Chapter 178: Skirmish (3)


    Erich gave his officers a break and surveyed the surroundings. The proud and gant demeanor usually seen in his subordinates was absent.


    It was understandable.


    They had caused amotion, infiltrated the school, assassinated the target, and were supposed to assassinate additional agents, but they failed.


    Failure.


    As a soldier, it was hard to ept, but Erich withdrew to preserve his forces.


    ‘What went wrong?’


    Erich bit his lip hard.


    The Emperor was stronger than he had imagined.


    But they managed to hold out somehow. They treated the demon soldiers as expendable and blocked the first star. The Emperor did not move. It was as if they were testing the performance of the first star.No, it was a test.


    They used their invasion to confirm and publicize the power of the new star. With eyes that looked down on them as if they were the only noble ones.


    It was a displeasing look.


    So Erich wanted to bring down the Emperor.


    He would pressure the Emperor with the life force bestowed by the gods. The operation itself was simple but had to be meticulously coordinated to press the Emperor without her sensing any danger. The operation was conducted secretly, right before the main actionmenced.


    ‘It failed.’


    There were various reasons. The Emperor wasughing as if she was amused. She had noticed their scheme. But those were minor reasons, except for the event that followed.


    The biggest reason was that the connection with Himmler, the leader of the SS unit, was severed.


    It wasn’t just severed.


    It was as if something had cut it off, disconnecting Himmler from the divine terminal.


    The divine terminal.


    It was a small portal connected to the gods.


    The Nazi Empire received the life force of the ck Sun through it.


    They not only received power but could store a part of their essence there.


    By storing part of their essence, they could resurrect with the power of the ck Sun. It was the reason the Nazi Empire could still survive. Of course, only a select few could do that.


    ‘It’s an emergency.’


    But that terminal was severed.


    It meant the situation was more dangerous than he had thought. It implied that those who worship false beings could sever the power of their true god.


    It was a horrifying realization that might require them to abandon all the ns they had made so far.


    He wanted to check the scene, but he couldn’t.


    They barely managed to retreat, preserving their most precious officer-level forces.


    ‘Is the prophesied being stronger than expected?’


    There was no information.


    Erich assumed the worst.


    If he died to the prophesied being, he wouldn’t even reincarnate.


    It meant dying like anyone else. Despite many reasons to join the Nazi Empire, Erich had joined due to his limited lifespan.


    ‘This cannot be done with the Nazi Empire’s strength alone.’


    He had to ally with others. But many viin and demon groups had disappeared. Especially in Korea, which had suffered near-extinction-level damage.


    It was because of a figure called the Masked Man.


    Every night, the demons in Korea were killed by the Masked Man and the White-Haired Witch.


    Therefore, he had to bring in other forces. Thergest ones, sharing the same position as the great evil. The Nazi Empire wasn’t weak, but if they made a mistake, they would suffer irreparable damage.


    While nning the operation, Erich sensed something unusual.


    It felt like something was watching them.


    “Who is there?”


    “You’re quite sharp. I thought you’d be too busy gathering your scattered troops.”


    A boy in a ck hoodie and pants appeared.


    The man’s face was young. His hair was shaggy, covering the back of his neck. Yet his face and body exuded a unique charm, creating an extraordinary appeal.


    He was a stunningly handsome man.


    “You are.”


    Erich narrowed his eyes.


    The boy was on the kill list.


    Even now, he had immense potential and was listed as a future threat to the Nazi Empire.


    ‘Future?’


    Erich looked at the boy.


    His instincts, which had saved him so far, were warning him.


    Today,


    His life would end.<hr>


    ‘Hmm.’


    I looked at the ragtag group of defeated soldiers.


    There were five officers, including Erich. There were also some magic soldiers, but they were not a concern.


    ‘I’ll leave the magic soldiers to Shadow+. ’


    I quickly assessed the situation in my mind.


    ‘Not bad.’


    I was curious why these guys were still in Korea, but I set that curiosity aside. Capturing one or two and interrogating them should yield some answers.


    “Your name is Lee Seo-ha, right?”


    “Yes.”


    I nodded at Erich’s words.


    “You’repletely different from the information we had. Achieving such feats at your age is unbelievable.”


    “You’ve got quite an eye.”


    Erich smiled slightly at my words.


    I was curious about how Erich perceived me. His eyes were specialized in reading aura.


    “If I could obtain the stories behind your achievements one by one, you’d be hailed as a hero. And those auras…”


    Erich’s expression changed as he looked at me.


    From one of interest to one of disbelief.


    “…Lies. It’s only a mid-level aura?”


    “Why? Can you see that I killed Himmler?”


    “Himmler…? You?”


    Maybe not to that extent.


    His performance was less impressive than I thought. Although he had received a portion of the god’s eyes as a follower of the divine, it seemed Erich’s abilities were insufficient to see the truth.


    I prepared for battle.


    Bang!


    A gunshot echoed.


    At the same time, my senses warned of danger.


    A bullet appeared before my eyes faster than the sound.


    It was a special bullet used by the officers of the Nazi Empire. It seemed as if the bullet had crossed space. No, the bullet had indeed traveled through space.


    A mere bullet couldn’t surpass my perception.


    ‘A space-warping bullet, huh?’


    Quickly analyzing the situation, I surrounded myself with the Energy of Defying Heaven.


    The energy deflected the bullet before it could reach me. No matter how modified, a bullet was still a bullet. Even if imbued with magic or other enhancements, as one ascended the ranks, fewer people used guns for a reason.


    ‘Even Himmler used a gun only as a secondary weapon.’


    I crouched low.


    My hand rested on the hilt of the Autumn Sword, which was sheathed in White Rouge.


    -Imagine the clouds. The ck Cloud is a well-crafted sword.


    ‘ck Cloud.’


    Thump.


    Intent.


    At my will, the ck me Sword emitted a ck me.


    Sword energy formed thinly along the de. The shape of the sword energy began to change.


    At the same time, I drew the sword.


    Saaaaah──.


    The power to cut beyond perception and concept flowed along the de. The sword energy, spouting in strands, began to clump together. Each strand of sword energy intertwined like an unraveled thread.


    I imagined the clouds. This wasn’t about cutting the enemy. It was about obliterating them upon contact, like the Extinction Cloud.


    It twisted thews of the world. The sword energy created a ck Cloud under the ck Heaven.


    Woong!


    The Autumn Sword started vibrating.


    And then,


    Willpower.


    Zzzzzzz───!!


    The infinite magic power dormant in the Autumn Sword erupted.


    My intent twisted thews of the world. ck sword energy formed a cloud. The willpower amplified the cloud. A ck Cloud, like a mountain’s shroud, engulfed everything.


    “That… that’s a mid-level aura? It’s at least on par with Himmler, who is at the pinnacle of high-level aura!”


    “This… this is overwhelmingly stronger than the reports!”


    Amid their screams,


    Half of the soldiers in white uniforms of the Nazi Empire were swallowed by the cloud.<hr>


    “Ugh.”


    Erich groaned and retreated significantly.


    The cloud that swallowed half of them, the ck Cloud, had inflicted severe wounds.


    ‘What is that?’


    What was it?


    Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t understand its power.


    It was a power akin to that of the ck Sun he served. While people of this world called it the power of death, to them, it was no different from the source of life.


    It was a power difficult toprehend.


    However, despite its iprehensibility, it could be understood.


    It was a power that negated everything. But how that boy could wield it was beyond him.


    Erich looked at the devastated clearing where the ck Cloud had raged.


    It was enormous. The clearing had turned into ruins as if swept by a massive storm or tsunami.


    ‘This is dangerous.’


    Half of the officers survived.


    In other words, the previous strike had killed half of them. And the surviving half were not in good condition. Most had at least one limb severed or were severely injured.


    “Cough, E-Erich, something’s wrong.”


    “What is it?”


    “We… we can’t regenerate. The divine power isn’t working.”


    “What?”


    Erich stared nkly at the officer. He was a member of the Schutzstaffel, a direct recipient of the ck Sun’s power. As someone connected to Himmler’s life tentacles, he could usually recover from most injuries quickly.


    Losing a limb was something they could normally recover from and rush back into the fight bravely.


    Erich realized instinctively. The boy in front of him was the one who severed the ck Sun’s terminal connected to Himmler.


    And revealing this power directly meant he had no intention of letting them live.


    “He has no intention of letting us live.”


    “There’s no reason to spare pests that gue the earth.”


    “…Couldn’t you let us go? Then you wouldn’t have to get hurt either.”


    “Don’t you understand? Even if you use your lives as coteral, you can’t harm me.”


    The boy spoke with a cold expression, mocking them.


    But it was the truth. Even borrowing the power of the ck Sun, it would be hard to inflict a proper hit on this boy. For some reason, this boy possessed power on par with Himmler.


    Despite having only a mid-level aura.


    It meant he was a primary enemy that must be killed at all costs. But with their current strength, even trying to survive was difficult.


    ‘He’s acting rxed, but if you look closely, he’s measuring the distance. He seems to know what methods we use.’


    This meant the opponent was well-versed in the Nazi Empire.


    Was he one of the avengers who hated them?


    “There’s no choice then. But I won’t die quietly.”


    “Dead men sure talk a lot.”


    Lee Seo-ha lifted his head with an arrogant expression.


    Golden light filled his eyes.


    Conceptual Stat Alchemy.


    It started absorbing the surrounding magic. Letters materialized. Lee Seo-ha grasped them. The letters exuded powerful energy.


    Lee Seo-ha reached out his hand.


    Runes emitted magic from his hand. The Autumn Sword erupted with magic as if it was rampaging.


    “No matter what you do, the result is the same. You all die here. That’s the only fact.”


    He stated this calmly, as if dering a fact.


    And it was a predetermined future.