Chapter 299: While He's Away (4)

Behind the white-haired man unfolded a scene that left ordinary people utterly bewildered. They couldn’t comprehend what had just transpired. They only saw a figure plummet from the sky, a monstrous creature that had cornered the Sword Saint and Power Star, only to be obliterated in a single strike. To make matters even more astonishing, two-thirds of the tens of thousands of demon armies had simply vanished into thin air.

This overwhelming spectacle, unprecedented in their lifetimes, left the soldiers slack-jawed, momentarily forgetting they were in the midst of battle. Jerome, Abel, and Elvis were no different.

“What just happened, Jerome?” Abel asked, her voice trembling.

“I… I don’t know,” Jerome replied, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Only Lavina, gazing at the white-haired man from a distance, blinked rapidly for a different reason.

“Nabi… this isn’t a dream, is it? That’s… that’s Louis, isn’t it?”

Nabi, carrying Lavina on her back, nodded.

Sniff…

Lavina looked down at the strange sound and saw tears welling in Nabi’s eyes.

“You’re… crying?”

Niff!

Nabi wrinkled her nose and shook her head, but she couldn’t hide her tears.

This made Lavina chuckle.

No wonder.

The news of Louis’s death had shocked more than just the people.

Nabi felt the same way.

After all, no matter what anyone said, Louis was her owner.

How could she not be overjoyed at her owner’s return to life?

Then, someone who would be even happier than anyone else at Louis’s return flashed through her mind.

Lavina smiled and looked straight ahead.

Congratulations… Tania.

Her smile grew even brighter.

Tania and Kendrick felt as if everything happening before their eyes was unreal, like a dream.

A being had suddenly appeared, sweeping away both Waldoking and the demon army. Moreover, this was someone who had been reported dead…

It was no wonder the current situation felt like a dream.

At that moment, a familiar voice came from “him.”

“What’s with these idiots? Why so quiet?”

The voice was calm, refined, and soothing, yet its tone was distinctly flippant and casual. Everything about it was exactly the same.

“T-Teacher…?”

”…Teacher?”

Tania and Kendrick asked in dazed voices.

The response was curt and annoyed.

“What?”

”…”

“Why did you call me if you have nothing to say?”

Louis’s face twisted into an irritated scowl.

“Ah…”

Tania stepped forward as if in a trance.

“Aah…”

Suddenly, she was running.

“Teacher! Teacher!”

Tanya closed the distance in an instant and threw herself into Louis’s arms.

“Teacher… Teacher…”

She called out to him repeatedly.

Normally, Louis would have pushed her away, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt the wetness soaking through his front.

“Haaah!”

Tanya clung to Louis, wailing uncontrollably.

This isn’t a dream.

The Louis before her was real. The soft texture of his clothes, the warmth radiating from his body, and the familiar floral scent that always surrounded him—all of it confirmed it. This was Louis, the man she had longed for all these years.

“Teacher!”

Tanya released all the emotions she had suppressed for seven years, letting them spill out as she clung to Louis.

Louis stood awkwardly, holding Wang Cheolsoo in one arm, and shot Kendrick a pleading look for help.

Hey! Do something about this!

But his plea was ignored. Worse still, Kendrick’s attempt to intervene only made things worse.

“Haaah! Teacher!”

This time, Kendrick rushed over and threw his arms around Louis as well.

Suddenly, Louis found himself swaddled in the affection of his disciples.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?! Get off!”

Louis recoiled in disgust and tried to shake them off, but the Flame siblings clung stubbornly. Afraid they might never see him again if they let go, they tightened their embrace.

Trapped in this suffocating embrace, Louis finally managed to roughly grasp the situation.

…It seems quite some time has passed.

Though they still looked young, the Flame siblings carried an air of maturity. Their reaction only confirmed this.

Louis sighed and pushed his disciples aside. “We’ll hear the details later… Nabi!”

At Louis’s booming call, Nabi dashed over like lightning. He tossed Wang Cheolsoo, who had been in his arms, toward the approaching Nabi.

Wang Cheolsoo soared through the air for dozens of meters.

“Hmm…”

The sensation of floating in mid-air briefly roused him…

“R-R-R-tiger… Kreeek!”

The sight of a massive tiger gaping its jaws inches from his nose sent him back into unconsciousness.

Nabi caught Wang Cheolsoo’s clothes in his mouth and looked at Louis.

“Don’t eat him! Just keep him safe. If he wakes up, knock him out again.”

Sniff!

Nabi nodded as if asking Louis to take care of it. Whenever she did this, Wang Cheolsoo’s body would pathetically sway back and forth.

With both hands now free, Louis turned around and casually scanned the demons. They approached, maintaining a certain distance, their faces filled with fear.

“Hmm… still too many,” Louis muttered, flicking his hand as casually as swatting a fly.

Then…

Swish!

The demons split apart and collapsed, their numbers reduced by more than half.

The soldiers of the Great Wall, who had barely calmed their racing hearts, now felt them pounding again at this unbelievable spectacle.

Having displayed his divine might, Louis turned to his disciples.

“Well then, let’s see how much you’ve improved in my absence. You haven’t been slacking off, have you?”

Tania and Kendrick answered his question with bright smiles, as if he’d asked if they’d ever cried.

“Of course we worked hard!”

“I’ll show you!”

“Good. Just handle five thousand each and come back.”

“Yes!”

“Yessir!”

The Flame siblings answered firmly and charged toward the remaining ten thousand demons.

Two against ten thousand.

An overwhelming numerical disadvantage.

Yet it was the demons who retreated.

Only two humans.

But behind them stood a ‘real monster’ the demons couldn’t handle.

With Louis as their backdrop, Kendrick and Tania leaped into the horde of demons.

Kreeek!

Kruk!

Amid the panicked demons, flames erupted and eerie cries echoed.

Lokan VII, who had been watching, broke into a wide grin.

That’s him…! He’s here!

The being who had single-handedly toppled the Dominant Empire.

The god-like figure spoken of in legend across the Winter Continent.

The Priest of the Church of the Divine.

It was none other.

Lokan VII roared with force, “What are you all waiting for?! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!”

The general’s face lit up at the king’s words. “Transcendent Machine Unit! Charge! Annihilate those demons!”

The Transcendent Machine Unit swiftly charged toward the demon horde, their morale higher than ever.

About thirty minutes later…

Waaaaah!

A genuine shout of victory echoed across the Great Wall.

Nearly seven years had passed since the Maha froze over and demons poured forth.

At first, the Empire and kingdoms dismissed the threat as trivial.

Their attitudes shifted when the demons escaped the White Mountains and scattered across the continent.

The deluge of demons plunged the entire Winter Continent into turmoil.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, they divided their military forces at the Great Wall, deploying troops to both the northern and southern regions.

As the relentless tide of demons wore down their forces,

new aid arrived.

Among them was the Order of the Divine Body.

This formidable religious group, now so pervasive that every inhabitant of the Winter Continent knew of it, had recently undergone a resurgence.

Having lain dormant due to internal strife, the Order coalesced around the “Revived Great Warrior,” reasserting its influence.

Following the Order’s fundamental doctrine of condemning the Ma, countless warriors drew their swords.

To this was added external assistance from beyond the Winter Continent: the Tower of Wishes.

Under the command of three Grand Masters, a massive Transcendent Machine Unit was dispatched.

The Order of the Divine Body, in collaboration with the Tower of Wishes, sealed the northern mountain ranges of the Winter Continent.

This allowed the nations of the Winter Continent to breathe a sigh of relief and focus their efforts on the southern White Mountains.

Seven years of fierce warfare later…

An emergency communication channel rang through Northern Command.

It was the emergency support request communication stone of the Great Wall, which had remained silent all this time.

Upon hearing this news, numerous commanders gathered at Northern Command.

“Hmm…”

“Hrmm…”

In the Northern Command’s tent, Grand Masters, Pablo, several Masters, and military commanders had gathered.

Though the summons was urgent, the gravity of the situation ensured their swift assembly.

After confirming everyone was present, Pablo spoke first.

“I assume you’ve all heard the gist of the situation.”

“What’s going on?” Douglas asked.

Pablo answered in a low voice. “We’ve just received an emergency support request from the Great Wall.”

“That Great Wall? What’s the situation there?”

“As far as we can tell, there are approximately 70,000 demons and five Waldo creatures…”

“Huh…”

The number 70,000 was astonishing, but the mention of five Waldo creatures darkened the faces of those present.

But Pablo wasn’t finished.

”…And there’s another unique specimen, apparently.”

“A unique specimen?”

“It’s speculated to be a higher-tier Waldo. Or perhaps the king of the Waldos…”

”…?!”

The name “Waldo” was like a curse to them.

Even a single specimen caused catastrophic human and resource losses.

Yet now, a higher-tier Waldo?

Floria asked with a stern expression, “What about the Sword Saint and Power Star?”

“They’re holding it off, but the situation is dire.”

These two, now known as the Sword Saint and Power Star, were the only hope left behind by the departed Lord of the Tower.

Everyone knew how formidable their travel party was.

The fact that they were struggling now made the gravity of the situation sink in again.

The room fell silent.

Pablo, the representative, took charge of the situation once more.

“We must send reinforcements,” Pablo declared.

The Order’s warrior replied with a grim expression, “Great Warrior… that place is a death trap. Even if we arrive, it’s possible they’ll already be…”

His words were pessimistic, but they rang true.

Pablo’s eyes flashed with defiance. “Are you suggesting we abandon the Great Wall?”

”…”

Seeing the warrior’s silence, Pablo sighed, his resolve somewhat diminished. ”…Then I’ll go myself.”

“Great Warrior!”

“It’s a battlefield where nine out of ten will die. I won’t force anyone… Go tell the warriors: only those with the courage to fight and die alongside me should volunteer for this reinforcement mission!”

Sensing Pablo’s resolve, the warrior nodded.

“Understood. And… I will go as well.”

“I won’t stop you. We need every warrior we can get,” Pablo replied, turning his gaze toward the Tower of Wishes. “I ask for your support in this matter. As you know, the battlefield is fraught with peril. Please assemble a team of volunteers.”

“As you wish. And…”

Douglas looked at his close friend and the Masters.

“I will lead our contingent.”

“Douglas!”

“Master!”

The Tower of Wishes protested against Douglas’s unilateral decision.

Douglas, however, burst into hearty laughter.

“Heh heh! If Pablo is taking the lead over there, shouldn’t we send someone of similar caliber to keep things balanced?”

“But!”

“Don’t worry, birdbrain. The life the Lord God has granted me… I won’t squander it. If there’s a way out, I’ll definitely return.”

Douglas’s resolve left Erica speechless. Though he spoke with such conviction, the determination in his eyes made it clear he had accepted death.

After some minor commotion, the decision to send reinforcements to the Great Wall was made without major issues.

“Then hurry and prepare! We must reach the Great Wall as quickly as possible!”

“Understood!”

At Pablo’s command, the warriors sprang into action. However, given the need to gather supporters, delays in preparation were inevitable. By the time the support troops had assembled and finished preparing, an hour had passed.

“Take care. I entrust the Order’s warriors to you.”

“Great Warrior…”

“See you when we return! Ha ha!”

“Douglas…”

Pablo, Douglas, and the support troops exchanged farewells with their surroundings. Their goodbyes were poignant, as they didn’t know if this might be their last meeting.

With the final farewells concluded…

“Now, let’s move out…”

Just as Pablo, positioned at the head of the support troops, was about to give the advance command…

“Great Warrior!”

A thunderous shout erupted from the direction of the Northern Command’s tent.

“Stop! Great Warrior!”

The voice was so loud that all eyes turned toward the commotion. A warrior was sprinting frantically toward them.

“Huff… huff… Great… Great Warrior!”

The warrior reached Pablo, gasping for breath.

“Urgent communication from the Great Wall!”

The atmosphere in the hall turned somber at the mention of an urgent communication from the Great Wall.

An urgent communication at this hour…

Everyone knew what it meant.

“No way…”

“Has it already fallen…?”

Pablo’s question was met with a vigorous shake of the head from the warrior who had heard the communication. A bright smile spread across his face.

“Seventy thousand demon troops, five Waldo, and one high-level Waldo! They’ve all been annihilated!”

“What?”

“What?!”

The warriors who had been preparing for a desperate sortie moments before now stared in wide-eyed astonishment.

Pablo stammered, “The Great Wall?! What about the damage to the Great Wall?”

“It’s safe! Minimal damage! It’s a perfect victory!”

“Huh, what’s this?!”

It was utterly incomprehensible to them. The enemy who had pushed the Great Wall to the brink of crisis wasn’t easily defeated. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to muster this desperate force of support troops.

As the entire support contingent stood bewildered, a warrior who had heard the news added hesitantly:

“Ah, and the Sword Saint and Power Star asked me to pass on a message…”

“The Sword Saint and Power Star?”

“What… what in the world is this supposed to mean?”

Pablo roared at the warrior’s hesitation. “What did they say? Were they seriously injured?”

“No, it’s just…”

”…”

“They asked us to announce that the Lord of the Tower, who is also the Priest, has returned.”

”…?!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Pablo and the other Grand Masters’ eyes widened dramatically, almost painfully.

Pablo, slightly tilting his head, stammered, “Wh-what did you just say? Did you really say that?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what he told me to convey!”

”…Really?”

“Yes!”

“Seriously?”

“Absolutely!”

”…”

A moment of silence hung in the air.

Then Pablo and the three Grand Masters exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha…”

“Cr-ha-ha!”

“Haha!”

Everything finally made sense.

The victory report from the Great Wall.

How that absurd, illogical outcome could have possibly occurred.

If it’s Him… If He came, anything is possible!

Pablo and the Grand Masters’ faces lit up with joy.