Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 247

Loki gazed at the Berserker warriors collapsed on the meadow.

“Uwaaa! Oh, my whole body hurts!”

“M-My heart feels like it’s going to explode! Ugh! My stomach is twisting…!”

“S-Soju! Give me soju!” [Soju is a Korean distilled beverage.]

From the field of corpses, pained screams echoed.

“Cough… I-I’m dying? Ah… I’m dying… Everything’s going dark.”

Some of them were riddled with spears thrust by the Lothos Empire’s cavalry, looking like hedgehogs.

“The Lothos Empire’s soldiers must have been quite strong.”

Loki pulled out a spear from a Berserker warrior who had become a hedgehog and sprinkled a potion on him.

“Ooh! T-Thank you! Constellation-nim!”

The Berserker warriors rejoiced for a moment, then immediately sat down to rest.

Their mental fatigue must have been significant.

“…The half-human, half-beast grimoire that Helga-nim gave us.”

Kudan approached Loki and said,

“The side effects seem severe. It unleashes powerful strength for a moment, but afterward, they can’t even move their bodies. It would have been dangerous if they hadn’t retreated.”

“I see. We shouldn’t use it unless it’s a truly dangerous moment.”

But even so, they endured well, befitting those with immense stamina.

If not for them, there would be no one else to handle the half-human, half-beast magic.

“By the way….”

Loki looked towards Karen and Freyr, who were hunting enemy infantry.

“Kyahahaha! Good job! Kill them all!”

Along with Karen’s mad laughter, the Cyclopes devoured the enemies alive.

“Don’t lose to the cat! Grind them all to dust!”

The chariot crushed the infantry as it sped along.

Watching that scene, Loki clicked his tongue.

“…It’s like we’re the villains.”

Unable to deny the statement, Kudan quietly nodded.

***

The Fallen Constellations watching the video orb in the conference room were speechless.

A Constellation eating a fruit filled with human essence even dropped what they were holding.

「…Are those humans?」

The humans they knew were weaklings who mobilized armies to catch a single angel.

They fell ill and languished, had to burn firewood when it was cold, and starved to death when disasters ruined their crops—pathetic worms.

But these beings reflected in the video now far surpassed humans.

The weapons they possessed were extraordinary, and each one’s power was immense.

In particular, the bear-like man at the forefront annihilated hundreds of cavalry, including Imperial Knights, with a single blow.

This was a feat even high-ranking angels would find difficult.

Just when they thought only he was special, beast warriors in black armor rampaged, and the cavalry collapsed.

「What…. are those….」

After that, the counterattack began.

From the Asgard camp, Cyclopes advanced along with chariots.

Even as the Imperial army shot arrows and cast spells, the Cyclopes ignored the attacks and charged forward.

They reached out and snatched soldiers.

– ‘S-Save me! Uwaaaaaaagh!’

Crack-!

They became a meal on the spot.

To them, siege weapons were mere twigs, and with a single massive gesture, they crushed them, sending dozens of soldiers flying into the air to their deaths.

Asgard’s chariots, exploiting the gaps, pulverized the infantry.

「Did you see that?」

The Constellations’ gazes turned to Therios.

「This is the result of your negligence.」

「…….」

「You might have thought you only needed to deal with the Constellation of the End. But no. We have to face humans like these.」

The Constellations hadn’t become weaker.

The humans had become stronger.

While the arrogant Constellations were complacent, the humans adapted to survive and steadily prepared to kill the Constellations.

That difference became the catalyst for narrowing the gap that they thought could never be bridged.

「I ask you, will you still ignore them even after seeing this?」

「…No, I never ignored them in the first place.」

A Constellation who had been feeling a sense of crisis began to speak.

「However, the problem lies with the other complacent ones. How incompetent must one be to ignore them….」

「A-Are you insulting me right now!?」

「I never said it was you. Why? Do you feel guilty?」

「Y-You…!」

「Enough.」

Therios stopped the Constellations.

He let out a deep sigh.

「Are you going to fight even at a time like this?」

「…….」

「There is still a chance. We have power. So… it’s time to combine our strength.」

Therios stood up from his seat.

「Our laziness has fostered the humans’ recklessness.」

Divinity emanated from his body.

Brilliant golden light spread in all directions.

Accordingly, the raindrops falling steadily in the conference room gradually disappeared.

The Constellations looked up at the sky.

The dark clouds disappeared, and sunlight streamed through the gaps.

“T-The downpour has stopped!”

The Elysion priests who witnessed the miracle in the sky shouted with joy.

“Ah! It is the grace of the Sun God!”

The priests piously prayed with their hands clasped together.

The Constellations looked at Therios.

「Now it’s our turn to counterattack.」

***

Meanwhile, Loki was receiving a report.

Thorsen and Helga had landed on the mainland.

They were reorganizing their armies and would come to Loki’s main camp, according to the report.

Also, the Asgard allied forces, having occupied some of the Elysion territory, were sending a portion of their troops to Loki’s main force.

Loki blinked as he looked at the number of troops written in the report.

“300,000?”

“Yes, after hearing the news that you overwhelmingly defeated the Lothos Empire’s vanguard, everyone seems to be sending troops.”

This was different from the invasion wars so far.

It was the sacred domain where the Constellations resided.

All sorts of treasures and magical artifacts were sleeping in that sacred domain.

Their calculation was that obtaining those would give them hundreds, even thousands of years of revival.

That’s why they hurriedly supported the troops, hoping to get even a spoonful of the benefits.

As a result, an allied force of 300,000 was born.

“…Even if the Cron Empire is in charge of supplies, that number won’t last more than a few days, will it?”

Even an empire would have its limits.

This was unexpected.

It seemed to show how deep human greed could be.

Loki stroked his chin.

“Hmm, I was going to starve the enemies out…, but should I move up the siege date since it’s come to this?”

Even so, in about two weeks, half of the sacred domain’s forces would be useless, wouldn’t they?

It was when Loki was contemplating.

“Constellation-nim.”

A shaman approached Loki.

“…There’s been some unrest among the soldiers.”

“Unrest?”

“The soldiers… can’t sleep.”

The shaman said with a sigh.

“And… bugs and all sorts of noises are confusing their ears. This… seems like the power of the Constellations.”

The Fallen Constellations’ counterattack had begun.

***

When the 300,000 anti-Elysion allied forces prepared to strike the Fallen Constellations and reached the Elysion sacred domain, they could see the Constellation of the End who had come to greet them.

“Long time no see. My friend!”

The Karma Emperor served as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces, and King Aaron served as the deputy commander.

It was an extremely unusual situation for the rulers of each country to be on the front lines, but it had symbolic significance.

Karma grabbed Loki’s hands with both of his and shook them up and down.

Then he glanced back.

He could see the gazes full of dissatisfaction with Karma subtly subsiding due to his show of friendship with Loki.

“A cunning fellow.”

Karma smiled at Loki’s words.

“I’ll take that as a compliment! Then, now for a rest….”

“Prepare the troops. We’ll invade today.”

“…Huh?”

Karma stared at Loki with a blank expression.

“T-Today?”

“Yes.”

“…From what I’ve heard, the Lothos Empire and other kingdoms’ troops are unharmed in that Elysion sacred domain, right?”

That number alone was 200,000.

Including the Constellations’ offerings, it would be millions.

And you’re saying we should advance tired soldiers into such a place?

“W-We need to give them time to rest. Don’t you think?”

Karma said with an awkward smile.

“Follow me.”

Loki turned his back and started heading somewhere.

At that sight, Karma followed Loki, puzzled.

The place he headed to was the soldiers’ barracks.

“Did you say rest?”

“Y-Yes… We had a forced march….”

Karma’s words trailed off as soon as Loki showed him the inside of the barracks.

Nord warriors resting.

No, could it be called rest?

The Nord warriors were all covered in wounds.

“Why are the soldiers…? The fight with the Imperial army must have been rough.”

Loki shook his head at Karma’s words.

“It’s the aftermath of the nightmare.”

“What?”

“They’re fighting in their dreams, and the wounds they sustain in those fights are starting to appear in reality.”

Sleep was essential for humans.

But the Asgard soldiers were not guaranteed that sleep.

Karma’s eyes widened.

“Does that mean….”

“It’s the Constellations’ authority.”

“…….”

“Besides-”

Ttattattattak-!

Bugs crawled everywhere in the barracks.

The surroundings of the barracks were filled with locusts, and they even crawled into the supply depot, chewing on the grains.

Squeak! Squeak!

Loki turned his gaze.

The framework of the barracks made a loud noise every time it was blown by the wind.

The sound was so terrible that it made him frown involuntarily.

“I heard it’s the work of the Constellations. The Constellation of Dreams, Rikril. The Constellation of Insects, Noktix. The Constellation of Sound, Kerazul.”

“…….”

“They’re disturbing the soldiers’ rest.”

“T-They’ve endured well.”

“It’s a temporary measure.”

Physical fatigue can be washed away with the water of the Holy Sea. But mental fatigue remains.

Food can be provided with the World Tree’s fruits and sap. And noise can be tolerated to some extent by blocking the ears.

But, it was literally a temporary measure.

If this continued, the soldiers would not be able to fight.

And there was a limit to the World Tree’s fruits and sap.

Even if they blocked their ears, not all noise was blocked.

Karma closed his mouth after hearing Loki’s explanation.

“Did you say rest? If we take a day’s rest….”

Loki looked at Karma and said,

“The allied forces will collapse.”

“…Good heavens.”

“We need to move the troops immediately.”

“Y-You’re right.”

Karma nodded.

The power of the Constellations was too strong. At this rate, even the existing army would disappear.

“Then who will be the vanguard….”

Loki opened his mouth.

“I’ll take it.”

Helga and Thorsen’s armies were scheduled to arrive.

When that happened, the all-out attack could begin.

***

Helga, the Demon King Kalib, and the army of the Undead marched in formation towards the ground.

Behind them followed Thorsen and the Nord soldiers.

Loki, who had come to greet Helga, waved his hand.

“You’ve arrived safely.”

“It felt like traveling in its own way.”

Helga gave a faint smile.

“I’m sorry, but I need you to move the troops right away.”

“Right away?”

“Yes, the Constellations have started to move.”

Helga looked surprised.

Then she looked at the main camp.

The aura of death lingered among the soldiers.

“…It seems the Constellations have done something.”

“They’re disturbing their rest. The longer we delay, the more the allied forces will collapse.”

“I understand. Then… what are you going to do?”

The fact that the Fallen Constellations had stepped in meant that the siege would not be easy either.

If they recklessly pushed forward with the allied forces, they might be annihilated.

Loki took out a golden chain from his inventory and held it out.

“What’s this…?”

“It’s a shackle to temporarily seal the Constellations. We don’t need to kill them all.”

“…….”

“And for the vanguard… me, you, and….”

Behind Loki, three giants stood tall.

Helga’s eyes widened.

“We’ll be with the giants who will lead the world to ruin.”