Chapter 151

After the explosion dissipated, only the box remained intact.

Those who had thought the magical stone fusion artifact would have been damaged by the massive explosion burst into cheers at the unexpected outcome.

“As expected of the young master…!”

Even the monsters seemed bewildered, as the nearly suicidal offensive had abruptly come to a halt.

‘No… in this case, it wasn’t the monsters, but the corrupt one controlling them.’

They could never have imagined that the box containing the magical stone fusion artifact would be so resistant.

“What kind of traumatic experience made him build the box with an adamantite alloy?”

“There had been a time when he was transporting something, and under a similar suicidal monster attack, the contents had ended up in shreds.”

He had then been forced to cut off a contaminated branch of the World Tree. To make it appear intact, he had to feed it copious elixirs.

Eventually, he purified the corrupted part with holy water and incorporated it into Wooden, but it had not been a pleasant experience.

Fernan hadn’t forgotten that loss, and he probably never would. Like all losses, it had left a mark.

“You had reason to be so cautious. Anyway, thanks to that, we protected it, and we also found out exactly what they were after.”

Saying that, Rosalia slowly stepped forward.

The air shifted. The turbulent magic stirred so violently that some swallowed down a groan of pain.

But it wasn’t a change caused by her.

Clang, clang—

Not far away, among monsters with red eyes glowing in the dark, something began to emerge.

A suit of armor made of white bones, a war axe forged from strange crimson metal, and an aura of chilling prayer.

A body close to three meters tall, red skin—the very image of a knight, though it was a monster.

“…What the hell is that?”

A demon, perhaps? No, it wasn’t.

The density of dark magic and bloodlust might have resembled a demon, but the essential pressure was different.

Fernan desperately searched the old texts in his memory, but Rosalia spoke first.

“If the documents I read were correct, that’s a Rahnas.”

“Rahnas…?”

“A rank 1 monster.”

Fernan swallowed hard.

The classification of monsters had been invented by humans, but it generally aligned with reality.

And rank 1 monsters were the strongest of their species, with records even of demons avoiding them.

The prickling sensation on the skin proved those texts didn’t lie.

“Fernan.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll handle that one. Don’t let a single one near my cargo.”

There was no time to respond. She was already in front of the Rahnas.

Boom!

A massive ice lance immediately enveloped it.

The axe tinged with dark magic cleaved it in half with a single blow.

The ice shards reversed, attacking the Rahnas again, but it withstood them head-on, simultaneously trying to cleave Rosalia in two.

The figure of ice shattered and exploded in a violent blast.

A blizzard swept through the underground space, freezing everything in its path.

“Kugh, fall back!”

“Get out of the blast radius!”

The Golden Turtle Guild members quickly pulled back.

Fortunately, the cavern was spacious, and the monsters couldn’t immediately pursue due to the battle’s shockwave.

But it only took seconds.

Grrrk— Kyaaa!

The monsters broke through the combat zone and charged straight ahead.

It wasn’t hesitation—they had simply needed time to cross the storm.

“Form the defensive circle!”

“Hold the line!”

The knights stepped forward with sword and shield, the soldiers supported them from behind, and the Dragon God Cult priests invoked sacred flames.

Still, the monsters seemed endless.

“Damn it, what is this?! Is this still Vienderk? How can there be so many monsters?”

“Stop whining and fight! A single slip and they’ll break our formation!”

“There are too many!”

“Doesn’t matter, hold your ground!”

The roar of battle shook the cavern until parts of it collapsed, but neither side gave way.

Slash—

Hyde gritted his teeth after beheading a monster that had managed to break through to the carriages.

Was this normal? Even assuming the corrupt ones were using underground tunnels to guide them—just how many monsters were hiding beneath the Empire?

Hyde pushed away his fears, focusing on the present.

Because the real problem wasn’t the number.

“Young master, if this continues, the cavern will collapse and the damage will be catastrophic. We need another strategy…”

He stopped abruptly.

“…Young master?”

Fernan was gone.

“Young master!”

It was as if he had never been there.

***

Suddenly, a shadow surged from the ground and swallowed Fernan.

He tried to resist, but everything happened so suddenly that his reaction wasn’t fast enough.

The sticky demonic energy wasn’t easy to pierce through, and Fernan was dragged straight into the abyss.

It wasn’t impossible to climb back up, but the speed with which he was pulled downward was far greater.

In the end, he had no choice but to let himself be dragged to the depths.

‘Was the fusion artifact never the true target…?’

Then he realized it.

That trap wasn’t set for the artifact—it was for him.

The artifact had just been a decoy to make him believe otherwise.

Tap—

Fernan’s feet touched solid ground.

The only positive was that the land itself wasn’t corrupted by demonic energy.

Wooden pointed ahead.

In the darkness, several chilling pairs of eyes began opening one after another.

“Pleasure to meet you like this. Is this our first time? But you know, I feel like we’ve already met.”

The one who appeared among the monsters, clapping, was a man.

Or rather, a human who had sold his soul to demons—a corrupt one.

“Did you plan all this?”

“What exactly? The sea attack? The collapsing ground that dragged you here? Yes! It was all my doing. Remember? I told you—big things were coming from me.”

Hehehe.

The man, about thirty years old, tilted his head as he laughed.

His unkempt hair covered half his face.

“Fernan Pellenberg. The bastard who ruined all our plans. If we’d known from the start that you were the real problem—more than Aint Armian—we wouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

I would’ve slit your throat on the spot! Everything would’ve been easier, and the continent would already be in ruins.

Hehe. He raised a bony finger.

“Want me to tell you a secret? Truth is, we never cared about that damn magical stone fusion artifact.”

It’s not like it held no value.

After all, that itarium core, combining hundreds of magical stones and absorbing mana, held enough power to summon a demon.

Of course it was useful to have it—but it was no longer the priority. It had once been, but their goal had changed.

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Yes. It was just a cover. The real target was me.”

The corrupt one’s eyes widened.

“How…?”

“You said it yourself.”

“Right, I did.”

“But I had already figured it out before that.”

“You figured it out? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Liar!”

Rumble—

The man’s scream shook the underground.

“You couldn’t have known! I put too much effort into this plan!”

“Well, I thought it was a bit too obvious.”

“Are you calling me an idiot?!”

“I never said that.”

Fernan added calmly.

“But if you feel that way yourself, all the better for me.”

“Why you…!”

Crunch—the man bit his lip.

“No one underestimates me!”

“I didn’t either. You just think I did.”

“I hate the Pellenbergs just as much as I hate the Armians!”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!”

His eyes became bloodshot. The pressure of the demonic magic he unleashed made the air heavier.

“I’ve been chosen! I’m the avatar of His Will! And yet a mere human dares to look down on someone who has transcended races?!”

“His Will?”

“Yes! He, the most glorious one… Wait.”

The man froze.

“You’re trying to extract information from me? Damn Pellenberg, sly and vile as always!”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Shut up! For daring to mock me, you’ll die right here—by my hand!”

Whoosh—

The corrupt one opened a book. A thick grimoire, leaking a sinister glow.

───!

With a roar, a black lightning bolt fell in a straight line.

But it failed to pierce the rock wall protecting Fernan.

“Don’t underestimate me just because I’ve only recently received the Blessing! Your fate is still to die! Kill him, all of you!”

At his command, the monsters that had remained still pounced.

“…All of them Barka level or higher?”

Each of the monsters rushing him radiated an extraordinary aura.

“Exactly. According to your human classification, I gathered only rank 4 and above. What do you think? Think you can handle them? Should be enough to send you to the afterlife, don’t you think?”

The man sneered.

“How did you bring so many monsters into Vienderk’s territory?”

“Because we’ve been planning this for a long time! Our goal was to bring down the Empire from within, starting with Vienderk. Just imagine—Seir descending and ruining the Continental Conference, and amidst the chaos, hordes of monsters attacking nobles on their way back to their lands. Oops? Should I not have said that?”

His eyes curved into crescent moons.

“Well, what does it matter? You’re going to die here anyway, right?”

He nodded, satisfied with his own words.

“In fact, I wanted to be extra sure, so I planned to throw a Rahnas at you. But as you can imagine, summoning a monster of that level isn’t easy.”

Even if they weren’t demons, they weren’t easy to summon either.

“We only have one available now, and I need it to keep Rosalia Vienderk busy. So for you, I’ll settle for less. It’ll still be enough to kill you.”

“You talk too much.”

“I’ll talk as much as I want! Who are you to tell me to shut up?”

The corrupt one flipped another page. An even larger bolt of lightning fell.

Fernan raised his staff just in time.

At that moment, the glow from the book intensified.

“I lied! We do have one more!”

Claaang!

In front of Fernan, a brutal clash of magic and aura exploded in a shockwave.

A three-meter-tall Rahnas, wielding a war axe, stopped right in front of his face.

“…!”

Fernan’s usually unshaken expression cracked. Shards of aura and magic grazed his face.

“…What the hell? I didn’t know there was another one.”

Standing between him and the Rahnas was a golem the size of a man.

“…I didn’t know there was a Rahnas either.”

Ignoring the cold sweat running down his spine, Fernan raised his staff.

“…I’ll return your words to you.”

His eyes turned icy.

“You die here. And it will be by my hand.”

“Shut up! A mere human dares to defy me?!”

“We can bet a fortune if you want. Because the price of making me spend all this money ahead of schedule will be very high.”

That damn bastard deserved nothing less.

Fernan let all his fury out.

“Wooden.”

He whispered calmly.

“It’s time to show me the swordsmanship you learned from Brother Emond.”

Boom!

“Kill them all! No, not that one—bring him alive so he can kneel before me.”

That bastard—I’ll kill him myself.

A colossal sword fell upon the Rahnas.