Tale of the Fake Hero

Chapter 41

Chapter 41 – Soaring Clouds of War, Ancients Awakening from Aeons (1)

“Truly, humans are disgraceful.”

A nightmare holding humanoid form danced, but all of its blood vessels were sticking out like tentacles.

The blood spewing from its tentacles became blades that tore the skin of the human soldiers and removed their hearts.

“What on earth is this?! It has endless tentacles!”

“We can’t just hit it! We have to burn it!”

“You bastard, let go of Ran!”

“Stop! If you go, you’ll die, too!”

“Blood, blood! Kwaaaaa!”

The stars shimmered melodiously, and a silver-haired man with cosmic beauty licked the blood on his long sleeves. “Shh, quiet. It’s undignified to speak so loudly.”

Countless bloody thorns were wrapped around the man, every single one of them piercing through a witch.

“After embracing the grace Andrusha grants, stand once more. I bestow upon you the blessings of a true King.”

The painful moans turned into ear splitting screams.

Spikes of blood spread over the bodies of the dying people.

Soon, the humans died and rose as puppets.

“Yes, excellent. Silence is the virtue of a nobleman.”

* * *

[Iron Cross, all access roads are not safe. Quickly form and make a new road.]

January, 1698 AD.

A pure voice passed through Kaisen’s mind.

The dawn of the new year was chaotic from the very beginning, and the heat of the abyss boiled around the Knights of the Iron Cross.

“Understood. Alidona, reconfirm the operation objectives,” Loveris Alter Shirfang answered on behalf of the Iron Cross.

“The barrier site on the Burning Snow Peak has fallen to the bloodkin army. That’s where the barrier blocking the expansion of volcanic ash is stationed, so its importance goes without saying.”

“What about the enemy’s leadership?” Kaisen asked.

Alidona puffed her cigarette as she answered. “The one leading the bloodkin army is one of the ‘Pale Baronets’. They destroyed the Red Chord Witch Coven an hour ago.”

The ‘Pale Baronet’ referred to one of the three leaders of the bloodkin, who had been given titles equivalent to nobility by the Old Kings.

Of course, they did not receive immortality and eternal life like the Old Nobles. It was an honorary title.

Although they were very weak opponents compared to the Old Nobles, Kaisen still remembered Kamila having a hard time killing one of them.

Mern asked, “The Red Chord Witch Coven, aren’t they directly under Alidona?”

“That’s right. They’re all gone now, but the Heavenly Castle wants our Iron Cross to secure the place.” The priestess’s tone when talking about the death of her disciples was blase, as if she were talking about the weather.

It was always like that on the battlefield.

The boy Fake Warrior already knew that death was piled up everywhere, leaving no room for mourning.

“It’s annoying that all the witches are dying.” Teval tapped his shoulder with his spear. “Ha! Wouldn’t it end quickly if we just carpet-bombed it with the magic artillery unit? Since it’s on the peak, just bombing it would be the end.”

“You’re not serious, right? It’s an important facility, so we can’t do that.”

“Enough, both of you. Our mission is to create a path for the main force to join so that we can defeat the Pale Baronet and retake the Burning Snow Peak.”

“Why are you making such difficult calculations, Captain? Just give the order.”

“First, secure all the outer passages. Kaisen, clear the northern and eastern mountain passes by yourself. I will give you 50 knights. There will be about 200 in total, including squires and servants. Is that possible?”

“I can do it alone without 50 people. Please leave it to me.”

That was a lot of confidence.

Alidona whistled.

“Mern and Teval, you’re with me. We’ll break through the closest western passage and head to the center first. Alidona will command the entire team from above, assisting Kaisen as much as possible.”

“Okay.”

“I want you both to come to the central wing as soon as the task is over. Our job is not only to make a path but also to kill the Pale Baronet.”

Among the six major demon races, the bloodkin were the fewest in number, excluding the daemons.

Through a behavioral pattern that stemmed from their unique sense of privilege, they exerted extreme control over future generations.

However, as the war continued, their power gradually grew stronger, and from a human perspective, they were the most disgusting demon race.

“They create and control blood slaves by injecting them with cursed blood.”

There were several instances where the human forces were easily brought to an end by the bloodkin because blood slaves were sent into a city or castle.

“However, it’s not like these bloodkin are without weakness.”

If you killed the owner of the cursed blood, that was, the bloodkin who injected the blood, the blood slaves would also die along with him.

“Let’s start the prep, see you later.”

“Come on, get in the back seat. The weather is nice, so let’s have a good time.” Alidona sat down leisurely on her broom and patted the back with a gentle hand gesture.

Witches could fly on broomsticks, but it took considerable skill to maintain balance while carrying two or more people.

Kaisen stood on the broomstick with both feet.

[This is Beraf, the Witch of the Stars. Can you hear me, Priestess?]

“Yes, I can hear you well.”

[The bloodkin are occupying the barrier generators installed in each outskirt temple. There are quite a few of them.]

“I’m on my way now.”

[I would appreciate it if you could hurry. We don’t have enough. There are around 200,000 of them.]

When Kaisen focused on the swirling current below, he saw the bloodkin minions occupying the mountain path.

Blood slaves…

The puppets walked leisurely while slaughtering soldiers like butchers.

“Ugh…”

“Arrrrggghhhh…”

“Ahhhh…”

The blood slaves ran in droves. Even if their legs were blown off and their torsos were shattered by bullets, they kept running and fulfilled their master’s orders without fail.

That obsessive and persistent movement aroused fear. It wasn’t as threatening as the Tahuf, but…

“Hmm, there are so many.”

“I think there are 80,000 here alone.”

“You probably know that blood slaves are not human. They are just puppets whose souls have been drained.”

“I will handle it,” Kaisen said.

“All of them?”

“Three of the master bloodkin will do.”

“Eh, wait!”

Kaisen places his right hand on the Aradamandel’s hilt. The sword was crying fiercely.

The next moment, he kicked off the broom and dove down.

While falling, Kaisen made sure to concentrate his momentum into his scabbard as he spotted his targets.

‘One, two, three… bloodkin.’

Among the waves of blood slaves, he found the three who controlled them.

Bloodkin were very similar in appearance to humans.

“Instructor, then how can we tell them apart at all?”

“It’s not like there’s no difference at all.”

The internal difference was that they couldn’t walk in sunlight, so they could only be active at night or under the volcanic ash.

“The external difference is that their skin is nauseatingly pale and their eyes are blue like stars.”

“Is that it?”

“Don’t worry too much. They are basically walking corpses pushed on by their self-esteem, so they dress very grandly.”

Like the three hanging out of the corner of his eye.

“Hmph, a Fake Warrior?” The bloodkin stared at the Fake Warrior, who had landed alone in the center of the battlefield, both in interest and offense.

They were also called blood ghouls because they used blood to practice dark magic, and their blood turned into spears and blades to attack Kaisen from all directions.

Converting the impact of the fall into mana removed the need to boost the attack with his own mana. Since he didn’t need to do that, no other preparation was needed.

“?”

“?”

“?”

Kaisen rotated and was reflected in the bloodkins’ eyes as he pulled out his sword and struck them. At the end of the rotation, they only realized they’d been cut when they saw their bodies staggering around with fresh blood spurting out.

‘What nonsense…?’

As the bodies adorned in elegant clothes decorated with lace and frills lost their connection with their brains, the blood slaves swarming around like bees at the outer temples fell like stringless puppets.

“That was very neat. Your skills are truly amazing.” Alidona inhaled as much smoke as she could and then breathed it out. As the breath descended, it became an intense flame and burned the corpses of the blood slaves.

Through the smoke, Alidona landed at the entrance to the outer temple. “Let’s see…” There was a monument inside the outer temple, and on its surface was a magic circle full of incantations in dragon tongue.

That was the barrier that drove away the volcanic ash.

Of course, that was before it was damaged by the cursed blood of the bloodkin.

“These guys really ruined my masterpiece.”

“Can it be fixed?”

“See, this is why I can’t quit smoking. Look at how convenient it is.” Alidona burned the blood stains on the surface with her cigarette and filled the gaps in the magic circle with tobacco ashes.

Although it was extremely dirty, the expert workmanship was indeed first class. Soon, the stone emitted waves of power, shooting a partial barrier into the sky and tearing up the dark cloud of volcanic ash.

“Okay. That’s one down.”

The process of visiting an outer temple, cutting down the bloodkin, and restoring the barriers continued.

When they had completed the process three times in total, they received a message from Loveris.

[Alidona, you need to come to Burning Snow Peak’s Temple as soon as the outskirts are cleared.]

“Thanks to our rookie, everything is just finished. We’ll be right there.”

The Burning Snow Peak’s Temple was covered in fresh blood. The corpses of bloodkin, blood slaves, knights, and soldiers were already melting into mud in the extreme tropical night.

Everywhere you turned, blood and other internal juices covered the ground, not a stone road or weed could be seen, and the inside of the temple was dyed red.

“It used to be a very charming place.”

A desperate scream came from inside the temple’s horribly broken stone door.

Kaisen hurried in, but Alidona paused at the entrance, staring at the bloodkin’s blue eyes as it controlled the corpses of the dead witches. The silence was somehow creepy.

[Hurry and bring Kaisen, Alidona. We’re at our limit. Mern is the only one who can use her skills here.]

The interior of the temple exuded an old-fashioned atmosphere due to its long history.

Very high ceilings, beautiful dragon statues, and a cozy warmth would have been relaxing if the blood on the ground hadn’t been reaching up to Kaisen’s ankles.

[Go straight down the basement stairs.]

Kaisen ran down the long hallway of the temple and passed the bedroom where Old Priestess Friede was said to have lived before jumping down the stairs leading to the basement.

In the middle of the underground space, he joined the party of Iron Cross warriors fighting against Starlight.

“Indeed, this movement is not dignified at all. I deplore your lack of dignity.”

Andrusha, the Pale Baronet… There was a noble luster in his brilliant silver hair that shone like starlight.

“Shut up, you bastard!”

Behind him, dozens of blood vessels sprouted from his back, writhing and pouring out corrosive blood. The blood freely transformed, turning into thorns, blades, and other things to attack…

“Mern!” An arrow of blue light hit Andrusha directly in the head. No, right before it hit him, his body dispersed into a mist that looked like a flock of bats before he reappeared on the other side of the pillar.

“You bastard.”

Andrusha masterfully maneuvered around the narrow underground space.

Loveris and Teval repeatedly went on the defensive in frustration since they were unable to wield their heavy weapons in the tight space.

Loveris eventually sheathed Shirfang and used magic. Spells, arrows, and blood clashed repeatedly in the air.

“How about this?”

Kaisen looked for a gap to jump into before he heard a scroll unravel.

Alidona wove a powerful spell, and the letters emerged one by one in the power of Genesis.

“This is…?”

The power of Genesis was compiled into seven psalms under the name of the Seven Books of Genesis, and priests had been the guardians of the power since ancient times.

Four of the seven psalms were lost, but three psalms still remained in the arms of humankind.

Alidona was the guardian of the Psalm of Bright Life, which had the power to take the physical strength from beings who deviated from the providence of creation.

To explain its power in simple terms… it was a wide-area slow spell.

“Kaisen”

Kaisen was already getting ready; he held his scabbard in his left hand and his sword in his right. The Cross Sword Style connected the four basic forms with the higher forms, but he could only use the 4th form.

Shoot – Cross Sword Style 11th Form, Torpedo Step.

Flames swirled from the sliding blade. At one point, even before Andrusha’s body turned into a red mist, the sword slashed something.

The moment the swinging blade grazed Andrusha’s body…

Clang?!

The flames reflected in all directions and tore dozens of blood vessels, leaving dozens of fine sword marks in the blade’s wake.

The sword became a wedge and pierced the opponent’s body. It was a high-level form, the 11th of the 12 forms in the Cross Sword Style.

“Ah, these lowly things…!” Fresh blood burst out from Andrusha’s neck. An attempt was made to sew up the cut with a thread of blood, but it was impossible because of the sword energy destroying his internals.

A vortex that transcended time and space emerged from Andrusha’s body…

“What?”

“Get rid of it before it does something!”

It was definitely just a moment, but it felt like an eternity. When a huge finger came out and was about to tear their bodies apart, Aradamantel, Shirfang, and the dragonbone Spear intersected and completely destroyed Andrusha’s body.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The commotion subsided, and silence fell, with only the sound of each person’s breathing echoing around.

“What was that?” Teval asked while catching his breath.

Alidona answered, “It seemed like a summoning technique…”

“Summoning? What do you mean?”

“I’ll have to start investigating.” When Alidona swung her smoking pipe, the blood in the underground space burned and exposed the floor.

There were evil letters forming the text, and while Alidona was reading them, she suddenly closed her mouth.

Teval asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Hokorom… It means ‘Noble’. This guy was trying to summon a Noble.”

Mern blinked. “Summon? From where? I mean, is there an Old Noble that would come here?”

Loveris, who was communicating with the floating castle headquarters, suddenly ended the topic. “The Lightning herself will find out. Alidona, spread a barrier across the entire temple.”

“Why?”

“They will carry out a carpet bombing from the magic battery, wiping out the remnants of the bloodkin stationed on the outskirts.”

Immediately after Alidona unleashed the wide-area barrier, the temple began to shake amidst a loud roar.

Loveris spoke while countless meteors fell, crushing the terrain and destroying the unclean beings. “Kaisen, you are coming with me.”

“Where is it this time?”

“It’s not a combat mission. The dwarven military marshal is here and wants to see you.”

Teval’s jaw dropped in surprise. “The dwarven marshal? Aren’t the dwarves a military government now? The dwarf emperor himself came by?”

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