Chapter 640: Chapter 640
The appearance of those creatures was horrifying. Their heads looked as if a human face had been forcibly grafted onto a bat’s skull. Their pale skin was bloodless like that of a corpse, and blue veins stood out across their faces like fine threads.
When they opened their mouths, their cheeks split apart, revealing hundreds of sharp teeth. Their tongues were forked like a snake’s, constantly dripping black saliva from the tips.
Instead of hair, numerous tentacle-like appendages sprouted from their heads, writhing as if alive. Their torsos were grotesquely fused, a human upper body gruesomely elongated and merged with a bat’s lower body. Ribs jutted out from beneath their skin.
There were so many of them that they formed a forest in the sky. With their ability to fly, they swiftly closed in on the soldiers, clinging to them. Their massive frames granted them immense strength, allowing them to feast upon their prey…
Even the elite forces of the North, who were not easily shaken, grimaced at the sight of the monstrous creatures.
“Ugh… What the hell are those?”
“They look even nastier than Grex.”
“This world really has everything, doesn’t it?”
Sweat formed on the soldiers’ hands. It wasn’t out of fear, but rather an instinctive aversion to the sight of those monsters.
KAAAAAAH!
Just as described in the records Ghislain had read, the monstrous bats swarmed in, darkening the sky.
There seemed to be tens of thousands of them. They varied in size, some as large as an adult man, others about half that size.
Even the smaller ones were significantly larger than regular bats, making them no less disturbing.
Since they could fly, they moved even faster than the Riftspawn. Though they didn’t soar too high, they were more than capable of diving down upon the clustered soldiers.
A conventional army would have been caught off guard and torn apart by such a sudden assault.
Unfortunately for the bats, they had chosen the wrong opponents.
“Hmph!”
Rumble!
As Jerome stretched out both arms, the monstrous bats, which had been spreading out in flight, were suddenly forced toward the center as if being pushed by an unseen force.
KIEEEEK!
“Flame Strike.”
Vanessa casually waved her hand and murmured. Immediately, a massive pillar of fire erupted in the midst of the tightly packed bats.
KWAHHH!
KAAAAAH!
The other mages didn’t hold back their mana either.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM!
Fireballs soared through the air, and lightning bolts crashed down. The monstrous bats exploded one after another before they could even approach the Northern Army.
The bats that continued to pour out from the back were swiftly impaled by the endless barrage of arrows.
KAAAAAH!
The forest before them was already engulfed in flames, the fire rapidly spreading.
Ghislain rushed forward and shouted, “Now, control the fire!”
The mages, who had been focusing on exterminating the bats, redirected their mana. As they concentrated on suppressing the blaze, the raging flames were quickly brought under control.
The monstrous bats seized the moment, flapping their wings furiously as they swarmed toward the soldiers.
The Transcendents spread out in a long formation, shielding the soldiers from the front. Only Ghislain rushed forward alone.
He had already informed them beforehand this time, he wanted to test his strength properly.
Boom!
Ghislain stomped the ground forcefully and thrust his sword forward.
Woooooong!
Once again, the world moved in sync with Ghislain’s will.
The moment his sword cleaved through the air, the swordsmanship of the great heroes from a thousand years ago unfolded in his hands.
Flutter!
The monstrous bats still flapped their winged arms, yet strangely, they could no longer advance.
As if time itself had frozen or as if they had been ensnared in an invisible web they were trapped in place.
Whoooooosh…
The flow of the world shifted. A force, as if a millennium had been compressed into a single instant, spread outward. The monstrous bats were caught in the vortex of that immense power.
Ghislain’s sword moved slowly. As if dancing, his blade’s movements drew the bats into its trajectory.
The soldiers widened their eyes. Even the Transcendents, usually unshaken, couldn’t hide their astonishment at the incredible sight.
KAAAAAH!
Before they realized it, the monstrous bats were all following the path of Ghislain’s sword. As they gathered into a single mass, his blade flashed.
BOOOOM!
A section of the bat horde erupted, exploding into pieces.
Ghislain’s sword did not stop. It continued slicing through the air, no, he was wielding his sword while dancing with the flow of a thousand years.
His swordplay no longer fit within any conventional form of swordsmanship.
It was as silent as a shadow yet as heavy as a knight’s blade. It was as free as the wind yet as furious as a volcano.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions echoed. Every time his sword moved, the monstrous bats burst apart without mercy.
Though they continued to struggle, they could not escape the domain of Ghislain’s will, as if they had stepped into a trap woven by his power.
Ghislain had fused the techniques of ancient heroes with his own swordsmanship, forging them into one.
A millennium of swordsmanship had been condensed into a single will, transforming into something entirely new.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
KAAAAAH!
The monstrous bats let out powerless screams as they were obliterated.
A drop of blood fell from Ghislain’s nose. The cold air of the forest seeped into the crimson trail, but his determination burned ever hotter.
Just a little more.
While fighting Aiden, Ghislain had taken his first step into a new realm. However, as Arterion had said, he had merely brushed against its threshold.
But now, it is different. Thanks to the help of the Saintess, he had finally crossed that boundary.
Though he had only reached the entrance, Ghislain had at last stepped fully into the domain where the heroes and Apostles of a thousand years ago had once stood.
Just a little more.
Yet, it still wasn’t enough. He had seen in his dreams just how powerful the Hero and the Adversary were.
Even the other heroes and Apostles of that era had stood at the very peak of this realm that Ghislain had only just begun to enter.
That was why he had to push himself to his limits, to drive himself forward without mercy. He had to become strong enough to surpass them.
More!
BOOOOM!
Ghislain’s eyes glowed crimson. The black darkness surrounding his body swirled into a raging vortex.
With Dark’s amplification, he pushed his power to its very extreme.
KWAAAAAH!
For the briefest moment, the world came to a standstill. It was as if even the flow of time had halted. Everything seemed to hold its breath, as if watching Ghislain’s sword.
His blade moved, cutting slowly through the air, drawing a single arc.
And then—
FWOOOSH!
The darkness enveloping him vanished. At the same time, every monstrous bat that had clustered together turned to ash and scattered into the wind.
THUD.
Wearing a satisfied smile, Ghislain collapsed backward.
“Young Master!”
“My Lord!”
“Your Highness!”
“Commander!”
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Those who had been watching rushed toward him, calling out to him however they pleased. Their eyes were filled with both awe and concern.
They already knew he was growing stronger at an unbelievable pace. But in just a few months, he had reached yet another new realm.
His astonishing rate of growth and his reckless disregard for moderation in battle left them speechless.
Ghislain lay unconscious, smiling as he bled profusely from his nose. He had pushed himself to the absolute limit, trusting in his allies to handle the rest.
His closest aides clicked their tongues as they looked down at him. No doubt, he had once again pushed himself to absurd extremes in the name of training.
But the soldiers and laborers saw things differently.
“That… that was incredible.”
“So that’s the true power of His Highness, the Grand Duke.”
“He really must be the strongest on the continent.”
He had single-handedly reduced tens of thousands of monsters to dust. The title of Transcendent or Master no longer seemed sufficient to describe him.
What could they even call this realm that so utterly surpassed human limits?
Everyone’s faces flushed with excitement. A renewed belief took root in their hearts that as long as they stood beside Ghislain, they could overcome any hardship.
The Northern Army’s morale soared higher than ever, their chests swelling with awe and inspiration.
And Julien, too, felt an unfamiliar emotion as he watched Ghislain fight.
― “I’m the one who’s going to settle things with you. Not now, but later. A lot of people are curious about who’s stronger.”
‘Who’s stronger, huh…’
Why now?
Why did those words, which he’d never paid attention to before, suddenly come to mind?
He never thought of himself as the strongest on the continent. More precisely, he had no interest in who was the strongest.
But now, something felt different.
‘Why…?’
Why had his grip tightened when he saw Ghislain’s sword?
It was an astounding sword. Julien wasn’t even sure if he could block it.
Yet the emotion he felt wasn’t mere competitiveness. He was not someone who obsessed over victory or defeat.
His thoughts were tangled. Even he couldn’t fully understand what he was feeling.
‘Why…’
Why had he envisioned himself clashing swords with Ghislain?
He wasn’t even going to fight him.
Julien shook his head. Lately, his mind had been wandering to pointless things.
Spending time with Ghislain, he had been feeling more and more emotional shifts. Whether this was a good or a bad change, he didn’t know.
One thing was certain, his life was no longer as dry and dull as before.
And these emotions, which he was experiencing for the first time in his life…
‘Not bad.’
This time with everyone he was no longer alone. Perhaps, this was what joy felt like.
Julien decided to hold onto only the good feelings in his heart.
Piote was pouring divine power into Ghislain with all his might. Before long, Ghislain opened his eyes.
“How was that…? Pretty insane, right?”
Seeing Ghislain acting smug despite his weary eyes, Belinda clutched her chest in frustration.
“Seriously, why don’t you know how to take it easy? Ever since you were a kid, you never knew when to stop…!”
“This was… just a light warm-up…”
“If you warm up twice, you’ll end up dead!”
Belinda started scolding him, but Ghislain turned his head away, pretending not to hear.
While others were making a fuss about how amazing it was, Kaor was not.
“Why the hell did you take them all down yourself?! I didn’t even get to show my skills properly!”
Lately, he had been feeling anxious again. He had fought for over two months with so many eyes watching him.
Yet, it felt like his skills were the weakest among them. He had kept count while fighting, and he had taken down the fewest.
As a result, his focus kept slipping. Even after becoming a Transcendent, his feelings of inferiority hadn’t disappeared.
Lately, even his Aura Blade had started flickering again, which made him uneasy.
Ghislain clicked his tongue at Kaor.
“You keep worrying about pointless things like that, and you’ll regress.”
“What? Once you’ve reached a level, how could you go backward?”
“If the world shakes… you can fall back, too.”
Kaor was stunned. Growing even more anxious, he retreated to a corner and started biting his nails.
Seeing this, Ghislain chuckled. Of course, that wouldn’t actually happen. He had only said it to scare him.
While Ghislain was resting, the soldiers and workers resumed their tasks. Since they would eventually have to use the land, it was better to prepare in advance.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Once again, they cut down trees and erected palisades. The gathered resources were sent to the garrison, while the necessary supplies were brought in.
Watching all this, Belinda commented,
“This forest is really vast. It’s already been over two months.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. No matter how smoothly the hunting and construction progressed, spending months outdoors was far from comfortable.
The workers had been rotated multiple times. In Ferdium, there wasn’t even enough space to store all the lumber, so additional workers had to be hired to transport it to other estates.
Despite this, everyone looked pleased. With resources piling up like crazy, there was no reason not to be.
Work had increased, but even the laborers were all smiles, they were receiving extra pay for the additional workload.
“Our kingdom was already the richest, but we’re going to get even richer at this rate.”
“And we’re getting richer, too.”
“Ah, it’s like money is being duplicated!”
Once everything was sorted, the Northern Army resumed their march. Dark occasionally scouted the area, but it was of little use.
― “Kek! I exploded again!”
The forest was swarming with monsters. Dark’s clones, unable to fly high, were quickly wiped out as they wandered about.
The deeper they ventured into the forest, the stronger the monsters became, though their numbers decreased relatively. Even at their peak, there were no more than a thousand at a time, nothing the elite Northern Army, filled with Transcendents, couldn’t handle.
And as they ventured even deeper into the forest, they stumbled upon something astonishing.
“This… this is…”
“Something like this existed in the forest?”
“What the hell is this place?”
In this nightmarish forest, traces of civilization appeared, structures that looked like they had been built by human hands.