#222
Transcendence (2)
Thanks to Harris’s efforts, the Elven Kingdom was able to safely overcome the crisis of the continent’s collapse, but the aftereffects of this incident were anything but small.
The massive casualties caused by the invasion of the lycanthropes and giants meant that they now had to prepare additional countermeasures due to the numerous cracks that had appeared across the outskirts.
Still, it wasn’t the worst of situations since a reliable support in the form of a newly born High Elf Transcendent Being had emerged to protect the World Tree, and they could also receive support from neighboring countries for the cracks near the borders.
What was truly the worst now was not the Enamel Continent but the Ion Continent.
Due to the ongoing offensives from the Undead King, human territories were slipping deeper into crisis by the moment.
Ka-whaaaang—! Boom!
Flames erupted from all corners of the village, followed by a thunderous roar.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Run! We need to get out of the city… Gack!”
“Mom… Mom…!”
People were fleeing in panic.
Clatter! Clang!
Keek!
Screech—!
The Undead forces that had slaughtered the defending troops swiftly invaded the village, causing chaos.
It was a tragic sight, but such incidents had become quite common on the Ion Continent.
No matter how much the saint provided early warnings of the attack locations, there were limits to merely holding them off, and eventually, there would always be breaches in the relentless onslaught.
Such occurrences were especially frequent in areas with weaker national power, and eventually, the three kingdoms in the western continent had to swallow their pride and strike a deal with the Talia Kingdom to request assistance against the vampires.
It’s needless to say that they ended up conceding a lot in that process.
However, amidst the hardship, there were those who were busier than ever, displaying accomplishments incomparable to the others.
These were the victorious heroes who had maintained a streak of unbroken victories, leading the hope of the continent under the guidance of the saint from the Holy Church Order…
Ka-whaaaang—!
Gguhawk!
“Ha-ha-ha! Die!”
…the Hero Party.
In the midst of the packed Undead surrounding them.
Standing at the center of a massive crater, Harley fiercely smiled as he looked at the head of a Death Knight that was pinned to the ground, held in his enormous hand.
[Groooow… I can’t… believe this. My sword could only leave a scratch!]
A surge of rage erupted from the Death Knight, and its black magic began to violently invade the body of the one who had captured it.
Normally even encountering this would mean death, and not even experienced warriors could escape the curse if they didn’t surround themselves with their aura.
[How could you withstand this…!]
But that meager attempt was no match for Harley’s body, which had already surpassed perfection and was reaching new heights day by day as an “Ultimate Evolved Organism.”
An attack of such low quality couldn’t even touch the life force and madness flowing within him; it simply bounced off.
“Uh? No, no! You did well. I honestly didn’t think you could scratch me! Ha-ha!”
Though a mere pawn, that Death Knight was a mid-tier commander dispatched from the Undying Castle.
After fully ravaging the initial target area, he remained, continuously summoning Undead to wreak havoc all over the southern region of the Resk Kingdom.
Yet, all it left on Harley’s body were a few scars that had already regenerated and left no trace.
The little accomplishments were hardly worthy of the reputation he had gained by slaying many powerful adversaries of the Resk Kingdom.
Screech—!
As Harley’s grip tightened, the Death Knight’s helmet began to dent horribly.
Of course, it was a metal that couldn’t even deliver proper wounds unless it matched his aura, but against such overwhelming strength, that was just a meaningless generalization.
[Squeeeak! You, Apostle of Madness! The Undead King will not allow this…!]
“Eh, no.”
Ka-zhiiing!
In the moment his fist closed, remnants of metal squeezed through his fingers.
What had once been a helmet now lay crumpled on the ground, looking like a child’s play-dough shape.
“Hmm! That should do it.”
Next, he easily ripped through the breastplate and crushed the heart pulsating with black magic, getting up while brushing off his hands.
The Undead that had been pestering him flopped to the side like they had been hit by a truck as he shook off his body.
Casually smashing the Undead with careless swings of his arms and legs, he watched as his comrades cleaned up the remaining Undead while licking his lips.
‘This one was a bit entertaining, but still lacking.’
Since ascending to Transcendence, the impulsive part of his personality had ballooned uncontrollably.
From that point on, all he desired was one thing alone.
A fierce battle against opponents strong enough to wager his life, delicious and nutritious meat in abundance, a primal instinct to smash everything in his way, and a vanity to wholly reveal himself to the world…
‘Oh? Was there only one? Well, whatever!’
Even though some of his cravings were being fulfilled to some extent, it didn’t mean he was fully satisfied.
He was merely forcefully suppressing his urge with the last remnants of his sanity, carefully hoarding it all.
‘Ah, I want to storm the Undying Castle! There’s bound to be strong ones there, how fun would that be? The King’s resolution was also quite effective. If I had directly hunted and eaten them myself, it would have been a blast. Speaking of which, I’ve mostly eaten the dragon meat; I wonder if any elusive ones are left? Should I take a shot at being a dragon hunter?’
His simplified thoughts were swept away by fragmentary ideas of curiosity.
While he was lost in such aimless daydreaming, his gaze suddenly fell upon the desert visible from one side.
‘When am I going to the south… That chief, he should be strong, right? Right, that old hag must be waiting for me. Huh? She’s not thinking I got scared and ran away, right? Oho!’
This place was situated in the southernmost region of the Resk Kingdom.
In other words, it was adjacent to the desert leading to the Southern Tribal Alliance.
‘…Since I’m already so close…’
As soon as the thought of the target being so close hit him, the impulse he had barely suppressed suddenly erupted.
And just as the flimsy patience he had managed to barely hold broke free.
A grin began to spread across Harley’s face, revealing his sharp teeth.
*
Now busily preparing for a daily invasion was the Undying Castle.
However, its leader simply left all the proceedings to his subordinates, sitting still in the throne of warfare, lost deep in thought.
-Heinrich: Harley! Where are you going again! Didn’t I ask you to wait just a bit longer!
-Harley: Bwahaha! I’ve waited long enough! Now I’ll quickly take that bastard’s head!
-Heinz II: I wish I could handle matters as easily as you. Those Obaifo don’t maintain their complex affiliations without difficulty, and I have no idea where to start cutting through. If we wipe them all out, that would lead to actual war.
-Hubert: It seems the fact that Brokoslac swallowed the Talia Kingdom left quite the impression. It looks even more polished now. You seem to have done a lot of research while hiding away.
-Hugo: Um, shouldn’t we at least stop Harley first…?
-Howard: Ha! That guy wouldn’t die even if you tried. More importantly, they say it’s only in the southern desert where a rare ore called Detrimium can be found, so pick that up while you’re there! It’s already hard to come by as it’s a banned export, and now the smuggling route is completely blocked, so even Hubert can’t get any.
The usual busy exchange of thoughts.
Without a central figure to ground them, they were using such complex methods and now it had already been enough time on Earth for a whole day.
From what Hugo roughly diagnosed, it would take about three days for Baron to awaken, and it was possible he could open his eyes sooner than in a fortnight.
Hmm, a fortnight then.
Realizing this fact anew, the Undead King Hannibal Strauss took a moment of serious reflection.
While witnessing the recent Enamel Continent incident, he had been greatly impressed and realized something important.
‘…I haven’t accomplished nearly enough. I have indeed been too soft. I thought I was moving solely for profit, but it seems the memories left within me subconsciously influenced me.’
He had merely sent subordinates to turn the continent into a battlefield.
Meanwhile, the Oath of Reversal, which he had dismissed lightly as a mere hindrance, was making plans to submerge an entire continent and even executing those plans with nearly great success!
If it hadn’t been for Harris, who was backed by the World Tree’s power, their plans might very well have come to fruition.
Just how much Karma would he have earned had that happened…
Crack!
The armrest of the throne, made of bone, shattered under Hans’s “Great Strength.”
To him, who substituted all activity with black magic, lacking muscles was hardly an issue.
‘How humiliating. How can the Undead King be inferior to those creatures!’
Admiration towards them was admiration, but accepting it was a different matter altogether.
The true mastermind of this world must be himself!
He had gained consecutive victories over Oath of Reversal each time they clashed and even recruited many of their number while having started to look down upon them a little…
‘True, I shouldn’t underestimate those capable of opening the Abyss and unleashing madness. That was undoubtedly my mistake. I must acknowledge what needs acknowledging.’
With self-reflection done, it was time to amend his course.
While he wanted to immediately lead an army southward, ignoring promises, it was highly likely that he would only suffer losses as soon as his main body awakened.
To gain more than just the diminished prestige of Heinrich, he would need to strike relentlessly, but it didn’t seem like his main body would permit large-scale warfare.
‘But now, it’s too late to devise a different scheme. They have certainly prepared for a plan that would take at least ten years.’
His mind began to spin back into deep thought.
Starting with the most striking incident of the Abyss’s madness leaking out, the recent assault on the princess, the lycanthropes invading the Enamel Continent, the Tribal Alliance declaring war, and the Republic showing suspicious movements as it’s being assimilated by the Obaifo Clan.
Seeing the scale of the events that had previously unfolded, it’s clear that the upcoming schemes would manifest with significant impact as well.
Then…
‘Right, I’ll just take it all away altogether.’
Of course, since Karma strictly follows cause and effect, adding just a spoon to a fully formed plan wouldn’t yield satisfactory gains.
It’s better than doing nothing at all… but if they’re going to do it, it’s better to do it thoroughly.
With that conclusion, he wasted no time moving into action.
-Heinrich: Wait, Hans! What on earth do you think you’re doing! Things are already excessive! We can’t expect any more massive issues…!
Heinrich, his bothersome consciousness that always pursued the righteous path, began to chatter insistently.
But that wasn’t enough to deter his resolve.
-Hannibal Strauss: Hm, let me correct one thing once more. I am not Hans; I am Hannibal Strauss.
-Heinrich: Didn’t we agree to give that up…?
Ignoring Heinrich’s buzzing thoughts still whirling in his mind, the Undead King, having utilized the Undying Castle for long-distance movement, slowly surveyed his surroundings.
The bright moon that rose in the night sky, the countless stars, and the shimmering sand dunes reflecting that light.
And far in the distance, a city lit up with countless torches, displaying a bright presence even in the dead of night.
This was where Harley was targeting, the Calcos Tribal Alliance.
Specifically, the chief’s stronghold, the center of the coup known as ‘Beorsen,’ which had been identified through long-term information gathering.
Ding ding ding ding—!
“Emergency! Emergency! All units to battle formation!”
“Shamans, wake the warriors immediately!”
Woo-oooh—
As expected for such an important stronghold, it seemed preparations had been thoroughly made.
As soon as he showed up, the city began to stir, and the entire Beorsen was covered by a strange barrier.
Khuhuh— I surely like this. There’s no need to bother with useless creatures if they’re so incompetent.
The Undead King who had abruptly invaded the south, confidently inserted a giant spoon… no, a shovel into the smoothly progressing plan.
If they don’t willingly give it up, he must create a scene that overturned the entire table.
