*Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang!!!*
The crisp sound of gunfire drew everyone's attention.
A rain of bullets spraying into the sky, leaving thick trails behind them.
As the first rounds struck the leading Skullmoss—
*BOOOOOOM!!!*
An explosion imbued with holy power erupted.
Explosions that detonated on contact, quickly painting the night sky red.
And that wasn't the end.
[Holy Weapon: Judgment of Radiance's unique skill 'Wave of Light' activates!]
[Holy Eldoras's Blessing's unique skill 'Holy Barrage' activates!]
Shared through Weapon Collecting, wide-area holy magic rained down on the undead legion.
A single-digit proc rate, but that didn't matter.
Not when this was a heavy weapon spewing over a thousand rounds per minute.
[Ganjiang MoYe's buff settles on all currently manifested heroes!]
[Ganjiang MoYe's buff settles on all currently manifested heroes!]
.
.
.
A smile crossed his face as the stats stacked rapidly.
This was why he'd chosen Kancho's heavy machine gun as the battle's opening salvo.
"Yaaaaah!!"
Momomo, not wanting Kancho of the Soul Duo to get buried, cleared the spent casings as they piled up.
Knowing the casings were hot, she used a snow shovel she'd grabbed from somewhere to sweep them away efficiently.
By the time the ammo ran low, she was already bringing a new belt and connecting it to the heavy machine gun.
Their rhythm was perfectly in sync.
"Death Fog!!"
The paladin at the top shouted.
A violet-black mist surged forward from the front.
It melted everything it touched—trees, rocks, nothing was spared—as it rolled in.
Fortunately, the Death Fog only appeared from the front.
It seemed like they just needed to block that one direction.
Leaving the rear to Kancho and Momomo, he walked toward the center of the fortress.
*Thud. Thud.*
Renya was already there, warmed up and ready.
They stood side by side, waiting for the undead legion to draw a little closer.
"That little one's doing quite a job."
Renya's lips curled in satisfaction.
The buff from Ganjiang MoYe seemed to please him.
"Should we start throwing too?"
"Now?"
"Yeah. I'll take this side."
Renya nodded and lifted one of the nearby gold ingots.
A golden cannonball two or three times larger than a ship's cannonball.
Aura began gathering in Renya's right hand.
Then, a moment later.
Running to the edge of the wall, Renya hurled the cannonball with all his might.
*SWOOOOOSH!!*
The cannonball tore through the air at incredible speed, crashing into the undead legion.
Hundreds were swept away and crushed in plain sight.
Jinhyeok picked one up too, focused his aura, and threw.
Not as far as Renya's, but the fast-flying cannonball effectively crushed a Skeleton Knight unit.
*SWOOOSH! SWOOOSH!!*
He kept throwing golden cannonballs without pause, watching the Death Fog's movements.
The heavy mass seemed to surge forward, then the Death Fog was sucked into the approaching golden cannonballs.
A smile spread across his face.
If Mortarion had been standing in front of him, he would have asked:
How does it feel to face three thousand years of wisdom?
*Ding!*
[The undead legion, caught off guard by the preemptive strike, has increased its advance speed!]
[The sand is running out quickly!]
He shifted his gaze to the sky.
It wasn't just faster—the hourglass was pouring down in a torrent.
The rate at which time was decreasing had accelerated, now dropping by minutes instead of seconds.
*Kyaaaaaaa!!*
*Kraaaaaaak!!*
The undead legion's roars echoed from all directions.
At first, it felt like the fog was slowly creeping in.
But now, it was like a raging wave crashing down.
"Prepare the Goddess Garla's Spear!!"
"Fully charged!"
"Fire!!"
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous sound, a golden light shot forth.
A holy spear that stretched straight ahead, sweeping away undead in a direct line.
As expected of the Holy Kingdom—their firepower was far more impressive than he'd thought.
"How about it? Should we go soon?"
Dark approached from beside him.
He was now equipped with the Everfrost Iron Chain plus the chains Ighwa had made for him.
With four chains, the style factor was off the charts.
"Okay. Hold on a second."
He went to the railing and surveyed the flow of the approaching undead.
Then he found the spot with the fewest terrain obstacles blocking their advance.
"Ready?"
"Whenever you are."
Smiling, Jinhyeok grabbed both of Dark's chains.
Then he began spinning his body.
Focusing aura into both hands and feet, building up enough momentum—
*SWOOOOOSH!!!*
He hurled Dark toward the spot he'd marked.
"Too bad. I wanted to be the one throwing."
Renya, who had thrown all the golden cannonballs, shrugged.
The original plan was for Renya to throw Dark.
But during practice, Renya had slammed Dark into a boulder four or five times, so that plan fell through.
*Crackle!*
A chill blew at the back of his neck.
Dark must have landed.
Ice walls surged up from all directions, creating a complex maze for the enemy.
For those who couldn't fly, it must have been a nightmare.
Not only would the cold restrict their movements, but they'd have to break through the undead blocking the gathering paths to escape.
*Ding!*
[Lavencia the Cursed, Queen of the Banshee Race, and her trusted subordinates let out a scream of anguish!]
[A wave of evil energy rides the scream! The energy carries Lavencia the Cursed's terrible curse!]
Unlike the Death Fog's attack, this one passed straight through the gold.
"The light of Saint shall vanquish evil energy."
"Goddess, lend your strength to your faithful servant."
"Source of holy radiance, you who embrace all things, breathe your breath into our souls and sweep away the shadows of the battlefield."
The priests gathered on the wall began reciting prayers.
A holy barrier spread outward from Saint Solaum.
The Banshee Race's energy that touched the barrier was quickly neutralized.
"!?"
But only the energy was neutralized—the named monster's curse passed through the barrier without issue and struck Solaum.
He raised his voice, sweating, but it was useless.
Just as the priests turned pale before the unstoppable curse—
*Jingle.*
A bell sound rang out.
"This one has not granted you permission. Where do you think you're crawling to?"
The Death God Kamela Sirin tilted her head lightly.
"Devour it."
A short command, but it was enough.
A black serpent surged from the darkness and devoured the queen's curse.
Even after the curse was destroyed, the black serpent didn't stop.
*SHWOOOOOOSH!!*
The black serpent tore through the air and swallowed Lavencia the Cursed, Queen of the Banshee Race, whole.
The priests watching widened their eyes.
Banshees were normally incorporeal and difficult to eliminate.
To instantly kill their queen—how could they not be shocked?
The priests turned their heads toward where the voice had come from.
*Hooooo.*
Kamela's lips curled through the smoke dispersing into the air.
"Some petty vermin."
The priests swallowed dryly.
They couldn't explain why, but for a moment, she seemed to overlap with something.
The image of the goddess they had only vaguely imagined.
And then, a moment later.
*CRAAAAASH!!!*
A fierce roar echoed across the battlefield.
A cry that made everyone's legs go weak.
Roberto, who had been commanding the knights, frowned.
He recognized it immediately from their previous encounter.
The most dreaded existence in this battle had appeared.
"SKULL DRAGON!!"
Everyone's eyes turned forward.
A Skull Dragon unit, spread wide, gliding toward Solaum.
"That's nothin'! I'll bring 'em down!"
Kancho turned his gun barrel and pulled the trigger.
A curtain of light bullets crossed the dark sky.
"Huh?"
Hundreds of rounds were fired, but no explosions occurred.
The Skull Dragon unit, using movement techniques imbued in their wings, performed aerial maneuvers to evade the barrage.
He fired again, but all shots missed.
*BAM!*
"What are ya doin' in the middle of battle! Let go! Put me down!"
"Don't waste expensive bullets! Shoot behind!"
"Ah, got it! Got it, so let go already!"
Thinking his ears were about to be torn off, Kancho turned his heavy machine gun back around.
Not that it really mattered.
Even if he didn't bring them down now, the outcome wouldn't change.
*Step.*
As if answering Kancho's firm belief—
Seira, captain of the Black Knights, stepped to the edge of the wall.
Wearing her Noble Phantasm gauntlets, the Star Alchemist Elia Posen stood beside her.
*Shing.*
Seira drew her sword, staring at the Skull Dragons as she spoke.
"I'll leave the support to you."
"Leave it to me? I'll make it feel just like fighting on the ground."
Seira nodded and lowered her stance.
*BOOM!!*
With an enormous backdraft, Seira launched herself into the air.
*Krrk...?!*
The Skull Dragon, sensing danger instinctively, turned with its movement technique.
Seira tore through the air toward the Skull Dragon that had put distance between them.
The Skull Dragon unit, sensing a threat, all turned their heads upward simultaneously.
Then they gathered breath for their blast.
No matter how strong, a creature without wings—
Changing direction in midair was impossible...?
The Skull Dragon's eyes widened.
When had they appeared?
Those dozens of formation circles filling the area.
Stepping onto one of them, Seira prepared for her next leap.
A pitch-black aura rippled beneath her feet.
*BOOOOOOM!!!*
The Skull Dragon fired its breath in panic, but it was useless.
Seira easily dodged, using the formation circles as footholds.
*KRAAAAAAK!!*
The lead Skull Dragon ordered a dispersal, and the unit members twisted their bodies to comply—
[Black Shadow Flash, 11 Strikes]
But faster than that, eleven lines were drawn through the air.
And then, a moment later. They began to fall.
All dozen or so Skull Dragons that had been in the path of those lines.
"Kugh...!"
Every paladin, including Roberto, stood with their mouths open.
They knew they shouldn't be distracted during battle.
But how could they not watch?
The spectacle of over a dozen calamities plummeting at once.
"Hooooo."
Exhaling, Seira didn't return to the fortress.
Instead, she landed right in the middle of the undead legion.
There, a pitch-black aura infused with holy power began spreading in all directions.
"Now this is getting interesting."
The Dokkaebi Renya's lips curled.
This was the entry timing his master Yoo Jinhyeok had told him about.
He rolled his shoulders a couple of times and jumped down from the wall.
The ground rushed toward him in an instant.
Landing like a feather, Renya wrapped himself in aura.
Then he charged.
Straight into the heart of the gathered thousands of undead.
---
* * *
---
At the same time as the fierce battle raging at Solaum.
Standing on a ridge a short distance away, Jinhyeok nodded.
'Perfect.'
His friends were all executing their assigned roles flawlessly.
He couldn't help but want to applaud.
'Now I just need to do my part.'
He'd never planned on fighting a defensive battle until every undead was dead.
Maintaining stealth, he quickly crossed the ridgeline.
'Hide well, hide well. Don't let a hair show.'
He was going to collect.
The head of Mortarion, who was probably buried somewhere.
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T/N:
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