Ch.76Full-Scale War (3)

“Aaaaargh!!”

Blood spurted from the severed shoulder as the Apostle let out a scream.

The composure she had displayed until now was completely gone from her eyes.

All that remained was hatred and killing intent directed at me.

Whether she glared at me or not, I turned my attention to the assassin who had tried to stab me in the back.

The assassin wore an expression of disbelief that his weapon couldn’t penetrate what had appeared to be merely flowing armor.

“Are you okay being so stunned?”

The distance between the assassin and me was barely half a step, maybe one step at most.

It might have been enough distance for him to swing his dagger, but it was too close for me to swing my longsword.

So I stabbed my sword into the ground.

Then I filled my fist with battle energy and drove it into the stunned assassin’s jaw and solar plexus, rattling his consciousness.

“Kuhak!”

“You shouldn’t interfere when she’s making a recruitment offer.”

There was no response from my opponent, likely because the unexpected attack had knocked him senseless.

The assassin was effectively retired. I gave him one final kick to help him make a quick exit.

Kwang-!

The assassin I kicked flew far away and crashed into the wall beside the prince who was still hammering away.

It was an unexpected result for me, as I had been thinking of hitting the prince directly.

‘Something’s there.’

I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but something had definitely altered the assassin’s trajectory.

I couldn’t investigate right now since I hadn’t completely finished with the Apostle, so I turned my head back to look at her.

“Are you alright with that wound?”

A similar question to what the Apostle had asked me earlier when I injured my thigh.

The difference was that now I was the one asking, and the Apostle receiving the question couldn’t give any answer.

“I’m glad you seem to be fine. I was worried because it was an unfortunate accident caused by that person suddenly pushing from behind.”

“Accident…?”

“Yes, an accident. I was actually interested in hearing that job offer you were making.”

At my words, she glared at me even more intensely, and I responded with a smile to reciprocate her gaze.

And during this time, the amount of blood flowing from her arm was gradually decreasing.

‘Looks like she has some blood loss resistance.’

As the blood flow from her arm decreased, I could feel the previously agitated Apostle becoming calmer again.

Though she seemed to be trying not to show it outwardly, I could see other emotions mixing with the hatred and killing intent in her eyes.

“You said you wanted to hear properly. What exactly were you so curious about?”

“Primarily, I’d like to know what you’ve been preparing for this war. I’m curious how thoroughly you’ve prepared.”

“If you join us, I can certainly tell you that much. Of course.”

The Apostle put down the Snake Sword she was holding and approached me.

It was undoubtedly a situation where I should be wary of an approaching enemy, but somehow my sense of caution kept diminishing.

It seemed to be the same type of mental ability I had briefly felt earlier.

The Apostle, who had now approached right in front of me, extended her remaining arm for a handshake and spoke in a very friendly voice.

“Would you care to shake hands as a sign of our future cooperation?”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

I grasped her hand, and at that moment I could feel the flow of magical power.

The movement of magic appeared in none other than her hand.

What could she be planning?

As I was thinking this, she pulled me toward her while simultaneously moving her body to the side.

Chwajajak!

As soon as she moved to the side, the Snake Sword that had been positioned toward me suddenly expanded and shot toward my neck.

It seemed to be her trump card, but it didn’t work on me as I hadn’t dropped my guard.

“You monster.”

“Where would you find a pretty monster like me~”

I pulled the Apostle toward me in return, leaned my body backward, and then brought my knee up to break her elbow.

Kwajik-

Her arm bent in a direction it wasn’t supposed to bend, and another scream erupted from the Apostle’s mouth.

“Aaaagh!!!”

“Actually, even if you had sincerely tried to tell me, I was planning to find out myself. After all, how could I trust what an enemy says?”

Ignoring her screams, I continued speaking as I released her hand, grabbed her head, and slammed it into the ground.

Bang!

“Kuhuk.”

BANG!!

“Keuuk…”

BANG!!!

“…..”

“This should be enough to ask questions.”

Mental attacks didn’t work well against strong enemies like the Apostle before me.

Regardless of mental strength, the higher one’s level, the more perfectly they refined their being, leaving fewer gaps to exploit.

So completely incapacitating them like this was the best way to interfere.

“Now then… please tell me about the plans you know. Oh, and I’m curious about that secret weapon too.”

“That is…”

Just as the Apostle was about to say something, her neck suddenly broke.

Or more accurately, it felt like it lost all strength and crumbled.

Sensing something wrong, I turned my head to see an old man standing there.

The old man looked like he might collapse at any moment, but the presence emanating from his body was truly overwhelming.

“I thought information was leaking somewhere, but so that’s how you were extracting it. What an interesting ability.”

“That just now… was that a Death Knight? I never would have thought…”

I felt a drop of sweat running down my spine.

The Apostle who had been using the Snake Sword was certainly strong, but I had confidence I could defeat her.

However, the old man before me made me question whether I could win even if I used True Words.

Whether or not he knew what I was thinking, the old man continued speaking casually.

“Hoho, I didn’t expect you to notice right away.”

“The unique sensation I felt at my fingertips just now was that of a lifeless corpse crumbling.”

It was a sensation I had felt many times while going around destroying the Apostles’ bases and altars.

It was the same sensation that could be felt from corpses after the Bloodstones were extracted.

‘The question is… why did I feel that from an Apostle…’

Until I fought her, she was clearly alive. She bled when cut by my sword, and Lilly recognized her as an Apostle.

But the sensation felt when she died was different.

That sensation was clearly that of a dead being whose life force had completely disappeared.

“What kind of magic did you use…?”

“Corpses are surprisingly difficult to manage. They decay easily, and if not reinforced, they quickly weaken.

So I thought, what if I turn a living being completely into a Death Knight? And as you can see, it was successful.

As a bonus, depending on the materials used, I could even create ones that could deceive fairy eyes…isn’t that a great success?

You have no idea how many trials and errors I went through for this. If I had failed, truly…”

The old man continued talking as if he had become a scholar, and his appearance evoked the uncanny valley, making me shudder.

Combined with the unique atmosphere of a necromancer and his incomprehensible way of thinking, disgust welled up from the depths of my heart.

Until now, I had killed numerous Apostles without feeling any particular emotion.

I killed them because it was necessary, without holding personal feelings.

But I didn’t think I could do the same with the old man before me. He was the type that shouldn’t exist.

“So next I tried to turn a magician into a Lich, but unfortunately that failed… Oh my, I got carried away and talked too much because someone appreciated my work.”

“Keep talking. It wasn’t all bad, getting all this information.”

“You seem to be seeking information to win this war. Very well, if you have questions, I’ll answer them. Ask me anything.”

There was no sign of lies or deception in the old man’s eyes as he said this.

Could he really be planning to tell me everything?

With the intention of testing him, I asked one question. It was a question that could become a sharp dagger if the old man tried to hide something.

“You did the same thing to the Dwarf King, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. Unfortunately, he can’t use divine items, but his original power has been properly implemented.”

“And you can only move one at a time, right?”

“No, that’s not correct. Compared to ordinary Death Knights, they’re in better condition, so the efficiency is better.”

Everything I saw in his eyes was the truth. The truth without a hint of falsehood.

That made me even more puzzled.

He had no need to tell me these truths. Every truth he revealed would have been more effective if kept hidden.

Perhaps because I was deep in thought.

As if he could read everything on my face, the old man spoke.

“You look like you don’t understand why I’m telling you everything.”

“Of course I don’t. You’re actively exposing your weaknesses.”

“That’s because I believe I can resolve all of them. I believe in my abilities and in the weapon sent by our god.”

“We have one of those secret weapons too, you know.”

In response to my words, which might have seemed like petty pride, the old man smiled gently and spoke as if he had been waiting for this.

“The secret weapon you mentioned is probably the dragon living below.”

His expression was like that of someone with a twisted hobby of snatching and destroying a child’s toy.

“I’m afraid… it won’t arrive in time, that dragon.”

With a sinking feeling, I looked at the ring I had received from Cecilia.

Originally, I should have contacted her yesterday, and she should have arrived by now, but for some reason, I hadn’t been able to reach her.

And as if to wash away my growing concern, I finally received a call from Cecilia.

“I’m sorry for the late response. I was delayed by some people who came with weapons imbued with dragon-slaying energy.”

“It’s fine. There haven’t been any major problems yet. Though there might be soon.”

Cecilia’s voice sounded tired, but fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any serious issues.

She also said she could come quickly, so I shouldn’t worry, which suggested she had only lost some stamina and wasn’t seriously injured.

As I continued communicating with Cecilia, I observed the old man’s emotions. The emotion within him was surprise.

“Hoho, to think you really recruited that dragon. I’ve heard that heroes are guided by the goddess, and it seems that’s true.”

But his surprise was only to that extent. The devilish smile never disappeared from the old man’s face.

And as if responding to the old man’s smile, a violent reaction erupted from Cecilia’s side.

“…What is this! Why are all the monsters that were fine suddenly…!”

Cecilia’s voice was urgent and her words weren’t fully coherent, but I could grasp the general outline.

The gist of Cecilia’s message was that all the monsters that had been quietly existing in the lower levels had suddenly started rampaging.

‘Suddenly..? Why on earth?!’

If the monsters in the lower levels started rampaging, it would be a major problem.

They would devour and consume each other, reborn as one massive calamity.

That’s why Cecilia had positioned herself in the lower levels to prevent this.

I glared at the old man before me.

What method had the Apostles used to interfere with the lower levels that the dragon had been vigilantly guarding with wide-open eyes?

Interfering with those vast lower levels was a completely different matter from attacking Cecilia.

‘What on earth did they…’

As my mind raced faster, one phenomenon flashed through my thoughts.

A phenomenon I had experienced once before, where all monsters in the vicinity went berserk.

“Don’t tell me… a Monster Wave…?”

“Correct! Indeed, young people like you have such quick minds, making conversations so convenient.”

The phenomenon that could be considered this world’s defense mechanism had been neatly exploited by the Apostles.