The Prince Wants to Retire

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The Crown Prince Wants to Retire

59. Block the Hell Gate! (3)

Kariel tilted his head at Talion’s report.

“A dragon. A gigantic gray dragon has appeared.”

“A dragon?”

As Kariel flustered at the sudden appearance of the dragon, Talion added more.

“Thousands of dragons are a problem, but the giant wolves are an issue too. The massive wolves spitting gray flames are causing us to break formation quickly.”

– So it has come to that?

Surth spoke gravely in response to Talion’s report.

“To that extent?”

– Yes.

Surth nodded slightly at Kariel’s question.

– It’s the lowest layer of Hell, Nastrond. The worst Hell, known to have been near the World Tree Wigrodis in the past, has now opened.

“What does that even mean…?”

As Kariel urged him to elaborate with a glance, Surth shared what he knew.

In the past, only those with the worst sins could enter Hell.

It was a hell populated by the massive hellhounds descended from Fenrir and the offspring of the dragon Nidhogg, which fed on corpses and Wigrodis. It was a terrible place where thousands of souls were torn apart and then mended, only to be torn apart again by the Wolf Kings.

At Surth’s words, Kariel’s face grew serious.

“Are you saying… they’re alive…?”

– Fenrir is dead. But Nidhogg, I can’t say for certain. The dragons likely survived the apocalypse, so he might still be alive too.

“Nidhogg… would you say he’s stronger than the Demon King?”

Surth nodded slightly at Kariel’s question.

The thought that a mythical being might appear made Kariel’s expression more serious than ever.

“Can Garum stop… Nidhogg?”

– Of course. He may not win, but he can certainly block them from coming here…

If Garum were to fully recover his former strength, he might be able to win. However, realistically, that was impossible.

His soul had been completely torn apart before, and his once lofty standing had fallen immeasurably.

Still, if there was anyone who could block the gate, it would be Garum.

“We need to resurrect Garum as soon as possible.”

With hell’s entities beginning to cross over, time was running out.

The problem was that the Southern Allied Forces were collapsing.

– Is there any time to think?

“Right? Since when did we start calculating probabilities in battle?”

In his previous life, Kariel fought through worst-case scenarios without such calculations.

“Let’s go right now.”

“Yes!”

At Kariel’s command, all troops prepared to take off immediately.

*

When Kariel finished securing the ninth Hell Gate and arrived at the Southern Front, the Allied Forces desperately awaiting him faced the worst situation.

“Don’t give up!”

“Hold out until the Ignit Empire troops arrive!”

The Allied Forces struggled, holding on with all their might.

However, dragons and hellhounds weren’t the only threats tormenting the allies.

“The Sandria army is here!”

The main forces of Sandria appeared, determined to crush the Allied Forces in this moment.

The tribal chiefs leading the best tribes of Sandria all showed themselves.

Among them, three figures who had reached the Master Level charged to the forefront against the Allied Forces.

The Mage of the Earth.

The Hell Sorcerer.

The Golden Hawk of the Desert.

All were grandly named and met the masters of the Allied Forces head-on.

Knight King Brighton, veteran Douglas, and King Batu of Golan attempted to buy time against Sandria’s masters, but there was a limit.

The front line that barely held thanks to their presence began to crumble slowly.

“This is a mess.”

The massive hellhounds at the forefront, along with dragons soaring and shooting gray flames, caused screams amongst the humans.

Kariel’s face grimaced as he observed the scene from a distance.

But that was not the end of it.

An enormous army of Hell was rushing in behind them.

The defense line that should have broken long ago.

In the midst of dreadful circumstances, holding on this long was solely due to the hope that Kariel would arrive to stop it.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes! Your Majesty.”

At Kariel’s command, Talion nodded and ordered the Shadows and Red Ghosts to attack.

At the same time, Kariel’s summoned beings manifested.

“Victory’s Guide.”

A nickname given to Kariel by a scholar.

Savior of the Continent, Saint of Fire, Apostle of God, the Great Unifying Emperor, etc.

Kariel had many nicknames.

However, at this point in time, the one that garnered the most overwhelming support was “Victory’s Guide.”

As if living up to the title of the one who would lead humanity down the path to victory, Kariel stabilized the front line that had been spiraling downhill with overwhelming power as soon as he appeared.

“Woooaah!”

“He finally came!”

“The Victory’s Guide has arrived!”

With the soldiers’ cheers, the morale that had been in the gutter skyrocketed in an instant.

Soldiers who were too busy running from the wolves clutched their weapons and surged forward with hope.

Knights gathered once again to block the invading wolves, and soldiers and mages combined their power to attack the dragons soaring above.

“Let’s break through to the Hell Gate in one go!”

In a wedge formation led by the Red Ghosts, Kariel’s army aimed to charge through to the Hell Gate in a moment, intending to create a path with the overwhelming strength of Kariel and the Fire Priests as they had done before, but this time wouldn’t be easy.

“The Roman army has appeared!”

The main forces of Roman, which had been absent until now, showed themselves.

They knew this battle would be a critical turning point for the ongoing war.

Proving that was the Mage Balkan, always found next to the Emperor.

“What’s the situation?”

Kariel asked, and without a word, Achelio pushed forward.

To assist him, a few Imperial Palace Knights stepped up to clear the way.

But they were not the end of it.

“It’s the Black Moon.”

When Kariel looked back at Talion this time, he frowned uneasily but lowered his head and moved forward with the Shadows.

In this clash between the special forces of Roman and Ignit, Kariel advanced silently.

“Once we close the Hell Gate, it will be over. Clear a path!”

“Understood!”

At Kariel’s command, a few Red Ghosts and the Imperial Palace Knights advanced to open a way.

They cut through the countless Maw and Wraiths rushing towards them.

Though they were elite troops that had annihilated countless forces of Hell while closing the gate, the wolves and dragons from the lowest layer of Hell posed a burden even to them.

Suddenly, something else appeared before them.

“What’s that?!”

Kariel gazed ahead in surprise.

A massive skeletal figure emerged with a beastly roar.

– Is it Garum?

Surth muttered as he swelled in size.

Before long, Skoll and Agni also grew large and positioned themselves in front of the skeletal Garum.

Grrrr!

The three summoned beings Kariel was proud of stood their ground, but it was only enough to barely hold back Garum’s charge.

“Is it… a monster?”

Kariel had rapidly grown by absorbing the Soul Fragments of Garu, and with that growth, the summoned beings had also developed significantly, yet they could not stop Garum and were being pushed back.

“Your Majesty!”

“Not yet. Not yet.”

Shaking his head at the knight’s urgent warning, he watched as Garum advanced.

While being pushed back, the summoned beings were holding firm, and thanks to the rampaging Garum, the hellish forces were completely devastated.

Garum happened to be rampaging not far from the Hell Gate, causing the Hell entities nearby to circumvent the fight and charge forward.

And for Kariel, who was taking the risk to advance, this was the moment of opportunity.

“Just hold on a bit longer!”

Kariel yelled as he rushed forward, seeing Surth thrown down by Garum’s sweeping tail.

Then, the Imperial Palace Knights desperately opened a path.

“Open a path for His Majesty!”

“Make way!”

The knights shouted, cutting down the hellish monsters and creating a gray path, allowing them to finally approach the Hell Gate.

At that moment, as if they were waiting, powerful beings emerged from the Hell Gate.

“Poor fools…”

Giants who had suffered continuously in Hell since the Mythical Era emerged.

Their huge skeletal frames radiated a gray aura, producing a chill from their bones that frosted the desert sand.

Their power, vastly different from that of the hell giants encountered during the Supply Line Defense.

Even though the giants born from the Hell Gate had lost most of their strength from their living days, they remained formidable.

These giants could withstand Kariel’s flames that could melt any ordinary hellish monstrosities as they trudged out bravely.

– They’re much weaker than I heard.

Kariel thought, feeling it was certainly within reach.

Compared to the ‘Frost Giants’ Surth had told him about, they were incredibly weak.

Thus, Kariel did not stop his steps and continued forward.

As he neared the Hell Gate, the resonance of the Soul Fragments of Garum inscribed on his body grew stronger.

‘All we need to do is reach the Hell Gate.’

The gigantic Hell Gate before him was unlike anything he had seen before.

The gray gem embedded at its top was likely the Soul Fragment of Garum.

If he could purify that massive gem stuck in the Hell Gate, they would be able to close it.

“Your Majesty!”

As the giants emerged through the flames conjured by Kariel, the robed figures spoke anxiously.

“Just purify that gem.”

The moment Kariel said that, powerful magical attacks rained down from the sky.

Bang!

As a giant icicle stained gray fell, the Fire Barrier expanded to block it.

“Cough!”

“Are you okay?”

A woman, having coughed blood, took a potion from her bosom and stood up again.

“I… I am fine.”

“Is the opponent a Mage-level threat?”

“That’s my estimation.”

Kariel sighed at the woman’s words.

“If it’s a Roman Mage, it must be Balkan.”

As Kariel bit his lips while saying this, it seemed the opponent had no intention of giving him time; they were preparing to unleash more magic with a powerful surge of mana.

Mages of Mage level and the giants presumed to be ice giants.

Watching them, Kariel declared, “Can you create a path through that mage and those giants?”

At Kariel’s question, the robed figures nodded in unison.

Kariel gave a slight nod in return and immediately maximized the power of fire.

In that moment, the robes worn by those by Kariel caught fire, revealing them.

“The Emperor’s personal Imperial Guard, we will carve a path at Your Majesty’s command.”

All members of the Imperial Guard displayed the red symbol on their foreheads.

“Though they may be Mages, they’ve accepted the powers of Hell. We have the advantage in this matchup.”

Totó, the leader of the Imperial Guard, declared, swinging his great sword.

Boom!

He struck down an incoming icicle, moving first to carve the way through.

Following him, Iris and Brion maneuvered through, breaking or severing the joints of the advancing giants to buy time.

Simultaneously, Arshuna pushed her fire magic to the limit, distracting the mage to the utmost.

The Imperial Guard of Kariel, renowned since his Crown Prince days.

However, things had changed compared to the past.

Behind those at the forefront, dozens of others moved, clearing a path.

All had received the Blessing of Fire directly from Kariel, radiating a bright light from their foreheads.

“Ugh…”

A mage from Roman.

As a mage who had achieved great heights, under normal circumstances, even the entire Imperial Guard would struggle against him.

But taking the powers of Hell was a serious misstep.

His magical power might have become stronger, but it could not compete with the incredibly powerful fire magic that had an overwhelming advantage against him.

The same went for the bones of the massive ice giants.

– Grrrroooar!

– Grrr!

As the absurd cries of the skeletal giants echoed, the Imperial Guard opened a path, and Kariel finally reached the Hell Gate.

At that moment, a green flame erupted, enveloping the Hell Gate.

Simultaneously, a storm of fire was created, surrounding Kariel and the area around the Hell Gate.

“Garum’s first trial has begun.”