CH 123

The aspect of this battle was no different from a war of attrition.

King Flame Behemoth, Hellkaion, was rampaging, spreading embers and sulfur fire in all directions.

He rushed here and there, biting at random, and rolling his front and hind paws to shake the ground and trample on small creatures.

Like a raging bull, the target of his attacks kept changing with distractions. This was the worst situation in which a tanker could not perform its role at all.

“Argh!”

“Heuk!”

A woman with a blonde ponytail and a brunette man were thrown in different directions.

Hellkaion’s swinging tail only brushed them, but the results were devastating.

They were among the best of the best in the Republic and the Church, respectively. Even so, the reason why they couldn’t get their game on was because of the ‘Hell Ember Counter’ debuff emitted by Hellkaion.

Right now on the battlefield, tiny sparks were floating slowly through the air like dandelion seeds.

These countless sparks polluted the sight and did not stop at interfering with the battle. It accumulated as embers in the body by entering the respiratory system or sticking to the skin and the higher the number of such counters, the more the Boss’s attacks hurts.

It was impossible to erase the abnormal status by using auxiliary skills or opposite attribute magic.

So, after fighting for about an hour, Hell Embers accumulated in each tanker’s body exceeded 10 Counters.

The title tanker was funny because now they were like glass sculptures. 

From blow to blow, they went back and forth between life and death. Healing could not be used on corpses, so the tankers had to take care of themselves and focus on defense.

Because of that, it became difficult to build up even the minimum damage necessary to attack and draw out the Boss’s attention.

Aggro was extremely unstable and dealers stopped all action early on. But the problem was Healing. Unlike dealing damage, they couldn’t help but heal.

“Hic! A-A-Another aggro went to the healer……!”

“P-Protect the White Mage……Aww!”

Healers, who were attacked by the Boss, died in vain, or the dealer, who claimed to be a shield, was victimized instead, one after the other.

However, if you don’t heal, the tanker will die, and the death of the tanker means the annihilation of the subjugation party.

Truly a bitter war of attrition.

It was an unwinnable fight. Everyone was just determined to hold out until Prince Hispenril or the Head of the Military Academy came to support as tankers.

“Shit. Ptiu-.”

Princess Marcellion, Odellit, spat bloody saliva.

While the dealers used their own bodies to make a shield to protect the White Wizard’s Unit, she also had time to reorganize.

That reorganization was……

“Ah……!”

“Cure.”

It was to violently grab the hair of a female white mage and order her to heal.

No matter how much a white mage is treated as a heal shuttle in the Magic Republic, this was an excessive treatment.

However, it was familiar to a girl with frizzy platinum hair and a scrawny body.

She was placed in the most dangerous position on the frontlines and apart from the other white wizards, to be able to heal Odellit, the Leader of the Ragneif Subjugation Squad and main tanker, at any time.

“Huh, uph……”

Hilde, with tears hanging from the pain that felt as if her scalp would be ripped off, raised her arms, and a white light formed on her trembling hands.

An unrivaled healing, even among the white wizards, permeated Odellit’s body. Her internal organs, which had been devastated, recovered quickly. 

A powerful healing skill poured into the tanker that couldn’t catch aggro properly.

Normally, this was a situation in which the Boss was provoked by white mages. However, Hilde did not attract the attention of the boss because she had a ‘threat-free’ constitution.

This was very a useful and convenient characteristic to have in the same situation as now. Odellit felt her mood improve as well as her physical condition.

But the next moment.

“Si-sister……it hurts. Please, let go…”

“……”

Odellit’s eyes looking at Hilde were filled with killing intent. 

“Shut up, lowly wench. Do you want to die?”

“So-sorry……I-I was wrong……Kyaaaagh!”

Odellit threw Hilde away like a piece of baggage.

“I’m rushing again. Even if it means cutting off your lifespan, pour heals.”

“Y-Y-Yes, p-princess.”

Odellit straightened her greatsword and glared at Hellkaion.

‘If I just catch Aggro, I can melt such an unintelligent beast monster right away with firepower.’

It was humiliating that she had to ask for help from foreign countries because of her own incompetence.

Having her lofty pride wounded, she gritted her molars.

It was then.

Odellit, who was about to rush forward, hesitated when she saw the strange behavior of the Boss.

Suddenly, Hellkaion stopped attacking and lowered his head to the ground, and he gave the impression of pulling his neck out again and lifting it.

Odellit’s eyes widened.

‘It’s a roar!’

It was a terrible attack that wiped out 20% of her troops within 10 minutes of starting the raid.

Hellkaion’s roar boils the blood and explodes the body from within.

If you get hit, you have to use one of the 3 main forces to withstand it, but it was dangerous in a state where the embers were stacking up like now.

“Sonomancer! Stop it!”

The wizards who dealt with sound hurriedly cast their magic. To prevent air as a medium from transmitting sound waves. 

However, the opponent was an SS-class boss.

6th Circle Advanced Skill or below does not work. The boss’s howl shattered the magic circles and unfolded.

<Wuooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh-!>

Continuous shockwaves hit people’s bodies.

“Cog……cough!”

The heart felt like it would explode at any moment, and instead of blood, it felt like molten iron was flowing in the veins.

The body steaming from inside out all over was not an illusion.

Odellit used magic and aura with all her might.

It was luck that she was an ice wizard and at the same time, she used an aura with a cold temperament. 

Even with more than 10 counters of Hell Embers, she endured.

However, the condition of her troops was the worst. People struggled and screamed in agony as they burned from the inside out.

The roar showed no signs of ending. When people were about to give up on holding on.

A figure crossed the battlefield.

“Sacred power enhancement. Target Stamping. Judgment Notice. Absolute execution.”

A voice chanting divine assistance skills gently rang in the air filled with chaos. After the process of increasing power to the extreme, unifying the application of the target, and lowering resistance and defense.

Squeezing everything together, the final skill was activated.

“Perform silence!”

<Whoooo, aoooh,…… ──!>

It was only an advanced skill, but it worked.

The roar stopped, and only a high-frequency sound like tinnitus echoed across the battlefield. Hellkaion, who was slow to grasp the situation as an unintelligent monster, could only croak with his mouth open.

This was good timing for a counterattack. The caster of the divine skills stretched out one hand forward and shouted.

“Pure Light.”

Faaaat– 

A flash exploded.

An ultimate skill that was strong enough to cut off other skills, hit the Boss’s eye.

When interrupted during casting the blow was fatal. As if hit by a harpoon, Hellkaion stumbled and let out bubbles from his mouth.

Kugoong!

The giant lost its balance and sank down.

Those who had barely passed the life-and-death crisis lifted their heads with difficulty and a clear voice rang in their ears once again.

“Healing Field.”

A haze of healing rose over the battlefield. Light clusters like fireflies were absorbed into people’s bodies and erased their wounds.

Odellit’s jaw dropped at the shockingly wide range of the area heal. 

‘Such divine power? Who the hell is that?’

The answer to that could be obtained through the cry of the Glorious Knights Order.

“Y-Y-Your Eminence The Holy One!”

“Your Eminence! The Holy one is here!”

“Saint!”

The last call penetrated Odellit’s mind.

‘The rumor that a Saint appeared in the kingdom not too long ago was true!’

A Saint who appeared after 200 years.

Her dignity was grandiose because she even led an escort party the size of two Orders of Knights. 

However, Odellit’s eyes, fixed on the Saint, soon grew cold.

‘Stupid.’

Is the same trouble for everyone.

<Kwuaaaaa!>

Hellkaion, whose silent debuff had been removed, rose up in anger. The glittering eyes of the beast were fixed on the Saint.

It’s a matter of course. A wide-range heal in a situation where the tanks couldn’t catch aggro was the ultimate provocation skill.

The corners of Odellit’s mouth were tinged with a blatant sneer.

Even if she is a Saint, isn’t she a little better than a healing shuttle? As expected, she only knows how to heal, that’s why she does stupid things like this.

She seemed to know the purpose of the knights she brought along.

‘Meat shields in case this happens……huh?’

At that time, a strange sight flashed in Odellit’s eyes.

<Kaaaag!>

The Saint was neither embarrassed nor intimidated by the viciously running Hellkaion.

“Holy Hymn.”

She just calmly casts a support skill on herself.

“Don’t heal. Never.”

With a voice no one could refuse, she asked for everyone’s cooperation.

The Saint stepped forward in front of Hellkaion.

As soon as Hellkaion lifted one of his front paws close to her, she swiftly took off the sword in an effortless action.

Kagagaga!

The blade carrying a pure white aura clashed with the monster’s claws.