#267
Defense Game (1)
A nameless small island located in the northwestern part of the Ion Continent.
“Looks like it’s moving noisily.”
A man in his thirties precariously stood at the edge of a cliff, turning his gaze toward the seaside as he muttered softly.
Ignoring the dull blonde hair flapping in the wind, he stared blankly at the spot with weary golden eyes.
His deep gaze was filled with complicated emotions.
‘I thought it had been quiet lately.’
The direction his eyes were fixed upon was the continent.
It seemed that the whirlpool of madness that had been raging for a while was calming down, only for the energy of death to creep in even more than before.
The source of this energy was quite far from the island, but to him, such distance meant nothing.
He was once called the world’s guardian—a being of the strongest race.
Among them, he was the proud elder dragon of the Gold clan, Shurihartgen.
“Undead King…”
Gritting his teeth at the thought of that horrendous abyssal monster, the nemesis of his kind, he muttered under his breath.
For someone like him, who had lived through the prosperity, decline, and eventual extinction of his race, the existence of the Undead King was like a thorn in his side.
However, Shurihartgen suppressed the boiling fury and turned his gaze away once more.
At this moment, he was not in a position to act on his anger.
Previously, it was to ensure that his lineage did not come to an end in his generation.
Now, it was to protect the last descendant of his clan and pass on as much knowledge as possible.
‘Anyway, even if I were to go now, it wouldn’t do much good.’
With his eyes gently closed, he contemplated his inner self and smiled bitterly.
Unchangingly, there was a massive energy contained within the Dragon Heart.
But the chaotic flow that resulted from the aftermath of the great war had turned it into a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
Normally, he could have forcibly suppressed it using his overwhelming mana control, but it was impossible to do so once a fierce battle broke out.
‘With my lifespan nearly over and unable to fight… I truly am a has-been.’
It was because of such circumstances.
With a seemingly desolate and miserable end already predicted, he was grateful even more.
That the Dragon God had sent a descendant worthy of his clan’s future.
And that he could be of help in the child’s growth.
Shurihartgen glanced down the cliff.
Even within the barrier-encased island, there was a place where spell circles were densely set up.
There he found the unexpected gift that had come to him.
The hatchling of the Gold clan, Horus.
Uuung—
Within the spell circle, the energies in the training area began to resonate.
Soon, various energies attracted by overwhelming affinity appeared in the form of a radiant aura and started to dance.
Fire, water, wind, earth attributes, as well as pure mana that had not been processed in any other way, surged in, swirling around the one at the center.
“Vow!”
A five or six-year-old boy with a serious expression, letting out a strangely short chant.
“…Impressive.”
And looking from the cliff, Shurihartgen couldn’t help but exclaim again in admiration at Horus’ training scene.
The basics of Dragon Speech and its invocations required projecting one’s intent onto the world to force phenomena.
Of course, it was a high-dimensional mystery that could not even begin without the mental fortitude to express the will and control the surrounding energies…
‘Is it innate talent? The growth rate is much faster than I imagined. It’s abnormal, even for a dragon.’
Horus, in his hatchling body, already possessed all those abilities.
In fact, if one were to judge solely by that level, it could be said he had already surpassed that of a child long before.
‘How long has it been since he started proper training to reach this level already…?’
Even for Shurihartgen, who had lived for thousands of years, the growth rate was unfathomable.
At this pace, it wouldn’t be long before he reached the juvenile level.
“Ah— Thank you, Dracaleon.”
It was truly only the blessing of the Dragon God.
Feeling pity for the dwindling number of dragons, the God must have bestowed upon him the great talent to help revitalize his clan.
‘I will do my utmost to relieve the burden that child carries, as long as I can before I die.’
Just after reaffirming that determination, he stole another glance in the direction of the continent and leaped off the cliff towards the training ground.
He intended to give some advice to Horus, who seemed to be struggling to focus on his training.
‘He’s still young, so it’s understandable. Of course, it’s not a major problem, but this training is crucial for gathering one’s spirit.’
However, he was unaware.
Of the reason why Horus seemed to be distracted, which lay in the events occurring beyond the sea.
*
While the battle between heroes and giants was raging.
Hans, who had just returned from the Abyss after releasing his summon, was closely monitoring the situation, waiting for an opportunity.
If the situation turned unfavorable, he’d intervene immediately to take them down.
His existence was precisely what Heinrich had considered—the “last resort” just in case.
‘Of course, if it had come to that, the situation would have been very different.’
In that sense, it was quite satisfying that he had managed to neatly deal with the revolutionaries before Hans intervened.
Thanks to that, he had gained quite a reputation, and he had also laid the groundwork for the next scenario.
[I’m willing to acknowledge it. The Knight of Light, Heinrich. You have done quite well. Much beyond my expectations.]
Because of the preparations made prior to departing for the Abyss, he was already in a perfect state, commanding the undead army behind him.
The king leading them declared arrogantly.
[I never anticipated that ‘prophecy’ would be such a bother.]
“As long as I have the will of the Holy God with me, you won’t get your way, Undead King.”
[Hehe— Quite a confidence, indeed. Yes, that’s why I prepared.]
A chilling tension enveloped the hall.
As if emerging straight from Hell, a spine-chilling laugh escaped him as he slowly extended one hand sideways.
[Bonus Stage.]
And then…
Tap—
Fingers charged with dark mana snapped, sending strange waves rippling outward.
Creak— Crack!
The aftermath caused the space he had appeared in to fracture and begin to expand in size.
[Keheeek!]
Clatter— Clank!
Gwooooh—
Snap— Snap— Snap—
And from within, the neatly lined up undead army marched out in unison.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand…
Though the increase began to taper off once it reached the ten thousand mark.
All the undead, varying in size, shape, and kind, each enveloped in dense death energy and exuding dark mana, instilled immense pressure and fear in all who beheld them.
[It’s not just about defending against most attacks; they tend to completely annihilate any invaders. On top of that, he employed that prophecy to mobilize the armies of various nations, preparing for even the places beyond his reach.]
Even as the undead army formed ranks and advanced, Hans continued nonchalantly.
[It’s getting a bit boring quicker than I expected, isn’t it? At this point, I’m feeling the need for a change. After all, I initially accepted the challenge for the sake of more fun.]
“…So, what do you want to say?”
[Ah, it’s nothing much. Just that…]
The Undead King and the Hero were locked in gaze as they conversed.
While Heinrich stepped forward to maintain composure in the discussion, his companions hastily prepared for the battle ahead.
They formed a formation, recited incantations, and gripped their weapons tightly.
[Just a little, aiming to increase the difficulty.]
In the gradually escalating atmosphere, the Undead King uttered something significant.
At the same time, some of the high-ranking officers behind him began to advance their forces gradually.
Kaboom—
Thud thud thud—
Toward their designated target, the Tarak Fortress.
“What?! They’re heading for the fortress!”
“That side’s walls are reaching their limits! If we leave it like this…!”
“Charge! We’ll break their momentum!”
Flustered by the overwhelming wave of the undead, the warriors hurriedly moved.
But even then, the Hero party stationed before the Undead King couldn’t move recklessly.
They could only trust and rely on the others.
[Hehe, of course, as promised, there’s no full-scale war through the direction of the Rohan Principality. Just like it has been up till now.]
“Ha!”
The selection of attack directions was as random as before.
The invasion method was merely going to change slightly.
From sporadic assaults across the entire continent to a concentrated massive wave in one spot.
[Oh, and additionally. As time goes by, the scale of the invasion will continue to grow.]
So it would be wise to hurry before it became impossible to stop.
The Undead King looked down at the Hero party from the air, his voice dripping with ominous glee.
[Well then, since today is also a momentous first day, shall we just have a light greeting and call it a day?]
No sooner had he finished speaking than an overwhelming dark mana surged forth.
And then…
Kwaaaaang—!
Yet again, a tremendous explosion echoed from the battlefield against the giants.
And thus—the last defensive game began, aimed at raising the pace of the story scenario.
*
Pushik—! KakaGak!
The sound of steam escaping mixed with the clanking of metal against the earth echoed loudly.
“Ugh!”
“Are you okay?”
As the lengthy noise gradually ceased, the voices of a young man and woman followed.
“Yes, yes… I’m okay, Head of the Society.”
Hmm, it doesn’t seem alright. Is the shock absorber still insufficient? We need to reinforce this part more.
Hubert and Diana, who had fled from the giant at Tarak, had utilized a special suit to rapidly head south, only to crash-land onto a hill due to an anomaly with their machine.
Having pushed it too hard to escape from the creature, the suit had finally given out.
“Ugh… I feel like I’m going to hurl…”
“Seems like you can just do it over there. Is it alright if I pat your back?”
“A, no… I’ll just take care of it, Uuupp!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Diana dashed over to the nearby bushes in a hurry.
From beyond, an unsightly sound emerged.
Hubert, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings, shook his head quietly.
‘Well, this must be her first flying experience.’
Moreover, while Diana had a remarkable sense of smell, she was still just an ordinary girl physically.
Though her protective magical equipment had offset some of the shock from the high-speed flight, there were limits.
‘Actually, it’s commendable that she managed to endure until now.’
If she had in fact been able to relieve herself while nestled in his arms during the flight…
‘Hmm, I’m truly relieved.’
Nodding seriously, he examined the metal parts of the suit that adorned his body.
Despite leaving deep grooves in the ground upon landing, the bottom of the metal boots showed no signs of damage.
Yet, it was only the exterior that was intact.
“I was worried, but as expected. This is beyond repair.”
Hubert frowned at the results reflected in his “Analysis.”
Due to pushing the machine’s potential to its limits, Howard’s “Craftsman’s Spirit” usage had fully drained the embedded mystery, and not even the unique characteristics of the materials remained intact.
Those precious rare metals had pretty much turned into junk.
‘Well, it can’t be helped. Still, the performance was proven; maybe I should be more careful with the next one.’
As he mentally concluded, he began to store the now useless suit in the spatial dimension when Diana, who had disappeared into the bushes, staggered back toward him.
Her face appeared even paler after a battle with nausea and discomfort.
“…I apologize, Head of the Society.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I’m feeling a bit better now…”
Given her expression, which was far from okay, he opted to remain silent and silently handed her a potion.
Though it might seem excessive for mere motion sickness, it was nothing more than pocket change for him.
After pausing for a moment, she ultimately accepted the potion, quietly thanking him before gulping it down.
Being weak in this situation would simply turn her into a burden.
“What should we do now?”
“Hmm.”
After Diana sighed cautiously while scanning the surroundings, her complexion started to recover a bit.
All that was visible were trees and hills.
Since they had flown straight, there was no sign of roads for carriages.
“For now, let’s head toward the nearest city. Hmm, there should be the Leonar City around here.”
“Wow… have we already come down this far? Ugh, that speed… I never want to experience it again…”
Initially, they had planned to go south, prepared for the worst, but now it seemed they had perhaps gone too far.
It might have been okay to stop somewhere nearby and wait in a city instead.
‘But that’s merely hindsight. Let’s see, then this way…’
Thus began an unexpected hiking adventure for Hubert and Diana.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
The area near Tarak, from which they had departed, was descending into chaos in real time.
