Episode 214 Jeron’s Ordeal (3)

Cough—

Black, dead blood spurted from his nose and mouth.

He tried to suppress it, but the bleeding was beyond his control.

‘Damn it, I’m going to die.’

The blood flowing out was just a part of it.

The magic circuits in his body were not just tangled, but completely mangled because he had pushed himself too hard, and the curse, which had been rampaging in the weakened control, was greedily devouring his life force.

It was only this bad because of the holy symbol Heinrich had given him.

And the price he had to pay wasn’t just that…

‘But at least I was able to buy time.’

Hesperon smiled bitterly as he felt the necklace he had been wearing under his clothes crumble and disappear.

Drip—

Immediately after, a tear of blood rolled down from his right eye.

His vision blurred, and then it went completely dark.

‘…My right eye.’

A dramatic rescue at the last moment, as the heroine was in danger.

Judging by the timing, it might have seemed like a cliché where the protagonist awakened in a crisis and saved the day…

But it wasn’t that simple.

-Hannibal Strauss: An eye is a small price to pay. The greater the power you force, the greater the price. Your efforts paid off at the last moment.

-Harley: Haha! An eye? You can just get a new one! Like me!

Hans had acquired many items with extraordinary abilities while gathering the Immortal Army.

It was ironic that most of them required life force or lifespan as a price, so the undead couldn’t use them.

《The individual meets the conditions and grows. The skill “Bond of Unity” evolves into the special skill “Oath’s Chains”.》

The necklace Hesperon had just used was one of them.

Thanks to the item supplementing a part of the skill’s growth, “Bond of Unity” had evolved, and he was able to summon Riley, the target of the contract.

‘Not only does it give additional bonuses, but it also allows me to exert a forceful influence like just now. And the skill’s range has expanded to include inanimate objects.’

Of course, he would have to think more about its versatility since it had just evolved, but it was a welcome development that the possibilities had increased.

“Heron…?”

He heard Riley’s bewildered voice.

It was only natural for her to be flustered, as she had suddenly found herself in a strange man’s arms after thinking she was going to die.

But now wasn’t the time for a leisurely conversation.

He smiled, not even looking at her, and spoke.

“Riley, let’s talk later. The situation’s a bit urgent right now.”

“…Okay.”

Hesperon’s gaze was fixed on a single spot.

On Staub, who was standing some distance away, staring at them.

He was still holding that strange dagger.

‘All that’s left is to synchronize Riley and me with “Oath’s Chains” and escape with “In the Hero’s Footsteps”…’

But the connection of “Oath’s Chains” was unstable, perhaps because he had just forcefully summoned Riley, so he needed some time to stabilize it.

It couldn’t be helped, as it was an overuse of the skill beyond his abilities, but it wasn’t good news in this situation.

“You’re a nuisance…”

As expected,

Swoosh—

Staub’s body blurred.

‘He’s not going to wait!’

Hesperon’s mind raced, and “Hypersensitivity” activated, slowing down time around him.

However…

‘He’s still that fast in this state?’

Staub’s movements were clearly unnatural in the endlessly slowing world.

He was confidently approaching them, a stark contrast to the sluggish surroundings, sending chills down his spine.

‘…I haven’t really felt it lately because I’ve been playing in the big leagues.’

He had been dealing with big shots lately, both enemies and allies, so he had become a bit desensitized, but mastery wasn’t a low level.

Even the Brokoslack Clan, one of the three strongest vampire clans, which easily lived for hundreds of years, only had three True Bloods, including the Lord, and in the Main God Church, which boasted the greatest influence on the continent, it was a level comparable to the Paladins and Archbishops, who were the executives.

And one of them was currently charging towards him with murderous intent in his eyes.

Hesperon gritted his teeth and forced his body to move.

But by the time he managed to take a single step back, the opponent had already taken five or six steps.

His enhanced body was still no match for the movements of a master-level knight, even with his abnormal stats and skills.

‘Ugh, just a little more!’

The synchronization was also progressing slowly in the slowed-down world.

No matter how much magic power was an energy that wasn’t bound by the laws of physics, the pathway it flowed through was still his physical body, so it couldn’t be completely unaffected.

‘Close combat is hopeless. I have to prevent him from getting close.’

Hesperon started to unleash all his means to buy time.

Blood-red orbs, imbued with Heinz the Second’s “Refined Blood Essence”, were thrown in large numbers, spewing out the blood magic engraved on them.

A holy symbol, filled with Heinrich’s holy power, formed a barrier to block the opponent’s footsteps.

And of course, he also mobilized all sorts of magic tools, including cursed items.

“Ugh, what a nuisance! Where did you even get all these items?”

Swoosh—

Whoosh!

But unfortunately…

His opponent didn’t seem to appreciate his surprise gift shower.

-Heinrich: It’s not just about raw power. He’s accurately targeting the weaknesses of the incomplete spells manifested through mediums. He’s definitely more skilled than Geos.

Staub gritted his teeth in annoyance, but he continued to approach, crushing all obstacles with his fierce aura blade.

He was now within striking distance.

Throb—

Perhaps because he had overused cursed items,

Hesperon felt a sharp pain in his entire body… especially his right hand.

But he couldn’t give up now.

He hugged Riley tightly and took a few more steps back.

Crack—

His muscles screamed as he overexerted himself to keep up with the enemy’s pace in the slowed-down world, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such trivial matters.

“Staub, you bastard! You filthy traitor, how dare you!”

“Ugh! I’m going to die anyway, you think I’ll just stand here and take it?!”

As he retreated, the few remaining knights, disregarding their lives, blocked Staub’s path.

They were already seriously injured, and their numbers weren’t enough to turn the tide, but they were all elites.

They were strong enough to buy a brief moment of time in this urgent situation.

“Ugh, you fools. You can’t even handle this?”

“S-sorry, Captain!”

And the moment they bought with their lives…

…was the moment Hesperon had been desperately waiting for.

‘Done.’

He took a deep breath, watching the last knight fall to Staub’s blade with his remaining eye.

“You…”

And he uttered a single word, after scanning the faces of the traitors who were charging at him from all directions.

“Struggle as much as you can.”

He activated “In the Hero’s Footsteps” at the same time he dropped his last gift on the ground.

Beyond his blurring vision as space distorted,

He saw Staub desperately shouting something and throwing himself back, unlike the others who were charging towards him, like a slow-motion scene…

And then the surrounding scenery changed in an instant.

‘His senses are sharp. Well, the real fun starts now. The moment Riley escaped, they were already doomed.’

And it wasn’t just them, but everyone involved in this incident.

There was a price to pay for trying to eliminate the princess by causing a terrorist attack in the capital.

Ah, and the gift wasn’t anything special.

He had just prepared something better because it seemed like they didn’t like the previous gifts.

It was a Hans special abyss bomb, packed to the brim.

____________________

The Immortal Army’s full-scale invasion of the continent.

It was causing unprecedented damage throughout the world, incomparable to the previous attacks.

[Kihihihik!]

Crack! Crack—!

[Join us!]

“Fight to the death! If they break through here, the entire city is in danger!”

“W-wait. This is different from what we’ve heard!”

“Reinforcements! Where are the reinforcements? We’re at our limit!”

The biggest reason was the leadership’s complacency.

Saint Heinrich had repeatedly emphasized the danger of this attack, but—.

The problem was that they had become accustomed to Hans’s ‘gentle’ invasions and thought it would be enough to just slightly increase their existing level of response.

[Ah—! This is good! It’s been so long since I’ve been to the human world! This sweet blood and screams excite me! Good, good. Scream— scream more!]

[Eternal fear to this land—! Eternal death—!]

And even the high-ranking undead who had been holed up in the Immortal Fortress were participating…

They had thought, ‘This level should be enough, right?’ and then the situation had spiraled out of control in an instant.

The high-ranking undead, who had been lying low, were mercilessly attacking all over the continent, leading the forces accumulated in the Northern Mountains, and the civilian casualties were snowballing.

It was enough to shake the current state of affairs, which had been in a state of uneasy peace.

However, there were those who were still diligently working and achieving results, seemingly unaffected by the chaos…

Whoosh— Boom!

[Kuh—!]

Thump!

It was the hero party, which had recently recruited a new member.

“Situation clear. No more enemies detected.”

The green-haired Elf, who had blown away the core of the Death Knight, the enemy leader, with an arrow made of wind, spoke calmly.

She was Lydia Granwood, a High Elf and the leader of the Elven Kingdom’s Guardians, who had joined the hero party immediately after the Second Continental Summit.

She had originally come to the Ion Continent as Rapori’s successor, who was about to retire, but she had naturally joined the party because of the current situation.

Of course, she had come to the Ion Continent as an envoy to actively respond to this chaotic situation, so it wasn’t that strange.

Only Rapori, whose retirement had been postponed again, was feeling regretful.

“Saint? Are you alright? You seem to have been distracted during the battle.”

As the party was cleaning up, Isea, the Empire’s Archmage, approached Heinrich, who was lost in thought with a serious expression, and cautiously spoke.

“Ah, Isea. There was something bothering me. I’m fine now. It’s just been resolved.”

Heinrich, who had been checking on the situation in the Empire, smiled gently at her.

Fortunately, Princess Riley was safe and sound, unlike Hesperon, so he could confidently tell her that.

It seemed like she didn’t know about the incident in Jeron yet because the conspirators had thoroughly blocked communications, but she would be contacted soon.

She probably wouldn’t be so calm then.

“…But there are many more casualties this time. The undead forces were also on a level I’ve never seen before. You’re saying that this scale of attack is happening all over the continent?”

“Sigh— That’s right. Ah! I should also help with treating the wounded. It would be difficult for the Saintess to handle all these people alone.”

“Ah, then I should also help with the cleanup.”

Isea hurriedly looked around the devastated area and bit her lower lip as Heinrich headed towards the wounded.

They were currently in Saridan, a trading city in the southernmost part of the Tulk Kingdom, at the headquarters of the merchant alliance.

But it was far from bustling with people, it was desolate like a battlefield.

“…I see. I’m finally starting to realize. What we’re fighting against.”

The Demon King’s invasion. A land filled with death. The threat of world destruction.

It was all starting to feel real.

Isea clenched her fists and moved to find something she could help with.

And Heinrich, who was hurriedly leaving because of his guilty conscience, sighed inwardly after hearing her muttering.

‘Whew, Hans…’

Actually, he felt the same way.

He just wanted to end this situation.

After all, he was the hero of this world, the protector of justice and light.

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