Chapter 125: The Great Northern War (2)

The news about the great war in the North began to spread in the Empire. 

The one who started it were the dark elves. 

The Lion Family Head, the Northern Commander and the Northeast Commander, these three master level beings stood against the fallen forest’s great spirit of the evil god, the contaminated keeper, and the brainwashed Forest Maw, these three beings that suddenly appeared in the forest.

Just like in the East where they had summoned the devil god’s apostle, the dark elves had also called for the high-leveled fallen beings of the forest. The dark elves had corrupted the spirit king who dreamt of becoming a great spirit. They also contaminated the forest keeper who tried to save the spirit king and turned it into a slave of the void. They had also turned the divine beast, who was in the form of a mountain turtle, who loved the forest dearly and turned it into the fallen Forest Maw. All three of these creatures were the very worst among all of the dark elves' creations that they had made through their manipulation. These three were the strongest of their creations and even a master couldn’t deal with one alone. After all, they were the creatures that they invested almost all of their time and efforts in. 

[ The Northern Coalition’s Crisis! ]

This article in the newspaper had spread all over the capital. 

With the sudden appearance of three master-level beings, the entire Northern region began to tremble in anxiety. It seemed like a crisis had truly fallen over the Northern Coalition, who they had thought were smooth sailing their way through the war. 

Although they had asked for help from the Capital, it was already nigh impossible to send them help. After all, they were already unable to cover for themselves. In the end, they were still able to maintain some sort of balance against the contaminated beings that the dark elves had summoned by pouring and using all of their main forces’ power. However, the problem was the dark elves. According to their current information, the head of the dark elves was a master-class being. In addition, all of the dark elves had extraordinary talents. It would be extremely hard to deal with the dark elves with just their remaining troops. 

Just then, the users began to gather one by one to hunt around the Northern Forest.

The users with their own unique abilities were able to gain some sort of power from this place as they began to ‘hunt’ the dark elves with much stronger combat skills and abilities. And with the appearance of ‘The Chosen Ones’, victory gradually tilted towards the side of the Northern Coalition. Of course, those who had made contracts with the devil had also appeared to fight against these chosen ones. This made the tide of the battle in the Northern Forest return to some sort of limbo where they could not determine who would win or who would lose.

Nevertheless, the situation of the Northern Coalition was still starting to get better. 

They did not know how they found out, but the users were able to dig up information about the dark elves which made it easier for them to target and kill them. 

“Stop them from running away!”

“This is very different from the records? What kind of power is that?”

“Stop them first!”

“Dodge the arrows and rush forward! Most of them are weak in close combat! Let’s surround them and beat them to a pulp!”

Plenty of users flocked to hunt a single dark elf. 

They targeted the weakness of the dark elves, who were close to assassins in terms of skills. They also set fire and set off flash bombs to prevent them from hiding under the darkness as much as possible before isolating a dark elf. Then, they would start their hunt. Although they suffered casualties during the process, the users never gave up as they killed them one by one. 

There might not be any treasures in the North like in the East, but there was one reason why the users were flocking to the North to hunt the dark elves. 

‘Dark Elf Hunter.’

This was because they were able to receive and make an achievement right away. The effects of the achievement ‘Dark Elf Hunter’ differ from person to person but there was one common effect across users. It gave additional damage against forces from the void and darkness. In addition, if the user was not a hero, then the achievement would turn into a title. If it was a title and it was the user’s one and only title, the effect would be strengthened.

Most of the users who flocked to the North were those who did not have any title as of yet. For the users, there was no better effect than the effect of this title since they were sure that they would continue to fight against beings who had fallen and had been contaminated by the void. 

They hunted the dark elves to get this title in consideration for their future. And if they continued to participate in the Northern War, then they were most likely going to receive greater achievements by the end of it all. 

In other words, the achievements alone were enough for the users to come to the North. The fact that the dark elves had weapons, clothes and supplies were just additional. They were all rare and could be used as they were or probably remodeled and sold at a hefty price. That was the main reason why they were hell-bent on hunting the dark elves.

“What a pity.”

Iron looked at the dark elf that he had just killed in disappointment. 

The achievement ‘Dark Elf Hunter’ that the users received had a very useful achievement effect. However, it did not appear for Iron no matter how many he killed. After all, he had already received far greater achievements by killing the dark elves and destroying their plans in the Winter Mountains.

Besides, if he got greedy for such an achievement while having the stigmata, he would just be really stepping into his own grave. So he decided to stop.

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

Lintel suddenly popped up beside Iron as he spoke to him. 

Right now, Iron was the most important person on the battlefield. Since the core figure of the great Northern war had come forward, the Ghosts had no choice but to keep up and match his pace to protect him. 

They might not know what they would do if the dark elves suddenly appeared in this situation when Crimson was not around. After all, both the commanders and the Lion Family Head were busy fighting against the fallen ancient beings. 

“I came here to test something.”

Iron looked at the forest with regret as he said that. He stared at the huge black tree in the distance before speaking to Lintel again. 

“I think that black tree is getting darker?” 

“Huh? Now that I look at it, yeah. I think so too.” 

Iron’s expression hardened at Lintel’s confirmation. 

He thought that their side might get the advantage over time because the dark elves were in confusion but it seemed like that wasn’t the case at all.

If he was really a risk that could cause a crisis, the head of the dark elves would have long gone after him. The fact that the head of the dark elves and their main force were still guarding the world tree meant that they were buying more time. Iron and the executives knew this. They also knew that they wouldn’t be able to get in easily. 

“Is it a good sign that the black tree is getting darker?” 

“I’m afraid… we need to make a solution soon.” 

Lintel sighed at Iron’s words. 

“Isn’t the situation too shitty?” 

Iron smiled bitterly at Lintel. 

The reason why the dark elves did not appear despite Iron baiting them and appearing in dangerous places meant that they were buying time as they guarded the world tree. The dark elves could also probably have fallen into a crisis because the users had joined the fray. It could be one or the other. But whatever their situation was, it was time for them to move instead of staying stagnant in this place.

When Iron had conveyed these thoughts to Caeden Wall, the commander of the Vanguard Corps, he nodded in agreement. Anyway, a war in the long-term was completely impossible with the North’s situation. So, they had to grasp this opportunity well and finally determine who would win and who would lose.

“Call all of the soldiers. We will determine who wins and loses once the sun rises tomorrow.” 

The officers began to move in earnest at Caeden’s orders. 

Seeing them move, Iron also hurriedly went to the communication officer to contact someone. 

At Caeden’s orders, the Northeastern Army began to move. And the Northern Army also began to move and follow their steps. Even territorial allied forces began to move under the leadership of Olan and Kate. It could be said that almost the entire Northern Coalition moved for the final battle. 

Caeden looked at the forest under the night sky as he prepared for the battle.

The forest near the world tree. That would be their final battlefield. 

“We can do it.” 

Caeden mumbled to himself as he continued to gaze at the forest. 

They were able to reach the vicinity of the world tree with Iron’s help. If they do well, they would probably be able to arrive within the day. 

The reason why they couldn’t enter the forest was because Iron’s holy power couldn’t purify it completely but it was not the time for them to fuss about that. 

On the day that they decided to risk it all and enter the forest where the world tree was, the commanders and the Lion Family Head were informed of the state of their operation. 

Perhaps heaven helped them? 

Or maybe it was because of the users’ activities?

A large number of dark elves’ el began to move. With the death of their reconnaissance team, some of the elites of the dark elves began to move to stop the users.

“It’s most likely a trap but…”

“There’s no turning back now.”

Caeden smiled bitterly when Iron answered him like that.

They could see the dark elves’ tricks clearly.

Unless they were fools, the dark elves would definitely know that they were preparing for an all-out war with their movements. Deliberately making a gap in such a situation meant that they were telling them to come quickly. Or perhaps it was just that they were confident enough to win despite taking out some of their elites. 

Even though they knew this, they still had to move. As time passed by, the black tree grew increasingly darker which turned the air that they breathe into this disgusting and contaminated air. To prevent this from worsening any further, they had to move. They had to move before everything was too late. 

Vwooooooo!

The blare of the horns and the trumpets rang loudly as soon as the sun rose signalling the troops that it was time for them to move.

The Drake Unit and the Airship Unit also began to rain down bombs as they assisted the moving troops. The wizards also began casting their large-scale magic as they fired their flame and lightning magic. They intended to burn down the entire forest and clear the way. 

Bang, bang, bang!

The large explosions shook the ground and completely overturned the contaminated land. 

Black fog began to stretch out and devour the soldiers that moved to enter the forest. 

Then, at that moment, the stigmata on Iron’s chest glowed brightly as it began to purify and erase the unclean things that surrounded them. 

Since it was difficult to purify the entire forest, he thought that he should at least purify the fog. He practiced non-stop ever since they stopped their advance to control his power and was fortunately able to achieve some results from his hard work. 

“Stop them at the front! Pierce through to the world tree!” 

At Caeden’s orders, the knights took the lead and cut through the front as the soldiers blocked and killed the monster plants in their formation.

Contaminated tree roots would approach the soldiers from time to time but they were easily cut off each time with weapons that had been doused in holy water. 

After they found out that Iron’s overwhelming holy power was limited to only a few large-scale battles, they found a way where they did not need to completely depend on Iron’s holy power. With the help of the priests, they added buffs and amplified their weapons and armors by dousing them with holy water and holy power. This way, Iron would not need to ‘clean’ everything by himself while maintaining the sanctuary. And they have succeeded with this strategy so far. 

Literally ‘so far’. 

Baaaang!

“Keuk!” 

Carl Gustav hurriedly swung his sword at the powerful arrow that was coming their way. Even Iron slashed his sword with all his might. But even if they did their best, Gustav still received injuries from this single attack. It was so powerful that two 6th Stage warriors were forced to take a step back. 

“Tch! Is this it?” 

Caeden clicked his tongue. 

He thought that they would be able to cover a lot of distance since they had the advantage with their long-distance artillery and soldiers equipped with rifles. He wanted to take advantage of the distance between their armies and move forward little by little while whittling the numbers of the dark elves, but the master-level figure suddenly appeared. What was worse was the fact that he was an archer who could attack from a long-distance with his arrow that was at a level that was similar to a bomb. 

In this situation, the distance was no longer an advantage for the Northern Coalition. 

“Prepare to charge!” 

The knight orders immediately prepared to charge forward while the rangers went into the forest to clear the way. Although there would be a lot of sacrifices in the process, they had no choice but to do it.

He had no choice but to order his men to attack even at the risk of having huge sacrifices. At the same time, Iron and the other troops also advanced quickly. 

More arrows flew in Iron’s direction. Caeden and the other corps commanders took turns blocking the arrows as they moved forward. Iron also summoned his divine beasts as they began their march. The divine beasts were in charge of keeping the dark elves in check as they moved forward. 

As the 6th Stage group advanced forward while protecting Iron, the head of the dark elves, who was hiding up until now, suddenly appeared. After all, there was no point in hiding when Phoenix had razed the forest down to the ground while Two Moons swept and caused chaos in the dark elves’ corps. 

“God’s apostle… you will die here today.” 

The eyes of the head of the dark elves turned purple as he aimed at Iron with his huge arrow created from aura. 

The corps commanders and Carl Gustav all prepared to receive this attack and fight against the head of the dark elves to protect Iron. However, the commanders couldn’t help but sweat in trepidation. The heavy momentum of the dark elf in front of them was enough to prevent the soldiers from moving. They were once again reminded of how monstrous a master was.  However, they were warriors who had reached the 6th Stage and they could not be easily frightened by just his momentum. They shouted loudly and tried to boost their own morale. 

Then, the head of the dark elves’ arrow flew in. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The warriors of the 6th Stage were pushed back by the arrow and injured one by one. But they were able to endure it. After all, its power was halved thanks to fighting in the sanctuary that Iron had created. 

The attack was powerful enough to overwhelm all of the 6th Stage warriors present even at half the power but they were still able to endure it. 

‘We can do it!’ 

When this thought flashed in Iron’s and the commanders’ heads, the being in front of them sent a more powerful attack as if he was laughing at their useless thoughts.

A huge purple arrow that was able to tear up a hole in the sanctuary flew towards Iron. 

When the thought that they could not prevent this attack flashed in their heads, a huge spear of ice suddenly flew in and clashed with the purple arrow head-on.

***

TL’s corner!

Me (who forgot what happened next while TLing late at night and being so sleepy): My goodness, what a cliffhanger. Lol. still, sorry not sorry.