Chapter 218

Chapter 218
## Chapter 218

Lycanthropes (3)

“Right, yeah. Things are pretty packed here, so let me get back to you in a bit. Stay safe.”

The conversation over the cell phone concluded with a brief goodbye to his companion.

Setting the mobile device aside, his gaze drifted toward the mattress situated in the far corner of the quarters.

“Phew…”

A heavy breath escaped him as he stared at the motionless, seemingly breathless form resting there.

‘Still completely unresponsive. Then again, a full day hasn’t even passed, so it makes sense.’

He was well aware of the timeline, yet given the chaotic influx of recent crises, a sense of deep unease weighed on him.

Hugo dropped heavily onto the bedside where Han Seong-hyeon’s true physical body lay in deep slumber, using his fingers to knead his aching temples.

‘The current state of affairs is already a mess, and now both Hans and Harley are causing complications…’

On the bright side, Harley’s situation wasn’t nearly as catastrophic as Hans’s, who had devolved into an absolute slaughterer, erasing everything in his path.

Harley was simply… incredibly difficult to restrain.

Utilizing the effects of “Tyrant of Madness,” it was barely possible to keep the encroaching insanity under a semblance of control.

‘Yet the core dilemma remains that he cannot entirely insulate himself from its corruption!’

This was the inescapable toll extracted by invoking madness to shatter his own physical thresholds.

And those underlying ripples of corruption…

Interlocking with Harley’s naturally primitive disposition, his lack of intellect, and his reflex to resolve every conflict through sheer brutality… had culminated in an utterly catastrophic combination.

‘For the moment, I’ve managed to divert his attention with a mountain of food to keep him passive… but…’

Such a distraction was strictly temporary.

He required a permanent solution to stabilize the situation.

‘The most straightforward method to handle an active explosive is simply to trigger it. In a contained environment where the blast radius won’t cause civilian harm.’

Conveniently, an ideal destination had already crossed his mind.

The preliminary arrangements were actively taking shape.

‘The most critical hazard right now is…’

Heinz the Second was fully consumed by strategic preparations to strike the Obaifo Clan, having successfully established a line of communication with Vice President Kayla McClair of the Republic. Given that the remaining spiritual vessels were performing with relative stability, his anxiety focused entirely on a single territory.

‘…The Enamel Continent, specifically the Elven Kingdom.’

—

[Colossal entity identified within the Southern Altarica Forest. The regional Altarica Forest Guardian along with the local defensive forces are actively trading blows with the target. While military backups have been deployed, they are advancing with extreme care to curb structural mortality rates, meaning a swift resolution is unlikely.]

[This marks the third colossal entity to manifest, following the occurrences at Bella Canyon and the Sorata Swamp. A cluster of these massive threats is emerging simultaneously in the wake of the Lycanthropes’ dark ceremony. This strongly validates their underlying ties to the void… as well as the Immortal King.]

[Tsk, I harbor regrets for granting them leniency and leaving them to their own devices… To discover they functioned as the Immortal King’s secret agents from the start. Trusting them was a severe misjudgment!]

‘Honestly, this catches me off guard as well…’

Harris, who had just succeeded in putting down a general-tier Lycanthrope across the northern territories,

Exhaled a quiet sigh internally while absorbing the military transmissions echoing from various sectors of the realm.

He had pushed through an additional four engagements following that initial clash, charting a course that moved sequentially around the clock.

By a stroke of fortune—or perhaps misfortune—the commanders steering the subsequent factions only possessed the caliber of a knight-tier combatant, failing to match the prowess of his initial general-tier adversary.

Because of this lower difficulty, he retained sufficient spiritual stamina to maintain his link to the communication network, tracking the tactical updates as they unfolded.

‘Just how deep does their network run? And they managed to remain completely undetected until this moment? That part is truly staggering.’

Skirmish reports were flooding in from every quadrant.

Clashes against massive entities, encounters with dense battalions of Lycanthropes…

The Elven Kingdom had been placed under an emergency martial mandate for some time now.

-Harris: I am curious about the nature of those brands etched onto their chests… Those must be the mechanisms utilized to blind the World Tree’s surveillance, explaining why our senses failed to register their presence.

-Hannibal Strauss: Indubitably, the configuration mirrors the restrictive hexes I observed among the operatives of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance. It behaves less like a standard binding and more like a brand signifying a pact with a supreme entity. Naturally, given its unnatural architecture, the toll exacted must be immensely steep.

-Heinz the Second: The vermin have infiltrated deep. Definitive proof has surfaced indicating that the Obaifo Clan is fully integrated into the network of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance.

‘Hundreds of their ranks bound by a singular pact? What, is their supreme commander some variant of a Demon King?’

The geopolitical landscape was growing increasingly twisted, prompting Harris to release a heavy breath as he collapsed backward onto his conjured cushion of air.

One reality stood beyond dispute: their adversaries had spent an immense duration organizing this offensive.

He had previously gathered intelligence regarding the general coordinates of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance’s upper management when he successfully brought the Succubus Siana under his submission.

‘The Clown. That individual has been operating covertly within the ranks of the Oath of Heaven’s Defiance for greater than two decades. His primary spheres of influence encompass the eastern territories of the Empire, the entirety of the Republic… and across the Enamel Continent.’

The sheer scope of what that figure had set into motion over a twenty-year span defied his imagination.

‘Ah, this is turning into a nightmare. I have zero desire to untangle this disaster. Especially since the compensation is looking incredibly meager.’

The initial bounty bestowed by the World Tree after he shattered the primary ritual site was likely an exclusive welcome package for a newcomer or an elevated premium for taking down a general-tier target. The assets he acquired from subsequent victories had diminished drastically.

Furthermore, his sabotage of the latest ritual site had yielded absolutely no compensation…

‘Granted, the spellcraft was already finalized, meaning I couldn’t thoroughly seal the dimensional tear. Still, I hope this isn’t the conclusion… Could there be additional hidden ceremonies underway?’

While he was internally brooding over his misfortune,

‘…An immediate encounter. And this time, he has verified my location. Is this adversary another general?’

A bloodthirsty, wild presence came hurtling toward his position at extreme velocity.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible to pinpoint Harris while he was perfectly synchronized with the surrounding environment from such a distance. The creature must have caught the distinct scent of the elemental presence.

‘In large part due to Harley, I am far more acquainted with their physical attributes now.’

His initial opponent had been wholly consumed by maintaining the ritual, which slowed down the creature’s awareness of his approach.

However, the sensory capabilities of a general-tier Lycanthrope were refined enough to register not just physical disturbances but the lingering residue of elemental manifestations. Evading their perception solely through the use of spirits was a challenging endeavor.

He could attempt to disorient their tracking by scrambling their perceptions, much like the tactics used against Harley, except…

‘The pressure radiating from this one eclipses the previous commander.’

Fortunately, Harris had also achieved a completely different tier of strength compared to their last bout.

He now commanded the allegiance of two Highest-tier elementals, Watt and Pascal!

‘The opening volley dictates the outcome!’

Harris raised his signature longbow, Themis, drawing the string tight as he condensed his internal reserves.

The approaching lycanthrope was mere moments from making impact.

Yet those fleeting seconds provided more than enough leeway to execute a devastating opening strike.

—

The massive entities materializing across Enamel did not confine their aggression solely to the Elves.

Because maintaining total concealment was paramount during the opening phases of the operation, the invaders were forced to tear open dimensional rifts in territories positioned far from the direct reach of the World Tree.

Even though the Lycanthropes possessed the capability to insulate themselves from the World Tree’s perception using the brands secured via the Revolutionary, the protection was imperfect, necessitating immense discretion.

[———!]

Thump—Boom—!

“Lock into a predatory array! Avoid solo engagements! Maintain the perimeter until the vanguard arrives!”

A elite hunting brigade hailing from Wild Land—the sovereign nation of the beastmen situated in the northwestern territories of Enamel—comprising ferocious predatory warriors, locked in fierce combat against an ivory-skinned White Giant.

“Ghahaha! A target of these proportions has never crossed my sights! This is pure euphoria!”

“Those combatants over on the Ion Continent were hogging all the glory! We ought to have marched with them from the start.”

“Keep your mouths shut and lock in! We’ve already lost dozens of comrades to the dirt!”

“…Tsk!”

A selection of these beastmen fighters had even integrated themselves into ongoing skirmishes between Elven defensive cells and the massive entities, having answered the urgent call for military aid.

A prime example unfolded within the muddy expanses of the Sorata Swamp, along the eastern frontier bordering the reptilian communities of the ‘Central Swamp’.

“Hssss— We slide into the fray beside you, Forest Guardian.”

“…You have my deepest gratitude for the intervention, Kerich. I genuinely believed my life was forfeit… However…”

“Chissss—? The sovereign Forest Guardian requires emergency aid? We must pull back our frontline assets and summon the grand reserves. Sssss— The deployment will be swift given the interconnected nature of these waterways.”

The historical ties between the various non-human factions were reasonably harmonious, and having been explicitly alerted to the impending giant menace during the recent Continental Summit, rendering mutual defense was an instinctive response.

It was highly inconvenient for the shadow architect behind this crisis, but owing to the rapid mobilization of the local forces, the destabilization was being brought under control far swifter than projected.

Nonetheless…

“Incredible! This surpasses my highest projections! To think we possess the leverage to summon those gargantuan entities completely at our whim! I drastically misjudged that Revolutionary fellow!”

The sovereign Lycanthrope King, Baucalacas, let out a raspy chuckle as he surveyed the tally of his remaining forces.

He hadn’t initiated the tearing of the dimensional rifts out of any profound faith in the Revolutionary, who had vanished entirely following the conclusion of their transaction.

Rather, he was simply unwilling to discard an operational strategy that had remained in development for years. It was a dual-purpose campaign designed to erode the systematic reach of the World Tree while simultaneously filtering madness into his ranks to elevate their combat capacity.

‘That individual was tracking our movements from the absolute beginning, wasn’t he? Regardless, I welcome the tactical asset! Because of his contribution, our casualty rates are significantly lower than anticipated.’

Granted, a pair of his top-tier generals had been slain and an additional commander was clinging to survival by a thread, yet such sacrifices were relatively minor when weighed against his initial risk assessments.

The core catalyst for this success was that the Forest Guardians—the master-tier Elves assigned to safeguard individual territories—were entirely gridlocked trying to suppress the rampaging giants.

“Hihihihik! Seriously, what options do they even have while those massive beasts lay waste to the countryside?”

Yet his window of opportunity was rapidly closing.

The Elven hierarchy was far from dense. They would inevitably piece together the underlying patterns of the coordinated strikes and formulate defensive counters. They would likewise dispatch emergency envoys to neighboring border states to request immediate military intervention… All to secure the safety of Drasha, the capital of the Elven Kingdom, where the ancient World Tree was rooted.

And that prized destination was…

Directly ahead.

“Kihihihit!”

Snap—

Rustle—

A multitude of bipedal apex predators began emerging from the dense thickets surrounding his position, keeping time with his suppressed amusement.

Their amber eyes shimmered with an eerie, crimson-tinged insanity.

Crack!

Shatter—

Their muscular frames expanded violently as the foreign madness coalesced with their inherent dark sorcery, supercharging their vital forces and endowing them with titanic physical power.

Their numbers were reduced relative to the initial staging battalion, yet their collective destructive output had actually reached a higher plateau.

‘This state of empowerment is bound by a strict clock, but the entire kingdom will crumble long before our time expires!’

Baucalacas, the Werewolf Sovereign, directed his bloodshot stare toward their ultimate objective, stepping into formation alongside his loyal pack.

Growl—

Snarl! Awoo—!

With that, the transcendent monarch, accompanied by five generals who had ascended beyond the boundaries of mastery,

Alongside hundreds of elite Lycanthrope knights and seasoned raiders

…unleashed their full military might against Drasha, the capital city of the Elven Kingdom.

—

The Lycanthrope factions had poured exhaustive strategic forecasting into this grand invasion.

The dark rituals orchestrated to rupture the abyssal thresholds and the contractual brands burned into their flesh represented merely a fraction of their total preparation.

The King, leveraging the specialized assistance of the Revolutionary, had spent years gradually destabilizing the karmic foundations of the World Tree.

He had furthermore personally executed deep-cover reconnaissance missions inside the Elven borders, charting out their defensive blind spots and forging covert infiltration paths.

They had also undergone rigorous training modules designed to bypass the elemental detection grids, going so far as to synthesize countermeasures to identify and neutralize lingering spiritual traces.

It was an operational masterstroke that had swallowed a staggering investment of time, assets, focus… and physical casualties.

“Move faster! Escort the civilians into the interior bunkers!”

“Empty the armories and bring every available quiver to the ramparts!”

“Every citizen capable of wielding a blade, report to your defensive sectors!”

Yet regardless of how immaculate their structural plotting had been, absolute limitations existed.

It was fundamentally impossible to transport several hundred heavily armed raiders into the heart of the capital without triggering tripwires.

The Elven populace of Drasha had already initiated wartime protocols well before the Lycanthrope vanguard managed to breach the perimeter.

[What is the status of our defensive network?]

[Our positions are secured and ready to receive the assault. The Guardian Captain along with the Head Gardener have assumed command at the front, and the surrounding Forest Guardians are converging on our location as we speak.]

[Sigh… The oversight rests entirely on my shoulders. We should have mobilized to crush them before they ever drew near Drasha. I was inexcusably slow to comprehend that their total numbers far eclipsed our initial intelligence.]

Their presence had been compromised, yet that did not render their painstaking preparation meaningless.

Their strategic objective from the start had been to force a localized theater of war centered entirely around Drasha, the capital, forcing the defenders into a corner where they had no choice but to shield the World Tree at all costs.

And as the massed Lycanthrope battalions converged on the outskirts of Drasha to launch their grand offensive, the true war of attrition finally sparked to life.

And in that exact timeframe…

“………!”

Harris, who had just delivered the killing blow to a general-tier Lycanthrope at a significant distance from the capital, abruptly froze as a bizarre sensation washed over him, causing him to raise his eyes.

“What exactly am I feeling…?”

It was a raw, instinctive reaction.

A potent, overwhelming vision channeled directly through his spiritual attunement with the World Tree—a connection that possessed far greater clarity than those held by the alternate High Elves.

‘…An amplification of double? No, a threefold surge?’

For reasons he couldn’t quite identify, he was unable to perfectly interpret the exact thoughts of the World Tree, yet the fundamental essence of the message was unmistakable.

His focus rotated sharply toward the direction of Drasha, the capital.

Gulp—

The spiritual frequencies signaled an absolute cataclysm… yet for some inexplicable reason, he could sense the distinct aroma of a massive windfall.