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Chapter 236: The Three Evils
The feeling is not good.
It hasn't been long since I arrived at the northernmost point, yet the situation is already changing so rapidly that it's impossible to predict what will happen next.
"Commander! This path seems strange."
I replied to Zion's voice from behind without even turning my head.
"Follow me, relying solely on your perception of energy. Do not trust your eyes."
The Land of Death.
The terrain distorts in real-time.
It feels as if the magic circle of the demon realm, where I first met the Phantom Thief, is covering the entire world.
If you follow only the path you see, you may end up straying in a completely different direction.
There have been many times in the past when troops were divided in such a way.
Looking up at the sky, I saw a black lotus flower blooming once again through the thick darkness.
It was the Ardehain Lotus Swordsmanship manifested by the Lotus Swordmen.
The pattern of the lotus flower was gradually fading.
It felt close, but in reality, the distance was still considerable.
I can't feel Loren's energy at all.
"Let's increase our speed."
I deliberately didn't use Blink or Spatial Acceleration.
If my subordinates, experiencing the Land of Death for the first time, were to lose track of my energy signature, we could become separated.
Running at full speed, using only footwork, I took the opportunity to review the conversation from a while ago.
'Julius.'
The Divine Clan of the Sword.
His strength as a warrior is undeniably worthy of being considered the current head of the Baltahar.
Even his unrestrained nature, unconcerned with formalities, is in the very spirit of the past Baltahar.
'Julius suspects the Heavenly Pressure...'
It's difficult to judge his true intentions.
If Julius had dismissed the demon tribe or made some other excuse, I would have been more suspicious of him.
The Divine Clan of the Sword cannot possibly be unaware of the situation unfolding right now.
But what if the current head of the Arihama truly is the mastermind behind the Myriad Demon Assembly?
And Julius was suspecting Arihama.
That would explain why Baltahar hasn't made a full-scale move until now.
Arihama is a Clan on the same level as Baltahar. Even the Divine Clan of the Sword would have to dedicate significant effort to keeping them in check.
My intuition tells me that Julius is not lying.
Eye-Governing Sword.
At the very least, Julius is a man who pursues the Sword of the Divine Clan in the right direction.
'...'
The basis of that intuition is simple.
Magnus Baltahar.
The man who staked everything on a single sword.
I might be instinctively trusting Julius, who resembles the Sword Saint's temperament.
...I must question my intuition.
I must question everything.
It was hard to imagine, but I had to consider the possibility that the Sword Saint had deceived me from the beginning and betrayed humanity.
Julius is definitely hiding something from me. He hasn't told me all of his thoughts.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a thick demonic energy, mixed in the wind brushing my cheek, stimulated my sense of smell.
"Whew."
It's already been about three hours since we crossed the northeastern barrier.
The troops from other clans who had set out to provide support are now nowhere to be seen. I can't even sense their energy signatures.
Only a strongly surging demonic energy surrounds us completely.
They have likely already scattered in completely different directions.
Thud—!
Suddenly, the earth shook, and I immediately stopped and crouched down.
As soon as I put my ear close to the ground, I heard another thud— a resonating sound vibrating from afar.
"Commander!"
"Shh. We're almost there."
I gave a few instructions to my subordinates who had followed me, and then immediately rushed forward.
Thud— Thud, thud—
The vibrations were getting closer and closer.
I stopped when the terrain suddenly shifted, and a flurry of red flesh began to dance before my eyes.
"Here it is."
This must be the entrance to the northeastern second barrier.
It's usually like this.
From a distance, there's no sign of anything.
Just a moment ago, all I could see was the black mountain range stretching to the horizon and shimmering heat haze.
Distortion of vision.
It's one of the terrifying aspects of the Land of Death.
Even if a bloody battle takes place, it's not properly visible from outside a certain area.
I quickly looked around at the remnants of the terrible battle that had taken place in an instant.
The blood hasn't dried yet.
Suddenly, a huge club-like weapon flew in from the front.
Slash—!
Wolf, who had approached, cut it with his sword energy, revealing the club's true form.
It was an arm.
And one that was several times larger than that of an adult male.
"Giants."
A gruesome sight of mixed corpses of giants and humans.
At a glance, there were easily more than twenty giant corpses.
As demonic energy flowed out from the muddy ground, the blood flowing from the corpses was gradually seeping into the earth.
The unit members simultaneously furrowed their brows.
"It's horrible."
Daisy drew daggers from both sides of her waist and asked.
"Brother. Shall we go inside?"
"Wait."
Thud— Thud—!
The rumbling of the earth coming from inside that boundary was getting louder and louder.
I suddenly stared intently at the face of a woman lying on one side, her arms cut off.
"...Flag-bearer?"
A Lotus Swordswomen.
The woman who had been holding Ardehain's flag at the forefront of the Flower Sword Ship was dead.
And next to her lay the wrist of a giant, easily twice as large as other individuals.
Wolf, who had come closer, struck down with his sword energy, but it only penetrated about halfway due to the skin's elasticity.
Wolf's eyes narrowed.
"It's the Four Giant Kings."
"Giant Kings?"
Daisy immediately questioned back.
"Are you sure, Uncle Wolf?"
"Yes."
Wolf, who had a long career as a mercenary, answered with confirmation and immediately looked at me.
I said nothing.
Once you've entered this world, it's a given that you don't know when or where you might die.
I wasn't so emotionally shaken that I'd be lost in deep thought over the death of a Lotus Swordswoman, but this didn't simply mean that she had died alone.
Even against Giant Kings of the giant tribe, two superhuman-level knights should be enough to hold them off.
The fact that this happened even with Loren present...
...means it's likely that the Giant Kings aren't the end of it.
Shaaa—
The heat haze was growing thicker and thicker.
Kukukukukung—!
The rumbling of the earth from within was growing insanely loud.
"Let's go!"
Using footwork, I was the first to rush inward.
There was no time to delay any longer.
Trusting my subordinates, I used both Spatial Acceleration and Blink, and as I moved forward, the surrounding scenery changed once again.
"Krrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Block them!"
"We must block them! Switch to the Flexible Sword!"
The roars of the giants and the furious screams of the Lotus Swordsmen could be heard simultaneously.
The first thing that caught my eye was Ardehain's blood-soaked flag.
Around it, about thirty Lotus Swordsmen were surrounded by numerous giants.
There were easily over a hundred giants, each about three times the size of an adult male, and among them were two individuals who boasted a size twice as large as even the typical giants.
Giant Kings.
"Commander!"
"Support the Lotus Swordsmen."
While the Crazy Mage Squad, Wolf, and Daisy went to help the Lotus Swordsman without hesitation, I looked beyond them.
At least a hundred giants, and two Giant Kings.
The one who could bring so many giants at once...
"It's the Crazy Mage Squad!"
"Support has arrived from Samael!"
"Use this opportunity to break through to the Swordmaster!"
Shaaa—!
Beyond the giants and the Lotus Swordsmen, a lotus flower bloomed from deeper within.
I immediately used the Crazy Mage Style Footwork.
I leaped, treading on the void, and looked at the view.
There was Loren Ardehain.
The sword aura radiating from the Lotus Sword drew graceful arcs, creating a lotus flower.
Kukukukukung—!
With a footstep that shook the earth, a gigantic greatsword that covered the sky shattered the lotus pattern and slammed into the ground.
An individual even larger than the Giant Kings, holding a greatsword of immense size in one hand.
"Sword Fiend."
The Three Evils of the Giant Tribe.
And among them, the Sword Fiend had appeared.
* * *
Whoosh—
I reversed the circle of my heart.
Immediately, I launched Dark Heavenly Thunder at the Sword Fiend's head.
In that instant, with lightning-fast speed that completely belied his massive size, the greatsword swung towards the sky.
Just before the Dark Heavenly Thunder struck its head, the black lightning was deflected harmlessly by the blade that flew into its path.
Following that, the Sword Fiend's gaze turned towards me.
"Krrrrrrrr."
The Three Evils of the Giant Tribe.
The true leaders who lead the species.
I had occasionally heard news of the Four Giant Kings appearing in the North.
But I had never heard of the Three Evils appearing.
Why? Why appear so suddenly?
Moreover, throughout all my past lives, I had only heard of the Three Evils on one occasion.
The untold story of how they threatened humanity alongside the Demon Dragon in the past.
Excluding the demon tribe, they were the most powerful.
During a brief lull, I immediately called out to Loren.
"Loren!"
"Hoho, Ruin is here? Is this repayment for the demon realm?"
I assessed her condition at a glance.
Her neatly tied-up hair was already disheveled. Her eyes looked slightly tired.
She still seemed to have some leeway, but at the same time, she also seemed worried about something.
Kukukukukung—!
Suddenly, a huge shadow cast over the ground.
I looked up to see a massive black sword, large enough to fill the entire sky, descending above my head like a blade of judgment.
Only after detonating Dark Heavenly Thunder twice in a row could I dispel the overwhelming power contained in the Sword Fiend's black sword.
The Sword Fiend landed in front of me, glaring at me with ferocious eyes, and I looked back at him.
Blue blood flowed from deep wounds cut in various places.
They were clearly wounds inflicted by Loren.
Although she was only at the beginning, Loren had clearly stepped into the realm of 8-stars.
No matter how strong the Three Evils of the giant tribe were, if they faced Sword Mastery head-on, they would inevitably be pushed back.
"...Loren."
I immediately realized why Loren hadn't used all her strength.
The energy emanating from the Sword Fiend was clearly mixed with demonic energy.
'The Myriad Demon Assembly, those bastards...!'
Just as the 'Black Clan' had done in the demon realm, the giant tribe had also been turned into demonic creatures by the Myriad Demon Assembly.
Perhaps this isn't the end.
If this is the work of the Myriad Demon Assembly, then all of this is intentional.
If Loren were to use all her true strength to deal with the Three Evils, and a high-ranking demon were to appear, she would be defenseless.
Loren is taking that possibility into account.
"I'm fine, so help the First Prince of the Divine Clan."
"Black?"
I immediately expanded my energy perception to its maximum, and immediately sensed Black's energy signature to the left.
He must have come to help Ardehain, just like me.
At the same time, from close to where Black was, I sensed another ferocious energy, almost comparable to the Sword Fiend's.
"...There's more than one?"
As I ran to the left, a gigantic silver spearhead suddenly appeared in the sky.
Lightning gathered on the spearhead, as large as the Sword Fiend's greatsword, and then it plunged towards the ground.
Pazzzik— Kwaaaaang—!
'Spear Fiend.'
Two of the Giant Tribe's Three Evils have appeared.
What is the reason for the Myriad Demon Assembly to move so urgently? Are they really fully prepared?
Did they anticipate that Julius wouldn't move?
Or was it Julius who created this situation?
My mind was jumbled, but I forced myself to shake off these thoughts.
"Black!"
Black stood with his feet planted firmly on the ground, blocking the lightning that was striking down from the sky with his sword.
Meanwhile, one of the Heavenly Swordmasters who was protecting Black leaped towards the Spear Fiend.
Paaaang—!
The sword aura manifested by the Heavenly Swordmaster failed to pierce the Spear Fiend's skin and slid down the blade.
Shaak—!
Space itself was sliced through, and a deep wound appeared on the Spear Fiend's chest.
"Kugh."
At the same time, black blood spurted from Black's mouth.
It was the Heart Void Style, the Third Sword, manifested by Black.
I had already noticed that he had reached the realm of 8-stars during the vassal clan banquet, but he still couldn't properly manifest Sword Mastery like Loren.
Black's condition was much more serious than Loren's.
Whoosh—!
I immediately used Blink and leaped towards the Spear Fiend's face.
Blink.
In an instant, I reversed my circle and manifested the Dark Sword.
A ferocious roar mixed with a scream pierced my ears as if a metal skewer was being thrust into them.
I tried to slash the Spear Fiend's face with the Dark Sword in my right hand.
But just before that, the Spear Fiend's large, demonic energy-tainted pupil reflected the battle situation on the other side.
I unknowingly let out a groan.
"...Cecilia."
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