Dungeon Corpse Stacker: I Absorb Everything to Become Ominous Monarch
Chapter 43: THE MARCH TO CAPITAL GATE

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: THE MARCH TO CAPITAL GATE

The news of the Northern Gate massacre struck the nation like a multi-megaton nuclear detonation.

In less than three hours, an army of three thousand elite Hunters and five S-Rank Guild Masters had been completely wiped off the map. No distress signals were sent. No survivors retreated. The military satellites hovering over Sector 4 transmitted only one horrifying reality: a endless, pitch-black legion of dark soldiers marching in total, terrifying silence along the central national highway, headed straight toward the Capital City.

[NATIONAL EMERGENCY BROADCAST: CODE BLACK]

Status: Capital Iron Wall Defense Mobilization Active

Threat Entity: Renan (Monarch Class)

Hostile Force Size: Estimated 3,500+ Shadow Units

Directive: Evacuation of Sectors 1, 2, and Capital Suburbs Initiated.

Inside the primary military command fortress guarding the Capital Iron Wall—a fifty-meter-tall, heavily enchanted fortress wall built to withstand S-Rank Dungeon Break invasions—the air was suffocatingly tense.

Hundreds of high-caliber mana turrets groaned as their hydraulic mounts turned toward the highway. Over two thousand Capital Garrison Guards and elite Association Enforcers lined the battlements, their hands wet with nervous sweat as they gripped their weapons.

Standing on the central observation tower was General Brandon, the Commander-in-Chief of the National Capital Defense Force, flanked by the Three Pillars of the Nation—the three highest-ranking, National-Level Hunters under the direct command of President James.

"They’re three kilometers out," General Brandon reported, his voice tight as he adjusted his tactical binoculars. "Radar reads over three thousand high-density mana signals. But... there’s no logistics line. No supply train. It’s just a moving ocean of shadow."

Beside him stood Sir Jonathan, the Leader of the Three Pillars and the nation’s undisputed strongest Tanker. Jonathan’s massive, six-foot silver war-hammer rested against his shoulder, his eyes narrowed as he watched the horizon.

"Look closely at their front line, Brandon," Jonathan said grimly, his deep voice heavy with foreboding. "That isn’t just an army of summoned monsters. Those are the Guild Masters of the Regional Coalition. Marcus, Vance, Elena, Sylas, Kaelen... and Richard."

A collective chill ran down the spines of the nearby officers.

"He didn’t just kill them..." a young lieutenant stammered, staring at the long-range monitors. "He turned the entire Regional Coalition into his personal vanguard!"

"Silence on the deck!" Jonathan barked, slamming the butt of his war-hammer into the iron floor, sending a ripple of mana through the tower. "It doesn’t matter what abominations he controls. The Capital Iron Wall is reinforced with Class-S anti-mana barriers powered by the city’s central core. Not even an S-Rank Rift Boss can scratch this concrete!"

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

The heavy, rhythmic march of three thousand five hundred Shadow Knights echoed across the open plains before the Capital Gate. The ground vibrated with every step, rattling the coffee cups and weapon racks inside the fortress.

The dark legion halted precisely one kilometer from the outer gate.

The dark smoke parted, and a single figure stepped forward to the front of the ranks. Renan stood quietly, his dark coat billowing in the wind, his glowing golden eyes staring up at the massive fifty-meter concrete wall and the thousands of barrels aimed at his chest.

Behind him, the four Rank-EX Shadow Commanders—Ignis, Elena, Sylas, and Vance—took their positions, their corrupted auras intertwining into a towering pillar of purple and black lightning that scorched the sky above.

[Absolute Extraction System: Domain Scan]

Target Structure: Capital Iron Wall Fortress

Defense Rating: S-Rank Arcane Barrier (Integrity: 100%)

Garrison Force: 2,000 High-Tier Hunters & Three Pillars of the Nation

[Initiating Arc 5: Capital Siege & The Fall of the National Association]

Renan raised his eyes to meet Sir Jonathan’s gaze atop the battlements. He didn’t raise a sword. He didn’t channel a complex chant. He simply took a deep breath and drew back his right fist, concentrating his physical strength along with thousands of extracted stat points into a single, localized point of gravitational density.

The air around Renan’s fist cracked, distorting light into a swirling black vortex.

"All turrets, fire!" General Brandon screamed from the tower, waving his arm frantically. "Unleash everything! Do not let him strike!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Hundreds of high-density mana artillery cannons and enchanted ballistas opened fire simultaneously, unleashing a blinding rain of magical plasma, explosive shells, and holy spears toward Renan’s position.

Renan didn’t even blink.

"Ignis. Elena. Shield," Renan commanded softly.

Shadow General Ignis slammed its abyssal broadsword into the earth, while Shadow Commander Elena raised a wall of black lightning. The combined S-Rank defensive barrier absorbed the barrage of hundreds of artillery shells, detonating them harmlessly in a massive sea of orange flames five hundred feet in front of Renan.

Through the curtain of smoke and fire, Renan took a single step forward, thrusting his concentrated right fist straight into the open air toward the Capital Iron Wall.

[Skill Activated: ’Sovereign’s Pressure Wave’ (Tier-3 Monarch)]

Stat Applied: 4,850+ Physical Strength

Effect: Compressed Shockwave (Ignores Barrier Integrity)

BOOOOOOM!

A shockwave of pure, atmospheric compression exploded from Renan’s fist, traveling across the one-kilometer distance in a fraction of a millisecond. The air pressure alone cleared the burning smoke, creating a visible vacuum tunnel through the air.

The Class-S anti-mana barrier protecting the Capital Iron Wall didn’t just crack—it shattered instantly like brittle glass under a sledgehammer.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

The fifty-meter-tall reinforced concrete fortress wall groaned violently. Massive, ten-foot-wide structural fractures erupted along the entire length of the ramparts. Heavy iron turrets were torn from their mountings and launched into the air, while hundreds of Garrison Guards were thrown off the battlements by the sheer kinetic vacuum.

The front gate of the Capital—a solid, five-foot-thick titanium door designed to withstand a nuclear blast—was blown cleanly off its hinges, flying two hundred meters inward and crushing the armored vehicles parked inside the courtyard.

The unbreakable defense of the Capital City had been dismantled with a single blow.

Standing amidst the collapsing dust and rubble atop the ruined tower, Sir Jonathan coughed up blood, his silver war-hammer cracked in half, staring down in complete, paralyzed horror as the dark mist flooded through the breached gate.

Renan lowered his arm, his coat settling around his shoulders as his golden eyes burned through the dust clouds.

"Break their wall," Renan commanded, pointing his finger toward the heart of the capital city. "Clear the path to the Association Headquarters."

With an apocalyptic roar that shook the foundations of the nation, three thousand five hundred Shadow Knights surged forward through the ruined gate, invading the Capital City.