CH 296.

When news spread that the entire frontline would be marching forward, the soldiers’ morale immediately dropped to an unbelievable level. 

Even though they had fought countless battles against the monsters, they still hadn’t been able to overcome their instinctive fear of the demons and demonic monsters. Taking that into consideration, it would be strange if their morale remained high when the higher-ups were asking them to march through the barrier where they didn’t know how many demonic beasts could be hiding.

“This is insanity.”

“It’s already a miracle that the defense line wasn’t breached. So how can they ask us to go inside?”

To the soldiers, the commanders’ orders to go through the barrier were no different from telling them to jump into the maws of a monster. 

“Soldiers. Do not be afraid of the dark. 2,000 knights and 1,000 mages will be going with you.”

The commanders had quickly noticed the soldiers’ declining mood and tried to bolster their courage, but the soldiers’ morale had already fallen to the ground and did not go back up easily.

“In the worst-case scenario, the soldiers may even try to desert if things continue like this.”

The barriers weren’t the problem anymore. Now, they had to be concerned about the possibility of the soldiers deserting.

“I will try to console the soldiers.”

It was the Warrior, Park Joon-Min, who stepped forward. 

Just like he had proved the prophecy with a powerful flash of light the other day, the Warrior went around working miracles on the frontlines.

Countless demonic monsters and beasts disappeared without a trace after being swept up in the Warrior’s miracles, and the soldiers who witnessed the scene responded enthusiastically as they went around saying that God had sent a savior to this world.

“Let’s destroy that damned barrier!”

“The Savior is with us!”

They no longer had nightmares or couldn’t sleep from fear. The soldiers were thoroughly encouraged by the overwhelming majesty of God and were able to overcome their fear of the darkness beyond that barrier.

And just as the soldiers’ spirits reached their peak as the Alliance gained momentum, the expeditionary force that was to go beyond the barrier gathered on the northern plains of Tennessia. 

23 countries had sent 2,132 knights, 987 mages, as well as 96 superhumans with elemental powers and other abilities to go beyond the barrier with the expedition. Separate from this, the Empire had sent in 100 knights and 100 mages, as well as 400 foreigners and Qeishas to join the expedition. 

To that, 17 regiments and 34,000 infantrymen were added. All of them were the cream of the crop who had fought against the demonic monsters and beasts for a long time. 

“We do not fight unless we’re on horseback.”

Unfortunately, the nomads of the Northern Cavalry refused to join, citing the fact that their horses refused to even approach the barrier. 

“We will be responsible for the defense while you are away.”

Thankfully, the Northern Cavalry agreed to fill in the power vacuum with their forces

Oooooooh.

The light that announced the expedition's departure was so holy and divine that it looked out of this world. Like the rays of dawn chasing away the night, the pillar of light started from the sky and sliced through the barriers of darkness to pave a road for the expedition. 

“The effect of that propaganda sure is amazing.”

Instead of joining the expedition, Marek remained behind with the defense line. He clicked his tongue as he looked at the soldiers who were intoxicated with divinity. 

“Do you think they’ll succeed?”

Likewise, Asha Trail hadn’t joined the expedition. Now, she turned to look at Marek as she questioned him. 

“I do not know.”

Marek’s gaze turned towards the rear of the expedition as it moved forward on the path of light. 

“But whoever wins, it will most certainly not be a human victory.”

The mighty divinity and the source of the Darkness - the humans were merely the second fiddle to whoever won the battle between the two. 

“Hm.”

Although Asha Trail didn’t understand Marek, she didn’t pester him with questions. She quietly followed the Sword Star’s gaze and looked at the rear of the expedition.

Swish.

The darkness had been split into two, but shortly after the expedition passed the barrier’s border, it rebuilt its walls. The expedition was hidden behind the darkness and was no longer visible. 

***

Even after the expedition went through the barrier, the Alliance’s daily routines did not change a single bit.

When they saw any signs of a Wave occurring while observing the black barrier, then they would deploy their troops and wipe out the demons with all their might. The only thing that changed was that instead of the knights and mages dealing with the powerful beasts, it was the Northern Cavalry who dealt with them. 

However, just because the situation on the defense line was the same as before did not mean that the situation in the outside world hadn’t changed. 

Anomalies could be found all over the continent.

The first ones to discover the anomaly were the herbalists walking through a dark forest. 

“I swear, I’ve never seen such an ugly monster in my life.”

“It was such a weird-looking thing, like a strange mix between pig and human. I was almost eaten by that thing because I kept staring at it in shock.”

The herbalists talked about the unknown creature crouching in the shadows of the deepest forest, and later on, they were joined by the lumberjacks who were cutting trees on the outskirts of the forest.

They testified that the forest was full of bizarre monsters that they had never seen before, and the ruler of the kingdom, who had been concerned that the disaster that occurred in the Holy Kingdom would happen to his country, quickly dispatched a team to investigate it. 

“They’re different from monsters, sir.”

The investigative team had gone directly into the forest to check the truthfulness of the rumors and they confirmed that the forest monsters were a distinctly different species from the demonic monsters.

“They’re almost like the orcs that come out in mythical legends, sir.”

The mages of the investigation team stated that the strange beings that appeared in the forest had the same appearance as the orcs that were recorded in the myths of the past.

The rulers of each kingdom let out sighs of relief when they realized that this was a separate matter from the demons’ actions. They were relieved that the anomaly that appeared in their kingdoms wasn’t a harbinger of a terrible disaster. 

However, it was too early to be reassured. 

Rumors came from everywhere. Among the rumors that were delivered to the heads of the kingdoms, some of them were about the orcs that they had already confirmed the existence of. But there were also others that were completely different. 

“The monster that attacked the village was found to be a troll, sir. It is also a monster that’s recorded in the myths.”

“It’s an...ogre, sir. It’s a terrible man-eating monster known to have eaten countless humans in the past.”

Man-eating monsters appeared everywhere. All of them were monsters of the past that could only be found in ancient records. 

But that wasn’t the end. 

Mermaids were seen in the sea, and harpies, a mixture of human and bird, appeared on high mountain peaks. In addition to that, countless new species appeared and invaded the human realm. 

It was as if the world had returned to the era of myths. 

Of course, not all of the newly emerged beings were harmful to humans. Amongst them were mystical beings such as fairies and unicorns, however, there weren’t many eyewitness accounts of fairies and unicorns. 

There were more rumors about man-eating monsters. 

Raids happened everywhere. Stories of merchants, who even during the war had been fairly active during the war, being attacked by hordes of orcs and farmers being taken by trolls and ogres who had come down to the villages could be heard everywhere. 

Only then did the leaders of the kingdoms realize how serious the situation was, and the minor lords on the outer regions of the kingdoms tried to deal with the monsters. 

But it wasn’t easy. The beings who had returned from the past continued to appear endlessly and the minor lords didn’t have enough manpower to deal with them. 

The same was true in the Adenburg Empire. 

“The damages in the East and North are severe, Your Imperial Majesty. The Margraves on the borders are trying their best to maintain public order and safety, but the raids are too often and too spread out.”

Although the Empire had sent the most troops to the barrier, the newly formed Central Army was enough to protect the Empire’s vast territory. 

Nevertheless, it was impossible for them to effectively respond to all the raids that took place over an excessively wide area, so requests flooded in from the border lords asking for support. 

“They’re not simple monsters, Your Imperial majesty.”

A representative of the Qeishas had stepped forward to deliver information on the beings that were behind the attacks.

“While I may not know why they have suddenly reappeared, they are most definitely beings who had existed in the past and they are very real.”

Before this continent was ruled by humans, it had been owned by those beings. When those beings had reemerged, Ophelia had immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation and ordered the mages to study the records of the past. 

After studying the records for several days and nights, the mages who had been ordered by the Empress came to a terrible conclusion. 

“If all the mythical beings really existed, and if they have really reappeared in this world, then this situation is just the beginning, Your Imperial Majesty.”

They stated that there had been countless powerful monsters in the past that could not be compared to the monsters that had appeared until, and insisted that countermeasures be taken as soon as possible.

Ophelia didn’t take the mages’ words carelessly. She immediately informed the entire continent of the current situation and pushed them to prepare for the future. Putting words to action, the Empire had the knights and mages on standby so that they could respond immediately to any sudden disaster. 

But time was not on the humans’ side. The continent’s kingdoms had been embroiled in terrible wars one after another and before they could ready their forces and prepare for the future, the fearsome monsters predicted by the mages appeared. 

“The merchant ships traveling between Granado and our country have been attacked by a massive snake!”

“A monster bigger than a castle has appeared in the northern part of Griffindor had is ravaging the area!”

The damages were so great, it couldn’t compare to anything they had come across in the past. With pale faces, mages informed them of the assailants. 

“It’s the Leviathan, the ruler of the South Sea. And Behemoth, known as the plague of the earth.”

The terrible beings that had destroyed countless kingdoms in the past had finally appeared. 

While the Behemoth, who had appeared far away in Griffindor, was a problem, the Leviathan was a more urgent problem. 

Perhaps it hadn’t been satisfied with attacking the ships going in and out of the sea because the Leviathan raided one of the Empire’s main ports, Rugenburg, and destroyed hundreds of ships that had been moored. 

“According to the records, they couldn’t capture the Behemoth even with a thousand mages and a thousand knights. And even with a fleet of five hundred ships, they hadn’t been able to defeat the Leviathan and were destroyed.”

“We must prevent the Leviathan from ever coming ashore. If that ever comes ashore, the same thing that happened to Rugenburg will happen across the Empire. 

“If we do not stop them, the southern part of the Empire will be devastated.”

Of the mages, some of the weaker ones acted as if the world had ended.

“The Rugenburg estate was attacked again!”

Just one day after the first attack, news came that the Rugenburg estate had been attacked again. This time, the damage didn’t stop with the moored ships sinking like it had before. The report stated that the Leviathan came onto the land and completely devastated the territory before leisurely returning to the sea.

Since then, news came in every day that the Empire’s southern provinces that were next to the sea had suffered terrible attacks. It was a surprisingly quick and devastating move.

“Your Imperial Majesty!”

“Where did it attack this time?!”

Ophelia, who had been suffering from a headache at the appearance of the terrible monster, urged the messenger to speak with a hard face.

“It’s not that…”

But strangely, the messenger’s expression was bright.

“There’s been news that the Leviathan tried to attack the Hasburg estate but was mortally wounded and pushed back, Your Imperial Majesty!”

The iron-blooded Empress’ expression rarely changed, but this time, her eyes widened at the unexpected words of the messenger. 

“What do you… that’s not something easily defeated! According to the records…”

“Enough.”

When the mage by her side spoke in disbelief, Ophelia raised her hand to stop him.

“The Central Knights and mages left a few days ago. There is no way they would have already reached the South. So is there a great power that I do not know about in Hasburg estate?”

The messenger went against protocols and shook his head at her words.

“That’s not…”

The stern knights by her side moved to rebuke the messenger; they froze.

“The Indomitable Grand Duke has returned, Your Imperial Majesty!”

Jolt.

The Empress had always seemed like she would not rise from her throne even as the Imperial Palace crumbled around her. But now, she abruptly sat up. 

“Tell me more.”

Stimulated by the Empress’ order, the messenger quickly continued his report. 

“It’s said that when the Hasburg estate’s port was devastated by the Leviathan’s attack, something beautiful that was a mixture of gold and silver suddenly fell down from the sky like a lightning bolt. It is said that immediately afterward, the Leviathan was seriously wounded and fled straight to the sea.”

“Then that gold and silver lightning…”

“While the otherworldly beautiful and mysterious creature was definitely never seen before, the Hasburg’s Baron has said that its appearance was similar to the Indomitable Grand Duke’s Redvern, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Ophelia closed her eyes and sank back onto her throne.

“He’s back. He’s finally back.”

After repeating that sentence several times in a trembling voice, Ophelia remembered the messenger and questioned him.

“Did the Indomitable Grand Duke look uninjured?”

“That’s… It’s said that the Grand Duke disappeared into the sea immediately after the battle, chasing the wounded Leviathan.”

Ophelia frowned for a moment at the messenger’s words. 

“Without saying anything?”

“It is said that Baron Hasburg hadn’t even been able to see the Grand Duke’s face, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Seeing the Empress’ face turning cold, the messenger hesitantly continued his report before fleeing out of the room. 

“Does he have itchy feet? Once he goes out, he doesn’t come back until he finishes all his business.”

***

“He’s really fast.”

[The Leviathan is a vicious monster that in the past, once ate a young sea dragon that hadn’t fully matured. Its cunning is indescribable.]

Seeing Kim Seon-Hyeok staring at the open sea with disappointment, Edda continued to speak.

[As long as the Leviathan hides in the sea, I cannot continue pursuing it.]

Apparently, the Leviathan wasn’t an easy opponent for the winged dragon, who normally sprinted through the sky, to deal with. In the first place, the only reason Kim Seon-Hyeok and Edda had been able to fatally wound the Leviathan was because half of its body had been over the port, so Kim Seon-Hyeok didn’t intend on stubbornly chasing after it anymore. 

But that didn’t mean he intended on letting Leviathan go.

“If Bluegon regains his full strength, will he be able to catch the Leviathan?”