divine power radiated from everywhere. The Cracked Beings were set alight, not even able to fight back.
Taking advantage of that moment, the mobile army continued to push forward.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
Kaaarrrk!
The Cracked Beings were left powerless. Many of them had only played a small role in dragging out the battle.
No army on the continent could showcase this overwhelming combat power against the rifts.
“We’re going to push all the way to Equidema like this!”
“Waaahhh!”
As Ghislaine shouted, the mobile army cheered energetically as they pushed back the Cracked Beings.
While they were fighting like this, the Seiron troops, unaware that reinforcements had arrived, stood at the barrier line near the capital, worry plastered on their faces.
“There’s nowhere left to run now.”
“Damn it, what are the nobles doing?”
“Shh, keep it down. If we get caught, we’ll be in trouble.”
The soldiers weren’t even able to voice their complaints. The atmosphere had become so tense that the upper-ups were rounding up innocent soldiers.
While it was framed as restoring discipline, the soldiers knew it was just pointless harassment.
“If they’re going to do this, at least they could provide us with proper food.”
“I’m so hungry I can’t even move.”
“Damn those bastards, should we just run away too?”
With the kingdom in ruins, food production had become impossible. The area near the capital was now overflowing with starving soldiers and refugees.
Yet, the nobles were still living well on their stockpiled food. They even appeared to be loyal subjects.
Most nobles had already taken their wealth and fled to other countries.
That’s how dire the situation was in the Seiron Kingdom. All they could do was sit and idly endure near the capital.
While the soldiers clutched their hungry bellies and grumbled, the ground trembled.
Thud thud thud thud!
From within the widely spread blue mist, the sound of hooves could be heard. The soldiers on guard were startled and yelled.
“What, what’s coming?”
The soldiers hurriedly formed ranks without even thinking about identifying what it was. They didn’t have the courage for that.
They hastily began attacking with the catapults they had managed to gather.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Stones began to be hurled into the blue mist. They didn’t even know where the enemy was, but they were simply firing because they were scared.
But…
Before the stones could even enter the widely spread mist, they shattered in mid-air.
Boom! Boom! BANG!
“Uh, UAAAH! What is that?”
Something rose up and shattered all the stones. The soldiers fell into a panic.
“D-Don’t be scared! Keep firing! Keep shooting!”
The commanders, not knowing what was happening, simply ordered to keep firing. Meanwhile, they prepared to flee.
Just then, a great voice echoed from within the blue mist.
“Stop firing! I’ve come to help you!”
“Wha- What? The monster is talking!”
The soldiers fell deeper into chaos, and they began shooting catapults with even more vigor. Of course, the stones that flew out were all shattered.
“Stop shooting!”
With an angry shout, something fell from the sky.
Flash!
Boom! Boom! BANG!
The catapults began to explode. The scene caused the soldiers to become even more frightened.
“UAAH! Now they’re attacking from a distance too!”
“Run away!”
“This kingdom was done for long ago!”
As the soldiers cried out, abandoning their weapons and attempting to flee, a force broke through the blue mist.
Just then, the soldiers collapsed back to their positions. No matter how they looked at it, those were humans, causing them to feel relieved and weak in the knees.
The commander, facing the one riding the black horse in the forefront of the army, asked.
“W-Who are you?”
Ghislaine grinned, holding his spear to the side.
“I’m the Duke of Penris of the Ruthania Kingdom. I’ve come to save you.”
At the answer they could have never imagined, the Seiron soldiers all wore blank expressions.