NOVEL NEXT Chapter 112
Chapter 112
Rumble!
As the lair's walls cracked, stones shattered from the ceiling, tumbling down.
Simultaneously, the magic stones on the cavern floor turned a vivid crimson.
Buzzing!
Sieg, upon seeing the flickering magic stones, felt a surge of alarm.
"This... this can't be!"
Watching the rapidly decreasing countdown, Sieg hastily summoned Buchephalus.
Neigh!
Mounted on Buchephalus, Sieg shouted, "System! Open an escape route!"
『The emergency escape portal function of the lair cannot be activated.』
『Accessing the defensive base's administrator system to open the Sky Path.』
Rumble!
The ceiling of the lair began to split open.
Dodging falling debris, Sieg urged Buchephalus to rush along the walls, rising toward the ceiling.
Crash!
Buchephalus, moving swiftly, darted from the lair to the location of the defensive base.
Sieg ascended once more to the base where he previously found Terakan Draker's legacy.
'So, the path connected this way.'
『Opening the ceiling of the 4th defensive base.』
Rumble!
Just as seen in the hologram, the defensive base's ceiling cracked open.
Just like how Terakan soared on Pegasus, Sieg too ascended atop Buchephalus, flying towards the gaping ceiling.
Neigh!
Once Buchephalus launched into the air, the scene below became clear.
The Dragon Lair, hidden beneath the ruins, had collapsed, causing the excavation site above to cave in as well.
Inside, mages, Imperial hounds, and excavation slaves scrambled to escape the dungeon.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion erupted from the dungeon.
Simultaneously, the area where the temple stood shook violently as if struck by an earthquake, with a deafening roar, crumbling inward.
"Oh my goodness."
From atop Buchephalus, Sieg, witnessing the entire scene, broke into a cold sweat.
Had he been even a moment late, he might've been buried in there.
Then, Sieg noticed mages fleeing the dungeon.
Spotting mages carrying security-sealed boxes while making their escape, Sieg drove Buchephalus ahead of them.
The documents the mages risked their lives to retrieve in such a critical situation must contain vital data on the biological experiments conducted within the dungeon.
Sieg unsummoned Buchephalus and leaped straight off the cliff, blocking the mages' path.
Thud!
As Sieg suddenly appeared to block their escape, the mages recoiled in shock.
"Enemy sighted! Kill him!"
At a mage's cry, Imperial hounds charged towards Sieg.
Slash!
Sieg's sword, infused with the power of Soul Resonance, easily severed the Imperial hounds' blades and necks in one swift movement.
Seeing this, the mages quickly chanted spells.
"Firewall!"
A massive wall of fire erupted between Sieg and the mages.
However, Sieg's Meteoric Iron armor automatically created a shield, blocking the magic.
The mages unleashed a barrage of spells at Sieg, trapped by the fire wall.
Boom!
Crack!
Blam!
With deafening roars that seemed to threaten the ravine's collapse, powerful spells rained down on Sieg.
Yet, Sieg was unscathed as he activated a Magic Reflection skill, rebounding all incoming spells.
Whoosh!
Sieg walked through the fire wall towards the mages, unharmed.
The mages' faces turned pale upon realizing their magic was ineffective.
"That... that's impossible!"
Seeing Sieg untouched even after receiving a barrage capable of wiping out an entire Knight Order, the mages decided fleeing was their best option.
As more Imperial hounds rushed Sieg, the mages chanted while beginning to levitate.
They floated above, intending to escape over the ravine.
Swoosh—
Sieg swiftly dispatched the Imperial hounds then turned to watch the fleeing mages.
He couldn't afford to destroy the security boxes, fearing potential damage to the data within, so he needed to incapacitate them with minimal damage.
Sieg pulled out a dagger from his inventory, imbued it with Soul Resonance, and hurled it at the fleeing mages.
The dagger, imbued with Chase(追), locked onto the mages.
Thud!
"Guh!"
Struck by Sieg's dagger, the mages plummeted to the ravine below.
Crash!
Of the dozen or so mages, half succumbed to broken necks or shattered skulls upon impact.
Sieg hurried to the mages' crash site.
"Ugh!"
One of the mages, who survived the fall, attempted desperately to flee with the security box in hand.
Seeing this, Sieg drew his sword and aimed at the mage.
"Put down the security box, and I'll spare your life."
Ignoring Sieg's words, the mage began casting.
"Ice Arrow!"
Hundreds of sharp ice arrows flew towards Sieg.
Clang!
The ice arrows shattered upon hitting the shield and armor, unable to penetrate.
Inside the armor, Sieg had his Dragonscale Armor skill on, rendering such magic harmless.
The magician, now wearing a look of despair, realized even ice arrows—used in an attempt to bypass Sieg's supposed immunity to fire magic—had no effect.
Sieg swung his sword towards the mage's wrist holding the security box.
Sching!
"Ahhhh!"
The mage screamed as his wrist was severed.
Sieg pried the mage's hand off the security box's handle and placed it directly into his inventory.
Approaching the mage with the severed wrist, Sieg made an offer.
"Tell me what's inside the security box, and I'll give you a healing potion."
Since mages needed hand signs to cast spells, hands were crucial.
The mage gritted teeth at Sieg, shouting defiantly.
"You damn fool! To dare disrupt the Empire's grand ambition! The Empire's hooves and swords will rip you to shreds...!"
Schink—
Without listening further, Sieg cleanly decapitated the mage.
After all, opening the security box would reveal all its contents anyway. He had just wanted more detailed information but saw no need to prolong things.
More pressing was getting out of there quickly.
Sieg was about to summon Buchephalus when—
Whoosh!
Instinctively, Sieg jerked aside, dodging an incoming threat.
Kaboom!
An explosion erupted where Sieg had been standing.
'This is...'
Among the things that had given Sieg the most trouble during the Third Continental War, it was this.
'Special snipers from the Imperial Magic Corps.'
These specialized mages killed knights using magic tailored for sniping, rather than general attack spells.
Many knights fell to these killers, earning them the nickname 'Knight Killers'.
For Sieg, who had lost countless comrades to these Knight Killers in the war, the tension was unavoidable.
'I didn't expect Knight Killers to exist in this era too.'
Sieg sought to identify the sniper's location using Dragon Eyes.
Knight Killers could snipe from up to 3km away, making them hard to spot with the naked eye.
Searching the surroundings, Sieg looked for an escape route.
Whoosh!
He dove towards another cover.
Kaboom!
The sniper's magic, shot from afar, accurately targeted and exploded where Sieg had been.
Though the sniper's magic lacked the power to devastate terrain thoroughly, it inflicted deadly wounds on knights.
The exact nature of the sniper magic remained a mystery, even after the Third Continental War, prompting Sieg to heighten his senses.
'I'll have to trust in Soul Resonance and shield magic and make my run for it.'
The longer he lingered, the more disadvantaged he became.
Knight Killers often detained knights with continuous sniping, waiting for reinforcements, even if they failed to kill.
Fully aware of this tactic, Sieg aimed to leave before encountering such reinforcements.
Slash!
Enveloping his body in Soul Resonance - Will of Guard(防), Sieg sprinted towards the escape route.
Boom!
The sniper's magic was so swift that it struck Sieg's armor before his shield magic could activate.
'Ugh!'
The impact permeated through the armor.
Had he not been clad in Dragonscale Armor, he might have been knocked down from the shock.
Without stopping, Sieg continued running to exit the ravine.
He considered summoning Buchephalus but feared revealing his identity through the conspicuous spirit beast.
'Damn, there's nowhere here to open a portal.'
His remaining points were insufficient to open a portal to a farther location.
Under cover, Sieg regulated his breathing.
At that moment, a message appeared before Sieg.
『Demonic energy is invading your body.』
Alarmed by the message, Sieg questioned, 'Demonic energy?'
The area hit by the sniper's magic throbbed with escalating pain.
Despite Healing Factor being active, the pain did not subside.
Immediately, Sieg equipped Agamemnon's Mask and activated the purification skill.
Buzzing!
A golden halo spread across his body, only then did the pain dissipate.
For the first time, Sieg realized the secret behind the Knight Killer sniper magic he never uncovered in his past life.
'They shoot magic imbued with demonic energy to destroy knights' bodies.'
Had the Empire's use of such forbidden techniques in war been known, the neutral Mage Tower or Nirvana might have joined the Continental War.
The lack of a known healing method turned demonic energy into poison with no antidote.
Sieg gritted his teeth hard.
'Curse those bastards. So this was what they did back then.'
The sniper magic was once a source of dread, but knowing he could counter it with a purification skill meant there was no need to fear it anymore.
Wearing Agamemnon's mask under his helmet, Sieg emerged from his cover.
Whoosh!
The sniper magic streaked towards Sieg again.
He faced it head-on.
Agonizing pain flared from the impact site.
He immediately utilized the golden mask's skill while rising and began running to escape the ravine.
'Purify.'
Buzzing!
With a golden aura, the demonic energy seeped into his body dissolved.
Checking that the sniper magic's effects were neutralized, Sieg way faster imbued with Soul Resonance - Will of Haste(速).
At that moment.
Thud, thud, thud!
Hundreds of knights charged into the ravine.
Evidently, he had lingered too long; as the Imperial stationed troops appeared.
Sieg recognized the knight leading the charge.
'Morgan Bupon.'
A knight bearing the banner of the Ophiucus Constellation, part of the Order of the Thirteen Constellations.
Morgan Bupon, legion commander of the Empire, led his knights straight towards Sieg.
"Seize him alive!"
Thud, thud, thud!
The knights swung their swords at Sieg.
Clang!
Wielding a sword imbued with the energy of metal, Sieg struck at the sides of their mounted horses.
Neigh!
Feeling the intense blow, a horse staggered sideways with its sides gouged.
The knights' formation faltered simultaneously.
Morgan shouted commands at the knights.
"Block his escape route! Don't let him escape!"
The Knight Killers were deployed above the ravine, and the knights and mages blocked the exit on both sides.
Effectively trapped within the ravine, Sieg was.
He eyed the approaching legion commander, Morgan, and steeled himself.
'There's only one option... break through head-on.'
Summoning Gurav, Sieg aimed at the knights.
Screech!
Summoned, Gurav spewed poisonous smoke at the knights.
The giant chimera's poisonous breath momentarily disoriented the knights.
"It's a monster, block it!"
Seizing the confusion, Sieg generated the Energy of Wind and charged at Morgan.
Crackle!
Swords clashed as Sieg met Morgan's blade.
"Hah!"
The power of Morgan, a Knight of Ophiucus, was by no means trivial.
Boom!
He leaped from his horse, swinging his sword down with full force.
The aura-clad blade aimed squarely at Sieg.
Utilizing Soul Resonance - Will of Haste(速), Sieg swiftly dodged.
Boom!
Morgan's aura blade smashed into the ground, creating a massive explosion.
A cloud of red dust billowed.
Brandishing sword and shield, Morgan pursued Sieg.
"Where are you?"
In that split second—
Within the dust cloud, Sieg's sword suddenly lunged forward.
Crackle!
Sieg's sword connected with Morgan's body.
But instead, Sieg's blade recoiled off.
'What is that...?'
Instantly, Morgan's face was encased in a helmet, and full plate armor enveloped his body.
Engraved on the armor's chest was the constellation of Ophiuchus.
Morgan Bupon's Hersion had appeared.