Chapter 692: Chapter 692

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!

Thousands of weapons flew toward Count Crest’s forces. The once orderly advancing formation of the Crest Army was instantly thrown into chaos.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Wh-what is this?!”

“It’s magic! Enemy magic has been triggered!”

The soldiers were thrown into confusion by an attack they couldn’t even have imagined. The screams of terrified soldiers filled the battlefield.

The commanders of each unit turned around and shouted in panic.

“What are the mages doing?!”

“Magic is activating right now!”

“Stop the enemy mages! Now!”

But their cries were in vain. The whirling dance of blades flying through the air showed no signs of stopping.

The thousands of weapons moved freely, as if each had a will of its own, ruthlessly piercing into the formation of the Crest Army.

A few skilled knights and soldiers managed to deflect, dodge, or block the flying weapons but it made little difference.

The weapons they knocked away curved midair like living serpents and flew at them again.

Weapons slashing madly in every direction this was nothing short of pure terror.

Just because there were no techniques involved didn’t mean the assault could be taken lightly. A single brush from the blade on bare skin was enough to inflict wounds.

Count Crest’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

“Wh-what is that?!”

Even witnessing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t comprehend what was unfolding before him. It was as if an invisible, massive army had surrounded his troops.

He stood there blankly for a moment, then snapped back to his senses and shouted urgently.

“What are the mages doing?! Didn’t I tell you to be sure to suppress enemy magic?! Stop it! Stop that magic now!”

At the Count’s command, the mages desperately released waves of mana. But their faces were filled only with confusion.

In the end, the senior mage at Count Crest’s side wiped away cold sweat and stammered.

“I-it doesn’t seem to be magic.”

“What nonsense is that?! If that’s not magic, then what is it?!”

“T-the thing is…”

The mage had no answer. He knew that something like this was impossible without magic.

Unaware of Ghislain’s transcendent control over mana, they simply couldn’t make sense of what they were witnessing.

Grinding their teeth, the mages poured out even more mana, trying to find and dismantle any rearranged magical structures. But it was all futile.

All the while, the weapons fired by Ghislain mercilessly continued cutting down the enemy.

“Aaaaargh!”

The soldiers’ screams rang out without end. The Crest Army had now completely halted their advance and were fully occupied trying to fend off the flying weapons.

A little away from that chaos, Ghislain was moving his fingers elegantly like plucking the strings of an instrument.

At Ghislain’s fingertips, thousands of weapons danced in perfect harmony. He was like a conductor leading a massive orchestra.

‘The technique Belinda shared from my mother helped me immensely.’

Thanks to what he learned from Belinda, his control over the weapons had reached an even more refined level.

In the past, he had only been able to move the weapons in a simple, straightforward manner. But after acquiring the secret arts of the Shadow Knights, he was now capable of manipulating each weapon with far greater precision.

On top of that, the technique he had seen in his dream from a masked woman presumed to be an ancestor of the Shadow Knights had elevated his skills to an entirely new level.

Of course, even for Ghislain, controlling thousands of weapons wasn’t an easy task. More than half of them were still moving haphazardly.

But that didn’t matter. Even that much was enough to shatter the enemy’s formation.

It wasn’t just the Crest Army that was thrown into disarray. The mercenaries, who had been waiting with tense expressions, were just as shocked.

“Wh-what is that?”

“The weapons… they’re fighting on their own!”

“H-he’s a Transcendent. The Deputy Commander has to be a Transcendent.”

Under normal circumstances, such an overwhelming display would’ve elicited cheers. But not this time no one could find their voice. Shock and fear spread like ripples through the ranks.

The allied forces from Nodehill and the Larks were completely dazed. The troops from Count Swifel, who had come to support them, wore expressions of terror as if they were the ones facing Ghislain directly.

The knight leading Swifel’s troops lowered his head to hide the grimace twisting his face.

‘Carrying out the operation is impossible. He’s not someone we can handle.’

In truth, Count Swifel had ordered them to ambush Julien’s Mercenary Corps immediately after the war ended in victory. But now, it was clear just how reckless that plan had been.

How were they supposed to kill a mage who could control thousands of weapons alone, when they barely had a thousand soldiers themselves?

Even with thorough preparation and an organized attack, victory seemed doubtful. For now, he had to report back to the Count and find another way to deal with this man.

Thus, both armies stood stunned by Ghislain’s overwhelming performance.

Those who had followed Ghislain, at least, were in a better state. The Crest Army was in utter chaos, incapable of doing anything.

“Aaaaargh!”

“How the hell are we supposed to fight against that?!”

“What the hell are the mages even doing?!”

Cries of frustration and despair burst continuously from the mouths of the soldiers.

There’s a kind of fight that feels worth fighting but this wasn’t a battle against people, they were being forced to fight against weapons that couldn’t even be killed. No wonder their morale crumbled.

Still, blaming the mages was futile.

Thunk!

“Guh-huhk!”

Before anyone realized it, the weapons under Ghislain’s control were already flying deep into the enemy’s rear, relentlessly targeting the mages.

“C-cast shields! If we can’t suppress the magic, then focus on defense!”

The mages redirected all their mana toward protecting themselves. Still, those with lower circle levels were pierced by Ghislain’s flying weapons and fell one after another.

It hadn’t been long since Ghislain had begun manipulating the weapons, yet the battlefield had already descended into complete mayhem.

That didn’t mean everyone was frozen in fear. Amid the chaos, there were those who calmly sought a way to turn the tide.

Several knights looked ahead and shouted.

“Leave the weapons! Everyone charge! We need to get in close!”

It was the most rational decision. There was no need to fight an enemy without a physical body.

The soldiers nearby repeated the command, and those near them shouted it again. The order quickly spread throughout the ranks.

Everyone instinctively realized this was the only way to survive the hellish onslaught.

“Charge! Charge now!”

“Aaaaargh!”

The Crest Army grit their teeth and began charging forward. Cavalry on the flanks spurred their horses at full speed.

Their eyes were fixed on a single objective.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

They were aiming to kill Ghislain, who stood at the very front. They believed that if they took him down, they could resolve this ridiculous situation.

That belief wasn’t wrong. But whether they could actually kill Ghislain was a different matter.

Ghislain snorted and twisted up the corners of his mouth, gripping his staff tightly.

“It’s a bit of a shame Kong isn’t here right now… but running around like this is good exercise, too.”

Fwoooosh!

A burst of blue mana surged, and Ghislain’s body shot forward.

Even with a massive number of enemies rushing at him, a relaxed smile hovered on his lips. No, he looked positively thrilled.

It had been a while since he could go all out, and he was clearly enjoying himself.

In contrast, the Crest Army soldiers charging at Ghislain still wore expressions of fear and confusion.

Soon, Ghislain and the Crest Army clashed.

KABOOM!

With a swing of his staff, the lead soldiers were flung away. Ghislain surged into the enemy ranks like a bolt of lightning.

BOOM!

Each time his staff swung, soldiers went flying like rag dolls.

The thousands of weapons that had been wreaking havoc across the Crest Army formation now gathered to orbit around Ghislain.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

A spear flew and brought down a cavalryman’s horse, and a sword pierced through a knight’s armor. The weapons, like living beasts, lunged into the enemy’s gaps without mercy.

Amid that deadly dance of blades, Ghislain swung his staff. His movements were as fierce as a raging storm.

FWAAASH!

Ghislain’s steps, now imbued with mana, grew even swifter. Wherever he passed screams erupted.

“Close in the encirclement! Capture him!”

At someone’s shout, the soldiers rushed toward Ghislain just as they had been trained to do.

However, there was no need for that as Ghislain had already pierced deep into the center of their formation.

KWA-GA-GA-GANG!

Ghislain’s staff spun at incredible speed. Like a whirlwind, the nearby soldiers were flung in every direction.

Even in that chaos, every flick of Ghislain’s fingers sent weapons slicing through the air, killing more soldiers.

“I- we can’t even get close to him!”

“How the hell are we supposed to fight this guy?!”

“Why can’t the mages stop him?!”

Cries of terror burst from all over. But there was nowhere to run. Ghislain had already enclosed them with a wall of blades.

“Time to wrap this up.”

A smile spread across Ghislain’s lips. He raised both hands toward the sky. Instantly, every weapon floating around him shot up into the air.

And as he brought both hands down again

FWAAAAAASH!

Like a black rainstorm, thousands of weapons came crashing down to the earth.

The soldiers of the Crest Army instinctively looked up. Their eyes were filled with dread.

The widespread downpour of blades engulfed them completely.

KWA-AAAAAAAANG!

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Those who tried to flee, those who tried to fight back none escaped the storm of steel.

“Transcendent.” A term used for those who possess power beyond human limits.

They say a Transcendent can take on ten thousand soldiers alone. That’s why they’re regarded as strategic weapons, impossible to stop unless by another Transcendent.

At this very moment, Ghislain embodied the full meaning of that title.

But Ghislain had a weakness. This body wasn’t his own. No matter how talented he was, he couldn’t continuously use techniques of a Transcendent caliber with a mere 6th-Circle body.

“Guh…!”

He hunched over and vomited blood. Sadly, it was clear this body couldn’t keep displaying Transcendent-level power much longer.

But it didn’t matter. More than half the enemy had been killed or rendered unable to fight, and even those still standing had completely lost their will.

Just look. Even as Ghislain coughed up blood, not one dared to approach him.

“M-monster…”

“How can a mere mercenary have such power…”

“I think… he took down five thousand men on his own. Is he really a Transcendent?”

Ghislain’s final attack had scorched the battlefield. The sheer, awe-inspiring force had left the Crest Army frozen in fear.

A moment of stillness blanketed the battlefield. The only person moving was Ghislain, spitting out the last of the blood in his mouth.

Wiping his lips, face pale but smiling wide, he said cheerfully,

“I’m off now. That was fun.”

FWOOSH!

Ghislain retreated swiftly. He could still fight a little longer, but the mana he had left had to be saved for something else.

Even watching him retreat, the Crest Army stood frozen in place.

He had looked like he could kill every single one of them alone so why was he suddenly retreating?

Their minds filled with that single question. But soon, a few commanders snapped back to their senses and shouted,

“Catch him! Hurry, catch him!”

“We have to kill him now!”

“After him! Now!”

The Crest Army came to life. A warrior that strong wouldn’t retreat for no reason.

It could only mean he had no strength left to fight. Anyone could figure that out with a little thought.

“WAAAAAAAH!”

With a thunderous roar, the Crest Army charged after Ghislain. This was their chance. They had to kill that terrifying monster no matter what.

They kept shouting as they ran, to overcome their fear and to lift their utterly broken morale.

All of their attention was fixed on Ghislain. As if he were the only enemy on the battlefield.

But there were those who had been waiting for this very moment.

Seated astride his horse, Julien extended his sword forward in a picture-perfect pose.

A stance that Ghislain had nagged him about night after night – now it was flawless.

“All forces…”

Julien’s low voice echoed across the battlefield.

“Charge.”

FWOOOSH!

Julien, at the front, spurred his horse into a gallop. Kyle and Tyran followed right behind him.

“WAAAAAAAH!”

Everyone roared as they surged forward.

Their faces were already brimming with the joy of impending victory.