Awakening the Great Bloodline Chapter 162

Chapter 162: The Oath in The Sunset

"Heave-ho!"

Thwack, crash—

The soldiers swung their hamrs and struck down the stele. Thanks to the priests' prior purification, only stone dust flew—the dark sorcery did not lash out. As the stone pillar crumbled and dusty powder scattered through the air, eyes that had been shrinking with fear now burned hot. Comfortable sighs, natural coughs, and brief laughter wrapped around the battlefield.

But the Mountain Rabbits were the sa from beginning to end.

Romance and Kotchap stitched their torn boots with thread, muttering,

"Only the living patch their holes."

Dwarf Basim picked up every broken spear shaft and handed it to whoever was nearby, calling each one the property of 'The Surging Fool'.

Through blood and ash, jokes and curses flew as they always did. Strangely, it was precisely that fact which put people at ease. Suppressed emotions burst forth here and there.

At that, Volga's eyes went wide as he cried out.

"Old man…… What in the world are you wearing?"

Gregor shrugged.

Over a Niborian breastplate sat a gauntlet from the Elvra Holy Empire, an old shield engraved with the Silver Shield Legion's crest, a chainmail gifted by a rcenary, and a faceguard of unknown origin—countless factions hung jumbled together on a single man.

"It is a symbol of the Alliance!"

The old man's booming laughter rumbled and echoed against the faceguard. Yelayen saw the sight and smiled softly.

"Truly, the master of Calix."

Calix heard those words and smiled quietly. A trace of fatigue showed on his face. Yet even amid the lingering sll of blood and smoke, his breath was calm. That single smile eased the mood of the soldiers around him as well.

The nobles, too, exchanged glances among themselves. Those who had previously clustered loosely around the high-ranking nobles found themselves drifting toward the Mountain Rabbits the more battles they fought through. What they had seen and experienced with their own eyes had changed them.

Soon, banners of different crests fluttered in the wind. The Allied Forces marched through and across the southern reaches of Elvra.

Though the blood from one skirmish after another never had ti to dry, the unsettled air settled, and all eyes were turned in the sa direction.

* * *

As the evening sun tilted westward.

Calix walked through the temporary encampnt, making his way toward his tent. The soldiers sat about eating simple als. Fatigue was etched on every face, yet a few bumped shoulders and traded jokes. It was a brief catching of breath.

Inside the tent, the key personnel had already gathered. Captain Royce stood before the map and greeted him. Red and blue marks were densely packed across the worn paper.

"We've succeeded in securing a bridgehead. It is now ti to determine our next objective. As you know, the footholds in southern Elvra are divided into two main fronts."

His finger pointed to each in turn.

"The first is, of course, the Beacon of Souls. It is called the heart of the south and the symbol of the Order. The second is the Iron Well. It is a logistics base of the Elvra Holy Empire, and a fortress now half in ruins. It has fallen into the hands of the monsters, but it will have little in the way of defenses."

Sier crossed his arms and nodded.

"The Iron Well is no more than a fortress; it is not a place where Kriya's divinity resides. The monsters would not know its value."

Dwarf Basim rubbed his palms together eagerly.

"Then we'd best strike there first. Even a thief needs an escape route."

"……"

"……What now? Did I say sothing wrong?"

Volga shot his master a look that reeked of salt, but Calix said nothing, only staring at the map. It wasn't a wrong thing to say.

"We split the forces."

At the brief decision, his gaze t Royce's.

"We strike both locations simultaneously. There's no need to give the enemy ti to prepare. We must firmly seize the south and secure the supply routes."

A mont of silence followed.

Then Sier spoke.

"If you'll allow it, I'd like to lend a hand as well."

Calix's gaze lingered on him. Sier had placed the retaking of the Beacon of Souls above all else. But this once, he set that conviction aside.

At his firm expression, Calix nodded in acceptance.

"Very well. I'll dispatch the Commander and five thousand soldiers. Please secure the Iron Well first. anwhile, the main force will occupy the passage leading to the southeast."

No one raised an objection. With the duel against 'The Surging Wall' and the string of small victories stacking up, Calix's authority hardened day by day. It was not a matter of justification—he was, in fact, leading the Allied Forces.

* * *

Dawn descended upon the plain, trailing a faint mist. The banner symbolizing the Allied Forces swayed low, soaked in dew.

Calix reined in his horse and turned to look back. In the ti that had passed, new faces had multiplied. They were survivors of the Elvra Holy Empire.

'They called themselves the Holy Knights.'

Half were gripped by fear, but the rest had joined the army vowing vengeance. And behind them stood thousands of soldiers. Their breath ran hot, and the sound of steel and the weight of military boots pressed and condensed against his ears.

Before them lay Snor Pass. A small town perched on a low hill blocked the path leading to the Beacon of Souls.

"Advance."

At the brief single word, the Mountain Rabbits were the first to charge. The rcenaries cared nothing for complex formations. Carrying worn shields and spears, rough blades in hand, they bored in relentlessly. The gates and walls had crumbled in places, making it no great difficulty to drive the monsters back.

The enemy could not mount the overwhelming nurical assault they had before. After 'The Surging Wall' was destroyed, the darkness of the region seed to scatter, as though having lost its direction.

The enemy lines held only scattered lesser corrupted, unable to even set a proper defense. After several fierce clashes, the Mountain Rabbits had opened the way inside. The infantry and cavalry followed, entering in orderly fashion.

Calix did not take the vanguard. He only stepped forward in those rare monts when a particularly powerful individual appeared.

The instant a soldier's spearpoint pierced through the enemy's flesh, dark blue flas blood from within that hide. Everyone flinched—but when Calix took one step forward, the fear died down as though snuffed out.

Slash! Thud—

The head of a great beast dropped beneath the blade. The chaos in the Core sent out a faint ripple, but his body moved faster than it could reach. Where the sword's edge had passed, shadow-dust shattered and scattered.

Rather than radiance or violent explosion, restrained power was spent precisely where it was needed.

The soldiers following behind murmured among themselves.

"……Calix, the sword of n has co!"

He had not yet reached the Master's Realm, yet there was no one to point that out. His presence alone put strength into their strides. Morale rose faster than fear could spread.

The sight within the town walls was exactly as expected.

The earth was tainted and squelched underfoot, and the handful of survivors who had been used by the wicked could barely hold themselves upright. The scars and lines on their pale faces trembled faintly. Yet at the sign of liberation, life slowly returned to their eyes alone.

But that too lasted only a mont.

"Calix! Over here!"

At Hadiya's call, Calix headed deeper into the town. Behind a crumbled stone building, beyond the cracks in the wall, scorching heat surged upward.

When Volga smashed the wall apart with his club and widened the gap, a vast hollow revealed itself.

"……What is this?"

The mont the concealed interior was exposed, a sll of blood-soaked earth seized the throat. Ragged breath crawled up through the windpipe as though gasping. Wherever the light touched, red soil was laid bare.

The walls of the pit were like those of a great jar. At the very center, a twisted, viscous mass was embedded like a sculpture. Around it, severed arms and legs had been embedded into the walls, and skulls and vertebrae were arranged as decoration.

In every corner, humans bound in iron chains. So had already drawn their last breath, but those who still clung to life writhed, letting out faint moans. They too had lost parts of their hands and legs.

The knights swallowed back their dry heaving. Even the seasoned Mountain Rabbits fell silent.

Calix slowly approached the edge of the pit. His shadow fell long and deep into the hollow within.

"Those people…… Were treated as tools. They were used as seeds to breed monsters."

Yelayen pressed down his fury and spoke in a asured voice.

"Given how long this place was occupied, it was a tragedy that could not be avoided. They create corrupted things, spread the darkness. That is their nature."

Calix's eyes wavered for a mont, then settled again.

"A sight like this is not foreign to . And yet…… It arrives with the sa weight every ti."

The mage turned his gaze toward him. Then in a low, gentle voice, he asked.

"Then what is it that you are looking at right now?"

Calix could not answer easily. He stared down into the great pit for a long while before at last opening his mouth.

"I am looking at the end. Defeating De Generitum and severing all of these chains."

Yelayen nodded. A breath of wind stirred through his white hair. But the words that followed were sowhat different.

"I was not speaking of our enemy."

While Basim and Marik searched for a way down, Yelayen continued quietly.

"A master craftsman strives to create a work that transcends the ages, and a warrior will surely seek to beco the master of the sword. But within your heart, do you not hold things that pull in different directions?"

Calix's gaze moved to him, but he furrowed his brow slightly—as if he had not fully grasped the aning.

"……You are speaking of the Core. But I wield the sword. Surely you already know that."

Yelayen said nothing and simply smiled.

"The battle with Verhas is not far off. I am a being bound to the balance of the world, and Sevi Belgrado has grown weary with the passage of ti. In a sense, this is the mont you yourself are placed upon a true proving ground."

Yet within that smile lay a faint shadow.

"Complete the Core. The answer will co naturally after that."

He said no more. He walked to the nearby Mountain Rabbits and lent his hands to the work. He moved the wind as he willed, hooking a chain ladder over a rocky ledge, and soon pulled the living up from below.

Calix turned the mage's advice over in his mind.

It would surely an lting down the other half of the Chaos Core received from the Gatekeeper. Yet sohow, he felt there was an intention within those words that he did not yet understand.

He suddenly t Adrian's gaze, but Adrian said nothing. Instead, he drew closer to the edge of the pit and laid one hand on a woman's shoulder.

Ella was staring down into the earth as though transfixed by sothing.

In her clear eyes the pit, stained with blood and darkness, was reflected. The corners of her eyes trembled faintly, and the words of prayer stopped at the edge of her lips—unable to flow outward. A short breath hissed through gritted teeth.

"……Even with the light Kriya has given, we have co to this."

A young Holy Knight standing nearby offered a careful word of comfort. Ella did not reply. Her fingertips had gone white, as though the blood no longer flowed through them.

Only the powerless fall into the hell of this world.

She had seen it. On the very land of the Elvra Holy Empire, she had branded into both her eyes the reality concealed beneath the na of the Order.

Calix ca to her side and opened his mouth, then closed it again.

In Ella's eyes there smoldered a quiet but indelible anger. When she at last let the soft prayer go still, her face was sohow different from before.

"If it cannot be stopped even in the na of God…… Then it must be stopped by human hands."

It was not that of a priest—but sothing that belonged to a warrior.

"Never again…… Will I stand by and watch."

The red of the sunset brushed Ella's shoulder and the side of Calix's face, and stained the darkness within the pit crimson.