Chapter 481
Chapter 481
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 481
The reason the Outer God had sent the Shoggoths became clear soon enough.
The army it had dispatched was constantly consuming energy from the Outer Dimension.
And in this dimension, the only way to replenish that energy was by absorbing it through the Shoggoths.
Normally, humans would go insane if they absorbed Outer-Dimensional energy through a Shoggoth, but that didn’t apply to monsters whose minds had already collapsed and been swallowed by madness.
If there was one saving grace, it was that the insanity didn’t spread too severely to ordinary people.
There were too many to clean up with a single slash.
Luna, who would be in R’lyeh, would treat the injured, so what I had to do was simple now.
Rip them all apart and kill them.
Then steal every bit of energy contained within the Shoggoths.
There was nothing complicated to think about in the process.
Monsters that looked like ordinary soldiers?
Enormous malformed monstrosities?
Even the airborne aberrations floating in the sky.
None of it really mattered.
If left alone, casualties would occur.
They were people I’d never met, people whose deaths I could’ve brushed off with a simple “that’s unfortunate,” but watching people die right in front of me crossed the line.
That was why I hated war.
Holding the Demon Sword in one hand and the divine artifact Pragarach in the other, I explosively raised the aura within my body.
Since I had already disrupted the balance between mana and aura in preparation for Limit Breakthrough, I could definitely feel the subtle burden it placed on my body.
And the more I felt it, the wider the smile at the corner of my lips became.
Yeah.
This was it.
It had to be at least this much before I could even begin to see a chance of overcoming the wall.
Of course, if the absurd cheat-like effect of the Book of Genesis existed, it might be solvable another way, but just in case, I had to push my body to its limits as much as possible.
Looking at it this way, wasn’t the Outer God basically a tree that gave endlessly?
It sent Shoggoths over because it was worried I might run short on Outer-Dimensional energy.
And since I was stuck at Limit Breakthrough, it even created situations where I had no choice but to use my power even more.
There was nothing better than this.
“Th-they’re coming again!!”
Along with the terrified cry of a soldier, grotesque lifeforms began crawling up once more from the bottom of the sea.
And even more Shoggoths surged forth like a tidal wave.
Wow, even serving dessert too.
Without hesitation, I activated the power of my body.
Instantly, time began to flow as though it had slowed down.
Rolling my eyes, I took everything into my field of vision and stepped forward.
And the moment my foot lightly touched the ground—
Craaack!!
Hundreds, thousands of sword traces tore through the air and shot out in every direction.
I overlaid the world completely established by a Grandmaster onto this place and forcibly imposed its laws.
That was what a Grandmaster was.
A realm capable of forcing one’s own laws upon the world itself;
Of course, even that was only a fragment of it, but the mere fact that such a thing was possible served as proof of just how extraordinary Grandmasters truly were.
Outer-Dimensional energy whipped wildly out from the instantly shredded monsters and destroyed Shoggoths.
I didn’t miss a single bit of it and absorbed everything.
The bizarre Outer-Dimensional energy that would corrupt the mind after absorbing even a little.
It was an element that simply didn’t apply to me.
I cut down everything in my path, tore apart the Shoggoths, and absorbed them.
Compared to the amount I had gathered before, maybe this was a little lacking, but that didn’t matter.
There were lunchboxes elsewhere besides this place.
“They-they’re not coming anymore…….”
“Did we win?”
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
Those who had been terrified amidst the roaring noise and tremors went mad with exhilaration at the realization that they had survived and that the monsters were no longer advancing.
The sight of them throwing down their weapons, embracing one another, and bursting into tears was enough to make one feel the karmic weight of humans desperately fighting to survive.
“Ahhh! Thank you so much! Thanks to you…… thanks to you, we were able to protect this place!”
I quietly nodded.
It seemed Luna had already finished healing those in critical condition.
“Has anything been discovered elsewhere?”
“Nothing yet. However, I hear other regions are under attack as well.”
I immediately raised my energy.
“Hah! W-wait a moment! At least allow us time to thank you!”
“I don’t think gratitude is more important than someone’s life.”
At my words, his eyes widened.
“I was foolish. Thank you very much.”
Now, whether my appearance looked like that of a child or not clearly didn’t matter to him anymore.
I slowly flew toward R’lyeh.
Then he hurriedly shouted.
“Just one thing before you go!! Please tell us your name!”
“I am Leon Cascadia of the Bata Kingdom.”
His eyes widened.
Perhaps because he had already heard reports, he seemed to understand immediately.
Afterward, he drew his sword high and shouted.
“All troops!! Formation!! Show gratitude to the hero!!!”
At those words, the soldiers all snapped into posture at once, striking their spear shafts against the ground as they paid me respect.
Leaving them behind, I immediately rose above R’lyeh and used the power of the Sky Island R’lyeh to leap across the utterly mangled spatial coordinates.
At present, R’lyeh was the only thing capable of traversing the battlefield through spatial transfer.
* * *
Most of the coastal regions currently serving as battlefields were causing chaos in the spatial coordinates.
No matter how gutsy someone was, recklessly attempting spatial transfer in such a situation would’ve been suicidal, so I used R’lyeh’s power without hesitation.
R’lyeh seemed to move by a method different from ordinary transfer techniques, since it could travel without issue even when coordinates were tangled.
Which meant there was no need to painstakingly establish coordinates or rush there directly myself.
Seventeen battlefields where forces from the Pinas Archipelago had flooded in.
Some of them were being supported by Archangels and the Stars, but some weren’t.
I attacked those locations first, extinguished the urgent fires, minimized casualties, tore apart every Shoggoth I came across, and absorbed all the Outer-Dimensional energy they had been storing.
The original purpose was to activate the enhancement effect of the Book of Genesis.
But.
It seemed my name was currently spreading throughout the continent.
After absorbing Shoggoths nonstop, the amount had become quite substantial.
The Outer God was also using the energy of the Outer Dimension—its own domain—without hesitation, so I had succeeded in securing truly high-quality Outer-Dimensional energy.
Wooooong…… Wooooong…….
The western port city.
While heading toward Gellion to recharge R’lyeh’s power and take a brief rest during the lull in the war, I found myself locked in a staring contest with the Book of Genesis within the territory of the Progenitor Dragon.
For several days, me, Isna, Luna, and even Lispa.
Gathering what were essentially elites among elites, we supported collapsing battlefronts like a bombardment unit.
In the process, it was true that I worried whether Cascadia might come under attack.
But the number of battlefields we had passed through was immense.
I had killed countless enemies to absorb Outer-Dimensional energy.
Thanks to that, a considerable amount of energy had accumulated, so I poured all of it into the Book of Genesis without hesitation.
For a long while, it greedily devoured energy like a bottomless jar.
For a moment, anxiety surged up—What if even this isn’t enough?—but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Together with an intense light, the Librarian’s letters appeared.
[Unique Authority – Infinite Breakthrough has been activated.]
[Unique Authority – Infinite Breakthrough, once activated, will automatically manifest until deactivated by the user’s own will.]
[The target’s limiters are removed.]
Just as Isna had said, this book was bizarre.
As though it were alive, it continuously gave me exactly what I needed.
Removal of limits.
The meaning behind that was simple.
If the limiters that had endlessly risen as I absorbed the power of countless halls had disappeared, then it meant there would no longer be anything placing brakes on the speed at which my power increased.
It was a ridiculous thought, but I even felt anticipation over just how strong I might become now.
If things went well, I felt like I could become even stronger than I had been in Labyrinthos.
Of course, that didn’t mean I would immediately gain some tremendous surge of power right here and now.
At the end of the day, it only meant the maximum size of the experience container had been lowered.
It didn’t mean experience itself was pouring in.
That said, whether rampaging through the middle of battlefields would allow me to see immediate effects was still somewhat uncertain.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Putting overload on my body was good and all, but somehow it felt like it was lacking by two percent.
As if aware of my thoughts, the situation happened to provide me with an opportunity.
“Young Master.”
A voice called for me from outside.
When I stepped out, Marianne, the leader of the succubi currently staying in R’lyeh, was waiting for me.
“What is it?”
“We received contact from Gellion. They asked if you could come urgently.”
“Right. I was just about to head there anyway. Good timing.”
After grabbing only what I needed, I immediately leapt down from the Sky Island, and the sight of Gellion spread out beneath me at a glance.
Countless troops were transporting supplies, while reinforcements constructed encampments.
On one side, I could see the elf archers sent from Mother Forest personally carving arrows, while on another, Dragon Forge craftsmen tirelessly hammered away.
“So, you’ve arrived. Hero.”
“You’re not injured anywhere, are you?”
“Tch. What a boring fellow. Still, even at my age, I’m doing just fine.”
The Spear Saint Bellion jokingly patted my shoulder.
“You’ve worked hard. If not for you, an awful lot of blood would’ve been spilled.”
“Isn’t everyone busy right now? Even the Archangels are in chaos.”
“Come inside. Everyone’s waiting.”
Following him into the operations headquarters built from tents, I saw the Stars gathered together.
Fist Saint Yoo Sowon was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did Elder Fist Saint go?”
At my question, Sword Saint Osberg let out a bitter sigh.
“As it happens, that’s exactly what we were discussing.”
“Pardon?”
Soon, the Sword Saint turned toward a bronze-skinned blond man seated to one side who looked quite wild.
“It is an honor to meet you, Young Master Leon Cascadia. I am Marquis Alsad Gellion, lord of the western city of Gellion.”
Though he was an Imperial Marquis, his polite tone carried immense respect.
Judging only by appearance, he looked like the sort who’d wander around with women on both arms like some carefree playboy.
But hearing him speak, he came across as quite a clean-cut young man instead.
Still.
He looked younger than expected?
“A pleasure to meet you, Marquis Gellion. I am Leon Cascadia, eldest son of the Duchy of Cascadia.”
“I have already heard of Young Master Leon’s achievements. They say you swept away monsters alone and saved countless people.”
“It’s not worthy of such praise.”
After shaking hands, he immediately sat back down and let out a short sigh.
“If it were up to me, I would hold a welcoming banquet for all of you, but the situation is poor, so may we proceed straight to the main matter?”
At his question, Sword Saint Osberg nodded.
“Please do, Marquis.”
With a dark expression, he spread out the tactical map.
“At present, the western coastal city, Gellion, has succeeded in extinguishing the major fires thanks to substantial support, and we are steadily strengthening our defenses.”
He placed flags bearing the marks of each faction across the regions.
“In particular, the fire support from the Elven Ranger units and the overwhelming equipment support from Dragon Forge have been of tremendous help, so comparatively speaking, this area can be considered safe.”
That clearly wasn’t the main point, but I quietly focused anyway.
“However. This place.”
Suddenly, he pointed at a large island some distance away from the coastal city.
There was one large central island surrounded by numerous smaller islands.
“That island?”
“An uninhabited island. Originally no people lived there, though there is a lighthouse used to guide ships. However, the island itself is fairly large.”
He spoke with a hardened face.
“A few days ago, after repelling the enemy offensive, reports came from reconnaissance units surveying the surroundings. They detected enemy movements on that uninhabited island.”
What happened afterward was too strange to simply ignore.
“In the middle of the war, some of them secretly infiltrated the city itself. To be honest, it was a failure of vigilance. Severe enough that we could not avoid harsh punishment.”
Naturally, those who had neglected their watch had been beheaded according to military law.
However.
“Over thirty civilians were kidnapped. Most of them women. Considering the actions the enemy has shown up until now, this is an utterly incomprehensible development.”
“I see…… But why only women?”
“What were their ages?”
“They varied, but the oldest was twenty-four.”
“…….”
Heavy silence settled over the surroundings.
In old legends and such, there were records of rituals performed using the blood of young women.
Surely it wasn’t something like that.
“Afterward, Elder Fist Saint heard the news and came to see me personally. He insisted on going to retrieve them himself. He was so adamant that we couldn’t stop him. But at the same time, we couldn’t pull out large-scale forces to move either.”
In the end, Fist Saint Yoo Sowon had headed toward the island leading only a small special detachment.
“After that, all contact was lost.”
The disappearance of a Star.
The meaning of that carried tremendous weight.
“Afterward, reconnaissance teams reported that strange signs of contamination on the island were intensifying.”
It was too bizarre to leave alone.
Yet at the same time, it was deeply unsettling to go investigate directly.
The fact that even a Star had personally gone there and still vanished meant that something existed on that island capable of neutralizing even the title of Star, beings hailed as the continent’s strongest.
I stared at the map before looking toward the other Stars.
“What do you intend to do?”
“We go. We rescue them.”
“From the start, this situation has been different from the others. We’ll have to try something.”
The other Stars appeared intent on moving toward rescuing Yoo Sowon and the special detachment first.
At that, I raised my hand.
“I’ll handle the central infiltration alone.”
The Marquis’s eyes widened.
“If immediate movement isn’t necessary, then Elders, please handle traffic control around the surrounding smaller islands. Ah, and take these. As for blessings…… hm, Luna will grant those.”
I held out an entire pile of the buff potions the Stars had gone crazy over before.
“Oh…… these are good. Traffic control, huh. That’s my specialty.”
“How reliable. If you need help at any point, fire a signal flare. We’ll join you immediately.”
There were honestly many other thoughts running through my mind, but my instincts told me one thing.
If I didn’t hurry over and resolve this, something troublesome would happen.
So what choice did I have?
I might as well use this chance for Limit Breakthrough too.
Going alone and cleaning everything up was the only option.
After determining the island’s location through the map, I immediately exited the tent.
“W-wait a moment! Elders! Is it really alright to send him alone…….”
Marquis Alsad Gellion hurried after me, but trailed off when Bellion grabbed his shoulder.
“Didn’t you say rescue was needed, brat? Then now’s the time.”
“Uh…… uhh.”
Then Bow Saint Yuhav added with a gentle smile.
“Fufu. Don’t even think about providing warships. Your mission is to protect the city and its people.”
Then, with a hearty laugh, Spear Saint began following after me with his spear resting over his shoulder, and the other Stars also moved out without any objections.
Not a trace of tension could be felt on their faces.
“No…… just moments ago you were all being so cautious, so why are you suddenly this confident…….”
As the other Stars also left the tent without a word, he could only gape blankly.
It truly was a bizarre sight—a child who looked about five years old leading the continent’s greatest powerhouses.
“That little kid is…….”
“Shh, keep quiet, idiot. That’s him. Leon Cascadia, the one roaming the continent and grinding monsters into paste.”
“My god…… that hero is that little kid?”
“I heard it’s because of an artifact that he looks like that right now.”
I was reaching the point where I was getting sick of this body anyway.
And if the incident was this serious, the other side had definitely deployed something far beyond ordinary.
I’ll use this opportunity to break through to the Extreme State.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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