## Chapter 803 – Winter in the Capital

ㅡCrush!

I methodically smashed the ice knights charging at us.

Even if they were strong, they were still weaker than us. The sheer number of them made it tricky, but there weren’t any major problems.

ㅡCrack!

This time, I could really see Karin showing off her skills. She charged forward, creating only a faint sword aura, and was practically a destructive bulldozer.

With the overwhelming power emanating from her superhuman body, each swing of her sword cleaved through several ice knights, sending them flying.

ㅡThud!!!

Even when twenty of them attacked at once, she could take them all out in an instant. Top-tier swordsmanship, insane strength, plus the rare metal sword and sword aura – it seemed like no one could stop her.

Everything she touched was destroyed.

Even with such blunt force, her movements were incredibly agile and swift. Her speed was proportional to her insane destructive power. She could deliver a barrage of attacks that felt like a battering ram, without showing any signs of fatigue.

Is this what it means to be a superhuman?

The output was no joke.

Karin knew exactly how strong she was, and she knew how to use that strength. She truly deserved to be called a powerhouse. After all, she was the woman who demolished the Martial Arts Guild gymnasium with a single sword back in the day.

“Ugh, it’s been a while since I’ve used my strength properly.”

Karin stretched with a surprisingly cute gesture after smashing dozens of ice knights. She had a refreshed expression on her face.

My sister is seriously scary.

“Why do you look so refreshed?”
“I am refreshed. Where else would I get a chance to use my strength like this? It’s fun to smash a bunch of moderately strong guys.”
“Hehehe, that’s true. Wow, why is my sister so strong? She’s so pretty and so strong.”
“Kyahaha, your sister has always been strong.”

Karin smiled and gently pulled my cheek.

Strength is proportional to beauty, after all.

“Well, in a few years, my husband will be as strong as me. It won’t be long.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”

Karin is truly capable of smashing through anything head-on. Each strike is refreshing and exhilarating. To be honest, I can’t even imagine how a Sword Master could be stronger than her.

So, I’ll be able to catch up in a few years, huh?

After finishing our conversation, we faced the next wave of ice knights.

I just focused on dealing with the ones outside of Karin’s attack range. That was pretty much it. Since it was a maze, Karin and I were at the front lines while the mages took care of the ones coming from behind.

I kept an eye on everything while fighting.
That’s when I noticed Winia.

“You disgusting bastards! Just die!!!”

ㅡZzzzzzzzzing!!!!

A red beam shot out.

“Kyaaaaaaack!!”
“I, I’m so frustrated…!”
“N, no!”

The Naiads hit by Winia’s Blaze Beam melted instantly. Fire is extremely effective against ice, so they couldn’t withstand it at all.

“I will never forgive evil monsters who torment humans!!!”

ㅡWhoosh!!

Hilde also launched pink and blue fireballs, suppressing the ice knight squad.

Considering that the combat power of those ice knights was around that of a C-rank adventurer or a novice knight with little practical experience, it was a terrifying display of power, even with the elemental advantage.

Her magic has definitely increased.

Anyway, we advanced at high speed, smashing every monster we encountered. It was a surprisingly easy pace. If we used our full strength, we could break through very easily.

“Karin is really… going wild. I should have brought my gauntlets.”

As we walked, Liz said that to Karin.

“That broken weapon?”
“Yes. I need it to unleash my full power.”
“Hey, hey. Are you going to rely on weapons that much? That means you can’t beat me without it, right?”
“Can’t beat you? Karin, you’re weaker than me without your sword.”
“You little… No, even if you wear those, you still can’t beat me when I have my sword, okay?”
“Yeah, bullshit.”

Liz then started poking Karin’s side.

But if they fought without weapons, would Liz win because of her hand-to-hand combat skills? In a weapon fight, Karin was dominant even if Liz wore those ridiculously good Devil Gauntlets.

Anyway, we continued to advance, destroying the spirits and their summons.

But then, a thought occurred to me.

The Otherworld might be in a very precarious state.

The boundary with Pandemonium is currently quite thin. That alone is a major threat. What if a guy like Andromalius, who can use his full power, appears with his subordinates?

It’s bound to be incredibly dangerous.

And besides him, other archdemons are also plotting invasions. In that situation, what about the spirit realm? I don’t know if the spirit realm even exists yet, but if the Ice Palace is the vanguard of that realm, as we suspect…

That means that the humans have to worry about not only the invasion from Pandemonium, but also the invasion from the spirit realm.

Two different worlds are targeting this land.

The demons crave human blood, pain, and souls, while the spirits sing of the annihilation of humans. Either way, both are just thinking about turning the human world into a shithole. And they have the power to do so.

This is fucked.

In the past, during the Age of Idol Wars, even more forces targeted this land and made a complete mess of it. Maybe this is… the prelude to another great war.

There are too many goddamn bastards. Even if the kingdoms are strong and the respected Church holds the greatest power, can humanity overcome the crisis if something like that happens again?

I felt a strange sense of foreboding.

So, I asked Risha, who was walking next to me.

“Risha, if the spirit realm really invades, doesn’t that mean we have to worry about both demons and spirits?”
“Huh?”
“The situation is too suspicious these days. Not only Pandemonium, but also the spirit realm. Don’t you think this is a sign that something big is going to happen?”
“…Indeed… Recently, such signs have noticeably increased. Such things didn’t happen even a few decades ago… Not only demon gates, but even spirits are showing such movements…”

Risha also seemed concerned. It was clearly abnormal. The fact that the gates connected to Pandemonium were opening so easily was also a problem, and this spirit was also a problem.

“And what else? You said that there are other worlds called hell besides Pandemonium, right? Maybe those places are also preparing something behind the scenes. And what about that? The underworld that necromancers open.”

Necromancers are currently active with heretics.

“There are also things like that.”

I wondered if all of this was a conspiracy by those heretics who wanted chaos and destruction. The boundaries with other worlds were becoming increasingly blurred. It could be a natural phenomenon, but considering their suspicious activities, it was worth suspecting.

“And what about the demon world? Maybe those guys will send a demon king…!”

Before I knew it, I was predicting a bleak future! Could it be that invaders from other worlds were preparing to trample on this land…!!

Evil gods!

Demon kings!

Spirit kings!

Archdemons!

Those crazy sons of bitches are targeting our land!!!!!!

“…At least, we are completely cut off from the demon world, so rest assured.”
“Really?”

Risha’s confident words calmed me down a bit.

In the past, the demons who lived in the demon world sometimes sent demon kings. Demons even lived on this land at one point. But now, they are completely cut off from that world. Anyway, those forces were also among the bastards who added to the chaos of the Idol Wars.

“Hmm, yeah. Things have been a bit strange lately.”
“Right?”

Winia, who was listening to Risha and me, also nodded.

“I wonder why these things keep happening. Blackie, you’ll get super strong and protect me soon, right?”
“Of course!!!”

I needed to become incredibly strong so that I could deal with such a chaotic world when it came. Anyway, for now, let’s focus on that high-level spirit, Arquina.

When we catch him, we absolutely have to confirm the existence of the spirit realm.

Hopefully, it’s not connected.

If the spirit realm really exists, and Arquina used its power this time…

ㅡHigh-level fire spirit.
ㅡHigh-level wind spirit.
ㅡHigh-level earth spirit.

Those goddamn sons of bitches might show up in droves.

I absolutely couldn’t handle such an inhuman future.

* * *

We were progressing through the maze without any problems.

ㅡTwitch.

Claudie’s ears twitched.

“I hear something. Hmm… It sounds like humans are fighting ice knights.”
“Oh, the hearing of an elf. But is it okay to have your ears out like that?”
“Hilde is using magic for me.”

A will-o’-the-wisp was burning near Claudie. I guess that’s enough… Still makes me uncomfortable.

Claudie heard that humans were fighting ice knights not far from here. I immediately told the others to rest here for a while.

“Claudie, it’s near there, right? I’ll go take a quick look.”
“Then I’ll start a fire.”

I immediately entered the passage next to us and sprinted.

ㅡThump, thump!

How long had I been running?

“Tsuhap!”
“Hap!”

Looking ahead, I saw a mixed-gender group wearing Kingdom Knight Order ceremonial armor skillfully fighting ice knights. As expected of trained knights, they were launching coordinated attacks and gaining the upper hand without taking any damage.

Tactics and coordinated training are important after all.

Even if the forces are similar or inferior, they can easily win if they can freely use such trained tactics.

Let’s go talk to them.

“Hey!!”

ㅡCrash!

I easily smashed three ice knights who spotted me and charged at me, then called out to them.

“Ah! Welcome! But we are in the middle of a battle!”

One of the knights shouted while fighting. Only five ice knights were left, so they were all destroyed before I could even help.

After confirming that the battle was over, I approached them.

“As expected of the Kingdom Knight Order, your martial prowess is truly amazing. Greetings. I am Kim Kat, a paladin directly under the Holy Maiden of the Bronze Saintess Order.”
“What! A paladin of the Bronze Saintess Order!!”
“What!”
“The one who defeated Harun!”
“Wait! Be vigilant!”

The knights reacted to that and swarmed around me. So, they know me. My reputation has spread a bit.

“Ah, I am Ace Knight Renderson! I saw your feat of defeating Harun! Very impressive!”
“Hehehe, I’m flattered by your words. Harun was a really strong opponent. Anyway, were you fighting here? Just to let you know, I’ve taken care of all the monsters on the path I came from.”
“Ah, that path. Thank you for sharing the information!”

But looking behind the knights surrounding me, I saw two knights lying on stretchers. Noticing my gaze, Renderson said to me.

“Then let me tell you one thing as well. If you plan to go to that main road, please be careful.”

He pointed to the main road to the north.

“What’s there?”
“That’s… an ice dragon has appeared.”

What?!

“What, what did you say! An ice dragon!!!”

This is fucked!

“Don’t be alarmed. Of course, it’s not a real ice dragon. It’s probably a monster created by the spirits, like these ice knights. It just looks like a dragon, so we’re calling it that.”
“Ah, is that so? You scared me half to death.”
“Haha. It’s understandable. But even if it’s fake, it’s very strong. We were the first to discover it and engage in combat. Of course, we decided to retreat and run away in less than three minutes. We’re going to report it right away.”

He talked about the strength of the ice dragon.

They had casualties while fighting it, and they immediately decided to retreat and report the news to the main base.

They were fighting the ice knights who reappeared in the meantime.

That was a few hours ago.

“Anyway, it’s reassuring that the paladin who defeated Harun with a single blow has arrived! Then, I wish you good luck! We’ll retreat now!”

The knights bowed politely and retreated.

They looked young, but they didn’t seem to be wary of me as a barbarian at all. Is it because they’re young? Or are they simply impressed by my strength? I’m not sure.

Anyway, an ice dragon, huh?