Ch.174Chapter 174: Orc King (5).

# Chapter 174: Orc King (5)

Meanwhile, Valt was flying through the sky toward the Central Plains.

“Lilith, are you not struggling? I apologize.”

[No, Valt. I’m fine. I’m stronger than I look.]

Lilith maintained her bat form, using magic to secure Valt’s body tightly with her legs.

Valt needed to use this time to recover his strength in preparation for the possible decisive battle ahead.

This method was less burdensome for Lilith than if he were to use flight magic entirely on his own.

The distance from the river mouth to the Central Plains was farther than expected.

Lilith traversed the vast, fertile land that stretched endlessly before them at maximum speed.

Even while moving, Valt looked down at the fierce battles raging below.

Intermittent shouts and screams, aura and magical remnants flashing like lightning.

Watching this scene as a bystander was a horrific experience.

Death was everywhere, and groans of pain filled the plains.

“Where did it all go wrong? Is it impossible for everyone to get along peacefully?”

Had someone heard him, they might have mocked such words coming from the mouth of a southern barbarian known for plundering and slaughter.

But Lilith, who knew Valt’s true heart, felt saddened by his sincerity.

The battles between low-ranking soldiers were so desperate.

Covered in blood and dust, struggling only to survive—there was no glory of war for them.

Only the primal desire to live flashed in their eyes.

Glory always belonged to the strong.

Even if they won the war, all the soldiers would gain was a few gold coins and perhaps some empty pride to boast about in taverns—that they had protected the East.

Yet they continued to throw away their lives like worthless chaff, stepping over the bodies of fallen comrades.

Valt did not carelessly mourn their deaths.

He only hoped their sacrifices would not be in vain.

For that to happen, they had to win this war.

That was the only way to offer some consolation to the fallen souls.

Valt clenched his fist, vowing to bring them victory.

It was then.

Valt’s superhuman vision caught sight of a massive aura blade rising into the sky from the distant Central Plains.

Its overwhelming size must have been at least 20 meters tall.

Only King Zerdin of the Eastern Alliance could use such a tremendous technique.

“Impressive.”

[I can feel its power even from here, Valt.]

“Yes, this might end more easily than expected… Huh?”

But something felt wrong.

As they got closer to the Central Plains, the mana flow in the atmosphere felt sticky and unpleasant.

It was an alien energy that any living being would instinctively reject.

At first, Valt thought it was just the bloodlust and madness typical of battlefields, but as they drew nearer, the ominousness became unmistakable.

“What kind of energy is this?”

[Th-this is…!]

Lilith also realized the identity of this disgusting energy and was shocked.

Although she had never directly encountered it before, as a vampire who had lived for a long time, she instinctively recognized what it was.

[I-impossible! Demonic energy! It’s demonic energy, Valt! Why is there demonic energy here?!]

“What did you say?”

Valt drew in a sharp breath.

Even though he had merged with Gerungtu, the memories of Han Taejun the player remained in his core.

In the game he had played, demons were catastrophic beings that only appeared in the extreme late game.

Even low-ranking demons could easily tear apart Sword Experts, while mid-ranking demons could match Master-level powerhouses.

High-ranking demons and above were transcendent beings with unclear strategies to defeat them.

The terror of demon lords, who possessed the power to destroy the world, was vivid even in the game.

For the first time, Valt felt a chilling fear run down his spine.

That’s how overwhelming the existence of demons was.

But Valt shook off the fear gripping him.

He was no longer Han Taejun.

He had decided to live in this world.

‘Valt Gerungtu.’

The magician of the great Gerungtu, ruler of the harsh south.

That was Han Taejun’s name now.

“Increase your speed, Lilith!”

[Yes! Valt!]

Valt and Lilith accelerated toward the Central Plains, leaving their ominous premonitions behind.

***

KWAAAAAAANG—!!

Zerdin’s massive aura blade, ‘Heavenly Fall,’ struck the Death Knight directly, causing the earth to shake violently with a sound like a meteor impact.

DRRRRRRR–

The overwhelming power boosted the morale of the allied forces to the skies.

The soldiers let out confident cheers.

No being could survive such a massive strike.

No one doubted that the Death Knight had been annihilated without a single cell remaining.

As the aftermath of ‘Heavenly Fall’ subsided and the thick dust settled, a momentary silence fell over the plains.

SWOOOOSH–

The air that had been pushed away by the massive destruction gathered back to the center, and everyone present witnessed the scene they had expected.

“WOAAAAHH!! The commander has defeated the Orc… no, that monster!!”

At the spot where ‘Heavenly Fall’ had landed, only a huge crater and blackened scorch marks remained.

The Death Knight’s form was nowhere to be seen.

Zerdin’s ultimate technique had finally ended the terrible monster.

The emboldened soldiers spontaneously began to charge toward the remaining orcs with battle cries.

“Eliminate the remaining orcs!! Kill them all!! Let’s end this war!!”

“WOAAAAAAAHH!!”

At the moment the soldiers, intoxicated with victory, charged ferociously, Zerdin felt an instinctive sense of danger and shouted urgently.

“You fools! Fall back immediately!!”

But Zerdin’s warning did not reach the soldiers, buried under their victory cries.

And then, an unbelievable, desperate scene unfolded.

SWOOOOSH–

Centered on the black stain where the Death Knight had been, demonic energy began to bubble up like hellish tar.

It greedily sucked in the surrounding dust and blood, even the remnants of shattered aura, and began to form a grotesque shape.

The skeleton twisted and rose, black muscle tissue disgustingly adhered to it, and in an instant, the Death Knight’s form reappeared.

Zerdin gritted his teeth in despair at the sight.

“Damn it all…!”

Past nightmares vividly resurfaced.

The subjugation expedition he had joined with his father. No matter how many times they killed them, demons with demonic energy persistently regenerated.

The cursed demon lord, Geolbgeu.

The name that had given him the greatest fear in his childhood was once again choking him.

But the Zerdin of then and now carried different burdens.

‘I must pull myself together.’

With the strong mental fortitude and sense of responsibility of a Grand Master, Zerdin regained his composure and quickly issued commands to his soldiers.

“Surround the Orc King! If we don’t finish it, everything is over! All forces! Deploy the Seventeen Holy Stars Formation!!”

As Zerdin desperately shouted with his aura, his elite troops responded immediately.

They too were veterans of reversal and masters of battle.

They quickly realized something had gone terribly wrong.

Zerdin’s orders were carried out in an instant.

“Seventeen Holy Stars Formation deploy!! Move to your designated positions!!”

The Seventeen Holy Stars Formation, modeled after seventeen stars in the sky.

It was a modified version of the Holy Knight Order’s formation, designed to protect allies’ minds, boost morale, and create a sacred domain that no evil energy could penetrate.

Seventeen pillars of holy light rose around the Masters, connecting with each other to form a dazzling defensive barrier.

A warm energy that purified evil circulated within the barrier. This was Zerdin’s best measure against demonic energy.

And from the reformed Death Knight came a chilling resonance closer to magical vibration than a voice.

[Grrrrrrrr–]

The Death Knight, making a low growling sound, firmly gripped Gauwel’s tusk.

CRACK–

And then hurled it in an instant.

SWOOSH–

There was no sign, no preparatory movement.

Just the act of throwing.

But the massive spear, wrapped in demonic energy, flew toward the center of the Seventeen Holy Stars Formation with a sound like tearing space, transformed into a blood-red flash.

The sacred barrier, imbued with purifying energy, tried to block the red flash, but it was not enough.

KWAAAANG—!

The barrier was torn like paper, and Gauwel’s tusk struck those at the center of the formation.

“ARGGGHHHH!!”

Without time to dodge, two Masters and four Experts were annihilated without a trace.

Some nearby didn’t die instantly but suffered irreparable injuries.

It was truly an unbelievable destructive power.

Such an attack should not exist.

“C-Commander!”

The injured reached out to Zerdin, wailing.

“Commander, save us… Gurk.”

It was utter chaos, a nightmare from the past. Though he had become a Grand Master after overcoming his past trauma, the scene before him was no different from before.

His subordinates, covered in blood, were dying and crying out to Zerdin to save them.

His childhood trauma was being revived.