Chapter 158
By now, the vortex of storm clouds was rapidly closing in. Gray and black swirled chaotically, casting even darker shadows over the dreary ground. Despite this, the air was still thick and oppressive, reeking with a nauseating stench from various foul odors mixed together. It was the smell of the endless minions of darkness. The vanguard had merely been a welcome party, as various creatures charged forward in chaotic disarray.
Wolves, goblins, cave trolls, bears, and valley spiders were combined into grotesque chimeras, stitched together like patchwork quilts from the parts of various beasts and monsters. Minions wielding axes and spears, and all sorts of ghoul experiments that were once undoubtedly human, took on horrifying forms. Above them, birds such as crows and giant bats flapped their wings.
They all had one thing in common: a single-minded determination to kill Ian and his companions.
A complete gift set, huh? Fuck...
It was a scene that seemed to symbolically show what happens when demons take over a country. Minions, the results of secret and insidious hobbies, and summoned beasts to cover up the blame for the missing residents. Judging by their numbers, it was clear that the Vampire Empress was creating an army composed of ghoul experiments and chimeras.
He had seen such things in the game Glumir as well. It was probably the most logical way to recycle the overflowing human and monster corpses. At the same time, he felt the Empress’s determination to deploy every last one of these creatures. She desperately wanted to stop him, at least to prevent him from entering the mansion in one piece.
And for her, it would be even better if I got killed by those creatures.
Ian continued to run straight into the midst of them, even while processing countless thoughts in a brief moment.
Crackle, crackle, crackle—
The greatsword, occasionally sparking as it dragged along the ground, was finally lifted.And in the next moment, it was unleashed with ferocious force.
Boom, rumble—
The reddish crescent tore through everything in its path: experiments, wolves, valley spiders, and minions, even an unlucky crow caught in the fray. Everything was chopped into pieces, each spraying its own fluids.
However, it was just a small part compared to the whole. Before the severed pieces even hit the ground, more would rush in to fill the void. Ian was well aware of this fact.
Whoosh—
Without stopping his run, he entrusted his body to the momentum of the greatsword. His body spun around once, and in the very next moment, he took a powerful step forward and brought the greatsword down in a diagonal slash. Beyond the collapsing pieces, those lunging toward him were caught in the red diagonal slash and torn apart.
Letting go of the hilt with his right hand, Ian managed the greatsword’s remaining force with only his left arm, holding firm. Meanwhile, he clenched his teeth as he kept his exposed right arm tightly against his shoulder.
Crash!
The falling pieces and the minions charging behind them were sent flying as if hit by a charging bull.
Various bodily fluids splattered all over Ian’s body.
What the fuck.
Spewing curses, Ian cast the Wind Blade again. Simultaneously, his left arm regained its strength.
Suddenly, a cave troll, nearly two meters tall, was right in front of him. Next to it, a minion thrust a spear forward. On the opposite side, a ghoul experiment, crawling on all fours, approached. Its abdomen had the upper body of another human, headless, protruding from it, with long, spiky claws resembling the front legs of a valley spider jutting out below its elbows.
Disgusting creatures, seriously...!
Slash.
Ian swung his greatsword as if venting his anger, shredding them one by one. The resistance felt in his grip was fierce, but Ian kept swinging until the end.
The closer he got, the more he cut down. Ian continued forward, crashing through the fragmented remains with his body.
"Screech—" A giant bat took advantage of the moment to dive at him with its mouth wide open.
Its scream echoed in his ears. A normal person would have lost consciousness instantly. But for Ian, it was just an irritating noise.
Ian’s fist plunged into the bat’s body, bursting it upon impact. The vile sensation was infuriating, but there was no time to complain.
Fuck.
He swore and continued swinging his sword. He couldn’t afford to stop for even a moment. If his momentum faltered, he would be swallowed by the wave of enemies.
Despite his near-superhuman state, he was still just one person. He couldn’t handle all the enemies coming from every direction. Even if he could, his companions wouldn’t be able to hold out, and he would have to use a lot of magic to save them.
So, for now, he left the rear to his companions and focused solely on moving forward. His goal was the pillar of moonlight visible in the distance. He had never considered any other options from the moment the battle started.
Choosing to break them one by one or to find and defend a strategic point would only play into the Empress’s hands. This was her territory, and he couldn’t give her the advantage.
Besides, he was blessed with the Blessing of Battle now. Karha, that human butcher God, would certainly consider a strategic retreat a cowardly act. So if the blessing were to be withdrawn, the situation would become even more chaotic.
Karha enjoyed facing adversity and hardship, the more reckless it seemed, the better. Even if his Great Warrior ultimately couldn’t overcome it. The fact that the holy power throughout his body was becoming increasingly red and scorching was proof of that. To Ian, it felt like Karha’s laughter.
With the sky like that, can you even see anything? You ignorant butcher bastard.
Amidst his revulsion, anger, and displeasure, Ian’s mind remained cold and clear. His rationality wasn’t consumed by the excitement and emotions created by the holy power.
It was likely due to his high Mental Fortitude. In a state of heightened awareness created by intense Concentration and Intuition, his rational mind observed and comprehended all the surrounding information.
His companions followed about ten steps behind him. Mev handled one side alone, preventing Ian from being surrounded. Philip was on the other side, moving almost desperately. He had no time to complain, only letting out scream-like shouts. Charlotte moved between the two, ensuring neither of them was overwhelmed. She spent much more time helping Philip.
Even in this, she didn’t seem to be exerting her full strength, clearly prepared to face the adjudicator if necessary.
It was a decision that couldn’t be made without trust in the companions. But as Ian saw it, the adjudicators weren’t among them.
Creak—
The only ones hiding among them were vampire nobles.
Covered in shadows or hair, they either flew around from a distance or lurked behind the minions, waiting for an opportunity.
One of them suddenly sprang out, launching a sneak attack with shadow spikes. Ian evaded them with a slight shift of his body. The pitch-black spike grazed his helmet. Ian, using the force of his arms, swung his greatsword at the vampire.
The vampire’s body began to transform into mist from the feet up.
Slash—
The blade cut through the monster and then the mist where his waist had been. But the holy power mixed into the Wind Blade only burned the mist slightly. The vampire, now just a head and shoulders, laughed.
"Haha, it’s useless—"
The vampire’s eyes widened as Ian’s steel fist reached his face. The forward momentum from swinging the sword had carried Ian into a punch.
Crack!
Ian’s fist smashed into the vampire’s face. The holy power burned the collapsed visage, and the misty body rapidly reverted to its original form. Ian finished his punch, sending the vampire flying into the midst of the monsters, then twisted in midair to grab the hilt of his greatsword.
Swish—
The ancient language inscribed along the blade’s spine glowed blue. Ian twisted his waist again, swinging the sword in the opposite direction.
The blue glow enveloped the path of the slash, freezing everything in its path—monsters and the disfigured vampire noble—into countless icy shards.
Crack, crack, crack!
The fan-shaped shards swept through the front line. Before the remains could even settle, a burst of blood erupted from the vampire noble’s mutilated body, shooting rapidly toward the Labyrinth Mansion as if drawn by a powerful magnet.
Thud—
Ian stomped on the head of the now-dead vampire as he moved past. The faces of several minions wielding spears and axes twisted in fear before they burst into ashes.
Of course, this was only a tiny fraction of the whole, and Ian didn’t even glance at them. Instead, he focused on getting into the space opened up by his recent strike.
Stronger than I expected...
The magic consumption was a bit higher, but it was a wider-range attack than just using Wind Blade. Indeed, what was attached to the Legion Commander’s Greatsword was a level 3 Frost Blade.
Of course, he found it to be a ridiculous option. The classes that used this greatsword in the game were likely knights or barbarians, who couldn’t manipulate magic. Moreover, it was a skill that consumed the user’s Mana, not from the magic stone. So originally, it was just a flashy but useless item.
There were countless items in the game that seemed designed to screw over players like this. Like gems that increased critical hit rate and attack speed, or wands with slashing skills. The developers probably never imagined that any mage would use this.
Crack, crack, crack!
Ian, being that any mage, continued to swing the greatsword without pause, leading a march of death. Chimeras made from mixtures of monsters and beasts, grotesquely reconstructed ghoul experiments, and the relatively less horrifying minions and monsters were all cut down without respite.
Amidst all this, the vampire nobles started to intervene more seriously. They looked at Ian with terror as if he were the Grim Reaper, and despite their fear, they rushed at him, each displaying their unique skills frantically from above, from the sides, and sometimes, in desperation, from the front. Despite their actions, Ian kept slashing and tearing through them without getting hit even once.
The holy power scorched the true blood within them, causing it to escape their bodies each time. Their minions turned to ash and scattered.
The quest completion window snapped him out of his half-awake, almost trance-like state. The sub-quest [Servants of the Empress] was completed before he realized
This meant he had already killed more than half of the vampire nobles.
“....!”
And finally, he realized that the pillar of moonlight was closer than he had thought. Through the eye of the vortex, the giant crescent moon was clearly visible. Below it was the Labyrinth Mansion.
A strange sense of dissonance followed. While the mansion’s walls were steadily approaching, the mansion itself, jutting out in the distance, was still quite far away. Moreover, the plants in the garden beyond the walls loomed like trees. It almost seemed as if there was another wall behind the first.
Ian, feeling his senses distort just by focusing his consciousness, let out a faint, hollow laugh.
Playing with space again.
He wouldn’t know what to expect until he set foot inside.
“...!”
As Ian was thinking that far, he suddenly turned around. A warning from his intuition. One of the vampire nobles, now materialized, was reaching out with blade-like claws, descending toward Mev’s side. It was clear they had finally decided that targeting Ian directly was hopeless. In fact, it was a situation that could have happened at any time.
If he hadn’t been momentarily distracted by the mansion, he would have noticed sooner. Gritting his teeth, Ian drew upon his magic in an instant.
Swoosh—
A golden barrier instantly enveloped Mev. The vampire’s claws scorched as they struck the barrier. A black figure loomed behind the vampire—Charlotte, wielding a reversed silver sword.
Slash—
The silver blade pierced through the vampire’s shoulder, embedding deeply. Mev’s sword followed, severing the vampire’s head in one swift motion.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
“Keep going, my lord! Don’t worry about us!” Hearing Philip’s shout, Ian turned forward again, a faint smile touching his lips.
He realized he might have been trying to shoulder too much alone. His companions were more than capable of protecting each other.
Whoosh—
He channeled his Mana directly into the greatsword. The holy power and frost combined as he swung the blade toward the approaching minions.
Crack, crack, crack!
Ian no longer paid attention to what was behind him. He ignored his pounding heart, the throbbing in his temples, the ringing in his ears, and the tingling in his hands. He focused solely on delivering an equal death to everything before him.
Then, in an instant, his view cleared.
"...!"
There was nothing blocking his path anymore. In the distance, the wide wall, shimmering in the moonlight, revealed its full form.