The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 334

With the Sword Saint’s words, a sinister demonic energy surged from the mirror, forming a distinct shape.

As the dense demonic energy of the Demon Realm flowed out, the Sword Saint frowned in disgust.

But there was nothing he could do.

The one who made a pact with the Grand Duke of the Demon Realm was none other than himself.

A contract passed down from the former Sword Saint.

A troublesome relationship, indeed.

But in the end, he considered the Grand Duke nothing more than a wounded beast.

Soon, the room filled with demonic energy.

And finally, a complete form appeared in the mirror facing the Sword Saint.

Though the form wasn’t entirely clear yet,

The Sword Saint knew well—this meant everything was in place.

“It’s been a while. I’m sure you’ve heard about that cursed weapon imbued with demonic energy, haven’t you?”

Growling like a beast, the Sword Saint spoke, to which the Grand Duke of the Demon Realm scoffed as if it was laughable.

—How pitiful. A mere mortal throwing a tantrum.

With those words, the density of demonic energy in the air surged dramatically.

An overwhelming pressure.

But the Sword Saint, unfazed, slashed through all the demonic energy with his own aura.

The energy split like sunlight cutting through darkness.

Yet, the demonic aura remained intact.

It had merely recoiled momentarily from being cut.

Its power hadn’t diminished at all.

“Tch.”

The Sword Saint grimaced while facing the Grand Duke.

Though he was one of the Transcendents, the Grand Duke was still the only Grand Duke of the Demon Realm.

He had to admit—this put him a notch above the rest.

If the Grand Duke had been weak, the inherited contract from the previous generation would’ve been torn to shreds long ago.

Though the Sword Saint arrogantly stood his ground, the Grand Duke let it slide.

—Mortal, I acknowledge your efforts. I’ll send new craftsmen your way.

“...I didn’t summon you to discuss that, but I’ll accept it.”

He clung to his pride, not yielding a word.

But deep down, the Sword Saint was quietly relieved.

He’d been troubled by the absence of craftsmen.

However, the Grand Duke tilted his head in apparent confusion.

—If this meeting wasn’t to discuss craftsmen... then what did you summon me for?

A voice and aura befitting a true demon.

But the Sword Saint wasn’t fazed in the slightest and answered plainly.

“I summoned you today to store the corpses that will be produced by war.”

—Oh?

The Grand Duke of the Demon Realm couldn’t help but be a little impressed by the Sword Saint’s words.

A hero offering his people up for the sake of his own power?

Wasn’t this an absurd and comical sight?

Who ever said demons were the evil ones?

Surely it’s humans who are closest to true evil.

So thought the Grand Duke as he asked,

—Is it to forge weapons imbued with demonic energy from that mass of blood and flesh?

“You really are the Grand Duke of the Demon Realm.”

—Oh ho.

Should he even call this heroic?

In the midst of this conversation,

The Sword Saint suddenly brought something up.

“The last time I tried to kill the Overlord using that secret technique you gave me, my soul got pushed out by a strange sorcery. You said no one could interfere with a soul. What happened?”

—...What?

The Grand Duke was stunned by the revelation.

Manipulating a soul?

The new Overlord?

Impossible.

The soul was a realm untouched by all.

Yet it was repelled?

This new Overlord is an even worse monster.

Should he be eliminated before it’s too late? The thought crossed his mind.

And then—

The wound stings again.

Even after hundreds of years, the wound still hadn’t fully healed.

Though he had become the only surviving Grand Duke, his former rivals all having perished that day...

He’d once been invaded by other factions when he couldn’t heal his wounds.

Of course, he eventually drove them out by healing as much as he could.

Still, the wound never fully closed.

The Grand Duke shivered faintly with fear.

“What, even you're afraid of the Overlord?”

The Sword Saint sneered at the Grand Duke’s reaction.

The Grand Duke glared back in disbelief.

Then—

“I’ll handle the Overlord. You take care of Overpalace.”

—...? Even if the Overlord hasn’t yet grown fully, unless you act directly, it’ll be difficult. Do you have a way to suppress the world’s will?

“No. I found something even better.”

—And what would that be?

“I found a user of the Galaxy Sword Technique.”

What nonsense is this fool spouting?

If it’s the Galaxy Sword Technique, it must mean Hero Hindel’s swordsmanship.

So what about it?

The Grand Duke seriously considered whether he needed to ask, out of genuine confusion.

This Sword Saint was under a grave misconception.

But—

“If I can just get hold of the Galaxy Sword user, the Overlord won’t be a problem.”

He seemed genuinely convinced.

The Grand Duke looked at him, thinking silently for a moment.

Then he spoke.

—...I hope you find them.

“Just focus on Overpalace.”

I really ought to consider annulling this contract soon.

Even if Hindel were to return, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about Overpalace.

It seemed this sword-obsessed fool truly believed Hindel had defeated Helena.

The more time he spent allied with someone this ignorant, the more it would cost him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They say an incompetent ally is more dangerous than a powerful enemy.

That saying came to the Grand Duke’s mind as he thought sincerely:

I’ll have to annul the contract soon.

Still, for now, the contract remained.

—Very well. Inform me of the date of war.

“Three days from now. That’s when I’ll strike.”

The Sword Saint said.

The Grand Duke nodded.

Then—

—Understood. I’ll collect all the flesh and blood from that battlefield.

With those words, the meeting ended, and the Grand Duke’s image disappeared.

Staring at the now-empty mirror, the Sword Saint smirked.

He had found traces of the Galaxy Sword Technique.

Losing the craftsmen wasn’t such a heavy loss.

Besides, the Grand Duke promised to send new ones.

At any rate—

I’ll have to search more actively now.

The wielder of the Galaxy Sword Technique.

It was thought that the lineage had ended after Hindel.

But it still survived.

If he could acquire that user—

I could mold them to my will.

Thinking such delusional thoughts, the Sword Saint returned ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) to meditation, seeking to heal his wounded soul.

6.

The city of Badia in the Kingdom of Rieskan.

And the Weeron Territory of the Vallian Empire, bordering Badia.

The war between these two lands had a history so long it was nearly ancient.

It was already nearing a thousand years.

In Badia, one might even compare the atmosphere to that of a regional festival.

Though wars broke out once a week, with many casualties...

The people of the region only seemed to enjoy the conflict and battles.

The weekly rhythm of life often flowed right into the day of war.

And today was such a day—battle day—so crowds had gathered.

By contrast, in the Weeron Territory, a more moderate approach to war was practiced.

The Vallian Empire was highly developed in magic.

Naturally, its atmosphere differed from Rieskan, known as the Kingdom of Knights.

Rather than berserk warriors,

The war zone felt more like a test field for new magic and sorcery.

Maybe not peaceful per se—

But that was the vibe.

And as today’s battle drew near, various scrolls and grimoires circulated in preparation.

“Out of the way! Moving grimoires here!!!”

“Reagents coming through!!! They might explode!!!”

“Hey! We need volunteers to help with the war prep!!! Outsiders welcome!!!”

In most cities, players made all the noise—but here, even the NPCs were louder.

Seong found the sight quite amusing.

Indeed, it felt more like a festival than a war.

Well, Seong felt similarly.

He’d asked the Serul Tower for information and came to experience things firsthand.

Hmm, might be a good chance to test the Lord of the Dead’s powers.

With war happening every week, he thought there’d be way more players than NPCs—

Surprisingly, it was about half and half.

Since he hadn’t gathered intel yet,

He came here just for fun and had already signed up to participate.

Seong’s assigned role was as a mage atop the wall.

He only needed to bombard with magic.

Almost time, huh?

Noting the hour, Seong made his way toward the wall with a hint of anticipation.

After a brief inspection, he climbed atop the ramparts.

And what a sight it was.

The vast plains stretched far, scarred by the traces of endless war.

It truly earned the name "Plains of Battle."

And—

All I have to do is spam magic from here, huh?

He especially liked that all he had to do was fire off spells.

Felt more like a magical lab than a warzone.

As Seong stood quietly—

“Everyone, to your stations!!!”

“Be mindful not to interfere with each other’s spells!!!”

“Let’s do our best out there!!!”

“All right! It’s starting soon!!!”

Things suddenly got noisy, and as he waited—

From far off in Badia, the sound of horns echoed.

Shortly after, the battle began with a volley of signal arrows.

Badia’s signals rained down on the wall.

Fweeeeeeeee——!!

Fweeeeeeeee——!!

But the barrier atop the wall blocked them all.

And from the Badia side, knights began charging madly.

So, it’s begun.

Seong smiled faintly at the thought.

Sure enough, spells rained down from the wall, halting the charging knights.

Breaking through that barrage was no easy task.

Still, the knights raised their shields and pushed forward through the magic.

Some melee players among them.

Support players cast shielding spells to protect the vanguard.

And the charge began to gain momentum.

I’m supposed to collect a lot of blood here, huh.

Massacres were his specialty.

Seong looked down at them, wondering if it was his turn now.

Should he use the Lord of the Dead’s power?

Will had used that power to commune with spirits.

Treating them as friends, merging them, strengthening them.

What Seong planned to try was the latter.

Hand of Calamity.

One of the necromantic spells Will had shown.

It gathered spirits to form a massive spectral hand that slammed down.

But there was one thing Seong didn’t consider.

In the system, necromancy scaled with the number of nearby deaths.

And how much mana was spent was also crucial.

Seong, foolishly, dumped nearly half his mana into it.

As a result—

Parting the dark clouds above, something appeared.

It looked like a pillar at first, but long, jagged gray claws extended downward—

Badia’s knights froze, staring at the sky in shock.

And as the clouds cleared, a colossal spectral hand emerged above.

Kwoooooooo———!!!

Seong, watching, muttered calmly,

“Hm, it’s bigger than I thought.”

At the same time—

“Ruuuuuuun!!!!!!”

A knight screamed.