Chapter 812
Episode 202: The Crisis of Drek Hon (Part 2)

Ssssshhhhh—!

The moment the dimensional gate of the Otherworldly Snowfield sealed shut, a radiant golden power spread swiftly across the battlefield sky. It was the divine might wielded by Veil, a fragment of the Sun God.

The Red-Eyed Tribe flinched as they witnessed the Sun God’s power after such a long time. Even those called Kinzel, named after the Sun God, had never displayed such overwhelming power. Yet Veil bathed the entire sky in shimmering gold.

Of course, even when they were sealed away, there were beings who wielded the Sun God’s strength. The Red-Eyed Tribe themselves had advanced their technology through the Sun God’s knowledge.

But they called those with especially potent solar power—like Veil—“Primal Stones.” And this was the first time they had ever seen a Primal Stone of such magnitude. It was astonishing that such a being served under Jin.

[Ugh! This is so annoying. I was having a great time with Gilly, and you dragged me here!]

Though Veil’s words sounded childish, his power was already cracking the fleet’s protective shields.

Seizing the opening, the squad leaders eagerly prepared their clan’s secret techniques and ultimate moves. Dante gripped his sword tightly, thinking of his fallen comrades and the dragon warriors who had died earlier.

Though his original technique was still weak after hastily recovering with an elixir, he had allies by his side—there was no way his revenge would fail.

“Phew, I can breathe a little now. Thanks.”

Hedo looked at the healers assigned to him and spoke.

[The Holy King was too busy to bring you along. If you feel well enough after healing, join the fight again. Though I can’t promise your role will still be there.]

“Yes, Lady Ameris.”

[And Sandra worries about you a lot. She looked like she was about to cry.]

Hedo’s eyes widened.

“…Really? Miss Sandra?”

[Yes. Why are you so surprised? The old enemies are waiting. Go ahead.]

Until now, while serving Sandra, Hedo had never once imagined her genuinely worrying about him.

He had never wished for it, nor wanted to create such a situation. But picturing Sandra on the verge of tears made his heart pound fiercely.

Siris glanced at Hedo as she followed Ameris.

“…You might need this, Chief of Staff.”

She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and offered it to Hedo.

“I don’t know how to cry, Lady of the Small Palace. But I appreciate the thought.”

“Then at least wipe those eyes that are almost too moist. Well, I’ll be off.”

As Siris left, Tasha chuckled softly, looking at Hedo. She found her father’s earnest yet somewhat clumsy nature endearing.

“I’ll watch over you while you’re being healed, Hedo.”

“Hmm, thank you.”

“I don’t know how to cry. Ha!”

“Lady Tasha, please don’t…”

Behind them, with the healers and Hedo, their comrades pressed forward, unleashing a dazzling display of ultimate techniques and divine powers.

When Balas and Alpen charged fiercely, the others supported them. The solar power, the frost magic, the Runkandel and Hiran swords, and Ameris’s divine might blended harmoniously.

The relentless bombardment of the Red Fleet, which had once threatened to erase the Quassel Plains, now seemed to shrink before them.

Hedo alone had withstood that barrage so far. But with so many superhumans joining the fight, the fleet’s dominance was naturally waning.

Most critically, Drek had descended to the ground, cutting off the flagship Barion’s power supply from his psychic core. The flagship operating at maximum output was essential to amplify the fleet’s firepower.

While supplying power from the ground wasn’t impossible, Drek had no time or energy for that.

‘Why isn’t my ability activating…?’

Even the blood flowing from the faint wounds his spear had inflicted on Jin wasn’t being absorbed.

Since becoming the Great Vampire King and gaining the power of bloodsucking from the fortress, Drek had never experienced this.

Even when facing other Great Vampire Kings and the Qingming Tribe’s warriors, he could still absorb their blood. Though he had to retreat due to the difference in skill, the ability itself worked.

“You seem curious why your power isn’t working, but isn’t there a more pressing matter? Like how to die with your pride intact, for example.”

Blood spattered from Drek’s cheek. Had he reacted a moment later, his head would have been split in two.

‘I shouldn’t have given him space at the start. Instead, the blood I stole from Hedo is draining faster.’

Resigned, Drek abandoned bloodsucking and focused on the fight. Regaining composure, his spear moved sharper and more fluidly—but Jin was still several steps ahead in technique.

In the past, Drek’s terror as the Red-Eyed Tribe’s Great Vampire King came not from his spear, but from his unique bloodsucking ability.

His spear skills were average among superhumans. And now, unlike when he faced Hedo, he had no artillery support.

But his opponent was Jin—the closest to the pinnacle among these superhumans. There was no chance of winning.

Just as he decided to prepare for a retreat or a large-scale spatial leap—

Suddenly, a brilliant white orb appeared in Jin’s grasp. The Flash Cannon. After reaching this level, Jin was using that magic again for the first time in ages.

Fwoooosh!

Instinctively, Drek turned his gaze away from the flash and thrust his spear. A superhuman reaction, but Jin hadn’t aimed the flash at his eyes.

Jin intended to shatter the ‘bracelet’ instead while Drek flinched from the flash. A moment’s gap was all he needed.

Clang! The golden bracelet on Drek’s right arm snapped and fell to the ground. One remained on his left arm, but it wouldn’t last long.

Without both bracelets, dimensional travel would be impossible. It was already impossible for all the reinforcements to return safely. Drek visibly tried to protect the last bracelet.

“Pushing Lord Hedo was thanks to your bloodsucking and fleet support, Drek. Looks like your beast form’s usefulness is over. If you have any tricks left, use them quickly. But no matter what you do, the outcome won’t change.”

Ships were falling from the sky one by one. When only Hedo and Dante fought, they struggled, but now the tide had completely turned.

Drek was no longer fighting with intent—only survival. Jin pressed relentlessly, never letting him catch his breath.

Every strike was suppressed by a pressure technique. Between slashes and thrusts, Jin mixed in his warrior techniques offbeat. When Drek dodged a blade aimed at his eyes, suddenly a nine-sword wing-shaped lightning strike smashed his torso. When he blocked a horizontal cut with his spear shaft, a three-sword judgment spike stabbed his chest.

Each time Drek recoiled, the blades targeted his vital points with deadly precision. One mistake, and it was over.

‘He’s using big moves to pin me down, then finishing me off with ordinary attacks.’

The brutal assault showed no regard for stamina. Drek was growing weary of this man named Jin.

“Beware Jin Runkandel. He must be treated like the Qingming Tribe’s warriors.”

Now Drek understood why Simat had emphasized this so much. Despite unleashing these terrible techniques, Jin showed no sign of tiring.

‘And Jin Runkandel hasn’t even unleashed the ultimate technique, the Dark King’s Dominion Sword. The swords he’s used so far are definitely different from what the Patlock kin described.’

As he was pushed back, Drek kept his guard against the Dominion Sword, conserving strength to escape if it began.

Unfortunately, Jin knew this well.

‘He must have heard about the Dominion Sword from Raki. But the pain you’ll endure is something else entirely.’

Suddenly, Jin plunged Sigmund into the ground. Around them, pillars forged from lightning appeared.

The pillars slammed into the earth simultaneously, creating a thunderstorm zone. For a moment, Drek mistook it for the Dominion Sword, but Jin had actually unleashed the Four-Sword Corrosion technique.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of lightning bolts rained down. Drek detonated his stored blood lightning to withstand the corrosion fairly well.

‘What is this…?’

But he hadn’t expected the immortal phoenix summoned from within the lightning.

Kraaaargh!

Tess roared, spewing blue flames. The oppressive power, wielded only by Tess, weighed heavily on Drek.

‘The combo I used during Lady Vanessa’s trial as a trainee rider. It’s been a while. I’m much stronger now, but I feel Lady Vanessa could still block all of this.’

It was overwhelming for Drek. His movements slowed noticeably as he barely endured the onslaught of lightning and blue flames.

Jin left Sigmund planted in the ground and drew his sword, Bradamante.

A faint, hazy yet unquenchable great flame wrapped around the pure white blade. The Runkandel cursed sword secret technique: Eternal Flame.

Since the enemy had inflicted the pain of bloodsucking on his comrades, Drek had to repay it with the agony of burning.

Watching Jin surge through the lightning, Drek summoned more blood lightning to protect his psychic core.

Swish!

The pressure alone was already unbearably unfair, but the Eternal Flame that burrowed into his wounds carried an even more horrifying nature. It was a fire that couldn’t be pushed away by his red brain—something eerily similar to the vampiric power Drek had long relied on.

It was brutally one-sided. The remaining bracelets had already shattered under the strain and lightning, and the fleet had dwindled by nearly thirty percent.

Now, Drek had only one option left.

He had to activate the return spell—no matter what.

But to do that, he first had to break free from Jin and use the remaining comrades as catalysts. Clutching his own mad heart as if to tear it out, Drek let out a roar.

“Krooooo!”

He unleashed the battle transformation unique to the Great War King.

‘A fortress form, huh? That’s ridiculously huge.’

Having completed the transformation, Drek looked like a massive crimson lion. His roar shook the very earth and sky, but to Jin’s eyes, it just meant his body had grown bigger—making him an even easier target to burn with the Eternal Flame.

Of course, Drek’s abilities and fighting style hadn’t remained unchanged. Most notably, his vampiric domain had surged dramatically.

Blood was being drained not only from the enemy fleet of the Red-Eyed Tribe but also from his comrades who were pushing back the fleet. He was even shamelessly absorbing the blood of his own kind.

“That’s the ability Hedo mentioned! Everyone, keep your distance!”

When Dante shouted, Ameris, Siris, and Veil all nodded. They were all feeling the strange sensation of blood draining from their bodies. Fortunately, it seemed the vampirism didn’t reach as far as where Hedo and Tasha were. Of course, even the vampirism enhanced by the fortress form was useless against Jin.

But strangely, it wasn’t just Hedo and Tasha who were unaffected—no blood was being drained from Ballas or Alpen either.

[Vampirism? My twenties are fine, but hmm!]

[…57th, I think we’re fundamentally doomed—seems like we don’t have any blood left.]

[Hahaha! So that’s it! Then we should call it quits here and join the Sogaju side to finish off that giant war mosquito as quickly as possible. Our comrades might get exhausted otherwise. Great-grandson! Is it alright if my twenties and I head over there?]

Jin grinned and nodded. He could kill on his own if he had to, but he needed to save every precious drop of his comrades’ blood.

“If I’d just stayed still, I’d have died handling only my own sword, but now I’m stuck taking on my ancestors’ blades too, huh, Drek.”

Drek was left with no choice but to be consumed by despair.