Chapter 278

Blood splattered everywhere, skills clashed, and the sounds of screaming and clanging of weapons echoed endlessly.

“Kill them!”

“Stop them! Don’t let them pass!”

“Damn you, goblins! Why are you helping the vampires?!”

“Kererek! Forward! Clear a path!”

“Show them the power of Humilitas!”

Humilitas's involvement had disrupted the balance in the war between Underground and Consanguineus.

“Che cazzo!” Nino Manfredi’s voice echoed from his bronze golem, Antaeus, as he charged at the enemy ahead.

The enemy was a hideous bronze statue of a goblin, even larger than Antaeus, with a thousand arms, a hundred legs, ten eyes, five mouths, and three noses.

[Activating Item Skill: Saxitas.]

A skill built into Antaeus was activated, and shield patterns appeared over the golem’s entire body. Nino stretched his arms forward to stop the bronze statue’s advance.

“AHHHHH! HURRY!” Nino frantically shouted as Antaeus was pushed back.

“Hold on! Haaaaahhh!” Gao Weiguang said as he leaped into the air, activating a skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Sword Control.]

Weiguang’s nine A-rank longswords and one S-rank longsword flew out of their scabbards and were enveloped in blue mana.

“Die!” he shouted.

The ten longswords moved according to his will and flew toward the golden throne on the bronze statue’s head. An explosive sound echoed upon contact, but Weiguang was not happy.

“Dammit! Gustav!” he shouted.

“Chaaaaa!”

Gustav von Seyffer, who had reached the bronze statue’s head, rushed toward the golden throne as he raised his giant zweihander. He transitioned from the Vom Tag, a high guard, to the Scheitelhau, a crown strike. He then performed the Unterhau, an undercut from the naturally-formed Alber, a fool’s guard. Next, he used the momentum of the rising sword to assume the Zornhut, the wrath guard, and linked it with the Zornhau, a downward diagonal cut.

Each movement was quick and beautifully fluid, but did not even scratch the green dome barrier on the bronze statue’s head.

[The Barrier Sorcery: Cage is closing off this space.]

“Dammit!” Gustav cursed.

“Kerek. A commendable attempt for a half-wit,” said Abyete, sitting at the golden throne from inside the green barrier, as he pointed a scepter with a diamond embedded in it at Gustav.

“Shit!”

“Kererek!”

[Activating Race Skill: Contagion Sorcery - Touch of Disaster.]

Green hands formed from all sides and flew toward Gustav to grab him. Gustav quickly fled as he slashed the flying hands, but a dark green smoke burst from the hands when they were cut. He quickly escaped the vicinity of the smoke, but it touched a portion of his left arm.

[Applying Disease: Green Rash.]

“GAAAAAHHH!” Gustav screamed as he fell, experiencing the worst pain of his life in his left arm.

The abscesses resembling green mold on his left arm bubbled. Just then, the dozens of green hands flew toward Gustav while he was defenseless. However, an arrow split through the air and shone blindingly with a golden light, melting the green hands like ice cream. Weiguang did not miss that opportunity and manipulated his ten swords to send Gustav to the rear.

“Gurghhh!” Gustav groaned, writhing in pain.

“Healers! Treat Gustav!” Weiguang shouted at the healers of Clan Seven Swords.

The colossal Antaeus was sent flying and smashed into the ground.

“Urgh!” Nino’s grunt sounded from Antaeus.

“Dammit!” Weiguang shouted, gritting his teeth as he stared at the collapsed Antaeus. “Goblin King, Abyete! Why is he assisting the vampires?!”

Just then, Irura, the elf with golden hair and eyes, gracefully landed beside Weiguang and shouted, “They’ve penetrated the defense line!”

“What?!” Weiguang quickly turned to the rear.

A portion of the defense line, which had been standing strong, had collapsed, and the vampires were running to the Vampyr Forest through that gap.

“The Lord is calling us!’

“Ahhh! My Lord!”

“Oh, no!” Weiguang said, clenching his fists.

“How can I bear to face Master Bafor and Master Seong-Hwi... after this failure?” Irura mumbled, biting his lip.

“Kerek! Kerererek! Consanguineus had better not forget this favor!” Abyete said, laughing ecstatically from on top of the rampaging bronze statue’s head.

He looked at the sky looming over Vampyr Forest. A few stars were shining, and two of them were especially brighter than the others.

“Kerek! They must belong to Pseraslav and Haema Sanguis.”

Abyete had no intention of joining the battle between those two monsters.

“Kererek! I’m just throwing a few of my chips in!”

If Haema Sanguis were to win, he would not forget Abyete’s help. On the other hand, if Pseraslav were to win, he planned to hide behind the massive superpower that was Necrophilia. However, as an opportunist, there was a different reason why Abyete had joined the battle.

He smashed his scepter down on the bronze statue’s head and mumbled an incantation with a bizarre cadence.

“Drink. Drink. Drink. Fill your stomach!”

[Activating Race Skill: Sacrificial Sorcery - Dedication.]

The bronze statue’s five mouths slowly opened. Translucent black tongues extended from each mouth, their surfaces disgustingly composed of hundreds of eyes, thousands of limbs, and tens of thousands of mouths. The five hideous tongues slithered like snakes and devoured the corpses sprawled throughout the battlefield.

“Ahhhhh! Kerererek!” Abyete shouted, trembling as he felt the Sorcery Force filling his entire body.

[Recording the story of the High Priest’s Wishes in the Akashic Records.]

[Causality accumulates within Altar of Dedication.]

[Causality accumulates within Altar of Dedication.]

[Causality accumulates within Altar of Dedication.]

...

Abyete was filled with ecstasy as he watched the square star in the sky, Altar of Dedication, becoming brighter.

“Gahahaha! This is the best! I need more! Kill even more! Krrrrrk!”

His crazed laughter got even louder as he grasped the perfect opportunity to acquire causality.

***

“Dammit! What do we do?!” Irura mumbled, looking back and forth between the rampaging Abyete and the penetrated defense line.

If he were to face Abyete, he wouldn’t be able to stop the vampires from reaching Vampyr Forest, but if he were to reinforce the defense line, Abyete’s rampage would result in countless casualties.

“If only... I was as strong as Grandfather!” Irura shouted, closing his eyes tightly.

He recalled his conversation with the man he respected the most ever since he was a child—the true Hod (glory), his grandfather, Lapsus.

“Grandfather! How can I become as strong as you? Should I use the Karma I earn to upgrade stats? Or should I buy good skills to polish?”

Irura recalled his grandfather answering his innocent question with a smile.

“Irura, although stats and skills are important, they are not everything.”

“I know! Having high caliber is more important! We of House Hod are born with superior caliber, aren’t we?” Irura had said proudly.

However, Lapsus had smiled bitterly and replied, “That is not wrong, but remember this, Irura. We are all but trees born from the same seed. You and I were born by taking the opportunities of countless individuals, so we have a responsibility to grow in their stead and act as a shade for others.”

Irura also remembered Lapsus’s words, which he couldn’t understand.

“Once you grow up and believe you have reached your limit... find your origin that pierces the fruit, flower, leaf, branch, stalk, and the root. You were already born with an origin more distinct than most, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

Origin... Origin, Irura wondered.

He had been feeling like he was one step away from something ever since he became a Spare Ranker over a decade ago. The feeling only grew stronger when seeing his fellow representatives of Underground.

Just one step... I think I’m just one step away... from the origin!

Irura exhibited extreme focus. Mana and Nature Force circulated through his entire body like a wild horse off its reins, and his consciousness sank deeper and deeper into the sea of subconscious. His desperate desire to find an answer in this predicament stimulated the distinct ancestral trait he was born with, beginning to show him a whole new world.

He saw a giant tree shining with an emerald light.

Is this... the World Tree? Irura wondered.

His consciousness sank from the fruit, flower, leaf, branch, stalk, then the root, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss. He continued to sink until he found a small green dot. Once he laid his eyes on that dot, filled with vitality, he could instinctively tell that it was both his beginning and his end.

The seed!

Irura stretched out his hand and grasped the seed. Just then, a flash of light changed the world, and he fell into a night sky.

[You arrived in the Aether Plane.]

He found a single sparkling star in the absolute void. It was shining with a green light, just like the eyes of Radix, his friend whom he had lost.

[Irura Hod recognizes his star.]

...

[Kapara

Description: A star that begs for forgiveness through atonement and remorse.

Magnitude: 10

Star Power: Hechzir (to return).]

Ah! Irura expressed inwardly.

He understood everything the moment he saw Kapara. This star was his. It was a star of remorse for the days he spent smiling happily over the corpses of his fellow elves under the excuse of ignorance. It was a star he had obtained at the cost of taking everything from his most precious friend.

Hechzir... Irura said inwardly.

He wanted to return everything to the way they were—Viridis, his sin, and his friendship with Radix. He knew it was impossible, but his desire to do so despite that was stronger than ever.

***

“Master Irura! What do we do now?! Master Irura!” Weiguang shouted.

“Kapara...Hechzir...”

“Dammit! What the hell are you doing in a crisis like this?!” Weiguang pressed Irura, who was mumbling random words with his eyes closed.

However, Irura did not open his eyes.

Just then, Nino shouted from inside Antaeus, “Kurgh! H-help me!”

The bronze goblin statue was barraging Antaeus with punches like rainfall, using its thousand arms. The once imposing bronze golem, was being crushed like an aluminum can.

“Dammit!” Weiguang cursed as he placed his hands over his swords, wondering whether to use his trump card.

He placed Nino’s life and the trump card he had been hiding this whole time on opposite ends of a balance scale, and came to an answer rather quickly.

I’m sorry, Weiguang thought, taking his hands off his swords. I can’t use it in a place like this.

“ARGHHH!” Nino screamed.

Just as he was about to die, an unexpected barrage of attacks flew at the bronze goblin statue.

[Activating Skill: Mana Explosion Punch.]

[Activating Skill: Mana Explosion Punch.]

[Activating Skill: Mana Explosion Punch.]

...

Dozens of giant white mana pillars tore apart everything in their paths like a tornado of blades, pushing the bronze goblin statue back.

“Was that... a Mana Explosion Punch?” Weiguang mumbled.

The Mana Explosion Punch was a rather famous burst skill that one could obtain from a B-rank skill cube. Although its destructive power was worthy of being ranked A, barely anyone used it because their arm could be destroyed with one wrong use. Hence, Weiguang couldn’t believe someone could use such a skill in rapid succession.

“Just how high is their Health stat? Who are you?!” he shouted as he turned in the direction from which the barrage of Mana Explosion Punches had come.

He saw countless fairies with iridescent wings flying toward the battlefield as they giggled and chatted among one another.

“Kyaaahh! An ugly goblin!”

“I’m scared, First Knight!”

“There are vampires with red eyes, too! They must have all caught an eye disease or something! I feel bad for them!”

In the center of the group of fairies was a bald man with a golden right arm, emitting steam after entering the exhaust stage of the skill’s four-stroke cycle.

“Hey, are you the commander here?” asked the bald man with a scorpion tattoo behind his right ear as he stared at Weiguang with his brown eyes.

“A human?” Weiguang wondered.

“He is Sir Gao Weiguang, the Ten Heavenly Swords. How does a fellow human not know a human High Ranker?” said a large white man beside the bald man.

The large man, also being carried by the fairies, was Ilia Volok, a member of the intelligence division who had left the dungeon after being entrusted with a mission by Seong-Hwi.

“Urgh! First Knight! This guy’s so heavy!”

“You can let him go now,” the bald man said.

“Yay!”

The fairies who had been holding Ilia released him, and Ilia landed heavily beside Weiguang.

“Sir Gao Weiguang! I am Ilia Volok, a member of the intelligence division who was entrusted with a mission by Tsar Cheon Seong-Hwi! I have come with reinforcements!”

“Cheon Seong-Hwi... Reinforcements? Who are they?” Weiguang asked.

“That man is Gilder Loli, whom Tsar Cheon Seong-Hwi has accepted as a friend by the kindness of his heart!” Ilia loudly replied.

Gilder divided the Prosthetic Arm of Conviction into three pieces in midair and shouted, “It’s Gilder Roy, not Gilder Loli, you Seong-Hwi fanboy!”

His Prosthetic Arm of Conviction’s forearm became a sword, the upper arm became a javelin resembling an antenna, and his shoulder became a gun.

He quickly looked around the battlefield, then pointed at the hole in the defense line with his left hand and shouted, “We, the Vindicta Resistance, will aid Underground! Tell Seong-Hwi that if his claim to have our queen was a lie, I will pummel him myself in the name of Dryas!”