Chapter 2083 – 2083. The Fallen Empire
Whoosh.
A pressure is felt throughout my body along with the sound of the air vibrating.
‘Gravity… no, it’s a bit different from the gravity power Han Harin uses. Is it telekinesis?’
It’s a bit annoying, but it’s not enough to restrain my body. However, the knights seem to feel differently than I do.
“That wicked witch… I don’t know what kind of magic she used, but it’s hard to move my body.”
“We must deal with the witch before she uses more magic!”
“Damn it. How are we supposed to fight a witch?!”
The knights clicked their tongues.
A witch.
Unlike the days when the old empire was thriving, they were now a rare sight. Even knights with more than 10 years of experience had barely encountered a witch, let alone fought one.
“What are you doing, you idiots! Kill those knights!! Once this is over, we’ll be set for life! We’ll become rich and live like nobles! Big mansions and voluptuous beauties are waiting for us!”
The one-eyed mercenary captain, Derek, shouted at the top of his lungs. His mercenaries, imagining his words, smiled and engaged in battle. Those with bows and crossbows fired arrows.
The knights raised their arms to cover their eye sockets. For them, wearing full plate armor, arrows were not a threat. They only needed to block the arrows that happened to enter through the eye sockets.
The mercenaries used the arrows to hinder the knights’ movements while they took their positions. They formed an encirclement and prepared nets. They didn’t approach recklessly. They were trying to kill the knights slowly. Or perhaps they had another motive.
‘Their motive must be the witch. She’s been muttering since earlier. She’s preparing something, whether it’s a large-scale spell or something else.’
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Arrows hit the armor and bounced off. It wasn’t a completely meaningless attack. Some of the arrows were powerful, slightly denting the armor and sending shockwaves inside.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
While being hit by the rain of arrows, I spoke to the knights. My voice, imbued with mana, carried well even through the rain of arrows.
“Gentlemen. I will deal with the witch. You kill those bastards. Ah, leave a few alive if possible. There are suspicious aspects to the witch being the mastermind behind this incident, so we should investigate.”
I said to the knights.
“Hmm. We will follow the words of Sir Daycart, the strongest among us.”
“Sir Daycart will surely behead the witch.”
“Today, a tale of Sir Daycart’s valor will be born. Praise be to your honor.”
Soon, the opportunity I had been waiting for arrived. The momentum of the arrow rain weakened due to a lack of reloading and supplies. I and the knights charged towards the enemies. I headed straight for the witch. The other knights headed towards the mercenaries in each direction.
“For honor!”
“Damn it. The knights are charging! Witch! Is your magic not ready yet?!”
“Hehehe. It’s almost complete. Just a little. Just a little more! Hold on!”
“Shit…”
Mercenary captain Derek blocked my path with a curse. The way he held his sword and the sword energy flowing along the blade. He was definitely someone who had properly learned swordsmanship.
He swung his sword, sending sword energy towards the witch, not me. The witch, who was concentrating on her magic, frowned and reached out her hand. A red barrier, shaped like blood droplets, protected the witch from the sword energy.
‘Magic using blood.’
I confirmed it.
In my experience, the witch should be killed first. The more blood flows on this battlefield, the more troublesome the witch’s magic will become. But that wasn’t an easy task. Even now, the knights were killing the mercenaries.
[Using Acceleration. Lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 11]
A charge with increased speed through acceleration. I was no different from a tank. The mercenaries who foolishly blocked my path were crushed by the impact.
“Even a silent charge is terrifying. Hey, knight. Did you say you were Sir Daycart? My information doesn’t have a knight like you under Count Morc. It’s a name I’ve never heard before. What’s your real identity?”
“Don’t speak so casually to me, you vulgar fool.”
“Ha, damn it. That’s exactly the attitude. That’s why I hate this empire and these knight bastards!”
Clang!
Sword met sword. Derek gritted his teeth and blocked my sword. Blood flowed from his mouth.
‘So? You can barely block my sword, can you block the next attack?’
The next attack opportunity was also mine.
I swung my sword. Although it looked like a wild swing, they were strikes aimed at his weak points. Even if he knew, it would be hard to block, and if he tried to block, he would have to give up on counterattacking.
Derek somehow managed to block my sword strikes. However, his muscles were tearing, and light wounds were appearing on his body, gradually widening.
“Ha, haha. Aside from the sword being a bit heavy, knights are nothing special!”
“You fool. Don’t you know I’m just playing with you?”
I didn’t use Thunder Flash Style or Instantaneous Movement. I only used brute force. It was partly to ignore him, but also to check my skills when I couldn’t use Thunder Flash Style and Instantaneous Movement.
The bloodied Derek spat on the ground.
“Tch. It tastes like shit. How could the witch eat this stuff? You arrogant knight. You must have thought you would win in the end. You should have killed me instantly and dealt with the witch! Your downfall is your arrogance!”
“Don’t judge me as you crawl on the ground. Arrogance? Even if I am arrogant, I have every right to be.”
“Okay, knight. Let’s see if you can still talk like that after you’re dead. Witch! I’ve bought you time! Let’s see that forbidden magic you got from eating those brats!”
Behind Derek, the witch’s long black hair, floating in the air, transformed into crimson tentacles. Blood dripped from the tips of the tentacles.
“You impudent fool. Fine. I will show you my power as you wish. Knight, tremble. But, there’s no need to fear. You will become my daily sustenance. My name is Galena. Like the Archmage of that Republic, I will become the supreme mage and rule this empire!”
Dark red mana erupted from the witch and spread in all directions. Perhaps thanks to my experience with Dark Moon, I could roughly guess how the magic would unfold. If I stayed still, things would get really troublesome.
If I stayed still, that is.
“I don’t care about your name. You’re not a witch, you’re just a monster.”
“What?”
“I cannot forgive a witch who is not beautiful. You deserve to die.”
“Heh, hehehe. You crazy knight! What can you do! Your only future is to die by my magic!”
“You’re going to reach the level of the Archmage of the Republic? That’s not a dream, it’s a delusion. You don’t even reach the tip of the Archmage’s toes.”
“What does a knight know about magic!!!”
“I may not know about magic, but I know about mages.”
One of the Archmages, Yekaterina, the Water Calamity Mage, had the power to wipe out an entire city. But this woman? A small village. And even that, she couldn’t use magic without sacrifices.
“Eeeeeeeek!”
The enraged witch used her magic. A blood-red magic circle appeared in front of her palm, and six hooked intestines surged forward.
One step forward. I dodged the tentacles diagonally and raised my sword to cut them off.
“No matter what you do, it’s too late! The magic is complete!!”
The witch shouted triumphantly and rose into the sky. She was afraid of me. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to increase her altitude.
The blood that soaked the ground began to bubble due to the magic. The surrounding temperature rose. Scattered entrails and flesh squirmed, trying to take some form. It wasn’t too late. The magic wasn’t complete yet.
“There is a sky above the sky. Have you ever been hit by a rain of falling swords? No? Then take this opportunity to experience it.”
Meteor Sword.
More than 10 swords were created in the sky and fell towards the witch. The surprised witch blocked the Meteor Swords with a blood-red barrier.
The deflected Meteor Swords fell weakly in the air before disappearing, leaving behind a trace of blue mana. The mana light also soon disappeared.
“Ma, magic? No, is it a knight’s secret technique! Too bad! Even your last attack won’t work on me!”
“Last attack, my ass.”
If 10 swords weren’t enough, then 20. If 20 weren’t enough, then 50. If 50 weren’t enough, then 100.
Meteor Swords fell from the sky.
The witch stopped casting her magic and focused on defense. She was injecting mana into the barrier.
Those falling Meteor Swords weren’t proper Meteor Swords. They were just swords created and dropped. Apart from the physical force of gravity, they had no special attack power.
‘I just need to mix in a proper Meteor Sword.’
One of the dozens of falling Meteor Swords emitted a blue light. The light stretched out in the air like the tail of a meteor. And it exploded as it touched the witch’s barrier, its destination.
KWA-AAAAANG!
The Meteor Sword exploded, and cracks appeared in the blood-red barrier. The other swords did not hesitate and pounded on the cracked barrier.
And finally. The barrier shattered like a glass window.
Thud!
One Meteor Sword was embedded in the witch’s left shoulder.
“Kyaaaaaaaaak!”
The piercing scream didn’t last long. Countless Meteor Swords pierced her body as if they had been waiting for it.
Shoulder, stomach, head, thigh, leg, tentacle hair… The swords pierced everything without exception. The embedded swords then turned into their original mana and disappeared.
The sky was high. The witch fell helplessly to the ground, and dozens of swords pierced and ravaged her falling corpse.
Thud.
What fell to the ground was a lump of meat that used to be a witch.
Crack!
Even that was pierced by a falling Meteor Sword.
When I stopped the Meteor Swords, the surroundings were silent. A beat later, the knights’ cheers erupted.
“Sir Daycart has killed the witch!!”
“Glory to Sir Daycart! Victory to us!”
“Hahaha! Die! You cannot stop us!”
The knights cheered. On the other hand, the mercenaries’ morale plummeted. Derek sat down with a blank expression.
‘Hehe. Should I pick up a sword?’
Thump.
The lump of meat that used to be the witch pulsed.
