Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 156

Choi Hyun-seok quickly dealt with the masked men.

Their magical power was considerable, but for some reason, their combat skills were severely lacking.

“Hmm, I can’t tell just by looking at their faces.”

When he removed the mask of the fallen man, he saw a common white face.

They didn’t say a word until the moment they died, so he couldn’t get any information from them.

“Hero, Hero!”

Just then, Rachel, who had been circling around, landed on his shoulder.

“Out of the blue, but you remind me of a little detective.”

“Little detective?”

“Yes! Wherever he goes, incidents never stop. He’s the type who brings trouble, like that little detective.”

“Stop talking nonsense and take Bobo.”

Choi Hyun-seok tossed Bobo, who he was holding, towards her.

Rachel was startled and grabbed Bobo.

“Kyaaak! He’s heavy!”

“You have to hold on tight so Bobo doesn’t go anywhere.”

“Eugh…!”

“Heh! Heh!”

Rachel grabbed Bobo’s nape and flapped her wings incessantly.

Even when shrunk, Bobo was several times larger than Rachel, so it wasn’t easy to hold on and fly.

Bobo stuck out his tongue and smiled, as if he was enjoying being in the air.

“If you use flight magic and leech my mana, you’re dead.”

“Ah, I wasn’t going to!”

Rachel, who was about to use flight magic, stopped abruptly.

“Mr. Abelson, let’s go to your father, the King, first. As the most important person in the royal palace, the enemies will be targeting the King.”

“But, we don’t know who did this. What if my father is the mastermind…?”

Abelson’s eyes wavered. She seemed confused.

“Maybe what that fairy said is right.”

“What do you mean?”

“That I bring trouble.”

Abelson hung her head.

“If I hadn’t come here, the royal palace wouldn’t have become like this…”

“Get a grip!”

Choi Hyun-seok punched Abelson in the face.

Abelson was startled and grabbed her cheek.

“Even if you bring trouble, it’s the fault of the guy who caused the incident, not ours. Besides, it doesn’t seem like this attack is aimed at us.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The entire royal palace is involved. If they were only targeting us, they wouldn’t have done things this way.”

The scale was too large to have been done solely to eliminate Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson.

Besides, there’s no way they would have sent only this many people after Abelson.

“The goal is probably to turn the entire royal palace upside down. The target is obviously the King.”

“So…”

“Yes. We need to get to the King quickly.”

“I understand.”

Abelson quickly regained her senses thanks to Choi Hyun-seok’s shock therapy.

They quickly headed to the King’s chambers.

‘When did it get like this…’

Choi Hyun-seok swallowed hard as he looked around.

Numerous corpses were piled up not only in the garden but also in the corridors inside the building.

They were all corpses of the royal palace guards, servants, and maids.

It was clear that a one-sided massacre had taken place.

‘In the end, sending the Royal Knights out was the problem.’

No matter how dangerous necromancy was, they shouldn’t have hastily sent the Royal Knights out.

Whether the enemies intended this situation or were just lucky with the timing, he didn’t know.

What was certain was that if the Royal Knights had been there, the defenses wouldn’t have been breached so helplessly.

Then, something caught Choi Hyun-seok’s eye.

‘A demon?’

Among the corpses scattered on the floor, there was one that wasn’t human.

When he went closer to check, it was definitely a demon.

‘Why is a demon here…?’

Once he noticed one, he could see demon corpses everywhere.

Why are demons here in this situation? Demons are too out of place right now.

In the first place, Choi Hyun-seok didn’t even feel any demonic energy.

With this many demons, he should have felt demonic energy no matter how chaotic the situation was.

Kwaang!

Then, an explosion was heard in the distance.

Abelson was startled and shouted.

“It’s the direction of my father’s chambers!”

Choi Hyun-seok put aside his thoughts about the demons.

‘First, save the King.’

There was no time to be lost in thought.

First, save the King and then think about what to do next.

“I’ll run at full speed!”

Choi Hyun-seok hugged Abelson and kicked off the ground.

Kwajik, Kuung!

The ground shattered from the tremendous leg strength, and Choi Hyun-seok’s body shot away like an arrow.

Rachel, who was chasing from behind, screamed.

“Eeeek…! Take me with you!”

Rachel flapped her wings incessantly, chasing after him.

“Heh! Heh!”

Bobo, who was hanging on, was just enjoying flying through the sky.

***

Kwaang! Kwang!

The building shook with the explosions.

Those hiding inside the King’s chambers were all trembling with fear.

“Damn it…”

Royal Knights Commander, Cardinal Balda, spat out a curse.

He was wounded in several places and bleeding.

King Valteer approached with a worried expression.

“Sir Balda. Are you alright?”

“I am fine, but I am truly sorry that I have allowed Your Majesty to suffer such humiliation.”

“Don’t worry about it. The Capital Defense Force and the Skolbon Knights will be here soon. Let’s just hold out until then.”

Balda nodded, but his face was full of worry.

‘There’s not enough time…’

The royal palace is located inside the capital, Skolbon. Of course, in addition to the Royal Knights and the Royal Palace Guard, there are numerous soldiers and knights defending the capital.

The problem is that it will take time for them to arrive.

It didn’t seem like they could hold out until then.

‘The magic is already starting to break. There’s not much time left.’

The King’s chambers are protected by powerful magic, but the enemies’ momentum was so fierce that it didn’t seem like it would last long.

Perhaps a minute at most.

Balda bit his lip.

‘If I hadn’t been caught in a cowardly trick…!’

Cardinal Balda is among the top-tier heroes. Yet, there was a reason why he was being so helplessly defeated.

He was poisoned.

Before the attack, soldiers belonging to the Royal Palace Guard approached Balda, saying they had something to report.

“Sir Knight Commander. Would you take a look at this?”

The soldiers held out something wrapped in cloth.

When Balda lifted the cloth, an intense light burst out.

“Kugh, what is this…!”

While Balda was closing his eyes and panicking, the soldiers stabbed him with something sharp.

Pshushushuk!

He hurriedly surrounded himself with mana to protect his body.

Thanks to that, it only resulted in shallow wounds, but the problem was that the tip of the blade was coated with poison.

After that, the flow of mana slowed down rapidly.

It’s not that he can’t fight, but it’s impossible to use fighting spirit [a technique that enhances combat abilities by focusing one’s inner energy] in this state.

“You cowardly bastards!”

After that, the attack began.

Balda, unable to properly use mana against a powerful enemy, had no choice but to struggle.

‘If only my mana was working properly, those insignificant guys…’

The enemies in black hoods and masks were strong. Each one possessed a vast amount of mana comparable to the Royal Knights.

However, their physical abilities and mana were the only things that stood out.

Their combat skills were not that great.

If Balda’s condition had been perfect, he could have wiped them out alone.

He blamed his complacency for being poisoned and pounded his chest.

“Attack!”

Chaeng-!

“Kuaaaak!”

A commotion broke out outside the door. Fighting seemed to be taking place, with shouts and the sound of weapons clashing.

“…”

After a while, the surroundings became quiet, and someone knocked on the door.

“Father! Are you alright!?”

It was the voice of the fourth child, Lace Marriott.

“Lace!?”

“Yes. This place is clear. Please open the door!”

The door opened, and Lace entered with a few knights.

They were knights he had never seen before.

As Balda took a defensive stance, Lace stepped in to stop him.

“Rest assured. These are my personal attendants.”

At Lace’s words, Balda nodded and stepped back.

King Valteer ran over and hugged Lace.

“Lace. You’re alive!”

“Yes. I’m glad you’re safe too, Father!”

“Do you know what happened to the others?”

“I went to look for Hogg as soon as the attack happened, but he was already dead.”

“I see…”

Valteer’s eyes widened at the news of his son’s death. He forcibly clenched his trembling fist, trying to suppress his emotions in this urgent situation.

“This is not the time for this. The enemies are surrounding this place. We must escape before the encirclement tightens.”

“Y-yes. Let’s get out of here quickly.”

Then, Balda, who had been listening to the story, approached.

“It’s dangerous to go out now. The Capital Defense Force will be here soon, so it’s best to hold out.”

“The defense magic will be breached before that.”

“If we go out, we have to block all sides. We don’t have the numbers to do that.”

“Hmm, yes. Sir Balda seems to be right. Let’s hold out here for now.”

“Hoo… If that’s what Father and Sir Balda want, I understand.”

Lace nodded.

At the same time, swords flew from both sides of Balda.

Swaeak- Chaeng!

Balda reacted instantly and deflected the swords, but he couldn’t block the sword flying from behind.

Pshuk-!

The sword that pierced his back pierced through his heart.

Balda stared at the person who stabbed him with wide eyes. His face, with his mouth wide open, was filled with shock, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Tsk. To make me do even this myself. You pathetic guys.”

“I’m sorry.”

The knights bowed at Lace’s words. He pulled out the sword and shook off the blood.

“This guy is a monster too. To still be moving even after being hit with poison that solidifies mana. It would have been dangerous if we had dragged it out any longer.”

In fact, Balda was forcibly moving his mana to detoxify himself. If time had passed like this and the poison had worn off, it would have caused a major setback in the plan.

“L-Lace… What is the meaning of this…”

King Valteer said in a trembling voice.

Lace did not answer. He just held his sword and looked at the King indifferently.

“Answer me! Why! Why did you do this!?”

“I’m the one who wants to ask.”

Finally, Lace Marriott opened his mouth.

“Father. Why did you reject Gatrein’s request?”

“What…?”

“The traitor Abelson Marriott and the hero Choi Hyun-seok. If you had handed them over, it would have solved everything.”

“How did you know that…?”

In fact, before Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok arrived, the Holy Empire of Gatrein had secretly contacted them.

They requested that Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok be handed over because they were traitors in league with demons.

King Valteer refused and kept the fact a secret.

“It doesn’t matter how I know that. What matters is that you rejected the offer and angered Gatrein, the Pope.”

“…”

“In the future, Gatrein will rule the continent. This is an undeniable fact. That foolish demon, the arrogant Drasen Empire, and the tightly united Kingdom Alliance will all kneel before Gatrein.”

At that moment, anger flashed in Lace Marriott’s eyes.

“Even if you lead the way and become Gatrein’s dog, you’re still rejecting the request. Do you even have any thoughts?”

“Abelson is family! She’s your sister!”

“Haa, that’s why our Marriott can’t escape from this minor kingdom.”

“What…?”

“With a pathetic guy who clings to mere blood ties sitting on the throne, how can the country stand upright!?”

Lace shouted as if he was venting everything he had been holding back.

King Valteer trembled with anger.

“You pathetic bastard! Do you think there will be a future even if you bring in foreign powers? This is treason. A person without legitimacy sitting on the throne will not be tolerated!”

“Don’t worry. Our Marriott Kingdom has only been attacked by demons in league with the traitor Abelson.”

“D-demons…?”

“I, Lace Marriott, will stop the demons’ plan and cut off the traitor’s head, and the situation will be over.”

“…”

“So, you don’t have to worry about legitimacy. I will bring prosperity to the kingdom, so you can close your eyes in peace, Father.”

“You dare say such things with your filthy mouth…!”

Lace, who didn’t want to hear any more, swung his sword.

Seogeok-!

King Valteer’s head fell to the floor.

“Hoo, it’s finally over.”

He shook off the blood on his sword with a relieved face.

“Father. Mother. Even my brother is all done… Is the only one left that traitor?”