NOVEL NEXT Chapter 640
Chapter 640: This is basically a vacation. (2)
[Their appearances were horrifying. The head looked as if a human face had been forcibly grafted onto a bat’s skull. The pale skin was void of life like a corpse, with blue veins appearing like threads across the entire face.]
[When they opened their mouths, they split open as if to tear their cheeks, revealing hundreds of sharp teeth. Their tongues split like a snake, constantly dripping black saliva from the tip.]
[Instead of hair, numerous tentacles sprouted, wriggling and moving as if alive. The torso grotesquely fused an oddly elongated human upper body with a bat’s lower half. Ribs protruded through the skin.]
[There were so many that they formed a forest. They could fly, closing in on the soldiers in the blink of an eye. With their massive size came enormous strength as they devoured the soldiers…].
Even the elite of the North, who were rarely surprised, wore expressions of horror at the sight of the monsters.
“Ugh… what is that?”
“Is it uglier than Grex?”
“Seriously, there’s a lot of weird stuff out there.”
Sweat formed on the soldiers’ hands. Not out of fear, but out of an instinctive aversion to the sight of those monsters.
Kaaah!
As recorded by Ghislaine, the monstrous bats darkened the sky as they flocked together.
It seemed like tens of thousands. With various sizes, some were as big as adult men, while others were half that size.
Even the smaller ones, larger than ordinary bats, were not any less grotesque.
Because they could fly, the bats were faster than the Cracked Beings. Though they didn’t fly very high, it was enough to overwhelm the gathered soldiers.
In the case of a normal army, they would have no choice but to fall victim to such a surprise attack.
But unfortunately for the bats, their opponent was not suitable.
“Ugh!”
Drum drum drum!
As Jerome stretched out his arms, the flying monstrous bats were pushed toward the center as if being compressed by something.
Kyaaaah!
“Flame Strike.”
Then Vanessa whispered while waving her hands, and a huge pillar of fire rose where the monstrous bats were clustered.
Kwahhh!
Kaaah!
Other wizards also poured their magic without reservation.
Boom! Boom! Bang!
Fireballs rained down from all directions, and lightning struck. The monstrous bats that approached the Northern Army exploded one by one.
The bats that continuously emerged from the back were pierced by countless arrows flying in from every direction.
Kaaah!
In front of them, the forest was quickly engulfed in flames.
Ghislaine leaped forward and shouted.
“Now control the flames!”
The wizards who were busy capturing the bats directed their magic elsewhere. As the wizards focused on controlling the flames, the fire was quickly tamed.
The monstrous bats seized the moment and flapped their wings as they charged toward the soldiers.
Superhumans spread wide to protect the front of the soldiers. Only Ghislaine dashed forward alone.
This time, he wanted to use his strength properly, so he had prepped himself beforehand.
Boom!
Ghislaine stomped the ground hard and extended his sword forward.
Guuuuuuuh!
The world began to move once again with Ghislaine’s will.
In an instant, when his sword cut through the air, the swordplay of the great heroes from a thousand years ago unfolded in his hands.
Patapap!
The monstrous bats still flapped their wings in their arms. But strangely, they could no longer move forward.
As if time itself had stopped, or like they were caught in an invisible web, the bats were trapped in one place.
Goooooo…
The flow of the world changed. A powerful energy spread out as if a thousand years had been condensed in an instant. The monstrous bats were caught in the maelstrom of that massive flow.
Ghislaine’s sword moved slowly. Following the dance-like motion of his sword, the monstrous bats were drawn in.
The soldiers opened their eyes wide. No, even the superhumans couldn’t hide their amazement at the wondrous sight.
Kaaah!
The swarm of monstrous bats started moving along the trajectory drawn by Ghislaine’s sword. As they gathered in one place, Ghislaine’s sword flashed for an instant.
Boom!
Some of the monstrous bats exploded with a blast.
Ghislaine’s sword moved without rest, slicing through the air. No, he was dancing with the sword while harmonizing with a thousand years of time.
Ghislaine’s sword now fit none of the established forms of swordsmanship.
It was as stealthy as a shadow, yet heavy like a knight’s sword; as free as the wind, yet ferocious like a volcano.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of explosions echoed endlessly. Every time Ghislaine’s sword moved, the monstrous bats burst apart without mercy.
They were still moving, but they couldn’t escape the space of will that Ghislaine had unfurled, as if caught in a trap.
Ghislaine combined the techniques used by heroes a thousand years ago with his swordsmanship, consolidating them into one.
The essence of swordsmanship that had been passed down for a thousand years was infused into the will of a single person, transforming into a completely new style.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kaaah!
The monstrous bats screamed helplessly as they exploded.
Blood dripped from the tip of Ghislaine’s nose. The cold air of the forest seeped through that red trace, yet his will burned even hotter.
‘Just a bit more.’
While fighting Aiden, he had stepped into a new realm. But as Arterion mentioned, it was just a brief brush with the threshold.
Now was different. Thanks to the Saint’s help, he was able to cross that boundary.
Though it was just the beginning, Ghislaine had finally entered the realm that the heroes and apostles of a thousand years ago had attained.
‘Just a bit more.’
But still, it wasn’t enough. He had seen how powerful the hero and rival in his dreams were.
Let alone the other heroes and apostles of that era, even Ghislaine was merely standing on the peak of this newly entered realm.
That’s why he always had to push himself to his limits and whip himself into shape. He needed to grow stronger enough to surpass them.
‘More!’
Kwahhh!
Ghislaine’s eyes shone red. The darkness enveloping his body swirled violently.
He used Dark Amplification to push all his power to the extreme.
Kwahhh!
In an instant, the world froze. Time itself seemed to stop. Everything held its breath, staring at Ghislaine’s sword.
Ghislaine’s sword slowly descended, drawing a single trajectory in the air.
And right after that.
Fwaah!
The darkness enveloping him vanished. At the same time, all the clustered monstrous bats turned to ashes and scattered.
Kuuuuuh!
Ghislaine, wearing a satisfied smile, fell backward.
“Young Master!”
“Lord!”
“Your Highness!”
“Captain!”
“Hey, hey, hey!”
The onlookers all called out to Ghislaine at once, rushing towards him. Their expressions mingled shock and concern.
They had known he would get stronger quickly. But just a few months, and he had reached another level.
Everyone was astonished by the incredible growth rate and his unyielding fighting style that knew no bounds.
Ghislaine, with a smile and blood streaming from his nose, had truly pushed himself to his limits, trusting his allies.
Close associates looked down at the fainted Ghislaine, clicking their tongues. He clearly had pushed himself foolishly for the sake of training.
But the soldiers and laborers felt differently.
“That’s really amazing.”
“So this is the true power of the Grand Duke!”
“Certainly, the strongest in the continent.”
He had soloed and turned thousands of monstrous beings into powder. The titles of Superhuman or Master seemed insufficient now.
How should one even name that realm, which transcended human strength?
Everyone’s faces lit up. The belief that they could overcome any hardship together with Ghislaine soared again.
The morale of the Northern Army showed no signs of wavering. Filled with awe and overwhelming emotion, they were brimming with excitement.
And Yulien felt a strange emotion as he watched Ghislaine fight.
— I’m the one who’ll settle things with you. Of course, not now, but later. People are quite curious about who’s stronger.
‘Who’s stronger…?’
Why, suddenly, was he thinking about that phrase he hadn’t cared about before?
He didn’t think of himself as the strongest in the continent. In fact, he didn’t even care who was strong.
But something felt different now.
‘Why…?’
Why had he clenched his hand at the sight of Ghislaine’s sword?
It was an astounding sword. Yulien couldn’t even guarantee that he could block it.
But the emotion he felt now wasn’t mere competitiveness. He wasn’t particularly fixated on winning or losing.
His insides were chaotic. He couldn’t even clearly understand his own feelings at this moment.
‘Why…?’
Why did the image of himself clashing with that sword come to mind?
He wasn’t even going to fight Ghislaine.
Yulien soon shook his head. He had been focusing on unnecessary things lately.
Being with Ghislaine made him increasingly aware of changes in his emotions. He couldn’t tell if this was a good change or a bad one.
It was certain he was living a life different from before, which had been so dull.
And those feelings he sensed for the first time…
‘Not bad.’
This time spent with everyone was no longer lonely like before. Perhaps this was joy.
Yulien decided to hold only the good feelings in his heart.
Piote diligently poured Divine Power into Ghislaine. Whether it was effective, it wasn’t long before Ghislaine opened his eyes.
“How’s that… impressive, right?”
Seeing the dazed Ghislaine showing off with his half-closed eyes, Belinda smacked her chest.
“Seriously, why can’t you ever know when to stop? Ever since you were a kid, you never know when to stop…”
“This is just… me loosening up a bit…”
“Loosening up twice will get you killed!”
Belinda began her nagging from the side. Ghislaine turned his head as if he couldn’t hear her.
While others were making a fuss about how great it was, Kaor was not.
“Why did you take down all those alone! I didn’t get to show my skills properly!”
He was getting anxious again. He had been fighting for over two months in front of many spectators.
And yet, he felt like his skills were the weakest. He had been counting the numbers while fighting, and he had caught the fewest.
As a result, his concentration continued to plummet. Even after becoming a Superhuman, his inferiority complex wouldn’t disappear.
Lately, even his Aura Blade was flickering, which felt quite unsettling.
Ghislaine clicked his tongue as he looked at the anxious Kaor.
“If you keep worrying about unnecessary stuff, your level might drop…”
“What? Why would that happen?”
“If the world shakes… you could regress…”
At those words, Kaor was taken aback. He became even more anxious and bit his nails in a corner.
Seeing that, Ghislaine laughed. In truth, that wouldn’t happen. He just wanted to scare him.
While Ghislaine rested, the soldiers and laborers resumed their work. After all, it was land they would need to use eventually, so it was efficient to prepare it in advance.
Thud! Boom! Thud!
They resumed logging and erecting wooden barriers. The resources they obtained were eagerly sent back to the fortress, bringing back the necessary items.
Watching this, Belinda said,
“This forest really is vast. More than two months have passed already.”
Everyone nodded at that. No matter how easy hunting was and how smoothly the work progressed, no one would be comfortable spending months outdoors.
Laborers had changed shifts multiple times. In Perdium, they even hired extra laborers to transport timber to other territories because there was no room to stack it.
Still, everyone wore happy expressions. Resources were piling up like crazy, and there was no downside to that.
Their work had increased, but so did the smiles of the laborers. They were to receive extra compensation as their workload grew.
“They say our kingdom is the richest, so we’ll be getting richer.”
“We’ll be richer, too.”
“Oh, money will multiply!”
Once the organization was finished, the Northern Army began to move again. Although Dark occasionally scouted around, it proved not very useful.
— Kyaek! It exploded again!
The forest was teeming with monsters. Since he couldn’t fly high, Dark’s clone, wandering around clumsily, exploded in no time.
As they approached the center, stronger monsters appeared, but their numbers were relatively low. Even at most, there were only about a thousand, so dealing with them was not difficult for the Northern Army filled with superhumans and elites.
And those who delved deeper into the forest discovered astonishing things.
“W-what is this…?”
“There was this in the forest?”
“What on earth is this place?”
In this horrific forest, traces of civilization—structures that looked like they were built by humans—began to appear.