The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 438

264. Hekt Battle (3)

KWA-BOOM!! KWA-BOOOOOOM!!!!

As if the sky was enraged, flares of light rained down, beginning to obliterate the Hekts.

Surprisingly, Tosca’s solar power only affected the corrupted, leaving humans unharmed.

“This is…”

Soldiers fighting the monsters felt an intense surge of elation engulfing their bodies as they touched the light, instinctively clenching their fists.

“All troops!! Charge!!!”

Commanders shouted, unable to contain their excitement and the surge of power.

The soldiers felt the same.

WAAAAAAA—!!

Tosca’s light burned the Hekts across the continent, and the remaining monsters, having lost their leaders, began to falter, overwhelmed by the Free Army.

Clang! Cla-lang-! Clang! Cla-lang!!

The clashing of weapons echoed loudly across the battlefield.

[Kyak! Kyaaaaak!!]

[Krrr…]!

[Cough!!]

The monsters roared aggressively at the humans, lunging forward, but they could no longer stem the tide of the Free Army.

“Fight!!”

“Drive them back!!!”

From the Maron Gorge to the Kiwell Coast, and up and down the Pona River, numerous fronts had formed across the continent, and fierce battles raged. Yet, everywhere Tosca’s light touched, the Free Army’s shouts began to resound.

[Free Army front! They are pushing the Hekts back at a rapid pace, centered around the Pona River.]

Israfil reported the current situation to Khalil through his superior eyes [referring to a heightened sensory or observational ability]. Even his voice trembled with excitement.

[The golden dragon’s solar attribute is truly remarkable.]

Alun said, gazing at the continent bathed in white light, seemingly in disbelief.

“Even he can’t cover the entire continent alone. It would have been impossible without the observation tower of the Ivory Tower and the power of the Trilateral Quartz.”

[And the mage who activated it. So, you’re saying it’s a creation born from the combined power of humans and dragons?]

“Just like the Blader.”

Khalil recalled how they had united to oppose Yula in the Mythic Age. No matter how strong a being is, they cannot do everything alone.

Khalil had learned this truth painfully through his past life. He had struggled and fought to reach the position of Sword Saint with only his sword, but the result of his efforts was only the realization that he could not change the future alone.

[So, what you’ve prepared is the Ten of Godslaying.]

Khalil nodded at Alun’s words.

“But that alone is not enough. I believe that everyone, from spirits to dragons, must focus on this war. However, the Divine War was lost even with the combined power of beings other than humans.”

[Hmm… That’s because there was betrayal from within.]

“Yes, that’s why we need even stronger bonds. Two defeats… no, three defeats must never happen again.”

From the defeat in the past Mythic Age to his own defeat in his previous life, the end of those who opposed God in human history was only defeat.

Khalil always prepared a perfect plan to overturn such history.

Plans that even God could not have imagined.

[Don’t worry. You’ve been doing well so far. Look, you’re fighting so well against the second disaster that threatened the continent. Victory is on our side, and you just need to finish it off.]

“I suppose.”

Khalil could almost picture the soldiers fighting in various parts of the continent, even without seeing them.

“The Hekt clones are disappearing and gathering in one place. Its true body is in the direction where those remnants are going.”

Khalil watched as thick fluids flew through the air, merging into one place, like cells combining.

[Lord…!!!]

It was then.

Israfil’s urgent voice reached Khalil’s ears as he was about to grab the reins of the red scale [referring to the dragon] and fly towards that place.

“What’s wrong?”

[North…! There’s a report that one Hekt in the canyon hasn’t been captured!!]

“…What?”

Khalil couldn’t hide his bewildered expression at that moment. Alun hurriedly asked, seeing him, who never lost his composure, unconsciously swallow hard.

[Are there no troops nearby? We’ve prepared a teleportation circle for times like this, so Israfil, move directly.]

[That’s… With all due respect, it’s far from the teleportation circle installed in the north.]

[What nonsense are you saying! We dispersed troops to all the expected locations where the Hekt would appear!!]

[…It seems that it’s a clone that he deliberately hid, aiming for that.]

[What? Just where is it…?! Damn it…!! How dare a monster be so cunning!!!]

Alun Zaber felt himself grinding his teeth and shouting. From the moment he started using human language, he had sensed that the intelligence of the second disaster had increased significantly.

That anxiety became a reality, ultimately leading to the worst outcome.

[He regenerates instantly and creates clones again. Could it be… is our plan a failure?]

Even the great Alun muttered in bewilderment, not knowing what to do.

“The remnants of the dead clones are still gathering. He can only regenerate after collecting all those clones. There’s still time.”

[Could it be…?]

“Tell me Israfil’s location. I’ll go myself.”

Khalil turned the dragon’s head north.

WHOOOOSH…!!

The red scale flapped its wings, soaring through the wind at a rapid pace.

[Khalil, why not aim for the main body instead? No matter how fast you fly, you won’t make it in time!]

“Don’t make me repeat myself. He is the Disaster of Reproduction. As long as even a fragment remains… he will revive.”

But Khalil’s face was also hardened as he said those words.

[Damn it…]

Alun gnashed his teeth, unable to find a solution.

[It’s a canyon in the inner part of the north. It’s not on the map… so it seems we didn’t deploy troops there.]

“The inner part of the north?”

[Yes. I’ll show you the video. Please look at the magic screen.]

As soon as Israfil finished speaking, a location appeared on the map as Khalil’s vision was shared with his superior eyes. Khalil knew immediately where it was.

“This is… the Thousand-Year Ice Cave?”

The Hekt had cleverly hidden one of its clones in that place, a secret location even to the northerners.

“Why here of all places…”

Of course, that place was sealed off and restricted to outsiders, so no troops were stationed there.

It was a painful mistake.

“There’s no way…”

Khalil didn’t want to admit it, but he was just angry at the fact that all he could do was grip the reins of the dragon.

It was then.

[Leave it to us, Lord.]

“…?”

An unexpected voice reached his ears.

It was Hashir’s.

Khalil turned his head in surprise.

[Haha, you seem to be in trouble, Khalil.]

Not only that.

[Turn the reins and head to where its main body is. We will eliminate the remaining one.]

[Please annihilate him.]

[He probably never imagined that we would be in a place he thought no one would find.]

At the moment Hwarin’s hearty voice struck his ears, the voices of various people, including Beykan, Liliana, and Kyla Chang, were heard simultaneously.

“How did you guys…”

Khalil said in a trembling voice, as if he couldn’t believe it.

He had expected it would take quite some time for them to return from Parell, where he had sent them to train. From the beginning, Khalil had not ordered them to completely conquer Parell.

Tenth floor.

That was the floor Khalil had told them to conquer. And since they had already experienced those places, he could estimate the time they would return to some extent.

But…

It was too fast.

“Don’t tell me you failed to conquer up to the floor I told you to and came back?”

He asked in a slightly worried voice.

[Don’t you think we’re the kind of guys who would fail and come back without the face to say anything?]

Hwarin retorted as if she had been waiting for it.

[Leave the cleanup to us and go to the battlefield quickly. The moment a hero is needed is when you move forward, not when you look back.]

For some reason, Khalil chuckled at those words.

[Hehe, Khalil. You’re exceeding my expectations. Well, there was another monster in the north as formidable as Gordon. Putting her in Parell was truly a divine move… no, your move.]

CRACKLE…!!!

At that moment, Khalil pulled the dragon’s reins in the opposite direction with all his might.

[Krrr!!!]

The red scale cried out lowly and began to fly even more vigorously, as if understanding his emotions.

“Of course. War is not fought alone.”

He said it casually, but Alun noticed that one corner of his mouth was raised.

* * *

Bubble… Bubble…

[What a mess.]

The sight that unfolded before Khalil’s eyes as he arrived at the place where the Disaster’s fragments were gathering was truly gruesome.

A mass of mucus resembling a giant slime was bubbling and boiling, and the surrounding area was filled with a poisonous, foul odor.

[Fragments of his clones from all over the continent are merging. Why not just kill him now?]

“To hunt corruption, you have to destroy the heart. But in its current state, there is no heart. His body will only be complete when he is united as one.”

[Hmm… then what should we do?]

“We have to wait.”

Khalil said in a low voice, looking back at where he had flown from.

“Until the last fragment merges with him.”

At that moment, a fragment of the Hekt flying from the direction of the Thousand-Year Ice Cave in the north began to be absorbed into his body.

[Krrr… Krrr…]

The monster’s body, which had been like mucus, quickly solidified and began to swell slowly.

[The timing is amazing. You took care of it in an instant?]

“That means they’ve grown that much.”

Khalil could guess, even if only partially, how much power they had gained in Parell by looking at the Hekt’s clone fragment.

“Disaster of Reproduction…”

Khalil slowly drew his sword.

The second corruption and one of the monsters that killed the most people in the history of the Holy War.

‘He’s coming.’

Khalil sensed it.

A cold energy enveloped his entire body.

The memories of his previous life, when he fought fiercely against him, came to mind, and he felt a chill down his spine.

[Kuaaaaaaaa!!!]

As the monster’s body was completed, a roar like thunder shook the battlefield. The clones were also huge, but the monster’s body, which was a combination of such clones, was so huge that it was difficult to look up even when raising his head.

The red heart was visible, glowing and wriggling between the gaps in his armor.

Squeeze-

He gripped the sword in his hand even tighter.

But there was definitely a difference from his previous life for him, who was facing the disaster again.

The hand holding the sword trembled, but it was not because of the same fear as in his previous life, but because of the anger that came from the desire to quickly cut off the monster’s neck.

Flash-!!

And Khalil ran towards the monster as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

To end the disaster.