[Cursed Sword]
[Difficulty: The One Who Fulfilled My Wish]
[Notability: 67,000]
[Artifact Information: The 16th Commander-in-Chief of the Saralan Empire, a young general, wielded this very artifact. Because of this artifact, he was also known as the Cursed Blade General.
This artifact was lost to its descendant, the final commander, during the war to defend the nation against demons.
The artifact, along with his body and the souls of numerous demons, was sealed in a hidden location.
During this battle, the Slayer Kaland descended upon the Cursed Sword Clan's location and slaughtered all remaining members of the family.
Take Kaland's head, and the Cursed Sword will be your reward.
Capture Kaland alive and slay him with the Cursed Sword, and you will obtain the fully activated Cursed Sword.
This artifact can pierce the soul, anchor the body, sever all things, and separate soul from flesh. (Perfect)
Arka sat in the round tower's hall, leaning back in his chair and looking at the map before him.
Aside from the Holy Grail-level treasures hidden at the golden spots on the map, which were completely unknown, the two crucial orange beams of light had reached perfection. This meant that the two scepter-level treasures now only lacked the necessary conditions.
Arka looked at the beam representing the [Spellblade].
Kalandr the Slayer...
Arka had no information about this demon, but he had seen records of the Cursed Blade family being slaughtered by a demon.
So that demon was Kalandr. With such a title, it meant that this demon might still be alive, and perhaps even stronger.
Now, the only remaining condition for obtaining this treasure was to find the demon named Kalandr and see if he could capture him alive or kill him.
This would depend on his current strength.
"Have you gotten some information from Grayfar?" Sofia asked, pushing the door open and seeing Alka already seated in the hall.
Alka turned and looked at Sofia, whose body was still stained with blood, and nodded.
"Are the demons still attacking?"
Sofia shook his head. "No, I just went to provide support elsewhere."
After cleaning up, Sofia sat down next to Alka and looked at the map in front of him.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Arka, pondering this, nodded. "As Greyfar said, it's best for us not to go to the Demon-Proof Fortress right now. It's not suitable for us yet.
Mainly, it's easy for the Devouring Mouth to find a flaw there, even though the fighting is currently at its fiercest."
Sofia didn't say much after hearing this. After a moment's thought, he asked, "So, what have you decided now? Will you stay here until the time is right? Or are you preparing to leave?"
After all, the Demon Hunting Fortress no longer has many problems; many demons have been mobilized to the main battlefield.
The endless demons aren't truly endless; they're simply far more numerous than the human side.
"Let's stay here a while longer. When that night comes, we'll leave."
Arka was referring to the night needed for the ritual to be performed, allowing Sofia to become a Moon Power.
The best approach would be to wait until that dark night, when the necessary conditions were met, and then leave to retrieve the treasure. If they left now, they would have no choice but to wait.
Arka could also search the Demon Hunting Fortress for information on Kalande.
After all, it was this demon who slaughtered the Cursed Sword Clan, so Greyfort couldn't possibly not have information about him. Furthermore, the Demon Hunting Fortress is the place in the world where Scar holds the most information on demons.
Here, many powerful demons are named, along with their abilities and the best ways to deal with them.
Demon hunting itself isn't about recklessness; rather, it's about exploiting demons' recklessness against them.
Hearing this, Sofia nodded.
After a few small talks, Arka opened the gate to the inner space and entered the Heart of Vastva.
Sofia followed in.
The area they entered wasn't within the town of Vastva, but rather about a kilometer outside.
Upon entering, it was immediately apparent that the magic concentration inside the space was not much different from that outside, though it was less violent and active.
The Vastva people were essentially accustomed to this level of magic, but enduring the violent magic outside was a bit too much of a challenge.
We could only consider this once they all became Touchers.
Becoming a Toucher was different from what Alka and the others had envisioned.
Because they had never truly allowed large numbers of people to become Touchers, only a few at a time. There were no problems back then.
When they began touching the Vastva people en masse, they realized they couldn't do it continuously.
Although there were so many spots available, they couldn't awaken them all at once; they had to proceed gradually.
Otherwise, it would disrupt the magic within the artifact itself.
But for them, it was almost time.
In a few months, nearly all Vastva members will be capable of becoming Touchers.
A kilometer away from where they were now, was a new complex of buildings.
It could be seen that this area was constructed of extremely sturdy steel.
The buildings in this area were a deep black, surrounded by a black steel fence.
Up close, one could sense the faint presence of lightning on the fence.
Additionally, the entire area was dotted with numerous sentry towers.
Atop these towers, one could see various heavy magical kinetic weapons.
These weapons were created by Simon and the current Vastva researchers through the restoration of manuscripts and research.
This research was the product of additional research by the creator of the space cannon previously installed on their ship.
Though not as outrageous as the space cannon, it was still capable of concentrating specific elements into a powerful, penetrating attack.
These items were all necessary for their future plans. The moment the two appeared in this area, they immediately alerted the surrounding guards.
These guards were also piloting mechas painted entirely in black.
They could see that these mechas were significantly different from when they first entered.
Back then, due to the limited materials used, the mechas were very crude. Most areas were left open and spared wherever possible, but now these mechas have achieved full protection.
The pilots were also heavily protected from within, and equipped with powerful weaponry.
The cost, however, was a bit high.
Given the vast wealth left behind by the Vastva people, even this was a bit of a pain in the ass.
When the guards saw Alka and his companions, they immediately waved their robotic arms in respect.
Alka and his companions nodded and entered the largest building in the center.
This was also a research facility.
However, judging by the appearance of this place, it was clear that the research was not of good quality.
After passing through numerous protective barriers, they arrived at the innermost area.
It was a pure white room.
In the center of the room, a demon was trapped.
This demon had reached the sixth stage of strength, which was the middle level of demonic power.
A powerful demon of both quality and quantity.
This demon was also a well-known and powerful demon. Capturing it alive had taken a lot of effort on Alka and the others.
And the main purpose of this building was to isolate this demon from all contact with the outside world and the Abyss.
To prevent any strange problems.
The surrounding Vastva people were using various mechanical devices and spells to study this demon.
Because in Vastva history, demons were not considered particularly threatening.
In fact, they had rarely seen one.
Because when the Vastva city-state was destroyed, demons hadn't yet wreaked havoc on the world, or rather, it was simply impossible for demons to wreak havoc at that time.
Though the world was ultimately shattered by demons, that was only because of the tacit consent of various powerful beings.
Before then, the Abyss and demons were truly insignificant to this world.
Though the Vastva city-state wasn't a major power during that golden age, its research and legacy were powerful weapons against these demons.
And now, the Vastva people are researching weapons against demons.
The reason for this is simple.
They must begin preparations to integrate into the world.
And the World Scar is the perfect location.
It's dangerous enough, the territory is vast enough, and there are plenty of desolate areas.
In the wild, as long as you side with humans, are strong enough, and aren't afraid of demonic attacks or harassment from various cultists, then claiming an area as your own territory is perfectly possible.
Even if you don't, it's just a wasteland.
Doesn't this give the Vastva people the best opportunity to integrate into this world?
With their technological capabilities, they could even participate in the entire war against demons.
Providing necessary technical support.
This would also allow them to gain a firm foothold in this world more quickly.
This was Alka's suggestion, and it was accepted by the Vastva Elders' Council.
As the two entered, they saw a tiny dagger stabbed into a demon's body.
The demon suddenly woke up, its eyes wide open, and it tried to wail in pain, but its mouth had been mechanically sealed, preventing any sound.
It could only struggle in agony.
The immense force shook the surrounding mechanical devices, causing them to creak.
This was even though the demon had been weakened, most of its strength at a weakened level, demonstrating the pain the knife had inflicted.
"Material 3 combined with the Poison Soul spell has a remarkable effect on demons. The damage inflicted is normal, but the pain is multiplied.
Record it, it's only effective against demons. Based on the current samples, we can only conclude it has a significant effect against power demons."
A Vastva scholar, who was conducting research nearby, said this.
Simon, also watching, folded his arms.
Sensing Alka and the others' arrival, he approached.
"Leaving?"
Hearing this, Alka shook his head.
"I plan to stay a while longer, until the time is right."
Simon nodded.
"Continue the experiment. I'll come in and take a look."
...
Time passed. Over the next month, Alka and his companions in the Demon Hunting Fortress could occasionally hear news from the Anti-Magic Fortress.
Because Alka and his companions were waiting inside the fortress, Greyfarl often stayed at the Anti-Magic Fortress to defend, and he returned less often.
From the news that came in, it became clear that the fighting at the Anti-Magic Fortress was much more intense than before.
The wounded were almost filling the fortress, and they had to be sent to various locations for treatment. Then, sufficient personnel were transferred from various locations to defend the Anti-Magic Fortress.
Alka and his companions remained in the fortress, watching as the soldiers they had fought with went to support them. By the time they returned, less than half were left, and many of those who did return had injuries of varying severity.
Some were left with lifelong disabilities, making daily life difficult.
But at least their future lives would be secure. Don't underestimate the power of the Church.
After a brief period of rest, they would rotate back with the troops for support.
The death rate was alarming.
Meanwhile, Alka and his companions within the Demon Hunting Fortress learned some information about Kalande the Slayer.
When this demon descended, its strength was less than the sixth stage. However, its arrival was a fortuitous occurrence, as most of the Curse Sword Clan's capable personnel had already been dispatched to the front lines to defend against the demons.
Upon its arrival, it annihilated the Curse Sword Clan, who had little combat power at the time, leaving only a few remaining members to escape.
Afterwards, the demon disappeared. Alka discovered that, aside from some of the commanders of the Demon Hunting Fortress and Greyfar, almost no one else knew it was this demon that had slaughtered the Curse Sword Clan.
Now, this demon's strength had reached the seventh stage, and it had been engaged in combat at the Demon Defense Fortress.
It was a key general under the Demon Lord.
This meant that if Alka and his team wanted to defeat this demon, it wouldn't be difficult, as it was often active near the Demon-Defense Fortress.
However, when Alka learned that the demon was at the seventh stage, they had to temporarily abandon this goal, reconsidering it later when it had grown stronger.
However, it was said that Grayfar had severely injured the demon while supporting the Demon-Defense Fortress this time. Although he eventually escaped, the demon was unlikely to appear in public for a long time.
This time,
The human side still paid a heavy price to resist the demon's fierce attack.
The demon's attacks had gradually slowed down, slowly returning to the level of daily attacks.
Alka and his team also saw the soldiers who had been rotated in to provide support starting to return from the fortress.
Many new recruits arrived at the Demon Hunting Fortress for training, and more demon hunters joined.
"Although this battle came at a greater cost than before, it also yielded results previously unattainable," said Sarande, bandaged and blind in one eye, as he sat chatting with Alka and the others.
Sarande was one of the first generals to arrive at the Demon-Defense Fortress for support, fighting until the very end before returning.
The price he paid was the permanent loss of his left eye, and the wounds on his body would take at least a year or two to heal, even with top-tier medical treatment.
The injuries were so severe that he was invaded by the aura of the Abyss.
Besides that, he frequently prayed to the Virgin Mary to prevent himself from being corrupted by the aura of the Abyss.
Alka and the others sat nearby, listening to his account of this support experience.
"What results?"
Jason asked. He had done a comparison and found that the entire Demon-Defense Wall had lost 30% of its troops this time. This was an extremely large concept, leading the Church of the Four Gods to unexpectedly issue a call for support for the Holy War in the Boundless Sea.
Such calls were only heard every few decades, or even centuries.
To.
Of course, the effect is significant.
More people willing to join the holy war are flocking to the World Scar.
It fills the gaping hole in defense left by the war.
What kind of results would justify such a cost?
"An elite team took advantage of this opportunity to penetrate deep behind the demons and repair the breached wound to a certain extent.
This repair will make it more difficult for demons to enter the World Scar, and all demons' strength will be weakened to a certain extent.
Because it will be more difficult to connect to the Abyss."
"How long will this effect last? After all, demons can re-open the repaired area, right?"
Creating new scars to the world is difficult, but removing the repairs that haven't been repaired, or even just repaired, is much easier. "
Hearing this, Salander nodded helplessly.
"It won't last long, but at least it will delay the next full-scale attack by at least twice as long."
As he spoke, the sky suddenly darkened.
Arka looked at the sky.
"The time has come."