NOVEL NEXT Chapter 175
Rudell was just bewildered by the situation.
Out of nowhere, Dagruul and the Nord tribe warriors appeared at a completely unexpected moment.
Perhaps due to the impeccable timing, a stir began among the Church’s assailants.
“Waru kun kamneun Gaia burunda!! Duo punaka!!”
[WoOOOOOOOOO!!!]
At Kahlan’s shout in the Nord tongue, the Nord warriors erupted in a roar and charged at the Church members.
The underground chambers where the Church members and Rudell’s party were battling instantly transformed into a battlefield where the two forces clashed…
“I’m glad I wasn’t too late.”
“T-thank you, Dagruul. By the way, these troops…”
“You didn’t think I just came here without a plan, did you?”
“Ah…”
With a response as if asking why he would even doubt it, Rudell began to grasp the situation faintly.
They say to prepare for war if you wish for peace.
Rudell had said only a few warriors would accompany him, but had gathered soldiers just in case of unforeseen circumstances.
“Anyway, I’m alive thanks to you. Thank you, Kahlan.”
With a good outcome, it seemed like everything was fine.
With that thought, Rudell lightly bowed his head toward Dagruul.
“Hmm, once this is over, let’s discuss what comes next at our leisure.”
Dagruul nodded at Rudell and jumped into the fray among the Church members, wielding his massive sword and starting to sweep the area.
“I’ll shove every last one of you into the abyss of Kinungagaf!!”
“Ugh!?”
“UAAAAAH!?”
With each swing of his sword, red magic residues sliced through the air, and any Church members caught in the aftermath were literally swept away.
His previous defeat against Rudell was solely due to the unfavorable circumstances.
When it came to sheer strength, Dagruul was one of the top contenders in this world.
“Rudell!”
Just then, while battling fiercely, Leje rushed over to Rudell.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nope. You?”
“Me neither, but what in the world is going on? Where did these people come from?”
Seemingly flustered by the sudden support of the Nord warriors, she shot those questions at Rudell.
Of course, it was hard for Rudell to provide a satisfactory answer.
How could he know about the preparations Dagruul had secretly made?
“More importantly, how’s the situation?”
“It seems like the Church guys are almost all subdued.”
As Leje said, the intense battle that had raged on was nearing its end.
Most of the Church members and Monstrous Beasts lay dead on the ground, and there weren’t many survivors left.
No matter how fearlessly the Church members fought, there was no way they could win against the Nord warriors, whose lives were as good as war itself.
You could say that the moment the Nord warriors joined the fray, the outcome was already decided.
“Well, it feels like it’s about to be over.”
“By the way, I wonder what happened to the people in the Fortress…”
“Right? There should be someone around to explain this situation…”
At her question, Rudell nodded.
If the Empire saw this mess and concluded that the Holy Kingdom and the Nord tribe had teamed up to attack them, it would truly be the worst-case scenario.
To clear up any misunderstandings, some of the Fortress’ people had to survive.
“Don’t worry about that, I already told the Empire not to touch them.”
“Lord Dagruul.”
Seeing Dagruul approach, Rudell bowed his head once again.
With blood covering his whole body, he looked like a demon clawing its way up from hell.
“I’m really grateful for this. If it weren’t for your support, Lord Dagruul, we would have been in serious trouble.”
Just thinking about what could’ve happened if he hadn’t led his forces made Rudell break into a cold sweat.
“You don’t need to thank me; you should be thanking your Nord friend instead.”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
Thank Kurt instead?
What kind of nonsense is this?
With such thoughts swirling in his mind, Rudell tilted his head as Dagruul threw an arm around Kurt’s shoulders.
“This guy told me not to join right away, but to bring the soldiers. He said that would be much better.”
“Thanks, Kurt, because of you, everyone is safe.”
“It’s nothing.”
“That aside, what do you plan to do now? The Empire won’t just sit back.”
“First, we need to clear up misunderstandings with the Empire.”
At this rate, we might end up becoming enemies with the Empire.
If this keeps up, we might end up becoming hostile towards the Empire.
From Rudell’s perspective, that was something he had to prevent at all costs.
“I guess I need to get in touch with Pachelbel again…”
As he thought about the future and fiddled with his chin, it happened.
[After all, doing things myself is the best way.]
A voice he felt he had heard somewhere echoed above Rudell’s head.
When Rudell looked up, he saw something resembling a human.
The reason he called it “something” was that it definitely didn’t look human.
Its body was about twice that of an average adult male, covered in grayish scales that resembled armor.
In its hands were a longsword he had seen before and a staff adorned with skulls, while two massive pairs of arms made of magic floated behind it.
The imposing figure hovering in the air made it seem like he was looking at an Asura as described in Buddhism.
“Uuuh…!!”
“D-Daemon!!”
The nearby Nord warriors also seemed to sense something unusual and stood frozen, watching the scene.
At that moment.
[Long time no see, how many years has it been since we met in the Maze Forest? Three? Four? That sounds about right.]
The familiar voice resonated in the chamber with the sound of inhaling.
“…”
“The Maze Forest? Could it be that time…!!”
Rudell stared at him silently, while Leje seemed to recall something.
Simultaneously, the entity that they couldn’t decide whether to call it “that” or “him” slowly began to move its arms.
And in the next moment.
Feeling the overwhelming surge of magic, Rudell shouted urgently at the people.
“Everyone, get down!!”
[My name is Keres, the great blade of death and the one who executes His will. Now, I shall take your lives.]
As Keres declared this, ominous purple magic surged from his staff, and at the same time, dozens of purple lightning bolts started to rain down.
“Uaaahhh!?”
“Graaaah!?”
Explosions erupted from all directions, and screams erupted from the Nord warriors caught in the blasts.
It burst forth.
An overwhelming scale that could only be described as monstrous.
With just one assault, most of the Nord warriors underground became cold corpses, rolling on the floor.
“Cough! Cough! Wh-what… what’s going on…?”
[Hiiiiiik!?]
“…”
“Oh my…!!”
As the dust from the explosion settled, Leje rose with a cough, unable to articulate the horror before her.
And it was the same for the others in the group.
Just then.
“How dare you attack my warriors!!”
With a furious shout, Dagruul charged at Keres, spewing red magic power.
Dagruul rushed in with such incredible speed that even Rudell found it hard to keep up, swinging his gigantic sword radiating red magic with ferocity.
With the momentum to crush everything in his path, his great sword swung toward Keres’ body, and in the next moment.
-BAM!!
With an immense loud noise, Dagruul’s great sword struck Keres’ body.
But the scene that followed made Rudell and the others doubt their eyes.
“Is that it?”
“Grrrrr…!!”
A massive arm, hovering behind Keres, caught his great sword.
Dagruul put all his strength into it, and in response, the torrent of magic from his sword intensified.
Yet, Keres remained utterly calm.
As if dealing with a child, his movements showed no change whatsoever.
“How foolish for a mere barbarian to challenge a herald of the gods. Know your place.”
“Ugh!?”
“Lord Dagruul!!”
In the next moment, Keres’ other arm moved, wrapping around the torrent of magic and striking Dagruul’s body with tremendous force.
Without a chance to react, Dagruul’s body slammed into the ground, causing a great explosion of dirt and debris.
As the dust cleared, what came into Rudell and the others’ view was the sight of the unconscious Dagruul, buried deep into the earth.
“Now… it’s your turn.”
And with that, Keres gazed at Rudell and the group.