Chapter 180. Karnak (4)

A temple, an ancient weapon, and called a flying fortress, Karnak.

The first two descriptions were understandable enough, but the kingdom's soldiers living in the present could not accept the title 'flying fortress' at all.

How could that huge and heavy structure float in the sky?

But, the Karnak that actually appeared before their eyes was clearly floating in the sky, and it exuded a majestic dignity that overwhelmed the entire plain.

“Karnak has come!”

The border defense force, whose defeat had seemed certain, cheered at the miraculous appearance.

On the other hand, the imperial soldiers were confused, completely unable to understand such a reaction.

“Why are they making such a fuss over that old temple?”

The commander of the imperial army was no different.

He had only heard of Karnak but had never seen it in person, and he did not see it as a threat that could overturn their current powerful forces.

“Don’t be afraid! Continue the attack! It won’t be long before the plain is in our hands!”

Therefore, the appearance of Karnak was nothing more and nothing less than the appearance of a single large temple.

However, they should have taken the ancient warnings of their ancestors a little more seriously.

“Hey, Prince. It seems the enemies have completely forgotten the true terror of Karnak. Shouldn't we remind them at this point?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll carve it into them so clearly that they’ll never forget again.”

Harashin, completely in sync with the temple’s altar, slowly closed his eyes.

Then, sand began to slowly scatter from the outside of the temple, and in an instant, it became a giant sandstorm and poured down towards the ground.

—Hwoooong!

The sandstorm scattered as soon as it hit the ground, and the scattered sand began to re-condense and form a new shape.

‘Now watch closely. The true power of Karnak that made even me tremble.’

What the sand created was the form of soldiers holding spears.

Expressionless soldiers, all in the same attire with the same expressions.

Their number was approximately ten thousand.

Karnak had summoned a large-scale sand army onto the plain.

Their commander, Harashin, issued a command through the temple.

“Annihilate the enemy before you and protect the kingdom!”

As his command fell, the sand soldiers all rushed towards only the imperial army.

They moved with the sole purpose of punishing the enemy, without touching a single soldier of the kingdom’s defense force.

“What, what are these things?!”

The spears made of sand pierced the armor of the imperial soldiers and pushed the enemies out of the fortress.

Not to be outdone, the soldiers of the Empire also swung their weapons and struck the sand soldiers.

“Look! It’s just sand! It’s nothing! Ignore them and push through!”

An imperial soldier shouted as he stomped on a crumbled sand soldier with his foot.

At that moment, the scattered sand gathered again, transformed into a sharp spear, and pierced the soldier's body.

“Keoheok……!”

“Be careful! Those things are coming back to life!”

Along with the screams, a warning erupted from among the imperial army.

The fallen sand soldiers quickly re-formed and endlessly thrust their spears.

“How are we supposed to fight against things like these?”

A legion that blindly carried out only Harashin’s orders.

Perhaps it was a legion more vicious and ruthless than monsters.

The soldiers of sand who endlessly revived no matter how many times they were killed, and endlessly pushed forward.

Karnak’s soldiers, dozens of them, clung to and pierced an Ogre several times their size, and they charged without hesitation at any threat.

Rather, the monsters began to hesitate, feeling fear at the overwhelming offensive of the endlessly reviving sand soldiers.

“These lowly beings, this is what they get for not being able to fly.”

The only ones who were not harmed were the vampires flying in the air.

“Why are we going about this the hard way when all we have to do is kill the one controlling that temple?”

The vampires all flew up towards Karnak at once.

Evan looked down at them and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

‘If it had ended with just that, I wouldn't have been so surprised.’

Sand once again rose around Karnak, and this time, it formed thousands of sharp sand swords.

In an instant, the sand swords flew and hacked the vampires to pieces.

“Keut!”

A merciless attack, as if swatting away flies.

Not a single vampire could even approach the vicinity of Karnak.

“This damn sand!”

One vampire ignored it and charged to the end, but the sharpness of the sword made of sand was greater than that of steel.

—Chwaak!

That vampire was instantly cut in two and miserably sliced apart.

It continued to cut even the parts that were regenerating and reattaching, as if not allowing a single speck, and in the end, completely annihilated it.

And when no more vampires approached, the swords floated in the air and began to charge towards the imperial soldiers all at once.

—Chwaak! Chwaaaak!

Swords made of sand swept through the battlefield, hacking the imperial army to pieces.

Sand soldiers who did not die and endlessly rose again, and hundreds of swords that moved as if they had their own will, cutting down the enemy.

With just these two existences, the tide of the battle began to be completely overturned.

“Save me!”

“Aargh!”

Evan was looking down, sharply observing the flow of the battle.

‘The sand soldiers are effectively breaking through the center. Since they revive even when they die, the imperial army will probably go crazy. This is good so far, but of all things…….’

Because Karnak moved slower than expected, he had not heard Mei’s report.

Because of that, he had only belatedly realized that the Empire’s Seven Extreme Stars had joined the battle.

But now, it was all too clear.

There was a being in the rear of the imperial army, watching the situation leisurely as if enjoying the state of affairs.

That being was exuding an aura that was too different from that of ordinary soldiers.

‘Of all things, a Dragonkin. And a Blue Dragon’s bloodline at that……. This is the worst combination in the current situation.’

The Seven Extreme Stars Varkanon.

It was unbelievable that a Dragonkin was on the Empire's side, but the biggest problem was the bloodline he possessed.

Evan, who had come out of the temple to assess the situation, went back into the temple and told Harashin what he had seen.

“Hey, Prince. We have to somehow deal with that Dragonkin fellow for there to be any point in bringing Karnak here. Isn't water the weakness of sand?”

“Damn it! There was no intel that Varkanon was coming. I was too complacent.”

“Forget regrets about the past. What’s important is the present. If we don’t make a decision quickly, it will be the kingdom's soldiers who die.”

“It’s all too obvious, but taking down Varkanon is the key. To win this battle.”

A Blue Dragon.

If it was the bloodline of the dragon also known as the Water Dragon, then even a half-blood could freely manipulate enough water to completely neutralize the sand soldiers and swords.

‘And to make matters worse, our Seven Extreme Stars is specialized in close-quarters combat. The compatibility with a Dragonkin who can fly and attack from a distance is the worst.’

Harashin himself seemed to be well aware of that fact, as he wore a troubled expression.

With Karnak's slow speed, it was a situation where they could not even catch up to the agile Dragonkin.

At this, Harashin seemed to have made a decision, turned to Evan, and spoke with difficulty.

“Foreigner. I know it’s shameless to ask this in this situation, but……”

“……?”

“Could you handle that lizard fellow?”

Harashin’s voice became small, as if he was embarrassed even saying it himself.

It seemed he admitted that he was making an unreasonable request.

“You yourself think it’s shameless, don't you?”

“……Yes. I admit it.”

Evan looked back and forth between Harashin and Varkanon for a moment and slowly opened his mouth.

“Alright. Then promise me one condition. I will stop that Seven Extreme Stars for you now. In return, if you completely protect this place from the Empire, hand over one of the kingdom’s treasures to me.”

“Take whatever you want. As long as you stop that bastard.”

“Kailam’s Armor. Is that possible too?”

At Evan’s proposal, Harashin’s face hardened.

He was willing to give any treasure to protect the kingdom, but what Evan requested was extremely troublesome.

“That’s a bit……”

“Then we have no choice but to die here together.”

Kailam Juan's Armor.

It was an artifact that was ranked at the very top among the national treasures that the Solaid Kingdom boasted of.

It was the armor worn by Kailam himself, the greatest martial artist in history, so no later martial artist had dared to wear it, and it had been carefully preserved.

“You, of all people, should know how enormous its value is, and yet you still demand it?”

“Seeing as you don't wear it and leave it behind even when you, one of the Seven Extreme Stars, come to a battlefield like this, it seems you're just using it as a decoration? You don’t think that’s the true purpose of armor, do you?”

At Evan's pointed remark, Harashin flinched for a moment, but he hesitated to give up the armor until the end.

“I don't just think of that armor as a mere decoration either. It’s just that…… I thought that even I was not worthy to wear it.”

“So I’m saying I will prove that worthiness. Think about it honestly. If Kailam Juan were alive now, would he really want his armor to just accumulate dust without any meaning?”

At these words, Harashin could not give any reply.

Because Evan’s words were right in every way.

“You, can you really stop that bastard?”

“If you just give me your promise.”

At Evan's confident answer, Harashin's heart wavered.

At the same time, he thought about what Kailam would have done at this moment.

If he could protect the kingdom by giving up his armor, would Kailam have hesitated?

Thinking from Kailam’s perspective, the answer was simple.

“Alright. As a member of the royal family, I swear on my life.”

Harashin, who had deeply engraved the principle that nothing was more important than the nation in his heart, finally hardened his resolve to protect the country even if it meant selling the kingdom's national treasure.

Believing that Kailam would surely have made the same choice as him.

“Good. Then help me. To fight that guy, I need a foothold to step on in the air.”

“A foothold?”

“Just like you made swords out of sand, make a foothold for me to step on. If I’m going to have an aerial battle, I at least need a place to stand, don’t I?”

“Understood. I will do my best to help you.”

After finishing his discussion with Harashin, Evan turned to the group in the temple and gave clear instructions.

“While I am dealing with that half-dragon, you all must protect this temple.”

“Will you really be alright, Young Master?”

Not only Jack, who asked this, but Jaina also expressed her concern.

From their perspective, what Evan was about to do was far too dangerous.

But since he had come this far already knowing the danger, Evan's will was firmer than ever.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die.”

After giving his orders, Evan immediately gripped an axe from among the various weapons held by the statues.

‘Now, shall I try becoming a dragon hunter myself?’