Ch.277277. Preliminary Skirmish (3)

The Hyeonmu missiles destroyed the undead golems that the Cult of Immortality had been so proud of, relentlessly demolished the numerous traps targeting the Seoul Allied Forces, which meant their defensive line had been completely shattered.

This meant the path was now clear for the Seoul Allied Forces’ suicide squad to advance toward Seoul Station, and the Seoul Allied Forces would not miss this opportunity.

“Now’s the time! All suicide squad members, charge! Today we will recapture Seoul Station and end this wretched war!”

With Kim Su-ho’s determined battle cry, the suicide squad began charging toward Seoul Station.

Traps prepared by the Cult of Immortality greeted the suicide squad as they ran through the ruined downtown, but these traps, already battered by Hyeonmu missiles, couldn’t function properly and dissipated without affecting the magic resistance built into the dragon armor.

Thus, they overcame traps that would have been difficult even for Hwarang to approach, and the moment they reached the vicinity of Seoul Station…

“Deploy the Death Knight Brigade to counter them! Make those Seoul Allied Forces fools realize how foolish their choice was!”

The Cult of Immortality quickly regrouped and launched a counterattack.

As if to prove that the Hyeonmu missiles had only destroyed the undead golems, they deployed their Death Knight Brigade.

They had managed to preserve the Death Knight Brigade intact despite the Hyeonmu missile barrage, allowing them to counter the suicide squad’s charge with their own charge. The problem, however, was that there were no troops left to support the Death Knight Brigade.

If they at least had Skeleton Archers or Skeleton Mages, they could have provided ranged support for the Death Knights’ charge, but due to the indiscriminate Hyeonmu missile attacks, all troops except the Death Knight Brigade were unable to function properly.

“Don’t be afraid! If we win just this once, we can surely win the real battle!”

“Don’t forget our objective!”

The suicide squad led by Kim Su-ho collided with the Death Knight Brigade, and the fierce battle began.

While Kim Su-ho and Jin A-yeon crushed Death Knights at the front and advanced, the mages in the suicide squad began hurling fireballs, and everyone drew their weapons to engage in close combat with the Death Knights.

The high-speed collision resulted in weapons breaking completely and even suicide squad members protected by dragon armor beginning to sustain injuries, but at the same time, the Death Knights that the Cult of Immortality had been so proud of also began to crumble.

After one collision, when they turned to collide again, the Death Knight Brigade’s formation remained broken and unrecovered, while the suicide squad quickly changed direction, reformed their ranks, and launched an unstoppable charge against the flank of the Death Knight Brigade.

“Somehow restore the Death Knight Brigade! If this position falls, all our plans will be ruined!”

The Cult of Immortality realized that if the Death Knight Brigade completely collapsed, they would have no troops left to defend Seoul Station. Necromancers who should have been protected in the rear came to the front lines to directly control the Death Knights or even participate in battle themselves, doing everything they could to save the crumbling Death Knights.

However, unfortunately, even the Cult of Immortality’s efforts…

“It’s useless!”

To Kim Su-ho, it was nothing but futile resistance.

Even the protective barriers that the Cult of Immortality had constructed with all their might to protect the Death Knights shattered before Kim Su-ho’s sword strikes, empowered by his dragon armor. With Kim Su-ho leading and Jin A-yeon supporting from behind, they attacked the center of the Death Knight Brigade, and finally, the Death Knight Brigade could no longer withstand the suicide squad’s fierce assault.

Eventually, the Death Knight legion was divided into dozens of fragments, and their formation, which they had been trying to restore, shattered completely just like the protective barrier before it.

Thus, the defensive line and forces that the Cult of Immortality had been so proud of completely collapsed, and the path to Seoul Station fell entirely into the hands of the Seoul Allied Forces.

“This wasn’t supposed to be our fate!”

All that remained for the Cult of Immortality now was their headquarters at Seoul Station, the undead forces scattered throughout various cities, and the black magical energy that was stretching from the ground toward the sky, prepared for the final battle.

Their original plan had been to pressure the Seoul Allied Forces using the Death Knight Brigade, undead golems, and the unpredictable North Koreans, then use their secret weapon to annihilate the Seoul Allied Forces. But who could have known that the Seoul Allied Forces would be prepared to turn Seoul into a sea of flames!

The infrastructure and facilities remaining in Seoul were tempting resources for Seorabel, and thinking that if Seorabel was to be the new nation ruling the Korean Peninsula, they would never give up Seoul, the Cult had played a game of chicken. Unfortunately, their opponent had literally and brutally slaughtered the merchant ship that was playing the same game.

The Cult of Immortality was crumbling in the face of this insanely reckless decision that defied common sense, and there was only one way to turn the situation around.

“We’re not yet ready to defeat Bahamut.”

That was to summon the god worshipped by the Cult of Immortality to Seoul.

But according to the Cult’s original plan, the black magical energy reaching toward the sky needed to reach the very end of the sky for their lord to complete the secret weapon that could defeat the dragon god. However, the progress of the black magical energy was only halfway.

In this situation, even if they summoned their lord, while he might be able to defeat Kim Su-ho and his suicide squad outside, if asked whether he could defeat the dragon god Bahamut who had entered the main stage…

“Keep attacking! The more we attack that black magical energy, the more incomplete it becomes!”

But the deliberation didn’t last long.

The suicide squad led by Kim Su-ho, which had reached Seoul Station, was not attacking the Cult of Immortality’s headquarters but the black magical energy stretching toward the sky.

The moment the suicide squad’s magical attacks hit the energy, the flow of magic heading skyward collapsed, and the overall magical energy began to decrease. Realizing that if they gave the Seoul Allied Forces even a little time, the secret weapon that the Cult of Immortality had been preparing for so long would be neutralized…

“Summon our lord! Rather than letting everything we’ve prepared collapse, we might as well annihilate the Seoul Allied Forces!”

They finally decided to summon their lord.

“Hey, brother.”

“I know.”

At that moment, the air began to freeze, to the extent that even Seorabel, who had been attacking the pillar of black magical energy from outside, could feel it.

The heat that had been generated by the rampage of the Seoul Allied Forces and the Cult of Immortality began to cool down, and the black magical energy that had been heading toward the sky stopped its ascent.

And despite the fierce battle that had taken place, the entire city maintained a silence as if no one was there, and those gathered in Gangbuk maintained their silence as if everything had ended.

“What is this?”

Among the suicide squad members, only the Hwarang who had experienced this situation before could speak up.

Especially for the Hwarang who had been with them since the days of the Balhut Cult, this situation was not unfamiliar at all.

Yes, they couldn’t help but know.

“No way. It can’t be. Was what the Cult of Immortality claimed actually true?”

This sensation was the powerful pressure they always felt when the dragon god Bahamut was summoned.

And as the heavy silence that had been as quiet as if everything had ended came to an end, the earth began to shake.

The black magical energy, whose flow had stopped just a moment ago, began to release all the magic it had accumulated, and in the face of this magical flow, the suicide squad could only duck down and pray for the situation to pass.

The black magical energy instantly transformed into a violent magical storm, beginning to devour everything near Seoul Station, and buildings swallowed by the darkness called black magical energy began to shatter.

The suicide squad members protected by dragon armor were only slightly uncomfortable but could still function, while the supporting units on the outskirts were caught in the magical explosion and disappeared in an instant, shattered to pieces.

“Damn… it.”

“Is that the ‘lord’ the Cult of Immortality speaks of?”

And thump. Thump. Thump. A pulsating sound began to reach the ears of the suicide squad.

Jin A-yeon sighed as if lamenting this unreasonable situation, and Kim Su-ho rose to his feet with an expression that suggested the inevitable had arrived.

It was a being more powerful than they had thought, and at the same time, it was a mighty power that showed why the Cult of Immortality could confidently oppose Seorabel with their lord as a match for the dragon god Bahamut, far from despair.

“Here it comes!”

The black magical energy turned the sky over all of Seoul black, and as the space around Seoul Station collapsed, an arm that seemed neither undead nor human emerged.

As that arm emerged, all eyes of the Seoul Allied Forces turned toward it, and the intense power and weight felt from the arm gave them a sensation as if their heads were being forced downward.

And finally…

“■■■■■■■■■■!!”

“My ears. My head hurts! Ugh. Uugh. It feels like someone is trying to forcibly control my mind!”

“It’s a mental status ailment like what Banshees use! Everyone, stay alert!”

A roar no different from a monstrous cry.

Upon hearing that roar, all suicide squad members covered their ears, and with blood coming from their eyes and mouths, they began to be incapacitated one by one.

Even though they were protected by dragon armor, suicide squad members with slightly lower skills or mental strength couldn’t endure for long and cried out in pain. The only Awakened who could move properly were Kim Su-ho and Jin A-yeon.

However, it was hard to say they were lucky just because they had strong mental fortitude.

Those who remained standing until the end came face to face with the being that the Cult of Immortality called their lord, emerging from the gap in space.

“That is…”

“The lord that the Cult of Immortality spoke of.”

Black lightning opened the space, and red eyes began to rise from within the black clouds.

This was the trump card that the Cult of Immortality had been boasting about, and indeed, just by existing, it had incapacitated all suicide squad members except Kim Su-ho and Jin A-yeon, and it was about to descend upon Seoul.

They wanted to stop the summoning that the Cult of Immortality was performing right now, but even Kim Su-ho and Jin A-yeon were at their limit just maintaining consciousness in the face of the overwhelming presence of the lord before them.

Their hands and feet were frozen, no longer moving, and the appearance of the strong warriors was nowhere to be seen.

“As expected. We alone are not enough.”

“It seems. That way.”

But they did not despair even in the face of an opponent they could not resist.

From the moment they began this operation, they had assessed that the Seoul Allied Forces would likely not be much help against the being that the Cult of Immortality called their lord, and they reminded themselves of this.

Yes, the battle between the Seoul Allied Forces and the Cult of Immortality was merely a preliminary skirmish for the battle to come.

The real battle would begin when both forces revealed their trump cards, and the Cult of Immortality had simply declared first that they wanted to have the real battle against the Seoul Allied Forces.

Therefore, the Seoul Allied Forces also had to reveal their trump card to counter the being that the Cult of Immortality called their lord.

“Summoning spell.”

The time had come for the dragon god Bahamut to descend upon this land.

As the dark god’s main body was about to fully descend upon Seoul, Yu-na, who had been watching the situation in Seoul, used all the magical energy she had accumulated to cast the largest summoning spell.

“Come. My dragon god Bahamut.”

As if to penetrate the black sky that covered all of Seoul, a navy blue meteorite began to fall toward Seoul Station.