The Black Duskroot

The blade that appeared from the darkness behind sliced sharply through the air towards him.

Doyun’s eyes widened at the size of the aura he sensed.

‘A Vanguard Commander!’

The moment the dagger tried to slash his flank, he twisted his body and simultaneously opened a black void in midair. The Cursed Demonic Spear, moving through the principle of Qixuanqian (Wielding Spears with Qi), emerged from the void, shooting up and deflecting the dagger from his flank.

The dagger failed to cut him, only striking the spear’s shaft instead.

Clang!

Without wasting any movements, Doyun had deflected the attack and immediately swung his sword behind him.

His immense sword speed left a golden sword aura trailing as it cleaved through the darkness. The enemy could not even attempt to evade, their neck severed.

Shink—

However, Doyun frowned.

The severed head bounced back up violently. Instead of blood vessels, springs emerged from the cut surface.

The rebounding head that fell to the ground had taken the form of a jester.

A cap decorated with jingling bells, pale makeup and heavy lipstick, an exaggeratedly stretched grin. Clearly meant as a whimsical appearance.

But the eyeless, blank sockets and an eerie aura resembling a murderer were enough to distort all the whimsy into sheer horror.

Jingle, jingle. The emaciated Vanguard Commander in jester attire stood in front of the fallen head. Soon, that head burst with a puff, transforming into a shimmering purple smoke.

“…”

“…”

Doyun and the new Vanguard Commander silently regarded each other.

The jester looked down at the dagger it had used to attack Doyun. The blade and the hand gripping it were rapidly corroding, emitting smoke.

Sizzle…

“…”

It flung away the dagger melting from the Cursed Demonic Spear’s curse. Then, unhesitatingly using the dagger in its other hand, it severed its own oozing, pus-filled hand.

Thunk. The severed hand fell with a dull sound, the figure slumping slightly.

It then extended the cut wrist towards Doyun, as if presenting it, before exaggeratedly waving its arm as if drawing attention with gestures.

After a brief pause, a perfectly intact hand had regrown from the empty wrist socket. Not just the body part, but the clothing, glove, and even a new dagger had regenerated as well. Like magic or a prank.

The jester silently regarded Doyun with its eerie grin, shrugging its shoulders in a soundless laugh as the bells jingled.

Though unnerving, Doyun merely observed and analyzed it stoically as ever.

‘Close combat. Multiple daggers. Deceiving abilities.’

He seemed to have discarded all emotion, focused solely on combat.

‘We cannot afford a prolonged confrontation. Time is against us.’

For now, the World Tree was quietly exerting its domain influence, allowing Doyun to rampage relatively unhindered.

He glanced towards the battlefield he had traversed.

“What is there to fear from a million-strong army? Crush the enemy!!”

“Waaaaaaargh!!”

The Alliance forces, brimming with morale, advanced with formidable momentum. Even the six warriors had joined the melee, rapidly collapsing the Demon Lord’s front lines.

However, once the World Tree awoke and the Vanguard Commanders began moving in earnest, the battlefield conditions would rapidly deteriorate for them.

Hence, Doyun needed to swiftly breakthrough and subdue the World Tree. Although it appeared he was leading and dominating the war, in truth, he was racing against time.

‘And of course, I’m stuck with a vexing Vanguard Commander’s abilities…’

Perhaps he would need to use the second heart sooner than anticipated.

The calculations did not take long. There was no time for protracted deliberation. Doyun lowered his stance and swiftly channeled his mana.

Boom—!

Barracuda. The Conquering Leg Aura erupted from his soles, kicking against the ground.

His lowered body accelerated, leaving an afterimage as it closed the distance to the enemy in a single stride.

Doyun planted his leading foot on the ground. A peculiar sensation, like flipping a switch, resonated through his ankle.

Puff!

Purple, shimmering smoke exploded from either side as if opening a prank box, revealing two more jesters.

‘Clones.’

But the deceiving ability made them both clones and real entities, each possessing the power of a Vanguard Commander.

The three jesters surrounding Doyun’s left, right, and front simultaneously swung their daggers at him.

However, such deceptions and ambushes could not deceive Doyun’s seventh sense.

Without the slightest change in expression, he moved his sword.

[Războinic’s Style Swordsmanship – Cross-Cut]

A wide horizontal swing deflected all the daggers. Even before completing the swing, a vertical slash so swift it seemed like a feint cut down the frontal jester.

The cross-cut executed with Level 9 Swordsmanship appeared to strike simultaneously, defying belief with its incredible speed and precision.

The true frontal jester deftly retrieved the sword Doyun had deflected, crossing its daggers overhead to block the incoming strike.

Clang!

The immense sword strikes clashed against the intersecting daggers. The jester’s knees slightly buckled from the impact.

Puff! As the main body took the blow, the two clones dissipated into smoke.

On one knee with its head raised, the jester trembled with both arms, struggling to block the sword before its blank, grinning eyes. Even amidst this, its disturbing artificial smile never wavered.

‘Ending this swiftly.’

An intricate mana flow that would defy ordinary beings coursed through Doyun’s body.

Hecleus’ Style Earthquake Stomp. His forward-planted sole, still grounded, suddenly carried the weight of a thousand pounds, sinking deeply into the earth.

As the ground shook, the barely standing jester’s body wavered. Doyun did not miss this opening.

Timing it with the upward recoil force of the Earthquake Stomp, his stationary sword accelerated through localized acceleration control.

The Hecleus’ Style’s intensity and the localized acceleration control’s speed – the sword infused with these two forces instantly shattered the balance of power as it descended, trailing a golden sword aura.

The jester watched the incoming sword that shattered even its daggers with the same unwavering expression.

The moment Doyun’s sword bisected its fist-sized nose, it performed the impossible.

“…”

Deflecting the downward sword at an inconceivable angle, it swung it back towards Doyun.

Clang!

A massive scythe blocked his sword, and Doyun quickly rolled away, distancing himself from the two enemies.

After his swift retreat, Doyun faced the front once more.

Jingle, jingle.

Two more identically dressed jesters jingled the bells hanging from their clothes. One held a massive scythe, the other clutched broken daggers.

The jester whose nose had been partly severed discarded its daggers and nonchalantly plucked off the cut portion of its large nose. It placed the piece in its mouth, chewed briefly, and spat it out, revealing a perfectly smooth new nose.

It reattached the new nose. The seamless attachment made it indistinguishable from a real nose.

Then, with another exaggerated wave of its arms that stilled, new daggers appeared in its hands.

The jesters silently looked at Doyun and shrugged their shoulders, the bells mockingly jingling at him.

Jingle, jingle.

“…”

Doyun felt vexed.

‘Troublesome abilities.’

The reason he had easily defeated the Vanguard Commanders at Muspelheim was due to his experience fighting them and the Holy Stones’ suppression.

But here, outside the Holy Stones’ barrier, the Vanguard Commanders wielded their full might. Moreover, this one was a new, vexatious type.

Of course, Doyun was still formidable. However, defeating it would undoubtedly consume considerable time, which was an unfavorable prospect for him.

‘Should I use the second heart?’

There were still three unengaged Vanguard Commanders remaining. To prepare for them, Doyun needed to conserve his strength.

But that was a concern for later. His immediate priority was subduing the Black Duskroot.

As Doyun faced off against the jesters, contemplating his options, a resounding voice echoed across the battlefield:

[Oh~ Ho ho ho ho ho~!]

A hearty, Santa Claus-like laughter.

Doyun whipped his head towards the enemy’s rear lines.

‘Damn it…!’

Too late. The Black Duskroot had awoken.

The moment it opened its eyes, it exerted its influence over the entire battlefield.

[Oh~ Ho ho ho ho ho!]

“Aaaargh!”

“Cover your ears!”

“What the fuck is that sound?!”

The soldiers staggered from the unpleasant, gravelly old man’s voice, even causing the warriors to halt their combat and cover their ears against the sound waves.

The massive tree trunk undulated obscenely like an engorged phallus before a large, grinning old man’s face appeared at the center. Wrinkled, bark-like skin. An utterly repulsive visage.

[Oh~ Ho ho ho ho! I, the Great Earth Mother, have been revived to serve the Demon Lord’s will! Heh-heh! Heh-heh!]

The Black Duskroot leered as its densely spread roots gauged the earth’s age, shuddering its branches and leaves in an orgasmic frenzy.

[Oooooh~! A hundred years! Damn, even after a hundred years, you failed to end this war! It must be because of that one! Razvolnic, that cursed cockroach!]

The constantly grinning old man’s face contorted into a grotesque sneer. Its voice grew as coarse as tearing steel plates, causing the soldiers to cower in pain with covered ears.

The Alliance’s offensive, which had been proceeding with favorable momentum, ground to an instant halt.

Lilith flew towards the massive tree trunk and shouted vehemently:

“Hey! Black Duskroot!”

[Ooh~? That voice… Oh! If it isn’t our Dream Queen, whom I haven’t seen in a hundred years! How have you been doing, hmm?]

“Black Duskroot! The situation is dire! Our front lines keep falling back, and this is the final battle before the Demon Lord’s Citadel! No matter what, we must kill Razvolnic here!”

Explanations about the new Demon Lord’s ascension, Razvolnic’s death and rebirth, were omitted – time was of the essence. Victory in this battle took precedence.

[Oh, oh! So it has come to this without the Great Earth Mother! But fear not! This very body shall…]

“Over there! That’s Razvolnic!”

His rambling could become endless. Lilith, familiar with the Black Duskroot’s ways, cut him off and pointed directly at Doyun.

[Ooh?]

The massive gaze descended upon the center of the battlefield. An immense presence bore down oppressively on him.

“…”

Doyun’s hardened expression met the Black Duskroot’s scrutinizing stare.