NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Humanities sword
The explosion hurled Kenji back, sending his body tumbling across the cracked, scorched earth.
With a pained groan, Kenji peeled himself off the broken ground as he managed to regain his footing, but almost as instantly as his eyes readjusted to his surroundings, his mind was overtaken by the devastation before him.
Where his army had once stood, a massive 300-meter crater now gaped wide with its edges still glowing with residual heat.
The sheer power of the attack had eviscerated everything within its range. In one attack, nearly one-fifth of his force, 1,000 players, were wiped out instantly.
Kenji quickly assessed his body for injuries.
The left side of his impressive armour was gone, leaving his skin exposed to the sulphurous air of the volcanic landscape.
Yet, despite the missing armour, his lithe, muscular form remained unscathed. Despite the lethality and destructive power of the attack, Kenji's body was unmarked by cuts or burns.
As Kenji observed his body, he knew of only one explanation that could account for his near-miraculous survival.
"Elijah…!" Kenji muttered under his breath, his voice heavy with sadness and pain.
There was only one ability that Kenji knew of that would leave him unscathed after such a devastating attack.
'Guardian Angel'.
Elijah had once again sacrificed himself, taking the brunt of the damage onto his own body. Kenji clenched his fists. His comrade had used the mythical-ranked enchantment to protect them, and Kenji knew the cost.
Instinctively, Kenji channelled mana into his armour, focusing on the self-repair-type enchantment to make the armour whole once more. It would take some time, but amour was invaluable in battle.
Next, Kenji scanned the area and saw that only three of his comrades had survived, further confirming what he already knew.
The others were gone, reduced to ash.
It was clear Elijah had activated his shield's enchantment in time to save them, but the heavy toll of that sacrifice weighed on Kenji's mind.
Kenji's momentary bout of mourning was interrupted when grotesque figures began appearing from behind the jagged obsidian peaks, casting long shadows from the molten backdrop.
The grotesque monsters quickly increased in number before they began advancing on the surviving army's position.
Kenji, with a mindset forged through multiple battles and the loss of loved ones, instantly refocused himself on the approaching wave of monsters.
"It's an ambush!" Kenji roared, infusing his words with mana so that all the surviving soldiers could hear him clearly over the chaos.
Kenji had lost too many allies in past battles to let his grief slow him down. Elijah had bought them precious time, and Kenji would ensure it was not wasted.
Still, despite the approaching horde of enemies, Kenji took a moment to analyse the attack that had decimated much of his army and its possible source.
'That Attack…? That Explosion…? An Apostle? It must be 'him'!' Kenji's mind raced into overdrive, and after analysing the explosion, he easily found an answer.
Only one being possessed the ability to unleash such overwhelming destruction. A sickening feeling churned in his gut.
"'The Apocalypse'… Liament," Kenji said, his voice infused with anger.
'The Apocalypse' Liament was a player who had betrayed humanity and became one of the seven apostles serving this world's Supremes.
Apostles were servants of the Supremes, with each Apostle being devoted to one of 'Hell's' seven Supremes.
Liament was the apostle of 'Satan', and the player was rightly titled 'The Apocalypse'. Liament was infamous for his cataclysmic area-of-effect abilities, skills capable of erasing armies in a single strike.
"Spread out! Spread out! Use small unit formations!" Kenji roared, issuing new orders to the surviving soldiers.
If Liament was truly here, grouping together in large numbers would only make them easier targets.
Thankfully, such overwhelming power had limitations, mainly the mana and stamina consumption that it required, coupled with the heavy toll on the user's body.
Still, it would not be long before another devastating attack would rock their surroundings, leaving untold devastation to their army.
Faced with the approaching wave of enemies, Kenji drew his own mythical-ranked item, a sword named 'Orochi's Fang'.
'Orochi's Fang' blade was sleek and curved with a similar appearance to a katana, and the blade edge gleamed with an ominous aura. The sword's black handguard was shaped like eight coiled snakes, and the hilt was crowned with a snake's head. The sword radiated power and lethal intent.
This item was also bound to Kenji through a 'True Bond', and in reaction to Kenji's fury, the weapon pulsed and writhed in his hand like a living snake.
There were three kinds of 'bonds' a player could form.
The first and most elusive was a bond between two souls and was called a 'Soul bond'. The second most powerful bond was a 'True bond', and this was the bond that Elijah had with his shield, and Kenji had with his sword. 'True bonds' were 'mana bonds' that were further enforced through skills or other powerful abilities.
Finally, there was the 'Mana bond', a bond mainly used to bind items and use their enchantments by linking with the item through a tendril of mana. The number of 'Mana bonds' was proportional to a player's level.
The armour Kenji wore was connected through a 'mana bond', and only through this bond could Kenji use the armour's enchantments.
The 'True bond' between Kenji and 'Orochi's fang' was enforced through Kenji's legendary ranked skill, 'sword grandmaster'.
As Kenji channelled mana into his first-ever skill, a skill that he had meticulously improved upon over time and evolved into its current form and rarity rank, a thin silver line, almost as if someone was tracing his body and weapon with a silver marker, traced over his body and sword.
The skill 'Sword grandmaster,' unlike its lower rarity form, not only pulled out the true potential in the form of aura from the sword but also from the user and combined the two, turning them into a whirlwind of death on the battlefield.
It was also thanks to this skill and Kenji's heroic and selfless deeds that he gained the title 'Humanities sword,' for he was one of the best swordsmen humanity had to offer.
As the first of the grotesque monsters approached the rapidly restructuring formation of the army, which split into smaller, more mobile units, Kenji scanned the approaching horde, and only a few moments later, his eyes locked onto the more humanoid forms trailing just behind the larger monsters.
Upon seeing these humanoid forms, Kenji clenched his jaw as thick veins bulged on his forehead. Kenji's face darkened with recognition as he activated his legendary ranked 'Spirit Eyes' skill, an enhanced skill from the uncommon ranked 'Identity' skill.
As Kenji glared at the humanoid figures, a list of information appeared on a translucent blue screen, only confirming his suspicions.
From the list of information displayed on the blue translucent screen, two key pieces of information stood out.
The first was the race 'Human', and the second was the epic rank class 'Blood Ghoul'. This information led to an obvious conclusion.
They had been betrayed!
"Blood Lord!" Kenji bellowed, fury boiling in his veins.
The truth hit him like a hammer. It all made sense now! How the enemies had managed to ambush them, how the Apostles had known where they were. They had been betrayed by the very ally they had been forced to trust.
'Blood Lord' had not only betrayed them, but he had also betrayed humanity!
"He couldn't be this foolish! He can't be stupid enough to trust 'their' false promises!" Kenji spat out.
With increasing rage, Kenji launched himself towards the approaching monsters. Kenji used mana manipulation techniques to further strengthen his body by infusing his muscles with the mystical energy called mana.
As a result, Kenji rocketed into the throngs of enemies and turned into a blur, leaving only a fountain of blood to quench his wrath. His katana became an extension of his fury, slicing through the grotesque creatures with deadly precision. Blood splattered across the battlefield as bodies fell like wheat before a scythe.
The other players followed suit, engaging in desperate combat. Explosive flashes of magic and skills illuminated the barren landscape, and the air became thick with the stench of death. The ground trembled beneath the weight of the battle, and bodies crumpled, quenching the thirst of this barren land with blood.
As the battle progressed, Kenji carved his way into the middle of the battlefield. However, as time slowly passed, Kenji recognised that as the enemies' numbers increased, bolstered by reinforcements, this was becoming a losing battle. Given the situation, they would be unable to mount a good counteroffensive, so with a burning pang of regret, Kenji decided to order a retreat.
However, despite having decided to retreat, just as Kenji turned to give new orders, his enhanced senses noticed a distant rumble followed by the unmistakable sound of human screams. In response, Kenji whirled around, and the sight he saw only made his heart sink further.
Reflected in Kenji's eyes was a towering monstrosity, an abomination cobbled together from the parts of dragons, giants, and other grotesque creatures. This new monster crashed into the rear of their forces. They had been flanked. Kenji's eyes narrowed in grim realisation.
"'The Gourmet'… François," Kenji spoke under his breath as he gritted his teeth.
Kenji had easily recognised the Apostle who led this new line of assault. Another of the seven Apostles had joined the battle, and with his arrival, their situation had gone from bad to worse.
Their forces were now pinned! They were caught in a brutal melee with 'The Apocalypse' and 'Blood Lords' forces at the front while 'The Gourmet' and his monstrous abominations tore into their rear, decimating their support units. Kenji instantly released that there would be no retreat, no escape.
Despite the bleakness of the situation, a fierce, almost mad grin spread across Kenji's face.
'These Demons! If they won't let us live… I'll make sure they fall with us.'
Despite the dark thought, Kenji knew he still had a duty to his soldiers as this army's leader. Kenji could not let them all die here with their lives being wasted.
"I'll make a path! All units, retreat!" Kenji roared.
Pooling every ounce of his mana into his mythical ranked katana 'Orochi's fang', Kenji activated one of its most powerful enchantments 'Eight Heads'. Instantly, seven identical clones of Kenji materialised beside him, each equipped with the same intricate armour and wielding an identical katana. The enchantment allowed Kenji to summon seven identical clones of himself, but there was a time limit as the enchantment had a high mana cost. But that did not matter to Kenji as this was a last-ditch effort.
Without hesitation, Kenji and his seven clones launched themselves toward the towering monstrosity with eight 'Orochi's Fangs' gleaming with lethal intent. They would not go down without a fight.
As the battle raged, Kenji knew one thing for certain. If this was his final stand, he would ensure the Apostles felt this wound. For he was titled 'Humanities sword' and would cut the corruption that dared lead humanity to its destruction.