Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2957: Infected

It was a vicious attack.

Ura’s dagger was clearly no ordinary weapon, but a sinister tier-seven treasure forged for assassination. The blade possessed cruel serrated edges, it tore straight through the general’s formidable body armor, twisted unnaturally before ripping outward violently.

Blood gushed instantly.

"ARGHH!! Bastard!!"

Despite the injury, the veteran general reacted immediately. His muscular body twisted sharply as he countered with a brutal elbow strike powerful enough to shatter steel.

Unfortunately—

He hit nothing.

Ura’s body had already dissolved into dark smoke.

The concealment master reappeared several meters away almost instantly, his aura fluctuating wildly while his dagger remained dripping with blood. Without giving Anderson even a second to recover, Ura launched forward again with terrifying speed, this time aiming directly for the general’s neck.

However, just before the dagger could land, Ura’s movement suddenly slowed for a fraction of a second.

[Spectral Gaze]

Silvery light flashed within Emery’s eyes as a powerful soul attack slammed directly into Ura’s consciousness.

As expected, the mental attack barely affected an elite Grand Magus like Ura. The concealment master immediately broke free from the spiritual interference almost instantly.

But that single moment was enough.

The experienced military general reacted decisively. Anderson twisted sideways with a sharp evasive step before unleashing a devastating kick infused with lightning force.

BAAAAMMM!!

The impact blasted Ura violently into the side of the ship. Metal walls crumpled inward while the entire ship shook heavily from the collision.

Anderson immediately prepared to follow with another attack—

Only for his expression to suddenly twist in pain.

His body staggered.

"Poison...!!"

Dark purple veins had already begun spreading rapidly from the dagger wound across his waist.

At the same time, Ura once again dissolved into smoke before vanishing completely into concealment.

Even Emery’s divine sense struggled to follow his movements.

Then suddenly—

Emery sensed killing intent shifting direction.

"Behind!!"

He shouted immediately after realizing Ura had changed targets.

The concealment master was now charging directly toward Archbishop Stephen.

Too fast.

The black dagger descended with terrifying force, aiming straight toward the archbishop’s chest.

But just before the strike landed—

CLANG!!

A golden object suddenly shot across the battlefield and smashed directly against the dagger, deflecting the lethal strike away at the very last moment.

Emery immediately recognized the object.

Hubert’s coin.

The man known as Mister Fortune stood nearby, wearing that same casual smile as though the successful interception had been completely natural.

In truth—

The action had been beyond even Hubert’s expectations.

After all, Ura’s concealment techniques were terrifyingly advanced. Even Emery, with his powerful divine sense, had struggled to fully track the assassin’s movements. Yet Hubert’s coin had somehow managed to strike the dagger at the exact critical moment.

The only explanation was Hubert’s mastery over the Law of Fortune.

It was not precision.

Not speed.

The attack had succeeded simply because fortune itself bent in Hubert’s favor.

Losing momentum, Ura was finally forced to retreat several steps backward.

But before he could recover—

A violent dark wind erupted behind him.

The Sword Demoness appeared instantly.

Her dark blade descended with monstrous force, forcing Ura to immediately raise both arms alongside his dagger to block.

BAAAAAMMM!!!

"What do we have here...?!" the Sword Demoness sneered coldly. "A traitor? Or an infected dog?!"

Her sword aura exploded downward like a collapsing mountain, forcing Ura onto one knee as cracks spread beneath his feet.

Emery immediately seized the opportunity.

[Elysian Roots]

Dark green roots exploded violently from beneath the wreckage before rapidly wrapping around Ura’s feet and climbing upward across his body. The vines moved like living serpents, twisting tighter and tighter with frightening speed as layers of roots coiled around the concealment master’s legs, waist, chest, and arms until his movements were completely restrained.

For a brief moment, it seemed successful.

Then Ura’s expression suddenly changed.

The man began struggling violently as though something inside him had snapped. His pupils slowly turned completely white while dark purplish veins bulged across his face and neck.

At the same time, cracks began spreading across Emery’s vines.

Ura unleashed his battlefield domain.

Dark mist burst outward from his body while portions of his flesh gradually turned spectral, phasing partially through the restraints themselves.

The Sword Demoness merely sneered coldly.

"Huh... No... you’re not escaping."

Her own domain erupted immediately afterward.

Dozens of spectral swords materialized across the area from every direction, hovering around Ura like execution blades waiting to descend. Sword aura filled the surroundings as the spectral blades pierced toward him simultaneously, locking down the nearby space itself and preventing any escape route.

The Sword Demoness tightened her grip on her dark blade, clearly preparing another powerfull strike.

"Wait... he’s infected. Let me try first."

Archbishop Stephen stepped forward quickly while raising both glowing hands. Waves of holy light gathered around his palms as sacred energy spread outward, illuminating the wreckage with warm golden radiance while he rapidly began casting a purification spell.

But before the archbishop could complete the technique—

Everyone sensed movement from inside the crashed flagship.

The moment Emery realized what it was, his expression darkened instantly.

Multiple figures suddenly burst from the ship interior charging wildly toward the archbishop.

Proxima warriors.

Alliance enforcers.

All infected.

Their bodies had become grotesquely distorted beneath the parasite corruption. Flesh tentacles writhed beneath cracked skin. Some still wore shattered armor covered in dried blood, while others moved with broken limbs bending at unnatural angles. Purple miasma leaked continuously from their mouths as they released inhuman screeches while rushing forward like starving beasts.

The archbishop remained completely calm.

He casually swept one glowing arm outward.

BOOOOM!!

Holy light erupted across the infected group like a wave of sunlight crashing into darkness.

The corrupted magus immediately screamed in agony before collapsing onto the floor twitching violently as smoke rose from their burning bodies. Several parasites even burst directly out from beneath their flesh before disintegrating beneath the holy energy.

However—

Three figures behind them remained standing completely unaffected.

The surviving Grand Magus from Marc’s advance team.

It was obvious the corruption had fully taken hold of them once again.

As the three infected Grand Magus charged forward, multiple rune bullets suddenly pierced through their bodies repeatedly.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Let’s release them from their misery," Hubert said calmly while continuing to fire his revolver.

"NO!!"

Despite the poison spreading through his body, Anderson suddenly forced himself upright and stepped directly between Hubert and the infected Grand Magus, clearly unwilling to abandon the possibility of saving them.

That brief moment of chaos gave Ura enough time to gather his strength.

This time, the transformation became far more horrifying.

Strange twitching movements spread throughout his body as low feral growls escaped from his throat, sounding less and less human with every passing second.

His flesh suddenly began tearing apart while multiple yellow eyes slowly opened across his chest, neck, and arms.

The remaining Elysian roots exploded apart one after another as Ura released a monstrous roar filled with madness and pain.

The concealment master was no longer merely infected.

He was mutating.

But just as Ura prepared to escape—

A dark blade flashed..

SPLAAATTT!!

Emery watched as Ura’s head separated cleanly from his body.

The Sword Demoness had decisively decapitated him without the slightest hesitation.

And she still did not stop.

Several more sword slashes followed instantly, each one fast enough to blur across Emery’s vision. Ura’s body was cut apart repeatedly until flesh and blood exploded across the wreckage, leaving behind nothing but gruesome piles of shattered flesh and dark blood spread across the metal floor.

Although the method seemed brutal— Emery could not help admiring her decisiveness.

With one threat handled, Archbishop Stephen finally focused fully on the three infected Grand Magus from Marc’s advance team. Golden holy light spread outward from both of his hands while sacred chants echoed softly across the battlefield, attempting to suppress the corruption raging inside their bodies.

At the same time, Anderson forced himself to continue fighting despite the poison spreading through his wound. Lightning burst violently around the general’s body before multiple arcs shot outward and struck the three infected Grand Magus directly.

BOOOMM!!

The powerful electrical currents surged through their bodies continuously, stunning them in place long enough for the archbishop’s purification spell to take effect.

Unfortunately, Anderson’s condition was clearly worsening.

The general suddenly coughed out blood while one hand pressed tightly against the dagger wound on his waist.

Emery immediately stepped forward intending to help stabilize the injury.

But Anderson sharply waved him away.

"Check for survivors inside."

His voice sounded strained, yet the authority behind it remained firm.

"Alright."

Emery accepted the order without hesitation.

Hubert quietly followed behind him while reloading rune bullets into his revolver. As for the Sword Demoness, she remained standing silently near the gruesome piles of flesh that once belonged to Ura, her dark blade still unsheathed while her cold eyes remained fixed on the remains.

Emery was reminded of the dark regenerative arts Ura had previously used after emerging from inside Parasite X’s corpse.

Considering those techniques—

It would not be surprising if even decapitation failed to fully kill him.

Worried about his friend Lambert, Emery stop thinking about Ura and swiftly moved to investigate the ship.

The interior of the ship had become a nightmare.

Almost every corridor contained either corpses or infected survivors already fully overtaken by the parasites. Unlike the partially corrupted victims they encountered earlier, these infected magus had clearly reached the final phase of infection.

The parasites were in complete control.

The moment they sensed Emery’s presence, the infected immediately charged toward him.

However, knowing Archbishop Stephen remained nearby, Emery avoided killing them directly.

Instead, dark green vines continuously burst from the floor and walls throughout the ship, rapidly restraining every infected he encountered before binding them tightly against the metal corridors.

The deeper Emery traveled into the flagship, the worse the atmosphere became.

The air turned humid.

Sticky.

Eventually, after forcing open a damaged blast door, Emery finally reached the command center.

The moment he stepped inside, his expression changed. The entire room had transformed into something horrifying.

The walls were covered in thick purple slime pulsing slowly like living flesh. Organic veins spread across the ceiling and floor while the air itself smelled rotten and damp.

The entire chamber looked disturbingly similar to the interior of Parasite X chamber.

Then Emery saw them.

Three cocoons hanging from the ceiling.

Two contained Grand Magus subordinate officers under Anderson’s command.

The third—

Lambert.

The Proxima vice commander remained sealed inside translucent flesh-like membranes while strange purple veins spread across the cocoon surrounding him.

Emery’s eyes narrowed immediately.

"What the hell is going on in here...?"