Chapter 214

Chapter 214
## Chapter 214

Jeron’s Ordeal (3)

*Cough—*

Dark, stagnant blood sprayed violently from his nasal passages and mouth.

He attempted to force it down, but the torrent was entirely beyond his restraint.

‘Curse it, this is the end of me.’

The blood escaping him was merely a symptom.

The magic pathways within his frame were not simply intertwined; they were utterly shattered from the reckless strain he had demanded of them. Furthermore, the malevolent hex, throwing off his weakened grip, was rapaciously devouring his remaining vitality.

It had only remained this manageable due to the sacred emblem Heinrich had provided.

Yet, that was far from the only toll extracted from him…

‘Even so, I managed to buy us some moments.’

Hesperon offered a wry grin as he sensed the talisman hanging beneath his vestments disintegrate into nothingness.

*Drip—*

In the immediate wake of its destruction, a single crimson droplet rolled from his right eyelid.

His perception wavered, turning into absolute darkness.

‘…My right eye.’

A spectacular salvation executed at the ultimate second, precisely when the heroine faced her demise.

Considering the timing, it bore the hallmarks of a stale trope where the lead figure awakens a hidden potential in dire straits to change destiny…

But the reality was far more complex.

-Hannibal Strauss: Losing sight in one eye is a minor toll. Forcing a power beyond your station demands an equivalent sacrifice. Still, your struggles bore fruit at the absolute precipice.

-Harley: Bahaha! A mere eye? Replacements are easy enough to come by! Look at me!

Hans had collected an array of relics possessing incredible properties during his gathering of the Immortal Army.

By a twist of irony, the vast majority of these artifacts demanded a toll of raw vitality or lifespan, rendering them entirely useless to the undead forces.

《The individual has fulfilled the required parameters and achieved advancement. The capability “Bond of Unity” has transitioned into the specialized capability “Oath’s Chains”.》

The talisman Hesperon had just expended belonged to that very category.

Because the artifact had shouldered a portion of the development burden, “Bond of Unity” underwent its transformation, enabling him to manifest Riley, the designated partner of his pact.

‘It does more than provide passive enhancements; it permits me to exert an absolute command just as I did now. Furthermore, the reach of this capability has broadened to encompass non-living structures.’

Naturally, he would require further experimentation to understand its full utility given its sudden transformation, but any expansion of his options was a highly encouraging turn of events.

“Heron…?”

Riley’s disoriented voice reached his ears.

Her bewilderment was entirely justified; she had gone from the brink of execution to suddenly materializing in the embrace of a strange gentleman.

Yet, the current circumstances left no room for casual explanations.

Forming a faint smile without breaking his focus, he addressed her.

“Riley, we will converse on this later. Our current predicament is rather pressing.”

“…Understood.”

Hesperon kept his vision locked firmly on a solitary target.

He was watching Staub, who stood a short distance away, pinning them with an intense stare.

The man still gripped that bizarre dirk.

‘The remaining task is to tie Riley and myself together via “Oath’s Chains” and slip away using “In the Hero’s Footsteps”…’

However, the link forged by “Oath’s Chains” remained highly volatile, likely due to the brute force he had used to bring Riley here, meaning he required a brief window to anchor it.

It was an unavoidable consequence of overextending his current capacities, but it was an unwelcome complication given the immediate threat.

“You are a persistent irritation…”

Precisely as anticipated,

*Swoosh—*

Staub’s form became a blur.

‘He has no intention of granting me a reprieve!’

Hesperon’s thoughts accelerated instantly as “Hypersensitivity” triggered, stretching the seconds out around him.

Even so…

‘He maintains that degree of velocity even under these conditions?’

Staub’s advance remained completely unnatural within a reality that had slowed to a near-standstill.

He pressed forward with absolute assurance, utterly unbothered by the sluggishness of his environment, sending a shudder of dread down Hesperon’s spine.

‘…I’ve lost perspective recently from operating exclusively among monsters.’

Having spent so much time dealing with monumental figures of late, among both his companions and adversaries, his perception of scale had become skewed. Yet, the rank of a master was by no means insignificant.

Consider the Brokoslack Clan, one of the three supreme vampire lineages boasting centuries of longevity; they possessed a mere three True Bloods, a count that included their sovereign ruler. Similarly, within the Main God Church—the organization wielded the grandest authority across the lands—such a rank was reserved for the Paladins and Archbishops who directed their forces.

And one such individual was presently descending upon him, eyes burning with lethal intent.

Hesperon ground his teeth, forcing his sluggish form to react.

Yet, by the time he succeeded in dragging himself a single pace rearward, his foe had already crossed five or six steps toward him.

His reinforced physiology remained completely outmatched by the agility of a master-ranked warrior, irrespective of his irregular attributes and capabilities.

‘Ngh, just a fraction more!’

The process of synchronization was crawling forward at a agonizing pace within the dilated timeline.

No matter how much mana functioned as a force exempt from physical constraints, the channels guiding it belonged to a physical vessel, meaning it could never be entirely divorced from physical limitations.

‘Melee engagement means certain death. I must halt his approach at all costs.’

Hesperon began deploying every asset at his disposal to buy precious seconds.

Numerous crimson spheres, saturated with the “Refined Blood Essence” of Heinz the Second, were flung forward en masse, unleashing the sanguine sorcery bound within them.

A sacred token, brimming with the divine essence of Heinrich, manifested a radiant wall to impede the adversary’s advance.

Naturally, he supplemented this with a barrage of mystical implements, including malevolent, hexed curios.

“Argh, what an exhausting pest! From what hoard did you unearth such an endless supply of trinkets?”

*Swoosh—*

*Whoosh!*

Regrettably, however…

The assailant displayed zero admiration for this sudden cascade of obstacles.

-Heinrich: This is more than a display of sheer might. He is precisely identifying the flaws in the flawed incantations produced by those catalysts. His martial precision easily eclipses that of Geos.

Though Staub bared his teeth in profound irritation, he never ceased his approach, obliterating every barrier with the ferocious energy radiating from his blade.

He had closed the distance to striking range.

*Throb—*

Likely due to the reckless invocation of those hexed artifacts,

A agonizing ache rippled through Hesperon’s entire frame… centering intensely in his right hand.

Even so, abandoning the struggle was not an option.

Tightening his hold on Riley, he forced himself backward a few more paces.

*Crack—*

His muscle fibers protested violently as he pushed beyond his limits to mirror the adversary’s speed within the dilated timeline, but current survival took precedence over physical damage.

“Staub, you wretched cur! You degenerate betrayer, how dare you commit such treason!”

“Gah! My life is forfeit regardless, do you truly believe I will simply perish without a fight?!”

During his retreat, the scattering of surviving paladins threw themselves into Staub’s path, wholly indifferent to their own survival.

They were already grievously mauled, and their depleted numbers could never alter the ultimate conclusion of this battle, yet they remained elite combatants.

Their interference was sufficient to secure a momentary window amid the chaos.

“Tch, incompetent buffoons. You cannot even manage a task of this scale?”

“F-forgive us, Commander!”

And that sliver of time purchased with their lifeblood…

…was the exact juncture Hesperon had been sweating blood to reach.

‘It is complete.’

He drew a ragged breath, utilizing his sole functioning eye to watch the final paladin collapse beneath Staub’s strike.

“You lot…”

He voiced a solitary phrase, his gaze sweeping across the countenances of the turncoats converging on his position from every angle.

“Flail to your heart’s content.”

He triggered “In the Hero’s Footsteps” precisely as he abandoned his final token upon the earth.

Through a gaze growing dim as reality warped around him,

He caught sight of Staub frantically roaring an order and throwing his weight backward, isolating himself from the subordinates who continued to rush forward, the scene playing out like a dragged-out memory…

An instant later, the environment shifted entirely.

‘His intuition is formidable. No matter, the true entertainment commences now. The moment Riley slipped their grasp, their fate was sealed.’

This extended not merely to those present, but to every conspirator backing this plot.

An heavy toll awaited those who presumed to assassinate the royal daughter by instigating an act of terror within the heart of the realm.

As for that final token, it was nothing ordinary.

Given their apparent distaste for his earlier offerings, he had simply provided a far more potent alternative.

It was an abyssal explosive constructed by Hans, loaded to its absolute maximum capacity.

—

The unrestricted assault of the Immortal Army upon the lands.

It was inflicting unprecedented ruin across every kingdom, completely eclipsing any prior incursions.

[Hehehehe!]

*Crack! Crack—!*

[Unite with us!]

“Hold the line to your final breath! If this perimeter crumbles, the entire settlement falls!”

“H-hold on. This scale deviates entirely from our intelligence!”

“Where are the auxiliary forces? Send reinforcements! We cannot endure much longer!”

The primary catalyst for this disaster was the severe complacency of those in authority.

The Holy One, Heinrich, had explicitly warned of the catastrophic nature of this coming tide, yet—.

The issue lay in their familiarity with Hans’s previously ‘measured’ campaigns, leading them to believe that a minor increase in their defensive measures would suffice.

[Ah—! What bliss! A grand return to the mortal realm after so long! This rich essence and the chorus of agony rejuvenate me! Marvelous, marvelous. Keep shrieking— louder!]

[Perpetual terror unto this realm—! Perpetual demise—!]

Furthermore, the ancient undead commanders who had previously remained secluded within the Immortal Fortress were taking the field…

The defenders had assumed, ‘This tier of preparation should match them,’ only for the crisis to spiral entirely out of bounds in a flash.

These high-tier undead, having abandoned their restraint, were ravaging every corner of the lands, commanding the legions accumulated within the Northern Mountains, causing civilian losses to mount exponentially.

It was an onslaught capable of shattering the fragile equilibrium that had maintained a tense armistice.

Nonetheless, certain individuals continued to labor tirelessly, securing triumphs entirely unaffected by the surrounding pandemonium…

*Whoosh— Boom!*

[Gah—!]

*Thump!*

It was the champion’s retinue, who had recently integrated a fresh companion into their ranks.

“Area secured. No further hostile presences identified.”

The verdant-haired maiden of the woods, having shattered the core of the Death Knight leading the enemy force with an arrow forged of compressed gales, announced the result dispassionately.

She was Lydia Granwood, a High Elf holding the mantle of Commander for the Elven Kingdom’s Guardians, who had allied with the champion’s retinue directly following the conclusion of the Second Continental Summit.

Her initial journey to the Ion Continent had been as the designated successor to Rapori, who was preparing for retirement, but the unfolding crisis had naturally drawn her into the active vanguard.

Given that she had journeyed to the Ion Continent as a diplomatic representative tasked with confronting this global upheaval, her integration was entirely logical.

The sole individual aggrieved by this development was Rapori, whose long-awaited retirement had once more been deferred.

“Holy One? Are you unharmed? You appeared unfocused during the engagement.”

As the companions began sorting through the aftermath, Isea, the Grand Magus of the Realm, walked over to Heinrich. He had fallen silent, a troubled expression clouding his features, prompting her to speak delicately.

“Ah, Isea. A certain matter was weighing on my thoughts. I am quite well now. The issue has just found its resolution.”

Heinrich, who had been monitoring the developments within the empire, offered her a comforting expression.

Praise be, Princess Riley had emerged unharmed, unlike the heavy toll borne by Hesperon, allowing him to offer that reassurance with certainty.

It appeared she remained oblivious to the catastrophe in Jeron for the moment, as the plotters had thoroughly severed all lines of intelligence, but a transmission would reach her shortly.

She would hardly maintain such composure once the news broke.

“…Yet the casualties are vastly greater this time. The magnitude of the undead host is unlike anything I have ever witnessed. Are you implying an assault of this proportion is occurring simultaneously across the entire mainland?”

“Alas— that is the reality. Ah! I must offer my assistance in tending to the injured. The Holy Maiden cannot possibly oversee such a multitude without aid.”

“In that case, I shall assist in clearing the area.”

Isea cast a rapid glance over the ruined landscape, biting her lip in distress as Heinrich moved toward the medical tents.

Their present location was Saridan, a mercantile hub positioned at the southernmost frontier of the Tulk Kingdom, situated within the central district of the merchant coalition.

Yet, rather than thrumming with commerce, it sat completely desolated, bearing the scars of a war zone.

“…I see. It is finally becoming clear to me. The nature of the entity we are arrayed against.”

The descent of the Fiend Sovereign. A realm choked by mortality. The annihilation of their world.

The concepts were finally manifesting as tangible realities.

Isea squeezed her hands into fists, departing to seek out any task where her skills could be of use.

Meanwhile, Heinrich, who was making a swift departure to mask his internal conflict, offered a quiet sigh at her whispered realization.

‘Good grief, Hans… ’

In truth, his sentiments mirrored her own.

He desired nothing more than to bring this entire conflict to a swift conclusion.

For when all was said and done, he remained the champion of this realm, the stalwart defender of equity and righteousness.