Chapter 147
It wasn’t just that their aging process didn’t occur.
It meant that they were always at their peak physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Naturally, such a huge gap was bound to widen.
As the years went by, while those ranked below them stayed in their place, they continued climbing up!
Leon Hart trembled.
“Was it that beneficial to stay young?”
However, he didn’t feel it.
It hadn’t been that long since he was blessed, after all.
But when he thought about it…
‘With normal aging, they wouldn’t have gotten that strong. The same can be said for me.’
He understood why Hollien’s level was so high.
The Fairy clan of Latna was slower in level growth than the human race.
Like Dragons, they lived many times longer.
On the other hand, the rising curve was a bit different from the Dragons.
Their skills rarely rose until around 100 years old, which was equivalent to the boyhood of the Nymphs.
However, at that point, they would improve their skills at a rate comparable to that of humans until they were 150 years old, which was their full maturity. After that, the level increase would slow down sharply again.
And when they were over 250 years old, it would stop completely.
The currently known age of the Fairy Queen was 203 years old, and she was in the maturity stage.
Originally, the rate at which her level rose should’ve slowed down tremendously.
‘But since she’s gone back to her prime, she could continue to improve her skills.’
The Nymphs were young and beautiful, seemingly without any difference between maturity.
‘Jesus, I could have guessed her level…’
The Sword King, Baotolt, defeated the divine Kruse Murg, whose estimated level was 170.
And the Top Three were considered to be the same as the Sword King.
Although Baotolt was the strongest, the gap wasn’t large.
Such people’s level couldn’t be just around the 130s.
‘The news of the Sword King’s death was so shocking that I couldn’t think of it.’
Leon Hart looked back at Kibie with resentment.
“With all due respect, you’ve given mortals a weapon too powerful for our own good.”
Kibie had a bitter look on her face.
The Goddesses did expect that.
“Back then, we thought we would be able to prevent continuous attacks by giving them that kind of benefit.”
Thus, every 12 years, the Goddesses continued to bless the world with guardians of Latna at a level that didn’t break the world’s balance.
They never dreamed that the Goddesses’ creations would rebel against them with that power.
“Anyway, Han-bin didn’t see it wrong.”
After shaking his head, Leon Hart turned back to the battlefield.
“Now I can’t run away…”
They had no choice but to look more closely and find weaknesses somehow.
* * *
Thanks to the Transcendental’s formidable spiritual arts, the Allendia Army managed to engage in a tight race against the night’s monsters.
Nevertheless, they didn’t win.
As expected, there were too many monsters. The average level was too high.
As time went by, they were pushed back little by little.
Hollien wasn’t embarrassed.
“I expected this to happen.”
The essence of victory was to dominate the enemy with a stronger power than the opponent.
It was the condition of a true master to preempt the terrain, secure information, and fight only in situations that they could win.
However, the public was enthusiastic about the weak destroying the strong.
When fighting thousands of enemies with 300 men, defeating 133 enemy ships with 12 ships, and showing victory against all odds, they burst into cheers and praise.
Hence, she had purposely brought in only the right amount of troops.
The real purpose of the battle wasn’t to win but to appease the public.
It could further enhance the prestige of the Transcendental.
‘Of course, if we’re defeated like this, we’ll have nothing to say.’
She had already pushed the soldiers back.
At that point, it was time to show off her power.
Hollien once again extended her arms from side to side.
“Light of Althea! Expand your radiance through the world through my hands!”
The vast Prana became rays of light, bombarding the battlefield.
* * *
It was a very chaotic mess.
The cries of monsters and knights were mixed everywhere.
Argh!
Grrrr!
“Hang in there!”
“Never back down!”
A hunter clicked his tongue after cutting the Great Orc in front of him vertically.
“Jesus, it would’ve been better to form a defensive position and wait…”
There were only blood, corpses, and monsters everywhere.
Nobody was certain if the troops were winning or losing.
Another hunter gritted his teeth as if he didn’t understand.
“I mean, why did we have to go head-to-head? They’ll charge at us on their own anyway!”
The Allendia Army had set up positions on the Turricon Plains in advance.
It meant that they could prepare the terrain against enemy attacks.
However, as soon as the night’s monsters appeared, all their eyes turned red and launched a reckless charge.
There was no need to engage in a war of attrition in the middle of the field against monsters that rushed recklessly in madness.
Rather, it was much more advantageous to form a defense line and respond tactically.
“No, the Transcendental didn’t even know such basic tactical sense?”
“Isn’t this the wrong approach?”
The Hunters felt nervous.
Taaa!
Light covered the Turricon Plains.
Throughout the vast range of battlefields, a curtain of light swept through the waves.
A huge light membrane of several kilometers separated the monsters from the Allendian Army and emanated as a dazzling wall.
“Now that I’ve laid the foundation…”
Mumbling, Hollien finished signing.
Contrary to the Hunters’ misunderstanding, she wasn’t ignorant of strategies.
Although she might not be a professional military commander, she had basic common sense.
Why wouldn’t she know that it’s much more advantageous to choose the right terrain, build a formation, and deploy troops in the right place?
Nevertheless, she intentionally pushed the entire army into the field.
It was all for the trick that would follow.
“I establish the authority of the Queen on this land!”
She completed the spiritual art by putting her hands together.
– Unique Spiritual Art: Citadel of Innumerable Changes!
Rumble!
The curtain of light fluctuated with a roar.
And in an instant, it started to change its shape.
A huge wall stood between the soldiers and the monsters.
A tall tower rose under the archers’ feet, who were shaking as they fired volleys of arrows.
The earth cracked, and the moat dug, causing a torrent of light to swirl.
The movement of the monsters slowed down as their screams erupted.
Crrr?
Argh!
The two sides, which had been fighting in a chaotic mix, were separated.
Archers stood at the windows of the pagoda and looked down at the monsters.
The embarrassed Allendia Army looked around and hummed.
“What the hell is this?”
“Is this a spiritual barrier?”
“What kind of barrier is this big? It’s a citadel!”
It truly was.
It was no longer a wall or a maze.
A huge citadel of light, hundreds of meters long, was shining elegantly!
Hollien grinned as she lowered her hands.
‘This citadel is a pretty good one.’
Instead of deploying troops in the right place, she made deployed the right place below the troops.
It was the power of her unique spiritual art, the Citadel of Innumerable Changes.
That was why she intentionally made the Allendian Army charge head-on against the monsters.
They could attack first and defend later.
“Look!”
“The Queen is watching us!”
Everyone understood the situation even if there were no cries from the knights.
The situation no longer made the troops struggle in the fields.
Defended by a perfect fortress, they fought their enemy!
“Wow!”
“Long live the Queen!”
“Long live the Transcendental!”
The Allendian Army, which was given an advantageous position, began to hunt down the rushing monsters.
* * *
Looking at the imposing sight of the citadel of light rising in the middle of the Turricon Plains, Ryu Han-bin looked blank.
“Wow, can she do that with the spiritual arts alone?”
In a traditional Korean fairytale, a goblin laid a stone bridge over a stream overnight. Wasn’t it a simple miracle compared to that?
At the same time, he questioned it.
“How could she do that? If she could do such a thing, she would’ve wiped out all the monsters with that power.”
Then Leon Hart asked as if he didn’t understand.
“That’s how you Aliens think. Is that how science works?”
“What?”
“When you saw the water turn into wine, you thought you could turn wine into water as if it were natural for the two phenomena to be linked.”
“Huh, no?”
“I don’t know why you think so, but they’re not linked.”
Physically speaking, if someone had the power to break a stone, he could break a tree.
But that wasn’t how Latna’s magic or spiritual arts functioned.
The magic of breaking rocks only broke rocks.
The higher the level, the bigger and harder the rock could be broken, but it couldn’t break trees or humans.
That was why Leon Hart’s prestige was so high.
He had done a feat of using Latna’s magic, which was specialized in defense, recovery, and assistance, unorthodoxly.
“Well, I was able to come up with this idea thanks to my frequent fights against the Aliens.”
He turned back to the battlefield.
Stuck in the citadel of light, the Allendian troops were smashing the incoming monsters one by one swiftly.
If the monsters had a commander, they could try to reverse the situation by aiming for the vacant position of Hollien behind the citadel.
But they weren’t that intelligent.
Instead, they focused on attacking the citadel in front of them.
At that point, victory was definitely on Hollien’s side.
“That’s not the only ways the Transcendental can fight.”
Feeling embarrassed, Leon Hart scratched his chin.
“This is troublesome. I need to learn more about her.”
* * *
Hollien was wondering silently.
“I can’t get any experience, huh?”
She used supportive spiritual arts on hundreds of allies and unique spiritual art on the battlefield.
Anyone could tell that she was the main force of the battle.
Nevertheless, there was no response to the Guideline.
“Is it because the monsters’ level is too low?”
She didn’t think that was the case.
Garhan, Genovia, and Hollien conducted experiments as soon as they gained the [Near-Completion Omphalos’s Blessing].
At that time, when they killed level 68 monsters, they still got experiences.
It wasn’t that much, however.
Some of the night’s monsters that attacked them were above level 80. It might not be the level.
“Or is it because I’m not killing them by myself?”
That would’ve been strange as well.
According to Leslie’s explanation, the Alien Spiritist gained experience even if she was just assisting in combat.
‘You said that in party play mode, the experience would be distributed evenly by the number of people, or I can get a proportionate share of experience, right?’
They weren’t in party play mode, but she didn’t think they would recognize her as not participating in the battle because she had been more than influential enough in that fight.
Hollien, who was agonizing over it, stepped forward.
“Let’s see. I’ll kill them myself.”
Dazzling wings made of light unfolded on her back.