The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-461

Chapter 461: Infiltration Operation at the Water Supply Area (8)

Camus began to reveal her true strength.

“I’ve been holding back a bit so the others wouldn’t feel discouraged…!”

As she released her mana, the spectral branches of the ghostwood tree started to shake.

Ghostly figures with skeletal forms moved ominously.

They swung like pendulums, resembling hanged corpses.

Each one had been a heinous criminal or a monster in life.

Woo-ooh-ooh-ooh…

Even in death, they couldn’t find peace and were being squeezed to the limit as sources of Camus’s power.

They emitted sounds like they were vomiting blood.

“Let’s show them what we’ve got this time!”

Camus drew dozens of magic circles in the air simultaneously.

Each one was a powerful fire or iron spell.

…Boom-boom-boom!

Surface-to-air guided missiles that would chase their targets to the end.

Massive iron spikes erupted from the ground, engulfed in flames, and soared into the sky before crashing down on their targets.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

The ground tore and twisted as countless pillars of fire erupted.

A massive earthquake accompanied by mushroom-shaped clouds of dirt billowed into the sky.

But Camus wasn’t the only one in action.

“I’ll show you demons the fearsome power of human capitalism.”

Sinclaire, a woman who became the world’s richest person by ascending to the head of a bourgeois clan.

She took out her ‘Money Hat.’

The hat awakened, revealing its hidden unique ability.

Clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink-clink…

An enormous quantity of gold coins began to pour out of the hat.

It was an inventory ability that could store unlimited amounts of money.

“Remember this money? It’s the legacy Belial left behind.”

Money is power. Wasn’t that Belial’s motto?

As Sinclaire drew on the mana amplified by her immense wealth, the gold coins from the hat gathered and transformed.

[Wooo-oooh!]

A giant golem made of gold rose behind Sinclaire.

It was as large as a massive building, mimicking Sinclaire’s every movement.

…Boom! Thud! Crack!

The golden golem raised its heavy fists and began to strike its targets.

It was a sight that vividly expressed the terror of extreme materialism.

“Wow, they’re really in another class.”

“It’s hard to believe we’re peers.”

“Ugh! I need to find what I can do too!”

“The only way to catch up is relentless training.”

Tudor, Figgy, Sancho, and Bianca watched from afar, amazed by the explosive power of Camus and Sinclaire.

Meanwhile, Dolores expanded the holy barrier, pushing back the enemies in the rear.

“We have to hold out until Vikir arrives!”

With Camus and Sinclaire showing unexpected combat prowess, there was hope.

Watching the ground shatter and explode in real time, it almost seemed like they might be able to hunt the demon without Vikir.

…But that hope was soon proven to be too optimistic.

[Heheh- The youth these days are so energetic. There’s no room for an old man to step in.]

Through the rising mushroom clouds, a figure emerged.

He was no longer Hopps de Reviadon.

His face transformed into a beast’s, a mane dark as night, eyes burning like sulfuric flames, and holding a long spear in his hand.

[‘Second Corpse’ Phlorosya]

Danger Level: S+

Size: ?

Discovery Location: Depths of the Gate of Doom, ‘Womb of the Serpent’

– Also known as the ‘Second Corpse.’

One of the ten disasters, Phlorosya, known as humanity’s arch-enemy, enigmatic and immortal.

“I will turn water into blood.”

– 『Decalogue』 10: Upper –

The Second Corpse, one of the key figures leading the Era of Destruction, had emerged.

Phlorosya brushed off the flames on his skin and spoke.

[The ghostwood, it’s been a while. It would make a perfect shaft for my spear.]

With that, Phlorosya raised his spear.

The blade of the spear was made of two serpents that seemed alive.

The shaft was made of a withered tree branch, which Dolores recognized instantly.

“Abyss Tree!”

[Heheh- That’s right. It’s the tree Amdusias cherished.]

Phlorosya swung his spear, sweeping away the golden waves.

Two snakes intertwined at the demon’s spearhead.

They were the same snakes that had spread the Red Death.

“Is that the artifact that causes the Red Death?”

Tudor, who had lost his father to the plague, was enraged.

Boom!

With all his strength, Tudor kicked off the ground and thrust Gungnir forward.

A slashing attack like a tidal wave crashed towards Phlorosya.

Phlorosya whistled and tilted his head to the side.

[Oh- This must be the body Chimera was searching for. Not bad.]

Tudor’s attack missed by a hair’s breadth.

And the cost of that miss was more than just a paper-thin margin.

Thud-

The spear Ouroboros struck Gungnir, forcibly altering its trajectory.

In that instant, the two snakes slithered in and pinned Tudor’s neck to the ground.

“Urgh!?”

Tudor coughed up blood and rolled on the ground.

It all happened in a single strike.

“Tudor!”

Bianca immediately readied her bow.

A powerful shot aimed at Phlorosya’s head as she rushed forward.

Thud-

The arrow struck the center of Phlorosya’s face with a dull noise, and Bianca quickly helped Tudor to his feet.

But Tudor’s face had turned pale.

“Bianca! Behind you!”

“!?”

Bianca turned to see Phlorosya smiling, biting the arrowhead.

[This must be the body Andrealphus wanted. Why were they in such a hurry…?]

Phlorosya reached out both hands towards Tudor and Bianca.

[I’ll turn both of you into loyal servants of the Demonic Legion, continuing the will of our comrades… huh!?]

But Phlorosya’s words were cut off.

Slash-

A thin slash flew by, grazing Phlorosya’s cheek.

[……]

Despite maintaining a calm demeanor during Camus and Dolores’s combined assault, Phlorosya, for some reason, took two steps back.

And in front of him stood an unexpected figure.

Figgy.

Despite trembling, he stood before his friends.

“Stay away from my friends!”

Figgy swung his sword, unleashing a powerful aura.

Having survived the Colosseo Academy and the harsh world, his aura had grown strong, blowing like a fierce wind.

There was something special about Figgy’s slash.

He had coated the tip of his sword with his own blood.

[……! ……! ……!]

Phlorosya frowned as numerous small cuts appeared on his forearm.

[I see. An abnormal body, and a closed type at that. No wonder ‘he’ was so averse to it.]

Phlorosya’s previously calm expression changed.

[To encounter such a unique body right before the great task. It was worth abandoning the civil war and coming here.]

The demon’s terrifying eyes fixed on Figgy.

“Eeek!”

Figgy trembled but did not retreat.

Phlorosya’s hand slowly reached for Figgy.

At that moment.

“Figgy! Get back!”

“Retreat! Something’s off!”

Tudor and Bianca grabbed Figgy’s arms and pulled him back immediately.

Tudor’s spear and Bianca’s shot deflected Phlorosya’s hand.

As they pulled Figgy back, Tudor and Bianca spoke.

“It seems like he’s targeting you.”

“Yeah, I sensed it from the Abyss tree incident. There’s definitely something special about you.”

Quick-witted Tudor and Bianca had been protecting Figgy from the start.

“Uh? Guys, I’m not that special…”

“Just retreat for now!”

A massive axe came flying, aimed at Phlorosya.

Sancho pulled Tudor, Bianca, and Figgy back together.

And in front of them, Camus and Sinclaire’s bombardment fell.

…Boom-boom-boom!

Phlorosya extended his spear to fend off the combined attack from Camus and Sinclaire.

[Annoying pests.]

But Phlorosya couldn’t afford to be completely relaxed.

…Blaze!

Camus and Sinclaire’s bombardment now carried a different aura.

It was the Holy Radiance, a blessing directly cast by Dolores.

With the saint’s buff, Camus and Sinclaire’s flames took on a divine power, burning away the Red Death.

Finally, Phlorosya’s expression hardened.

[Truly annoying. It’s best to eliminate this nuisance here and now, before things get out of hand.]

Phlorosya’s spear first aimed at Camus.

[I’ll start with the most troublesome one…]

The two snake heads on the spear exuded a malevolence that no ordinary human could withstand.

Boom-boom-boom!

A dark red storm arose, sweeping everything around.

Fragments of shattered aura and poison tore through and burned everything in their path.

“Ugh!?”

Camus gritted her teeth as the ghostwood shook violently.

Had it not yet taken deep enough root in the mental world?

It seemed it needed more time to reach the stature of a giant tree.

Crackle – crackle –

She hastily created a shield but couldn’t block all the impact.

Her thick cloak of blood-threaded fabric started to burn away, exposing her skin.

Despite drawing as much mana as she could, it was insufficient to withstand the concentrated power of Phlorosya alone.

“Camus!?”

Her comrades rushed towards her but were blocked by the poison humans.

In a moment of desperation, Camus gritted her teeth.

They had fought so hard to reach the water source area, yet there was no water.

She had felt death looming over her from that moment.

From a certain point, she had sensed the threshold of death in her vision.

‘…Is this the end?’

Camus swallowed back the blood rising in her throat and thought.

Slowly, strength left her. Her body was beginning to collapse.

Just as she was about to fall to her knees,

Flap-

A dark cloak covered Camus’s nearly bare body.

“Heh~ A nostalgic scene.”

And standing before her was a black knight.

“…Ah.”

Camus let out a faint groan.

Even as her vision blurred, the face of this man remained clear.

Vikir. The Night Hound.

He was now baring his fangs at Phlorosya.