### Chapter 368


    In the magic city of Hardenhartz, where the Igrit family resided…


    There was a forest known as the Spirit King’s Woods, managed by none other than the Igrit family.


    And there, an unending fire was raging.


    The fiery master of the scene was none other than the head of the Igrit family, the Fire King Adolf Igrit.


    He was currently maintaining a fiery barrier to hold back the rampant Spirit King’s Woods.


    But he wasn’t the only one keeping it up.


    Numerous mages from the Red Mage Tower were also lending their strength.


    Themoners had been evacuated to nearby towns.


    The only ones standing against the chaotic Spirit King Woods were them.


    However, due to magical exhaustion, many mages had already copsed, forcing the lines to be reestablished time and time again.


    “Damn it.”


    Adolf grumbled, sweat dripping down his face as he stared ahead.


    The rampage of the Kingdom of Jem, sparked by Ixion, had be uncontroble.


    Every country was doing its best to hold it back.


    Yet the Kingdom of Jem kept its unrelenting advance, leaving all who faced it in despair.


    As long as the root cause wasn’t eliminated, it was impossible to hold back the Kingdom of Jem.


    The Spirit King’s Woods was exceptionally high-grade among them.


    Because of that, even though Adolf and his mages were exerting all of their power to contain it, managing the front lines was no easy task.


    “Lord Adolf, more spirits areing!”


    At that moment, a sensing-mage shouted.


    Upon hearing the report, Adolf squeezed out even more of his magic.


    The rampaging Spirit King’s Woods was continuously producing spirits that moved mindlessly.


    These spirits were made solely forbat, aiming only to expand the Spirit King’s Woods.


    Each individual wasn’t that strong.


    But the problemy in their numbers.


    The spirit army charged forward en masse, with tens of thousands advancing at once.


    Moreover, when the spirit army fell, the remaining spirit dust would forcibly pollute the surrounding area with world erosion.


    No matter how many spirits they defeated, the retreat would repeat endlessly.


    ‘If they break through this time, it’ll be the end for Hardenhartz.’


    Before long, the city of Hardenhartz was right behind him.


    With his squeezed-out magic, Adolf unleashed fire magic to obliterate the spirit army.


    “Phew, haah.”


    Managing to deal with the spirit army, Adolf gasped for air.


    Perhaps due to aging, his body wasn’t what it used to be.


    He felt like he’d soon have to hand in his title as one of the Ten Great Lords.


    ‘The real issue is whether I can actually hand it in.’


    As Adolf pondered this while catching his breath…


    “More areing!”


    Once again, he heard the voice of a mage.


    Adolf red ahead, quickly lifting his head.


    Indeed, just as the reporting mage stated, the spirit army was rushing toward them.


    The Spirit King’s Woods was expanding, adding more battle spirits to its ranks.


    “Oh no.”


    Adolf was already strained for magic.


    If a follow-up attack came now, he wouldn’t be able to stop it.


    “Mages of the Red Mage Tower, preparerge-scale magic!”


    If the mages of the Red Mage Tower used their powers now, the barely-maintained fire barrier would extinguish. But allowing battle spirits to break through would mean total disaster.


    Deciding quickly, just as Adolf was starting to takemand…


    Whoosh!


    An overwhelming torrent of fire magic poured down onto the battle spirit army.


    Adolf’s eyes widened at what he saw.


    Surprisingly, while his own magical strength couldn’t quite match his prime, it was powerful enough to rival him now.


    ‘What is this magic?’


    Adolf was taken aback as the fiery waves swept around him.


    Then, a man slowly descended before him.


    The man’s red hair flowed elegantly in the air.


    As Adolf’s eyes slowly widened, he recognized who it was.


    “Considering your age, shouldn’t you be taking it easier? Or is this the reason for your troubles?”


    The one coldly criticizing Adolf was none other than his own grandson, An Igrit.


    The grandson whom Adolf had pushed aside long ago.


    In the past, due to the Moon’s Erosion, he couldn’t wield fire magic.


    That’s why Adolf had scorned him, firmly deciding not to hand him the family headship.


    And now, that grandson had shown up here.


    “An…”


    Upon calling his name, An nced at Adolf and turned his back.


    “Isn’t it about time you stepped down from your position as the leader of the Red Mage Tower, unable to even manage the Kingdom of Jem?”


    An still held a grudge against Adolf.


    To him, Adolf was essentially an arch-enemy.


    And that sentiment hadn’t changed even now.


    But An hade here to stop the Spirit King’s Woods.


    This ce was his hometown and also the hometown of Dorothy.


    [That’s not a spirit.]


    Dorothy, in her mini-sized form cradled in An’s arms, shook her head at the battle spirits.


    Even she could see that the battle spirits were tools of ughter, not spirits.


    [I can feel the woods are in chaos.]


    Dorothy trembled, seemingly sensing the rampage of the Spirit King’s Woods.


    [An, what should we do? It feels like the woods will turn into something else at this rate.]


    An clenched his fists tightly.


    Despite having researched magic extensively, he couldn’t do anything about the home of his beloved.


    In the distance, battle spirits were approaching once more.


    The spirits, whichcked any will of their own, perfectly fit the phrase “World Eroder.”


    The mages of the Tower were all exhausted.


    Adolf was no exception.


    ‘No matter how much I’m around…’


    In the end, the front lines would fall.


    Should they burn the Spirit King’s Woods down?


    But if they did that, Dorothy’s family of spirits would burn too.


    An was caught in dilemma when…


    Tap—


    A familiar sound echoed in his ears.


    Somewhere in his memory, that sound grew closer to An.


    Tap—


    His shoulder was gently tapped.


    An turned in surprise.


    There, fluttering in the air, was a woman with dark blue hair.


    “What are you frowning about?”


    The one who smiled brightly at An was none other than Kraush Balheim.


    An’s eyes widened as he beheld Kraush.


    “Kraush, what are you doing here?”


    “What do you mean ‘what’? I came to shut down the World Eroder.”


    Isn’t that the thing we all ought to be doing? Kraush continued forward casually.


    An then realized that Kraush was not alone.


    Behind him stood people summoned from various nations.


    An alliance of the Empire and Four Kingdoms, formed to pave the way against the Kingdom of Jem.


    The temporary name given to them was ‘Icarus.’


    Leading them were high-ranking individuals like the Captain of the White Dragon Knights, known as the Swordmaster, Weiss Aberos from the Ephania Empire.


    And there was also the Leader of the Valkyrie Order from the Starlon Kingdom, Jeram, known as the Guardian Sword.


    From the Holy Kingdom of Freeman, Cardinal Maria Arakazim.


    The Archmage Pordyn Orshen, an 8th Seat high mage from the Magic Kingdom of Jem.


    Finally, there was Dain Zephyros, the leader of the ck Sea Knights from the Maritime Kingdom, Poseus.


    Those many individuals followed Kraush like heroes of reversal.


    For the Empire and Kingdoms, managing the front lines against the Kingdom of Jem meant gathering their best resources.


    And among them was someone who had a connection with Kraush.


    Kraush’s gaze turned back.


    A woman stood there with mixed blonde and ck hair, her green eyes shimmering brightly as she bowed.


    “Yes, it seems the time has finallye to fulfill that promise from back then.”


    Lakradiyon, the challenger who had cleared the entire Demonic Bastion and made a name for herself, had participated in this Icarus mission to be Kraush’s knight.


    “Kraush, you’ve be quite the big shot while I wasn’t looking.”


    An remarked, a bit dumbfounded, as Kraush shrugged nonchntly.


    “It’s nothing special.”


    Hearing his joke lifted An’s spirits a bit.


    “I’m here to help close the Spirit King’s Woods.”


    An had also heard the reports that had spread across the world about Kraush’s ability to shut down the Kingdom of Jem.


    This news had been intentionally circted by entire nations.


    In the wake of the Kingdom of Jem instilling fear in its citizens, Kraush’s existence needed to be brought to light.


    That information quickly spread and enveloped the world.


    Kraush, recognized as the youngest among the Ten Great Lords due to numerous achievements,


    It was only natural that news about him being capable of shutting down the World Eroder traveled fast.


    As a result, the Empire and Four Kingdoms managed to unite without the citizens’ opposition.


    Under the pretense of saving lives, nations that had been at each other’s throats were now cooperating.


    This was a monumental shift that could alter the course of the entire world.


    Therefore, those nations intentionally exaggerated Kraush’s presence.


    The more famed his name became, the less the citizens’ anxiety would rise, allowing them to focus on Jem.


    It was a politically advantageous oue for all sides.


    “Right.”


    Kraush replied to An’s inquiry.


    Immediately, An stood by Kraush’s side.


    “Great, I was nning on doing the same.”


    Upon hearing An, Kraush chuckled.


    It was an indication that he would assist in closing the Spirit King’s Woods.


    “It’ll be dangerous.”


    “Isn’t that a given?”


    An brushed aside the warning.


    With such determination, he should be fine.


    Above all, Kraush hoped An would make a significant contribution.


    Not just An.


    Students from Rahern Academy across the globe were also lending a hand against the Kingdom of Jem.


    Despite their youth, they were already skilled enough.


    ‘Names from all around the world will break out now.’


    At the end of the day, Kraush was just the starting point.


    Soon, names representing the future generations would continuously emerge.


    And those names would be referred to as…


    “The Sky Generation.”


    An found himself in the midst of this Sky Generation.


    Naturally, he too had to make a name for himself.


    ‘The world keeps evolving.’


    Even if Kraush vanquished Ixion, shut down the Kingdom of Jem, and dealt with Abe…


    New dangers would always emerge.


    And no one could handle it alone.


    ‘The generations will keep passing on.’


    Just like the Sky Generation that spread its wings and soared.


    Many generations would follow suit.


    Kraush decided he would be the shining star at the forefront, allowing them to spread their wings wide.


    ‘In times of chaos, heroes are born.’


    Just as the saying goes, raising his sword at the forefront of many who will move forward, Kraush dered…


    “Today, we close the Spirit King’s Woods.”


    Kraush said that while turning to the Fire King, Adolf Igrit.


    “Fire King, you wouldn’t mind, right?”


    Kraush grinned triumphantly, having fought Adolf once over An’s matter long ago.


    Adolf sighed deeply before lowering his hand.


    “I’m counting on you.”


    He too had nowe to acknowledge Kraush’s abilities.


    “An.”


    Lastly, Adolf spoke to An.


    “After wrapping up the Spirit King’s Woods,e back to the family home.”


    An looked at Adolf, then turned his head away.


    “I won’t go to listen to things I don’t want to hear.”


    It appeared the rift between them wouldn’t be resolved anytime soon.


    There was nothing Kraush could do about it.


    So, Kraush stepped forward toward the Spirit King’s Woods.


    “Let’s go.”


    We’re going to close the Spirit King’s Woods.