Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

The blue flames engulfed thirty hobgoblins in an instant. There were no screams. They turned to ash before they even had the chance to feel pain.

"...!"

The Pioneers stared wordlessly at the spot where the flames had vanished, their faces blank with shock. The entire process, from when the flames erupted to when they disappeared, had only taken a few seconds. But in those mere seconds, thirty hobgoblins had been reduced to nothing.

Even Ethan, who had completed his second job advancement, looked stunned at the overwhelming power on display.

"It's a hidden class, sure, but this is..."

Isn't this too powerful? Ethan Swallowed the rest of his thoughts, but Justin smirked, guessing what he was thinking.

"It's actually not that strong of a skill."

"Not strong?!"

Where, exactly, is it weak? The Pioneers' eyes asked the question without words, prompting Justin to explain.

"It instantly incinerates enemies below a certain level, but if their level isn't much lower, the damage decreases significantly."

"What about against orcs?"

"When I hit level 30, I'll be able to turn them to ash. But for now, all it does is give them a few burns."

It was a useful skill, but still a downgraded version. From his experience in World Breaker, Justin knew it wouldn't work well against stronger opponents. Only after reaching level 30 and completing his job advancement would it have the power to sweep through orcs.

"In fact, it's practically useless in one-on-one fights against equally strong opponents or bosses. But for handling large groups of weaklings, it's incredibly effective, especially with the added bonuses."

"Bonuses...?"

"Watch for yourself."

The Pioneers followed Justin's gaze to where the blue flames had burned. Fine particles of ash, like grains of sand, floated in the air. Then, after a brief moment, the ash began to move.

Shff, shff...

"Krrrik!"

The ash gathered and formed into imps, a type of demon monster. Unlike the imps Justin typically summoned, these had blue skin and cackled with wide, slit mouths.

"Kekeke! Blood! Fresh blood!"

"Kill them all! Kill them!"

Laughing maniacally, the ten imps clutched small daggers and charged at the hobgoblins. The hobgoblins, taken aback by the sudden appearance of new enemies, began fighting back in confusion. Watching the two groups of monsters clash below, Zachary shouted in surprise.

"You can summon monsters from corpses?!"

"That's right. The demons summoned are proportional to the average level of the enemies killed."

The skill was designed to use fallen enemies as sacrifices to summon new allies. In small-scale skirmishes, it wasn't that impressive. But in large-scale battles, it could be game-changing. The only downside was that the summoned demons wouldn't obey commands. They wouldn't attack allies, but they wouldn't follow orders either. Additionally, if the sacrificed enemies were weak, the summoned demons wouldn't be very strong.

Despite Justin's explanation, Ethan still looked incredulous.

"That's insane."

"I told you, it's not that great of a skill yet. It only becomes more useful at higher levels."

"You're leaving out one important detail."

"What's that?"

"That skill works on Pioneers too, doesn't it? Unlike your intimidation skill, which only affects monsters."

At Ethan's sharp question, Justin simply smiled. As if he had confirmed Ethan's suspicion, the healer shuddered slightly. He had just realized how devastating this skill could be in future 'wars' between Pioneers.

"...It's truly insane."

"For now, it's not a big deal. Your healing skill is still more useful."

For now, Justin thought. For now.

Though Ethan shot a sideways glance, Justin pretended not to notice and raised his voice.

"Alright, I've shown you enough. How about we go straight for the head?"

"What? We can just keep wearing them down from the walls..."

"There's no need."

Justin replied with a grin to the confused Pioneer.

"Why stay cooped up here when we can finish this quickly?"

"...!"

Boom!

"Hahaha! Is that all you've got?"

With a laugh, Derek sent another orc tumbling off the bridge. That made sixteen orcs so far. The once-confident orcs were now hesitant. With only four of them left, there was no hope of victory.

"Fireball!"

Suddenly, an orc shaman shouted from afar. Derek, assuming it was another attack aimed at the walls, ignored it. But the giant fireball was headed straight for the Light Bridge.

"That crazy...!"

"Kuh-rik!?"

Both Derek and the orcs gaped in shock. The shaman was willing to sacrifice their own troops just to take him down.

"Damn it!"

Just as Derek dropped to the ground, a shadow appeared beside him, a shield rising to protect them.

Boom!

"For a powerful spell, their defensive skills aren't that great, huh?"

With the sound of the fireball dispersing, Rachel chuckled. Derek blinked, looking around at the comrades who had suddenly joined him.

"Brother? I could have handled this myself..."

"Says the guy who ducked the moment the fireball came flying."

"Ahem! I was just minimizing my hitbox to endure the attack."

"Minimizing your hitbox? Stop talking nonsense and get ready to charge."

"What? Charge?"

Justin's gaze turned toward the troll and orc shamans in the distance. The shamans were visibly startled, clearly not expecting the Pioneers to charge out of the walls.

"Thunder...!"

"Rachel, shield."

"This is my last one!"

"...Volt!"

Boom! Crash!

The orc shaman's projectile collided with Rachel's magic shield, shattering with the sound of glass breaking. The shield's magical protection had reached its limit.

Justin shoved aside the charred orc corpse and pointed with his finger.

"Double Enhancement."

"Krrrk! Shield!"

"Cursed Lightning."

Crackle!

Purple lightning shot toward two orcs and the troll. A translucent shield appeared in front of them, blocking the lightning, but it couldn't block the blinding light. In that moment of hesitation, Derek and Ethan charged forward.

"Thunder!"

Splat!

An orc shaman, in the middle of chanting a spell, screamed as an arrow lodged in its eye. It hadn't reached the brain, but it was enough to put the orc out of commission for a while.

"Nice shot."

"I thought you'd take one down yourself."

"That's good enough."

Justin reassured Nathan as we watched the two of them close in on the monsters. The troll, seeing its prey approach, roared and charged at them in a frenzy.

"Graah! Meat! Meeeeat!"

Drooling as it charged, the troll looked terrifying enough to make most people wet themselves. Its strength was enough to take on a mid-tier boss. But this time, it had picked the wrong opponent.

"Avatar."

With a short murmur, Ethan was surrounded by a white aura. It was the Crusader's ultimate skill, allowing him to embody divine power. Strengthened to the point where he could overwhelm his opponent in a one-on-one duel, Ethan Swung his sword.

Slash!

"Gyaaah!"

With a tearing scream, the troll's leg was sliced clean off. The movement had been so fast it was barely visible. But the attack didn't end there. Ethan Continued to swing his sword like a storm, reducing the troll to pieces before it could even hit the ground.

The rare-tier weapon, the Cleaver Blade, lived up to its name, effortlessly slicing the troll apart.

"Krrrk! Impossible!"

"Impossible!"

Crack!

At that moment, Derek drove his thunderous hammer straight into the orc shaman's face. In the time it took to take two breaths, two of the three monster leaders were dead.

Only the orc shaman, who had just pulled the arrow from its eye, remained. The shaman clutched its bleeding eye, an awkward smile spreading across its face.

"D-Don't be rash..."

"...."

Not worth listening to. Orc shamans were supposed to be intelligent, but this one wasn't using its brain wisely.

"Double Enhancement."

"Wait! You bastard!"

"Black Missile."

Thud!

The last orc shaman fell backward, a hole in its forehead. As the three monster leaders collapsed, a heavy silence fell over the battlefield. The hobgoblins had lost their commanders, and the Pioneers hadn't expected it to end so quickly.

Justin broke the silence by shouting at the dazed Pioneers.

"What are you waiting for? Finish the clean-up!"

"...Waaah!"

With a delayed cheer, the gates opened, and the final mop-up began.

The second wave ended almost laughably easily. They had taken out the leaders as quickly as possible.

It was practically a suicide run on their part.

To be honest, they would have had a much harder time if the orc shaman hadn't set up the Light Bridge. Without it, they would have had to fight their way through all those hobgoblins just to reach them. But instead, the shamans paved a direct path to the boss, essentially begging to be killed.

If it had been a spell they could cancel at will, we might have been in trouble, falling into the middle of the battlefield. But no such luck for them.

The Light Bridge was a tactical spell that stayed up for a limited time once cast. During that time, it could be used by anyone, even enemies. Thanks to that, the Pioneers were able to charge across without fear of the bridge disappearing under their feet. The system probably hadn't expected them to go on the offensive. They likely assumed the Pioneers would stay on the defensive because of the troll.

With two second-job Pioneers, plus Justin, that assumption couldn't have been more wrong.

"Level 20! I hit level 20!"

"Awesome! Can I go for my second job advancement now?"

"At this rate, the third wave is going to be a breeze!"

The ease with which we handled the second wave sent our morale soaring. Everyone was confident that the hardest wave, the third, would be just as easy to overcome. And with good reason. Both Nathan and Rachel had completed their second job advancements after the wave ended.

Even Justin, trying to stay cautious, couldn't help but feel a little optimistic.

With four second-job Pioneers and me, maybe the third wave won't be so bad...

Even though he kept telling himself not to get overconfident, the thought lingered. He tried to suppress the grin that kept creeping onto his face as he prepared to go to sleep.

"My lord! My lord!"

A panicked voice echoed throughout the fortress. Groaning in irritation, Justin got up and headed outside.

"Who is it?" Your next journey awaits at empire

"It's me! Emily!"

"Are you kidding me? You know the third wave is tomorrow, right?"

Justin snapped at Emily,more than a little annoyed. It wasn't just because his sleep had been interrupted. Disrupting someone's rest before a battle was a serious issue. Even a slight decrease in performance could lead to death in combat. This wasn't a joke.

"Just because we won the second wave easily doesn't mean it's over. Does someone have to die for you to take this seriously?"

"I'm sorry, but this couldn't be helped."

"What do you mean it couldn't be helped? Where's Zachary ? He's the one in charge of administration. He should have been able to handle this."

"I know!"

Emily cut in quickly, as if to stop me from scolding him further. His expression showed that he had risked his life to interrupt me.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"If this were a minor issue affecting our forces, I would have left it to 서창우. He's practically a chancellor and can handle most things on his own."

"Good to know."

"But this is beyond Zachary's authority. Hundreds of civilians are gathered at the gates, and more are arriving by the minute."

"What?"

What the hell was he talking about?

Seeing Justin's confusion, Emily spoke quickly.

"Civilians from other territories are here begging for your help. Apparently, their leaders are executing civilians left and right to try and escape the wave."

"...!?"