Into the Enemy’s Heart 6

Thud!

The massive severed boar’s head hit the ground as Doyun landed, placing one foot atop the giant ogre’s skull.

Both allies and enemies gaped in different ways at his formidable presence.

Waaaaaaaaah–!!

The Dark Lord forces recoiled in shock, while the Alliance troops who witnessed it cheered raucously.

Merely 3 minutes since the infiltration detachment’s entry, the battlefield situation had reversed entirely.

With a wry smile observing the hero of this war, Lei bared his fangs and shouted.

“Apostle Han Doyun! The Slayer Guildmaster fights alongside us! Keep pressing relentlessly!”

“Waaaaaaah–!!”

The formerly pristine enemy formation split asunder, its center utterly decimated. Doyun’s solo sublime display ignited the Alliance’s morale.

The overwhelming presence of a true war hero who had lived solely on battlefields for 200 years.

“Daddy’s the best~! Daddy!”

From the rear, Tia jumped excitedly at her awesome father’s feats and the surrounding people’s appreciative reactions.

As always, Sofy and Rocinante smiled at their reassuringly dependable team leader’s display.

Meanwhile, the Dark Lord officers gradually backed away from the advancing Doyun.

“Damn…”

“Stop him somehow! Don’t let him approach!”

The Matchseller’s ritual could not be disrupted at all costs. Whether to annihilate the enemy or ensure retreat, without it they would be severely disadvantaged.

“He’s… really only 8 months old?”

“These so-called Boss Monster Killers are all terrifyingly monstrous beings. He’ll probably spawn an infant Calamity Dragon next?”

“Given this situation, we’ll modify the operation.”

The officers muttered amongst themselves.

“We abandon this war. Instead, our new objective is to take Apostle Han Doyun’s life.”

If they could eliminate even one such Boss Monster Killer, it would not be a total loss even if utterly defeated here.

The Alliance would soon counterattack, but Doyun was currently isolated at the center regardless. There may not be a better opportunity.

“For our Dark Lord, we slay him here!”

Overhearing this, the Hellfire Matchseller began adjusting his ritual’s target coordinates.

Originally intended to decisively wipe out the enemy rear or incinerate their formation for retreat, even Doyun’s anti-demon prowess would prove futile against this dread war-grade magic.

It began preparations to solely target Han Doyun himself.

+++

To halt Doyun’s rampage, volleys of all kinds rained upon him.

Arrows. Spells. Curses. Yet none could meaningfully harm him.

Rather, as he deftly maneuvered towards the demonic clusters, only the Dark Lord’s own troops were increasingly caught in their friendly fire.

While marveling at Doyun’s exploits, the Alliance rear urgently pushed to link up, relentlessly bombarding the enemy formation separating them from the infiltration detachment.

However, their detection magic then picked up an anomaly.

“Emergency! The enemy is preparing a large-scale war spell!”

“Commander! Order all mages to form defensive shields!”

“Sir Lei is also in danger! We must relay a retreat order!”

“I’ll go!”

The Alliance rear erupted into sudden pandemonium as mages scurried about frantically.

Observing this, Doyun’s team stood bemused. Sofy grabbed a passing mage’s arm.

“What’s going on? A spell? Sir Lei is in danger too?”

“Huh? I’m busy right no-“

Recognizing Sofy’s face and realizing she was part of Doyun’s team, the mage fell silent.

“Ah, you’re…”

“What about our team leader? Is, is Sir Lei retrieving him?”

As the mage hesitated, another commander shouted instead.

“He’s right in the enemy’s heart! Relaying or retrieving him is impossible! Hey! You hurry and prepare defensive wards!”

“Y-, Yes sir!”

“Th-, Then what about our team leader?!”

“…”

Everyone averted their gazes.

None could answer her query.

Overhearing this, one of the nearby commanders avoided Sofy’s eyes as he reluctantly muttered.

“…Th-, The spell will likely target this direction – our rear echelons. So perhaps the Apostle Han Doyun area will be… ahem, ahem.”

He did not finish his words. His conscience sealed his lips.

The sublime display Apostle Han Doyun had unveiled thus far. And his widely known status as a Boss Monster Killer across the continent.

Unspoken yet understood by all – the enemy could abandon this war to solely target Doyun instead.

Yet war was cruel. With Doyun isolated deep behind enemy lines, there was nothing they could do.

All they could do was pray the enemy’s war spell aimed not for the hero Han Doyun, but here. It was all they could hope for.

“Sir Lei and the vanguard have retreated within the warding range!”

“Activate the barrier field!”

The awkward silence quickly dissipated as pandemonium resumed. Mages took positions, chanting incantations as the ambient mana fluctuated wildly.

“Sis. What about Dad?”

“…”

Perhaps even a child could sense the ominous atmosphere. Or maybe her draconic intuition warned her. Tia tugged Sofy’s sleeve, but Sofy could not respond.

She simply stood there, a dazed, haunted look on her face.

Tia asked the hurrying passers-by instead.

“Dad? What about Dad? You’re not getting our Dad?”

“…”

None could bring themselves to expose that harsh reality – war’s cruelty – to an innocent child’s bright eyes.

And soon, the Hellfire Matchseller’s ritual completed.

“Preparations complete!”

“Cast it!”

The Matchseller and his subordinates extended their hands skyward.

+++

Shlick-

Thunk!

“Ugh-“

Doyun rampaged across the battlefield, relentlessly slashing and skewering demons without respite.

His rapidly expanding dantian’s Dragon Heart blazed insatiably like a sun.

Yet amidst that ceaseless wellspring of mana, Doyun sensed an ominous premonition.

‘This is…’

Not an unpleasant sensation.

Rather, an exhilarating feeling sending chills down his spine.

‘Enlightenment.’

Something was coming.

For him, this battlefield held no special significance. He had experienced countless equally perilous battles where he fought alone like this.

However, the various adjustments conveyed by the System.

‘The ‘growth’ granted by converting points was not mere systemic representation.’

The same tangible growth he had experienced 100 years ago when mastering the sword, fists, and Manifest Sword arts.

Through the System, Doyun was now experiencing steeper growth than ever before.

But that was not all.

‘Willpower…’

Doyun recalled a trait he had once greatly anticipated.

[First Războinic]

…

(You are the first hero, the first Războinic.

The root word ‘Războinic’ stems from the courage to challenge timeless tribulations, and the unbreakable will to overcome even death’s perils.

Your willpower grows stronger.)

Willpower – the most crucial, powerful energy for manipulating mana.

The reason an ordinary person like him could ultimately reach Manifest Sword’s zenith and subjugate the Dark Lord. The source of his peerless genius in mana control.

His paramount talent unmatched by any in this world – the very reason he was chosen as a hero, the overwhelming gift only Enoch had been born with.

That willpower was now amplified by the System’s might.

‘More.’

Doyun mindlessly flailed sword and spear.

Even as sword ki and spear ki lanced out endlessly culling demons, his mana showed no signs of depletion.

‘More, more…!’

He could feel his growth accelerating in real-time as points streamed in. His willpower intensifying.

Sword and spear strokes grew swifter. His golden irises shone more vibrantly.

Transcending limits few experienced in a lifetime – that consummate, blissful sensation was encroaching.

The more demons he slew, the sharper that feeling manifested.

‘More!’

Doyun gripped the Hurricane Javelin Anemos inversely, forcefully plunging it into the earth below.

Kwaaaaaah-

The whirling tornado shredded the surrounding demons. And Doyun felt the wind carrying their bloodied viscera.

Like a dancer’s flowing swordplay, his blade moved with supple, enigmatic grace – like the wind itself.

Synchronizing his sword’s path with that gale, infusing Anemos’s cyclone into his edge – imbuing the wind’s very precognition and swiftness into his blade.

Răzvolnic Style Swordsmanship – Windstorm

His emerald-golden wind-wreathed sword. Sheathing it against his waist, Doyun swept it horizontally in an immense arc, slicing the wind itself.

Răzvolnic Style Swordsmanship – Blooming

Piercing through Anemos’s dome-shaped tornado, countless razor-sharp wind-infused thrusts bloomed forth endlessly.

9 strikes. 18 strikes. 27 strikes…

His willpower sharpened to unprecedented clarity. His denser mana burned ever more intensely, birthing myriad sword beams.

Yet his willpower showed no signs of waning.

Within his dantian, willpower blazed like a star.

Splurch splurch splurch-

“Guaahhh-!”

“Sh-, Shit run!”

“Monster…!”

50 strikes.

50 wind-imbued piercing thrusts, each skewering two or three demonic bodies, radiated outwards in a devastating shockwave across the battlefield.

And through the influx of points converted in real-time, Doyun’s willpower only intensified further.

‘More!’

He surrendered himself to this sublime sensation.

But then.

“…!”

Doyun’s body froze.

His instincts rang alarms.

Too widespread a threat to evade through even his unmatched Zephyr Step or the mini-golem’s brief rewinds. An inevitability he could no longer avoid.

Already, dreadful heat seared his crown and shoulders as proof.

“…”

Doyun looked skyward.

Fwoooosh-

A sable sun blotted out the heavens.