Book 1 Chapter 690

690.

Boo-!

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

Boo-!

An unpleasant horn blared in the distance.

Giants at the vanguard of the army moved in unison.

“Wh-what is that!”

Arga let out a cry of shock.

'The Giant Knights.'

Demons are born with strength that far surpasses terrestrial races from birth.

As such, demons do not learn anything from the inhabitants of the land.

To them, the inhabitants of the land are nothing more than things to be destroyed.

Those who wish to live and those who wish for destruction fundamentally cannot understand each other.

Furthermore, demons are ranked from birth.

The higher the demon, the more pronounced their tendency to look down on terrestrial races.

'That's why those guys are an anomaly.'

The Giant Knights are an anomalous group of demons who have imitated and mimicked terrestrial races.

The rank of the Giant Knights is not determined by strength.

It is determined by merit.

As a result, they have established themselves as the strongest unit in the Giant King's army.

'Are these the Giant Knights of the past? Or… have they survived since the Age of Calamity?'

It has already been 5,000 years since the Age of Calamity ended.

Just as the Giant King rarely showed himself during that period.

Given the inherently secretive nature of demons, there are few records of the Giant King in the history of the Heroic Age after the Great Opening.

However, in the era before the Great Opening.

That is, many records from the 2,000 years called the Early Heroic Age have been lost.

This happened because the Hero Records were damaged during the process of sealing Erebus's fragments by the heroes of the Great Opening.

There were several great wars in the Early Heroic Age.

Especially after the end of the Age of Calamity.

There was also an all-out war waged by Tartarus to achieve their ambition of destroying the world.

'It's not impossible that Berkeia annihilated the Giant Knights in the Great War.'

The Giant Knights have a different nature than the armed forces under other legion commanders.

The immortal unit led by Artkhan, the Archduke of Dirge, who belongs to the Commander of the Dead, is still infamous.

They are literally the face of the Commander of the Dead's army.

But the Giant Knights are different.

Like the cautious and secretive Giant King.

They also meticulously hide their existence.

That's why people of the current era do not know about the Giant Knights.

The way they must fight differs depending on whether they are the Giant Knights of the Age of Calamity or the Giant Knights who have concealed their existence for 5,000 years since then.

Leo, who was looking at the Giant Knights, spotted a demon on the shoulder of the giant leading the vanguard.

'The Knight Commander, Nareda.'

A demon called the Giant King's left arm.

She was the opposite of Giganto, the assault commander of the legion, who was another confidant of the Giant King.

Giganto is a demon who charges, overestimating his own strength.

Conversely, the strength Nareda possessed was incomparably weaker than Giganto's.

However, she was the most "Giant King-like" demon.

'Cautious and secretive.'

A commanding demon who observes her opponents and devises countless strategies.

In Tartarus, the strongest legion is the Commander of the Dead's legion.

This has been an unchanging fact throughout history for thousands of years.

However, during the Age of Calamity.

The legion that destroyed the most nations was the Giant King's legion.

'The most troublesome demon to deal with.'

Tsk- Leo clicked his tongue.

Whoosh-!

"Oppa Leo!"

Chelsea flew onto the castle wall with a gust of wind.

"Chelsea, get ready. From now on…"

"Oppa Leo! We're going to destroy the legion's records!"

"What?"

Leo's expression turned flustered at Chelsea's words.

Arga's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?"

"Literally."

Chelsea, with a determined expression, bit her lip and looked straight into Leo's eyes.

"…"

Leo closed his eyes as he looked into Chelsea's eyes.

"My role is to buy time while you attack, right?"

"…Yes."

Chelsea replied with difficulty and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry… Oppa Leo. We…"

"Don't be sorry."

Leo said firmly.

"You're right, Chelsea. I was wrong."

He just lacked courage.

Past comrades.

Or the future.

They couldn't be placed on the same scale of weight.

'If it were Rishinas, she wouldn't have made such a mistake.'

She would have corrected my wrong choice.

Just like the current Chelsea.

"Arga. You stay here with me."

"Okay."

Arga nodded with a bewildered expression.

As Chelsea turned to leave, seeing Leo.

"Chelsea."

"Yes?"

"Please."

"Okay! You too, Oppa Leo!"

Chelsea nodded with a determined face and left the castle wall.

Leo grabbed his cloak and looked up at the sky.

"It's heavy. Being a leader."

"Of course it's heavy."

Arga, with his arms crossed, nodded emphatically.

"So lean on me when it's tough! We're comrades!"

"What I'm carrying is quite heavy?"

"I am the successor of Lord Arion! I can support you!"

Arga puffed out his chest and said proudly.

Arga took a step forward.

"And. I'm not the only one, right? There are many comrades! Black Rabbit. You don't have to carry it alone!"

In the past.

Leo nodded, looking at Arga, who resembled someone who had given him courage in the past.

"That's right."

Thump-

Leo stood beside Arga and drew his sword.

Whoosh-!

Fostelitas.

The sword, bearing the name of the future, revealed itself to the world.

"You don't have to carry it alone."

***

"Everyone move! Head to the shelter!"

Ennigha shouted urgently.

The assault was entrusted to Arhi's party.

Those within the world of heroes cannot go to the center of the dungeon.

Upon hearing this, Ennigha decided to block the Giant King's army with Kanea.

Before that, the non-combatants of Eibaldi needed to be sent to a safe place.

Under Ennigha's guidance, the remaining inhabitants of Eibaldi, excluding the combatants, began to move to the shelter in a hurry.

"Kanea! Gather the warrior candidates!"

"Yes, yes!"

At Ennigha's words, Kanea, who had been helping the residents evacuate, disappeared into the crowd in a hurry.

A moment later.

Led by Kanea, Dit and the warrior candidates rushed over.

Seeing the candidate warriors, Ennigha clenched his fist.

The instructor of the warrior candidates was none other than Ennigha.

To Ennigha, these were also his students.

He knew that such a moment would come.

But he had resolved to have it come as late as possible.

'It means we no longer have any more time allowed.'

Ennigha calmed his trembling voice and opened his mouth.

"Kids."

"Yes, Ennigha-nim."

"…Are you ready to die?"

What could be more miserable than an adult asking children such a question?

In response to Ennigha's question, Kanea and Dit, who had been silent, raised their weapon-wielding hands high.

"Waaaaaaaahhhhh!"

At the shouts of the two, the warrior candidates behind them also let out shouts.

Waaaaaahhhhh-!

Amidst the echoing shouts, Ennigha took a deep breath and turned around.

"Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Ennigha and the warrior candidates, and finally, all the warriors of Eibaldi gathered on the castle wall.

Watching them, Nareda, who was on the shoulder of a giant demon, chuckled.

"It seems unexpectedly interesting. Killing again those whom we annihilated 5,000 years ago."

"It will be a joyous hunt."

"Right?"

Nareda patted the shoulder of the demon she was riding and looked at the castle wall.

"So that's Leo Flov and Ar Tune, the successors to the heroes and champions who survived."

Nareda already knew the enemy's information thoroughly.

Her gaze, which had been examining Ar with interest, turned to Leo.

The moment Nareda's eyes met Leo's, her face stiffened slightly.

"No, wait a moment."

A human with white hair and red eyes.

She had long since grasped his appearance, having watched him from the moment he showed promise as a hero candidate.

However, this was her first time seeing him in person.

Therefore, she felt a distinctly different aura from the appearance she had seen through magic.

And she felt a question.

Even if the enemy they had to defeat was one of the great heroes, Deweno.

This was a battle they had won.

Of course, capturing him was the objective, but she also questioned the need to bring in the core forces of the legion.

However, she dismissed such doubts.

The will of the legion's master must be absolutely obeyed.

Doubts are not tolerated.

"…Could it be?"

But now she had encountered the answer to that doubt.

Whooosh-!

Leo, standing on the castle wall and gazing at the Giant King's army, turned his gaze toward the castle wall.

Despite the seemingly hopeless size of the Giant King's army, not a single person showed fear.

"Hem hem! Good! Then shall I step forward nowwwwwwww?!"

Leo grabbed Ar's tail as Ar straightened his neck and advanced.

"Wait."

"Why?"

"Your howling doesn't just summon beastmen."

"Then?"

"It has the role of giving courage to allies when their morale is low."

"So shouldn't you step forward now?"

"Does it look like our side's morale is low to you?"

At those words, Ar looked at his allies.

"Uh, no."

"Your howling is a trump card to be used when the tide of battle has turned."

"A, a trump card?"

Leo chuckled, seeing Ar's bewildered expression, and said.

"Courage isn't what's needed now."

"Then? Do we just fight?"

"That's not it. There's something we need to engrave upon the enemy."

"What is it?"

Leo, standing on the castle wall, leaving Ar with a puzzled expression behind him, answered briefly.

"Fear."

"Huh?"

Ar looked bewildered.

Anyone could see that the current situation was clearly disadvantageous to their allies.

How could they instill fear in the enemy in such a situation?

'No matter how much of a Black Rabbit, isn't this too much?'

Whooosh-

A lifeless wind blew, scattering Leo's hair.

With emotionless eyes, Leo on the castle wall gazed at the Giant King's army.

Even for Leo, instilling fear in the entire Giant King's legion was impossible.

However.

'There must be some who survived since the Age of Calamity.'

If so, it is possible to instill fear through them.

Just as Erebus is an object of hatred and a symbol of absolute fear for the inhabitants of the land.

There is a being of fear for the demons who have existed since the Age of Calamity.

A being who has slain an unimaginable number of demons and piled mountains of demon corpses wherever he passed.

Gooooooohhhh-!

As Leo spread his palm, a gray magic circle appeared in the air.

Upon seeing it, the face of one of the Giant Knights turned pale with fear.

"Th-that is…"

"What is it?"

A demon who had recently become a member of the Giant Knights looked bewildered, seeing one who had lived for a long, long time gripped by fear.

"To be engulfed in fear by a mere magic circle. Someone who has borne the name of the Giant Knights for thousands of years is acting disgracefully."

In the distant past.

One member of the Giant Knights who had not seen this magic snorted.

Neither the demons of the distant past nor the demons of the current era know.

They only know that he is an impious being who killed a god.

That is why they can only hate him.

For the demons who survived the Age of Calamity, he is a hateful being and simultaneously a being of fear whose name is difficult to even utter.

"The Hero of Beginning… Kyle!"

CRASH-!

All the demons and monsters beneath the magic circle were crushed.

Red lumps of flesh and blood flowed.

The legion's advance halted for a moment.

The allies were also stunned by the scene before them.

Whooosh-

The wind blew.

Everyone on the battlefield focused their attention on the person with white hair.

"Hoho?"

The Giant King, who was standing at the rear of the legion, let out an exclamation of admiration and curled the corners of his mouth.

Looking at the Giant King, Leo said.

"Your tiresome life also ends here. Gias."