- Volume 4, Chapter 22 97. Bekweseta, the Demon God’s Little Lamb (7) The chill of the Frost Arrow spread. The grass on the hill died in an instant, and his breath turned to mist. The mage let out a groan.
"Frost One… the highest-grade of ice magic."
The mage mistakenly thought that Taesan could handle such a spell.
"I see now why all those who came before failed."
To use Frost One at such speed meant he was a mage on the level of a head of a magic school. It was a realm that lesser mages could not even approach, no matter how many of them gathered.
"But this time is different."
The mage gave a signal with his eyes. Two swordsmen who had been gauging the distance ran forward at the same time. Their speed was incredible.
In an instant, they cut through the undergrowth and approached Taesan. Seeing them approach, Taesan did nothing.
"Hmm?"
The mage was bewildered. Mages fundamentally needed time for chanting. For them to get that close, it would be impossible to respond unless he had an artifact.
‘It’s ending this easily?’
The sword pierced Taesan's chest. And then, their bodies returned to where they were before.
"What!"
"Ugh!"
"What was that!"
Those watching let out cries of astonishment. Taesan looked at them impassively and once again began chanting Frost Arrow. One by one, the Frost Arrows floating in the air multiplied.
"Wh-what?"
The swordsman faltered, then moved his sword again. But once more, his body returned to the moment before he swung his sword. The mage watching was greatly alarmed.
"Space, no. Time manipulation magic? What is this!"
For him, who had no knowledge of the Labyrinth, that was the only way he could think of it. Meanwhile, Taesan continued to create more Frost Arrows. Their number had now noticeably increased.
"...Chanting."
The mage looked at Taesan with sunken eyes.
"Everyone, listen. It seems he is preparing a wide-area magic spell. It appears he cannot move until it is complete."
It was a complete misunderstanding. Taesan could move freely even while chanting Frost Arrow. The mage continued.
"He has probably cast all sorts of support magic to protect himself from attacks while preparing the spell. But for magic of that power, there must be a limit."
It was a coincidence, like stepping on a frog while backing away, but he was close to the core of it. The Attack Nullification could only be activated three times per person, so if they attacked multiple times, it would eventually disappear. However, to think they could defeat Taesan by attacking like that was a delusion.
Taesan intended to correct them one by one. They formulated a plan to attack Taesan and charged all at once. The archer shot his bow, and the swordsmen rushed in with their swords.
The mage chanted and fired his magic. All of those attacks were erased by the Attack Nullification. They persistently continued their attacks.
And finally, the Attack Nullification ended. The sword of the swordsman who had been swinging rapidly pierced Taesan’s chest. When his body didn't return to its previous position like before, the man smiled and put more strength into the hand holding the sword.
"Die!"
Clang!
The man was sent flying. He fell to the ground and scrambled back up.
"What?"
Taesan continued his chanting with a bored expression. The Attack Nullification was now all used up. All of their attacks were now hitting Taesan.
But they weren't doing any damage. The sword blade couldn't cut his skin, and the arrows bounced off as if they had hit an iron plate. The magic couldn't even make him flinch.
"How is this possible!"
Hearing their astonished voices, Taesan thought.
‘As expected, it's meaningless without Aura.’
His Defense Power was over a hundred. Attacking with ordinary weapons like these wouldn't inflict any damage.
‘Did I take 60 damage?’
When he had intentionally taken a hit from Garant's Aura, he had received 63 damage. It meant that the Aura alone had a damage value of 163. ‘Does it have a Defense Penetration effect too? I want to learn more.’
Taesan thought idly, while his opponents were going mad. Their attacks, their actions, were all meaningless. Even if they stabbed him in the neck, they were only pushed back by the repulsive force.
The mage shouted in frustration.
"Try to push him! Knock him over!"
"Uwooooh!"
A man in huge armor pushed Taesan with a Tower Shield. But only the ground beneath the armor dented; Taesan didn't move an inch. A man tied a rope around Taesan's arm.
With an annoyed look, Taesan pulled his arm. The man went flying.
"Uwaaaak!"
"Controlling my strength is a chore."
Even a light hit could kill them. Taesan continued to chant Frost Arrow with an annoyed expression. The Frost Arrow drawn in the sky grew larger and larger.
Frost formed on the undergrowth that had died, unable to withstand the cold. The man swinging his sword at Taesan couldn't bear the cold and, with his teeth chattering, shouted at the mage.
"Do something!"
"Wh-what do you want me to do!"
The mage was also terrified. At first, he thought it was simply an enhanced version of Frost One. But as time passed, he realized it was a fleeting misjudgment.
Dozens of Frost Arrows, dozens of Frost Ones, were being drawn in the sky. The mage realized. That wasn't chanting.
It was just him crudely manifesting a massive number of Frost Ones. The attacks on Taesan gradually stopped. They slowly backed away with fearful faces.
"Ah..."
A shadow fell over them. The Frost Arrow drawn in the sky had become a giant sphere.
Crack.
The earth froze. The cold penetrated deep into the ground. With nature itself freezing over, a human body had no chance of withstanding it.
Frost formed in their throats. They made choking sounds and slowly backed away.
"I like wide open spaces. I can conduct all sorts of experiments."
Frost Arrow and Scorching Orb remained stationary until Taesan fired them. So, what would happen if he manifested tens, hundreds of spells, and fired them all at once? It was a method he had been curious about since he learned Frost Arrow, but he couldn't use it in the cramped Labyrinth.
On Earth, he had been too busy fending off monsters to test it, but here, there were no such monsters. Taesan clenched his fist.
[You have activated Ice Particle.]
The Ice Particle firmly fixed the clustered Frost Arrows in place. Taesan lowered his hand.
[You have activated Magic Acceleration.]
The sphere of ice fell to the ground. Accelerated, it crashed into the neighboring hill.
Craaaash!
"Kyaaaaaa!"
"Aaaah!"
With a deafening roar, people were sent flying with screams. The mages tried to hold on, gritting their teeth, but they were torn to shreds by the aftershock of the force alone. A moment later, those who had barely managed to stand up looked at the hill and were horrified.
Everything on the hill was frozen. The undergrowth, the trees, the forest, everything without exception was trapped in a prison of ice. The extreme cold did not stop there, but continued to expand its domain, swallowing the surroundings.
"Th-this..."
The mage couldn't believe it. Although it was a small hill, it was still large enough to be called a mountain. It would take a person ten minutes to walk across it.
All of it was encased in cold.
‘This is...’
It was on the level of a natural disaster. As far as the mage knew, it was magic on a scale impossible for a human.
‘...A Dragon?’
The race that protected the world. It was a level only they could achieve. Taesan felt the gazes filled with shock and terror with satisfaction.
"The preparation takes a while, but it's useful."
The result was worth the time spent experimenting. Taesan turned his gaze to the pursuers.
"Are you going to continue?"
No answer came back. Taesan gestured with his chin.
"Then get lost."
Having lost their will to fight, they fled. And they began to spread what they had seen far and wide. That the one protecting the princess was a monster.
That he was an incarnation of a dragon. Until now, it had been mere rumor. Since all the pursuers who went to find the princess had died, no one had truly experienced his strength.
But this time, everyone who went survived. Since those who had experienced it firsthand were making a fuss, it couldn't be dismissed as an exaggerated assessment.
If the survivors had been weak, if they had been mere specks in their groups, it would have been dismissed as an exaggeration, but they were all among the top ranks, so that was also impossible. The story of Taesan freezing a mountain spreads.
Some say he is a Sword Master and an excellent mage, while others say he is an Apostle of the Demon God. The rumors grow, one tailing another. With this, the various nations had no choice but to make a move.
Until now, those who had targeted the princess were all individuals. The nations as a collective had not shown any movement. This was partly because they were busy dividing the demon territory, and also because there was no reason to specifically target the princess.
The demons were extinct. Once the princess was dead, it would truly be the end. Even if she survived alone, her limits were clear.
She would die before long, so there was no need to act. Moreover, a large reason was that Harmon had not shown much interest in the princess after dealing with the demons. Their reasoning was, if the god is quiet, why should we move?
But now, the story was different. If even half of the rumors about Taesan were true, an individual could not win. The nations slowly began to prepare their moves.
And Harmon drove the final nail in the coffin.
[Kill the demon princess and her dog.]
It was a revelation filled with strong will, just like when he had ordered the death of the demons. There was no nation foolish enough to defy the god who had destroyed the demons. The world began to move.
They would not send soldiers. They realized that what worked against Taesan was not a group, but a strong individual. Each nation sent its strongest forces.
Those who held the title of Sword Master.
"Oho."
Taesan raised the corners of his mouth in a pleased expression. Anetsha, who was sunbathing, was startled by his sudden movement.
"What's wrong?"
"I've been disappointed until now. But... this should be enough."
A strong power could be felt from the other side. It was a power that even he, who had cleared the Labyrinth, could not simply dismiss. Several of them were approaching this place.
They scattered their strong power as if they had no intention of hiding. Anetsha's face turned pale as she belatedly noticed.
"Sw-Sword Master?"
And it wasn't just one. Their figures began to appear over the hill. There were five in total.
"This is the last of them."
Once he defeated them, there would be no one left who could touch him.
"N-no..."
Anetsha grabbed Taesan's clothes. Taesan was certainly monstrously strong. It was no exaggeration to say he was the strongest human she had ever seen.
But Sword Masters were also beings who had surpassed the limits of humanity. A single one of them could destroy a city. And there were five of them.
It would be difficult even for Taesan. That's what Anetsha thought.
"We have to run. We can't fight them. We have to run..."
Taesan soothed the stammering Anetsha, whose face had gone pale.
"Just sleep for a moment."
In that instant, Anetsha's consciousness was cut off.
‘No...’
With that thought, she collapsed.
"Whoops."
Taesan carried her into the cave. He placed her on a bed of grass and came back out.
"Are you done saying your goodbyes?"
A middle-aged man with a stern impression appeared. His roughly trained, muscular body showed what the man had spent his entire life doing.
[They're quite useful.]
Even the ghost showed interest. Even it, which had seen numerous adventurers while clearing the Labyrinth, was satisfied by the strength possessed by the four men before it. Red, blue, white, and blond hair.
"Easy to tell apart."
Leveling up through battle.