Bzzt! Bzzt!

The gods made of pink energy unleashed powerful sparks of power.

“Are those the Ancient Corals?!” Siegfried gasped, recognizing the divine beings.

He didn't have to flash his Rune of Insight at them to know who they were.

Why? It was all because the energy they were unleashing was pretty similar to the energy being unleashed by the members of the Coral Race.

“Divine punishment awaits those who dared to invade our sacred lands.”

“You will be annihilated.”

“Face the wrath of the Coral Race.”

The Ancient Corals were far from what one would call creatures. Their bodies were composed of the purest form of energy, making them entities closer to spiritual beings than physical ones.

This was no surprise, as the Ancient Corals had already perished tens of thousands of years ago. No matter how powerful they were at the time, they were bound to succumb to the tests of time.

The passage of time meant their bodies would decay, leaving nothing but their bones behind.

Thus, the Ancient Corals decided to abandon their bodies and transform themselves into the purest form of energy—all to return to the world once more.

The body could wither away, but the spirit would endure forever!

This was the sacrifice they were willing to make to safeguard their planet and free their descendants from the shackles of slavery.

How had they learned about it?

The Coral Emperor of that time had seen visions of the Coral Race’s demise. Flames of war engulfed the Coral Planet, razing their lands, and their people were enslaved.

In order to protect their descendants, the Ancient Corals abandoned their physical bodies and went into deep slumber. They waited for the prophecy to come to fruition and free their people from their oppressors.

Now, the Ancient Corals had descended upon the Nurberg Continent, and the one that brought them here was none other than—

“Hey, Cheon Woo-Jin,” Siegfried called out.

“Did you miss me?” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a cocky smirk.

While Siegfried had been busy running around trying to stop the invasion of the Marchioni Empire, Cheon Woo-Jin was doing the things he couldn’t do in his stead.

After locating the ruins suspected to be the final resting place of the Ancient Corals, Cheon Woo-Jin focused all of his time and effort on awakening them.

“You look exhausted. Go rest up for a bit,” Cheon Woo-Jin said.

“I won’t say no to that,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

The appearance of Cheon Woo-Jin and the Ancient Corals was more than enough to fill Siegfried’s shoes. With such dependable reinforcements, Siegfried could not focus on replenishing his Primordial Force.

As expected, the Ancient Corals were more than enough to fill Siegfried’s shoes—no, they completely turned the tide of the battle even without his debuffs.

Bzzzt! Zaaaap!

The energy they unleashed was more than enough to drive back the enemies.

“G-Gods...! The gods have descended!”

“Those are evil gods! Evil gods have appeared!”

“Aaaack!”

The Ancient Corals were nothing short of a natural calamity for the Marchioni Imperial Army, as not a single one of the imperial troops was capable of withstanding the energy unleashed by the so-called gods.

“A-Arghhk!”

In fact, even the original clones of Duke Randoll couldn’t withstand the onslaught and were burned to ashes.

But that was not all...

Ziiiing!

Even the Immortal Fleet suffered a hole in their hull, and their engines equipped with SS-Grade mana stone were destroyed.

Shwiiiing...

The Immortal Battleships lost power and fell from the skies one after another.

Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

The individual combat prowess of the Ancient Corals was so strong that they were capable of shooting down even the Immortal Fleet from the skies.

Meanwhile, Hamchi walked up to Siegfried and said, “Rest up, owner punk. Leave things to us while you regain your strength.”

Mochi appeared beside him and added, “Don’t worry about the battle. We will take care of it.”

Both of them had transformed into their true form, exuding immense spiritual energy.

But they were not the only ones...

“W-What...?”

“I’ll protect you, dear. Just focus on recovering.”

Brunhilde, too, had participated in battle together with her mount, Hyperion.

Right after her, Lohengrin and the armies of Elondel appeared.

The King of the Elves exclaimed, “I’m here too, son-in-law! My army and I will protect you while you rest!”

And last but not the least—

”Father!”

—Siegfried’s beloved daughter, the apple of his eye, Verdandi, appeared on the battlefield. Holding the Emerald Tablet in her small arms, she walked confidently while surrounded by dolls with flaming blue eyes. These dolls were in the form of a bear, princess, prince, dog, tiger, and various other characters often found in storybooks.

She was hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius—talented in both magic and alchemy. Using her talents, she created these dolls and breathed life into them, turning them into something similar to golems.

With a warm smile, Siegfried looked at his comrades and family.

“Thank you, everyone. I will recover as quickly as I can,” he said.

Seeing everyone gathered around him felt strange. He had always thought that he had to protect everyone, yet it seemed that everyone was looking after him, too.

He felt comforted knowing that he had such reliable comrades behind him.

‘I have to replenish my Primordial Force quickly,’ Siegfried thought.

Leaving his back to his comrades and family, he fully focused on recovering.

“You will not be spared, Siegfried von Proa!”

“You will not be spared, Siegfried von Proa!”

“You will not be spared, Siegfried von Proa!”

Even while the clones of Duke Randoll swarmed him, Siegfried closed his eyes and fully focused on replenishing his Primordial Force.

What if his comrades and family were in danger?

‘I trust them.’

Siegfried believed without a shred of doubt that they would be fine. They only needed to hold back the clones for a short while, just a few minutes for him to recover his Primordial Force.

Besides, they were not so weak and incompetent that they couldn’t hold the line for ten minutes. In fact, holding back the enemy for ten minutes was not a problem for them at all.

***

The fighting was fierce, but this was only natural. On a battlefield where millions clashed, chaos was inevitable. In fact, it would be strange if there were order in this place to begin with.

“Do not doubt! We will emerge victorious!” Oscar shouted, rallying the troops.

After rallying the troops, she personally led the knights, charging straight into the enemy ranks. Under her command, the knights displayed the full might of the Proatine Empire, proving to the world how it had risen from a fledgling nation into a mighty empire.

“Ah~ Aaah~ Ah~ Aaaah~”

Gringore’s songs spread throughout the chaotic battlefield, attacking the enemies while buffing all allies.

“Five hundred twelve! Five hundred thirteen! Five hundred fourteen! Five hundred fifteen! Three in one incoming! Five hundred eighteen!”

“Ha! What a pathetic weakling! Is that all you got? This is my seven hundred sixteenth kill.”

“Curse you! Stop lying, you cheat!”

“Why would I bother lying to someone like you? You haven’t even stepped into the realm of Masters.”

Lionbreath and Nanuqsa’s fierce rivalry continued even in this chaotic battlefield.

General Draculis swept across hordes of enemies with his spear and taunted, “Come! Taste the might of my spear!”

“Azz-klahan... Kirihunaaa!”

“Khrasha... sahun!”

Decimato and Laimian, both Great Wizards, unleashed a barrage of area-of-effect spells, wreaking utter havoc across the battlefield.

“I am the Demon Lord of Vengeance, Metatron! Prepare to die, pathetic clones!”

“Bring it on! I, Chaos, loyal servant of the great Demon Lord of Vengeance, will grant you death!”

As expected, even Metatron and Chaos had joined the fray.

“I am the Sword of Proatine. I shall cut down my liege’s enemies.”

Master Carell unleashed the swordsmanship he had painstakingly honed and cut down the hordes of enemies swarming at him. Aside from them, countless others fought their own battles to drive back the Marchioni Imperial troops.

“Hey, are you going down just like that? Get up, you weak angels!”

“Silence, you filthy demon! Just do your job!”

“Please stop fighting and focus on the battle! Please!”

The units made up of a human, a demon, and an angel fought bravely as well.

Everyone fought bravely. With a common enemy, the Marchioni Empire, they united as one and risked their lives on the battlefield.

However, the ones on the battlefield were not the only ones fighting this war. There were those fighting the war from their respective places, providing support from the rear.

Quandt and Yong Seol-Hwa were the two main examples of such people.

***

The two blacksmiths, Quandt and Yong Seol-Hwa, were fully immersed in crafting the Universal weapon even while the war between the Proatine Empire and the Marchioni Empire was raging.

After many attempts, Quandt realized that it would be impossible for him to complete the Universal weapon alone.

He could somehow complete it eventually, but time was the problem. At the rate he was going, even he was unsure when he could complete the weapon—no, he wasn't even sure if he could complete it in his lifetime.

Thus, Quandt decided to ask for Yong Seol-Hwa's help to speed up the crafting process.

With the combined efforts of Quandt and the Dragon Blacksmith, Yong Seol-Hwa, the Universal weapon was slowly starting to take form.

While the all-out battle between the Proatine Imperial Army and the Marchioni Imperial Army was raging, the Universal weapon was finally complete.

“F-Finally... it is... complete...” Quandt groaned.

Thud!

With those words, he collapsed to the ground. He had poured out all of his strength to complete the Universal weapon and reached a state where he would have to rest for a couple of years to recover.

“Quandt! Are you all right?!” Yong Seol-Hwa rushed to his side and sat him up.

“The Universal-rated artifact... the lifelong dream of the... Bavarian Workshop is finally...”

“Uncle Quandt! Hang in there!”

“Give this... weapon... to its only... rightful owner...” Quandt groaned, his consciousness slowly fading.

“Okay, I will bring it to him,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied. She immediately understood what Quandt was trying to say and reached for the newly completed Universal weapon.

Just an hour ago, when the final stages of the Universal weapon were nearly finished, a messenger arrived with news that the Marchioni Imperial Army had launched a full-scale assault against the Proatine Imperial Army.

Which meant that, by now, the battle would be in full swing—possibly in its climax.

Yong Seol-Hwa knew she had to deliver this newly completed Universal-rated weapon to Siegfried, no matter what.

Under normal circumstances, it would only be right for Quandt, who had done almost ninety-nine percent of the work, to be the one to deliver the Universal weapon to Siegfried.

Unfortunately, he was in no shape to do that.

After exhausting every ounce of strength, Quandt did not even have the energy to lift a finger. Needless to say, traveling all the way to the battlefield with the weapon would be completely impossible.

Even if he somehow managed to reach the frontlines, making his way past the countless skirmishes raging across the battlefield to find Siegfried would be out of the question.

Hence, Yong Seol-Hwa had decided to take the weapon to him in Quandt’s stead. Even though she was exhausted and worn to the bone, she was still in a far better state than Quandt.

Possessing the Hidden Class, Dragon Blacksmith, Yong Seol-Hwa was both a blacksmith and a warrior. She stood a far better chance of surviving on the battlefield compared to Quandt, who possessed almost no combat ability.

Besides, a part of her wanted to join the fray and fight alongside her comrades.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Quandt. I’ll get this as quickly as possible to—”

Whoosh!

Quandt squeezed every ounce of his strength and grabbed Yong Seol-Hwa’s wrist.

“N-No... you must not...”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked, her eyes wide open.

“Only the rightful... owner of the... Universal weapon can... touch it...”

“Ah...!”

“Unworthy... will die... when touch... the weapon...”

That was it.

“...”

With those words, Quandt’s grip on Yong Seol-Hwa’s wrist loosened, as he lost consciousness. He had already exhausted all of his energy, so staying awake was impossible for him.

“Uncle Quandt!” Yong Seol-Hwa exclaimed. Then, she hurriedly supported him and called for the blacksmiths and healers waiting outside, “Hurry and help him! Bring him to the imperial infirmary!”

He needed urgent treatment. He had completely exhausted every ounce of his strength, and he could die from overexertion if he weren't treated at once.

‘What should I do? I have to get the weapon to Oppa, but what can I do if I can’t touch it?’

Buzz!

The Universal-rated weapon suddenly vibrated and, as if possessing a will of its own, it drifted up into the air.