Chapter 68

Volume 13 - Chapter 15

The ultimate goal of the Yatan religion is to bring chaos to the world.

By tainting people's hearts with pain and despair, they create an environment where the dark magic power is activated, summoning the 33rd demon to the earth.

This was the will of the evil god Yatan.

***

Three years ago.

Emperor Juaenderk gathered the best doctors and priests from all over the continent.

It was to save Empress Ariadne, who was bedridden.

However, no one could cure Ariadne. The doctors and priests brought the shocking news that she could not be saved unless the legendary holy maiden appeared.

The mountains of gold and treasures in the royal treasury and the wise men filling the great hall were of no help.

Juaenderk could only watch helplessly as Ariadne, the mother of the princes and princesses, and his beloved wife, was dying.

After Ariadne's death.

Juaenderk, who truly loved her, fell into deep sorrow.

Although he did not neglect state affairs, he began to harm his health by drowning in alcohol every night. The person who comforted him was the second empress, Mari.

The mother of the fourth prince and a woman of intense beauty.

She devoted herself to Juaenderk, and thanks to her, he was able to overcome his grief.

From then on, Mari's world opened up.

Juaenderk, who had satisfied his loss of the empress through Mari, became very fond of her, and Mari's power soared to the sky.

It was the beginning of a very common and obvious story.

Mari did everything to make her son the crown prince.

Using her beauty, power, and the abilities of the black magician Div, she dismantled the forces supporting the first prince, such as the Red Knights and the noble factions, and committed all sorts of wicked deeds.

And three years later.

Mari had gained a support base far stronger than in the past. Many noble families supported her and the fourth prince, and the reorganized Red Knights were loyal to her.

Mari was satisfied. She firmly believed that her son would soon become the crown prince.

The one who mocked her with contempt was none other than her closest confidant, the black magician Div.

Div.

A black magician who had served her family even before Mari became empress.

In fact, he had long been dead.

By the hands of the seventh spawn of Yatan, Darkbus.

That's right.

The person currently posing as Div was Darkbus.

The highest illusionist and curse magician of the Yatan religion, his mission was to plunge the Saharan Empire into chaos.

"It won't be long now."

If the fourth prince, who lacks legitimacy, becomes the crown prince, the forces supporting the first prince will eventually rise up, and a bloodbath will sweep through the empire.

If the empire falls into chaos?

Indeed, countless people will despair and die, and the dark magic power will surge.

A powerful magic force strong enough to summon a great demon!

"The hard work of the past three years will soon be rewarded."

It was truly a difficult three years.

The empire's magicians and wise men were not ordinary people, so he had to be constantly vigilant to avoid being discovered by them. He had never been free.

But that hard work will soon come to an end.

"Kuk kuk kuk..."

Darkbus, in the guise of an old man, let out a grating laugh that filled the dark room.

"Huh?"

The illusionary barrier he had set up around Asmofel's mansion was instantly destroyed.

Darkbus, who had sensed the intruder, was startled.

"An intruder?"

Asmofel was a useful pawn.

Once praised as a pillar of the empire and having the merit of eliminating the traitor Piaro, his influence in the empire was very strong.

Darkbus had the obligation to keep Asmofel alive and maintain his brainwashing. Therefore, he was staying at Asmofel's mansion, monitoring and protecting him.

For the past few years, he had guarded Asmofel's mansion so that not a single outsider could enter.

But at this moment, the barrier was destroyed, and an intruder was allowed in.

'How could someone break my barrier so easily?'

There are few people in the entire continent with this level of skill. He must be a formidable opponent.

However, the number of intruders detected by magic is only one. There's no need to be overly tense.

Darkbus regained his composure after taking a deep breath. He went to the living room and called for the Red Knights.

The Red Knights had just finished their shift and were being replaced by the Black Knights.

"How negligent!"

This was due to the excessive trust in Darkbus's powerful barrier.

The Red Knights were difficult for Darkbus to control properly. They were too arrogant.

Darkbus reluctantly left the mansion with only the Black Knights.

"Charge!"

The soldiers, who were standing guard in various parts of the garden, saluted Darkbus and his group. They seemed unaware of the intruder's presence.

'So stealthy...'

But it's futile in front of me. I can sense your position with my magic.

Sneer.

While Darkbus wore a sinister smile, the Black Knights shouted.

"Intruder! Gather and take defensive positions!"

The soldiers, who received the order, rushed to the entrance of the mansion.

120 elite soldiers, 2 Black Knights, and the strongest black magician, Darkbus, lined up in a formidable formation.

Shiver.

Darkbus's powerful magic detected the invisible intruder.

200 meters ahead.

"Reveal yourself!"

As Darkbus shouted and released his magic, the intruder's invisibility was dispelled.

A man wearing a unique robe, a bizarre mask, and a blindfold over his face.

'Who is he?'

Black hair that blends into the darkness and eyes that glow red. I've never heard of or seen such a person.

"What are you?"

The intruder, Grid, answered Darkbus's question.

"What am I? Your enemy."

Grid didn't say much.

He didn't want to waste time at the end of a quest he had taken three weeks to reach.

Thud!

The 200-meter distance between the relentlessly charging Grid and the soldiers quickly closed.

The empire's elite soldiers were calm. They drew their swords and took the stance of the imperial sword technique. The archers in the rear fired flaming arrows.

'Not bad.'

Grid was impressed. Compared to the soldiers of other lands, these soldiers seemed to be of a much higher level.

'But even so.'

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Defending the arrows with a shield of holy light and then swapping it for a failed work.

Swoosh! Bang!

"Ugh!"

As the failed work drew a long crescent of blue-white light, five soldiers groaned and floated into the air simultaneously.

Grid's strength, which far exceeded that of an ogre, was in a transcendent realm that five soldiers could not withstand even when combined.

"Wow!"

The soldiers, trampling their fallen comrades, charged.

Grid used a skill.

"Smith's Fury."

Smith's Fury Level 4 increased Grid's attack power by 25% and attack speed by 40%.

And the failed work had the option of "20% increased attack power in the dark."

Rip! Crack!

Under the moonlight, blue sword light danced, slicing through the soldiers' bodies along with their armor and shields, distorting them.

It was an overwhelming display of martial prowess.

Even if they attacked one by one, it was as if they were saying, "Eat me." There was no chance of victory.

The soldiers signaled to each other to surround Grid and attack from all sides.

Grid smirked as the soldiers, who had reorganized, formed a circular formation to isolate him.

'Just break through with force.'

In the face of such a clear power disparity, the concept of tactics was meaningless. Using Choeon (超聯) alone could eliminate more than half of them.

But Grid, in his current state, knew that using skills on minor opponents was a foolish act. Fighting recklessly would waste stamina.

'Shall I go easy?'

Grid's experience, gained from non-stop hunting and leveling up over the past three weeks, had become even more profound.

Expanding his field of vision, Grid surveyed the entire battlefield. Given the characteristics of the garden, there were flower beds, trees, and fountains scattered throughout. Grid moved to the most complex terrain to make it difficult for the enemies to coordinate.

The formation of the soldiers, who had to chase him, gradually collapsed.

Two or three soldiers chasing him? They die before they can even approach Grid, who uses the long reach of his greatsword.

"Ugh!"

"Kyak!"

Due to Grid's movement throughout the garden, the soldiers could not take advantage of their numbers and began to be picked off one by one.

As the blood and flesh of their comrades splattered, the soldiers became hesitant.

They could no longer chase Grid recklessly and began to hesitate.

The Black Knights, realizing the need to change the tide, requested Darkbus.

"Sir Div, cast a curse on him."

"Understood."

A red pentagram quickly formed around Darkbus, a magic circle that drastically increased the casting speed of black magic.

With the magic circle completed, Darkbus cast powerful curses in succession.

"Amplify Damage! Lower Resistance! Lower Blessed!"

At the moment these terrifying curses, which increased the target's damage taken, reduced all resistances, and decreased all abilities, hit Grid.

"Let's go."

The Black Knights moved swiftly.

They were confident they could instantly cut the weakened intruder into ten pieces.

Darkbus urgently called out to them.

"Wait, a moment...!"

The curses had no effect!

Before he could finish his sentence,

The Black Knights, whose physical abilities transcended those of humans, were already close to Grid. Grid, facing them with a fountain between them, smiled.

"Pagma's Sword Dance, Je (制)."

An indescribable fear dominated the Black Knights.

"Ugh...?"

"What is this!"

The Black Knights, confused, took a step back.

Stepping on the killing stance, Grid leaped over the fountain, closed the distance, and delivered a normal attack, followed by a fluid chain of killing moves.

Thud!

"......!"

The Black Knight, pierced through the chest by the blue greatsword and the jade greatsword, could not even scream.

He collapsed, spewing a large amount of blood.

"Mad!"

A Black Knight, witnessing his comrade's instant defeat, was terrified.

Barely escaping the influence of Je (制), he gritted his teeth.

"You! What kind of magic is this!"

"Magic?"

Grid's red eyes observed the Black Knight.

The <Critical Spot Detection> ability of the slaughter demon's blindfold activated, making the red light even more intense.

"It's not magic, but a technique."

Behind Grid, seven golden blades floated.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

At a speed difficult to react to and with perfect accuracy.

The golden blades targeted only the seams of the Black Knight's black armor and pierced through.

The Black Knight's movements, with blades embedded in each joint, were greatly slowed, and Grid deployed Yeon (聯).

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Black Knight fought with all his might.

He clenched his teeth and swung his sword to counter.

It was a futile resistance.

Yeon (聯) was currently at level 5.

At level 255, the Black Knight's skills were not enough to resist the light-speed swordsmanship.

10 times, 15 times, 20 times, 25 times, 30 times.

Dozens of sword marks were instantly carved into the Black Knight's body.

"Cough...!"

Splash!

The Black Knight, reduced to a rag, staggered and fell into the fountain.

Seeing the blood spreading like ink, the soldiers were speechless.

Two knights of the Black Knights, one of the representative knight orders of the empire, were defeated in the blink of an eye? Was this not an impossible event if it were not a dream?

The soldiers felt as if they were wandering in a nightmare.

Meanwhile, Darkbus, who was flustered when the curses failed, finally realized Grid's identity.

'A man who resists curses and uses a blue greatsword and golden blades...! Yes! This must be the one Balak spoke of!'

The fifth spawn of Yatan, Balak.

He had a history of invading Baryan with the fourth spawn, Nivarius, and being severely defeated.

At that time, Balak said,

There was a monster in Baryan who used a blue greatsword and golden artifacts.

This monster had killed Malaketh and Nivarius