[He's definitely within this area. If we suppress the space with our mana, he'll have no choice but to show himself!]
[Kahk!]
[Search, someone use search magic!]
[Kugh!]
The Destruction Demon Army camp was in chaos. After the charismatic giant died in vain, the other higher existences with puny abilities all said their piece, making the place noisy, while Yu IlHan reduced their numbers one by one.
[You have earned experience.]
[You have earned experience.]
[You have become level 294. 2 Strength, 1 Agility, 1 Health, 1 Magic increases.]
[The skill Record has reached level 33.] You have acquired enough records about the Destruction Demon Army and may ascend to it when you reach a high enough level to become 5th class. Of course, you need permission from their leader.]
Of course, not that Yu IlHan wished to become one of them. He was just satisfied with earning enough records to become a higher existence, and continued moving to reduce the enemy numbers.
[Master, should I start?]
Mystic contacted him after sensing that the camps were getting noisy. Yu IlHan sensed that some higher existences were trying to flee in fear, and thought it wouldn't be good for him to take everything, so he nodded.
'Okay, meteor strike. I levelled up suitably, so I need to give them to the others now.'
[I thought this for quite a while now, but if everyone did 'suitably' by your standards, every world should have been destroyed long ago.]
Even after the giant had died, Yu IlHan had killed around ten more, and now there were only around 90 higher existences within the Destruction Demon Army camp. Of course, this number was enough for his subordinates' growth.
[I, I first need to retreat from this... Kugh!?]
[Critical Hit!]
From now on, it was defence – preventing them from leaving this place! Yu IlHan killed the ones who tried to run away first and began restraining their actions. His intentions were not misunderstood, and they soon understood the situation as well.
[H, he's aiming for those that are escaping.]
[Since things came to this, we need to escape all at once to scatter his target, do we not?]
[But if his target becomes me...!]
[There's a limit to tainting the name of the Destruction Demon Army! You cannot act since you are afraid of a mere lower existe....Kagh!?]
Yu IlHan swung his spear to bisect yet another Destruction Demon Army member and lifted his head. The Flying fortress and the Guardian fortress in the air were being swept under Na YuNa's enormous holy power.
Of course, since Yu IlHan's concealment was still in effect, the two fortresses were still not sensed by them!
"Good, it will be time soon."
[I think it will be better for the master to prepare for 'that' skill.]
If he got any greedier, he might end up missing a higher existence or two. As Orochi had said, Yu IlHan prepared to go to the next phase.
[Now, master!]
"Gosh, I don't know anymore."
Looking at the two fortresses that flew down with white tails like comets, Yu IlHan judged it was time to focus on tying down the enemies rather than maintaining concealment, and took out his hammer, then enlarged it, simultaneously activating the class skill Hell Bringer!
"Falling Down!"
White flames spread to the surroundings and burnt the entire camp. At the same time, Yu IlHan's concealment wore off, and his figure, holding a hammer more than 100m in size, could be seen by everyone.
[It's him!]
[Isn't that fake as well!?]
[No, that's definitely the real him, because...]
They could now see the two fortresses! Its words were buried in the noise Yu IlHan made as he struck his hammer.
[Critical Hit!]
[Kugh!?]
[This is not that strong at all.... Mm!?]
The lands flipped, and the flames that spread in all directions attacked the enemies at once. Of course, the damage itself wasn't that great, but soulflame chains, along with the flame, shackled the enemies all at once!
[My, my power.]
[My body feels unfamiliar. How? He... he is really a lower existence?]
"This is just the start!"
Hundreds, if not thousands, of chains were all connected to Yu IlHan's hammer at the other end. He shrank the hammer before going on a rampage, puffing up his muscles.
In the domain of Falling Down, his regenerative capabilities increased 5-fold, allowing him to invoke his God Force skill beyond its limits!
"Uoooooooh!"
[Kahgk.... Kahaaaaaaaaahk!?]
When he swung his hammer, the higher existences, restrained by chains, could not withstand its force and were blown into the air, dancing. Following the hammer's trajectory, the translucent flames Yu IlHan had made chained them to the beat of their dance.
It was quite comical to see higher existences being flown like that, since they couldn't withstand the sheer force of Yu IlHan's swings.
[Master, I'll just smash like this, okay!?]
"Yes, come on!"
[Attack him! He's shown himself!]
[I'm trying, with my soul and magic!]
The higher existences that could finally see Yu IlHan attacked him with all their powers.
Those who could not approach Yu IlHan because of the chains poured out their magic power, and the countless spells that struck Yu IlHan's body made for a frightening sight, but in fact, Yu IlHan's expression, as he received them all with his body, was quite calm.
[How!? I can see the quality of my magic power decreasing...!]
[It's his doing. These flames and chains are making us weird!]
[Kugh, we can't break through his armour with this...!]
Falling Down simultaneously enhanced allies and weakened enemies. Lowering the enemies' league reduces the efficiency of enemy magic attacks, and the moment he takes reduced attack damage, he immediately recovers, so there is no way damage can stack on him!
If Teraka were in this region, or if there had been around two more of those giants before, Yu IlHan wouldn't have been so daring, but receiving the attacks of the ones here for a short time wasn't that difficult at all.
Of course, he couldn't do it forever, nor did he plan to. From the moment he showed himself, he was no longer fighting alone.
"Mystic!"
[Now!]
The higher existences knew that the Flying Fortress was crashing to the ground, but also knew they could not escape the chains unless they killed Yu IlHan, so they focused on attacking him rather than evading the fortress.
Of course, their attempts failed, and the Flying Fortress successfully demonstrated the meteor strike against the Destruction Demon Army – twice, including against the Guardian Fortress!
[Critical Hit!]
[Kugh!? This power is...!]
[Holy power, it's the holy power of a strong god!]
To the Destruction Demon Army, which had never imagined anyone other than Yu IlHan could harm them, this was no different from a new disaster.
The combined attack of Na YuNa and Mystic instantly killed two near-death higher existences with Yu IlHan's hammer and flame attacks, and inflicted serious damage on the others. Na YuNa experienced five level-ups at once thanks to the successful meteor strike.
"Oh, great as expected."
[Ehem.]
Yu IlHan was aware of the state of the two fortresses in real time, so it was very easy to protect himself from the attack. Of course, as he had to evade, the chains connecting the hammer to the enemies snapped, but now he had no need to tie them down.
His army was now participating in this battle.
"Good. Guys, let's go!" (Liera)
[Kuooooooooh!] (Yumir)
Liera raised her spear, and Yumir turned into a dragon to signal the start of the battle with his grand voice, grander than any other dragon's.
An endless stream of armies came out from the Flying Fortress and the Guardian Fortress. Each of them, equipped with shiny equipment, may be weak on their own, but together they are a sharp blade that can slash at higher existences without a problem!
"This way for us." (Liera)
[We'll go the other way! Let's go!] (Yumir)
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
Liera and Yumir, who were leading their respective armies, split up into two and attacked the enemies.
[Eeeeek, they're all lower existences!]
[Ludicrous, LUDICROUUUUS!]
The higher existences outside it, enraged by the meteor strike, were further enraged upon seeing the levels of those who emerged from the two fortresses. It was already so frustrating that Yu IlHan alone toyed with them all, but now, lower existences that weren't even of the 4th class were taking them for fools because of that!
[Guooooooooh! All of you, I shall make you all serve as a foundation for the Destruction Demon Army!]
The higher existences that escaped Yu IlHan's chains each roared loudly and attacked back!
And so, higher existences and lower existences clashed in battle. Of course, they were still in the domain of Falling Down, so the league of magic they could use was still lowered by a stage!
"If it's this much, the others can do it too."
[It's not like 5th class falls to 4th class just because their league was lowered!]
"Huh? Isn't it around the same thing? They look similar to me." Yu IlHan replied to Mystic and swung his hammer. Until now, he had been moving to annihilate all enemies himself, but it was different now.
He was the commander of the battlefield; protecting all allies, in his eyes, and restraining enemy attacks and movements were his job!
"Fight! Let's fight!"
"It's scary but... If it's for the hero!"
[Awooooooo! Survive and protect the princess!]
[Kyahaaaaak!]
The battlefield became noisy, but in a different sense than last time. Lower existences who gathered up into a group attacked one higher existence, while Yu IlHan, Liera, and Yumir used their powers to protect them.
"How dare you!"
[Kugh! Youuuuuuuu!]
Since they were interfered with every time they tried to use large-scale magic or any with strong offensive power, the higher existences couldn't fight back properly and were only beaten by the army's attacks.
Moreover, the two fortresses that landed on the ground were controlled by Mystic, who used all their artifacts, including Hundred Eyes, to drive back the higher existences!
[Critical Hit![
[Kahak!?]
And eventually, it finally happened. The swords that the kids in Yumir's Dragon's Army destroyed the weak point of a higher existence.
[I cannot die to maggots like...]
"Kyak!"
"Eeeeek!"
It did not die even with that and wounded some of the children near fatally, but eventually met a miserable death at the blades of the children who rushed forward without knowing fear.
At that moment, the levels of all the children participating in that battle increased like mad.
"Whoa, I became really strong!"
"My injuries are all gone. I got a lot of skill levels!"
"...I can fight more."
"I can fight even more!"
The ripples from the first victory achieved by the Dragon's Army were considerable. The morale of the Dragon's Army swelled as if to explode, and the elves and the wolfkin army, who were likewise in a fierce battle, put more power into their strikes.
[Critical Hit!]
"Good! For His Majesty I-"
"Shut up, Paté! But well done anyway!"
The first kill from the elves' side was from the strongest long-range damage dealer, Paté! Tens of elves and hundreds of wolfkin combined their powers, and he succeeded in striking an arrow of death into the body of the higher existence.
It was natural for everyone in the battle to have their levels rise by 2, but the more serious problem was that...
[G... guooooooh...]
"It rose."
"A higher existence revived as undead."
One of Yu IlHan's very first epic-ranked artifacts, the Deathgod's Trajectory. Perhaps because of that, it had an especially strong option compared to others of the same rank: it could revive the target killed by its arrow as an undead.
Paté only killed a higher existence without thinking much, but the option attached to the bow was still in effect, reviving it as an undead. That didn't stop it from just adding an extra higher-existence undead to the ally camp, but it called for a bigger change than just that.
"Whoa, Paté is being enveloped by light...!"
"Transformation? Is Paté finally becoming a magical girl-"
"4th class, he's acquiring his 4th class!"
Paté had hit the limit as a third class some time ago, and was waiting to walk into a new realm. Although he did not accomplish the quest the Akashic Record gave him, since the achievements he had made were incomparably better than the one it had given him, he succeeded in acquiring a class that was originally not allowed to him.
[You have become Destiny Archer. Resistance to death and ruling power increase by 50%, and you can wield dead souls and undead to inflict bigger damage on enemies. You have acquired a skill related to the class.]
[The god of curses wishes to bestow a blessing on you. You can acquire the blessing if you fulfill two more accomplishments.]
[The Deathgod's Trajectory evolves into Chaos rank due to the user's records.] It may evolve once again once blessed by the god of curse.]
Blackish-purple mana gathered towards Paté, who was in the middle of the battlefield. Although Yu IlHan was the same, the scene was quite loud, unbelievable for just a 4th-class advancement.
"Fuu."
Paté eventually opened his two eyes. In front of him stood the gorilla-like higher existence, prostrating – this was the undead he had just revived.
Paté looked at that and thought for a moment before extending his hand out. From his palm, mana harbouring a frightening aura of death gathered.
"Is it like this? Everyone, protect me for a moment!"
"I'm doing that even if you didn't tell me to... are you really Paté?"
"I'm one-way-His-Majesty!"
"So you are indeed Paté!"
The blackish-purple mana, harbouring a deathly aura, enveloped the higher-existence undead and began changing its form into a more battle-oriented one. A lower existence was changing a higher existence!
[E, eeeek!]
[This cannot happen.] This is....]
The ability Paté had acquired was indeed very large, but it was not enough to shake the battlefield. However, the enemies cowered for another reason.
A lower existence other than Yu IlHan had thrown the league of higher existences into disarray, reducing it to a being even lower than lower existences! Such fear enveloped them!
[W, we cannot win. We should have realized this faster.]
[6th class... we need the power of a higher rank. Headquarters, we need to contact headquarters.]
[T, Teraka! We need to contact Teraka! We need his power!]
Yu IlHan, who would never watch that happen, prevented them from contacting the outside with his chains, but his actions were meaningless. Because the enemies succeeded? No, it wasn't like that.
[I cannot contact the higher-ups.]
[Teraka.... is not answering our call.]
Yu IlHan sensed the despair hidden in their speeches and confirmed it was not a lie. Then, he thought.
Teraka, good job!