Ch.168168. The Final War (6)

The charge of the Black Sun Legion’s cavalry formed a wedge shape reminiscent of an arrow.

This type of assault formation inevitably increased the burden on those at the front, yet none of the thousands of cavalry worried about the one leading the charge.

Jealousy? Envy? Cold stares? Not at all.

They, the cavalry of the Black Sun Legion, knew very well.

“Break through───!!!”

“””””””””No mercy!! No fear───!!”””””””””

───Crash!!!

Helena Valerinus, who had lost her power as an Apostle after realizing the truth and repenting, but was undoubtedly still a top-tier first-class warrior.

Nothing would be more arrogant than daring to worry about her.

The cavalry completely collapsed the Imperial Legion’s formation that had been on the verge of disintegration.

The wolves had charged first, stripping away the thick skin and exposing the flesh; now these riders would chew up that exposed tender flesh and finish it off.

Though not as imposing as the riders mounted on wolves the size of black bears or grizzlies, this Fallen Legion’s cavalry was by no means ordinary.

The cavalry, exposed to the blessing of the God of Vengeance, had undergone physical mutations, and the same was true for the horses they rode.

These mounts, also exposed to the blessing, had mutated to nearly monster levels. The power of their charge was enough to turn any poorly positioned soldier into well-minced meat.

And at the source of all this prowess was Helena Valerinus.

Instantly killing a Thousand-Man Commander at the front of her charge, she proceeded to rampage deliberately, proving why she had been called a hero.

Ordinary soldiers were not only no match for her but were swept away by the dozens with each of her movements, while mid-level warriors of the Thousand-Man Commander class were cut down without even exchanging a few blows.

The Fallen Pegasus Lord also joined this current, breathing fire like a true demon and devouring humans.

“L-Lady Helena…?”

“Why, why is she…??”

As Helena was racking up impressive achievements and rampaging across the battlefield, attention focused on her, and eventually, people who recognized her began to appear.

[Helena Valerinus!! Filthy traitor, nooooo───!!!]

Consequently, the Imperial main force deployed an equivalent power to face her—one of the Apostles of God who had been observing the situation from the rear.

Turdius Maximus, Apostle of Vulcanus, the Blacksmith God among the 12 main deities of the Pantheon.

The Battle Blacksmith, both the Empire’s greatest blacksmith and a warrior who fought on the front lines, appeared clad in steel.

Full-body armor covering his naturally imposing 3-meter frame, made by himself from the hardest metal known as black iron or adamantium.

And a massive hammer with a handle elaborately crafted from orichalcum and a head made of adamantium—both magnificent and enormous.

His monstrous strength, swinging this terrifying 10-ton hammer enchanted with weight-increasing magic, could not be overlooked.

“Over here!!”

“Where do you think you’re running───!!!”

After seeing dozens of cavalry swept away by that hammer, Helena tried to lure him away from the battlefield to settle things at a distance.

As the flow of battle intensified, both command centers naturally began to engage in psychological warfare, watching each other carefully.

With the forces of vengeance gradually approaching from beyond, and the Imperial Legion now being pushed back at the front line,

The tide of battle could be reversed depending on who played their trump card first, but…

In the end, this psychological battle became meaningless in an instant.

KWAAAAAAANG───!!!

Suddenly, a black silhouette cut through the air from the sky, crashing into the middle of the Imperial camp and creating a crater.

※ ※ ※

After dozens of soldiers died instantly from the impact of “something” that had fallen.

The crash site was enveloped in thick dust clouds that obscured all visibility, when suddenly a strong wind blew away all the dust and sand──

───KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGGANG!!

Immediately after, dozens of black slashes emanating from that point in all directions passed through nearby soldiers—instantly producing large quantities of finely ground minced meat.

This was no metaphor or exaggeration.

The masses of aura in the form of slashes pulverized everything in their path, with no exceptions.

Flesh, organs, bones, leather clothing, metal equipment—all turned to powder.

Common soldiers, dismounted cavalry, even mid-level warriors like Thousand-Man Commanders were not spared.

And as he turned the surroundings into a sea of blood, the being who created this tragedy emerged from inside the crater where the dust had settled.

Wearing heavy black and gold armor crafted with delicate workmanship, a red cape that looked like congealed blood fluttered naturally.

In his hand was a massive sword that seemed forged from the void and abyss itself, and the aura he unconsciously emitted made surrounding objects tremble and vibrate.

The Great Avenger. The Red King’s Representative. The Chosen.

Bjorn Wolfson descended to earth, bringing death with him.

The soldiers around him froze completely, struck by a terrible shock that seemed to stop their breath.

How could that thing be human like themselves?

Even just glimpsing his figure from a distance made their hands tremble, and some soldiers who didn’t even know what was happening wondered why their bodies were tensing up.

His absolute presence was like violence to the surrounding soldiers, with some nearby clutching their chests and collapsing to the ground.

Even the weapon of a soldier near him was warped by his materialized presence, and this shock was no exception for mid-level warriors like the Thousand-Man Commanders.

Rather, because they could roughly gauge the realm Bjorn had reached, the Thousand-Man Commanders slumped down in despair at having to face such a being.

Thus, from the moment Bjorn revealed himself, he unleashed his presence generously toward his surroundings.

After briefly looking at the Imperial Legion soldiers who had frozen from the shock of his presence, he raised the greatsword in his hand above his head and swung it───

───KWAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!!

The next moment, the aura-infused shockwave that erupted from Bjorn’s sword completely annihilated everything around him.

Soldiers nearby evaporated without a trace, while the flesh of those a bit further away flew through the air.

Some screamed in agony from severed limbs and burst internal organs, and the earth-shaking impact caused over tens of thousands of soldiers to lose their balance.

Even mid-level warriors who could handle aura could barely withstand it…. But even they had to deal with blood pouring from their noses, mouths, and ears.

In the end, this demonstrated one truth directly:

Below mid-level, not even minimal resistance was possible.

No matter how many low-level warrior troops were thrown at him, nothing could be achieved against this being who had clearly stepped halfway into the realm of gods.

“Make way!”

“Soldiers, fall back!!”

“Retreat!!!”

“We will face him directly!!”

The officers tried to separate the soldiers from Bjorn, who was emitting an ominous aura, and simultaneously, 50 important combat assets that had been waiting in the rear revealed themselves.

The Roman Emperor’s Imperial Guard, counted among the best of his bodyguards, dispatched to protect the Apostles, were mounted on griffins.

Fifty Imperial Guard-cavalry mounted on griffins—eagle-headed, lion-bodied creatures armored in orichalcum.

Flying through the sky, they arrived instantly from the rear and immediately formed a combined formation to launch a coordinated attack on Bjorn.

However, there was something they never anticipated…..

[….You’re in the way. Move.]

───Slash!!

Even if all 50 Imperial Guards—each capable of handling three mid-level warriors alone—attacked together.

Bjorn was such a powerful warrior that he could not be challenged even by all of them combined.

Bjorn’s movements were so simple they needed no embellishment, yet the results of those simple actions were anything but simple.

The severed heads of the Imperial Guards, still in their helmets, floated through the air, while their headless bodies moved briefly before collapsing in sprays of blood.

Fifty Imperial Guards and fifty griffins, 5th-grade monsters.

A total of 100 mid-level combat assets taken down in an instant. Though unintended, this suicide charge of the Imperial Guard had a negative impact on the surroundings.

Morale plummeted, surrounding soldiers fell into panic and began running wildly—signs that the army’s discipline might gradually collapse….

Still, the few dozen seconds bought by the Imperial Guard’s sacrifice were not completely wasted.

“……We’re late.”

“But not too late.”

During that time, the Imperial army’s leadership who had been observing from the rear—five of the Apostles of God who could move—arrived in person.