Becoming the Dark Lord

Chapter 544: Berserker Valkyrie

Luke stepped into Cassandra's tent, ignoring the cluster of mages stationed around it, all specialists in magical barriers.

"Don't let that guy in," someone snapped, but Luke kept walking.

"Cassandra authorized him," one of the mages escorting him replied.

Inside the massive tent, Luke found Cassandra seated in a wooden chair. Several people stood nearby, forming what looked like a small briefing chamber.

"What is it, American?" Cassandra asked. "It's a little late to sell antidotes. We haven't found a single alchemist left alive."

She had only one arm now. The other, from what he'd overheard, had been torn off in battle.

"The bastard cut off the arm I use to wield my sword, and still had the nerve to take the blade with him," she muttered.

"Miles?" Luke asked.

"No. My cousin. And traitor. Peter Weiss."

"Lady Cassandra, you shouldn't be sharing our internal business with this foreigner, and he shouldn't even be here. He could be a traitor as well," said a middle-aged man at her side, clearly one of her retainers.

"There's no way for me to betray someone I'm not allied with," Luke replied. "I came to ask what I gain by helping you win this war."

The man slammed a hand on the table. "We are in the middle of a strategic meeting, and this man walks in talking nonsense? We're dealing with a potential traitor inside the duke's faction, my lady. We don't have time for this."

Cassandra had managed to stand her ground against the baron in battle, and she had almost won. But Peter's betrayal blindsided her. It was a trap, and only a handful survived. The kingdom of Lagras was fraying at the seams.

"I want a favor from you if I win this war. Do I have your word?" Luke asked bluntly.

"We're all trapped here together, foreigner. All of us will be executed by them. Or do you think the baron will let you walk away alive?"

"Bernard," Cassandra said quietly, "let him speak."

Luke laid out what he wanted.

"This is outrageous!" Bernard barked, and several others echoed him.

"I accept the terms," Cassandra said at last, though her expression suggested she barely believed her own words.

***

Luke walked beside George, a sergeant by rank, though technically a noble, son of a viscount of Lagras.

"Why exactly do you want to see the corpses?" George asked.

"Just do what I asked," Luke replied.

They reached a storage tent, and George began pulling bodies out of his dimensional item. These were some of the soldiers who'd fled with Cassandra after the ambush.

"Unfortunately, they didn't make it," George said. "They bled out before we reached safety."

Luke activated the Rank Skill he'd taken from Henry, [Echoes of Death].

A ghostly shimmer rose from the corpses, their figures forming like afterimages. The world around him warped, shifting into the location where they'd died. The illusion breathed life into their final moments. They were running through a forest clearing with Cassandra, injured, leaning heavily on one of them.

"We need to reach a safe place, now," one of the men said.

"The forest! We have to cut through the forest!" another shouted.

Arrows rained down. One soldier collapsed instantly. Others were already bleeding out.

"Damn you, Peter," the illusionary Cassandra hissed. "He betrayed us."

"Was it the duke?" someone asked.

"It had to be one of the two dukes. With the king sick, this is how they seize the throne. I have to return to Lagras, there could be betrayals everywhere. My father has to be warned."

Luke watched as the men fell one by one, their last breaths echoing through the crumbling phantasm.

"Where are the bodies from the battle against the baron? I heard some of them made it out but died later. At least their corpses were stored in items," Luke asked.

Soldiers like these never abandoned their fallen. For him, at this moment, that was a useful habit.

"They're over there," George said, pointing.

Luke finished examining the illusions, gathering every scrap of information about what had happened in the fight, then stepped away.

As he walked, Layla intercepted him.

"You bastard. What did you settle?" she demanded.

"We're leaving this place soon, and I earned myself a noble's favor. That's all I can tell you," Luke replied.

Layla pressed for more, but he gave her nothing. She was tense. After seeing the enemy camp for herself, it was hard not to be. The sheer number of siege towers, the war machines lined in rows, the way the other side had entrenched itself, it painted a grim picture.

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Luke stopped at the top of a hill, staring at the distant enemy army.

"They're building even more towers, and their range keeps forcing us farther back," George muttered. "They're pushing us away from the exit. This war… we've lost it. They're too well prepared."

Cassandra's group had planned to retreat with what remained of their troops, regroup at one of the temple bases, and stall for time until help arrived from outside the dimension. But with Peter and the baron controlling the only exit, outside help was never going to come. No one would even know they needed it. A noble like Peter could send letters, give false reports, control the flow of information. A clever plan, unfortunately.

Charlie and Angie stood behind Luke as he studied the siege towers.

"These things are the reason your army fell apart," he said quietly. There were so many, and more were being built under heavy guard.

Luke summoned his throwing knives. They hovered around him, blades glinting. He grabbed them in pairs and activated [Shadow Mana Explosion]. He hurled the first set upward, then another, then another, launching them in rapid succession.

"I'm clearing the towers," he said.

"What?" George blurted out.

High above, the knives reached their peak and began to fall. Luke watched them with perfect clarity through the Eye of Sariel.

[Telekinetic Impulse activated]

The falling blades accelerated like missiles, glowing with concentrated mana before striking the towers and detonating. Explosions rippled across the battlefield. Luke kept throwing. More knives fell. More detonations. Towers shattered apart. Enemy lines broke in chaos.

George stared, mouth hanging open.

"Holy shit," he whispered.

Allied soldiers rushed forward until they reached the edge of the blast radius, then stopped, frozen as they watched the destruction unfold.

"I told you," Luke said to George, "I'm winning this war."

Below, pushing through her own stunned troops, Cassandra's voice rang out.

"Move! You wanted an opportunity, didn't you? This is our chance, strike back!"

Her army surged forward, charging as the last of Luke's knives hammered down on the remaining towers.

"Angie, Charlie," Luke said, lowering his arm. "Your turn to shine."

"Yes, Master Luke," Charlie answered.

"Of course, my lord," Angie said, eyes burning with resolve.

She unfurled her wings in a burst of light, startling George so hard he staggered back. Spear in hand, Angie shot into the air. Far ahead, she dove toward the enemy lines, ripping through their remaining towers one by one.

Charlie sprinted down the hill with Lulie perched on her shoulder, charging alone into a cluster of enemy soldiers.

"W-who are you people?" George stammered, completely overwhelmed.

A roar thundered out from deep within the forest. Something dark burst from the treetops, climbing into the sky. A torrent of fire lanced upward, then arced down across the battlefield, tearing through enemy ranks like molten rain.

Everyone froze, ally and enemy alike, staring at the winged figure circling above. A wyvern. The creature banked sharply, screaming through the air as it flew straight toward Luke and George.

"Oh, shit!" George yelped, trying to bolt, but the wyvern had already landed in a crash of wind and dust.

"Hey, Franky," Luke said calmly. "Came to give me a ride?"

The wyvern nodded, actually nodded, and Luke swung up onto its back. "Take me to the baron's base."

***

Cassandra watched the sky, still struggling to comprehend what she was seeing. In mere minutes, the baron's massive army had lost nearly all strategic advantage. The towers she'd feared were being annihilated one after another. A winged woman streaked across enemy lines, spear glowing as she dismantled the rest.

But what truly unsettled Cassandra was the winged beast carrying that foreigner. The wyvern unleashed fireballs from above, each one exploding across the battlefield, tearing apart entire formations.

"Who is that man, Lady Cassandra?" Bernard asked, pale.

"He told me he was just a… simple merchant."

That was a lie. It had to be. And now she wanted, no, needed, to know who he really was.

***

Luke soared high with the wind roaring past his ears, hurling knives infused with [Shadow Mana Explosion] into the enemy camp. Each detonation tore apart platforms, shattered defenses, and collapsed towers.

Franky roared, activating [Wyvern Roar], a blast of sound that shook the battlefield.

Below, Luke spotted Charlie fighting alone. When she was surrounded, she unleashed the power she'd unlocked at level 70 of her second class.

[Wave of Ash (Rare)]: The Black Ash Fighter channels searing heat through their body and releases a powerful surge of Flame and Ash in all directions. The wave deals thermal and abrasive damage, burning and choking enemies around them. Its range scales with the user's Willpower and the mana invested, up to a controlled maximum. The rising ash clouds obscure enemy vision and, when inhaled, inflict continuous internal damage. The skill gains bonus power from Intelligence, enhancing its devastation. The ashes are your weapons, and from them your strength will rise. Let your battles endure, and let your enemies crumble beneath the burning dust of your dominion.

A shockwave of heat blasted outward. Some enemies were incinerated instantly; others collapsed screaming as flames clung to their skin. Ash swirled violently around her, and Charlie tore through it with her blade, its edge glowing red-hot, shedding crimson sparks.

It was the power she'd gained at level 75 of Blood Death Knight.

[Sword Vampire Drain (Epic)]: The Blood Familiar dissolves into liquid crimson, coating the Blood Death Knight's blade in a deep, hungry red. Every strike not only inflicts bleeding but siphons Blood Energy from living foes whose essence is compatible with vampiric feeding. This synergy turns the Blood Death Knight into a true execution machine on the battlefield, class and race operating in perfect harmony.

Charlie tore through enemies with ruthless precision, carving through them while activating her vampiric powers. The fusion of her sword with Lulie pulled Blood Energy from every wound she created, fueling her momentum.

Angie appeared beside Luke.

"My lord, we've destabilized most of the enemy formation. We can push into the camp," she said.

Luke glanced toward the baron's stronghold below. "Advance, Angie. I'm going after the baron himself."

She nodded once and dove toward the base.

As she descended, her body flared with power for a brief second, a burst of energy that marked the activation of the epic skill she'd earned at level sixty.

[Berserker Valkyrie I (Epic)]: The Valkyrie forces the body beyond its natural limits, hardening muscle and bone as instinct takes the reins. Pain and fear fall silent; the body responds only to the impulse to strike. While this mode is active, mana floods every fiber as fuel, empowering movement and sharpening every action. Strength rises, resilience surges, and the spear becomes an extension of the Valkyrie's will, faster, sharper, precise. Each thrust causes deep bleeding, and each throw hits with devastating impact capable of breaking defenses and hurling enemies aside. Every motion flows with brutal precision: quicker strikes, heavier blows, instinctive guards. During this state, all Valkyrie skills that grant physical or magical enhancements become more potent, and attacks receive a modest boost based on Intelligence. Fury is not a technique; it is the Valkyrie unbound.

Angie landed hard, driving her spear through a soldier's guard and sending him crashing aside. She followed with a punch that threw another into a wall. With a beat of her wings she shot upward, hurled her spear through two more opponents, then folded her wings midair, activating [Winged Defense] and [Valkyrie Charge] as she crashed down and shattered a stone tower.

The spear snapped back into her hand, and she flew again, grabbing an archer by the helmet and tossing him through a doorway. She moved with fierce, unrestrained aggression, each strike stronger than the last. Every takedown seemed to sharpen the wild grin spreading across her face.

Luke leapt from the wyvern's back, landing atop a roof, and headed straight for the heart of the baron's base.