SWNOVELXO Chapter 538
Chapter 538: Let’s Kill That Guy Now. (2)
Crack!
Helgenik stood up, breaking the spear that had pierced his chest. Black smoke continuously poured from his wound.
“Divine power?”
Not only the dagger wielded by the woman but also the spear contained divine power.
Helgenik gritted his teeth.
“These bastards…!”
Before the furious Helgenik could regain his stance, a massive mace appeared before him.
“What??”
Kaboom!
“Ugh!”
Helgenik was sent reeling back, struck head-on by incredible force. The part of his arm that made contact with the mace began to burn furiously.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Parniel, rushing through the corpses with an angry expression, charged at Helgenik.
She fumed at the sight of the numerous bodies.
“How dare you hold the souls destined for the goddess like this!”
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Her attacks descended with the ferocity that felt like they could topple mountains, and Helgenik staggered back, disoriented.
Although he raised his shield to block, the mace’s destructive power was immense, and each blow shattered his shield. Each strike was imbued with tremendous divine power.
Helgenik gasped in horror at the overwhelming strength.
“Is she a saint?!”
Such divine power couldn’t be displayed by just anyone. It was clear she was the rumored saint.
Just as he was about to counterattack, dozens of daggers surrounded him.
Swish!
Helgenik had no choice but to warp space and wave his hands.
Rumble!
The Death Knights that had been defeated by Jerome resurrected. They charged directly towards Parniel and Belinda.
Other enormous corpses nearby also began to surround them.
But Belinda simply withdrew while cradling Jerome, escaping from the battlefield.
Just as Parniel was left alone and finally able to catch her breath—
Slice!
The heads of the corpses blocking her way fell off simultaneously.
Thud!
Then a man suddenly appeared behind them, swinging his sword.
He had to have been quite a distance away moments ago.
Slice!
Helgenik’s body was cut yet again. It was undoubtedly the same guy who had slashed his chest earlier.
This time, he evaded a fatal injury, but Helgenik couldn’t contain his shock.
‘There are simply no signs.’
No matter how fast one is, it’s impossible to attack while disregarding distance like this.
That sword was one that sliced where the wielder intended. It completely ignored the rules, swinging to show results wherever wanted.
Helgenik, being a powerful figure himself, could discern the nature of the attack and its flaw.
‘The effects vary depending on the level difference.’
Had he been weaker than he was now, his head would have been cleanly severed.
But he was among the mightiest on the continent. Because of that, the opponent’s will couldn’t overwhelm him.
Perhaps the opponent knew this too, as they didn’t use that skill again.
Yet the chilling feeling wouldn’t easily fade. Had the opponent’s level been a bit higher, he would have suffered severe injuries.
It was truly a swordsmanship that defied common sense.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In a split second while dodging attacks, Helgenik exerted all his strength and took every possible measure.
A mound of bones erupted from the ground, blocking his path, while countless corpses surged toward the enemies.
More than 200,000 corpses rushed to intercept the enemy. The sheer number temporarily stalled the enemy’s movements.
Seizing that opportunity, Helgenik continued to retreat.
“Phew, this is dangerous. I need to get out of here.”
Helgenik finally sighed in relief when a tide of corpses blocked his front.
He had gathered all the corpses he could. It would take time for anyone not flying to break through.
But in such a pressing situation, he temporarily forgot something crucial.
That is, about the spear that had fallen from the sky.
Whoosh!
From atop the back of Dark, transformed into a giant crow, Ghislaine exploded with mana and jumped down.
Ghislaine’s descent was as swift as light.
Helgenik, hurriedly backing up while moving the corpses, noticed the arriving attacker a moment too late.
“Huh?”
As Ghislaine fell toward Helgenik, he swung his sword widely.
Crack!
“Graaaah!”
Helgenik’s body was sliced from shoulder to side. Black smoke burst forth from the gash.
Boom!
Ghislaine landed, creating a massive crater, grinning widely.
“Oh, you dodged that. Impressive, Helgenik.”
Ghislaine’s sword also shone with divine power. Parniel and Piote had bestowed blessings of divine power upon everyone’s weapons.
Helgenik, deeply wounded, reeled back and shouted.
“Ugh! Who are you?! Who the hell are you?!”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“Ugh…”
Helgenik quickly recognized who he was dealing with.
A military force like this, filled with strong individuals, was unique on the continent.
“You’re the Duke of Penris from Ruthania, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. If you have questions, feel free to ask. I’ve got plenty of time.”
“Ugh…”
Helgenik trembled with laughter. The fact that these bastards were here meant that the Salvation Society’s operation had been a success.
“You fools. Do you even understand what it means for you to be here?”
“I do.”
“What?”
“You were luring us here, right? Doesn’t matter. Either way, we were going to wipe you all out. Especially you.”
To Ghislaine, Helgenik was a risk factor. The only reason they had let him be until now was that he acted independently in his past life.
But now, allied with the Salvation Society, he had become someone they needed to deal with swiftly.
Even if they suffered other losses, killing him here would be more beneficial.
Ghislaine’s calm demeanor made Helgenik grit his teeth.
“Don’t get cocky… Do you think you’ll be able to handle all these corpses?”
Over 200,000 corpses were present. Although there was no ease about it, just trying to bring them down would expend an incredible amount of strength.
As proof, the superhumans that had appeared first couldn’t even break through the wall of corpses.
Ghislaine merely chuckled again.
“Who said we were here alone?”
“What?”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A group of cavalry was approaching from a distance.
Ghislaine moved with the mobile army. They had first moved to rescue Jerome when they confirmed he was in danger due to Vanessa’s magic.
“Wipe them all out!”
With Gillian’s shout serving as a signal, the mobile army, wrapped in shining divine power, began their charge.
Boom!
The heavily armed mobile army ripped through the corpses without hesitation.
The corpses were casually swept aside as if they were nothing against the mobile army’s attacks.
They were merely mindless entities full of animosity toward living beings. There was no way they could stop the finely coordinated assault of the mobile army.
Roar!
Still, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Even if there were priests in the Parsali Kingdom’s army, the reason they had been pushed back this whole time was because they couldn’t handle this many corpses with their divine power.
A staggering number of corpses rushed toward the mobile army again.
The thickness of the wall created by the corpses quickly diminished the mobile army’s breakthrough capacity. They would need to enter into a melee now.
However, there was one talent particularly specialized for melee in this area.
“Yaaah!”
Elena, the “Destruction Princess,” jumped down from her horse, swinging a massive hammer.
Boom!
The corpses exploded with every swing. Whenever Elena wielded her overwhelming strength, paths were cut open.
Trained in battling Cracked Beings, Elena had been unable to contain her rage and charged forward alone. She was perpetually angry.
Seeing this, Gillian laughed heartily and shouted.
“I’m following the princess! Keep pushing! Don’t leave a single one standing!”
“Wooaaah! Destruction Princess!”
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Before long, Elena was at the forefront, swinging her hammer vigorously. The allies needed to avoid being caught in her wide arc.
Only Rachel stayed as close as possible to watch over Elena.
Though Elena was making room for them, the swarming corpses quickly filled any gaps that appeared.
Just then, a loud shout echoed from behind the mobile army.
“Goddess!”
Clang!
Piote’s hair began to change to silver as he followed the mobile army. When he unleashed all his divine power, a bright light spread broadly.
Roar!
The corpses touched by the light trembled and ignited. They could not withstand the divine light, which was the antithesis of darkness.
The priests trailing behind Piote also fiercely unleashed their divine powers to protect their allies.
The mobile army advanced, trampling those immobilized corpses.
The only reason corpses were frightening was that they couldn’t be eliminated. If they could just be dispatched, they would be no match for regular troops, no matter how many there were.
And Piote wasn’t the only one present.
Parniel took charge of the corpses gathering at the center.
“Disappear! You vile things!”
Boom!
As Parniel slammed the mace into the ground, an immense storm of divine power radiated in all directions.
Roar!
Even the Death Knights were shredded, and lower undead like zombies and ghouls turned to ash and disappeared.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Other superhumans were also swinging weapons imbued with divine power, sweeping away the corpses.
From a distance, area of effect magic was also detonating the corpses in chunks.
Despite the sheer number of corpses still charging in, at this rate, they would soon be annihilated.
In truth, there wouldn’t have been a problem if they were at least somewhat strong. Helgenik’s presence could have defended against divine power, continually resurrecting the corpses.
However, at this moment…
“What do you think? No matter how strong you are, you seem to be struggling to handle us.”
Ghislaine smiled coldly. Helgenik couldn’t reply and gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t expend his strength for the corpses. If he did, he’d be killed by the one standing in front of him.
Helgenik slowly surveyed his surroundings and asked.
“…Do you know who I am?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because it’s strange.”
He had anticipated reinforcements would arrive. Since there was a legion of corpses, he thought priests would come too.
But for there to be such powerful individuals, and for them to race here so swiftly and precisely, was absolutely beyond reasoning.
It was also odd that they only brought about 20,000 troops against this massive army of corpses. Typically, they would join up with the royal army to think about blocking them.
That would be the best way to minimize losses.
However, the opponent acted boldly instead. They led a small number of strong individuals and elite troops to attack such a colossal legion of corpses.
It was akin to…
“So you were actually aiming for me. Am I right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I told you, I came to kill you. Oh, and to save that cute little mage friend lying over there.”
“……”
Indeed, the opponent’s goal was him. Did they intend to take his life in exchange for allowing him to draw them in?
Roar!
The corpses quickly dwindled in number. Without Helgenik lending assistance, they were inevitably being pushed back.
Though corpses swarmed around Ghislaine too, he didn’t even need to move.
The spears formed of the mana around him automatically smashed the approaching corpses to bits.
Helgenik gathered his strength.
He was curious how they knew him so well, but now was not the time to unravel mysteries.
“You seem to be awfully relaxed, Duke of Penris.”
Helgenik talked deliberately, buying time. He aimed to induce a moment of carelessness in his opponent.
He had no intention of fighting here.
Boom!
From where Ghislaine stood, dozens, if not hundreds, of bone spikes shot up.
‘This is too unfavorable right now. The operation was a success, so I’ll withdraw for now.’
It was a shame to give up on this many corpses, but there was no choice. If he continued to fight, he’d be the one suffering.
Taking advantage of Ghislaine hesitating at the bone attack, Helgenik attempted to blink to the back. Well, that was the plan.
Slice!
Before he could even reach the back, Yulien had surged through the corpses, disrupting that flow.
Crash!
As the mana flow was disrupted, the recoil struck Helgenik directly.
Stumbling, Helgenik looked ahead. His blink had failed.
He was someone who could cut where his will directed. The method of crossing space wouldn’t work against him.
In the end, it meant he couldn’t escape through spatial movement.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Yulien.”
As he rummaged through his memory for a moment, it came back to him. The saint who had recently quelled the rebellion in the Turian Kingdom.
How unfortunate that he possessed a technique highly effective for blocking mages’ escape.
Boom!
As the bone prison shattered, Ghislaine stepped out.
Ghislaine looked at Yulien and smiled.
“What took you so long? I had to keep talking to prevent this guy from running away. I should have brought Claude.”
Even Ghislaine would find it difficult to catch a powerful figure like Helgenik openly fleeing. It would require an endless chase.
Even at a short distance, if he used space movement magic, he could quickly widen the gap.
But with Yulien present, they could block his escape. He could sever the unseen flow.
That’s why Ghislaine had waited for Yulien to arrive. They had already agreed on being prepared for such a situation.
“…Right.”
Contrary to Ghislaine’s bright smile, Yulien replied with an expressionless face.
Helgenik now looked at Ghislaine.
The one stalling for time was not him, but that guy. It was he who had fallen into the trap.
“These bastards…”
He ultimately had no choice but to fight. He needed to kill these two before the others arrived.
Helgenik realized it was time for him to go all out in a direct confrontation for the first time in his life.
Boom!
“Don’t just think I can only move corpses.”
An immense force began to emanate from his body. He understood that unless he gambled his life, he couldn’t escape from this place.
Thud.
Yulien took the stance, holding his sword high.
Ghislaine grinned.
“Now, let’s go kill that guy.”
Boom!
Ghislaine and Yulien swung their swords toward Helgenik.