READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 493
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EP.493 The Path That Continues from the Past (4)
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“Is this for real…?”
Karioth let out a bitter laugh as he gazed at the oncoming tide of Bravers. In a decisive battle that would determine humanity’s fate, the enemy was none other than the heroes who had protected humanity all this time… truly a laughable joke.
Tsk, Karioth clicked his tongue.
“Still.”
He hurled the coffin he was carrying. The lid of the coffin flew open in mid-air, and weapons began to spill out haphazardly. Watching the falling weapons, Karioth took a step forward.
Thud, and smash.
In his hand was a sword with a red cross. Vines extending from the hilt wrapped around Karioth’s arm. After traversing numerous battlefields, he had become able to endure the curse of immortality for an even longer time.
“I’ve got to get to work.”
With the sword in hand, Karioth charged toward the heroes lined up at the front. The first figure that caught his eye was holding two oddly shaped sickles. Karioth recognized those sickles.
The Crescent Moon Achate.
A Holy Knight of the Church who dealt with betrayers, and the former head of the Inquisition, to which Karioth originally belonged. Seeing that distant senior here made him chuckle as he kicked off the ground and leaped.
Swish.
As he approached Achate, the sickles in Achate’s hands moved swiftly. Swinging in a wave-like trajectory, the sickles tore through Karioth’s abdomen, severing the arm that held the sword. Blood sprayed forth. As the sickle plunged into Karioth’s heart, it was an instant attack reminiscent of the first Inquisition that had popped many a betrayer’s heart.
Just as Achate was about to use the sickles to pull out Karioth’s heart, Karioth’s hand, with a smash, roughly grabbed Achate’s wrist. The severed arm was perfectly intact.
The caught arm couldn’t be pulled back.
With one remaining hand, Achate attempted to swing his sword, but before that, Karioth’s sword cut through Achate’s skull. As blood spurted, Karioth spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth.
“Coming back from the dead is my specialty, Senior.”
It’s troublesome to invade a junior’s specialty.
Muttering that, Karioth stepped over Achate’s collapsing body and moved forward. Taking a long breath as he watched the tide of Bravers coming toward him.
All of them were heroes known by name from somewhere.
If it were an average opponent, he might have been able to take advantage of his immortality like just now, but… none of them would be easy foes. Among them were superhumans, heroes, and numerous renowned knights as well.
And.
“…!”
They were not that simple of opponents.
Karioth felt his gaze flicker for a moment. His vision flipped. His head throbbed. The moment he realized he was caught in a spell that racked his mind, Karioth drew a dagger from his waist. He drove the pulled dagger into his own temple.
Thud.
Intense pain, followed by regeneration.
Shaking off the binding spells, Karioth dashed forward. He boldly threw himself into the heroes’ spears and swords. Immortality, and an overwhelming regeneration that surpassed even a hero’s. Trusting in the only weapon he possessed, Karioth brandished his sword.
Slash!
The binding pierced through his temple, and the hallucination magic exploded his eyeballs, which he regenerated in response. This was not a human’s fighting style; it was more akin to an Undead’s.
Amid the resurrected heroes, one who could not die rampaged.
If he dropped his weapon, he’d snatch weapons from the bodies of heroes; if he missed that as well, he’d bite and scratch the enemy with his nails and teeth, resisting the oncoming tide. However, a single human could not hold back the wave.
Especially not one made up of heroes.
Thwump.
As the sound of a bowstring snapping echoed, Karioth’s brow was pierced. An arrow shot from afar. The renowned Epta’s arrow. As Karioth’s head snapped back with the arrow lodged in his brow, someone quickly approached him.
The Cutting Berzer.
A hero wielding a holy sword.
Just as the regenerated Karioth lowered his head to thrust his sword, Berzer’s sword moved. The swift blade pushed Karioth’s sword away, tearing through the air.
As Berzer charged forward wielding his sword, the swift sword strikes sliced into Karioth’s flesh. As chunks of flesh were sent flying in all directions, Berzer twisted the wrist holding the sword.
Keeeee!
With a sound piercing the eardrums, Karioth’s regenerating body was once again shredded. Rolling on the ground, Karioth wiped the blood off his face with his palm.
“…This isn’t easy.”
As he wiped away the blood and looked ahead, he could see troops rushing toward him. He had lost track of how many times he had died…
Kagakakakakakaka!
Karioth glanced at the storm rising into the sky.
He thought of his juniors rampaging up there and tightened his grip on his sword.
「I’m heading into the final tower.」
The voice echoing in his ears was from Belnoa. She had taken command in place of Destel, who had not yet arrived at the battlefield. Belnoa began explaining the outline of the operation.
「We must stop it.」
They had to stop whatever was surging from that tower as soon as possible. There was no time to be caught in the tide of the Bravers. He was saying he would clear a path, so follow him.
Then, who would protect the path they had cleared so that it wouldn’t close again… so that they wouldn’t be surrounded? Karioth smiled bitterly.
“It’s just like the Alkeia extermination battle.”
「Please.」
“I’ll do what I can.”
Karioth slowly raised his head.
“And this time, it seems I won’t be stopping them alone.”
There was a glow rising toward the sky.
It wasn’t the arrow shot by the renowned Epta far away. It was an arrow emitting an even more brilliant light. The moment the arrow touched the clouds, ripples spread in the blue sky.
Moonlight.
Silver-white beams cascaded down.
“I don’t like this.”
Remia made a displeased expression.
The renowned Epta. Remia also knew well about her. Being one of the younger among the Elves, when she was born, Epta was already dead. However, the traces she left were abundant in Yggdrasil.
A human raised by Elves.
A human who became a hero and a warrior.
Epta was a warrior loved by the Elves, and she had even received the moonlight arrow, a treasure of the Elves. Thus, it was no wonder that she could imitate the technique that only the Archery Master could wield.
But now, what about her?
Remia glared at Epta beyond the distance. The beautiful eyes and dignified movements for which the Elves praised her were no longer present in the current renowned Epta. Watching the arrow she shot toward the sky, Remia clicked her tongue.
‘Is that supposed to be imitating the Archery Master’s technique?’
Don’t make me laugh.
Thwump.
Remia released the bowstring that she had drawn to the limit.
An arrow imbued with moonlight soared into the sky. The trajectory of the rising arrow was clearer than Epta’s, and its speed was incomparable.
Remia’s arrow reached the sky first.
As the moonlight arrow touched the clouds, a silver-white flash flared. In that one flash, countless silver beams rained down like meteors. The cascading beams crushed the meteor shower shot up by Epta.
Moonlight.
Epta was known as the renowned archer, but Remia held the title of the Divine Archer (神弓). Beneath the beginning of the history of the Elves, Remia, who was called a genius and inherited the moonlight arrow at a young age.
That title was not a lie, for Remia’s arrows covered the battlefield.
Phwabwabwabwabwabawab!
Moonlight cascaded down toward the heroes.
Some swung their swords to slash through the moonlight, while others deflected it with spears and others slammed down shields to protect their surroundings… but it was difficult to endure the moonlight without suffering any damage.
“Now’s my chance.”
The moonlight temporarily restrained the heroes’ feet, and this was an opportunity. As Remia prepared a new arrow on the bowstring, she spoke.
“You need to finish up quickly and join us. Let’s hurry.”
Saying this, Remia turned around.
There, the most suitable talent for this battlefield stood out. In response to Remia’s gaze, she nodded.
Snap, and.
The Witch snapped her fingers.
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The Witch looked down upon the battlefield.
Her gaze finally landed on Belnoa, who pierced through the ranks of heroes, moving forward. Following behind was a strike team. They were racing across the battlefield, aiming solely for the final tower.
…Though she knew she also had to join there to face the Bravers, Resti temporarily put that work aside.
The tide had already turned.
The moment she joined there, the already tilted battlefield would completely overturn. Karioth and Remia alone would not be able to handle the tide of Bravers.
‘If they break through…’
They had to face the Bravers and that tide simultaneously.
There was no chance of victory. Without knowing what was stirring inside the final tower, it was impossible to take such a gamble. Resti slowly calmed her breathing.
What came to mind was the Betrayer.
The Betrayer she faced that day, Gletus.
A nightmare-like army that could alone constitute a legion. She was a Summoner and one who had reached the pinnacle of her class. Remembering the Betrayer’s extermination battle, Resti stretched her arm forward.
Snap, and.
The moment she snapped her fingers, a door opened. A massive door connected to the Otherworld opened, and what poured out were her summoned creatures. As countless summoned creatures spilled onto the wasteland, Resti pondered.
What is a Summoner?
Some say it is one who commands dozens of summoned creatures, making a legion by themselves. Others say it is a third-rate mage who relies on summoned creatures, rendering their own strength insignificant. And then, there are those who…
「Betrayer, Gletus.」
「You can’t talk about Summoners without mentioning that insane woman. Weak? Her strength isn’t worth much? That’s all nonsense. They just haven’t seen her.」
One mage said this.
「In the history of heroes, no one besides me and Kyle has ever pierced through a Betrayer’s army. We failed in the end too. So you see.」
In the battlefield, a Summoner…
「A Summoner dominates the battlefield.」
「An annoying, frustrating being, a nightmare. Yes, it means a calamity.」
A being akin to a calamity.
Dominating the battlefield, manipulating at will. Remembering her senior’s words, Resti smiled. The great Laniel had taught her that way, so…
She should definitely become that calamity.
Snap, Resti clapped her hands.
In that moment, the portal to the Otherworld opened in the sky. The incantations etched into the door were sequentially released.
Acceleration (Accel).
Regeneration (Regen).
Gigantic (Gigantic).
Durability (Durable).
Muscular (Muscular).
Lightweight (Lightweight).
Enhancement spells poured into the bodies of the summoned creatures. With crunches and crackles, the summoned creatures grew larger, their eyes glimmering red. And the spells didn’t stop there.
Spell-Nesting.
Spells overlapped. The same spell struck the summoned creatures dozens of times. Regeneration held together the bodies collapsing under the excess allowed quotas, but that too would not hold for long.
As the now gigantic bodies of the summoned creatures were about to crumble…
Snap, and.
The Ashen Witch cast her final spell.
“Overcome.”
Her own unique spell.
Numbness, no pain, control over emotions and instincts. Maximum enhancement of senses and physical abilities beyond limits. A spell that forcibly breaks through restrictions placed upon living beings.
———————!
The summoned creatures roared.
In their blood-red eyes reflected madness. The army of summoned creatures consumed by madness screamed. Hundreds, thousands of summoned creatures rushed toward the tide of Bravers.
A wave made up of summoned creatures clashed with the heroes.
Mimicking the Betrayer, the Witch waved her fingers. The best spells, imbued in her circuits, began to rise behind her one after another. Unlike the Betrayer, who delighted in watching humans being ravaged by her summoned creatures, Resti’s purpose was singular.
Efficiency. And to join quickly.
So there was no reason not to use magic.
The completed high-tier spell ignited with a bright white flame.