Dungeon Corpse Stacker: I Absorb Everything to Become Ominous Monarch
Chapter 44: THE THREE PILLARS OF THE NATION

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: THE THREE PILLARS OF THE NATION

The absolute obliteration of the Capital Iron Wall sent violent, paralyzing shockwaves through the hearts of the surviving defenders. Concrete dust hung impossibly thick in the warm air, tasting heavily of pulverized granite, iron, and ozone. Through the massive, fifty-meter breach in the reinforced fortress wall, three thousand five hundred dark, spectral soldiers flooded into the Capital’s primary outer courtyard like a relentless, suffocating tidal wave of living ink.

Standing amidst the twisted metal chassis of crushed supply trucks, overturned artillery platforms, and shattered barrier generators, the remaining defenders—elite Association Enforcers and Capital Garrison Guards—backed away in blind, uncontrollable terror.

"The wall... the Class-S anti-mana barrier... destroyed with one single air punch..." a Garrison tactical officer stammered, his arms shaking so violently he could barely hold his anti-mana assault rifle. "He... he didn’t even touch the physical gate!"

"Hold your ground, damn you all!" a heavy, authoritative voice boomed from the ruined observation tower above.

A towering figure leaped down from the crumbling ramparts, slamming into the paved courtyard with enough kinetic force to crater the thick asphalt beneath his boots.

Sir Jonathan, the Leader of the Three Pillars and the nation’s undisputed strongest Guardian, stood tall despite the thick line of crimson blood streaming down his face from a cut above his eyebrow. His cracked silver war-hammer hummed with a desperate, glowing aura of high-density holy mana. Beside him, the other two legendary members of the Three Pillars materialized through the settling dust cloud in full combat readiness.

To his right stood Lady Beatrice "The Swift," the nation’s premier S-Rank Wind Monarch, her twin rapier blades whistling with compressed, razor-sharp atmospheric pressure. To his left stood Master Ronald, an elderly S-Rank High Invoker whose hands were already weaving complex, glowing crimson runes in the air, summoning high-tier elemental fire spirits.

[Target Analysis: The Three Pillars of the Nation]

Target 1: Sir Jonathan (National-Level Tanker / Guardian)

Target 2: Lady Beatrice (National-Level Assassin / Wind Specialist)

Target 3: Master Ronald (National-Level High Invoker / Elementalist)

Threat Level: National Apex Threshold (Highest Human Defense Force)

"You’ve gone far enough, scavenger," Sir Jonathan growled, wiping the blood from his brow with his heavy steel gauntlet. "You destroyed Apex, you slaughtered the Regional Coalition, and now you smash our city gates. But as long as the Three Pillars stand, you will not set foot inside the Association Headquarters!"

Renan walked calmly through the shattered titanium gates. His black coat billowed gently in the hot wind, and his glowing golden eyes locked onto the three National-Level Hunters with absolute, cold serenity.

Behind him, Shadow General Ignis, Shadow Commander Elena, Shadow Commander Sylas, and Shadow Commander Vance formed a terrifying vanguard line, their corrupted S-Rank auras intertwining into an oppressive, suffocating weight that pressed down on the entire courtyard.

"The Three Pillars..." Renan murmured, his layered voice echoing through the ruined courtyard like a funeral toll. "You were meant to be the absolute guardians of this country. Yet, when Guild Apex enslaved thousands of scavengers and drained the black markets dry, where was your justice? Where were your righteous blades?"

"We serve the overall stability of the nation, Renan!" Lady Beatrice shouted, her twin rapiers crackling with volatile green wind energy. "Without order, without the Guilds and the Central Association, millions of civilians would perish to the Rifts!"

"Order built on systemic rot is merely a delayed collapse," Renan replied, taking a slow step forward as the ground beneath his boots cracked. "I am not here to negotiate your order. I am here to bury it."

"Attack!" Sir Jonathan roared, slamming his heavy war-hammer into the ground.

[National-Level Skill Activated: ’Titan’s Sanctuary’]

Effect: Boosts All Allies’ Physical Defense by 300% & Nullifies Lower-Tier Crowd Control.

Sir Jonathan’s strike sent a blinding wave of golden light rippling across the courtyard, fortifying the two hundred surviving enforcers behind him with a dense, holy barrier.

Simultaneously, Lady Beatrice vanished into a roaring gale of razor-sharp wind.

WHOOSH!

In less than a hundredth of a second, Beatrice reappeared directly at Renan’s exposed throat, her twin rapiers thrusting forward with enough piercing speed to cut through mountains. "Wind Style: Absolute Piercing Flash!"

Renan didn’t dodge. He didn’t even shift his physical stance.

CLANG!

Before the blades could touch Renan’s skin, Shadow Commander Sylas—the extracted S-Rank assassin—intercepted the rapiers with his void-infused daggers. The collision generated a violent shockwave that cracked the concrete beneath their feet. Beatrice’s eyes widened in sheer horror as she found herself locked in a duel of pure speed against the dark shadow of a man she had trained with years ago.

"Sylas?!" Beatrice gasped, her breath catching in her throat. "How... how are you moving like this?!"

"He belongs to my legion now, Beatrice," Renan spoke softly from behind the clash.

"Grand Fire Tempest!" Master Ronald screamed from the backline, completing his complex crimson rune sequence. A massive vortex of white-hot hellfire, fifty feet wide, descended upon Renan and his commanders from the clouds.

Renan simply raised his left hand toward the falling inferno.

[Skill Activated: ’Ominous Sovereign Consumption’ (Tier-3)]

Effect: Converts Enemy Magical Attacks into Reserve Mana.

SWIRL!

A colossal black hole materialized in front of Renan’s open palm. The fifty-foot vortex of white-hot hellfire was forcibly drawn into the dark abyss, swirling into a tight spiral before being completely swallowed into nothingness in less than two seconds.

[Mana Restored: +3,200 Points]

[Current Reserve Mana: 21,600 Points]

Master Ronald staggered back three steps, his jaw dropping in utter disbelief as his ultimate National-Level spell was absorbed like a drop of water in an ocean. "Impossible... My flame... consumed completely without a trace?!"

"Is this the pinnacle of human strength?" Renan asked, his golden eyes narrowing as he closed his pale fist. "Ignis. Elena. End this vanguard."

Shadow General Ignis let out an apocalyptic roar that shattered the glass visors of the remaining enforcers, charging forward with its abyssal broadsword wrapped in black dragon-fire, slamming straight into Sir Jonathan’s golden barrier. At the same time, Shadow Commander Elena unleashed a colossal storm of black Judgement Lightning directly onto Master Ronald’s position.

BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!

The final battle for the Capital had officially begun. The Three Pillars of the Nation, hailed as invincible guardians for a generation, were being systematically crushed under the weight of an immortal Sovereign.