There were many religious orders in the world, but the Lillian Kingdom only permitted the worship of two deities: Nikeh, the god of fortune, and Frey, the god of abundance. All other religious orders were forbidden from building churches or engaging in missionary activity within the Lillian Kingdom. Therefore, the Order of the Sun, which worshiped Pharas, the god of the sun, was not allowed to operate within the kingdom. How could they be here? Ailos couldn’t believe his eyes. It wasn’t just one or two people; many priests of the Order of the Sun began to glow all throughout the stands. The darkness began to recede. The light was warm to humans, but melted the flesh and bones of the Undead. The priests of the Order of the Sun, having become sources of light themselves, simply stood with arms outstretched, but even that alone gave people hope and solace. “I can see them! I can see those monster bastards!” “They can’t regenerate in this light!” The knights, who had been fighting the Undead relying on nothing but their other senses, were reinvigorated. The Undead’s seemingly invincible immortality vanished under the light of the sun. Ailos turned his gaze back to Keter. Just as he said, although the darkness had been pushed back, the entire arena was not illuminated. In fact, some areas had grown darker. This was partly because there were only about twenty priests, but more because the darkness that had been driven away by the light had condensed at the center of the arena, making it even deeper. With a gesture, Ailos halted the movements of the skeleton knights and smiled. The appearance of the Order of the Sun had certainly been a surprise, but it was far from enough to overturn the tide of battle. “Hahaha! Keter, you have eyes, so you can probably see this. Sure, the sun’s light is poison to the low-level ones, but for high-level Undead, it’s just a mild sting. Even without immortality, they can still wipe all of you out!” He was shouting for them not to cling to hope—for them to despair—but Keter’s smile only deepened. “Ailos. You always act like you know me so well. So let me ask you: why do you think I’ve been talking to you all this time instead of attacking?” “I needed time to form the formation.” Heavy, dull sounds echoed throughout the arena, as if something solid was being struck and shattered. Ailos frantically looked around. He could sense his summoned Undead were being destroyed rapidly. There was a strange group fighting at the frontlines against the Undead, but they clearly weren’t knights; wielding maces and shields in each hand, or heavy twin hammers, they were smashing the Undead into pieces. A knight recognized them and cried out in awe, “Is that the Death Eater Mercenary Corps? What are they doing here?!” The crowd’s expressions lit up with hope, but it wasn’t just because they were an elite mercenary corps composed entirely of Diamond-class fighters. “How could a mercenary corps that specializes in Undeads be here of all places?!” “But where were they until now?” “Who cares! Join them!” The Death Eater Mercenary Corps was a specialized group known for annihilating the Undead. There were legends that they had taken down thousands of necromancers and Undead. But they didn’t operate in the Lillian Kingdom, as it was considered relatively free of dark mages. Their base of operations was the neighboring Adeus Kingdom. There was no way they could have appeared here in the Lillian Kingdom, or so Ailos thought. Ailos’s lips trembled. Two impossible things had now happened: the appearance of priests from the Order of the Sun, and the arrival of the Death Eater Mercenary Corps. He didn’t want to believe it, but Keter’s expression explained everything. “Keter... you brought them all here? The Order of the Sun priests, and the Death Eater Mercenaries Corps?” “If your eyes still work, you might want to look again. There’s one more left.” Ailos didn’t even need to look, as he heard the crowd’s cheers first. “The alchemists from the Saint Zarbella Foundation are here!” “The Undead are melting!” “It’s holy water! The alchemists created holy water!” “Look at that! They can’t regenerate! It must be holy water!” The Undead struck by vials thrown by the alchemists of the Saint Zarbella Foundation hissed and dissolved in smoke. Keter chuckled as he watched. Are you kidding? Holy water? It’s just highly concentrated acid that can melt steel. The alchemists of the Saint Zarbella Foundation were known for operating in the shadows. Many of them were wanted fugitives for conducting inhumane experiments and creating bizarre objects, but as allies, there was no one more reliable. Their alchemy ignored resistance. Even the darkness, which resisted all elements, succumbed. As they put their hands together and stomped on the ground, the orichalcum floor twisted and ensnared the Undeads’ legs. The knights and the Death Eaters Mercenary Corps wasted no time taking advantage of the opening and smashed them to pieces. “Push any regenerating Undeads toward the priests!” Following the mercenary’s command, the knights threw shattered Undead into the sunlight. The Undead disintegrated into ash as they were exposed to pure sunlight, and even high-level Undeads were no exception. Under normal circumstances, they could resist the sunlight, but during regeneration, they were vulnerable. The tide had turned. The Order of the Sun expelled the darkness with light, the Death Eaters Mercenary Corps formed a wall at the front, and the alchemists from the Saint Zarbella Foundation supported them. Even the civilians who were running away in panic were beginning to feel safe. This wasn’t something they managed on their own; it was thanks to nobles who, tipped off by Sefira, had stationed knights in advance. Ailos’ fists trembled. The Sefira brothers, who used to be hopeless, now burned with renewed determination. Ailos gave the order for the skeleton knights to resume their assault. He summoned banshees as well. “You think you can kill me with this pathetic army?” Keter released the arrow on his bow. The Milky Way he had nocked on his bow fired and then split apart. Limitless Archery, Fourth Form: Fission-Shrapnel. Spell Activation: Acceleration Gate. The Milky Way, which was divided into a hundred pieces, passed through the gate and accelerated to a supernatural speed. Kaboom boom boom boom!! The skeleton knights and banshees were swept away like sand on the shore, overwhelmed by sheer speed and power. Keter could shatter them, but he couldn’t kill them—the Undead couldn’t truly die. And yet… they didn’t regenerate. The scattered bones trembled, as if trying to reassemble, then fell still, lifeless. It wasn’t the sunlight; they were far beyond its reach. Black smoke rose from the bones. Ailos’ frown deepened. “You can’t kill them, but you can stop them from reviving.” Amaranth’s Demon Arrows carried the power of decay. Even they couldn’t fully kill an Undead, but they could block regeneration, blocking regeneration with the power of destruction. Ailos bit his lip and glared at Keter and the Sefira brothers. He quickly scanned the battlefield. It wasn’t good, but if he stepped in directly, he could still turn it around. The priests from the Order of the Sun, the Death Eater Mercenary Corps, and the alchemists from the Saint Zarbella Foundation—they were nothing but rats to him. He could even kill Keter. That wasn’t bravado, as in the Deep Dark Fantasy, Ailos wielded Prime-level power. But that wasn’t his goal. He hadn’t orchestrated all of this just to kill Keter. He hadn’t spent years preparing just to kill some worthless people. No... I need to head to the palace right now. Ailos reined in his rage and recalled his true objective. He needed to steal the object hidden in Eslow’s palace. That was why he had lured Eslow here in the first place. Damn... did I already lose a fallen angel? Even with the support of hundreds of Undead, they were struggling against Eslow. It’s not ten minutes. More like eight—no, seven. He couldn’t stay here any longer. Angry and frustrated, Ailos prepared to flee. Before he left, he sneered at the Sefira brothers. “Looks like your Keter’s treasured toys. I’ll admit that you got lucky.” He turned and flew into the air. Myle and Anis breathed sighs of relief, but not Taragon. “Don’t run, you coward!” Taragon shouted. What nonsense was this foolish human saying? “We fought even in the darkness, where everything favored you! We didn’t run! We fought without regeneration or resurrection like the Undead! And now you’re running just because the tide turned a little?! You coward! You pathetic trash!” Ailos felt rage burning in his chest. Even when he was living, he had never been this furious. I’m not running away; I have a goal. If it weren’t for Keter, you’d have been slaughtered by a single skeleton knight! He wanted to go down and kill Taragon on the spot, but Keter made that difficult. Instead, he lowered his gaze and memorized Taragon’s face. Taragon... I’ll remember your name and face. He pledged to himself that one day he would personally turn Taragon into an Undead and torment him forever. Although Ailos, the master of darkness and the Undead, was gone, the darkness did not recede, nor did the Undead grow weaker. On the contrary, the now-masterless Undead went berserk and began attacking people even more ferociously. The priests of the Order of the Sun brought by Keter, along with the Death Eater Mercenary Corps and alchemists, were indeed doing their part, but they couldn't stop the rising number of casualties. Realizing the situation, Myle said, “Keter, we don’t have a commander right now. Someone needs to step up and lead this battle. I think you’re the right person.” Though the knights gathered in the arena were fighting together, there was no command structure. Because of that, injured people were left unattended, and some knights were just idly standing in the back. Myle’s judgment was spot-on—this battlefield needed a commander. But Keter didn't know anything about that. No—he had no interest in knowing. Keter placed a hand on Myle’s shoulder and shook his head. “Big Brother, I’m the type to fight at the front, not lead from the back.” “Still, people will listen to your orders. Even if you're unsure, you just have to do it.” “It’s not about confidence or anything. More than that… my lover is waiting for me.” Keter jerked his chin toward a certain direction. Seeing it, Myle’s expression turned grave. There, Norman—no, a monstrous slime—was slaughtering both knights and Undead alike. Rajis and the four-star knights were doing their best to stop Norman’s advance, but with Undead attacking from both sides, the situation was dire. “The ones I summoned are certainly capable, but only against the Undead. I’m the only one who can face Norman.” “I’m coming with you, Keter.” As Anis stepped up, so did Taragon. “It’s not just you, Anis. It’s me too.” But Keter immediately rejected them. “Is it because you think we’re not strong enough?” Anis, who became sensitive when talking to Keter, unintentionally sounded cold. But Keter simply smiled and tapped Anis on the chest. “If you and Taragon come with me, who’s going to lead the Order of the Galaxy?” Currently, the Order of the Galaxy was stationed far away, working to protect the civilians. They were uneasy, unsure if the members of Sefira were alive, or if they were doing the right thing. Someone had to appear before them—someone needed to reassure them that they were doing well and that they were okay. “That’s what Myle should…” “Myle needs to command the battlefield.” “And Taragon, help Anis. You know how quick-tempered he gets, right?” When Taragon agreed without hesitation, Anis gave him a sharp glare. Having completely given up on Keter, Myle said, “So you’re going off alone again.” “Jealous that I get all the credit?” “No. I just feel bad that we only hold you back. Again, we’re just the ones being helped.” “Tsk, why are you underestimating yourself? You guys drew Ailos’ attention, and that’s what let me sneak these people in. In a way, I just used you all. I’m the bad guy here.” “No, you’re not. We know you adjusted to our level. …Thank you, Keter.” Follow current novels on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⁂𝕟𝕖𝕥 Seeing that, Keter had mixed feelings. My chest feels all tingly again. It was an unexplainable emotion—a ticklish feeling in the heart that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. “Let’s save the heart-to-heart for later. You want to protect people, right? Then go protect them. I’m going to do what I want to do.” “Go, Keter. We’ll do our best, too.” The three brothers didn’t stop Keter anymore. They weren’t shameless enough to do that. After Keter went to face Norman, the three immediately started doing what they had to do. A four-star knight who had been fighting with one of Norman’s clones collapsed after losing their left leg. As the clone was about to decapitate him, Rajis intervened and saved him. “Take the injured to the back!” In times of emergency, there was no time for formalities; orders had to be delivered quickly and succinctly. The knights following Rajis quickly retreated, protecting the injured. Seeing that, Rajis quickly began thinking. Four knights fell back to protect the injured. Skeleton knights are on my right, and zombies are on my left. In front of me, Norman and his clones are running at me. Everything he was fighting was monsters. He and his knights would be taken out of battle if they lost one of their limbs, but the monsters would regenerate even if they were decapitated. It was extremely unfair, but the funny part was that these were actually better circumstances. Originally, he had been fighting Norman while surrounded by the Undead. If it weren’t for the three alliances Keter brought, he would have been killed. I think I could kill these Undeads if I could just do something about Norman… Norman was as tough to deal with as the Undead, if not worse. Slimes died if their core was destroyed, but it constantly moved. If it wasn’t properly targeted, they would just sustain more injuries. Rajis actually suffered lots of injuries, which was inevitable since he was fighting Norman’s clones while protecting others. I already killed four of them… but there’s still more than thirty left. Twelve knights had died, and over thirty were injured just to kill four of Norman’s clones. With so many tending to the wounded, they were down more than thirty knights from the front lines. …I guess I’m dying here. Negative thoughts popped into his head, but Rajis’ sword and resolve didn’t weaken; he just calmly accepted his death. I always thought I could die for the sake of justice, but I never imagined I would die in the middle of the Sword of the South Tournament. He had vowed to live a life without regrets and took pride in having done so. But now, with death staring him in the face, regret came rushing in. I... could've done better. Rajis made a vow. If he somehow survived this, he would never again ignore even the smallest injustice. That moment of resolve was when Rajis let his guard down the most. Norman looked like a monster, but he thought like a human. He could read the smallest openings in his opponent. Soon, four of Norman's bladed tentacles lunged at Rajis’ exposed weak points. These tentacles weren’t just sharp; each moved with refined, high-level swordsmanship. Every strike carried the ultimate move of swordsmanship—sword art that had once killed Pashian in a single instant: Strike-Breaking Wave, Falling Petal Point, and Fatal All-Cutting Blade. And now, a fourth one he had gained after killing Pashian: Extreme Galewind Sword. Four ultimate techniques all aimed at Rajis’ vital points while he was exhausted and defenseless. He knew he couldn’t block them all, and he would lose both arms at the very least. And without his arms, he wouldn’t be able to stop the next attack, and he would die. But still, he didn’t despair. He didn’t tremble or cry. Calmly, with quiet resolve, he unleashed the finest swordsmanship he had. Flawless Immortal Raiment: Steady Sword. He raised his sword above his head to strike, but something fell in front of him before his blade did. “Don’t lower that sword just yet.” Keter descended from the sky and faced the four deadly ultimate techniques in Rajis’ place.