What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 677

The Ordeal of the Pilgrimage (6)

Suddenly, my vision narrowed. I tried not to get too excited.

“Liester—! Crush the Ordeal and strike the royal capital!”

“Yaaaaaah!”

-Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter!

It felt like falling into the ancient desert.

Dusty dirt rose from all directions, and the vibration of the horses’ hooves hitting the ground was so strong that my scalp tingled. Riding a horse was physically demanding, but the tension filled me, and I didn’t feel any fatigue.

The rough breathing of my friends running alongside me, Arumhardt’s snorting, the sharp shouts of the cavalry commanders, and the sound of whips flying all blended together.

Through all that chaos, we were quickly entering the Ordeal.

Before being swallowed into the dark cliff gap, I looked back one last time.

Hair wildly whipped my frozen cheeks. Francois in the back was also looking that way.

-Kigigigigi······!

“Liester······!”

“Waaaaaa······!”

“Penetian······!”

In the distance, the black magic airship, regenerating from the terrible cracks, was visible amidst bright yellow flames.

The sharp tip of Durendal [a legendary sword] absorbed the sunlight, and the golden spear circling in the air plunged down again like lightning.

Kwagwagwagwang! Elysee’s dazzling blonde hair and the Holy Spear pierced the airship in a single, straight line.

Following that, paladins of the earth attribute, riding rhino units, were seen growing enormous vines and trees to pull down the airship.

The soldiers of both countries were cheering them on, waving their weapons until their throats were sore.

“Heuaaaaa······!”

-Clack, clack, clack, clack!

“······.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight.

Even though it was actually happening, it didn’t feel real at all.

That airship’s strange and terrible regenerative power, and the cooperation between the two countries in this place… What on earth happened to the Divine Nation?

Of course, we know very well that Wilhelmina Schneider is an unspeakable piece of trash.

We have seen with our own eyes the countless pieces of evidence and witnesses that he directly and indirectly eliminated….

Still, I thought Elysee could hold out.

I believed that one day she would be able to successfully suppress Schneider.

-Tururu, tururu!

“Yeah, I’m not daydreaming. Right now, the Ordeal infiltration mission comes first!”

Arumi, sensing my wandering thoughts, immediately snapped me back to attention.

I shook my head, gritted my teeth, and lowered my posture.

At the same time, a distant shadow poured down on our heads.

I flinched and looked up.

-Wheeeee!

“My God······.”

The endless cliff of the Ordeal stretched out like a screen on both sides of the road.

I already knew roughly through maps and reports, but seeing it in person was very different.

The swirling wind was much colder, and the Ordeal had a very desolate atmosphere overall.

The terrain was so steep and rugged that even decent rock-climbing skills wouldn’t be enough.

Sant, who was diligently following beside me, seemed daunted by the dizzying slope. We didn’t slow down and ran wildly after the Crown Prince.

It was then.

“Fire—!”

-Whee whee whee whee!

“Ambush!”

Realization and the rain of arrows poured down almost simultaneously.

The Divine Nation forces ambushing in various places on the cliff—presumably Schneider’s forces who do not cooperate with Elysee—began to fire fire arrows and poison arrows from high places.

I quickly checked the range of the Holy Ground. Many cavalrymen were under my protection, but there were still many gaps.

Francois immediately swung his mace.

-Chaeaaeng!

-Papatpak!

Some of the arrows that poured down like a rainstorm bounced off the defense magic formula.

The cavalry with combat mages were in a better situation, but there were quite a few units without mages.

Fortunately, there were no casualties yet.

As the first arrow waterfall passed, the second arrow waterfall poured down immediately. Of course, we didn’t stop and kept running.

The needle-sharp arrowheads glistened with poison and covered our allies.

-Ssaek ssaek ssaek ssaeak—!

The sound of scraping the air reached the top of my head, and at that moment, with a whoosh! Thousands of arrows stopped motionless in their place.

The flickering of the flames attached to the arrowheads was clearly visible. And there was an illusion that time was flowing very slowly.

I couldn’t tell if the pounding of my heart was mine or Francois’.

I watched Cedric’s fingers drawing in the air.

It was the moment when his magical specialty, ‘Metal,’ was activated. The moment I unknowingly burst out the breath I had been holding back—

-Papatpapat!

“Aaaagh!”

“Gheuk, heuaaagh!”

“Eoeoeoeok!”

The arrow swarm defied gravity and shot upwards.

The arrowheads that crashed into the cliffs in various places created constant screams from all directions.

I could hear something burning or collapsing here and there.

After that, arrows didn’t fly in like a lie.

I gritted my teeth and tried not to think too deeply, but that was really hard….

-Urrreung, kwagagagang!

-Jeojeojeok!

“Abandon it! Abandon the watchtower!”

Kwagagang! Following that, Dioph’s lightning struck the Divine Nation forces, using the arrows as lightning rods.

The sky flashed, brightening my confused mind, and my eyes became clear and vivid.

I hurriedly inhaled. I was worried that my damp grip would drop the Holy Spear.

Even though everything up to this point was an agreed-upon operation, I felt like a fool for constantly being surprised.

I didn’t want to cause trouble for everyone, so I decided to focus only on the Holy Ground as much as possible—

-Kureureure······!

“Rocks ahead! Rocks are rolling down from the uphill ahead!”

Damn it!

“Three, no! Four! Four are rolling down!”

Whiriririk! Ms. Gain shouted at the top of her lungs and swung her whip. Jeojeojeok! At the same time, a pure white ice wall rose in the middle of the dry Ordeal. Kuung! The frost-like sharp claws scratched the huge boulders, drastically reducing their speed.

I glanced at Isabel, quickly looking for a path where the boulders could roll in.

The coral whip in her hand was emitting an unusual white light. Whiririk!

-Kwareureureung!

“Waaa!”

This time, exclamations burst out from our cavalry.

The black vines that sprouted through the barren soil of the Ordeal began to grab the rocks and crush them.

It was like a giant octopus in the deep sea grabbing its crustacean prey and melting it with poison.

Kwagagak, kwagagagak! Hanan’s ether spread in all directions, dissolving the dried soil and gravel.

And when we reached the front of the four shattered rocks….

-Clatter, clatter

“······The smell of blood is terrible.”

-Wheeeee······

Sir Johann said that again.

However, this time everyone in the group could agree with his opinion.

The partisan cavalrymen who had stopped their horses looked at each other and frowned, and I hurriedly covered my nose with the back of my hand. The intensely strong smell of blood, enough to make one nauseous, was blowing from just behind the magnificent pile of stones created by Hanan.

That place was the heart of the Ordeal, where the gentle uphill ended and the flat ground began, and this was the first time the Imperial Army had entered this far in this war.

It seemed difficult to grasp the situation without looking into that side.

While Gain and others kept an eye on the watchtower above the cliff with eyes like tigers, some knights from other cavalry units volunteered to scout.

In the meantime, I grabbed Sir Johann’s wrist and gave him ether [a magical energy source].

He eagerly inhaled my power.

“······What’s going on? Could it be that a demonic beast appeared?”

But if that were the case, my crystal bell couldn’t be this quiet.

And if many of the Divine Nation’s forces had lost their lives here due to an attack by a demonic beast swarm… Elysee would have definitely mentioned it to His Majesty. Because that’s a very big deal.

“The Princess already knows the answer.”

“······.”

It felt like my heart was slipping and falling.

I forcibly folded and unfolded my chilling fingertips and looked at the Cardinal.

From the distant entrance of the Ordeal, faint explosions and shouts could be heard.

The words that Hanan had said kept ringing in my head.

‘-Even the most corrupt mana cannot harbor such deep despair. The stagnant blood and breath are so vivid that even I am appalled.’

‘-Those who lost their lives without my knowledge. How terrible.’

“······But they are our allies.”

To operate an airship, to kill people… She couldn’t possibly massacre her own people on the battlefield.

“In the land of gods and assimilation, things that Liester people cannot even imagine happen every day.”

“That’s right. You know the Divine Nation well?”

I flinched! I immediately straightened my back and looked straight ahead.

At the same time, all the spears and swords of the Liester cavalry were aimed at one place at once. It was the voice of an unknown woman.

Gain and the Crown Prince quickly moved their horses to block the non-combat personnel.

Hanan, who had borrowed Isabel’s body, and Jibril Dioph, who had been silently following behind, also moved closer to us.

I instinctively reduced the size of the Holy Ground a little. Thud, thud, thud······.

A person walked out from behind the pile of stones. Sant, startled, shrank his shoulders.

“Gasp, barefoot······.”

“Yeah! I prefer to go barefoot. I like the feeling of the soil, and I really like stepping on people’s bodies. Hello, everyone?”

“······.”

A middle-aged woman wearing a messed-up flower crown smiled brightly and waved her hand.

I momentarily became dazed and exchanged glances with Francois.

Other cavalrymen were also greatly embarrassed and gaped their mouths.

She was wearing a dress with a red apron, but the length was so short that it only reached her calves, making her look quite cold in this weather.

Moreover, she was barefoot without even a coat. Battlefield, barefoot, apron, flower crown….

A total of incomprehensible elements.

“But you know, there’s a very fragrant smell coming from that side. Since when have Imperial people been bringing priests to the battlefield? I’d like to say hello too.”

“He is a Cardinal. Be careful.”

Stopped. I turned around to look at Sir Johann, about to move my body back.

His eyes were sinking darkly and frighteningly. The hand of Isabel holding the whip was also turning pale. I hurriedly looked at my friends.

“······Your Highness, that’s really no joke.”

“······.”

“Really.”

Gain barely squeezed out a whisper between his teeth.

Cedric silently stared straight ahead and tightly gripped the hilt of the Hyegeom sword.

The clearly stiffened cheeks and jaws of the two people were telling us that the opponent was by no means an easy one.

Without knowing for sure, the ether pressure seemed enormous.

I bit my lip tightly, feeling very nervous.

“······I guess greetings are not allowed? It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped. Oh, by the way, did you hear the story from Princess Penetian?”

“······What story.”

Gain sweated coldly and retorted bluntly.

Adriana smiled brightly as if she was so grateful that he had responded for the first time.

“There’s a civil war in Penetian right now… A very big fight has broken out!”

“······.”

“It’s splitting in two, and the remaining one is splitting in two again. It’s a mess. If you go over to that valley, you can see a great fight. Beautiful red spring flowers are blooming profusely.”

“······.”

Only then did I realize that her red apron was originally white.

It was all blood.

Adriana hummed an unknown minor key and tapped her ten fingers as if playing the piano in the air.

She didn’t look at us, and she giggled while rolling pebbles with her dirt-covered feet.

Then, all of a sudden, she started tapping on my Holy Ground.

-Sseuseuseuseut······

I got goosebumps and couldn’t speak properly.

The woman’s closely trimmed fingernails were persistently scratching the outer wall of my circle.

This unpleasant feeling was the first time in my life. Ugh······.

-Kwaaaaaang—!

“Uaaaaaagh!”