Free Web NovelChapter 514: Chapter 287: Divine Rune Knight Order (2)
After all, it took a certain amount of courage to scheme against a god.
Especially when you were waiting for that very god to save you.
Meanwhile, Fang Zhen learned that the true work of a Divine Rune Master wasn’t simply carving. The real expertise lay in the study, research, comprehension, and application of these Divine Rune arrays and inscriptions.
The Divine Rune Masters here were much like Tattoo Artists, but not just anyone could comprehend these "tattoos"—it required a certain talent.
Fang Zhen figured it had to be related to Spiritual Power and perceptive abilities. The most expensive parts of deploying a Divine Rune were the materials and the energy.
In terms of materials, the Divine Rune Realm required special substances to construct Divine Runes. The more advanced the rune, the more advanced the materials needed.
Just a few grams could cost hundreds or even thousands of Gold Coins.
Then there was the energy.
In the Divine Rune Realm, there was a special type of Energy Crystal, similar to an energy stone, that took hundreds or even thousands of years to form.
These crystals were extremely rare, and mining them was both time-consuming and labor-intensive.
While some energy sources could be recharged through complex infusion methods, only the specific energy from these crystals could power the Divine Rune Etching arrays.
The etching process itself was relatively simple. However, acquiring the energy and the materials for the Alchemy Array was extremely expensive.
Fang Zhen did a rough calculation. The resources consumed to arm the entire Phil’s Legion with Divine Rune Weapons likely exceeded 200,000 Gold Coins.
The purchasing power of a Gold Coin here was similar to that in the Zambein Kingdom. No wonder Duke Phil had said this mass Divine Rune Etching had consumed over eighty percent of his army’s resources.
The Divine Runes etched onto Fang Zhen’s weapons, however, were of a much higher tier. Just etching the runes onto his various pieces of equipment had cost nearly 50,000 Gold Coins.
Fang Zhen’s entire set of gear had received a massive upgrade. His Thunder Spear was now inscribed with Divine Runes related to thunder and lightning.
Previously, when using his Thunder Spear, Fang Zhen had sensed it could tap into a more powerful, world-spanning force. Now, that connection was incredibly clear.
To make an analogy, before, harnessing this world’s power through the Thunder Spear was like shouting with his own voice.
But now, with the Divine Runes, it was like his voice had gone from a flesh-and-blood throat to an ultrasonic cannon.
Fang Zhen hadn’t fully unleashed its power yet.
But he could feel that his equipment, after undergoing Divine Rune Alchemy, had ascended to a whole new level.
’I wonder what level my gear is at now. It’s probably moved beyond the elite tier.’
In addition, his other items—the Flying Feather Iron Wall, the Flying Lotus, the Magic Necklace—had all undergone a degree of ascendant enchantment through Divine Rune Alchemy.
’I feel terrifyingly powerful now. All I need is an opponent to test just how strong I’ve become.’
That opportunity would soon present itself.
「Another day passed.」 After Duke Phil finished re-arming his soldiers, the tide of battle turned dramatically.
In a single day, the legion’s soldiers won seven or eight small victories consecutively, recapturing three satellite towns near Northwest City.
With this, the path to the demon-occupied Northwest City was wide open. They no longer had to worry about their retreat being cut off during the march.
At the same time, new reinforcements arrived, dispatched from the Kingdom: a company of 100 Divine Rune Warriors.
Duke Phil clearly had a way to get messages to the Royal Capital quickly. Perhaps because the situation had improved, this company of 100 Divine Rune Warriors had been sent as reinforcements.
Fang Zhen met these Divine Rune Warriors from the Royal Capital.
Their vitality and spirit were far superior to that of the regular soldiers. All of them were cavalry, clad in full plate armor, and each carried themselves with the physical and mental fortitude of an elite athlete.
Visible on their exposed skin were various Divine Runes, resembling tattoos.
Fang Zhen knew that this world’s Divine Rune Warriors represented the pinnacle of its combat strength.
He hadn’t had a chance to study just how powerful they were.
’But logically, they should be quite a bit stronger than Curse Sealers. After all, Divine Runes are more efficient at utilizing power than curse seals are. And in this world, where power is more abundant—like Spiritual Energy—the output should be even greater.’
The leader of the Divine Rune Knight Order was a Count in his forties named Osetis. He had long, golden hair and was quite handsome.
Osetis was known throughout the Kingdom as the Golden Lion.
They had only three or four days until the demons summoned a new Teleportation Gate and brought in reinforcements for the Demon Legion. Time was short.
Upon Osetis’s arrival at Duke Phil’s camp, a war council was convened immediately.
Fang Zhen was also in attendance.
Osetis was initially suspicious of Fang Zhen’s presence, but after Duke Phil spoke a few quiet words to him, the way Osetis looked at Fang Zhen seemed to change.
Osetis simply gave Fang Zhen a slight nod and said nothing more.
At the war council, Duke Phil gestured to a map on a sand table. "I’ll keep this brief," he said. "There are no grand schemes or intricate plots when fighting demons. It comes down to a comparison of raw power."
"The demons don’t waste time on conspiracies. They win through brute force, plain and simple."
