Into the Enemy’s Heart 3

+++

Bang-!

Ripples of Qi burst forth from Doyun’s feet, cracking the earth beneath him.

Though the incoming boulder was of monstrous size and velocity – large enough to crush three houses – he leapt boldly to meet it.

In the next moment, his outstretched palm made contact with the boulder’s surface.

‘Overlord’s Divine Palm (패왕신장)’

His palm seemed to sink into the boulder like dipping into shallow water.

Shortly after, spider web-like golden cracks radiated outwards from his palm’s point of impact. Then,

Crunch!

Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the boulder shattered into pieces.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Doyun, accelerating like treading on air platforms using his movement technique Barracuda, landed on one of the larger fragmented chunks.

Bang-!

More Qi ripples burst forth, shattering that chunk. Doyun used the shattered fragments as platforms, leaping higher and higher into the air.

As he ascended, the cool night air whipped past his ears with a sense of speed.

The distant Goliath Siege, several kilometers away, lifted another boulder to hurl at him as it fixed its gaze upon Doyun.

Doyun met its eyes, retrieving an emerald javelin – the piercing wind javelin Aer – from a spatial rift.

The Goliath raised the massive boulder over its head. Doyun twisted his waist, pulling back his front leg’s thigh and arm into a javelin throwing stance.

His drastically enlarged Dragon Heart, boosted by the Berthe Elixir consumption, blazed intensely. A brilliant golden star shone from his dantian.

Scorching yet pristine mana coursed through his meridians. Doyun’s eyes turned golden.

His divine Mana Control abilities exquisitely enhanced only the specific muscles required for the aerial javelin throw.

Wooooosh….

Just as the Goliath hurled the gargantuan boulder towards him again,

Twang-!

The javelin fired from Doyun’s hand, leaving a rippling shockwave trail of concentric air pressure rings.

Thrown with a whip-cracking sensation yet retaining immense elastic force, the Aer was accelerated by a spiraling golden mana vortex enveloping it.

The Pride knights gaped at the emerald-golden streak slicing straight across the night sky.

The Aer pierced through the Goliath’s incoming boulder without faltering, and eventually,

Kiiing-

With a rending screech, its emerald-golden light penetrated the Goliath’s solar plexus region – its core location.

Wooooooosh….

The sound of the distant Goliath collapsing like a crumbling mountain reached the knights’ ears.

The Dark Lord’s long-range siege artillery tower, the Goliath Siege, had been countersniped and felled in a single blow by Apostle Han Doyun.

[Skill ‘Javelin Throwing’ Level has increased. Current Level: 5]

Doyun casually tapped the system window that appeared in mid-freefall.

‘It really has been a long time.’

His Javelin Throwing skill, which had stagnated at the high Level 4 range, leveled up from that long-range field application combat experience. The experience gain must have been immense.

‘And I haven’t even used the Point Conversion Tonic yet…’

Battles truly were the best training grounds.

Doyun felt his chest swell with anticipation at continuing to fight and consume Point Conversion Tonics on the battlefield.

Watching Doyun land gracefully, Rockfeller muttered to his vice-captain,

“…Our javelin specialist, Solah, could he pull off something like that?”

“He could probably hit it throwing from the ground, but not penetrate a Goliath’s defenses in one blow from that distance. It’s simply too far.”

“What javelin level is he?”

“C-Rank. Level 7. Among the continent’s top five javelin specialists.”

“…Is he really just an 8-month Apostle?”

Rockfeller muttered in disbelief as he began walking over to reunite with Doyun.

“I’ll have to compile a list of everything Muspelheim can offer Apostle Han Doyun when we return. No matter what, we’ll bring him into Pride’s ranks before he ascends to Herohood.”

“Yes, sir!”

They hurried their pace towards the Apophis Plains as scheduled.

+++

As dawn broke, the Alliance main force clashed with the Dark Lord’s armies on the Apophis Plains.

The generals’ eyes shook as they beheld the Dark Lord’s forces.

“That… that number…”

“…At least 13,000, it seems.”

The enemy’s numbers, initially around 10,000 upon departure and then 11,000 three days prior, had now swelled to 13,000.

‘How?’

Then, Rei’s head suddenly whipped around, his pupils constricting like a reptile’s as his draconic senses detected something.

Spreading mana through his body to enhance his vision, he spotted an officer within the Dark Lord’s ranks grinning slyly – a bizarre clown-like face with an outlandish hat.

‘That one…’

His master had briefed him about this figure before.

30 years ago, during the crumbling frontlines, this officer known as the ‘Jester Behind the Mirror’ had been infamous for deploying 500-man contingents using a wide-area stealth technique called ‘Hide and Seek’, tormenting the Alliance’s forces.

Now, his capabilities had advanced to concealing up to 3,000 troops.

‘Damn it…’

The top-secret Alliance intelligence had been accurate.

The Dark Lord’s forces were evolving systematically.

Rei clenched his horse’s reins tightly with growing anxiety.

‘Can I handle this…?’

Retreating here would inflict severe losses on the Alliance.

But recklessly engaging them carried risks too – not just from the ‘Jester Behind the Mirror’, but likely other evolved officers as well.

Moreover, this development severely hampered their hopes of relying on the infiltration detachment. An 80-man shock trooper squad would struggle to penetrate such overwhelming numbers.

Gulp. Rei swallowed hard with trepidation.

‘…We must fight.’

Fretting like a coward changed nothing. Somehow, they had to hold this ground.

This frontline – the culmination of decades spent fortifying behind the Celestial Bulwark’s barrier, painstakingly advanced by Apostle Han Doyun’s endeavors.

Yielding it without a fight as the Răzvolnic’s anointed inheritor, as one who claimed the Ley name, was unacceptable.

He gripped his War Qi instrument tightly, reciting the words his beloved elder sister had once whispered to him:

‘Rei Adrian Auclardelrm. I am the Ley Clan itself…!’

As the Dark Lord’s black tidal wave began its march, a draconic roar echoed across the battlefield.

“Charge-!!”

“”Waaaaaaargh-!!””

The war commenced.

+++

Bang, boom! The thunderous sounds of fire, earth, and lightning erupting drowned out any clashing of blades and swords.

While melee skirmishes raged at the front, both sides unleashed volleys of magic.

The Alliance forces erected defensive wards to block them, but the Dark Lord’s forces casually accepted the attacks – their expendable vanguard monstrous hordes acted as fodder to drain the Alliance’s strength.

“Grrraaaawwwrrr-!!”

Rei sank his fangs into the throat of a bear monster five times his size, thrashing wildly like a rabid beast on the battlefield.

Yet despite Rei’s rampage and their magical bombardment, the enemy’s numbers barely dwindled.

As the prime combat asset, Rei had to conserve his strength for the officers. More importantly, the sheer numerical superiority overwhelmed them – a situation originally intended for defensive warfare.

“Grrrr…”

Already drenched in enemy blood, Rei surveyed the enemy’s rear lines.

Their main forces stood arrayed in disciplined order, observing the battle from behind. Unsurprisingly, they showed no signs of fatigue.

They would likely commit once the Alliance forces tired from battling the endless monster waves. By then, the Alliance’s own frontline formations would be severely disrupted.

In war, formation integrity is paramount.

Fatigued and disorganized allied troops facing a fresh enemy charge in perfect battle formation? The outcome would undoubtedly be disastrous.

“Damn bastards…!”

Rei’s pupils slit like a reptile’s as he ground his fangs.

Meanwhile, at the Alliance rear lines, Sophie, Rocinante, and Tia – who had joined this war at Doyun’s recommendation – were present.

“Waah-!”

The innocent Tia gleefully bombarded the battlefield with magic, while the melee-oriented Sophie and Rocinante, being lower-leveled, remained behind to protect her.

Though still a child, Tia – a Dragon Lord’s hatchling – unleashed a relentless barrage rivaling higher Apostles in sheer destructive power, leaving no room to even breathe.

“Big Sis Sophie! When I attack, the doggies just explode! Even the bears explode!”

While such brutal scenes would seem cruel to a human child, the draconic Tia showed no empathy towards these lesser beings’ deaths – she was simply elated at finally experiencing live combat where she could unleash magic freely.

Sophie herself gaped at Tia’s meteoric growth rate.

“Sis, sis! When’s Daddy coming? Huh? I wanna show Daddy too!”

“Oh, uhh, Doyun will be here soon.”

“Soon? Really?”

“Yep. So let’s keep at it diligently.”

“Okay!”

Tia manifested three separate magic arrays with her tiny outstretched palms.

“Insane… triple casting…!”

“Just what the hell is that kid?!”

Moments later, a thick bolt of lightning struck the heart of the monster horde, branching into arcing tendrils that incinerated scores of them.

With the enemy relying solely on numerical might without anti-magic countermeasures, Tia’s raw offensive output drew astonished stares.

Following Sophie’s heroics at the Metapolis Fortress, this marked another dazzling debut for Team Han Doyun’s mages.

Thanks to Tia’s efforts, the lesser monsters gradually dwindled, albeit slowly. Watching this display, one Dark Lord officer – the ‘Hellfire Matchseller’ – clicked his tongue.

“Tch. What kind of monster is that brat? She’s scarier than a half-dragon.”

“Hey. We should accelerate our preparations.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The Hellfire Matchseller’s mage subordinates soon gathered around him.

Forming an array with the Matchseller at its center, they commenced a synchronized ritual, seemingly making preparations.

The surrounding temperature dropped as heat converged towards their array, an immense mana disturbance rippling outwards.

However, only Tia seemed to notice this due to her Anti-Perception concealment.

“Hm?”

She gazed towards the distant source of the mana fluxuations.

Yet as someone experiencing ‘combat’ for the first time, the young girl failed to comprehend that massive mana flow’s implications.

Shortly after, the Plain’s monster vanguard had been nearly eradicated.

Observing this from the rear while replenishing their strength, one Dark Lord officer – the ‘Headless Cavalier’ – muttered softly,

“Begin.”

“—“

Behind him, fully-armored yet headless and neckless suits of plate mail clanked ominously. The Headless Cavalier’s subordinates – the Dark Lord’s elite shock troopers.

Skeletal horses with armored riders mounted atop, their bone-white lances brandished towards the front.

Sensing this movement, Rei momentarily paused amidst the frenzied melee to glance back.

Clop, clop…

The skeletal horses began charging, belying their weak-sounding hoofbeats by smashing through lesser monsters and corpses underfoot at increasing speed, as if absorbing that momentum.

An unstoppable force was building.

With scarcely any time to react, Rei’s pupils constricted as he let out a screeching roar,

“The enemy is charging-aaaargh!!!”

Kwaaaang-!!

His cry was drowned out by the deafening collision.

Just as the Alliance’s scattered frontline fighters were being overwhelmed, Rei committed his full power in a head-on charge against the advancing cavalry.

Kwaaaang-!!

Another thunderous impact rivaling the prior clash echoed outwards.

Not from the heavily-armored cavalry’s charge, but from Rei’s lone momentum.

Grrrrraaawwwrrr-!!

The dragon rampaged through the skeletal field.

While the ‘Headless Cavalier’ and his troops swiftly fell to Rei, their systematically enhanced bodies had already inflicted near-fatal damage, shattering the Alliance’s frontline integrity.

Into that gaping breach flooded a black tidal wave – the Dark Lord’s main forces in pristine battle formation.

“Waaaaaaargh-!!”

The chaotic melee erupted anew.

The fatigued, disorganized, and frontline-collapsed Alliance facing a fully-prepared Dark Lord charge with the initiative advantage.

An overwhelmingly disadvantageous start.

“Aaaargh!! Fight! Fiiight-!!”

Rei’s beastly roars echoed from the heart of the fray, yet sounded more akin to anguished wails as allies kept falling.

‘No, not like this…!’

They were truly losing.

‘Absolutely not!!’

Gritting his fangs as he prepared to push his meridians to the breaking point channeling mana, a young girl’s voice suddenly reached Rei’s ears,

“Daddy’s here!”