"What's your name?"
The man clad in silver armor spoke.
The "Master of the Dead," cloaked deeply in a tattered gray robe, replied.
"You're worthy of hearing my name. I am Hellnik."
"I see. I am Idun, an enforcer of the Salvation Church."
Surrounding the two were countless corpses piled high.
The corpses varied in state: some had decayed long ago, while others seemed freshly dead. Among them were bodies of knights in silver armor and numerous bandit-like figures.
This grim scene was the result of the clash between the forces Idun had led and the undead summoned by Hellnik.
Strictly speaking, Idun had taken more losses. A significant portion of his troops had perished.
"This is why necromancers are so troublesome. It's hard to end things decisively."
The undead army summoned by a necromancer fought tirelessly and relentlessly. Hellnik had no need to duel Idun one-on-one; he could simply keep summoning troops until his mana was exhausted.
Idun, brushing back his disheveled hair, continued speaking.
"You've made me waste too much time. Now the Church will start doubting my abilities."
"Hmm… So, are you asking me to go easy on you? I'm still holding up just fine."
Hellnik still had plenty of mana left.
However, Idun was in better shape. Knowing how necromancers fought, he had conserved his strength by deploying his subordinates.
It was his preferred method: let his troops wear down the enemy, then deliver the final blow himself. This way, he avoided personal risk while claiming glory.
But Hellnik was a particularly poor match for Idun. The necromancer's skill was far greater than anticipated, and Idun had already suffered enough losses to invite criticism from the Church.
Idun examined his sword thoughtfully and muttered.
"Continuing this is too costly… You're famous for a reason, even at the far ends of the continent."
If Hellnik decided to retreat while continuing to summon undead, it would be disastrous. Idun hesitated briefly.
'Hmm.'
He saw a way to turn this loss into an opportunity to strengthen his position.
With a radiant smile, Idun spoke.
"Hey, what do you think about joining forces with us?"
"Hm."
Hellnik crossed his arms. The suggestion was amusing. After slaughtering so many of his men, this man had the audacity to propose an alliance.
Yet, Idun's words were genuine. His obsession with reputation was so blatant that it was almost laughable.
From within the shadow of his robe, Hellnik grinned, intrigued.
"What can you offer?"
"I heard you were experimenting on our priests? With your skills, I can hand over one or two priests. If ordinary humans are what you want, you can have as many as you need."
At this proposal, Hellnik couldn't help but laugh.
"Ha ha ha…"
Offering up priests, even half-superhuman ones, as experimental fodder—this man was as insane as he was pragmatic.
The terms appealed to Hellnik. Teaming up with the Salvation Church, which was sweeping across the continent, would provide him with temporary convenience. Gathering corpses and experimental materials himself had indeed become a bit tiresome.
"Would I also get access to study the rifts? I'm curious about how they're made."
Hellnik casually added another condition.
The monsters emerging from the rifts were clearly not of this world, which piqued his curiosity.
Idun nodded readily.
"That won't be difficult."
"Good… What do you want me to do?"
"Wipe out those who stand in our way. Someone like you would be a tremendous help."
"Not much different from my usual work, then."
Hellnik smiled at Idun. Killing people was already a regular part of his routine.
Yet, the more he thought about it, the more curious he became. He killed people to create minions and conduct research. But what was their purpose?
"Why do you kill people? What's your goal?"
Idun replied casually, as if the question were trivial.
"Oh, nothing much. The Church says we're resurrecting our god to create a new world. Something about this world not being its true master."
"Ha ha ha…"
A new world, built on sacrifices and summoned monstrosities. While Hellnik wasn't normal himself, he couldn't help but find this absurd.
"You're not exactly a normal religion, are you?"
To Hellnik, the reasoning was banal. It wasn't much different from the countless cults that had risen and fallen over the years. The only notable aspect was their mysterious knowledge of opening rifts.
Idun, noticing Hellnik's reaction, laughed.
"Ridiculous, right? That's how fanatics are. But I don't follow them for those reasons."
"Then why?"
"Why? Does conquering the world need a reason? To rule eternally and be worshiped—isn't that reason enough?"
"Ha ha ha…"
Hellnik laughed again. The man was so blatantly driven by desire it was almost refreshing.
Hidden within the shadows of his robe, Hellnik licked his lips.
'How delicious.'
A soul that corrupted would provide immense satisfaction if consumed. It was a pity that Idun's strength made him difficult to devour.
Still, Hellnik thought working with him might be entertaining.
"Fine. What's next?"
"Lutania Kingdom is in the midst of a civil war. That's our starting point. The target is Count Fenris."
"Count Fenris…"
"The revolutionary group has also agreed to join us. You've killed many of their men, but with your help, there shouldn't be any issues."
"The revolutionary group…"
Hellnik knew of the revolutionary group—those seeking to upend the world.
The corpses clad in mismatched clothes and gear were revolutionary group's forces.
The Salvation Church had risen faster than expected, meeting resistance at every turn. In the chaos, Hellnik had indiscriminately killed people, including the Church's priests.
Idun's mission had been to recruit the revolutionary group and return, eliminating Hellnik along the way. Plans had changed, shifting from assassination to negotiation.
"Fine, an interesting development."
Two chaotic forces joining hands would throw the continent into even greater disarray.
Hellnik decided to align with the Salvation Church for now. The more havoc they caused, the better for him.
After all, he thrived on consuming despair and fear.
***
The Kingdom of Lutania had completed preparations for war under Ghislain's command.
Initially, debates raged about which region to assist first, but Ghislain, the commander-in-chief, quickly resolved it.
"Start with the nearest and most urgent. We'll deal with them all eventually. First, we're heading to the Kingdom of Seiron."
Seiron was adjacent to Lutania, but there was another reason.
"Our officials need peace of mind, don't they?"
Fenris territory housed many graduates of the Seiron Academy. Many of their families had relocated to Fenris, but some still lived in Seiron.
When the Rift incident erupted, Ghislain had dispatched troops to help evacuate them. However, even with their safety ensured, seeing their homeland destroyed would be traumatic.
Ghislain glanced at Claude.
'Tsk tsk… She should've come with us from the start.'
Since the decision to aid Seiron, Claude had been visibly restless. Despite sending envoys to Seiron multiple times, he had yet to locate his former lover, Anna.
Since the entire kingdom was destroyed, he couldn't figure out where she had fled.
'The country is too small to hold out properly.'
Since the Kingdom of Seiron was such a small country, instead of blocking the rift, all of their troops were gathered and barely defending the area around the capital. It wouldn't have been strange if it had fallen long ago.
It was fortunate that it was able to hold out until now because it was right next to Lutania. The Salvation Church was focused on Lutania, so they just opened the rift and left it alone.
They thought it was too weak and would fall if they left it alone.
"Move swiftly!"
As always, Ghislain led the vanguard with a mobile army and mages, followed closely by 100,000 reorganized northern army.
Upon entering Seiron, they were greeted only by deserted towns and villages.
"This is dire."
Seiron was so small that only three rifts had opened there. Yet, even those had been enough to drive the populace entirely to the capital.
The blue mist emanating from the rifts continued to spread unchecked, leaving no alternative.
Ghislain surveyed the area, clicking his tongue in disbelief.
"Didn't they even try to fight back? What were they doing?"
Defeating Riftborn would significantly slow the mist's expansion. This is because when new Riftborn come in to fill the empty space, you have to use the power of Equidema.
However, if the number of Riftborn increases, Equidema can only focus on expanding its territory.
As a result of leaving the rifts unattended, only three rifts had grown large enough to cover the entire Kingdom of Seiron.
"Clear the path to the capital! Let's move!"
The vanguard charged straight into the mist that blocked their route to the capital.
Their overwhelming strength made old tactics unnecessary. They didn't form ranks and advance slowly—they simply charged.
The enemy swarmed in like a tide as they entered the mist, their numbers seemingly endless.
First, Vanessa and the mages unleashed their spells. Behind her were six 6th-circle mages and twenty 5th-circle mages.
"Chain Lightning."
Crack!
The lightning bolt Vanessa unleashed branched out in all directions. The mages followed up with summoned tempests that raged everywhere, while pillars of fire erupted across the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Screech!
The Riftborn, recklessly charging forward, were obliterated before they could even get close. The vast area-of-effect magic swept them away without hesitation.
However, it was impossible to eliminate all the Riftborn that had amassed over time with just magic. With the Rift having expanded this far, there were likely at least a million of them.
Screech! Screech!
Even though tens of thousands of their kin were wiped out in an instant, the Riftborn continued charging without pause. The mages spared no effort, relentlessly casting their spells.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The 7th-circle mage, alongside the 5th and 6th-circle mages, kept attacking the Riftborn that rushed at them with nothing but brute force.
By the time they had exhausted their mana, half the Riftborn were already gone.
Thud!
As the mages stepped back, Parniel stepped forward with a savage grin.
"Good."
The Riftborn had no strategy, only overwhelming numbers.
There was no better enemy to fight mindlessly against. Especially when it was her duty as a saintess to eradicate them.
Boom!
Parniel leaped fearlessly into the midst of the Riftborn. The holy power radiating from her body incinerated the creatures that approached her.
Screech!
Even the Riftborn, seemingly impervious to pain, writhed in agony if they came near her. Just by touching her, they began to burn, emitting black smoke as they were consumed.
Parniel stood at the forefront for a reason: all the Riftborn' attention was drawn to the holy power she wielded.
"Alright, let's go too!"
Ghislain shouted loudly and charged forward. Gillian and Tenant followed behind him. Belinda stayed back to protect the mages and priests.
And, as always, Kaor frowned and cursed as he joined in.
'Damn it, why won't the Aura Blade come back?'
Such large-scale massacres didn't happen often. He wanted to go all out, but his Aura Blade still refused to manifest.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Fenris mobile army followed behind Ghislain, gripping their spears tightly as they rushed toward the Riftborn.
Boom!
The Riftborn swarming toward Parniel were quickly torn apart. The charge of superhumans and 20,000 cavalry was no less devastating than the mages' area-of-effect magic.
"Oh, goddess!"
From the rear, Piote and the priests poured their blessings onto the knights at the front with all their might.
Screech!
Holy power radiated in all directions. The Riftborn, unable to fight properly, were consumed by flames.
The mobile army seized the opportunity and pressed forward relentlessly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Screech!
The Riftborn were utterly helpless. Most of them served as nothing more than a brief distraction.
No army on the continent could demonstrate such overwhelming combat power against the Rift.
"We'll push straight through to Equidema!"
"Waaaah!"
At Ghislain's shout, the mobile army roared in unison, driving back the Riftborn.
While they fought valiantly, the Seiron soldiers stood nervously at their defensive lines near the capital, unaware of the reinforcements.
"There's nowhere left to run now."
"Damn it, what are the nobles doing?"
"Shh, be quiet. You'll get in trouble if they hear you."
The soldiers couldn't even voice their complaints freely. As morale deteriorated, the higher-ups took their frustration out on the hapless soldiers.
Under the guise of maintaining discipline, they subjected the soldiers to unwarranted abuse, and everyone knew it.
"If this is how it's going to be, at least give us proper meals."
"I'm so hungry, I can't even muster any strength."
"Damn it, should we just desert?"
With the kingdom in ruins, food production was non-existent. The area near the capital was now overflowing with starving soldiers and refugees.
Yet the nobles continued to eat well, relying on their stockpiled supplies. Ironically, they were considered loyalists.
Most of the nobles had already fled to other countries with their wealth.
That was how dire the situation in the Seiron Kingdom had become. All they could do was desperately hold onto the capital's vicinity.
As the soldiers clutched their empty stomachs and voiced their frustrations, the ground began to tremble.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From within the vast expanse of blue mist, the sound of galloping horses echoed. The soldiers on watch shouted in alarm.
"Something's coming!"
The soldiers hurriedly formed a line. They didn't even try to identify the approaching presence; they lacked the courage.
Instead, they immediately started firing their catapults.
Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!
Rocks were launched into the blue mist. They couldn't see the enemy, but they shot anyway out of sheer fear.
But… the rocks shattered in mid-air before even entering the mist.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"What the hell is that?!"
Something emerged, obliterating the rocks. The soldiers, gripped by terror, descended into chaos.
"Don't panic! Keep firing! Just keep firing!"
The commanders, equally clueless, could only order continuous fire. All the while, they were preparing to flee.
Then, a loud voice echoed from within the blue mist.
"Stop firing! We've come to help you!"
"A-a monster is talking!"
The soldiers, even more confused, frantically continued firing their catapults. But the stones, as before, were all destroyed mid-air.
"Stop firing!"
With an angry shout, something descended from the sky.
Flash!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The catapults began to break apart. The sight left the soldiers in a state of panic.
"They've started ranged attacks!"
"Run!"
"This kingdom was doomed from the start!"
As the soldiers screamed and threw down their weapons to flee…
Whoosh!
A group of troops emerged, cutting through the blue mist.
Finally, the soldiers collapsed where they stood. Seeing humans at last, they were so relieved that their legs gave out.
One of the commanders, trembling, approached the figure at the forefront of the group, a man mounted on a black horse, and asked.
"W-who are you?"
Ghislain tilted his spear to the side and smirked.
"I am Duke Fenris of the Lutania Kingdom. I've come to save you."
At the utterly unexpected answer, the Seiron soldiers stared blankly, their faces frozen in disbelief.
[T/L: I am in dire need of support. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]