Chapter 243 - Darkness Incarnate (1)
Chapter 243 - Darkness Incarnate (1)
1
The elite troops of the Plain of Darkness were dispatched to the pillars of the Great Darkness.
The largest number of troops were dispatched to the Bijes Kingdom, and it was where the God of Rest was sealed. Since the nearby waypoints were all destroyed, no further reinforcements could be sent in.
Four days had passed after Kairen had contacted Reygus to wait a little bit. Kairen had asked for time. He needed time to complete his plan.
However, this didn’t mean Reygus had commenced his attack on a whim.
He had his own reason for doing this.
‘It is a reason that makes sense only in his mind. That’s the problem.’
Kieren felt a migraine coming on, so he furrowed his brows.
<I’m here, you bastards! You better be on your toes! Fight me!>
Reygus sauntered out of the forest as he revealed himself. He was bold as he announced his presence.
Wasn’t he just giving his enemies time to set up their defense?
Kieren let out a sigh.
“Somehow, I now know what my ancestors felt when working with him.”
It was the same as last time.
There were only three of them, yet they were going up against several hundred foes. Moreover, they were going up against elites troops placed behind a location hardened for defense. This was also why Reygus didn’t bother with an ambush. It would be almost impossible to ambush such a place. He boldly revealed his presence as if he was visiting his friend’s house. He would charge in when his enemies had enough time to bring up all their defense.
‘If only he wasn’t the legendary Dragon Demon general.....’
Kieren firmly massaged his temple with his fingers.
When he was carrying out a mission for the Plain of Darkness, he would have executed any ally that would act like that. He wouldn’t have hesitated.
However, his ally was the Dragon Demon general Reygus. He was called referred to as the hammer that swallows up the scream of the land. He couldn’t be controlled with words or strength. Basically, one just had to follow his lead. Nothing else could be done.
Kwah-gwa-gwahng! Kwah-kwahng! Kwah-ahhhhhng!
Reygus was sauntering forward when an explosion detonated beneath his feet. The hidden magic circles detonated all at the same time. Reygus was assaulted with thunderbolts, flames and light based attacks.
<Oh-ho! It seems they knew I was coming.>
Reygus had wanted his opponents to finish making all their preparations for battle. He hadn’t expected them to have already finished making their preparations. This was why Reygus was taken unawares by the ambush. The Dragon Demon King worshippers had acted as if they were disorganized. They made it appear as if they had been surprised by Reygus’ appearance. However, they had been prepared for this possibility. They had been thorough in their preparations for Reygus.
Reygus had fallen into a trap, and the magicians focused their bombardment on Reygus. It was such a swift attack that Reygus didn’t even have the opportunity to swing his SoulHammer.
<You bastards! You really have an insight into my personality! You guys are pretty good!>
“It feels awkward telling you this, but.......”
In the midst of the enemy, an old Dragon Majin with gray horns appeared. He had a cold expression on his face. He was Chanes. During the Dragon Demon war, he had been an officer under the command of Reygus.
The sound of huge explosions were detonating around them, so they couldn’t carry out a normal conversation. Chanes used his Dragon Arts to deliver his voice to Reygus. His body had weakened, and he had retired as a warrior. However, he was quite advanced in how he handled his magical energy.
“...your personality is the easiest in this world to discern, general. How can you actually say that out loud?”
<I cannot refute that point! Still, I was called a ball of charisma in the past! I was told that I’m unpredictable!>
“No one said that about you. In your mind, the probability of fighting general Reshoo was the highest in this location. However, you were able to hold yourself back for quite a while. I was able to put up the best possible defense thanks to your patience. I don’t know how I should feel about that.”
Chanes shook his head from side to side.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Chanes understood Reygus’ personality better than anyone in this era. When he heard the details of what had happened during the extermination of the Infinite Beast, Chanes determined that the probability of Reygus coming to this location next was very high.
“I would have been disappointed if you went to a different location or if you were able to be patient until the end. This is more like you, general Reygus.”
<You’ve become a bit arrogant now that you have some wrinkles on your face! I have one question for you, Chanes.>
Reygus resisted against the storm of magic spells as he asked the question. At the same time, Chanes furrowed his brow as he raised his hand. A translucent beam of light pierced through the storm of spells as it hit Reygus.
Reygus had released the power of his Soul Hammer. Within the big cloud of dust, Reygus was getting ready to unleash a terrifying attack.
<Is your life fun now?>
It was what Chanes had said when Reygus was revived as an Undead. He said his life wasn’t fun, and if he was with Reygus, he would have the chance to go out hard even with his old body.
Chanes had a twisted smile on his face as he spoke.
“...I’ll make an honest confession. I thought hard on it.”
He wondered if he should follow Reygus and oppose Atein. Or maybe he should he follow Atein to go against Reygus.
Other members of the Plain of Darkness didn’t even bother with such a dilemma. Atein was like a god to them.
However, it was different for Chanes. Reygus was a bigger presence in his life than Atein.
“When I thought about it, I realized that I wanted to try it once.”
<What do you mean?>
“I’m as old as I can be, and I have lost my strength. I’ve been passing the time as I schemed from the back, but I always wanted to fight you. I want to fight the person that’s forever my hero.”
<Oh ho! You are still a man!>
“I haven’t been one until recently. However, my heart started beating faster when I made the decision. Is my life fun? Yes, it is fun! It became fun at this moment!”
<I see. Congratulation!>
Reygus let out a heroic laughter as he brought down his Soul Hammer.
Gwah-gwa-gwa-gwahng......!
The earthquake generated by the attack spread outwards in a conical shape. The attack swallowed up several hundred meters of ground.
However, magic circles had been prepared for this scenario. The magic circles activated, and it killed most of the power of the attack. At the same time, Reygus’ magical energy started being drained away. The magic circles were targeting him, and his magical energy was being forcefully suppressed and absorbed by them.
That wasn’t all. A thousand elite troops had positioned themselves to protect this location, and the magic circles were boosting their attack power.
Reygus had a sense of deja vu.
<This is.......>
“Do you remember this?”
Chanes’ hair whipped around in a wild manner. He hadn’t unsheathed his sword, but he didn’t back off. There were several hundred meters of space between Reygus and him, yet Chanes knew he couldn’t put his guard down.
“It is the tactic that got you killed.”
During the Dragon Demon war, the human allied forces had prepared this trap to kill Reygus.
Chanes had recreated that trap, and he had strengthened it. He was able to strengthen it, because Reygus had moved slower than he had expected.
<I like it! Will you answer me this one question?>
“Hmmm. Unfortunately, general Reshoo isn’t here.”
<Shit. This place was a dud!>
He had been driven into a corner, yet Reygus’ question didn’t fit the situation at all. However, Chanes immediately recognized what Reyugs was trying to ask. He took it as par for the course with Reygus. Chanes’ underlings listened on in bafflement.
Suddenly, Chanes mumbled to himself.
“They are here.”
From where Reygus had come from, a darkness started to surge forward like wildfire.
“Niberis and Kieren Baldazark.”
The two young Dragon Demon had been high ranked officers in the Plain of Darkness not too long ago.
Of course, Chanes hadn’t forgotten about them. Reygus had been pinned down by the magic circle, and five hundred of his troops kept up their attack on Reygus. However, Chanes had dispatched a troop of hundred to stop the two young Dragon Demons.
“Since the king took general Reshoo, he sent enough troops to make up for that loss. I admit these brats are skilled, but will they be able to turn the tide of the battle? I won’t give you the chance to use the Extreme Extinction.”
Chanes fully acknowledge the threat posed by Niberis and Kieren. However, this battle was completely different from the battle where the Infinite Beast had perished.
Chanes had a detached force that’ll take care of Niberis and Kieren. Moreover, he had analyzed the power of these two, so he had come up with a plan that’ll take them down. Moreover, there were skilled Undeads on his side. These were beings that had participated in the Dragon Demon war.
‘The only thing left is to stop the general from completing his transformation.’
They had to stop Reygus’ transformation. If he transformed into a state where he could use his Dragon Demon magic, their preparations would not be enough.
However, everything had proceeded as Chanes had planned. The magic circles were suppressing and absorbing Reygus’ power. He wouldn’t be able to transform. If he wanted to transform, he had to go through the process of raising his magical energy to the extreme. This piece of information had been verified several times.
“...I’ll finish you here.”
Was it because he was trying to end Reygus, who he admired? There was a bitterness to the words mumbled by Chanes.
“Mmm?”
Suddenly, Chanes’ expression turned rigid.
Since magicians were dispatched in the surrounding, they were using a communication spell that allows Chanes to get an up to date information. He was able to give orders after assessing the information. However, an unexpected variable had made an appearance.
“Why......!”
The detached force had surrounded Niberis and Kieren, but they were starting to be killed in ones and twos. A powerful magician, who was twice as strong as him, had made an appearance.
When Chanes saw who it was, he yelled out in shock.
“Why are you here, prince Saibein?!”
He was a middle aged Dragon Demon with a beard. He had his long black hair tied backwards. He was destroying the Dragon Demon King worshippers with his overwhelming power.
2
When Saibein was accepted as a resident of the Albatan forest, he made a pact that he wouldn’t interfere with the outside world. Even if it was his daughter, the pact wouldn’t allow him to do anything.
This was why Saibein made another deal in order to break that pact.
When Albatan accepted the deal, Saibein was released form the pact. He searched out his daughter, so he could fight by her side.
This was also the main reason why Reygus had mobilized. A powerful ally had joined his side. He no longer needed to wait. He brutishly charged towards a pillar in order to destroy it.
“Sir Reygus, you never change.”
Saiben let out a bitter laughter. A pitch black Dragon was coiled around his entire body.
Reygus was unchanging. When Saibein saw him, he was reminded of the days before his despair. It felt as his old self was being revived. It was a time when he fought the world with genuine fervor.
“Your highness! You weren’t dead?”
There were some amongst the detached force that recognized Saibein. They expressed their shock. Saiben let out a bitter laughter.
“If possible, I didn’t want to overturn that belief.”
In truth, he had run away to the Albatan forest after he fell into despair. If he had kept to his original plan, he would have lived in the Albatan forest until his death.
However, his precious daughter moved him when she displayed a cold and firm resolve.
The Dragon Demon King worshippers were confused only for a brief moment. They quickly made a decision.
“I don’t know what is going on, but we cannot forgive you if you’ve joined the enemy!”
Saibein had ambushed them from outside of their encircling net. This was why he was able to kill the members of the detached force one after another. However, there were ways to counter him now that they became aware of his presence.