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Chapter 110: The Strongest Hero Of All Time
Chapter 110: The Strongest Hero Of All Time
Chapter 110: The Strongest Hero Of All Time
Hero.
The secret weapon devised by humanity to counter beings similar to themselves ironically turned out to be a being that even the arrogant Anabel, who regarded humanity as insignificant, felt wary of.
Despite their arrogance or disposition, their potential alone was enough to pose a significant threat, even to someone like herself, who embodied war itself.
“…Are you here to stop me?”
“Is there any other reason to come here?”
One of such heroes, after collapsing the valley, stood blocking her way, clutching a shovel.
Was the anger in that voice due to the humiliation of the barriers being destroyed?
Or was it because of a desire for revenge on the soldiers around her?
“For someone who came purely to stop me, there’s quite a bit of emotion mixed into your attitude.”
“It can’t be helped. If I didn’t feel anything facing someone who did this, I wouldn’t be human.”Although his attitude was emotional, his actions were utterly calm.
At least he had the cool-headedness to restrain his actions.
The bitterness she felt towards such patience was probably because she, too, had vague memories of being alive.
“…But this is what war is.”
But that, too, was a story of the past.
Regardless of her past life, she now prioritized her mission to follow her mother, and to her, any sympathy towards humans was seen as not just worthless but meaningless.
“Whoever you follow and whatever you pursue… Everyone on the battlefield must be prepared to face death and despair equally. You, too, must be prepared for that, standing here, right?”
“…Surely, from the moment I heard you were targeting this place, it wouldn’t have been strange for this to happen at any time.”
All those on the battlefield would lose their dignity, and even their remains wouldn’t be fully buried beneath the graves. That was a fact to be considered.
Facing the enemy knight, who firmly stated this and explained her actions smoothly, Nam Ja-seong gripped the shovel handle even tighter, steadying his breath.
“Then let me ask you one thing. If what you’re doing now is war, would you be willing to spare the lives of any of us if we were to surrender?”
“What do you mean?”
“Not everyone here is a combatant. There are merchants, and plenty of non-combatants dedicated solely to serving meals or treating wounds.”
In the original world, there was also an international pledge never to attack medics in war.
Soldiers on the battlefield may be prepared to kill each other, but including others in that scope was strictly against his principles.
“And if I let you pass here, you would turn not only the soldiers but also the non-combatants into the same state as those around you. Am I right?”
“…Of course.”
The annihilation of all humanity.
That was precisely the reason beings like her were resurrected from death.
“Good to hear your answer, you invader scum.”
Nam Ja-seong slammed the shovel into the ground immediately after hearing that firm answer.
With the force preparing to move the earth, Nam Ja-seong, flashing a fierce look from beneath his helmet, shouted at her.
“If you had at least understood the concept of prisoners, I might have shown you some respect, but I guess I can’t associate with you after all. Are you ready to die once more, you corpse scum?”
Rumble!
The earth rose up with a shout.
Feeling the effects gradually reach her, the enemy also prepared to respond by infusing her sword with her magical power.
The released force pushed the soil and advanced towards her.
The attack heading towards her evaporated with the counterattack, but the undead outside the range could not respond in time and were buried in the dirt.
Being buried alive wouldn’t kill an undead, but escaping from dozens of times their body mass was no easy task.
“Lifting the ground is as easy as digging with a shovel, but once the ability is released on the risen earth, the mass returns, burying everything in the vicinity…”
In warfare that valued the terrain advantage in group battles, such overwhelmingly advantageous abilities were crucial.
However, the true value of this ability lies in the fact that it could temporarily control massive masses of earth and manipulate them at will.
Rumble, rumble.
The barrier thus erected successfully protected his body from the previous strike.
Creating a sturdy barrier on the spot is challenging, but if struck a couple more times without a response, he could be brought down by the protective barrier.
If he were alone here.
“Now’s the time, kiddo!!”
“It’s not kiddo, it’s Ga-ram! You, mister!!”
Yes, as they were in the heart of enemy territory, reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
As if in agreement, as the girl who jumped from the cliff moved her hands, the boulders she controlled began to be thrown toward the undead below.
Rumble! Crash! The bodies were gruesomely crushed by the falling rocks.
The enemy, who had been deflecting the attacks with her sword, started to turn her gaze towards Ga-ram, who was soaring through the air.
‘Flying ability…?’
No, it was simply the power to levitate objects applied to the platform she was standing on.
It was difficult to precisely control objects upon contact, so they could only be used for levitation rather than precise control. However, in combat, the one who occupied the high ground always had the advantage.
By delaying the descent speed through levitation, the threat posed by the masses of controlled matter could be akin to a barrage.
“Going for another round!!!”
“Alright!!!”
And here was someone with the power to reverse the earth’s mass, regardless of its weight.
Even the drawback of levitation’s limited time could be refreshed by merely lifting new rocks.
Rumble, rumble!!!
Then, quickly climbing onto the new platform, they coordinated an attack by controlling the soaring rocks to precisely hit where the enemies were.
Infantry facing flying opponents would have no choice but to succumb to their attacks.
‘Then, just crush them with firepower!’
Kwarreung!
Once again, the magical power gathered in the sword was released towards Ga-ram, who was floating between the valleys.
Ga-ram’s body seemed to stiffen under the attack, but she soon regained her senses and turned the platform she controlled towards the wall.
Just then, the shovel wielded by the man struck the wall with an embedded spade.
Kwarreung!
The surface of the wall, where the force was applied, collapsed in an instant, and the soil, controlled by magic, hardened to form a temporary barrier.
Ga-ram, having boldly blocked the enemy’s attack through that, suppressed the fear of her life being threatened and gathered strength in both hands.
“Let’s go as planned without delay! Get ready!!!”
Nam Ja-seong immediately charged in response to the signal.
Passing by the scattered boulders and crushed corpses, he repelled the residual enemy forces with his shovel and slammed its end into the ground.
An attempt to do something.
But their efforts were hindered by the bombing coming from above.
“Now’s the time, kiddo!”
Rumble! Rumble!
Ga-ram precisely created the frame of a wall by controlling the inverted earth.
After releasing the ability and the falling rocks settling down, the controlled earth solidified with the magic infused by the shovel, forming a wall surrounding the enemy knight.
What was created in the end were two walls blocking both sides of the valley.
With that, successfully isolating the enemy knight inside, Ga-ram, who had jumped down from the floating boulders, landed and took her place next to Nam Ja-seong.
“Is this good enough?”
“Yeah, let’s leave the rest to our friend inside.”
Among the rocks dropped in the process of building the wall, one of them, as previously agreed upon, included ‘another ally.’
If they successfully created a 1:1 setup as agreed, their task would be to prevent the undead she controlled from interfering in that place.
Kurureuk! Kureuk!
Yes, the isolation of their master was enough reason to feel a sense of crisis.
Shortly after, the undead running towards each other began to merge, soon forming the shape of a giant.
What was created in the end was an undead golem made from the bodies of hundreds.
Normally, it would take a battalion’s worth of troops to barely stop such a monster, but currently, the one controlling the undead golem was none other than the Red Knight of War.
Kueoaaaaaaaah!!
True to the name of war, the power of the undead she controlled far surpasses that of the ordinary undead.
The fierce shouts made by the mouths of hundreds exploded and echoed through the valley, making the two facing them feel tense.
“Now, I know it might seem a bit late to say this, kiddo, but are you holding up mentally?”
He had become accustomed to danger and fear since coming to this world, but Ga-ram had not even been in this world for half a year, and she was nothing more than a teenage girl.
Moreover, the risk of losing reason and will to fight wasn’t small, considering the soldiers she had become familiar with had turned into enemies.
“…I’m okay. I’ve already gotten used to facing the same people.”
But Ga-ram, too, had accumulated experiences with her companions in this world and had developed a mindset from them.
Facing dead comrades was painful, but she could endure it for now, reminding herself that they were only similar in appearance.
Above all, there was one more personal reason not to avoid this situation.
“And personally, I have a bit of a grudge against that lady.”
Ga-ram remembered.
When their party was on the brink of being annihilated by Gorgon Zola, that person intervened and took him away.
But it wasn’t out of pity; it was because she deemed them not even worth killing.
Ga-ram, recalling her companion’s feeling of powerlessness at that time, definitely harbored what could be defined as resentment towards her.
Kuoaaaaah!
While feeling uneasy about entrusting such personal resentment to someone else, a huge undead golem charged at them, roaring in front of the two.
As the swung fist collided with Nam Ja-seong’s barrier, causing a tremor, Ga-ram, who was behind, catching her breath and gathering her strength, asked Nam Ja-seong,
“Even if we’re fine, is it really okay inside there? I heard that the opponent could annihilate this place on her own.”
“Ah, it’ll be fine.”
If they failed to stop her, that monster might kill them too and head to their base, but such a thing would never happen.
Nam Ja-seong, recalling the times he sparred with the one inside, said with a confident voice,
“I’ve sparred with that friend a few times over a month, and I’ve never managed to land a hit.”
At the same time, Annabel, standing in front of the barrier that blocked her, took the time to assess its condition.
Its thickness and sturdiness were considerable. Given it felt similar to the walls she had brought down before, she could guess that those two had a hand in erecting this barrier.
‘Of course, it’s not unbreakable if firepower is applied. If there’s time to break it…’
Annabel, withdrawing her attention from the barrier, soon turned to look behind her.
There, among the boulders that had fallen before the barrier was erected, was a man who had stealthily hidden and fallen into the same space as her.
He was merely wrapped in a sackcloth around his lower half.
His dried muscular body was clearly visible, with the only peculiar thing being a paper bag covering his head.
“…”
And he was silent.
After standing in the same space as her, he simply waited for her to make a move, silently raising the club in his hand.
“…Are you my opponent?”
He seemed shabby and unremarkable at a glance, but he had chosen to be isolated in place of the two heroes who had stopped her.
So, Annabel did not let her guard down.
Just as a predator fully commits when catching a rabbit, one must thoroughly crush even those humans who seem beneath them to teach them their place.
‘No matter who the opponent is, I will kill them swiftly.’
She soon concentrated the output of her sword and utilized her power to maximize the sharpness of the blade.
An aura blade that could leave scars on even mithril, the most durable alloy in the world, if it merely touched.
The moment she charged with that sword, the opponent also began to rush towards her with a wooden club in hand.
He seemed insignificant at a glance.
The mana felt from the club he held was minimal, and there was no indication of him utilizing special powers like other heroes.
Then, would something change immediately after the collision?
Pwak!
Annabel swung her sword immediately when the opportunity arose, rendering such concerns moot.
Unable to counter that strike, his head soared upward, and his powerless body gradually began to lean.
‘Did I kill him?’
The sensation in her hand was clear, and indeed, the body with the severed neck was losing strength, with reflexive convulsions due to death occurring.
In her sight, she could also see a head falling far away, tracing an arc as it descended.
‘…He’s dead.’
Before his head touched the ground, Im Tae-yang, feeling his consciousness fading, thought.
In this moment, he met his death by her blade slicing his neck.
Then, this must be a dream.
Kwaang!
Im Tae-yang quickly ducked his head to dodge a strike as he woke up from such a dream.
Following the counterattack, when his opponent’s body wavered after receiving a blow to the head, another strike from the opposite side struck his face, pushing his body away.
‘What was that just now?’
To anyone watching, it was an abnormal movement.
The club wielded by the hulking man, who moments ago seemed to blindly charge forward swinging, suddenly changed as if he became someone else for a moment, allowing an attack on himself.
“…You. What trick did you just use?”
Unlike himself, who allowed several attacks, his opponent evaded his strike, suffering only minor damage as the bag covering his head was slightly torn.
That was the extent of the damage Annabel perceived.
She had no awareness that her sword had slashed his neck.
Step, step.
It was an obvious outcome.
He was a user of the ‘Stopwatch Hand’ ability, capable of turning back time for as many seconds as the fingers he had folded, up to a maximum of 10 seconds, upon receiving a fatal strike.
By merely holding a club, he could infinitely return to 5 seconds before death, making him, in theory, an immortal being among those with abilities.
Step, step.
Yes, standing here was the incarnation of madness, who had even forsaken his armor to meet the conditions of such ability.
He was the strongest hero in human history, having never lost a single battle on his way to this place.