The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 463: The Battle of Pharel (7)

“Employ the tactical formations!”

At Viola’s command, the Fanpinel Knights raised their massive shields and positioned themselves around Pharel.

“All units, deploy the Flaming Formation!”

At Kayla Spear’s cry, the northern warriors pounded their weapons to rally morale.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

At the forefront, the Thunderclap and Ironclad tribes pounded their war drums in unison, filling the battlefield with a deep, resonating rhythm.

“Waaaaah...!!”

Following them, Hwarin of Jannabi raised her fist high above her head, prompting the soldiers to erupt in a deafening roar.

The circular Flaming Formation began to take shape, and within the inner lines of the allied forces, Thompson’s magic battalion assembled.

“All sorcerers, deploy shields!”

The 5th Class sorcerers, armed with staves encrusted with high-grade elemental stones, could unleash magic on par with elite casters. Their layered magical shields—with stacks of two or three—looked sturdy enough to withstand even a god’s blow.

“I don’t particularly like my creations being used as mere shields... but I can’t allow the living to be sacrificed any further. Raise the Wall of the Dead!”

From within the magic battalion, Nain Darhon strode forward and waved his hand. In front of the Fanpinel Knights’ shields, a line of undead servants emerged.

“...?!”

The sight of the mummified troops startled the knights, but their morale quickly surged as they realized they were allies.

Thud—!

Leaping off the shoulder of one of the undead slaves, Zarka Hochi vaulted over the defensive line formed by the undead and the knights, landing in the middle of the battlefield.

“So those are supposed to be our gods.”

Zarka Hochi swept his gaze over Yula and the other gods, letting out a derisive snort.

“They call themselves gods? Seeing how they rolled in the dirt and tore at each other, they seem no different from us.”

He grabbed a handful of soil from the ground, letting it drift away softly with the wind.

“They kill without any honor. They’re no better than us, who live day to day without knowing what the future holds.”

“You’re just a damned elven wraith who ought to be wiped out on the spot, yet you've been tainted by the human world. And now you flap your tongue? Have you no honor? I poured everything I had into creating the Nephilim in the heavens and your kind on the earth as my subordinates, and this is how you repay me?”

“And yet, those oh-so-great Nephilim lost to humans. How could mere elves hope to stand against them?”

“What?”

“And how long has it been since Elvenheim fell? You still dare call us your subordinates? If you loved us so much, where was your salvation when we needed it?”

Yula glared at Zarka Hochi, her eyes blazing. “What happened to you being the rules of your own world?

“The salvation we needed didn’t entail having our enemies destroyed.” Zarka Hochi shook his head. “We simply wished for a righteous death. And serving the one who grants us that salvation doesn’t seem so strange, does it?”

“You arrogant bastard...”

“Even death is a form of salvation, so what’s so wrong about killing a god in order to survive? I’d say that’s only natural. Wouldn’t you agree? I’d love to hear what this priest has to say about that.”

Zarka Hochi pointed to Yurin Huygar, who stood beside the golem forces led by Hawat.

The priest merely shrugged, his expression bitter.

“I once said something similar to the empress of Digon. You can’t view gods through the eyes of a human, nor should you try to understand them.”

“Are you still saying that after carrying that massive shield capable of shattering this tower?”

“To be honest, I don’t particularly care to understand them.”

“Heh... Hahahahaha..!” Zarka Hochi couldn’t suppress his laughter at Yurin’s response.

“What does it matter what gods do? I’m not rejecting the Church by doing this. After all, the Church gives so many people the strength to keep going.”

He tapped his Infernal Hammer with his foot as he spoke. “Even if a god seeks to destroy this world, the believers will continue to believe, and those who fear the gods but refuse to have faith in them won’t start now.”

“And which side are you on?”

“Hmm...”

Yurin planted the hammer into the ground and propped his chin on his hand, sneering.

“The winning side?”

“Hah! You’re nuts.” Zarka Hochi chuckled in satisfaction, turning his gaze toward Yula. “So much for your Church.”

“Of course, I don’t claim to represent the entire Church,” Yurin quickly clarified, trying to temper Zarka’s provocation. However, his ever-present sly grin betrayed a hint of madness.

“Still, if you’re offended, Yula, direct your anger at me alone.”

He gripped the Infernal Hammer tightly, a glint of daring defiance in his eyes.

“But just so you know, I don’t plan on dying that easily.”

Wooooom...

Yurin Huygar’s Infernal Hammer glowed with a fiery aura, radiating not Divine Power but his innate fire-element mana.

“You speak as if your world is so great, Yula. But at least in my world, the mere thought of rebellion wouldn’t even arise,” the serpent-lipped woman ridiculed Yula, clearly amused by the unfolding situation.

“A world filled with nothing but inferior beings isn’t much to boast about. It’s no wonder you’ve sided with humans. You don’t know your place.”

“Is that so?”

Yula glanced at the elder standing beside her. Her expression hardened at the sight, to which the woman’s serpentine lips curled into a smirk of delight.

“I apologize, but as long as the Calamity remains, defeat cannot be declared... nor can this be considered a violation of the rules.”

“Do you really covet the Divine Throne so badly? Would you really stoop so low as to rely on humans?”

“As ridiculous as it may sound, he’s not wrong. We don’t know when—or if—another chance to claim the vacant Divine Throne will arise. As great as we are, even we have questions that remain unanswered. And you know this as well as I do.”

The elder gently raised his staff and pointed it at Pharel. The meaning behind this gesture was unclear, but the expressions of the other gods subtly shifted.

“That is akin to the question the Lord once carried. But now that he’s gone, we’ll never know if he found the answer. Thus, it falls to whoever becomes the new ruler of the Divine Throne to uncover it.”

“And you think you’re the one for the job?” Yula scoffed with disdain. “We, born from the Primordial Rift, created rules for ourselves. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten them.”

She exhaled deeply, her voice tinged with weariness. “Do you truly believe you can defeat me in this world? The rules we made weren’t merely for maintaining balance. We understood our essence, born through a history of struggle.”

Yula took a step forward. “Excluding the Lord’s absolute strength as the ruler of the Divine Throne, the rest of us would have constantly sought to invade one another’s realms if not for the rules.”

“That’s why Exordiar was created,” Karyl remarked.

“It’s not just that,” Yula replied, casting a sneer at him before slowly raising her arm.

Srrrk—

The flowing sleeves of her robe swayed lightly with the motion of her arm.

“...!!”

Karyl instinctively stepped back and hurriedly raised Polsetia’s sword. Even though the distance between them was vast, Karyl was startled by the murderous aura emanating from her. It was sharp, suffocating. Besides the chill running down his spine, Karyl felt as if every hair on his body stood on end.

However, someone behind him had a more vivid reaction to Yula’s move.

Thud—

It sounded like a branch falling to the ground. But it was the elder’s head that struck the earth, plunging the battlefield into an eerie silence.

“The ruler of a dimension wields absolute power. That is the true purpose of Exordiar and the rules that govern it. Without these rules, every dimension would have already turned into a battlefield for the gods.”

Amid the heavy tension, Karyl looked away from the corpse of the Third God and turned his gaze to Yula.

“I concede. Looks like this is as far as I go,” the man muttered, brushing off his hands as he watched the situation unfold.

“Yula isn’t a god of war. I’d hoped for a small chance, but this confirms it. Overcoming the power granted by being in her own dimension is impossible. Even if these rules are of our own making, those of us bound by them cannot escape them.”

“You’re saying you’ll give up?”

“Yes. I lost my opportunity from the start. Having already lost in battle, I’ll cling to my life even if I cannot claim the Divine Throne. Now that the Third God has fallen, the balance has been broken.”

A lopsided smile appeared on Yula’s face.

“Smart move. That’s as far as the scheme of a foolish human will go.”

“You really think she’ll let you be once she takes the throne?” asked Karyl.

“Don’t heed the nonsense of a human,” Yula cut in. “The throne is just a seat from which to seek the truth our Lord never managed to reach. I have no interest in starting another dimensional war.”

The man’s face had stiffened to Karyl’s question, but in response to Yula’s words, his expression shifted to resignation.

“However...” she went on as the man turned to leave. “Things are different now, before I’ve yet to claim the throne.”

Shraaaaak—!!

Yula’s razor-sharp claws slashed toward the man’s back. Unlike with the Third God, the man reacted instantly and managed to dodge her attack. But even so, just after he retreated, crimson burst from his side.

“Khk?!”

“You’re not leaving this place. The moment you violated Exordiar’s laws, you stopped being a contender for the throne and became a traitor to the order.”

“And what the hell are you, then?! By your own words, the blessing granted to a dimension’s master is overwhelming, but in return, they’re forbidden from harming other gods within the sanctuary of Exordiar!”

“That would be true if you were still a participant in Exordiar.

“...What?”

Yula looked at Karyl.

“How unsightly it is for a god to let themselves be fooled by a human.”

At that, the man’s face went pale.

“You were the ones who got tricked. Blinded by the throne, you killed your own kin under nothing more than an illusion spell cast by a human?”

“Th-That’s ridiculous!”

As panic took over, the man turned toward Karyl, whose deadpan expression further unsettled him.

“You really think that cunning bastard would leave behind a Calamity that nearly wiped them out? And you dared to raise your hand against me?”

Unlike the wounds inflicted by the other gods, the injury Yula had given him wasn’t healing. The man staggered back in pain.

“Don’t act like you’re better. You were fooled too, weren’t you?”

Just then—

“We received word from Israphil. Nephilim have appeared in the capital.”

“What? You mean the capital is under attack?” asked Aidan, unable to believe his ears.

“No. Most likely, they’re just trying to confirm the death of the Calamity. But if the Nephilim fully activate their power, the gods here will sense it. That’s why they’re just circling the area. They can’t come in. Well... if they do, we’ll probably see a repeat of what happened last time.”

As Karyl raised his hand, the magical projection revealed three dragons circling the capital in the skies.

“Even if they don’t find the corpse, they clearly sensed the deception, unlike the other gods. Just as I thought... You’re the one best suited for the throne, not those idiotic fools.”

Yula’s expression tightened at his praise, as if to ask what game he was playing.

Crack...!

Karyl shattered the glass container Aidan had handed him—the one holding Lice’s heart.

“This won’t be necessary anymore. I myself would’ve liked to finish off the remaining gods... but I guess that’s off the table now.”

“...You bastard!!” the man bellowed.

Schlck!

But at that moment, Karyl’s sword sank into the man’s waist. Even considering the injury already inflicted by Yula, it was still shocking how easily Karyl had managed to land the hit. It almost felt as though the man had no strength left.

“Kh... Guh...!”

Blood poured from his mouth.

I knew it...

Watching the scene unfold, Karyl frowned slightly, as though he had just confirmed a suspicion.

“You... vile creature...!”

The man staggered, trying to flee. But just then, Yula made a slight gesture with her hand. In response, the four gods standing behind her lunged at him without hesitation.

“Gah—! Aaaargh...!!”

With her razor-sharp claws, Yula tore him limb from limb.

“I don’t know what kind of scheme you had in mind, but the only truth left for you now is death.”

Yula remained expressionless as the man took his final breath, as though killing him had always been the goal.

“Well now...”

“Is that all you’ve got? You’ve only managed to use one god for your little plan. Or are you putting your faith in the rest of them? A few dozen, or even a few hundred million humans grouped together are still mere ants to me.”

Two gods had died just like that. The surrounding troops felt the tide of battle shift, tension—and even fear—spreading among them.

“This isn’t good...” Kayla Spear muttered as she bit her lip.

“The troops’ morale is already sinking, and we haven’t even begun to fight.”

Perhaps, just for a moment, they had forgotten what they were really up against. They had expected this to be a difficult battle from the start—but if morale collapsed before the fighting even began, the gap between victory and defeat would spiral out of control.

“Don’t worry. We northerners don’t fall that easily,” Hwarin replied with forced confidence, though she herself felt a chill down her spine as she gazed at Yula.

“Karyl... What are you planning to do now?”

Everyone’s eyes were locked on the battlefield, taut with anxiety.

“I’ll proceed to wipe out all your underlings, to set an example,” Yula sneered at the serpent-lipped woman with smug confidence. “And don’t even think about interfering. You broke the laws of this place and became the first traitor to kill a god. So I’ll make sure you die the most painful death.”

The woman’s expression hardened, and she stayed silent, as if she knew there was nothing more she could do.

“You call yourselves the rulers of this world? Fine. Then I, as the master of this dimension, will deliver righteous punishment to all of you. Abandon Exordiar. I’ll show you miserable worms the true greatness of a god!”

With that, a violent vortex of power swirled around Yula.

Boom!! CRASH!!!

The sky darkened as if the heavens had fallen into a rage, with thunderbolts striking in all directions.

“Watch out!”

“Knights, take defensive positions!”

“Wyverns, fall back!!”

Urgent shouts rang out from all around. As expected, she had no intention of showing mercy to the humans.

“This is getting interesting.”

At the edge of that creeping terror, Mael spoke up to Karyl, seemingly pleased.

“Everything is unfolding exactly as you said it would.”