Finally, the day of the battle had arrived.
The Holy Rustan Empire had gathered more than 60% of its military forces and marched toward the Land of God Punishment, the base camp of the blasphemers. They called this expedition the "Demon Extermination Battle".
Compared to the Blasphemers, the Holy Rustan Empire had a much stronger military power. However, the Blasphemers had always been on the offensive, while the Holy Rustan Empire was on the defensive. This was because of the Land of God Punishment.
The Land of God Punishment was full of poisonous miasma. Once humans stepped into its territory, they would be invaded by the poisonous mist. They would lose their limbs in mild cases, get sick in serious cases, and their lives would be in danger if they stayed there for a long time. Therefore, as long as the blasphemers returned to the Land of God Punishment, the army of the Imperium could do nothing to them. In this decisive battle against the demons, Emperor Siegfried had made a great decision. He would pay a heavy price to drive the 'blasphemers' out of this land blessed by the gods.
There were two main points in the Demon Extermination Battle: One was quantity, and the other was speed.
In terms of numbers, the Imperium had deployed ten times the number of Blasphemers, which was far more than what was needed for the battle itself. In fact, only one-third of the troops entered the Land of God Punishment at the beginning, while the remaining two-thirds were waiting in a safe place as reserves. Once the frontline troops fought in the Land of God Punishment for more than a month, the reserve troops would take turns to replace them, so as to prevent the soldiers from being eroded too deeply by the poisonous fog. If there were casualties at the front, the reserve troops would quickly take over.
From the perspective of speed, the empire had sent many apostles into this battle. Including Goodwin, there were a total of 15 apostles participating in the battle. The mobility of the apostles far exceeded that of the cavalry, not to mention the infantry and supply troops. Therefore, in the early stages of the war, the Empire would first rely on the apostles to break down the defences of the "blasphemers", and then the human army would follow up and wipe them out. This would greatly save time.
Goodwin's greatest advantage was that he was not restricted by the summoning time and could fight independently without Regina, while the other apostles had to act in unison with their summoner. Apostles were far more resistant to the poisonous fog than humans. Without the summoner holding them back, Goodwin could fight in the Land of God Punishment for a long time.
As a result, the imperial army raised Goodwin's strategic level many times in the process of drafting the battle plan. In the end, he was organized into an independent army unit, codenamed 'Wedge.' Goodwin felt that since he was the only one in the army, it was unnecessary to give him a code name. He might as well just call him " The Invincible Lord Goodwin."
Tyrone and the others did not tell Goodwin the complete strategy of the Imperial Army. However, he roughly knew that the rhythm of the war was: He broke into the Land of God Punishment alone and wreaked havoc behind the Blasphemer. After he attracted the attention of the Blasphemer, the other apostles would enter the frontline and destroy the enemy's fortifications. Next, the human army would invade the Land of God Punishment.
" Then, let's begin the battle."
Goodwin came to the border between the Empire and the Land of God Punishment alone. These were two distinct lands. On the Empire's side, the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. The green grassland was filled with the fragrance of the land. On the other side of the Land of God Punishment, the sky was gray. Even though they were on a plain, they couldn't see anything far away. The land of the Land of God Punishment was muddy. There were many unknown plants growing in the dense swamps. Most of these plants were pitch black and gave off a dilapidated aura.
The smell in the air was very unpleasant. Goodwin had used Soul Imprint to enhance his poison tolerance, so he didn't feel any discomfort. If he encountered any " blasphemers " on the way, he would kill them on the spot, not giving them the chance to call for help.
Goodwin had been on the road for eight hours straight, but he was not tired. He was just bored. And today's work had just begun. He did not expect that he would still have to work overtime in the Otherworld.
He found a camp in the hinterland of the Land of God Punishment. The camp was rather shabby by the standards of the Empire, but it was already bigger and more magnificent than the other camps Goodwin had encountered. It was likely that some big shot was living in the camp. Moreover, there were a lot of plant branches piled up by the side of the camp. Goodwin didn't know any of the plants in the Land of God Punishment, so he didn't know what the branches were for. However, since the Blasphemer had deliberately piled them up, they should be some kind of useful material.
Goodwin wanted to set fire to burn the materials, but the Land of God Punishment was very humid, so he couldn't light a fire. It was very cold at night here, but the Blasphemer didn't even light a bonfire. It was probably because these creatures were not afraid of the cold.
Goodwin had no choice but to use Moment of Lightless Blink to attack the supplies directly. Not only could his sword of light cut through objects, but it could also directly destroy them. It was perfect for destruction. Unfortunately, although his sword was called " Lightless Glow ", it was actually very bright. It was awakened by all the " blasphemers " in the camp.
Seeing that the resources they had painstakingly accumulated were destroyed, they all looked pained and brandished their swords, spears, and halberds to fight Goodwin.
"If you burn our village, I will burn your supplies.”Goodwin told them. "An eye for an eye. This is very fair.”
But they didn't understand. In an instant, hundreds of Blasphemers surrounded him.
"Seal of the Soul."
Goodwin strengthened his body again. He strode like lightning and broke through the encirclement of the Blasphemers. The sword of light flashed, and several Blasphemers fell to the ground while shouting.
A Blasphemer who was the leader shouted something, and then they dispersed. Blasphemer soldiers who looked like archers suddenly appeared from all directions, and arrows flew towards Goodwin.
"Artifact Control Seal."
The arrow stopped in mid-air. Goodwin flung his soul and the arrows flew back to the archers, forcing them to flee.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck Goodwin's head. The blow hit Goodwin's head, smashing it into the ground.
It wasn't Thunder that knocked him down, but a Blasphemer that shone like thunder. Its body was bigger than the other Blasphemers, and it had the face of a lion, but it also revealed the fangs of a wild boar.
Fang raised the hammer in his hand and smashed it at Goodwin's butt. The speed of this hammer was enough to shatter the hip.
However, the hammer didn't hit Goodwin. Instead, it smashed the head of a Blasphemer.
Fang was stunned.
This Blasphemer was one of the people that Goodwin had just killed. It flew out and blocked the hammer for Goodwin.
Goodwin pulled his head out of the ground. The few Blasphemers who had just died, along with the Blasphemer whose head had been shattered, surrounded him.
"The dead bodies are all for my use." said Goodwin. "This is the Seal of Death.”
The " dead " pounced on Fang and surrounded it. Goodwin took the opportunity to rush into the middle of the enemy formation and killed a few Blasphemers. Then, these " dead " also joined the encirclement of the " fangs ". " Fang " didn't want to be enemies with his former colleagues, so he shouted anxiously. As for Goodwin, he assassinated more Blasphemers and manipulated more " dead."
I'm so evil. Goodwin thought. But this is war. We don't have the luxury to think about anything else other than victory.
By the time Fang finally made up his mind to attack his companions, Goodwin had already gathered a large number of " dead." The " dead " killed the " Blasphemer ", so a new " dead " stood up. Finally, the number of living continued to decrease while the number of dead continued to increase.
Fang's chances of winning were finally reduced to nothing. It rushed to Goodwin with tears in its eyes, but it could do nothing without its calm. Its attack was blocked by the " dead," and a spear controlled by the Weapon Control Imprint pierced its heart from behind.
"I'm sorry." said Goodwin. "But only when all of you die can our people find peace.”
The light sword cut off its head.
Other than the Tusk, there was no one else in the camp who could match Goodwin. Goodwin occupied the camp, but he deliberately let a few Blasphemers go so that they could report the news.
After the battle ended, Goodwin noticed that Fang's strike from the sky had opened a large wound on his head, and the wound was starting to hurt. He felt a little dizzy. At first, he thought it was caused by excessive blood loss, but he soon realized that it was because the poisonous fog in the air had penetrated his blood through the wound. After the pain relief effect of Soul Imprint wore off, the pain from the wound and the dizziness in his head gradually became unbearable. He originally wanted to attack another Blasphemer camp, but to be safe, he felt that it was better to return to the base first.
The " dead " gradually broke free from his control and fell to the ground, turning into corpses. The Mark of Death Chasing could only control newly dead bodies because their bodies and souls had yet to be completely disconnected.
The journey back was a torment. It took Goodwin eight hours to get here, but it took him almost a day and a night to get back. Soul Imprint could strengthen the body's performance, but at the cost of increasing the body's fatigue. If he used Soul Imprint continuously for a long time, the strengthening effect would get worse.
Goodwin was groggy the entire way. The apostle's natural sense of direction prevented him from getting lost, but the symptoms of auditory and visual hallucinations had always troubled him. He even saw souls coming out of the bodies of the dead and following him.
"Do you hate me? They will definitely resent you." He even began to think that these Blasphemers also had their families and friends. He had never thought that killing these bat-faced monsters would be such an uncomfortable thing. He had been feeling thirsty, so he had been drinking water. He had even drunk all the water that could last him for three days. However, he had no appetite at all, and he didn't touch the dry rations he had brought with him at all.
The souls were always flying around him, not far, not close, not far away, only looking at him with indifferent eyes. He was too dizzy to think. Fortunately, he could not think, or else he would have been driven crazy by them.
When he finally returned to the Empire's military camp, he felt that he was already half-dead.
Perhaps it was telepathy, Regina had foreseen his return and had been waiting for him at the entrance of the military camp.
"The mission can be considered completed.”he reported to her. "By the way, Regina, do you know how to perform exorcism?”
Then, he fell to the ground.
In the eyes of others, he had fainted. He did not move. No matter how he called out, there was no response. However, his consciousness was clear. He could clearly sense what was happening around him, but he could not move.
Regina, with the help of a soldier, carried him back to his tent and onto his bed.
On this bed, he had a long dream while he was awake.
The souls that had been following him all this while started to circle around him. They spun and spun until he was at a loss. Then, they burrowed into his brain.
Then, he saw a scene of laughter. He saw the Blasphemers he had killed chopping firewood to cook, playing with their relatives and friends, and nurturing their children. The little Blasphemers also had bat-like faces and were not cute at all, but they held the children tightly in their arms as if they were the most beautiful angels.
However, this scene did not last long. The scene changed, and he saw the scene of an expedition and battle. Killing, plundering, or watching their comrades or relatives being killed. The scene was always stained with the ubiquitous dark red, mixed with the smell of rust. Compared to the scenes of laughter, the scenes of battle were endless. In the endless gray fog of the Land of God Punishment, everything was dark.
Having such a dream was a torture. It was not a nightmare, because nightmares always woke people up. But this dream was like a reality that you couldn't get rid of, quietly seeping darkness into your blood.
After sleeping for a day and a night, he woke up.
Then, he understood that what he saw was the fragments of the memories of the " dead."
He controlled their bodies, and as a price, he had to bear their souls.
This was the essence of Death Chasing Seal.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。