Chapter 8 : Commander of the Battlefield

This chapter was brought to you by AnmesicCat, Grisia, Lastear, and Lei. Special thanks to BlankBlank and Kirito.

Weed, the group of savages, the Phoenixes, and Bingryong took a break.

The original plan was to seek more prey for contribution points and spoils. However, the Vejague and Salmere Tribes' Stamina was dropping, and the Lekiye Tribe was fainting from mental exhaustion, so a break was unavoidable.

Weed held bandages and ran around treating the Vejague tribe.

"First Aid!"

His hands did their utmost to tightly wrap the wounds. This wasn't because he was a devoted saint, but rather, for his objective to drag them further into the battlefield.

However, his saved up herbs soon began to run low. The Vejague Tribe's warriors were the size of mountains and they had many big wounds, so it couldn't be helped.

"Yellowy, we're running out of herbs. Spit some saliva out!"

The bull's thick saliva was used instead of herbs.

After treating the troops like so, they advanced once more.

Balkan, the Imoogi, and Feylord's fight was reaching its final stage.

— Kiyaaaaaaaoooo!

"I'll kill you and turn you into an Undead."

"I will not forgive any of you who have defiled the holy ground of the Embinyu."

They were waging a fierce battle with strong hostility against their opponents.

Balkan's robe was torn, completely revealing his skeleton. He was a high-ranking monster who had covered the continent in blood and corpses! However, his strength was limited by the holy sword in his chest, and because of Death Sentence, it was no longer possible for him to absorb Health and Mana. It could be said that his life had become wretched indeed.

"Evil Undead, return to the place where thou wouldst sleep. Turn Undead!"

Undead cleansing magic! The Embinyu Church's Priests' Turn Undead magic was focused on Balkan.

"Not yet... There is work left to be done here. There are too many living beings."

Balkan was the sovereign ruler of the Undead. He tried to eradicate the Embinyu Church while commanding the Undead, but they stubbornly held on until the end, so it wasn't easy. Moreover, the Imoogi was spewing magic so the damage to the Undead Army was also great.

At last, a problem arose with Balkan's body. Bright light erupted from the holy sword lodged in his chest.

Craaaack!

A large crack formed on his skull, and the Death Aura that had surrounded his body became thin and faded.

"This sword's curse is..."

The Holy Sword was inversely absorbing Balkan's mana.

Balkan's body was wrapped light as radiant as the sun.

"This... I cannot go on. On the day I clear this sword's curse, I will surely have my revenge."

Leaving behind words filled with hatred, neither the Lich Balkan or the Holy Sword remained.

He was not completely destroyed, but unsummoned! Lich Balkan had returned to the location of the Life Force Vessel where his life was sealed because he had no Mana left to compose his body.

The Undead were noticeably weaker after Balkan disappeared.

"Kuueell?"

The Zombies forgot about facing enemies and were in confusion. A part of the Skeletons even returned to piles of bones. The Doom Knights' Death Auras were also weakened, so they dropped like stones from the purification magic of the Embinyu Priests. Leaping ghosts and the innumerable Undead Army wandered about.

"It's too bad Balkan already left." Weed smacked his lips in regret.

Balkan, the leader of the Immortal Legion, was indeed the real deal. He had shown them an incredible sight, demonstrating that Undead worthy of being written in the history of the Versailles Continent had to be at his level.

The Undead Army Balkan made had to be dealt with in order to hunt him, so for most guilds, he was truly an enemy they could not even conceive!

"His ability to handle Undead is far more outstanding than Lich s.h.i.+re's."

He ma.s.s-produced low-ranking Undead, made them fight, and even aided their abilities. If not for the Death Sentence and the constraints of the Holy Sword stabbed into his chest, he could have captured the Embinyu Fortress alone.

A chance to hunt Balkan was far and few in between. Weed would've won even if he had to sacrifice all the garish savages, so it was regretful that Balkan had left.

Even with Balkan gone, the situation was not looking good for the Imoogi. Riddled with wounds, it couldn't even fly due to its torn wings, and the Undead and Dark Knights were brandis.h.i.+ng their swords at it. With its movements restricted, there was even a war being waged between the Undead and Dark Knights atop the Imoogi's back.

Indeed, it was hard for the Embinyu Church's situation to be any worse than this.

There weren't even a dozen priests left, and fewer than 100 Dark Knights were left to barely block the Undead Army! It was thanks to the High Priest Feylord emitting divine power and pus.h.i.+ng back the Undead Army that they were able to endure.

Balkan, who departed and abandoned the Undead Army. The craft Imoogi, who reserved its strength to breathlessly save some Health. The Embinyu Church, who were trying to drive out the intruders.

This was the place Weed dragged the savages and the sculptured lifeforms to.

— Ringleader!

"Is he the lowly human who summoned Balkan Demoph here?"

"You're the culprit who brought all these monsters here!" The representative of the Undead was one among the Doom Knights.

Weed received violent castigation from the three groups. However, he spread his shoulders wide and spoke tenaciously. "As a rule, the popular guy receives malicious remarks."

His baseless sense of blamelessness!

Weed said towards the Imoogi, "If you were stronger, you would have been able to kill all those ugly enemies. Right?"

— ....

Next, it was the Doom Knights: "Who told him to appear with a blade in his chest? Even Balkan was unsummoned because he was weak."

Then Feylord: "I was originally enemies with you. Who are you resenting and to whom are you griping at?"

Such self-centered statements and endless self-justifications!

"History only remembers the winner. It doesn't even care about the cowardly excuses of the losers. Isn't that right, Bingryong?"

"Master's words are true." Bingryong, who was just as underhanded as Weed!

"The strong is not the one who wins; the winner is the one who is strong."

"You are indeed our Master."

"Smart."

Weed drew positive responses from Bingryong and the Phoenixes by citing the proverbs he'd picked up.

There was still a duration of more than 10 hours left on Death Sentence. However, there was nothing good about dragging the time on!

With the Undead Army Balkan left numbering in the thousands, the Embinyu Church's Priests and Feylord, and even the Imoogi, the battle was not finished.

"Wipe them out!"

As soon as Weed announced the start of the battle, Bingryong stretched his maw wide. Ice Breath shot forth as he expelled the breath he'd been holding in one go!

The pure white Breath shot towards the place where the Imoogi and the Undead were gathered.

While treading upon the earth, the Undead froze in place. The Imoogi covered its body with the one wing he had left to block it, but the Undead couldn't resist and became chunks of ice. The Undead that were outside the Breath's range came charging in.

"Block them!"

The Vejague Tribe Warriors went on the defensive, swinging their hatchets and hammers. They destroyed the bones of Skeletons and slaughtered Zombies.

The Dark Rule magic was cancelled with Balkan's unsummoning, so the Undead army no longer grew.

"Summon Death Knight, Van Hawk!"

At last, the Death Knight appeared with eerie smoke.

"There are... many enemies worth fighting here."

"Then fight!"

The Death Knight waged his battle as he fought on par with five Doom Knights.

* * *

Following the point where the King Hydra's heads were chopped off, there was a festive atmosphere at KMC Media.

"Hurray!"

"He did it!"

As he watched the transmission of the video in real time, Director Kang was as pleased as if he'd done it himself.

The content of the broadcast had pa.s.sed Weed creating sculptures on the River of Lamentations and the part where Weed took the Guardian Knights to interfere with the Embinyu Church's ritual.

With Bingryong's appearance, the viewer ratings had already exceeded a record-breaking 27.3%. The Royal Road forums were flooded with questions asking about the Sculptor. Due to the appearance of Bingryong, there were also hundreds of questions regarding the Sculptor's connection with the G.o.d of War Weed!

"Now all he has left to do is wipe out the remnants."

The High Priest Feylord alone was a top monster, so he was in no position to be careless! Since the Undead army and the Imoogi were still there, the battle was not over.

* * *

Weed was most wary of the Embinyu Priests.

"Feylord won't recover, but it'll be dangerous if those Priests regain their strength!"

The Death Sentence only affected the High Priest Feylord. The Dark Knights and Priests could return to their normal states with the pa.s.sing of time.

"They must be subdued."

In order to attack the Embinyu Church, the encroaching Undead had to be cleaned up.

"Vejague Tribe, take the lead! Salmere Tribe, lineup in the center! Lekiye Tribe will standby at the rear!"

Following Weed's Lion's Roar, the barbarians quickly fell into charging formation. He was going to bring the three tribes together in a union and use them in battle.

It was undesirable for the alliance tribes to conduct a siege of the fortress and the union had taken too much damage. Since they had neither Priests nor Clerics, the alliance tribes had basically only recovered with consumables.

However, in terrain that was littered with broken wreckage from the Imoogi and King Hydra rampaging, like now, the three tribes became a union with the optimal efficiency.

"Strike with spells and arrows. Attack!"

The Salmere Tribe's arrows and the Lekiye Tribe's spell attack was fired at the Undead group. When their formation scattered, the Vejague Tribe advanced step by step. The Undead rushed in fearlessly, but they firmly resisted like an iron wall.

Weed's sharp gaze examined the entire battlefield.

"Capture the high ground first. Salmere Tribe, fire a volley at the ridge on your right!"

After a concentrated attack of arrows, the Vejague Tribe seized the area. They occupied the terrain favorably and built their line of defense while hunting the Undead.

"The unit Serpic leads, fall back after 20 steps!"

Rather than pressuring the Undead more, Weed made the entire barbarian group turn like a cogwheel.

"Vejague Tribe, fall out and Salmere Tribe, get in front. Fire a barrage! Salmere Tribe, wheel to the right, and Lekiye Tribe, attack with spells. As soon as the spell attack ends, Vejague Tribe, charge as one!"

As he smoothly ordered charges and retreats, the entire army was made a living organism. The whole unit revolved as they adapted to the terrain, rapidly occupied the high ground and moved. It was a cogwheel tactic based on high stamina and mobility.

The Undead army, who had lost their commander, were slaughtered horribly by the arrow and spell onslaught, as well as the axe attacks of the Vejague Tribe.

Though it appeared to be a common tactic for reducing the number of sacrifices as much as possible, the results showed its hidden, gruesome, and destructive power.

If the Undead had emotions, they would have been driven into a state of panic and suffered additional immense damage.

"We can win."

"We'll be victorious!"

The morale of the barbarian unit led by Weed reached its peak.

"Phoenixes and Bingryong, strike the left flank!"

In places where the Undead gathered, Bingryong and the Phoenixes actively scattered the enemies. Their separate role ensured that the Undead were distracted. Balkan's departure robbed the Undead of organized direction, and they were rendered hopelessly cornered.

In this moment, the barbarian unit led by Weed appeared to be a unit of the highest caliber.

"Troops, divide!"

The barbarians had low intelligence, but their military learning efficiency was considerable. They found work that needed to be done faster than regular soldiers and fulfilled their duties.

Weed divided his troops into 3 cogwheels and fought the Undead. The 3 cogwheels made gaps as they intersected with each other, and when Undead were trapped in those gaps, they were crushed.

"Kiyooooo!"

"Doom Knights, advance!"

With the Doom Knights at their fore, the Undead pressed in.

The Vejague unit, which had soon reached its goal by advancing under concentrated arrow and spell attacks, had retreated far to the back.

Trapped within the cogwheel's vice, the front and sides of the Undead army suffered intense attacks and had their forces depleted.

The Vejague Tribe's Warriors avoided battle on the front lines and saved their stamina. When they spotted cracks in the Undead army, they had opportunities to reap fame for their bravery.

A strategy that maximized the advantages of maintaining the distance, the terrain, the concentration of firepower, and scattering the enemies' defence!

The Undead group melted in an instant.

"A path has opened! Let's go!"

Weed ran between the Undead with Yellowy. The goal was High Priest Feylord!

Bingryong and the Phoenixes guarded him from above, and 400 Vejague tribesmen broke away from the cogwheel formation to formulate the storming party.

Divided into small groups, the Undead group could no longer pose a threat. However, while they fought the Undead, the Priests would have recovered considerably. Weed couldn't help but be impatient.

'There aren't many Dark Knights left."

There were too few Dark Knights for the Priests to get the most out of their unique blessing or healing. Weed calculated that he could leave the Priests to the Vejague Tribe.

The Dark Knights were spotted.

"Salmere Tribe, arrow attack! Lekiye Tribe, support them!" Weed's Lion's Roar burst forth.

The arrows fired by the Salmere Tribe fell like rain upon the place the Dark Knights were blocking. The Lekiye Tribe's charms and flame spells were also unleashed towards the Embinyu Priests, while the Vejague Tribe charged towards the defensive wall the Dark Knights erected!

Plastered with blessings and equipped with good weapons and armor, the Dark Knights were extremely powerful. Nevertheless, the Vejague Tribe brandished their short axes and took up the challenge.

Sitting abreast on Yellowy, Weed stormed past the Dark Knights and flew onwards. He planned to simply pa.s.s through, even if the Vejabue Tribe took some damage. Towards where High Priest Feylord was!

The corpulently paunchy Feylord cast holy magic. "Oh, Embinyu G.o.d who reigns over all the world, we dedicate our bodies to thee. Bring down thy stern punishment on those who defiled this land."

Feylord's ultimate sacrifice spell!

- Embinyu Church's High Priest Feylord has dedicated his body.

Cracks have appeared on the statue of the Embinyu G.o.d.

Weed looked up and saw that the Embinyu G.o.d statue in the middle of the fortress was collapsing. The statue of the G.o.d with 12 arms shattered into thousands of fragments and rained down.

Weed and Yellowy, as well as the Undead, the Vejague, and the Salmere Tribe, were all within the attack range. With nowhere to run, the statue's fragments fell. The metal shards were even exuding a sinister aura.

Considering the size and weight of the several hundred-meter statue, it was a large-scale disaster.

"NO!" Weed cried out.

How the h.e.l.l could his precious alliance tribes be damaged like this!

Even if Weed were to die, he could revive through Power to Reject Death, but only a few hundred would be left of the alliance tribes.

As large as steel reinforcement bars, the fragments were plummeting down terrifyingly. As if the sky was cras.h.i.+ng down, finding a place to dodge was difficult.

Even the all-weather Korean cattle Yellowy would perish.

Terrible damage would be inflicted when they were on the verge of quest success.

"Sculpting Blade."

Weed spread his Wings of Light and took off into the sky. The Daemon Sword he held emitted a bright light.

He had absolutely no faith in whether he'd succeed or not, but he intended to blow away the falling fragments with his sword. For the sake of somehow saving Yellowy, he would try until the moment he died.

Just then, something hot approached.

"Master, we will try to block it."

The Five Phoenix Brothers flew in and wrapped their broad wings around the falling debris of the statue.

*BOOOOM!*

Fragments several meters large exploded onto the Phoenixes' heads, bodies, and wings.

Saturated with the negative divine power of the Embinyu, the statue debris dealt immense blows to even the searing Phoenixes!

In the wide range that the Phoenixes blocked, a great many fragments were falling.

- Phoenix 5 has suffered 3,859 damage to its Health. It recovered 759 Health thanks to the influence of the other Phoenixes.

- Phoenix 5 has suffered 10,112 damage to its Health. It recovered 1,029 Health thanks to the influence of the other Phoenixes.

- Phoenix 5 has suffered 7,326 damage to its Health. It recovered 817 Health thanks to the influence of the other Phoenixes.

...

"Master, sorry I could not protect you to the end..."

- From a severe blow of divine power, Phoenix 5's Health has completely disappeared.

One of the Phoenixes was destroyed.

Though the fire attribute Phoenixes had high Health and recovered quickly, they were helplessly destroyed by the combined physical and divine strength of the fragments.

- Phoenix 4 has suffered 2,905 damage to its Health. It recovered 315 Health thanks to the influence of the other Phoenixes.

...

Phoenix 4 was also killed by the debris. Phoenixes 3 and 2 could not endure the many fragments and also disappeared.

Before Weed's eyes, the 4 Phoenixes disappeared while blocking the fragments.

They could no longer be called the 5 Phoenix Brothers anymore.

"My Phoenixes!" Weed wailed bitterly as he fell to the ground.

Only one of the Phoenixes lived, and over half of the Alliance tribes were destroyed by unstoppable debrises. If Bingryong hadn't covered them with his wings, the damage would have been even greater. Bingryong's Health was also reduced by about two thirds.

On the other hand, the Embinyu Church's Dark Knights, Priests, and Soldiers were also destroyed by the debris.

— GRAAAAWWRR! I WILL PUNISH YOU.

The Imoogi shook his one remaining wing, raising an intense gust that swept up dust. The barbarians couldn't endure it and tumbled to the ground.

There weren't many enemies left. With Balkan, the King Hydra, and Feylord gone, the Imoogi wanted the world to become his!

— How dare you summon me? I will kill all of you and be reborn into a true Dragon.

The Black Imoogi roared fiercely.

The Dragon Fear's might swept through and pa.s.sed the Embinyu Fortress, where violent fighting had taken place. It affected Weed, Yellowy, Bingryong, and the barbarians, who had lost their will to fight from the damage their comrades had suffered.

"Ughhh, I can't fight like this."

"We can't attack the Dragon. Something sinister will happen."

"It was too much to start this fight in the first place."

The barbarians fell into panic.

- Physical ability will be limited due to Dragon Fear.

There will be a 5% chance of paralysis.

Due to insufficient Wisdom, skill use is limited by 77%.

Since the the Dragon Fear caused this much damage despite Weed's fighting spirit, there was no need to say anything about the primitive barbarians.

'Even if I pull the barbarians together with Lion's Roar, it won't be much help if it's not the Salmere Tribe.'

The Imoogi was an experienced veteran that had undergone and survived vicious battles. It could get from a tower on one side to a tower far away by simply sweeping open one wing. The Vejague Tribe wouldn't even be able to chase it, and they would fall over exhausted because of their wobbly legs.

For a Dragon, which could be called a helmsman of magic, even spell attacks were useless unless they were of a very high level. It was a fake Dragon, but it was by far the strongest monster Weed had ever faced.

Balkan was definitely strong, but for individual force alone, there were none as great as the Black Imoogi.

'But there aren't many chances to use the alliance tribes in battle, either.'

Weed was about to hurriedly use Lion's Roar. Then, in the moment that was was going to utilize Lion's Roar while forcefully freeing his body, which was being suppressed by Dragon Fear—!

FLAAa.s.s.h.!.+

A pure white flame emerged where the Phoenixes had been destroyed.

Purification Flames.

The surviving Phoenix 1 flew to that spot.

The Phoenixes possessed the attribute of Unquenchable Fire. Their Health had dissipated due to the Embinyu Church's divine power, but they had left Purification Flames.

Phoenix 1 opened its beak and consumed the Purifications of that Unquenchable Fire.

Its body became more and more slim and elegant as its feathers blazed brilliantly. As if a golden sun had risen, a blindingly beautiful Phoenix 1 was reborn!

- Phoenix has grown.

Taking in the life source of its brethren, its Health has increased by 2.8 times and its Mana has increased by 2.2 times.

- Level has increased by 67.

- The Unquenchable Fire attribute has changed; it has changed to the Power to Dominate Fire.

The Phoenix's mountainous, broad shoulders and large head became as slim as a crane's. It landed on the ground as its bright red tail feathers fluttered.

Arson had reduced the Embinyu Fortress into a sea of flames. The Phoenix glanced lightly the blazing citadel. When it did so, the flames subsided on their own!

It had expressed its Power to Dominate all fire.

— I will engrave into your bones the meaning of true violence, fear, and the horrible price of messing with a Dragon...

The Black Imoogi's words slowly trickled to a stop.

The majesty of the newly born Phoenix was not normal. Bingryong and the Phoenix. The contrasting two ice and fire monsters were glaring at it. It wouldn't be afraid if its body was in normal condition, but it was no exaggeration to call it a critically ill patient right now!

The Black Imoogi naturally continued to talk.

— It's not like I don't have the desire to beat it into you, but in this Versailles Continent where we live together, we must maintain consideration and care for the weak as well as the peace. Let's end this pointless fight here, I have something urgent to do, so I'm going back now.

The Black Imoogi turned around. It looked like it was obviously rus.h.i.+ng off!

Before it could even take two steps, Weed spoke. "Hey, you."

The Black Imoogi ignored him and kept walking.

"Hey, come over here."

The Black Imoogi conveyed its words without turning its head.

— Say why you're telling me to go there?

"Where are you going."

— I'm going home.

"Are you joking? Come back here."

— There's something I have to do in a hurry...

The Black Imoogi really did not want to go back. However, when Bingryong and the Phoenix approached, it returned to its original location.

— To be honest, haven't I fought really hard after suddenly being summoned? I killed a lot of bad guys and helped you, so I shall go back now.

The Black Imoogi's sensible logic was this: it was going home since it had finished the work entrusted to it.

Anyone with a conscience wouldn't be able to treat a monster that had spent its body and helped out roughly.

Since the Black Imoogi was outstandingly intelligent, it conveyed an effective and convincing situation, but Weed cut him down explicitly.

"It may have been easy for you to come here, but you need my permission to leave."

— Such an unfair law is...

"The law is far and the knife is close. This earth was originally like that. You have a Dragon Heart, right?"

— I'm still young so I don't have such a thing yet.

A premature fake Dragon!

"You might have it, though. Has the area around your heart been warm sometimes, or have you ever felt strength coming from it?"

— Urk, don't even! I've got low blood pressure, so it's hard to rise every morning. Sometimes I have trouble breathing too...

"So you'll have no regrets even if you die."

Weed brought down the conclusion he had decided on beforehand. A chance to catch a boss monster was rare, so to simply send it off was out of the question.

'Bingryong has probably recovered a lot, too.' He had simply dragged on the time with conversation to give Bingryong a break.

The Black Imoogi's eyes flashed terrifyingly. It had suppressed its nature as a violent monster, and had endured more than enough.

— KUAK! I will kill you all!

The Imoogi raised its tail and struck out at Bingryong. It was a sharp surprise attack, but they were prepared.

"Sculpting Blade!"

Weed rushed in with his sword, and Bingryong and the Phoenix also a.s.saulted. The barbarians had also recovered from their state of panic and were now supporting them with magic and arrows, which was much better than not having them at all. The Salmere Tribe showed the Imoogi a taste of their sharp, wedged arrowheads.

As the Imoogi leapt up and tumbled, it crushed the Embinyu Fortress' walls and destroyed its spire.

After about 30 minutes of frenzies combat, Bingryong tore into the Imoogi's nape, and the Phoenix pecked it torso with its beak.

The Imoogi's ma.s.sive health was reaching rock bottom.

"Kaiser Sword!"

Weed stabbed his sword into the crown of the Imoogi's head, the fatal weak point Weed had discovered through the battle. That was the sole place where even the Imoogi's st.u.r.dy scales that were reminiscent of a Dragon's skin were ineffective.

— KYAAAOOO.

The Black Imoogi suddenly disappeared from their eyes.

Level has increased.

Level has increased.

Level has increased.

- The Imoogi Freykis has lived a long life and has entered eternal rest.

For an unsurpa.s.sable achievement, Fame has increased by 760.

The stats of everyone who partic.i.p.ated in the battle have increased by 3.