The anomaly was detected immediately.
“They’re human bombs!”
“Destroy their heads or hearts!”
As the torsos of Fisher and the ten knights began to swell, the nearby First Order knights responded instantly.
Swoosh! Swish!
Weapons infused with mana blades flew towards the swelling heads and hearts of the human bombs. But…
Clang! Thud!
“We’re on the same side! Don’t attack!”
Even while their bodies were inflating, the human bombs, desperate to survive, wielded their weapons to block the attacks. Despite their current state, they were still skilled experts of at least intermediate rank. They didn’t easily expose their vital points.
Moreover, the body parts swelled with mana to the point where they became as hard as power armor, even resisting mana blades.
“Do you want us all to die? You traitors!”
“Screw it, just open the barrier! Otherwise, we all die together!”
Human psychology is strange indeed. Even after witnessing the tattooed individuals explode, they didn’t flee into the barrier.
They probably thought themselves different, sharing the same fate but somehow exempt from becoming a bomb unknowingly. But now that they faced becoming sacrificial lambs, they were claiming their innocence.
Naturally, they couldn’t be let into the barrier. But if left unchecked, the explosion would surely engulf not only the surrounding individuals but the barrier as well.
The First Order commanders made a resolute decision and shouted.
“Ordinary knights, retreat from the barrier! Armor users, form a double human shield in front of the barrier! I will lead!”
As the commanders braced themselves for death and restructured the defensive formation to protect the barrier, the human bombs approached their detonation thresholds.
“No! I won’t die like this! Move! Get out of the way!”
Their bodies swollen like balloons, the human bombs screamed and swung their weapons wildly, appearing almost pitiful. However, the armor users stationed in front of the barrier stood their ground. Ken was among them.
“Kaylee! I’ll curse you even in hell!”
Even as he was pushed back by her spear, Fisher, his eyes bloodshot, screamed in rage. Ken was channeling all her mana into her spear to brace for the impending explosion.
‘I can’t guarantee I’ll block it….’
Still, she couldn’t break the promise to protect the barrier she made to the master. And finally, the explosion was imminent. Only 20 seconds remained until the detonation, thanks to a special trigger mechanism.
Flash!
White and red lights began to emanate from the bodies of the human bombs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A massive explosion, accompanied by a huge shockwave and a storm of mana, swept through the arena.
***
Whooooosh.
A fierce heat surged into her lungs. Reflexively closing her eyes against the brilliant light, Ken halted the spear barrier she had been putting all her energy into.
Swirl.
As the frantically spinning spear shaft stopped, dust and debris flew up in the backdraft.
‘Did I manage to stop it?’
Momentarily stunned by the heatwave of mana, Ken struggled to grasp the situation. She then widened her eyes in disbelief.
Despite the massive explosion, there were no signs of destruction before her eyes. Where Fisher had stood, now only a scrawny mage was sitting on the ground.
“W-what just happened…. Hey!”
Catching Ken’s eye, the Imperial mage reflexively raised his staff and chanted a spell, but Ken was faster.
Thrust.
Her spear pierced the mage’s heart without hesitation.
Thud.
The mage fell to the ground, eyes wide open.
‘What’s going on?’
Just as Ken was feeling bewildered.
“Now! Everyone, attack! Sweep away the Imperial dogs!”
Raul’s powerful shout swept across the battlefield.
“Golden Bear Knights, charge!”
“The First Knight Order’s strike team, follow behind!”
“Leave no one alive!”
The captains and chief knights began to drive their knights towards the enemy.
Finally, the scene of the battlefield started to clear through the settling dust clouds.
‘Oh my god.’
The human bombs had exploded not near the barrier where Ken was but behind the stands crowded with the Imperial forces.
*
‘Perfectly executed.’
Raul smiled slightly as he glanced at the destructive spectacle he had engineered. There weren’t many moves left for the cornered Imperials to play.
Anticipating they would target the barrier—a vulnerability of their own—he had prepared accordingly. Raul glanced down at the necklace he wore.
『Song of Three Souls』.
This Unique S-Grade artifact stored three superpowers that could be used at will. One of the three beads on the necklace had lost its light.
‘『Switcheroo(B)』 turned out to be quite useful.’
Just before Fisher and the human bombs exploded, Raul had used the 『Switcheroo(B)』 technique stored in the necklace. Originally, it was a spell for swapping a person or object with another at a distance. However, when combined with psychokinesis, it could swap two distant objects, making it incredibly useful.
As a result, the human bombs were switched with the Imperial mages near the enemy’s main camp, causing the explosion to occur there instead of near the barrier.
‘I hope they enjoyed the surprise gift.’
Raul shot a glance at the ruined stands before drawing his sword and diving back into the fray.
*
Stab.
“…Cough.”
Dark crimson blood trickled from No. 3’s mouth. Lowering his head slightly, he saw someone’s arm embedded in his chest.
‘How is this possible?’
No. 3’s body had already merged with the power armor. With the escape route completely cut off and the explosions wiping out most of the few remaining mages and elite knights, their only option was to take as many enemies down with them as possible.
In the end, he activated the ‘Emperor’s Crest’, a special mark given to only a select few, and employed 『Black Sacrifice』. In this state, he had thought no one could stop him unless a master appeared.
The combination of a top-grade expert knight receiving at least two buffs, fused with power armor, and using the burning life force—it seemed an inevitable outcome.
‘But what is this guy…?’
Even while No. 3 rampaged alongside Numbers 5 and 9, enduring and even pushing back against a dozen top-grade expert knights of the enemy, this lone figure overwhelmed them.
His body, an impenetrable fortress against anything less than an aurora-grade attack, and his weapon, burning with an aura blade exchanged for life, were formidable. Yet, in merely ten minutes, he found himself in this state.
A final burst of brilliance, extinguished rather than a grand finale.
“You’re too dangerous to keep alive. We can get all the information we need from those two.”
The golden-haired youth, his helmet now gone, revealed his face as he spoke. The overwhelming presence from earlier seemed like an illusion; he now felt like just a typical top-tier expert.
“…Grrk grrk? (How is this possible?)”
The creature that he had become could no longer produce human speech, but Raul seemed to understand.
“Curious, are you? How I managed to take down the three of you in 30 seconds?”
Even without knowing, No. 3 nodded instinctively. Thickened blood trickled down his chin.
“Well… You can find out in hell.”
Thud!
That was the last of No. 3’s memories. No beheaded human could continue to think.
Swish.
Raul swung his arm, shaking off the blood.
‘Phew, that was close.’
No. 3, in his rampaging state, was a cut above the usual bronze masks. While Numbers 5 and 9 were formidable, they hadn’t surpassed the expert tier. But No. 3 exhibited skills on par with a ‘master’.
Even though it was a suicidal last resort, its heaviness was undeniable.
‘How many more of these monsters are out there?’
Frankly, No. 3’s rampage had exceeded Raul’s expectations. In his past life, he had rarely cornered the high-ranking members of the Imperial Hounds. Even during base assaults or battles, they had disappeared from the battlefield like ghosts.
Fortunately, in this life, he had managed to eliminate quite a few high-ranking members, but this was his first encounter with a rampaging top officer.
‘If not for Regnator, there would’ve been casualties.’
Raul’s power armor, regnator, had a special ability called 『Judgment』. This ability enhanced its power against those using dark magic by 200% and also had an ‘awaken’ effect that lasted for just 30 seconds, which was how Raul managed to subdue them.
However, Raul realized he needed to be more cautious in the future. Today’s foe wasn’t the head of the Imperial Hounds.
With this, the battle within the arena was concluded. There were still enemies outside, but they were mere stragglers and wouldn’t be hard to deal with.
Having almost annihilated the enemy’s main force, the Imperial Hounds’ activities would undoubtedly be suppressed for some time.
*
It took about a week to roughly manage the aftermath.
Thanks to Raul’s barrier, civilian casualties were minimal except for the initial explosion’s victims. Most of the dignitaries were safe, so the marquis household wouldn’t suffer a diplomatic hit.
However, the marquis household did incur significant losses. About 100 knights had died due to the explosions and battle. Additionally, those who had undergone the emperor’s mark were isolated for investigation—about 150 knights alone.
The problem was that there was still no guaranteed way to remove the marks. So, even after the investigation, they had to remain in isolation.
News of the incident spread immediately throughout the kingdom. As a result, the clandestine practice of the tattoo procedure momentarily disappeared.
But finding those already marked was difficult. Since the tattoos didn’t manifest unless activated and there was no immediate way to remove them, people hid their affiliation out of fear.
‘Power gained easily always returns as poison.’
Those complacent enough to believe it wouldn’t happen to them would eventually find the marks shackling them. Though it might temporarily wane, the desire for the tattoos would inevitably rise again over time.
The allure of easily and quickly obtained power was akin to an addictive drug.
‘And players are no exception to this temptation,’ Raul thought.
Though they hadn’t yet come under his surveillance, the Empire’s claws would inevitably reach out to the players one day.
If that happened…
Knock knock knock.
“Your grace, Viscount Raul has come to see you.”
“Let him in.”
As Raul entered the study, passing through the door opened by the royal knight, he saw the marquis, visibly gaunt, seated behind a desk piled high with documents.
Click.
Setting down his pen, the marquis sighed deeply, stood up, and approached Raul.
“You’ve come? I apologize for not providing the proper hospitality to the benefactor of our house amidst all this chaos.”
“No need for apologies. The Empire’s attack was one thing, but I can only imagine how great your sense of loss must be. Once again, I offer my deepest condolences.”
The attack had claimed not only those in the arena but others as well. The marquis’s eldest son, Travis, had perished in an explosion in the magic circle control room, and both his wife and second son were found dead in a secluded area within the inner castle.
Raul personally suspected Fisher’s involvement, but the investigation and cleanup were the marquis’s responsibility.
“Indeed, a parent’s heart aches for their children, no matter how flawed. Thank you for your sympathy.”
Raul and the marquis then discussed several matters. They spoke of forming an alliance between the Marquis Greer household, the Count Ashton house, and Raul’s household.
They also considered seeking the advice of ‘Sage Gray’ to resolve the issue of the Empire’s marks. Finally, they addressed the matter of the marquis’s lost spear technique.
“…It’s long overdue, but here it is.”
Raul handed over the manual detailing the marquis household’s spear technique, which he had obtained from Zeinak’s dungeon. The marquis stared at the manual with an unreadable expression.
“Sir Ken will remain with the marquis household for a while to personally teach the spear technique. I hope this aids in the restoration of the marquis household.”
Rustle.
Slowly rising from his seat, the marquis placed his fist over his heart and bowed his head.
“The Marquis Greer household will never forget this grace. Whatever may come for the Ashton household or yourself, remember that we, the Marquis Greer household, will stand with you.”
Raul quickly stood and bowed in return.
Thus, Raul secured yet another formidable ally.
(To be continued)