Here's an Opportunity-Chapter 150: The Recapture (2)

"Oh my!"

Hurriedly bending down to avoid the edge of a skeleton's sword, Kim Ki-Rok threw himself into a roll before hurling his longsword at his next target.

"Sheesh, this is intense."

Clad in an aura of divine power, the longsword tore through the upper bodies of five skeletons, disintegrating them in its path, before lodging in the ribcage of a sixth skeleton and exploding into a burst of shrapnel.

"Really intense."

Even for Kim Ki-Rok, defeating hundreds of skeletons was no simple feat. After all, he wasn't an Aura Master capable of shattering mountains and parting seas with a single swing of his sword. According to the classifications used in the Yuashiel dimension, Kim Ki-Rok was still ranked as an Aura Knight, one rank below Aura Master.

"Huff, huff. If one of the others were here..." Kim Ki-Rok muttered as he reached into his subspace pocket and pulled out another Paladin's Longsword.

Right as he summoned his divine power to form a shield over his back, a skeleton's sword cloaked in a black aura crashed down onto the shield of divine aura and was deflected with a loud bang.

"If they were here, I could just get them to create a huge blade of aura... huff."

A crack spread across the shield, though it hadn't shattered completely. Kim Ki-Rok twisted his body so that his shoulder crashed into the shield, breaking it into sharp fragments that shot backward into the skeletons behind him. Since the shield was made of divine power, each shard had enough force to melt through the skeletons' bones.

Momentarily halting the advance of the rear attackers, Kim Ki-Rok raised his sword and spun in place, creating a ring-shaped blade of aura that burst outward, obliterating the skeletons attacking from all directions. With the immediate area cleared, Kim Ki-Rok finally bought himself some breathing room.

"They can take out hundreds of skeletons in one hit... what the hell am I even doing here?" Kim Ki-Rok muttered with a helpless sigh.

Looking up at the sky, he felt a momentary pang of sadness for some mysterious reason. Still, he turned back to his work, cutting down the skeletons one by one.

"Well, there haven't been any major changes since last time, so the next stage of the plan shouldn't be a problem. However..." Kim Ki-Rok trailed off, wariness flickering in his eyes.

In all his previous Attempts, rescuing the dwarves and recapturing their village had usually gone smoothly. However, a major problem always surfaced when it came time to escape from the Black Kingdom.

Kim Ki-Rok could have made changes in the past to avoid some of those future difficulties, but altering the past would create a new set of complications. While the Gate leading to the World Tree's resurrection would still open successfully, the Hunters and the Continental Alliance would suffer heavier losses in the process. Given the scale of potential casualties, it was better not to tamper with the past. Naturally, he had to face the consequences of that decision.

"Well, in exchange, I'll really have to work my ass off, but..."

It couldn't be helped. If he wanted to keep casualties to a minimum so that everyone could hold on until the Hell Gates appeared, he had no choice but to shoulder the burden.

"No... why am I the only one who has to suffer like this?!"

Letting out a deep sigh, Kim Ki-Rok scanned his surroundings with a frown. Skeletons still surrounded him on all sides. Wrapping his longsword in aura and summoning another divine shield, he began clearing them out again.

***

In front of the Continental Alliance's Western Border City.

Duke Mastron, the Aura Master of the Aians Empire, unleashed a massive aura blade that wiped out dozens of skeletons in a single strike before returning to a ready stance. Despite the devastation of his attack, the overall situation remained largely unchanged. Hundreds of skeletons and monsters still surrounded the city, along with dozens of Black Wizards.

While the Continental Alliance's broader strategy called for a feint attack to divert attention from the rescue mission, executing that plan was far from simple. To make it work, the Archwizards normally stationed in the Black Kingdom's capital had to be lured to the border. And to accomplish that, the Continental Alliance needed to deal a significant blow to the enemy forces stationed there.

"Can't I just take care of the Black Wizards as well?" Duke Mastron grumbled.

—The Assassination Unit is already en route. Please continue reducing the number of monsters and undead as you have been.

"Tch. What a pity..."

With no S-Class monsters like chimeras among the Black Kingdom's western border forces, he begrudgingly raised his sword again. Even with simple vertical or horizontal slashes, by drawing on martial principles[1] and mana, each of his attacks could rival High-Circle spells in power.

—Well, it's true that it would be a bit unconvincing for an Aura Master like yourself to completely ignore the Black Wizards, so I don't think it would be too bad of an idea for you to kill a few of them off at this point in the battle. If you managed to draw their attention, that should make it easier for the Assassination Squad to do their job.

Duke Mastron burst out laughing at the suggestion relayed through his communication artifact. He couldn't tell whether the strategist was serious or just humoring his boredom, but it didn't matter. He wasn't about to press for the truth. Now that he had permission to do what he wanted, why question it?

Twisting his body, he swung his sword and sent an aura blade flying toward them. The Black Wizards began casting teleportation spells, trying to escape the oncoming strike, which had already torn through everything in its path without losing momentum. The Assassination Squad, having stayed hidden by suppressing their mana, sprang from cover and launched a barrage of low-powered attacks. The strikes weren't strong enough to inflict real damage, but just enough to interrupt their casting.

Panic twisted the Black Wizards' faces as their teleportation spells failed. As the aura blade closed in, they shut their eyes—not to focus on escaping, but in denial of their impending doom.

"Haaah!" Duke Mastron scoffed at the sight.

Was this all the resistance they could muster? Had they grown soft from relying too heavily on the demon realm's mana, or from depending on monsters to do their fighting for them?

"How boring—"

Duke Mastron, who had just been sighing in disappointment at the Black Wizards' cowardice, suddenly cloaked his sword in aura and slashed the air in front of him. The abrupt action came in response to a thin, black aura blade slicing cleanly through his own aura attack. Though he managed to block the strike with his aura-clad sword, the force of the blow pushed him back several paces. As he steadied himself, his expression hardened at the sight of the new opponents before him.

In front of the younger Black Wizards now stood an older Black Wizard, and beside him was a black-skinned man with horns protruding from his forehead.

—Ha, hahaha.

The strategist's voice crackled with incredulous laughter through the communication artifact.

"Tch. That's a high-ranking demon, isn't it?" Duke Mastron asked.

—Yes. Definitely. It seems we were a bit too successful at playing bait.

The horned, black-skinned figure was unmistakably one of the five high-ranking demons the Black Wizards had successfully summoned into their dimension. If he weren't, there's no way Duke Mastron would have had to push himself so hard just to block that single, slender blade.

"No, even though I wanted a challenge, I wasn't expecting anything this exciting today," Duke Mastron muttered with a sigh.

The demon advanced with a bored look on its face.

"Send a request for reinforcements," Duke Mastron instructed. "And check if any high-ranking demons have appeared elsewhere."

—How long?

"Do you mean, how long do I think I can last?"

—Isn't that obvious?

Duke Mastron looked up at the demon. Still wearing a blank expression, it had now formed a one-meter-long black aura blade at the fingertips.

"I might be able to hold him off for about ten minutes."

***

Back at the dwarven mining village, the panting Jang Baek-San slowly raised his head to take in the opponent standing before him: an old Black Wizard with a skeletal arm and leg, both slick with dripping blood. The wizard glared back while clutching his staff with trembling hands, not out of fear or a lack of mana, but because the relentless fight had drained him of nearly all his stamina.

"Huff! Just how on earth are you lot able to work together in such harmony?" the wizard demanded, glancing around with disbelief etched on his face.

Though many dwarves and Heroes had been forced to retreat due to injuries, he had yet to witness a single death. His enemies were prioritizing survival, skillfully cycling their squads to sustain pressure. Leveraging their superior numbers, they attacked and withdrew under overlapping fields of fire, minimizing casualties. Tactics aside, something else was tipping the balance.

"Could it be the blessings of the World Tree...?"

Whenever the Heroes drew near, the Black Wizards weakened. Dwarves who fought beside Heroes took less damage than those who didn't. Apart from divine power, only one being was known to weaken the mana of the Demon Realm—the World Tree.

"Doesn't matter. I don't have the strength to stop your next attack," the Black Wizard admitted, still clinging to his pride. "Heh... maybe my undead can do a bit more damage before I drop."

"In other words, if we answer your questions, you'll give up and die?" Mars, the middle-aged dwarven warrior, asked through gritted teeth.

"That's right," the Black Wizard nodded. "Continuing to resist now would only prolong my suffering."

"You really are a bunch of crazy bastards," Mars muttered, dumbfounded, before hesitantly glancing toward the Hunters to gauge their reactions.

The Black Wizard smiled. "I can even swear an oath on my mana."

"Are you really that curious?" asked Baek Min-Hyuk, who was currently in his Beastfolk form.

"I won't be able to die in peace unless I understand the reason for my failure. So allow me to swear on my mana and ask..." The Black Wizard slowly turned his head, scanning the Hunters. "Is it the World Tree's power weakening me and the Demon Realm's mana, or is it some other power you Heroes possess?"

The eyes of the other surviving Black Wizards all lit up in interest. Because they lacked information on the Hunters, the Black Wizards weren't sure what exactly was the cause of their weakened strength. Seeing this, the Hunters realized they could use the information gap to sow confusion in the Black Kingdom.

With Kim Ki-Rok absent, Jang Baek-San was their acting leader. All eyes turned to him, leaving the decision in his hands. Under their expectant gazes, Jang Baek-San frowned and sighed. Then he answered the Black Wizard.

"It is because of a power that we Heroes possess."

"You're lying," the Black Wizard snapped.

"It's the truth," Jang Baek-San replied calmly. "We possess supernatural powers that are neither magic, holy edicts, nor spiritualism. Among them is the power to weaken enemies without restriction."

"It's the truth? No, is it a lie? How confusing..." The Black Wizard let out a hollow laugh, dropping his staff and clutching at his chest. "I get the feeling... there was no point in swearing that oath."

Dark blood streamed from his mouth, eyes, and nose as the Black Wizard collapsed forward. He hit the ground with a heavy thud, perhaps from the weight of the skeletal limbs he had used to keep fighting, and lay there motionless.

***

Kim Ki-Rok cleared his throat and spoke up, "Everyone, there's something we need to discuss."

"What is it?" one of the resting Hunters asked, as they and the three hundred dwarves all turned their attention to Kim Ki-Rok standing on a nearby rooftop.

"There's only one reason we've been able to raid the Gates to this dimension so quickly and safely, despite how difficult they are,"

Everyone had been quietly wondering how they managed to recapture the dwarven village once under Black Wizard control with less damage and greater speed than expected.

DG Guild's Hunter Kang Seh-Hyuk, who often ended up seriously injured in high-difficulty Gates due to both his team role and his aggressive combat style, raised his hand and asked skeptically, "And what reason is that?"

"It's because the Black Wizards know very little about us Heroes... or rather, us Hunters," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

Kang Seh-Hyuk tilted his head. "Hmmm? So why haven't they managed to learn more about us?"

"Whenever Hunters encounter a Black Wizard inside a Gate, that wizard becomes the primary target. Either the Black Wizard dies, or the raid fails when all the Hunters are wiped out," Kim Ki-Rok explained grimly. "There's another reason too. During the World Tree operation, we didn't receive a single reinforcement from any of the human kingdoms."

"Hm? The operation to resurrect the World Tree?"

"Yes. That was when we Heroes, or Hunters, made our first official appearance to both the Black Kingdom and the Continental Alliance. But the only information the Black Wizards gained was that we were summoned from another dimension and had joined forces with the elves to revive the World Tree. That's because so few Black Wizards survived that battle."

As Kim Ki-Rok paused his explanation to catch his breath, Baek Min-Hyuk raised his hand and asked, "But what does the fact that we didn't receive any reinforcements from the human kingdoms have to do with it?"

"The human kingdoms have a tendency to leak information to the Black Kingdom," Kim Ki-Rok said. "Because they weren't involved in the operation, our presence and capabilities weren't exposed. Or at least, that's the assumption."

Baek Min-Hyuk frowned. "So there are traitors within the Continental Alliance?"

"In fact, Prime Minister Pilarin of the Aians Empire advised Lady Serena not to request reinforcements from the human kingdoms, fearing leaks from within," Kim Ki-Rok revealed.

That information gap was precisely why they had been able to recapture the dwarven village so quickly and with minimal losses, because the Black Wizards had let their guard down.

"The Black Kingdom knows little about us Heroes," Kim Ki-Rok went on. "They don't realize we use supernatural powers outside the realms of magic, holy edicts, or spiritualism. They also don't know every Hero was blessed by the World Tree we planted on Earth, so Demon Realm mana affects us less. That's why taking the village was so quick and easy."

Everyone nodded in understanding. However, there was a reason Kim Ki-Rok had climbed onto that rooftop to address them when they should have been resting.

"But now that more of our information has been exposed, escaping will become far more difficult," he warned.

Even the Hunters focused on healing the wounded or recovering their strength turned to him, alarmed. Kim Ki-Rok took a deep breath before delivering the final blow.

"A high-ranking demon, estimated to be at least Level 140, has appeared on the border of the Continental Alliance."

1. Deeper truths of martial arts that can elevate ordinary moves into powerful attacks. ☜