Heart of Darkness (2)
The foundations of Aura operation were to concentrate and coalesce the user’s Aura and turn it into a higher destructive force.
That was used by the most basic techniques like Armor Aura, Aura Boost, and Aura Strike.
However, there was a limit to the destructive power of Aura, which increased through concentration.
Most of the Aura users even tried to make various changes using a focused Aura.
On the other hand, the Sword King was immersed in the basics.
Baotolt hated fancy skills or methods to dazzle the enemy.
He believed that he could only call himself a real warrior whenever he ran head-on and defeated his opponents through sheer force.
He continued to increase the amount of Aura he had and continued to improve his concentration, hanging on to that principle for the rest of his life.
If too much Aura were concentrated endlessly, at some point, a phenomenon that transcended common sense would occur.
The concentrated Aura would be crushed by its own energy, causing it to condense indefinitely into one point.
Terrifying, formidable energy of destruction was produced by condensing Aura over a critical point.
After such an extreme performance, Baotolt eventually succeeded in controlling that energy with a sense of purpose.
If he put it around his body, it became an invincible armor. If he coated his blade with it, he became capable of cutting everything, and if he dispersed it, it would become a meteor shower that would rain down armageddon upon the ground.
That was the Valtara’s Fighting Spirit.
It was an Aura skill that projected his idea of a ‘true warrior’ into reality.
Besides, Baotolt, after reaching such a transcendental stage, finally got a ‘true sword.’
It was a godly sword whose power reached the heavens. It embodied his fighting spirit in the form of a blade.
The Heavenly Sword Diastima was the strongest weapon of the Sword King who cut off the Divine Kruse Murg’s neck.
* * *
After roughly defining the Sword King’s two main weapons, Kibie spoke to him with a serious tone.
“The Top Three were weaker than Baotolt. But the gap wasn’t that wide.”
Thunder King, Archmage, and The Transcendental competed with the Sword King.
“It’s hard to master Diastima, but you have to learn the Valtara’s Fighting Spirit at least. If you can’t do that much, you won’t even be able to give them an entertaining battle.”
The Valtara’s Fighting Spirit’s operation began with the compression and collapse of Aura beyond its limits.
It was said that the Sword King described it in this way:
-Harness the power to destroy mountains, then seal them into mustard seeds.
Kibie’s explanation puzzled Ryu Han-bin.
“Isn’t it only proper to ask if I can destroy the mountain first?”
Destroy the mountain. Of course, it was a kind of metaphor, but what was clear to him was that Aura was needed in quantity so large it would begin to crush itself.
In other words, he couldn’t even start without enough time in his hands.
“Well, I’ll try.”
The tenacity of Artis protected the backyard of the inn.
Even if he pulled out his power, it wouldn’t be able to leak out.
Ryu Han-bin, holding the sword Gigant, conjured his Aura.
“Taaah!”
With all his might, he released everything he had.
A brilliant red Blade Aura coated Gigant’s blade.
Zoom!
“Focus on this!”
The Blade Aura, which was blazing like a fire, gradually condensed into a sphere of light.
He had an impeccable concentration.
Han-bin was well-versed in basic management methods.
But that was all.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s condensing on its own.”
Ryu Han-bin didn’t make a mistake.
The misconception about the Valtara’s Fighting Spirit was that it controlled the crushed state’s formidable destructive power.
In the first place, the phenomenon of crushing itself wasn’t difficult.
When the amount of Aura went past a certain threshold, it would automatically collapse onto itself.
“The amount of Aura isn’t enough, either.”
Kibie said, looking as if she already expected that to happen.
Han-bin was dumbfounded.
“Then what do we do? Where should we settle down and concentrate on my performance?”
“There’s no time for that.”
The amount of Aura that the Sword King had saved through decades of difficulties was immense.
She didn’t know how long it would take for Ryu Han-bin to catch up to Baotolt’s level.
“They won’t give you that much time.”
Garhan and Genovia only had a few years of life left.
Wherever they hid, they would follow Han-bin’s group at any cost.
“Even if you’re lucky enough to find a way to hide, the result will be the same.”
Omphalos erosion continued through the cracks in the night.
If it were left alone for a few years, Latna would eternally suffer from an irreparable wound.
Kibie murmured melancholically.
“Why on Latna did they think they could handle the divinity of darkness?”
In the worst scenario, Kibie also thought about giving herself up and giving up the Goddess’s wisdom to the Top Three.
She would do it if it saved the balance of Latna.
But she couldn’t.
True divinity could never be dealt with by the spirits of mortals.
“What do you want me to do? If you’re telling me to be as strong as the Sword King, shouldn’t you at least give me time to catch up?”
Han-bin grumbled as he collected the Blade Aura.
Kibie shook her hand.
“I’m not making unreasonable demands without countermeasures.”
Raising his level of swordsmanship by gaining enlightenment was only possible by exerting effort.
“But…”
She smiled.
“If all we have to do is increase the amount of your Aura, then there’s a way.”
* * *
The six Goddesses who protected Latna were not directly involved with the world.
If the Goddesses’ power, which was too powerful, directly penetrated the material world, it would destroy the world’s delicate balance.
However, there were times when unprecedented disasters could not be handled by human power alone.
In preparation for that time, the Goddesses arranged sacred objects containing part of their divinity on the ground.
For generations, the world’s heroes, chosen as the Goddesses’ apostles against disaster, were empowered by Goddesses to save Latna and bring peace.
Kybriel also had his character on the ground.
It was the essence of the holy night, the heart of darkness.
“It could cover up your shortcomings, Han-bin.”
Kibie looked out of the carriage as she spoke.
The vast wilderness filled her view.
Now that Baotolt was dead, there was nothing more to see in the Grand Maze.
They were being chased, so it was dangerous to stay in one place for a long time.
Due to that, Han-bin and his party were heading north of Serkaltan.
“Holy object of a Goddess…”
Leaning against the shaky wagon, Ryu Han-bin suddenly laughed.
He had seen many legends and myths on Earth looking for the Holy Sword or the Holy Grail or something along those lines.
“It’s funny that you’re looking for what you made.”
Kibie grumbled with a pouty face.
“It was in the original plan!”
From the beginning, she was going to find Baotolt and get the Heart of Darkness.
She tried to increase her chances by giving her assistant holy items because even the Sword King wouldn’t be able to defeat the Top Three all at the same time.
Valtara warriors avoided Magic Tools because they believed they were evil objects created by the Demon Omphalos.
There was no reason for them to refuse the holy items of the Goddesses.
“But considering that Baotolt killed even Kruse Murg, it might have been possible without holy items…”
Regardless, it was clear that there was no chance for Ryu Han-bin to win against them.
They had to do all that they could in preparation to fight against the Top Three.
“So we’re going to find the Heart of Darkness?”
Effir, who had just replaced Artis in the cab seat, asked a question.
Ryu Han-bin and Kibie couldn’t ride Golem steeds because of their levels, leaving the two in charge of the horse-riding work.
Kibie shook her head.
“Not yet.”
The Heart of Darkness was located at the sacred mountain Generosus, which had the highest peak among the Kellev Mountains in the northernmost part of the Latna Continent.
However, Han-bin’s party wasn’t heading to the Kellev Mountains.
“I need to meet someone first.”
* * *
In a small country in the northern Latna, a territory in the Meran Kingdom, monsters fought against the human army in the dark fields under the night.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Blood! Human blood!”
Wolflian, A Wolfman-type monster, roared and bared its fangs.
Drotas, a vampire monster that was as thin as a mummy, had its eyes glittering with desire.
Wielding their swords, the soldiers yelled out.
“Ahhhhh!”
“You monsters!”
The soldiers continued to fall before the rising tide of the monsters.
The Frelsis knights roared.
“Hang in there!”
“Don’t give up!”
“If we fall here, those waiting for us at home will be their food!”
Those who had people to protect were strong.
As they thought of their families, the soldiers’ spirits rose again.
“Ahhhhh!”
But the war situation didn’t improve.
Most of the incoming monsters were above level 40.
In comparison, the average level of the soldiers was around 20.
The knights leading the army were barely above level 30.
No matter how determined and courageously prepared for death they were, they couldn’t just ignore the immense power gap.
As time went by, their casualties increased.
Their blood dyed the entire field with red.
“Urgh!”
“Ahhhh!”
Nevertheless, the humans didn’t back down.
There was still hope for them.
“Hang in there, Frelsis warriors!”
With a roar, a knight in his early 20s penetrated among the monsters.
“Just a little longer, and…!”
He was the commander and eldest son of Baron Frelsis, Marcus Katel Frelsis.
“He’s coming!”
Continuing to encourage the soldiers, Marcus cut as many monsters as he could.
A huge shadow loomed over him.
“You’re such a small human being!”
A Giant Lizardman, a colossal monster covered in blue scales, swung a large halberd against him.
“I’ll crush you in one blow!”
In a hurry, Marcus lifted his kite shield to block it.
But it didn’t work.
The shield was smashed by the monster’s strength, causing him to be thrown back.
Marcus’ level was too low compared to the Giant Lizardman.
“Argh!”
Lizardman swung Halberd again at the fallen man.
He had no means of escape.
Marcus cursed as death swiftly came for him.
“Oh, shit!”
Just as his life was about to end, a white silhouette dashed through the air and decapitated the Lizardman’s head.
Poof!
But that wasn’t where it ended.
Subsequently, dozens of Ectoplasm spears covered the sky and bombarded the area.
Boom, boom, boom!
As the sounds of explosions and the monsters’ screams reverberated, one section of their enemy’s army broke down.
A man had appeared.
He was in his mid-20s, wearing Kybriel’s black coat of arms.
He had blonde hair, green eyes, seemingly thin but actually wide shoulders, and his entire solid body proved him to be quite disciplined.
The knights and soldiers burst into cheers.
“He’s here!”
“Sir Leon Hart!”
“Leon Hart is here!”
Marcus, who hardly survived, also exclaimed delightedly.
“My uncle!”
Looking back at him, Leon Hart smiled softly.
“You’ve done a good job, Marcus.”
Marcus called the young man his uncle despite seemingly belonging to the same age group as him.
But no one thought it was weird.
Though seemingly young, Leon Hart was actually over his mid-40s.
The owner of the current Baron Frelsis family was his younger brother.
Leon Hart was the third man blessed by the Goddesses. He regained his youth in exchange for saving Latna from the demon’s erosion.
Leon Hart Katel Frelsis emitted his blood lust as he glared at the monsters.
“I’ll take it from here.”
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