Chapter 192. Moving Forward

The Ghoul monsters swooped toward the expedition.

The sheer number of them flooding across the open plain was enough to inspire fear, but one man stepped forward.

It was Jonathan Sina.

"Come on, then! Let's see what you've got!"

Jonathan swung the axe he carried in a wide arc.

It was the very axe once wielded by his ancestor, one of the Twelve Heroes, an heirloom that had preserved the legacy of the North.

The rune engraved upon the axe shone brightly before it slammed into the ground.

BOOOOM!!

A cone-shaped shockwave spread across the earth.

The charging Ghouls had no choice but to take the full force of it.

Crack! Crunch!

The Ghoul at the very front had all four limbs shattered and collapsed, while those farther away suffered noticeably less damage.

It didn't matter.

This had only been to buy time.

All he needed was for them to slow down and bunch together.

"Mana Bomb!"

A monster's greatest weakness was pure Mana.

Mana Bombs cast by Mages of the Fourth Circle or above were dense concentrations of Mana capable of sweeping across a wide area.

"Kiiieeek!"

The Ghouls convulsed violently with piercing shrieks before collapsing.

The pure Mana became poison, ending their tenacious lives.

On the Land of Demons, Mages played the most crucial role.

There were only three among them:

The Platinum Adventurer Eri, Regent Ferda Valdrova, and a veteran Gold-rank adventurer who was also a Mage.

They're all incredible!

Eri's strength was expected. As a Platinum Adventurer, power of that level was only natural.

Ferda, however, was different.

No one had expected much from him.

Just looking at the spheres he created left people speechless.

There was a saying that there was no royal road to magic.

Even if someone advanced quickly through talent, a poor foundation would eventually cause everything to collapse.

But the spheres Ferda created were so refined and flawless that they could only have been forged through countless days and nights of relentless practice.

His immaculate spells struck every target with precision, poisoning every monster in the area.

So he wasn't just boasting when he said he wouldn't hold us back.

The image of him as nothing more than an arrogant brat had completely changed.

Yet despite all his achievements...

Ferda himself was barely hanging on.

This place really is terrible for a Mage.

The demonic energy constantly clinging to his body made it incredibly difficult to maintain concentration.

How did Erika and Erdes manage to defeat the Demon King in a place like this?

The advance, which had stalled at the frontline, began once more.

After assessing the situation, Erika shouted,

"Rear line, attack complete! Mr.Rizera!"

"Yes!"

Rizera quickly drew a rune before clasping both hands together.

A magnificent golden tree sprouted from his body, its lush branches spreading outward into a giant dome that enveloped the expedition.

"Kiiieeek!"

"Kiiieeek!"

The monsters were unable to break through the leaves.

The golden magic left the adventurers staring in astonishment.

"That is...!"

"So that's the legendary Sacred Domain!"

Though its appearance differed, its function was nearly identical.

Within the Alte Religion, it was an advanced spell that required attaining the Fifth Enlightenment, making it something rarely seen outside official Church commissions.

"One minute, everyone!"

"Rear line, regroup! Front and middle lines, eliminate as many as possible!"

Under Rizera's protection, the expedition began slaughtering the monsters one-sidedly.

Every swing of an adventurer's blade cleanly bisected a Ghoul.

Among them, one person stood above the rest.

Jonathan.

"Hyaaaah!"

As Jonathan swung his axe in a mighty arc, the monsters clinging to the barrier were blown backward.

He had expected their frail bodies to fall apart immediately.

Instead...

"Why do they regenerate so fast?!"

Even when their bodies were split in half, sticky demonic energy reattached the pieces together, restoring them.

Erika continued shouting instructions to prevent anyone from panicking.

"If you're going to split them apart, aim for the heart! That's the hardest part for them to regenerate!"

Whether Jonathan listened or not, he remained focused solely on smashing apart the monsters at the front.

"It's almost over!"

Rizera's shout rang out.

Moments later, the golden branches shrank before returning to his hands.

The barrier that had blocked the charging Ghouls disappeared.

The monsters surged forward.

They had killed countless enemies...

Yet countless more still remained.

They needed to buy time.

Erika immediately made a decisive call.

"Front line! Move in!"

Jonathan and the Armored Knight had to become a human wall.

"Look at me!"

Jonathan's roar echoed like a lion's.

True to the nature of a Northerner, he could no longer suppress the boiling blood within him as he charged ahead.

The Ghouls all leaped toward him at once.

A new rune flew from Rizera's hand.

Golden light wrapped around Jonathan's body, forming something like a transparent glass membrane around him.

Every Ghoul attack aimed at him was stopped by the barrier.

Meanwhile...

The Armored Knight had received no protection at all.

But it didn't matter.

Erika already knew just how durable that armor was.

No matter how much the Ghouls attacked, breaking through it was impossible.

Besides...

The Armored Knight—Valdrova—looked at the approaching horde and reminded herself of her duty.

Make a fist.

She gently extended it forward.

BOOM!

An explosive shockwave burst outward.

The Ghouls were instantly reduced to chunks of flesh.

Their shattered bones became bullets, smashing into the monsters behind them.

It rivaled—no...

It surpassed even the Fourth-Tier spell Force Rush.

Incredible.

Was that person once some kind of monk?

Every punch exploded the air itself, sending monsters flying.

He stood like an unshakable wall.

Even so...

It wasn't enough.

Everyone was fulfilling their role, but a defensive line formed by only two people could never completely hold back such overwhelming numbers.

The smaller Ghouls that slipped through the frontline had to be intercepted by those in the middle line.

They were all skilled adventurers...

But it still wasn't enough.

"Watch out!"

"Virgil! One's coming your way!"

A Ghoul that had slipped through lunged straight at the blond-haired Virgil.

"WAAAH!"

There was already no time to prepare another attack.

Virgil instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.

Slash!

Something was pierced.

But...

He felt no pain.

It hadn't been his body.

"K...k...k..."

The agile Ghoul had been impaled by the Armored Knight's gauntlet.

Clutched within his hand was the monster's purple heart.

Without hesitation, the Armored Knight hurled the corpse toward another wave of charging Ghouls.

RUMBLE!!

The Ghoul's body became a massive cannonball, crushing everything in a straight line.

Virgil's mind went blank.

How did he reach me before even the middle line could?

And how is he destroying those monsters so effortlessly?

Confused, he stammered,

"U-um..."

"...?"

"Th-thank..."

The words of gratitude refused to come out.

Before he could finish, Erika's sharp shout snapped everyone back to reality.

"Front line, fall back! Middle line, stay focused! If you lose concentration, we'll all die!"

"Yes!"

The Armored Knight merely nodded before returning to his position.

He moved noticeably slower than when he had rushed to save Virgil...

Yet he was still astonishingly agile.

Inside the armor, Valdrova thought,

Someone almost died.

That sentence echoed repeatedly inside her mind.

She had reacted to that brief scream...

Forgotten her assigned role...

And instinctively rushed backward.

My duty is to protect everyone.

To do that...

There was only one thing she had to do.

It was what she had always done.

Move forward.

So that every enemy's eyes would be drawn to her.

Leaving behind Jonathan, who already stood like an immovable wall, she advanced even farther.

Though she wore armor that nothing could penetrate...

Charging alone into the monsters was still reckless.

Nevertheless...

The Armored Knight kicked off the ground.

Her powerful leap swept through the hundreds of remaining Ghouls.

She possessed nothing but her own body.

Yet that alone was enough.

Every punch instantly killed a Ghoul.

Her attack speed even surpassed the monsters' movements.

"Isn't she really going to wipe them all out by herself?"

"At this rate... she actually might."

The group could only stare in amazement.

Even Jonathan, who had been humiliated in terms of raw strength, stood frozen in disbelief.

What's even more unbelievable... is that this still isn't her limit.

Erika remained convinced that Valdrova had yet to reveal her full strength.

Inspired by the unstoppable advance of the Armored Knight, the expedition continued pushing back the Ghouls.

What they had believed would be an endless battle ended far sooner than expected.

Thanks to the Armored Knight's performance, they had used barely half the strength they had originally estimated.

"Please confirm any remaining enemies!"

"South and west, all clear!"

"East and north, all clear!"

"No remaining life signatures detected."

"Good work, everyone."

The storm-like battle finally came to an end.

The adventurers lowered their weapons and caught their breath.

Unlike them...

The Armored Knight still stood motionless, fists clenched.

"Sir Knight?"

"..."

Erika called out to her, but received no response.

Approaching cautiously, she said,

"Sir Armored Knight, the operation is over. You can rest now—"

Whoosh!

The Armored Knight vanished.

The next instant...

A fierce gust struck Erika's face.

The gauntlet had stopped mere inches in front of her. 1

The two silently stared at one another for a long moment.

Finally, Erika asked,

"Are you alright?"

Valdrova slowly nodded.

"I'm glad. You did excellent work on the front line."

Offering her praise, Erika turned away.

Pretending to inspect their surroundings, she made sure her back faced everyone else.

This is bad.

Her emotions were beginning to show.

The fear she couldn't suppress was plainly written across her face.

What...was that?

Although the Armored Knight appeared human...

Erika possessed eyes blessed by the Dragons.

Having survived countless life-and-death battles, she had always taken pride in her reaction speed.

Yet...

She had been utterly unable to respond.

The moment she perceived the attack...

It was already over.

Though the strike had stopped before hitting her...

She knew with absolute certainty.

If that attack had landed... I would have died.

Even if she somehow survived...

She would never have remained the same.

And yet...

She couldn't even blame the Armored Knight.

Because the one who had looked even more shocked...

Was the Armored Knight himself.

She couldn't see through the armor, so she didn't know his expression.

But his body language made everything clear.

There was that unmistakable hesitation...

The kind that only appeared after realizing one had made a terrible mistake.

As the leader, Erika suppressed the fear rising from her instincts.

She had to act as though nothing had happened.

Having fully regained her senses, Valdrova looked back.

Everyone was safe.

Together...

They had slain well over three hundred Ghouls.

The path ahead was finally open.

Even after reaching the entrance to Gyeonghui Palace, however...

No one celebrated.

No one dared step inside lightly.

"Do you think there are even more monsters in there?"

"I don't know."

"I just hope... that was the greatest trial we'll have to face..."

Though burdened with fear...

They continued moving forward.

Upon entering, the first thing they saw was a grand entrance hall resembling the foyer of a massive mansion.

It was the perfect place for someone to lie in ambush.

Naturally, everyone was at their most tense.

"I don't detect any monsters."

Hearing the Mage's report, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"For now, let's use the entrance hall as our base and perform a quick mapping survey. There are three branching paths, so we'll split into three groups and first determine where each route leads."

Three major paths branched off from the entrance hall.

One long corridor directly ahead.

And two shorter side passages.

The group assigned to the most dangerous route consisted of four people:

Erika, Virgil, Jonathan Sina...

And an unnamed swordsman.

All of them had previously fought alongside Erika during the monster extermination campaign.

"Mr. Rizera, please take the left passage with them. The rest of you will take the right."

The remaining group consisted of Ferda, two unnamed adventurers...

And the Armored Knight.

"I'll be counting on you."

"The pleasure is ours."

Thus, the team began exploring the right wing of Gyeonghui Palace.

They had thirty minutes.

The purpose of the survey was to observe as much as possible within that limited time and report what they found.

Since this was the first exploration of an unknown location, they only needed to record the approximate number of rooms and any notable features.

That was why the two veteran adventurers addressed Ferda and the Armored Knight.

"Please stay behind us."

"And don't touch anything."

Since this was dangerous work, the veterans chose to rely solely on their own experience.

Ferda and the Armored Knight had no choice but to walk three paces behind them.

They hadn't been particularly close to begin with...

But Ferda was already uncomfortable.

"Is something wrong?"

Valdrova immediately shook her head.

The Armored Knight couldn't hide her nervousness.

She had seemed perfectly fine before entering.

But the moment she found herself standing beside Ferda...

Every movement became stiff.

She kept sneaking glances at him.

It almost felt as though she was waiting for a chance to strike him from behind.

I'd better switch over to Rizera's group instead.

Ferda decided he would bring it up with Erika later.

Meanwhile, the two veteran adventurers carefully examined the traps and passageways, steadily sketching out the map.

As Ferda followed behind them...

His eyes stopped on a room.

It resembled a study filled with countless books.

At that moment...

Ferda felt it instinctively.

Perhaps... the answer I'm looking for is in there.