Pandemonium

The direction was northwest.

The place turned slightly right from the direction the birds flew from.

Recalling Rakis’s map, that place was wilderness thick with vegetation.

He’d heard it was a training ground where the empire gathered all kinds of predators to raise the strong.

“If he manipulates all the flows there to command things that aren’t human……”

Victory reports were ringing from each camp, but friendly forces’ damage was also considerable.

Battles between humans needed time for both sides to reorganize, but if a third party intervened, the story changed.

Because the third party could penetrate during the time both sides reorganized and collapse the exhausted side.

‘It’s not just to break the balance.’

He’d even devastated the land.

The fundamental reason for continuously gnawing his own flesh and squeezing it out was surely to buy time.

‘It’s difficult to guess how far his flow manipulation extends. But if I retreat here, I’ll just keep circling around friendly forces. Then time will be endlessly delayed just as he wants.’

It wasn’t the time or distance to send messengers to friendly forces.

He’d already stepped too deep to turn back.

He had no choice but to hope they’d cope with Spirit Orbs.

“Did I say war isn’t waged alone……”

Recalling words the Royal Guards had said in the distant past, Pernok gripped his sword.

And he stepped onto the dead earth without hesitation.

Flemyr breathed a sigh of relief seeing the Spirit Orb the Blue priest brought.

“With this we can deal with that thing called Soul Ledger Gems.”

“You can manifest it all day long. However, Spirit Orbs will be whittled down as they clash with Soul Ledger Gems, so you must use them appropriately.”

Flemyr nodded.

“Is His Majesty moving with the Holy Kingdom?”

“I heard he headed toward Duke Ludmila. And he’ll probably act alone.”

“What is he searching for?”

“He said he must search for the emperor as quickly as possible.”

“Then you mean he headed into the enemy’s heartland……”

“He’s someone who shines even more when moving alone. Who in the current Rakis Empire without Duke Chris could stop His Majesty Pernok?”

It wasn’t wrong.

Rather, it was more tactically helpful for Pernok not to show himself.

Because enemies didn’t know Pernok’s location and would be confused about which side to concentrate forces on.

“Has the Sacred Emperor decided to advance?”

“She said after reorganizing at the castle for a while, all forces should simultaneously advance to narrow the siege.”

“The damage seems quite severe.”

“Because Soul Ledger Gems overturned our common sense.”

The Blue priest smiled bitterly and looked around.

Barganta forces also clearly showed signs of exhaustion from repeated battles.

Though three priests had joined, it wasn’t enough to face the 13 Lords, and they’d consecutively captured three castles.

Supplies were experiencing chaos due to Tyir’s betrayal and weren’t arriving on time.

The medical supplies and food left in the castle couldn’t wash away their fatigue.

Had he sensed the Blue priest’s anxiety? Flemyr said with a smile.

“Contact came that supplies will soon arrive from Rezhen.”

“That’s fortunate. But where are the other priests?”

“They’re scattered in three directions on guard to prepare for any possible ambush.”

“Do you think the 13 Lords will come again?”

“I’m thinking of immortal armies even worse than them. If they endlessly rush in with numbers, we must calculate how long we can hold out with one Spirit Orb’s worth.”

“I’ll also stay here for a while. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to speak.”

“Haha, how reassuring. With four priests together, I feel good that our forces are even more superior than at the coast. Now, rest comfortably in your quarters. As soon as supplies arrive, we’ll finish reorganizing and head to the next castle.”

The Blue priest entered the inner castle with a smile.

He lay in the neatly arranged room and gazed at the moonlight flowing in.

He’d thought the Sacred Emperor’s unexpected death would cause a catastrophe, but the alliance forces had won fair and square.

Victory reports rang from everywhere and they’d tightly blocked Rakis from going outside.

From sky, sea, and land, there were no holes for Rakis to escape through.

That’s why he couldn’t relax his tension.

Because like Soul Ledger Gems, he couldn’t know what means enemies whose escape routes were blocked would desperately rush with.

‘Rakis is a place that boasts history as long as the Holy Kingdom. The power to command the dead won’t be the end. Like the former elders, I must always prepare for something hidden in their deep history.’

The blue one who’d been guarding the Holy Kingdom’s border before being selected as a priest knew Rakis’s terror better than anyone.

Since the time he was a mage, Rakis had been elites with refined martial arts even down to ordinary soldiers.

They who didn’t fear even death had struggled to kill even one more Holy Kingdom soldier until the final moment.

Whenever peace settled, their cruel gazes kept surfacing in his mind.

Thud!

It was when he was recalling memories that wouldn’t wash away.

Suddenly a heavy sound came from the window.

The Blue priest turned his gaze slightly and showed a puzzled look.

A bird was clinging to the window.

But its size was several times larger than normal birds.

Though not an eagle, its eyes were pitch black, its beak was sharp, and its wings were stiff as steel.

The moment the bizarre bird pecked the window several times with its beak.

Bang bang bang!

Explosions burst from all directions.

“Kieeeek……!”

He caught the neck of the bird that broke through the window and entered in his grip.

‘What is this strength?’

Intense resistance grew fierce enough to make his arm tremble.

It wasn’t a monster. Certainly, it was a living bird.

But a strange smell flowed from this bird.

Like the energy the woman who attacked the Holy Kingdom had scattered.

The stench of the dead called Netherworld. But it was strange.

Because this bird wasn’t undead and had none of Soul Ledger Gems’ characteristic amber light.

Crack!

He broke the struggling thing’s neck and kicked through the window.

The castle seen from the sky was suddenly devoured by flames.

“Ae, aerial attack!”

“Birds…… uaaaagh!”

“Wh-what is this! Something’s rising from the ground!”

“That’s…… a moth?”

Not just animals but even insects invaded the castle with size and ferocity beyond normal common sense. Such alien mutations were a sight he’d never seen in his life.

‘Could it be Rakis?’

The Blue priest looked up at the sky.

Swoooosh-!

Giant bird flocks that even blocked the moonlight descended.

If all those things came down, soldiers might be slaughtered en masse.

Swish!

A chilling slaughter sound crossed the flock’s center.

“Duke Flemyr!”

Flemyr who was drenched in bright red blood all over his body filled his sword with blood energy and swept among the birds.

He cut down everything visible indiscriminately until a hole was pierced enough for moonlight to leak through.

Flemyr landed on the roof and looked at the eastern sky.

“Kiiaaaak!”

A giant bird flock was flying here again, so massive it felt like dark clouds were moving. It was difficult to guess their numbers.

“Duke! Quickly use Spirit Orbs!”

The Blue priest descended beside him and began tearing apart rushing birds.

“It’s Rakis! They’ve done this bizarre thing!”

Flemyr had the same thought. But he didn’t take out Spirit Orbs.

“I know. But Spirit Orbs didn’t block anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“These things aren’t dead. There’s not even a speck of Soul Ledger Gems’ characteristic light, and even when I used Spirit Orbs, they didn’t lose momentum and rushed in!”

The Blue priest’s eyes widened.

“That can’t be…… but how can such bizarre things……”

“It’s not just birds. Ants, moths, bees, mantises. All visible insects are rushing from all directions in more evolved forms! The other priests are blocking the bizarre things right now!”

Spirit Orbs didn’t work. Because they weren’t monsters mutated by Soul Ledger Gems.

Then who made these life forms this bizarre?

How could they be made to attack here!

“If there’s one common trait, these bizarre things aren’t receiving anyone’s command.”

“What?”

“Bird flocks are flying in groups, but various things that jumped from the ground are each playing around. It’s like a soldier who doesn’t even know how to hold a sword wielding a famous blade arbitrarily.”

“You mean they’re swept up by their own strength?”

“Extremely impulsive. They even fought among themselves when they collided.”

The Blue priest’s eyes flashed seeing ants clashing with mantises.

“They seem to be seeking prey.”

“Probably they’re trying to make the weakest side their food.”

There was no means to confirm who created these things and sent them here.

But one thing was certain – among those things’ patterns, the predator instinct recognizing humans as the weakest side was strengthened.

“Let’s pull back forces and make them fight among themselves.”

“Is that possible?”

“Please handle the sky.”

Flemyr nodded and shot his Blood Sword to the sky.

As soon as countless blood waters burst, they soaked into the sword and raised Flemyr’s divine rank to an even higher place.

The Blue priest sensed the mana of priests felt from other directions.

For facing a bizarre situation, they were all blocking appropriately.

If they just calmed the castle, this bizarre ambush would also finish safely.

Bang-bang-bang-boom!

The Blue priest immediately descended to the ground and drove the house-sized monsters.

“Don’t respond and retreat! I’ll secure an escape route!”

After raising soldiers to the castle walls, he planned to stand this ground’s surface like a wall and trap the monsters.

Then this castle would become an arena where starving monsters would fight and annihilate each other.

The unexpected problem occurred at that moment.

An ant carrying a purple egg appeared among the monsters.

The moment other things couldn’t hold back and chewed up the ant, the egg burst and purple blood was sprayed on the ground.

As soon as the liquid dug into the ground, mana disappeared.

No, the soil that had made the ground vibrant cracked as if a drought had occurred.

Crack!

And a purple plant shot out from there.

The plant that rose with its shell instantly bloomed a bud.

It was shaped like a person opening their mouth, and the Blue priest who’d deployed Magus Arts at the creepily disgusting appearance was shocked.

“Kiaaaaaaak!”

Purple powder bursting from the flower bud with a shriek began melting everything stuck everywhere.

Arad was manipulating the flow of everything.

Various predators and ants hidden in the ground.

Flowers, grass, even solid soil.

All things that touched his eyes or caught his feet withered completely and grew excessively to spread in all directions.

This wasn’t a phenomenon created by Soul Ledger Gems’ power.

There was no need to use Soul Ledger’s energy.

He just intervened in the flow itself existing in all things to accelerate growth or dominate and twist them to wither.

Through this, existing creatures achieved new forms of evolution they couldn’t have had.

As if the Soul Ledger King who rules death was granting new life.

In a world where everything became free, Arad didn’t even interfere with mana.

Things manipulated in the flow all craved flesh and blood.

There was no need to rule them.

They’d seek flesh on their own.

And alliance forces’ soldiers were stationed ahead.

“Though they can deal with Soul Ledger Gems, that power intervening in souls can’t interfere with the living.”

Flow manipulation he would never have used if the 13 Lords had been ahead.

Only now when the alliance forces’ soldiers remained was the perfect poison to spread.

They had no choice but to fight against each other until one side was annihilated.

But this place overflowed with materials to use for flow manipulation.

He just had to keep releasing them and making them fight until all were exhausted.

Enemies would tire, friendly forces would keep reorganizing, and he could drag out time.

“I should send this along too.”

Here Arad added one more thing.

He inserted poisonous plants into creatures.

Creatures that accepted poisonous plants through manipulated flow raised poison inside their bodies, and eventually burst it to scatter extremely poisonous spores.

Or the altered poison had dense acidity that could melt even steel just by contact.

Since there were no Rakis soldiers ahead, Arad kept deploying products of flow manipulation that didn’t distinguish friend from foe.

However many Magus there were, they were also human.

If they kept blocking, they’d inevitably tire.

How could they block this momentum surging like waves?

But Arad couldn’t keep smiling.

Because someone kept rushing here.

“As expected, I was discovered.”

It was a very far distance.

But each was sensing the other.

There was no time to return to the main force.

But if the enemy’s scheme was deploying a third party based on flow manipulation, he could interfere while advancing.

KABOOM!

Pernok passed through the shortest distance heading toward Arad and cut down all monsters flapping wings in the world where life force had disappeared.

He broke formations and made uncontrolled things crash into each other and fight.

‘He intends to induce a war of attrition.’

Pernok twisted his lips.

Concentrating only on what was revealed, Arad was also missing something.

Pernok could absorb the spiritual power of the dead.

That included even these monsters whose growth was accelerated.

‘Thanks to that, I’ll feast.’

Chaotic battles were Pernok’s specialty.