The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 819

Record of Episode 819 (3)

[The adversaries and the high priests did not confront us head-on. They repeatedly hit and run, avoiding the dragons. They released countless rifts and launched surprise attacks here and there, shaking us up.]
[In the end, we had no choice but to re-divide our forces around the superhumans. Only the most powerful could face the adversaries and the high priests.]
[The dragons were also dispersed and assigned to their respective legions. Only then could we finally respond to the adversaries and the high priests’ attacks. However, our advance was also inevitably delayed.]
[Since we were already delayed, we reinforced our defensive line in preparation for the adversaries’ surprise attacks. Then, dividing our legions, we gradually advanced, as if encircling the demonic realm.]
“Hmm…”
Astion raised his head and looked at the sky. A
dark, rippling energy was covering the sky.
Sunlight shone through the few holes here and there, but even that light would soon be swallowed up by darkness.
Astion turned his gaze and looked in the opposite direction of the demonic realm.
Darkness surged endlessly, surging like waves beyond the horizon.
“It’s faster than the old records indicate. Is it because an adversary has appeared?”
The darkness continued to spread from the Demonic Realm. It seemed as if it would truly engulf the world.
Thanks to this darkness, the Cracks could run rampant without any boundaries.
If they retreated to a place beyond the darkness, the Cracks would be immobilized. But they couldn’t just rely on that and sit back. If left alone, the darkness would eventually engulf the world.
Darkness had already descended upon the skies of the kingdoms near the Demonic Realm. Now, the land was no longer safe.
“If things had gone as planned, we would have held out until all the Cracks were gone…”
That was how the wars of old had been. Enduring until the monsters of the Demonic Realm were all gone was humanity’s only option.
The numerous Great Wars had unfolded in this way. The Demonic Realm had breached the barrier and spread across the continent, and the Human Union had spent decades repelling it.
In return, the continent’s economy and people’s lives had collapsed, and recovery sometimes took over a century.
“But now, things are different.”
The existence of the Saintess gave humanity hope that they could eradicate the Demonic Realm.
The Saintess’s divine power was in conflict with the demon’s aura. Furthermore, she could control the power of the Holy Stone.
Therefore, the dragons planned to use that power to destroy the source of the Demonic Realm.
The dragons were confident of success. Astion also knew the plan would succeed.
“Gisel told me we would succeed in sealing the Demonic Realm,” he said.
However, he had said that Deneb and Yulien had been sacrificed in the process. Astion’s goal was to proceed as safely as possible.
If his friends were in even the slightest danger, he would take more time to find other solutions.
The Adversary also knew of the Human Union’s plan. After all, he had originally intended to use the power of the Holy Stone to destroy the Demonic Realm.
[The Adversary appeared before us several times. However, no matter how strong he was, he could not face the entire Legion alone. Especially, the legions with the saintess had dragon lords and countless superhumans, so even the adversaries did not dare approach.]
[Although their speed was slow, all the legions advanced slowly and pressured the priests of the demonic realm. They had no way to deal with the dragons. Ultimately, if we entered the demonic realm, they would have no choice but to confront the saintess head-on.]
[In preparation for that time, we tightened the encirclement and prepared to quickly reunite the legions at any time. Morale was high because all the circumstances were favorable. Hope spread throughout that this time, the war could finally be ended completely.]
[… … But that was our arrogance. We realized too late that the monsters that had only been recorded in literature actually existed, and that their terrifying powers were real.]
Gooooooo… … .
They were forms that should not exist in this world.
A monster with a lion’s face and eagle’s claws, with two sun-like eyes that burned everything, appeared.
A monster with a snake’s body and thousands of wings, its gigantic body covered the sky.
Giants with dozens of arms breathed flames from their mouths, scorching the earth.
There were also giants who hung bone bells from their antlers and tore down mountains with the sound of their bells.
Innumerable monsters and giants, forms beyond human imagination, appeared.
They all had skin as pale as corpses, and they evoked instinctive fear in all living beings.
Ancient texts called them
“lesser gods of the other world.”
True to their name, their powers were truly divine. Ultimately, the dragons had to step forward and face them.
Others dared not interfere in the battle between these transcendent beings.
This was precisely what the adversary sought to stall for:
to summon the lesser gods of the other world and bind the dragons.
[… … Because of the lesser gods of the other world, we could not use our most powerful force, the dragons. In the end, the adversary, the high priests, and the countless rifts had to be held back solely by the Human Alliance.]
[From then on, the adversary began to move in earnest. We could no longer focus on maintaining the defense line. If
we did, we would only be defeated individually.] [We gathered our best forces as one. The adversary, too, ignored everything else and relentlessly targeted only the saintess. Their goals were clear. We aimed for the demonic realm, and the adversary aimed for the saintess.]
KWAAAAHHHHH
!
The adversary advanced, tearing through the allied forces’ battle
lines with overwhelming force. He could not see anyone else. Only the saintess Deneb was his target. The allied superhumans
gathered to block the path. But they could not stop the adversary’s footsteps.
KWAAHH …
And finally, when the adversary was within striking distance of Deneb.
KAAAAAHHHH!
Yulien blocked his path. Astion pressed the adversary with explosive magic, and Erenes bound him with spirits.
Lionel held his shield and protected Deneb. He risked his life to block every vicious attack the adversary unleashed.
Marika attacked the adversary’s rear at every opportunity. Her blade was now enough to grate his nerves.
They had all become incomparably stronger than before. They had trained tirelessly for years, sharing and absorbing the dragon heart left behind by Giselle, surpassing human limitations.
But even their heightened level was no match for the adversary’s power.
KAAAAAHHHH!
One by one, they fell to the adversary’s attacks. Despite their increased skill, the adversary remained an impassable wall.
But here was Deneb. Her divine power could weaken the enemy’s aura and strengthen her allies.
In particular, the channeling she evoked prevented the enemy’s darkness, which had filled the battlefield, from spreading any further.
The enemy aimed for Deneb until the very end, but ultimately failed. The superhumans continued to rise, blocking his path without rest.
“…Still, isn’t the time yet?”
The enemy retreated into the darkness, leaving behind only a cryptic statement.
[We clashed like this countless times. There were moments of near-death, but we protected Deneb with all our might. We all knew that without her, we could never win this war.]
[The enemy was like an impenetrable wall. But thanks to Deneb, we could continue fighting without dying. Every time we reached the brink of death, we grew stronger.]
[But we weren’t the only ones who grew stronger. The high priests of the Demonic Realm, empowered by the enemy, gradually increased in number and power. The high priests were faced by other superhumans, so the battlefield was a tight balance of power, a war of attrition.]
[The strongest of the high priests were the four beings called Apostles. Originally called prophets, they took on the name Apostles after the adversary appeared. Two of them were new apostles who had been given the mission to replace the already deceased prophets Rahamod and Taghmah.]
Gisel left Astion with a lot of information, especially because Astion would have to serve as her advisor after she left.
After Rahamod and Taghmah died, Gisel said to Astion,
“There were originally four who were called Apostles. Rahamod and Taghmah, they were both apostles. I think they’re called prophets now because we haven’t found the king yet.”
“So, now that we’ve killed those two, has the future changed? With the dangerous ones dead, the chances of Yulien and Deneb sacrificing themselves have decreased, right?”
“Maybe… I think so… but I can’t guarantee it.”
“The important thing is that those who threatened the future are dead. It must be changing little by little.”
“……Yes, I hope so.”
[… … I believed I had changed the future. And I thought I was still changing it. But new, powerful figures, no less powerful than the two already dead apostles, had appeared.]
[I wanted to believe that they had simply forced someone with insufficient skills to fill their positions. But at some point, a feeling of unease began to grow within me.]
[Did we really change the future? No matter how hard we struggled, wouldn’t everything eventually find its place to achieve a predetermined outcome? That feeling of unease wouldn’t easily go away.]
[No, I told myself that it couldn’t be. Hadn’t Giselle repeatedly emphasized that she could definitely change the future? If she couldn’t change the future, why did she come all the way to the past to open a path for us?] [
Thanks to Giselle, we grew stronger much faster than in our original history, and thanks to that, we were able to stop our current adversary. And we will become even stronger in the future.]
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
As Astion had expected, the Yulien Mercenary Corps grew stronger with each battle against their opponents.
Since the other superhumans had to fend off the Apostles and High Priests, the number of people guarding Deneb inevitably decreased.
However, as Yulien grew rapidly, the time he could hold out against the Adversary gradually increased.
Of course, Yulien was still weaker than the Adversary. However, Deneb’s divine power and spirit power made up for his shortcomings.
Thanks to this, the Adversary always narrowly missed killing Deneb.
He brought stronger Apostles and Priests with him each time, but Yulien and his companions were also stronger than before.
Kaaang!
Yulien’s sword clashed with the Adversary’s hand.
At that moment, the Adversary’s red eyes blazed ominously.
“…I simply don’t understand.”
“…”
“I have realized my mission. And I know it will succeed.”
“…”
“But… why can’t I kill you and the Saint?”
From the beginning to the present, the Adversary has been stronger than anyone in the Human Alliance. Even a dragon couldn’t stop him alone.
No matter what he did, he couldn’t kill the saintess. He
always narrowly missed, and when he prepared again, his opponent was that much stronger.
Despite his best preparations, the result was the same every time.
The same situation repeated itself over and over again, as if he could never kill the saintess now.
He still felt the immense chain of fate weighing him down.
“It’s not yet time, are you saying? Has fate not yet granted you death?”
At his adversary’s words, Yulien slowly spoke.
“We have prepared just as much as you have.”
“…”
“We have faced death countless times. We have devoted ourselves to training without resting a single day.”
“…”
“We have all strived desperately to acquire everything Giselle left behind. So…” ”
…” “…”
“Don’t judge it by words like fate or anything.”
Kwaaaaang!
Yulien’s sword swung at his adversary. With each swing, the will of the vast world was carried.
That wasn’t all. The spirits of all attributes surrounding Yulien also attacked the adversary. Each and every one of the spirits, having grown in power, possessed powers surpassing even those of a superhuman.
It was as if every being in the world was with Yulien.
Yulien had grown terrifyingly in the years of fighting the demonic realm. Even the adversary could no longer openly confront him.
Paaaaah!
The darkness dispersed, deflecting Yulien’s attack. The adversary’s eyes sparkled and he asked,
“Who is Giselle…”
“…”
“That name is strangely jarring… Who is the person who taught you everything…?”
“…”
“Where is he now… Why has he not shown himself in this crucial war until now…”
Yulien didn’t answer. He remained silent, focused solely on slashing the adversary.
Kwaaaaah!
The two’s attacks clashed several times. As time passed, Yulien was pushed back little by little.
However, no matter how strong the opponent was, he couldn’t handle the power of the goddess spread across this battlefield.
The problem could be solved by simply destroying the saintess, but to do so, he had to overcome Yulien. However, Yulien didn’t crumble easily.
“…Failure again?”
The opponent slowly retreated. His body burned in the storm of divine power.
If he stalled any longer, even the apostles and high priests would die. The opponent had no choice but to retreat once again.
“Whew…”
Yulien sank to the ground, his expression weary. His comrades who had fought the apostles felt the same way.
Their fights were always like this: precarious, barely holding on.
But the fact that they held on was crucial.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“We won again!”
“The opponent has retreated!”
The human alliance cheered. It didn’t matter how difficult the fight had been for them.
The fact that they had defeated the fearsome adversary and the apostles was the only thing that warmed everyone’s hearts. As the same thing repeated itself over and over again, confidence grew.
And as Yulien continued to fend off adversaries, a new title was born for him.
“Warrior Yulien!”
“The warrior is with us!”
“With the warrior and the saint, we will be victorious!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
[Yulien, who always stood at the forefront and fought against his adversaries, earned the title of warrior. When Giselle first said it, I thought it was ridiculous, but when Yulien was actually called that, a strangely awkward yet wonderful feeling came over him.]
[Warrior Yulien. It was a name that gave hope to everyone, along with Saint Deneb. Was it because of the title of warrior? Or was it because of the burden? Yulien continued to risk his life and fight against his adversaries after that, and he grew stronger with each fight.]
[Yulien and Deneb were truly miracles bestowed upon humanity. People called my friends and I the warrior’s companions and said we were also miracles. That’s how strong we had become. Of course, everyone except Kyle was embarrassed. I’m also dating now.]
[We continued to grow stronger. And every time, we withstood our adversaries’ attacks and won. The dragons and lesser gods of the other world killed each other, and their numbers were greatly reduced. In the end, the enemy had no choice but to retreat, and we took advantage of the gap and advanced relentlessly toward the Demon Realm.]
[… … We finally reached the entrance to the Demon Realm. This was the enemy’s stronghold, so there was no way to know what danger lay ahead. I remained vigilant. I repeatedly warned Yulien and Deneve to be careful, and I also requested that the Dragon Lord prioritize their safety.]
[Complete victory was not far off. Together with Giselle, we twisted the predetermined future and came this far. So, we must… … .]
[We will definitely end this war without the two of you being sacrificed.]