The Detron Forest stirs.

The holy knights of the Holy Empire of Gatren.

The undead legion.

The trees and living beings of the forest trembled from the impact of these two groups clashing.

“Waaah-!”

Though they should have been tired from marching all day, the holy knights swung their swords vigorously.

The high-ranking holy knights were naturally strong in stamina.

And they had recovered their strength with healing magic.

They didn’t even feel the tension of battle that would normally constrict their bodies.

Because the level of the undead they were facing was too low.

Clatter…! Clatter!

Grrrr!

It would be fair to say that 99% were composed of lowest-tier undead like skeletons and zombies.

At this level, it would be difficult to lose even if they tried.

In fact, the thousand priests waiting in the rear only used buff magic like blessings.

They were just watching without intervening in the battle.

“This should be cleaned up in roughly an hour or two.”

“As you said, this might be an opportunity. Such a simple subjugation will make the work of swallowing the kingdom easier!”

“The screams of heretics will echo more throughout the kingdom. Hahaha!”

The mood of the two cardinals was good.

The subjugation they thought would have more losses than gains turned out to be a perfectly ripened fruit when the lid was opened.

Though it was annoying to move all the way here, this much is sufficiently bearable.

“Hmm?”

Then Cardinal Benigso furrowed his brow.

“Some kind of energy…”

“Isn’t this magical power?”

Cardinal Caino also seemed to sense the same thing and began to panic.

“Where is this large-scale magical power flowing from?”

“Look there!”

Cardinal Caino pointed to the sky.

“That is…?”

Cardinal Benigso’s eyes trembled.

Dark clouds suddenly appeared and covered the sky.

“A sign of magic…?”

“We must prepare defenses!”

They urgently drew up holy power, but it was already too late.

Lightning began to fall from the dark clouds.

Supreme Chain Magic

Great Lightning

Light flashed with a thunderous roar.

Lightning covered the ground.

Crackle-!

Boom!

While the priests could block the attack with their individual barriers, the holy knights fighting the undead in the forest had no choice but to be exposed helplessly to the magic.

“What bastards would do such a thing…!”

Cardinal Caino trembled with rage.

The recent magic probably killed over a hundred holy knights.

Considering that each of them is a precious resource and talent, the loss was painful.

“Here comes another!”

However, the real magic is just beginning.

Supreme Chain Magic

Lava Canyon

Supreme Chain Magic

Frenzy of Flames

Supreme Chain Magic

Earth’s Wrath

In an instant, supreme magic swept through and turned the forest into hell.

Even the priests who were quite far from the forest began dying, caught in the aftermath of the magic.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Cardinal Benigso shouted.

The magic had already surpassed what they could block.

The enemy had clearly been preparing magic here for a long time.

“We must flee immediately!”

Cardinal Caino also hurriedly turned back.

No matter how strong they were, if caught in such magic, it would be difficult to guarantee their survival.

The two cardinals prepared to hurriedly return, leaving behind the burning priests and holy knights.

However, before they could escape the battlefield, new magic was fired.

Supreme Chain Magic

Proclaim Battlefield

Boom-!

Magical power shot into the sky and burst like fireworks.

Soon, a huge dome-shaped barrier covered the ground.

“This is no ordinary barrier. We must release our power and break it with full force!”

Benigso shouted.

It was a sturdy barrier that priests and holy knights couldn’t even scratch.

Only if the two cardinals combined their power would there be any possibility.

“What is this? What bastards dare…!”

“There’s no need to think about it. The only ones on the continent capable of such magical chains are the magic battalions of the Drason Empire.”

“The Drason Empire! You mean they joined hands with the undead!?”

As Caino shouted with wide eyes, Benigso shook his head.

“That’s not what’s important right now. Let’s just focus on surviving!”

“Understood!”

The two cardinals began channeling holy power.

The bent back straightens.

Muscles begin to swell.

Cardinal Vincenzo, who was killed by Choi Hyun-seok in the past.

Their bodies began to straighten in a similar way.

“Keuheuh…!”

The two enlarged Cardinals roughly exhaled through their noses.

Though not quite as monstrous as Cardinal Vincenzo, they had clearly exceeded the bounds of normal humans.

“We will break the barrier!”

The two Cardinals extended their fists toward the barrier.

***

Sara Dunphy’s plan was simple.

“Why not take them somewhere without watching eyes and deal with them all at once.”

She has mastered necromancy.

Though her level isn’t very high yet, she has enormous demonic energy that surpasses most Legion Commanders.

She could create as many low-level undead as needed.

“Yes, that way we could certainly lure them outside the capital. But dealing with them afterward is the problem.”

Even if they lure the enemy outside the capital, another problem remains.

Namely, how to deal with them.

“The key to this operation is that there must be no witnesses. Even if we fight them outside the capital… Would it be possible to eliminate them all without leaving a single one?”

Abelson was skeptical of the operation.

“Over three thousand high-ranking knights and priests. And we don’t even know how powerful the Cardinals are.”

The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed.

She shook her head repeatedly.

“Actually, before extermination, we should first worry about whether we can win at all.”

The enemy not only had superior numbers but also excellent skills.

They had to kill all of them without leaving a single one alive.

In contrast, their forces consisted only of Choi Hyun-seok and Sara Dunphy.

Even being generous, the success rate wasn’t even 1%.

“I have an idea.”

That’s when Choi Hyun-seok made an unexpected suggestion.

“What about requesting help?”

“Help?”

“Yes. Those Drason Empire people or whatever. They seem like they’d help unconditionally if we ask.”

“That’s right! Drason would definitely help!”

Abelson slapped her knee.

She immediately proceeded to carefully contact Drason.

As expected, the Drason Empire welcomed them with open arms.

“I’ll make sure not even a mouse. No, not even an ant escapes alive.”

Duke Orlaben Grimier of the Drason Empire, whom they already knew.

He personally led the magic battalion and meticulously planned the operation.

And as time passed, now that the operation had begun.

Kwaaaaaaah-!

A terrifying display of magic unfolded, making the air tremble and the ground split.

True to his declaration, he showed the momentum to kill everything down to the last ant.

“Wow… Terrifying.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s mouth fell open without him realizing.

The consecutive barrage of large-scale magic was truly spectacular.

Having experienced something similar before, Choi Hyun-seok knew.

What kind of hell was unfolding in there.

‘They probably won’t survive.’

That large-scale chain magic was what had pushed even Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a to the brink of death.

Though the type of magic was different, it certainly didn’t look any weaker than back then – if anything, it seemed stronger.

No matter what training they had, ordinary priests or knights couldn’t possibly withstand such magic without preparation.

“How is it? Our empire’s magical prowess.”

Orlaben Grimier said with a satisfied smile.

“It’s incredible. Quite spectacular.”

“Hahaha! Thank you.”

Orlaben Grimier laughed heartily.

“We took quite a hit during the last Ultimoon Fes, but now we’re finally paying them back.”

When everyone was killed during the Ultimoon Fes attack.

Orlaben Grimier was there too.

Of course, it wasn’t his actual body but rather a puppet he controlled from afar.

Since he shared sensations with it, he vividly felt the pain of death.

“I couldn’t sleep for two days because my whole body was burned and my limbs were cut off.”

“Ah… I see…”

“I was so angry! Finally getting my revenge now. Haha!”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded awkwardly.

Normal people don’t just lose sleep when experiencing such pain.

And apparently, even the sleepless nights weren’t from trauma but from anger.

‘He doesn’t look that strong…’

Orlaben Grimier only showed a slight magical power, not particularly appearing strong.

Just like a common knight, you could see anywhere.

Yet his mental fortitude seemed extraordinary.

“Commander!”

Just then, a knight approached and bowed his head.

“What is it.”

“We’ve dealt with two platoons of Gatren scouts that were in the vicinity.”

“Excellent.”

“There were two archivists among them – what should we do with them?”

“Extract the documents and kill the archivists.”

“Yes.”

The knight bowed his head again and withdrew.

Choi Hyun-seok looked at the Duke with a puzzled expression.

“What are archivists?”

“They’re like spies operating in Gatren. As the name suggests, they record Gatren’s important activities and report to the Pope.”

“Ah.”

“They’re usually hard to find, but since this operation’s key is having no witnesses, we paid special attention.”

Archivists excel at various concealment abilities, including magical tools that can record vivid images from long distances.

Though they’re hard to discover since they exist like shadows, they couldn’t escape the Drason Empire’s eyes.

“Oh, those two over there.”

That’s when Choi Hyun-seok spotted two elderly figures.

“They’re trying to escape the barrier.”

“Must be Cardinals.”

Upon reaching the barrier, they began to grow enormous like Cardinal Vincenzo whom He’d met before.

Choi Hyun-seok frowned and said.

“What kind of doping are these old folks using to become like that?”

“We’re trying to uncover the secret, but it’s not easy. It seems to be the essence of Gatren’s technology… But since it operates on holy power, we can’t analyze it.”

The Drason Empire seemed to already know about the Cardinals’ strength.

The problem was that even they didn’t know exactly how the Cardinals became stronger.

“Hmm… Anyway, shouldn’t we stop that?”

Orlaben Grimier nodded at Choi Hyun-seok’s question.

“We’ll take one side. Would you handle the other one, Sir Choi Hyun-seok?”

“Good.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

“Perfect. I was getting antsy anyway.”

The time for revenge.

And the moment to level up had approached.

***

In Scolbon, the capital of the Mariette Kingdom.

Cardinal Fidenzio, who remained alone, was leisurely having tea time.

“By now, they should be returning after dealing with the undead.”

Not a trace of anxiety could be found on his face.

And for good reason – no less than three thousand of Gatren’s elite had mobilized.

Plus two Cardinals on top of that.

“Those two received God’s blessing from His Holiness the Pope. They would never lose to mere undead.”

His trust in the subjugation force was absolute.

Thus, Fidenzio was enjoying a relaxing break after a long time. Just then, the chapel door burst open roughly.

Bang-!

Fidenzio’s face twisted viciously at the harsh noise.

“Brother. I’ve told you many times not to disturb holy prayer time.”

He who had been eating tea and dessert until just now.

He was utterly shameless, but since his position was powerful, the priest couldn’t say anything.

“You’d better be prepared if this isn’t important.”

However, the priest who came to report wasn’t fazed by the Cardinal’s threat.

No, he seemed too shocked to even have the luxury of trembling in fear.

“This is truly urgent! Cardinal!”

Cardinal Fidenzio heaved a deep sigh.

“Fine. What is it?”

“The undead subjugation force has been utterly defeated!”

At the words utterly defeated, Fidenzio’s eyes bulged.

“They were defeated? What nonsense is this? The opponent was a mere low-level undead!”

“I’m not exactly sure what happened either…”

Cardinal Fidenzio cut off the priest’s words and asked urgently.

“So. How great were the casualties? The Cardinals are safe, right?”

“Well… Total annihilation.”

“What?”

“Not a single person survived.”

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