Chapter 549
Episode 145: Omen (18)
Now, Runkandel had drawn closer than before, carefully observing the shifting tides of battle. With Ron and Keliak locked in fierce combat, no one on the battlefield could keep track of their exact positions.
The battlefield was a chaotic scene, as if the very sky itself was shattering. The knights watching from Runkandel trembled with awe and dread.
“Ron Hyland…”
Rosa spoke in a low voice, uncharacteristically tinged with regret. The reason for her sorrow was clear.
The Lord.
If Siron Runkandel and Luna, the old Black Knights, were here now—and if only Ron Hyland had asked for Runkandel’s aid—then perhaps today would mark the end of the thousand-year war between Runkandel and Ziphl.
No one had expected Ron to awaken so close to Changseong.
“Acting Lord.”
The Black Knight captain, Stam, stepped beside Rosa. He was the only one who could discuss the ongoing battle with her directly.
“Sir Stam.”
“What do you make of it?”
He asked whether Ron Hyland could truly win against Ziphl.
“Without Kadun and Hedog, Keliak’s chances don’t look good. Even if they were here… I don’t think Ron will simply lose.”
“I agree. If not for the Lord, no one could defeat the Ron Hyland we see now.”
“Yet you remain skeptical about intervening. I suppose it’s for the same reason as me.”
Stam nodded.
Slowly but surely, Ziphl was losing ground. Still, they refused to retreat or send envoys to negotiate with Runkandel.
The implication was clear.
“Yes, Ziphl must have some means to turn the tide on their own.”
“They don’t even pretend to withdraw, so it must be something certain. Probably the counterfeit Origin Stone the Lord mentioned long ago.”
Siron had once called that power dangerous.
It was rare for him to use the word ‘dangerous.’
“This time, we may have to be content with confirming that power firsthand and then retreating. If the Black Knights who went to the Black Sea return without meeting the Lord…”
The White Stone.
Both agreed that if Ron were to fall, Runkandel would lose the chance to claim that artifact.
If Ziphl unleashed their trump card and Ron couldn’t deal a decisive blow, then a full-scale war must be avoided at all costs.
“Acting Lord.”
“Yes?”
“May I infiltrate the battlefield with three Black Knights?”
Stam was concerned for Jin’s survival. If Keliak unleashed a method to defeat Ron, would Jin be able to endure it?
They had confirmed the battlefield was divided between Ron and Keliak, the Phantom Legion of Octavia, and Jin’s group. Even before Ziphl’s trump card was revealed, Stam had sensed Jin was in danger.
“Do so. It seems necessary.”
“I will not intervene unless it’s just before death.”
“That’s right. But you must keep him alive.”
Blood poured down Octavia’s shoulder in a steady stream.
All the Phantom Legion’s magic radiated from her, so their combined attacks were inevitably dulled.
That was how it should have been.
But Octavia was a mage capable of wielding the long-lost ‘Light attribute’—a power thought to have vanished long ago.
“Providence… Hmph. Maybe because you’re a dragon, you don’t understand. The history of mortals, humans included, has always been a struggle against the cruel laws and principles set by the gods. Turning incurable diseases into treatable ones, and treatable ones into cures.”
A fist-sized orb of light formed at the tip of Octavia’s staff.
As it touched her shoulder, the light seeped in, rapidly healing the wound.
“Light magic was also severed by the gods, who claimed it was ‘providence.’ They said mortals must never possess perfection.”
Light magic was the dream of all mages.
Legends spoke of the Light attribute as one that could simultaneously attack, defend, and heal, with a power unlike any other magic.
The lost Dark attribute magic was similar in capability but always required catalysts and sacrifices. Light had no such restrictions. The only cost was mana.
Whoosh!
Light magic extended from Octavia’s staff, forming wings on her back.
“Don’t speak as if defying providence is a grave sin, Black Dragon Misha. It’s disgusting to hear.”
As the wings stretched forward, a sharp wind sliced through the air. Shards of light shot out like arrows, but Misha spun her black spear to block the attack.
Still, the scattered shards exploded, forcing Misha to dodge with swift footwork. The other warriors absorbed the blast’s aftermath.
Being Ziphl’s second-in-command was no easy feat. Though Keliak and Ron’s fight had worn him down slightly, only the Phantom Legion seemed truly affected.
Octavia had already transcended the limits of a normal mage, so physical strain was hardly an issue—unless facing an overwhelmingly powerful foe.
“I don’t understand why you suddenly invoke the gods. Is it so hard to grasp that your actions offend me?”
“Life is too short to worry about such things. As you said, born of superiority, we are mortals.”
“And you’re the ones who erased the history of Chenmi, the greatest Light Archmage.”
Clang!
Octavia’s light magic and Misha’s black spear clashed relentlessly. Now that Octavia had fully unleashed her light magic, she held her own in close combat against Misha.
Jin and Misha focused on Octavia, while the others took on the Phantom Legion. Murakan had intended to support Jin and Misha, but Misha snapped sharply.
“Hey. You protect our allies and act as my backup mana reservoir. That’s way more efficient right now. Don’t waste mana by attacking.”
[What? Backup mana reservoir? Me, Murakan? Are you crazy?]
“I don’t have time to cater to your mood. Just shut up and listen.”
[Fine… Tch!]
Clang!
The black spear and light shards collided again, sending shockwaves through the air. Part of Misha’s helmet, forged from mana, cracked, revealing his eye. A beam of light poured through.
Blood dripped from a cut beneath his eye, mana droplets scattering.
But Misha left a deep wound on Octavia’s thigh, and Jin pressed the attack to prevent her from following up.
“Form the Overlord Sword Formation!”
At Lu Yan’s command, the Sword Saints formed a circle, drawing up their aura. The other warriors could hold their own against the thirty Phantom Legion soldiers only because their lives were on the line.
From then on, Murakan silently took on the role of mana reservoir. His area attacks weren’t strong enough to break through the Phantom Legion’s shields, and focusing on a single point risked endangering their own.
Black smoke spread from Murakan, enveloping Misha. His spear and armor darkened further, sharpening his movements.
With the Overlord Sword Formation active, the Phantom Legion’s magic no longer reached Jin, Misha, or Octavia.
The runes blossoming on the Sword Saints’ bodies darkened grotesquely. Deep wrinkles formed on their hands, revealing their rapid aging.
Jin was uneasy, but Lu Yan reassured him.
“Sir Jin, don’t worry. We won’t fall from exhaustion before this war ends.”
The entire sky and earth trembled wildly from the shockwaves of battle. The aftershocks from the fight in the heavens struck the ground like artillery shells, but no other disturbances could penetrate the battlefield where Jin, Misha, and Octavia clashed.
The Four Sword Spirits of the Dark King’s Sword Technique
Erosion
Taking advantage of the moment Misha bought, Jin plunged Sigmund before Octavia, unleashing the Sword Spirit technique, Erosion.
A pillar of lightning surged upward, and a thousand tiny blue marks targeted the area around Octavia.
As Jin drew his sword, thunder roared along the marks.
By the time the thunder struck, Octavia had already moved out of the targeted zone, leaving only a lingering afterimage of light where she had stood.
‘Using a Sword Spirit just to create an opening…’
Without such skill, even finding an attack opportunity would be impossible.
Fortunately, Octavia was in the same boat. To attack Jin and Misha, she had to unleash magic of near-secret level.
Amid the clash of lightning and elemental magic, the three could only glimpse each other’s afterimages.
Thud!
Octavia’s staff jabbed into someone’s chest. She focused her magic at the tip, causing an explosion. Only after seeing the victim torn apart did she recognize who it was.
‘Jin Runkandel? No, it must be a mana puppet forged by the Black Dragon.’
Octavia calmly prepared for the next round of combat. Glancing around, she noticed that those spirit dolls were scattered all around her.
“Surrounded…!”
She couldn’t believe they were all just bait or traps.
Each of the ten dolls held a distinct stance—some wielding spirit swords, others brandishing invisible spears.
Which ones were real? Which were mere illusions, their swordsmanship and spear techniques nothing but phantasms?
There was no way for Octavia to tell.
“It’s just a matter of taking them all out at once.”
A radiant glow flared in her grip and along her staff. With light-based magic, she intended to erase the entire battlefield where the three had been fighting.
“Kyaaaah!”
As Octavia let out a fierce cry, the spirit dolls charging at her burst or melted away under the shockwave of light.
“Were they all illusions? I didn’t feel any resistance at all.”
If so, their attacks were nothing but mirages. That meant Octavia had eliminated one layer of traps.
But at that moment, Jin and Misha seized the opening created by the dolls’ disappearance and slipped away from the three-person battlefield.
Right beside them, where their group was locked in combat with the phantom squad.
The two launched a surprise attack on the phantoms’ rear, managing to decapitate one of them.
“It’s like watching a foolish bullfight, Octavia Ziphl. Did you really think we’d focus all our power on you alone?”
Misha smiled slyly, while Jin shrugged as he tossed the severed phantom head somewhere out of sight.
“The phantom squad has never had good results when facing me. Twenty-nine left now. How many do you think will make it out alive?”