Chapter 267

Chapter 267
## Chapter 267

Defense Game (1)

An isolated, unnamed landmass situated northwest of the Ion Continent.

“Their movements are remarkably intense.”

A gentleman in his thirties perched precariously on a jagged precipice, his weary, amber eyes fixed intently on the distant mainland.

His expression was profound and intricate, mirroring a turbulent blend of internal conflicts.

‘I believed the chaos had finally abated… ’

The mainland lay far on the horizon.

The tempestuous whirlpool of insanity that had plagued the lands had lost some of its fury… yet in its wake, a far more terrifying presence, a palpable aura of death, was expanding.

The origin of this ominous power was immense distances away from this isolated sanctuary, but such a gap meant nothing to a being of his caliber.

He belonged to the lineage of the ancient dominant race, the historical protectors of the realm—.

Specifically, he was an Elder Dragon belonging to the magnificent Gold Clan, named Shri Hartgen.

“The Immortal King…”

He clenched his jaws tightly, envisioning that blasphemous entity, the eternal bane of his people, the deep abyssal nightmare.

Having endured for millennia, watching the grand ascent, steady decline, and eventual near-annihilation of his kin, the Immortal King remained a constant source of agony.

Yet Shri Hartgen held back his simmering resentment and averted his eyes.

He could not permit himself to be swayed by rash impulses.

In eras past, he had bided his time to guarantee the survival of his bloodline…

And in the present, he endured to safeguard the sole surviving heir, intending to impart the entirety of his ancient lore before his time ran out.

‘My presence there would yield little benefit anyway.’

Closing his eyelids, he inspected his internal state and let out a melancholic smile.

His Dragon Heart remained saturated with immense power.

However, the disrupted currents of magic, a permanent scar from the great historical conflict, had transformed it into a volatile hazard.

Under ordinary circumstances, his supreme control over mysticism allowed him to keep it contained… but maintaining that stability would be impossible in the chaos of a true conflict.

‘My days are numbered, and the battlefield is closed to me… I am nothing more than an ancient remnant.’

It was precisely for this reason.

Because of his limitations, he felt an even profounder appreciation for the miraculous blessing that had arrived.

The chosen successor designated by the Dragon God to inherit the legacy of their lineage.

Shri Hartgen peered down toward the lowlands beneath the precipice.

The youth was stationed below, within a sanctuary densely layered with protective mystic arrays, nestled deep inside the already hidden sanctuary.

That sudden beacon of survival, the final newborn of the Gold Clan.

Horus.

Wooong—

The ambient forces within the training perimeter began to vibrate, the surrounding mystic arrays elevating the natural resonance.

Attracted by his incredible elemental alignment, diverse aspects of nature materialized as glowing motes, swirling in a vibrant choreography around him.

Flame, moisture, gale, stone… even raw, unstructured mana gathered and twisted around the small youth at the epicenter, cloaking his form in a tempest of raw power.

“Unhyak!”

A youth appearing no older than five or six, eyes squeezed tight in profound focus, released a sharp, unusual cry.

“…Astonishing.”

From his vantage point on the high ridge, Shri Hartgen observed Horus’s exertions and murmured in genuine praise.

The bedrock of Dragon Language, the dominion of the spoken word, relied on projecting intent directly onto reality, demanding external phenomena to alter.

It was a sophisticated discipline, demanding meticulous manipulation of ambient currents and an unyielding resolve.

‘Is this an innate gift? His advancement velocity far outstrips my calculations. Even by the standards of our kind, this defies logic.’

Horus, despite his status as a mere fledgling, already exhibited every necessary trait.

In fact, his advancement had bypassed the baseline stage of a Child, entering the threshold of an Adolescent.

‘A mere fraction of time has passed since his instruction commenced… and his strength has achieved this magnitude?’

Even Shri Hartgen, an Elder Dragon with millennia of experience, found himself unable to fathom such rapid evolution.

Should this trajectory persist, the youth might transition into the Juvenile phase before long.

“Oh, Dracarion… I offer my devotion.”

Such a feat could only manifest through the explicit favor of the Dragon God.

The deity must have looked upon the fading dragon lineage with mercy, granting them a child of such boundless capability.

‘I shall dedicate my remaining strength to smoothing his path while breath remains in my body.’

With forged resolve, he took one final look at the faraway mainland, then plummeted from the ridge, descending gracefully toward the training grounds.

He intended to provide guidance to Horus, who currently manifested signs of wavering concentration.

‘His years are few, so a wandering mind is natural. It represents no fatal flaw, yet absolute focus remains paramount for this art.’

However, the elder remained unaware.

The true source of Horus’s fractured focus…

Stemmed directly from the violent upheavals dynamic across the ocean, the exact crisis that had occupied the elder’s thoughts moments before.

—

As the champions and the colossal entity engaged in brutal combat,

Hans, who had transitioned back to the Immortal Fortress after retreating from the deep dark void, monitored the unfolding events, awaiting the optimal moment to make his move.

His objective was to eliminate the Revolutionary if circumstances demanded it.

His deployment represented Heinrich’s ultimate insurance, an absolute fallback strategy.

‘Granted, had that contingency been triggered, the current theater of war would appear drastically altered.’

Viewed through that lens, the reality that the Revolutionary had fallen prior to his required deployment constituted an ideal resolution.

The event had successfully magnified his terrifying reputation while simultaneously setting the stage for the subsequent phase of the grand design.

[I am compelled to acknowledge that your performance surpassed my initial assessments, Hero Heinrich. Your execution was commendable.]

Flanked by the ranks of the Immortal Army, fully mobilized and poised for aggression,

The Immortal King, their absolute sovereign, proclaimed with immense pride.

[I failed to anticipate that the specific words of that ‘prophecy’ would introduce such complications.]

“As long as the Main God guides our path, your designs are destined for ruin, Immortal King.”

[Khehehe— Such bold conviction. Fascinating. In light of that, I have orchestrated an additional challenge.]

A suffocating dread permeated the environment.

The Immortal King let out a wicked laugh, slowly raising an open palm toward the sky.

[An extra trial.]

In that instant.

Snap—

A sharp flick of his fingers sent a wave of obsidian energy rippling through the atmosphere.

Crack—! Crackle!

The tear in reality, the portal through which his majesty had arrived, began to widen violently, its boundaries fracturing like brittle glass.

[Kyahaaa—!]

Clatter— Clank!

[Groan—]

Thump— Thump— Thump—

From the depths of the void, the legions of the Immortal Army began their march, their lines arranged with absolute uniformity.

Tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands…

The progression slowed its exponential rise as the count climbed into the tens of thousands…

Yet the visualization of an endless sea of reanimated corpses, spanning countless varieties, projecting a choking vapor of demise and radiating corrupted sorcery, formed an terrifying panorama, striking deep terror into the hearts of all observers.

[You not only withstand the bulk of my offenses, but you display the capacity to push back and dismantle my battalions. Furthermore, you leverage that singular prophecy to unite the militarized forces of diverse territories, reinforcing locations normally beyond my influence.]

As the dark legions advanced across the plain, Hans spoke up once more, his delivery measured and unwavering.

[The narrative had grown monotonous. A shift in dynamics was required. I agreed to your terms precisely because I desired a more compelling display.]

“…What message are you attempting to convey?”

[Oh, it is of little consequence. Merely…]

The Immortal King and the champion remained locked in a silent war of wills.

Even as Heinrich offered his steady reply, his companions arrayed behind him made ready for immediate engagement, their inner energies surging upward.

They established their defensive configurations, initiated their incantations, and tightened their grips on their armaments.

[…Elevating the stakes of the contest.]

The terrifying pronouncement of the Immortal King reverberated across the battlefield.

Simultaneously, a selection of the commanders positioned behind the sovereign stepped forward, assuming leadership over the advancing tides of the undead.

Rumble—

Thump, thump—

Their path of destruction was directed explicitly toward.

The Steel Fortress of Tarak.

“Unbelievable! Their vanguard is shifting toward the fortifications!”

“The defensive barriers cannot sustain more pressure! If we fail to intercept them instantly…!”

“Advance! We must shatter their momentum!”

The auxiliary units who had been monitoring the conflict from the battlements shifted into high alert instantly.

However, the vanguard unit confronting the Immortal King directly lacked the freedom to alter their positions.

They had no choice but to place their faith in the garrison to hold the defensive line.

[Khehehe, in accordance with our pact, an all-out invasion traversing the Rohan Duchy shall not manifest. The parameters remain unchanged.]

“Ha!”

The chosen vector of assault remained entirely unpredictable.

The core methodology was the only element that had evolved.

Shifting away from decentralized incursions scattered across the map, the strategy now favored overwhelming numbers directed at a singular destination.

[Furthermore, take heed. The magnitude of these consecutive incursions shall escalate exponentially.]

Consequently, swift resolution was imperative before the situation expanded beyond any hope of containment.

The Immortal King, suspended gracefully in mid-air, cast a mocking gaze down upon the gathered champions and offered a wicked grin.

[Therefore, seeing as this day marks a historic milestone… Let us initiate our greetings properly, shall we?]

The moment his speech concluded, his reserve of corrupted sorcery erupted violently.

And then.

Kaboom—!

A catastrophic detonation tore through the coordinates where the fallen titan had collapsed.

With that event, the ultimate survival phase, engineered to accelerate the progression of the grand design, commenced in earnest.

—

Whoosh—! Crackle!

The sharp hiss of escaping vapor and the harsh scraping of alloys against the earth tore through the silence.

“Ugh!”

“Are you unharmed?”

Following a momentary pause, the distinct voices of a young man and woman broke the quietude.

“Y-yes… I am fine, Chairman.”

“Hmm, your appearance suggests otherwise. Is the dampening mechanism still underperforming? I must implement structural reinforcements.”

Hubert and Diana, having successfully withdrawn from the perimeter of Tarak.

They had been traversing the southern skies, utilizing the capabilities of the engineered armor, until mechanical failure forced a rough landing on a remote ridge.

He had pushed the specialized armor past its tolerance thresholds to evade the massive titan, and the mechanisms had finally suffered critical failure.

“Ugh… My equilibrium is entirely shattered…”

“Over there. Would it assist you if I stabilized your back?”

“N-no… I can manage… Ugh!”

Before her sentence could conclude, Diana bolted toward a cluster of nearby undergrowth.

Shortly thereafter, a distinctly distressing sound emanated from behind the leaves.

Hubert, who was vigilantly monitoring the surrounding terrain for threats, gave a slow shake of his head.

‘To be fair, this marked her maiden voyage under such flight parameters.’

And Diana, despite possessing a phenomenally sensitive auditory and olfactory range, remained fundamentally unenhanced in terms of raw physical resilience.

Even with integrated artifacts functioning to minimize the pressures of high-velocity transit, structural limitations existed.

‘She demonstrated commendable grit by maintaining composure for that duration.’

Had her physical control faltered while they remained airborne…

‘…I am grateful we avoided that scenario.’

He offered a grim nod of agreement to his own thoughts and began evaluating the metallic components of his gear.

Two deep trenches had been gouged into the sod by the violence of their touchdown, yet the reinforced footwear remained unbroken.

Regrettably, the integrity was purely superficial.

“Exactly as I calculated. The damage is irreversible.”

Hubert grimaced as he reviewed the diagnostics generated by his skill, “Analysis”.

He had strained the apparatus to its absolute breaking point, completely draining the mystical enhancements woven into the fabric by Howard via “Artisan’s Soul”, alongside the natural thresholds of the fundamental elements.

The exotic, high-value alloys were now reduced to mere industrial waste.

‘An expected loss given the variables. At the very least, the data gathered is invaluable. I shall ensure the subsequent prototype possesses superior durability.’

He relegated the ruined equipment to his personal dimensional pocket, and as the item vanished, Diana stepped clear of the thicket, her expression drained of color.

Her internal balance had clearly suffered immensely.

“…Please accept my apologies, Chairman.”

“Has your constitution stabilized?”

“Yes, the worst has passed…”

Her physical state remained visibly fragile, prompting Hubert to silently offer a restorative draught.

Employing such a high-grade remedy for standard motion sickness was objectively extravagant, yet to his financial scale, it represented an inconsequential loss.

After a brief pause of uncertainty, she conveyed her appreciation and consumed the liquid.

Remaining in a compromised state would only convert her into a liability during transit.

“What is our intended course of action now?”

“Hmm.”

Diana, her features recovering a degree of color, surveyed the horizon and sighed softly.

The landscape offered nothing but an endless repetition of timber and ridges.

Their trajectory had been a rigid vector, leaving them a considerable distance from established thoroughfares.

“Our objective will be the nearest urban hub. Leonahl lies along this heading.”

“Incredible… Have we traversed that much distance already? Ugh… I have no desire to replicate that journey…”

His primary motivation for the southern flight path had been maximizing the gap between themselves and the titan, though reflecting on it now, his reaction may have been excessive.

They could have terminated their flight at an intermediate settlement to observe developments.

‘Hindsight permits easy critiques. Let us determine… This direction should serve… ’

With those calculations settled, Hubert and Diana commenced an unplanned cross-country trek.

Simultaneously.

The entire territory encompassing Tarak was deteriorating into absolute pandemonium.