Chapter 327:

Chapter 327:

Lean swung his sword.

A golden blade of energy soared high into the sky and slashed down at Georen’s chest.

Georen raised his left arm to block it.

Lean’s blade could not cut through Georen’s arm, but he noticed something different in his eyes.

‘He’s starting to defend himself.’

Georen had taken all the attacks with his bare body until now.

He was confident that his solid flesh could repel any attack from a Guard warrior.

But ever since Frechen wounded his ankle, Georen had become more cautious.

‘Georen’s regeneration is slower than the other frost giants.’

The frost giants’ bodies were made of ice, which could heal quickly. But Georen’s flesh was different.

The cracks on his wounded parts were getting bigger.

His surface was hard, but once it broke, his body became unstable.

Lean realized Georen’s weakness and intensified his attack.

‘I can’t aim for his wounded ankle. He’s desperately protecting it.’

Then he had to make another wound on Georen’s body.

He didn’t know if he could do it. But Frechen did it before he died.

Lean saw hope in that.

Just like Frechen, he also had to infuse his will into his sword.

Lean increased his heat against Georen.

‘Push him back.’

A dazzling golden light filled his vision.

He pushed away the cold air with his hot breath and swung his sword more times than ever.

He couldn’t let Georen swing his frost sword again. If he did, their defeat would be certain.

He knew that, so he attacked Georen relentlessly.

He needed more will, stronger will.

He had to keep his mind from breaking.

His body was pushed to the limit and craved oxygen. His mouth tasted blood. But Lean didn’t stop.

He didn’t want to stop anymore. He didn’t want to lose anyone else.

Even if he was dying soon, he would swing his sword until the end.

***

“Wow.”

“He’s getting stronger.”

Some of the survivors who were escorting Frechen’s corpse to the rear were speechless at the sight of Lean pushing back Georen.

It seemed like a lie that he had been knocked down by one blow from Georen just a moment ago.

Lean was swinging his sword at a terrifying speed.

“Stop staring and move!”

Yu-hyun’s shout snapped them back to reality.

The remaining people clenched their teeth and joined the defense line of the main force.

“Kaira!”

“Kaira!”

Ringug and Bella greeted Yu-hyun.

They were happy that Yu-hyun was still alive, but their faces darkened when they saw Frechen’s corpse with closed eyes.

“Frechen... He went peacefully.”

Bella muttered with a complex emotion in her voice as she looked at Frechen’s face.

She knew that Frechen was not treated well in Guardian. But she couldn’t see him as a villain.

He was just a self-willed man, but also a passionate one.

What did that bastard see at the end? In this frozen world, did he see the edge of the land of salvation?

Maybe there was her husband, waiting for her anxiously?

She clenched her teeth and tightened her grip on her hammer.

This was not the time to indulge in such thoughts.

There were still frost giants around them.

“The rune stones are running low. If this goes on, our front line will collapse in no time.”

“At least Lean is pushing back Georen for now. But I don’t know how long this will last...”

Lean was squeezing out his power to the maximum right now.

He didn’t think he could sustain this for long, and Georen was still intact.

They had barely improved their hopeless situation from 6 to 4.

And that was with them being 4, and they couldn’t hold on for much longer either.

As soon as Lean’s struggle ended, the situation would plummet again.

‘Is there no way?’

There was no future unless Lean awakened his full power as a candidate.

But to do that, he needed the key sword.

The only way he could get stronger without the key sword was to swing his sword with his will in a critical moment, like Frechen did.

In fact, Lean was gradually imitating Frechen’s process.

He saw how Frechen swung his axe.

How he used his energy, how he unleashed his aura, how he spat out his will.

Lean didn’t miss any of his movements.

The explosive golden blade of energy began to stabilize.

He said he wanted to tell him this, and Gondulbor said to Yu-hyun.

“You taught me strictly. You told me to use this power to help people and for the world. I didn’t listen to you and ran wild on my own. No, I just survived because I had this power. But Master, I guess I was your disciple after all.”

At the last moment, Gondulbor threw away everything he had and went to war.

He squeezed out all the magic he had and fought against the frost giants, saving people.

His master’s words remained as regret in one corner of his heart.

But he finally finished it.

Gondulbor smiled faintly.

“It’s not a bad feeling to fight for someone else, as you said.”

“Gondulbor...”

“Maybe if I knew this sooner, things would have been different then. I’m sorry for being a disgraceful disciple. That was my regret. But I wanted to show you a better side of me.”

“...No. Gondulbor.”

Yu-hyun smiled at him, forcing his lips up.

“You are my proud disciple.”

“...Haha. Thank you.”

Gondulbor laughed weakly and closed his eyes comfortably.

He no longer gasped for breath, nor suffered in pain.

Gwooooh.

He heard a sound.

Yu-hyun turned his head.

The frost giants who regenerated their bodies were getting up one by one.

On the other hand, the Gardians warriors were still unconscious.

They would all die if the frost giants got up completely. He had to stop them before that.

‘Grandpa Gondulbor. Rest in peace.’

Yu-hyun laid his body on the ground and drew his sword and ran toward the frost giants.

He had to get rid of as many frost giants as possible while his body was still intact.

That way he could save more people.

Pahat!

After Yu-hyun left, Ringug, who had been unconscious, opened his eyes, trembling at his fingertips.

‘What happened?’

He barely lifted his upper body and found Gondulbor lying nearby.

“Grandpa? Grandpa Gondulbor. Wake up.”

He crawled over to him and shook his shoulder, but Gondulbor did not open his eyes.

He would have shouted something in annoyance as usual, but he was quiet now. Ringug shook Gondulbor several times to wake him up.

Thud.

“Ringug. Stop it.”

“Mrs. Bella...”

“The mage is dead.”

“...”

Ringug could not answer Bella’s words.

He thought that someone would die in this war.

He even prepared himself for the possibility that it might be him, thinking that there was no war without sacrifice.

But the actual war was more terrible than he expected.

Every time someone he remembered died, Ringug felt like his heart was being torn out.

He couldn’t laugh and chat with them anymore.

That fact brought him a great sense of loss.

“Hender was right.”

“...”

“There is no honor or glory.”

Tears flowed down Ringug’s eyes.

“It’s too painful and hard for those who are left behind.”

“But... we have no choice but to fight.”

Bella grabbed a hammer that fell on the floor in her right hand and a double-edged axe in her left hand.

The owner of the axe stained with blood, where did he go and what dreams did he have?

But there was no time to question such things.

The war had begun, and in the end they had to swing their weapons until the last moment.

This was not a fight for honor and glory anymore.

This was a struggle for survival of their kind.

Then the frost giants lying on the ground began to show strange behavior.

Rather than approaching the people who fell nearby, they slowly gathered together.

Before they could shout anything at that strange sight, the flesh of the frost giants who gathered together merged into one.

The normal size of a frost giant was 5-7m.

But he, the one who just revealed himself, was huge enough to be 30m.

“Ha, haha.”

One of the Gardians warriors who regained consciousness laughed bitterly at the sight.

“How can we win against this?”

Large frost giants began to rise from everywhere.

With greater despair.