“Model 137?”
“Good choice.”
I smirked and handed the object back to Iselle, who bowed and disappeared.
At that moment, Kishasha tilted her head.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s just a little energy recharge.”
“Energy recharge?”
She gave me a strange look. It was just a way to clear my head before the mission.
I crossed my arms and gazed ahead. The mirror’s light engulfed the Lucette.
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
Before the light even faded, a triple warning message appeared, indicating the high difficulty level. This wasn’t going to be as easy as the 55th floor.
The objective window popped up.
[Floor 60.]
[Mission Type – Siege]
[Mission Objective – Capture the Holy City ‘Delhive’!]
Cold wind brushed against my cheeks. I squinted as the Lucette came to a stop hundreds of meters above the ground. Below us, the vast city of Delhive stretched out, with a massive temple at its center and high, thick walls surrounding it. Soldiers swarmed atop the walls.
[Church Soldiers Lv.???] X 7,615
[Church Knights Lv.???] X 2,174
[Corrupted Monster Army Lv.???] X 3,739
[Church Soldiers...]
Yoshua hadn’t been exaggerating about the sheer number of forces gathered.
I heard Roderick’s sigh.
“We’ve got a lot of people too.”
I replied over the comms, looking down below.
[Human Mercenaries Lv.???] X 21,548
The entire plain was filled with soldiers, a massive army that didn’t even fit in the open field. They carried mercenary banners, shouting as they charged toward the fortress. Siege engines like ladders, catapults, and battering rams followed behind them.
[Master, a battle between two factions has begun.]
[Help the ‘Imperial Princess’s Army’ defeat the ‘Church Army’. Bring peace back to Townia!]
A red arrow appeared in the sky, marking Anytng’s tactical formation.
A familiar voice whispered in my ear. It was Pria, sending a magical communication after spotting us.
I smiled and muttered back.
“We’ll settle this after the fight.”
I cut the comms and looked ahead. The other airships were moving toward the fortress, following Anytng’s orders.
“Shall we go too?”
Jenna asked, looking at me. I shook my head.
“You guys go ahead.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Looks like they need help down there.”
I shifted my gaze toward the city gate.
[Corrupted Black Knight Lv.71] X 13
Black-armored knights wielding greatswords were slaughtering mercenaries indiscriminately. Despite being only a dozen or so, they were severely slowing down the advance.
“Can’t we just ignore them? The gate will be breached anyway.”
“We need to minimize casualties if we want to make use of them later. Meet me in front of the temple.”
I stepped onto the railing.
“Wait, we’re in the sky...!”
I leaped off the airship.
The wind howled as it slammed into my body.
‘The ground’s about... 200 meters below.’
The plains grew larger and larger as I descended.
“Halkion.”
I snapped my fingers.
Crackle! Dark crimson lightning surged across my body.
I landed silently.
From 200 meters in the air, I touched down on the ground without feeling any impact.
“What the hell is that thing?!”
“Gaaah!”
Thud.
A severed human leg dropped at my feet.
Blood spurted from the stump like a fountain, staining the nearby ground red.
‘They don’t stand a chance.’
The black knights were roaring as they swung their greatswords in the middle of the plain. Already, a hundred corpses lay scattered around them.
“Who... who are you?! How did you come from the sky...?”
“Move.”
I pushed aside the man blocking my way.
“Yoshua?”
“Who are these guys?”
I see.
They’re swinging their 100kg greatswords like they’re nothing more than twigs. No normal human could stop them.
Broken armor, shattered weapons, and dismembered bodies lay scattered on the ground.
One of the black knights, having locked eyes with me, approached.
“Goddess’s dog?”
Whoooosh!
The black knight brought down his greatsword.
Halkion murmured coldly.
I raised my right {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} hand.
Crackle.
Dark crimson lightning enveloped the black knight’s body. In that instant, I clenched my hand.
‘Compression.’
Crack!
Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.
When I fully clenched my fist, the black knight, now crumpled like a broken doll, fell to the ground.
“Calling me a traitor... that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
There was no need to even draw my sword. I kicked off the ground and lightly touched the approaching black knights.
Then I swung my hand downward.
Crack!
Like they had been crushed under a massive press, the twelve black knights were flattened into the ground.