Ch.161Chapter 161. Ancient Serpent (2)

Chapter 161. The Ancient Serpent (2)

I was waiting on the wall with Lakye, Kanto, MeleeSpy, and Dina’s special forces in Totem No. 1 state.

“Hey, Princess Dina.”

“…Yes?”

MeleeSpy, who was standing with his arms crossed, spoke to Princess Dina.

“I have something on my mind.”

“Do you really need to talk about it now?”

“Yes. It has to be now.”

“…Do you have to tell me specifically?”

“That’s right. You’re the only one who knows the truth.”

Dina sighed.

“What is it?”

“I’m contemplating how to end the story of EunuchBro, the Hero of Rebellion.”

“…”

– …

Dina looked at MeleeSpy like he was an insect.

“Idiot.”

Hannah, who was standing next to Dina, also made a comment before turning her head away.

Is this MeleeSpy guy unable to read the situation?

We’re about to start a battle where everything is at stake, and he’s talking about EunuchBro?

“As you know, the ending is crucial for any work. The better the work, the more profound the lingering impression it leaves.”

Regardless of the situation, MeleeSpy started his story.

“For the past few years, I’ve been thinking about how the story should end. No matter how many times I’ve thought about it, nothing leaves a deeper impression than a sad ending.”

Dina wasn’t looking at MeleeSpy. She seemed to be completely ignoring him.

“How about everything being a dream? Like ‘The Cloud Dream of the Nine,’ the foundation of Korean classic novels and the first light novel, where everything the protagonist EunuchBro experienced in the main story was just a dream he had at the moment of death…”

Why is he bringing up The Cloud Dream of the Nine now?

Just as I was about to ignore him too, Dina spoke.

“I prefer happy endings.”

So she was actually listening to this nonsense.

“To be precise, I don’t like anything but happy endings. Even if it feels forced, I want everyone to be happy at the end of the story. That’s just my opinion.”

“…I see.”

MeleeSpy, wearing his helmet, nodded. What are you understanding by yourself?

Anyway, this idiot helped ease the tension a bit. I was feeling quite pressured given my role.

Right. Let’s not overthink this. Our forces are strong too. I’ll have to deal with the Seven-Headed Devil and the dragon legion, but I can trust the Tribal Alliance to handle the smaller threats.

‘The enemies have entered Symphonia! It’s getting dangerous, so I’m pulling back!’

I heard Paya’s prayer. So it’s really starting now.

– They’ve arrived in Symphonia.

“…!”

I can see everyone tightening their grip on their weapons.

“Listen! Warriors!”

Chief Kanto gave a speech to boost the warriors’ morale, Dina’s special forces exchanged glances, and MeleeSpy muttered “Yare yare…”

[NotACatfish: It begins now]

Hannah also received a message.

[NotACatfish: Still, I don’t think everything that happened here was bad]

[NotACatfish: It’s a shame I couldn’t see the face of my only online friend]

No, why are you saying such ominous things?

[You know that’s a death flag, right?]

[NotACatfish: I can’t think of anything else to say]

…What should I tell him? No matter what I say, it would just be wishing for his safety.

[You know what?]

[Actually, I…]

[(To be continued tomorrow morning)]

[NotACatfish: What the hell]

[NotACatfish: You crazy bastard lol]

[NotACatfish: Alright, see you tomorrow]

Yes. Let’s make sure we meet again alive.

“There he is.”

Lakye drew his meteor sword. With his superhuman eyesight, Lakye must have spotted something in the distance. I zoomed in with the totem’s vision.

A reddish-brown Red Dragon with seven heads was flapping its enormous wings, heading our way.

Hmm. It looks quite grotesque. Its shoulders and torso are as robust as a gym rat’s, but the seven small heads attached to it look odd.

Is it a shoulder monster with a tiny head?

“Lord Malak!”

Paya had just joined the Tribal Alliance. She had left as soon as the enemy arrived in Symphonia, and he followed her very quickly.

His speed is at least that of an airplane or fighter jet. Judging by how he constantly flaps those massive wings, his strength must be incredible too.

“It’s… it’s the Seven-Headed Devil…!”

“Holy shit…”

“It looks bigger than the wall.”

Amid the commotion, the Seven-Headed Devil revealed itself to everyone with a flap of its wings.

Thud!

It positioned itself a little distance away from the Tribal Alliance. It doesn’t seem to be planning to breach the wall immediately.

Seven pairs of fiery eyes scan the wall, as if searching for something.

Is it looking for me?

Or is it conducting reconnaissance while waiting for other demons to join?

“Damn it… I shouldn’t have come.”

MeleeSpy mutters.

Hey, don’t be so pathetic. Since you’re already here, can’t you just fight with some dignity?

– Wait.

I waited for it to come closer. How many hours passed in this suffocating staring contest?

SHAAAA───!

It suddenly let out a terrible roar. A tremendous roar that shook the earth.

“Ugh…!”

“My body feels numb…!”

The warriors and low-level paladins were terrified. Did it use some kind of infrasound ability? I activated the “Healing Totem.”

I didn’t just use Totem No. 1. This is the Tribal Alliance headquarters. Except for those that were damaged or not recovered, all totems are here.

While preparing for war, I installed totems throughout the fortress. There are quite a few temporary, hastily made disposable totems as well.

I descended into each one and activated their blessings.

While I was helping those affected by its mental attack(?), it happened.

Wooooo-!

The demon army appeared alongside dragons. Their eyes glowed green, as if empowered by the Seven-Headed Devil’s buff.

The green wave moved toward the main gate of the Tribal Alliance. Even an iron gate couldn’t stop that number.

I didn’t use manifestation yet.

The Seven-Headed Devil still hadn’t moved. The dragons had positioned themselves near it, and what appeared to be high-ranking demons were just watching.

“I can tell what this is. Attrition warfare. They’re sending the low and mid-ranks first to wear us down.”

The Fallen Power Knight clicked his tongue.

He’s right. The low and mid-ranks are just minions of the high-ranking demons. They don’t care if all of them die in this battle.

KYAAAAA-!

The demons advance, drooling as if under a berserker buff.

Just a little more. Come a little closer. I have something prepared too.

When the demon army was about 100 meters from the gate:

RUMBLE!

The ground they were standing on collapsed, revealing the Godshin that had been hiding inside.

But that’s not all.

WOOOONG!

The heat ray that had been slowly charging since the moment the demon army appeared.

ZIIING-!

With a flash, it scorched the demons on the ground. Those hit by the destructive heat didn’t just burn—they exploded.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of demons vanished before the giant robot fully charged with divine stone.

This is the power of the anti-mass destruction weapon, the Godshin.

Nothing but high-ranking demons can pass through here carelessly.

KIRIK!

The high-ranking demons seemed to realize this, as some of them moved quickly.

THUD!

A high-ranking demon that looked like a mix between an elephant and a hippopotamus collided with the Godshin. It was similar in size to the Godshin.

Taking advantage of the opening, a black panther demon with two small horns on its head climbed up the wall. It seemed to have some high-speed movement ability, as afterimages rippled whenever it moved. This one was also high-ranking.

“Alright, let’s go!”

MeleeSpy raised his greatsword high and shouted vigorously. His tension was unlike earlier when he had muttered about not coming.

This guy, he was just exaggerating before.

“Celestial Domain!”

The moment MeleeSpy’s voice echoed, a white veil covered the top of the wall. According to what MeleeSpy explained in the meeting, it works like this:

[Celestial Domain. Level 9 skill.

Creates a field in a certain area. The field gives area-of-effect damage over time to enemies while amplifying all the caster’s abilities by 100% and all allies’ abilities by 50% within the field.]

This was the identity of the “MeleeSpy Barrier” that users talked about in the community.

Grrrk!

The black panther demon that had climbed the wall frowned, apparently finding the damage over time quite painful. MeleeSpy approached it boldly and:

“Holy-Strike!”

He struck it with his shield, which was enveloped in light. Or was it his left hand holding the shield that was enveloped in light?

PAANG-!

KIEEEK~!

The black panther demon screamed and flew far away after being hit by the shield.

Suddenly, I remembered what MeleeSpy had said in the meeting room.

‘What is a paladin? A paladin is a cockroach. It’s a multi-class that can do DPS, tanking, and healing, but it excels particularly in the tank role. A truly strong paladin should invest everything in tanking skills. Princess Dina, DPS-type paladins like you are guaranteed to be <trash>.’

It was probably during the meeting about paladin skill utilization. That was a powerful strike, unlike what you’d expect from someone who talked like that.

No, Holy Strike isn’t a tanking skill. It’s an attack skill, and I think he said it was the worst among the skills you can learn at level 1.

“Ooooh!”

“As expected! MeleeSpy!”

Encouraged by the possessed people’s praise, MeleeSpy muttered.

“…Holy Strike at its highest level can drive away even high-ranking demons.”

It would have been cooler if he had just kept quiet.