Episode 604
With a wild glint in their eyes, the Black Shadow operatives stepped forward at Baron’s command.
In that instant, a dark aura began to seep from their hands.
Rumble—
Soon, their entire hands were enveloped in the black energy, turning as dark as a demon’s claw, with sharp nails protruding.
It wasn’t aura or magic. It wasn’t even demonic energy. The black claws were made of something entirely different, exuding an unfamiliar, unsettling presence.
Nigel, witnessing this, raised her sword and took a defensive stance.
In a flash, a dozen Black Shadow operatives lunged at her.
Whoosh—
Surrounding her, they swung their dark, aura-laden claws at Nigel.
Nigel countered with a swift slash of her sword, sending a wave of energy towards them.
Crack!
To her shock, the operatives’ claws tore through her sword’s energy as if it were nothing.
“Tearing through intangible energy?”
Even Nigel, who had lived for over a thousand years, had never encountered such a phenomenon.
While she was momentarily taken aback, other operatives exploited the opening.
Whoosh—
Sharp claws aimed for her exposed side.
Though momentarily startled, Nigel deftly evaded the attack.
Even a slight graze from the claws was enough to tear her clothing at the side.
Swish!
Nigel quickly retreated, using her footwork to distance herself, frowning at the three slashes left on her garment.
Her clothes were made from a special fabric from the Forest of the Forgotten, tougher and more durable than steel armor.
“Just a graze, and my clothes are torn?”
The energy emanating from those claws was at least as powerful as an aura blade.
As the Black Shadow operatives advanced with their claws raised, Nabu shouted to Ivan from behind.
“Ivan! You idiot! This isn’t the time for us to be fighting each other! Help us out already!”
Ivan’s eyebrow twitched slightly at Nabu’s words, but he remained unmoved, standing guard with his summoned creatures.
Nabu gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it! What’s that guy thinking?”
At that moment, the operatives charged at Nigel and Nabu.
Nigel held her ground, blocking their attacks with her sword, but Nabu, flustered, had to retreat.
“Hey, you idiots! Can’t you see I’m not a fighter?”
Nabu recited a passage from a book, summoning a flying carpet.
He hopped on and flew straight towards Ivan.
The operatives pursued him.
In response, the reaper and the beastman standing before Ivan sprang into action, their eyes gleaming.
Whoosh!
The reaper’s scythe and the beastman’s hook flew towards the operatives, clashing with their claws.
Boom!
A massive shockwave erupted, forcing the summoned creatures to retreat.
From atop the carpet, Nabu shouted at Ivan.
“Ivan! Did you see that? We can’t just leave them be!”
Ivan, unfazed by Nabu floating above him, calmly aimed his crossbow at the operatives.
As they charged at his summoned creatures again, he fired a cursed arrow without hesitation.
Swoosh!
The arrow struck the ground beneath the operatives, not them directly.
From the ground, a curse spread, enveloping the operatives.
The curse, infused by Ivan, a member of the High Table, was powerful enough that only a high-ranking priest could resist it.
Yet, astonishingly, the curse didn’t activate properly. Instead, it was absorbed into the operatives’ mysterious black arms.
Sizzle—
The operatives’ black arms absorbed Ivan’s curse, and the energy around them surged even more fiercely.
Nabu, aghast, shouted.
“You fool! You’ve only made them stronger!”
The operatives, now exuding an even more intense aura, charged at Ivan’s summoned creatures.
The reaper and the beastman swung their weapons to fend off the operatives, but they couldn’t block all the incoming claws.
More shockingly, the operatives’ black arms seemed to devour the summoned creatures’ energy.
Crunch!
The operatives’ black arms, like the jaws of a beast, tore into the summoned creatures, consuming their energy.
As they absorbed Ivan’s curse, the black energy expanded, covering their entire arms.
Nabu, witnessing this, was horrified.
“Damn it!”
Frantically, he pulled out a book and recited a passage aimed at the operatives devouring the summoned creatures.
“O light that illuminates the vast plains! Rise and shine upon my enemies!”
As Nabu invoked the shortest incantation to summon the power of light, a light appeared above him, spreading throughout the chamber.
Shhh—
The light reached the operatives, but instead of weakening them, their black arms grew even more.
“This is insane!”
Having absorbed Ivan’s curse and the summoned creatures, they should have reacted negatively to the light. Instead, they absorbed it, growing stronger—a sight too unbelievable to comprehend.
With their grotesque arms, the operatives defeated Ivan’s summoned creatures, tearing them apart.
They advanced towards Ivan and Nabu, their black energy swirling around their arms and shoulders.
Nabu shouted at Ivan.
“What are those things? What kind of power can stop them?”
Even within the High Table, Ivan was the most knowledgeable about monsters.
Yet, even he was at a loss regarding the power within the operatives’ arms, unable to offer a solution.
Then, suddenly—
Boom!
A massive impact echoed from behind the advancing operatives.
The black energy wavered, as if struck by something.
Nabu, rising on his carpet, saw that it was Mana’s explosive beads that had caused the disturbance.
“Mana! What did you do? How did you manage to hit them?”
Instead of answering, Mana continued to hurl explosive beads at the operatives.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The operatives tried to fend off the incoming beads with their claws, but the damage was evident.
Unlike Ivan and Nabu’s attacks, Mana’s seemed to have an effect.
Just as Nabu was about to question Mana again, Nigel appeared, slashing her sword.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Her strikes also seemed to affect the operatives.
After landing gracefully, Nigel shouted to Nabu and Ivan.
“Only attacks imbued with spirit can affect them!”
Nabu, bewildered, shouted back.
“Attacks imbued with spirit? What does that even mean? I can’t do that!”
Unlike Nabu, Ivan seemed to have an idea. He put away his crossbow and pulled out another weapon from his pouch.
He assembled a segmented rod into a long staff.
Gripping the staff, he approached the operatives.
Whoosh!
Ivan thrust the staff towards an operative with incredible speed.
The operative raised its arm to block Ivan’s staff.
But as the staff collided with the operative’s arm, a massive vibration occurred.
Boom!
The operative staggered back from the impact.
The area where the staff struck shimmered, unable to maintain its form.
Nabu, realizing something, nodded.
“Ah, so it’s about targeting the essence itself.”
As a sage, Nabu quickly grasped the concept.
Rustle!
He floated several books into the air, searching for a passage that could be applied.
Finding one, he recited it.
“My sword is me. I am the sword. When the sword rises and targets the enemy, it is as if it has already pierced them!”
As he spoke the incantation, a sword materialized and flew towards the operatives.
Whoosh—
The operative swung its black claws to deflect Nabu’s sword.
The sword and claws collided.
Boom!
A loud sound echoed as the operative was forced back.
“Ugh!”
The operative, surprised by the sword’s power, grimaced.
Nabu, having found his rhythm, grinned.
“Alright, let’s see how you handle this!”
Nabu’s strength lay in his ability to repeat any attack as long as he had the right incantation.
“My heart’s sword, rise. Become hundreds and block those who threaten me!”
In an instant, hundreds of swords materialized before Nabu.
The blades rained down upon the Black Mist operatives all at once.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Individually, each sword lacked the power of Nigel’s full strength. But the sheer number of spirit-infused swords descending from the sky was enough to break the Black Mist’s momentum.
Slash, slash, slash!
The swords didn’t just target the operatives charging at them; they also fell upon those waiting with Baron.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of Nabu’s summoned swords clashing with the operatives’ black claws echoed all around.
Some of the Black Mist operatives couldn’t withstand the onslaught and collapsed under the impact.
Seizing the opportunity, Nigel, Ivan, and Mana launched their attacks.
Swoosh!
“Ugh!”
A Black Mist operative groaned and fell, struck by Nigel’s sword.
More than half of the operatives who had advanced were now down, thanks to Nabu’s summoned swords. Yet, Nigel’s expression remained tense.
‘Those swords had no effect on the ones standing with Baron.’
The swords vanished before they even reached the operatives by Baron’s side. The vanguard they had sent must have been the weakest among them.
At that moment, Baron, who had been observing, spoke slowly.
“Ingel, take care of it.”
Ingel, the left-wing commander, nodded toward Baron. With a gesture, the waiting operatives moved into action.
Thud!
Ingel stepped forward and extended her hand toward the fallen operatives.
A dark energy flowed from her hand, seeping into the fallen.
Amazingly, the wounds of the downed operatives began to heal, and they regained consciousness, rising once more.
Nabu, watching from atop a carpet, was stunned.
“This is insane…”
Summoning spirit-infused swords consumed a significant amount of karma. Seeing the numbers reduced only for them to be revived so effortlessly was disheartening.
Nigel frowned at the sight and turned to Ivan.
“Ivan, call the leader. We can’t stop them with our strength alone. We need to awaken the power of this tower.”
Ivan shook his head at Nigel’s words.
“We’ve lost contact with the leader.”
Nigel’s eyes widened in shock.
“What do you mean, lost contact…?”
Before he could finish, the revived operatives charged at them again.
Whoosh—
Their movements were even sharper than before, claws slashing through the air.
Swoosh!
Nigel swung his sword to block the attack, but it wasn’t over.
This time, dark energy surged from their feet as well, and they moved with the agility of martial artists, striking with hands and feet in mid-air.
Swoosh!
Sharp claws flew from all directions, and their blade-like kicks targeted vital points.
Swoosh!
Ivan, who was guarding Nigel’s back, was grazed on the shoulder by an operative’s attack.
“Ivan!”
Nabu shouted from behind, but Ivan calmly tore away the fabric from the wounded area.
The wound had already turned black and necrotic, spreading rapidly.
Without hesitation, Ivan drew a dagger from his belt and severed his own arm.
Swoosh!
Ivan’s arm fell to the ground with a thud.
Despite the self-inflicted injury, Ivan’s expression remained unchanged.
Mana quickly approached and cast a healing spell on Ivan’s arm.
Ingel, watching the high tables retreat, grinned and shouted,
“Attack! Kill the ghosts of the old era!”