I Became The Novel's Biggest Antagonist - Chapter 160

Chapter 160: Black Night In Dreonah [4]
Anson and the others stood frozen, their eyes widening in sheer disbelief as they watched the golden lance, swirling with black Stigma, tear straight through Merlin’s wind-forged sword. The attack didn’t slow—it kept going, heading directly toward their barrier like an unstoppable force of destruction.

A cold chill shot down Anson’s spine. His instincts screamed at him, and he spun around, his voice ringing loudly.

“TAKE COVER—!!”

The moment the lance struck, a piercing, almost deafening sound tore through the air. The sheer intensity of it made everyone flinch, their hands flying up to cover their ears.

And then—

-CRACK!

The barrier shattered like fragile glass, exploding in an instant.

-BOOOOOOM!

The impact unleashed a shockwave so powerful that soldiers stationed atop the walls were sent flying like ragdolls, thrown backward by the sheer force. Even those who held their ground, like Anson and Idir, could do nothing but watch in stunned horror as the remnants of the barrier crumbled before their eyes.

It shouldn’t have broken so easily. Ludmila had weakened it, yes—but even then, it was supposed to last longer. Yet Ivan, with a single throw, had obliterated it.

Merlin stared, mouth agape, struggling to process what she had just witnessed. She had helped construct that barrier herself. She knew its strength. And yet, it had been torn apart like paper.

Their strategy—to buy time, to wear down their enemies—was falling apart right in front of them. Now, only the city walls stood between Gevurah and Dreonah.

Ludmila, watching from a distance, was surprised as well. She had never seen Ivan do something like this before. Then again, it was the first time she had ever witnessed him channel his Stigma into a weapon of pure destruction. And instead of fear, she felt something else—admiration.

Ivan was already a monster. But now, he was becoming something far beyond that.

Without hesitation, Ludmila dispelled her Stigma and turned to face the Legion, already prepared for battle.

She gave a single nod.

And with a deafening war cry, two thousand soldiers surged forward.

“R—Ready your weapons immediately!”

Anson shook off the dizziness clouding his mind and shouted the order.

The soldiers scattered on the ground groaned, forcing themselves back onto their feet despite the lingering shock. Gritting their teeth, they grabbed their weapons and steadied themselves.

“Archers! Nock your arrows!!” Anson turned toward the archers perched along the walls.

Below, the Legion charged forward in a relentless wave, their intent clear—either break through the gates or scale the walls. There was no hesitation in their attack.

Anson raised his hand, waiting for the perfect moment. His heart pounded as the enemy drew closer. Then, with a motion, he dropped his hand.

“Now!!”

Hundreds of mana-infused arrows shot into the sky, a shimmering storm of deathly arrows descending upon the oncoming soldiers. The air filled with the whistling sound of projectiles cutting through the wind.

But Gevurah’s forces were prepared.

Though they carried no shields, they didn’t need them. In perfect synchronization, the Legion unleashed their Stigma, forming barriers around themselves. The arrows struck, but instead of piercing flesh, they bounced harmlessly off the shimmering defenses, rendered useless.

A few well-aimed shots managed to find weak points, striking soldiers in their blind spots, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The overwhelming majority remained unscathed, pressing forward without slowing.

Anson clenched his teeth. This wasn’t what he had hoped for.

Ludmila stood still as the Legion surged past her on both sides.

-BOOOM!

A massive explosion lit up the sky.

Anson’s eyes snapped upward just in time to see another airship erupt into flames, torn apart by Dimitri’s attack. Burning debris rained down as the wreckage spiraled toward the ground.

Dimitri landed beside Ludmila right after.

“Their airships are a problem. They have fifty of them,” he said calmly but he seemed quite annoyed.

Ludmila, however, remained calm. “They’re using their cannons at full power now because we’re outside the walls. They have a clear shot, no risk of hitting their own troops.” Her gaze flickered toward the fleet hovering ominously in the sky. “But once we push inside the city, they’ll be forced to hold back. Their cannons will become liabilities—too much risk of friendly fire. That’s all this is. A show of force. Intimidation.”

She was right.

That was the biggest disadvantage of being the defending side—airships couldn’t unleash their full destructive power without endangering their own forces. But even with that limitation, they remained a massive threat.

They could still target the Legion’s flanks. Still devastate their reinforcements.

“What do we do then?” Dimitri asked, his gaze fixed on their struggling Legion. Soldiers pushed forward, but the reinforced walls and gates, strengthened by Merlin’s spells, stood firm. Even if they had the power to break through, how much time would it take? And more importantly, how many lives would they lose before they even made it inside?

To make matters worse, the enemy’s airships were closing in from behind, their cannons locking onto them, preparing to unleash devastation.

Ludmila remained silent, her eyes narrowing as she stared ahead. Her grip tightened around the hilt of her black longsword. The air around her grew heavy, a dark energy beginning to stir. The stigma on her back pulsed ominously, glowing with an abyssal light.

Then, without warning, a shockwave burst outward from her body.

A dense, suffocating aura spread like wildfire. The swirling darkness around her intensified, pressing down on everything in its wake. Soldiers turned their heads, their instincts screaming at them. Even Anson, who had been focused on the battle ahead, froze as his gaze snapped toward Ludmila.

Her presence was changing.

Dimitri immediately understood what she was about to do. Without hesitation, he took a step back, shifting his attention to the airships closing in on them. His own stigma, engraved across his arms and face, began to react—glowing with the same eerie darkness. The air crackled as his power surged, responding to Ludmila.

Then, in unison, both of them crossed the threshold.

Their Stigmas ignited. Their pressure exploded outward as they entered the first stage.

The sheer force of it sent shivers down the spines of everyone nearby. Even those too far to feel it directly sensed an unnatural, crushing weight in the air.

“What the hell is happening?” Idir whispered in shock, his mind unable to process the sheer intensity radiating from the two before him.

“I… I don’t know…” Anson muttered

They didn’t understand why, but their bodies reacted instinctively—muscles tensed, skin prickled with goosebumps.

And then—Ludmila vanished.

One moment she stood there, consumed by swirling darkness, and the next, she launched herself forward, her body engulfed in her black Stigma. The shadows around her twisted and took form—great, outstretched wings, dark as the abyss itself. A massive black bird, its feathers flickering like embers, erupted around her as she shot toward the sky.

“FIRE!!” Anson blurted out immediately.

The airships wasted no time. Cannons swiveled, mana cores hummed, and an instant later, a storm of glowing beams rained down toward Ludmila, each one a blast of concentrated destruction.

But she didn’t slow down.

She was already soaring straight toward them.

-BOOM!

Dozens upon dozens of dense mana beams crashed into Ludmila, engulfing her in an explosion of mana. The air burned with the force of the attack, and yet—she remained untouched.

Her Stigma swirled around her like a living, sentient force, absorbing the impact.

“W–What?!” Anson’s voice cracked in disbelief. His wide eyes fixated on Ludmila as the smoke cleared, revealing her completely unscathed.

Her gaze darkened. She slowly raised her sword, and in that instant, something ignited—a force that sent a wave of dread surging through Anson’s veins. It wasn’t fire. It wasn’t light. It was something far worse—an overwhelming, burning presence that defied explanation.

His instincts screamed at him.

“G–Get back!!” Anson stumbled backward, his body moving before his mind could even process the danger.

The soldiers on the walls felt it too. Ffear clawed at their chests, suffocating, paralyzing. Without hesitation, they leapt down, abandoning their positions, scrambling away from the gates as fast as they could.

But they were already too late.

Ludmila moved.

Her sword cut through the air in a single, perfect arc.

A massive, black wave erupted from the slash, expanding outward like an endless abyss. The sheer force of it bent reality itself, warping the air as it surged forward.

-BOOOOOM!

The wave collided with the city’s barriers—Merlin’s magic, a fortress of mana meant to withstand armies. For a moment, the barrier held. It resisted, pulsing violently, flickering under the impact. Even Ludmila’s eyes narrowed slightly in surprise at its resilience.

But she wasn’t done.

The black storm of her Stigma intensified. The burning heat around her expanded, turning into a violent tempest. She poured more of her Stigma into the strike.

Another explosion.

-BOOOOM!

The crack came first—a single fracture in Merlin’s seemingly unbreakable spell. And then, like glass under too much pressure—it shattered.

The remnants of her Stigma didn’t stop there. It surged forward, devouring everything in its path. The knights closest to the gate didn’t even have time to react. Hundreds were swallowed in an instant, their screams lost beneath the deafening roar of destruction.

By the time the dust settled, a gaping hole stood where the massive gates once were—a direct, open path into the city.

The Legion did not hesitate.

With a unified roar, they surged forward, pouring through the broken walls like a flood, clashing head-on with the recovering knights. The city defenders barely had time to react before they were overwhelmed, swords clashing, blood spilling as the battle raged on.

Ludmila sighed, her breath slightly uneven. A faint paleness crept across her face.

She had pushed herself too far.

Her Stigma burned through her like a raging inferno, consuming too much at once. She never liked using it unless absolutely necessary. But against a city protected by someone who manipulated mana on an entirely different level, she had no choice.

Her gaze lifted, shifting toward Ivan’s airship.

Kamila stood on deck in front of Ivan, her Stigma surging as she repelled every single attack aimed at them with her barrier.

And on the other side of the battlefield—Merlin.

She stood there, her body crackling with her raw perfect mana. The air around her shimmered as if mana itself bent in response to her presence.

And she was staring directly at Ivan ready to attack him.