Chapter 864

"If my lieutenant says so," Ian answered with a smile.

At that moment, countless shadows began surfacing through the swirling fog filling the valley.

Charlotte stiffened slightly and tightened her grip on her fang blades as she turned forward.

Boom! Whoosh!

A burst of sparks exploded from the nearby ridge. Through them, a corrupted one with its body grotesquely bent inward shot into the air as though launched.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Nila raised its head as if it had been the one to send the creature flying and charged through the shower of sparks.

Countless embers tangled within its mane, leaving blazing trails behind it.

Looks like he’s completely given up now.

Glancing at Miguel, who was curled up while clinging tightly to the creature’s neck, Ian swallowed a chuckle. It almost looked as if he were shielding Elia with himself.

Either way, it was obvious Nila was charging straight toward Charlotte.

"Move out! Open the path for the Demigod!"

"Don’t leave the Great Chieftain fighting alone!"

That was probably why Nehat and Palmer’s shouts followed immediately afterward.

Nehat raised her greatsword and charged uphill toward the corrupted ones, while Palmer followed close behind after crushing the skull of a corrupted one that Nehat had torn apart.

"-----!"

"---!"

With savage roars that sounded almost beastlike, the beastfolk warriors threw themselves at the corrupted ones even more violently than before.

Diana’s magic-infused shout rang out at that exact moment.

"Support those idiots! Form a breakthrough formation!"

She was following behind Nehat and Palmer with daggers clenched in both hands.

The fairies who had been standing frozen or staring blankly at Ian finally rushed after the beastfolk.

"Not that way, this way, you stupid beasts!"

"Don’t just charge in blindly! No more reckless moves from here on out! Got it?"

The fairies’ voices mixed chaotically into the battle cries and monstrous shrieks, but the beastfolk slowly began grouping according to the instructions.

Feels like they’re finally starting to develop something close to camaraderie.

Ian continued forward from the rear without stopping.

That was one of the reasons he hadn’t actively participated in the battle himself. The exact situation he’d wanted from the beginning was finally taking shape.

"Follow the Great Chieftain! Move!"

"Don’t rush too far ahead! Maintain formation while breaking through! Leave the rear to us!"

The legion eventually entered the valley, gathering together in the shape of an arrowhead.

Behind them lay only the mangled and crushed corpses of mutated, corrupted ones. It wasn’t merely because the fairies and beastfolk possessed combat prowess far exceeding that of ordinary humans.

Swoosh—

Centered around Ian as he followed behind them, the fog continued parting outward in enormous concentric circles.

It wasn’t simply dispersing the chaos mixed within the fog. The exposed, corrupted ones themselves were suffering from it as well.

Thanks to that, once Ian stepped into the relatively level valley, he even had enough leisure to glance behind him.

Waves of fog cascaded down the ridge like waterfalls beneath his feet.

Whoosh—

Far away along the revealed shoreline, the outline of a long violet figure became clear.

It was Yog, standing still as though shielding the anchored smuggling ships with its own body.

Though that bastard’s probably hoping someone attacks…

Not a single trace of blue light approached the shoreline anymore. Every corrupted one was gathering around the sanctuary instead.

Ian nodded faintly to himself while continuing deeper into the valley when a chaos-laced roar erupted from somewhere ahead.

"--------!"

Turning forward again, Ian caught sight of a massive figure slamming down a streak of blue light.

Looks like some kind of ogre.

It was a demonic creature at least three meters tall. Covered in a hardened shell, it resembled the carapace of a crustacean.

Behind the arm swinging a massive double-bladed axe, claw-like appendages spread outward like wings, while blade-sharp legs protruded from its lower body.

Crash!

The axe blade crashed downward in a diagonal streak of blue.

Stone fragments exploded upward with a deafening boom, and the tremor rippled all the way through the ground to Ian.

Swoosh—

However, Ian’s gaze was following the golden trail streaking toward the creature.

It was Charlotte, wrapped in a faint golden barrier. Having evaded the axe blade by throwing herself aside, she twisted gracefully through the air.

Crack, crack, crack!

Several translucent golden hexagonal barriers spread out before her. Charlotte lowered her body and slammed directly into the center of the demon’s torso.

Crackle! Boom!

Golden light erupted explosively. The gigantic demon, still in the middle of its axe swing, was blasted backward into the air.

Charlotte rebounded off the impact, landed in a sliding crouch, and instantly charged again, leaving another streak of gold behind her.

This time, she raised both fang blades above her head.

"--------!"

With a roar infused with dragonic power, Charlotte collided with the retreating demon and vanished beyond the valley.

And in that instant, Ian clearly saw both fang swords come crashing down toward the demon’s heavily armored neck.

"Follow the Chieftain!"

"Move!"

Nehat and Palmer’s shouts echoed from ahead. The group of beastfolk, tearing apart the corrupted ones pouring through the valley, accelerated even further.

Part of it was because the valley had gradually turned into a downward slope.

"Maintain formation! Watch your footing so you don’t tumble down!"

"Don’t look back! Leave the stragglers to us!"

The fairies following behind them continued shouting without pause.

Not only were they covering the beastfolk’s openings, but they were also finishing off corrupted ones that had survived and fallen behind.

Crunch! Crack!

Countless noises reverberated chaotically throughout the valley while Ian stepped onto the increasingly steep descent. As the beastfolk warriors started racing down the ridges, his field of view widened further and further.

Fwoosh!

The first thing that caught his eye was Nila, racing left and right across the descending ridge. The creature simply rammed straight through the corrupted ones in its path or swatted them aside.

Each impact sent showers of embers exploding from its mane, burning away the surrounding fog along with the corrupted ones caught within it.

It even created ideal openings for the beastfolk charging behind.

"For the love of—slow down a little! Fuck, ahhhhh!"

Of course, Miguel couldn’t even lift his head properly while screaming in a voice already nearly hoarse from yelling.

Ian swallowed a laugh and quickened his pace.

Crack! Boom!

Amid the endless surge of corrupted ones, another explosion of blue chaos erupted skyward.

The demon had slammed down its massive double-bladed axe again.

Swoosh—

This time, it didn’t stop there.

The creature swung its blunt claw-like pincer toward Charlotte as she vaulted upward to evade the strike. A faint golden barrier bloomed into existence before her.

Crack, crack, crack—

The instant the claw collided with the barrier, the force field shattered, erupting in tangled waves of blue chaos.

Charlotte twisted gracefully through the blast like an acrobat and shot straight through the opening. She thrust her left fist toward the demon, one of her swords seemingly shattered.

Crackle—-

Her fist slammed into the center of the demon’s cracked chest as though crushing it inward, and dazzling golden lightning exploded outward. The demon’s enormous, convulsing body staggered, losing balance as Charlotte drove into it.

Ian’s eyes narrowed.

Is it there?

Behind the demon, as it toppled backward and began tumbling down the slope, a recessed valley slowly emerged through the fog.

Aside from the bluish fog, it looked exactly like the place he had seen in the vision.

Tap, tap, tap!

Only then did Ian finally break into a sprint down the steep ridge.

Wind gathered around him in an instant. After kicking off a jutting boulder, he launched himself forward with all his strength.

Swoosh—

A roaring surge violently swept away the fog that had been creeping along the ridge behind him.

A split second later, several beastfolk jerked their heads upward at the sound tearing through the air overhead.

" Demigod?"

Even while they stared in shock, they were not attacked.

The corrupted ones themselves were recoiling instead, shrieking in agony as they were forced backward by Ian’s presence.

That was when Nila, far below, twisted sharply while looking up toward Ian.

Grrr…

The creature let out a roar almost like Moro’s and began running diagonally ahead of Ian. It smashed every corrupted one blocking the path and hurled them down the slope.

It was clearly trying to open a safe landing route for him.

"Is that the place?" Elia’s shout brushed past Ian’s ears.

Lowering his head slightly, Ian caught sight of her peeking out from beside the crouched-over Miguel, looking back up toward him.

Despite the situation, there wasn’t even a trace of fear in her eyes.

Suppressing another laugh, Ian gave a small nod.

Splash!

At that moment, a massive spray of water erupted below the ridge. The tumbling demon had crashed down there.

And there, standing atop its chest and pinning it down, was Charlotte, blazing with golden light.

Clip-clop, clip-clop!

As if trying to help her, Nila accelerated down the slope.

At that moment, Charlotte, who had been raising the fang blade in her right hand, suddenly looked back.

Fwoosh—

Blasting out a gust of wind from his palm, Ian landed in the middle of the waterlogged valley on one knee.

The fog spreading beyond was instantly driven back in widening concentric circles.

"Leave this place to us, Ian! Go in!" Charlotte’s growling shout followed.

As expected, she had clearly heard everything through Elia’s Whisper spell.

Rising while lowering the black sword at his side, Ian gave a nod. "Yeah. I’ll leave it to you."

He had intended to go alone from this point onward in the first place. Turning immediately, Ian strode toward the narrow valley thickly filled with fog.

The fog billowing beyond surged upward and was forced aside.

Crunch! Crackle!

Palmer landed behind the valley while crouching, along with Nehat, who was in the middle of smashing down on a corrupted one with her greatsword.

As Nehat split the creature apart, Palmer rose and shouted, "We hold this valley until the Demigod returns!"

After kicking away the severed corpse, Nehat flicked the fluids from her greatsword and added, "Don’t let a single bastard pass through here!"

As though responding to them, beastfolk warriors began leaping down around the valley one after another.

Boom! Crunch—

Some of them were still tangled together with corrupted ones.

Nearby beastfolk rushed in to assist them, while beyond them, sparks that Nila had clearly created exploded brilliantly over the sea.

"Hold your positions and rebuild the line first! Semicircle formation!" Diana shouted as she landed lightly behind Palmer.

She wasn’t looking at the beastfolk, but up toward the ridge instead. The very next moment, fairies rained down around her like falling arrows.

"Don’t charge out on your own! Secure the battlefield first, you stupid beasts!"

"Form a semicircle! Only the front line advances toward the Great Chieftain!"

They shouted the commands the instant they landed, echoing Diana’s orders. Soon afterward, their backs disappeared behind the bluish fog pouring down from the cliffs on either side.

Splash… Splat…

Even while glancing back, Ian continued advancing through the dark, waterlogged valley without stopping.

His gaze swept across the ridges stretching along both sides like cliffs.

Feels like I really entered a cave.

The fog, pushed away by his divinity, covered the space overhead, leaving no trace of the sky visible.

It only felt as though he were forcing his way into a crack split open through the layers of earth. The slope was gradually inclining upward. However, that was not the only reason Ian’s brow tightened more and more.

Thump… Thump…

The essence bead of chaos had begun pulsing as though resonating.

At the same time, the clear wave of divinity spreading from deep within him grew sharper and sharper, reverberating throughout him. And every time that happened, pain spread through him like sparks igniting inside his body.

Knock it off already. Both of you.

It was the phenomenon that always occurred whenever divinity and chaos came into contact.

Even while continuing forward, Ian tried suppressing the essence bead rather than the divinity.

Not because he didn’t need chaos power, but because he was still more accustomed to controlling that side instead.

Thump…

The resonance of the essence bead, which had continued like a prolonged struggle, finally began to subside as though being forced down.

Even then, it spat out one final strand of chaos, like a last act of defiance. The thing waiting beyond this fog must have been overwhelmingly tempting to it.

You’ve already eaten enough. Endure it.

Though the lingering pain made one side of his brow twitch, Ian continued climbing the gentle incline without stopping.

By now, all sounds from the battle behind him had vanished completely.

Step, step—

Only his own footsteps echoed across the cliff-like ridges on both sides. The dense bluish fog blanketing the area seemed to absorb every other sound.

It wasn’t long before the cliffs on either side vanished and the space abruptly widened.

Through the rolling fog, the altar from the vision revealed itself.

Swoosh—

And atop it stood the enormous dark blue coral, radiating a faint blackish-blue glow.

fog drifted from around the coral like steam, carried away by unseen winds toward the opposite side from Ian. The circular pool of water gathered around the coral was likely the source of the fog.

But Ian, approaching the altar, didn’t spare the coral even a glance. His eyes were fixed instead on the gigantic fang fossil resting above the dark coral, shaped like the tooth of some colossal dinosaur.

The cracks carved throughout the fossil shimmered with a blue light far more vivid than what he had seen in the vision.

Just then, a hazy illusion swept past Ian’s eyes like flickering static, revealing an endless abyss and, at its center, a pair of massive dark-blue eyes swaying in the darkness.

Clang!

With the clear, resonant sound produced by divine power, his fading vision and senses snapped back in an instant.