Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 147

6. The Resurrection of the Holy Sword

1

Luke, who had been winning the battle, was outmaneuvered by Arsen’s cunning trick.

Arsen, having cornered him, brought down the Avenger’s fist.

Kwang-!

The iron fist, imbued with dark magic, struck the ground directly, creating a huge crater as if a meteor had fallen.

Not only that, but the shockwave swept away the surrounding building debris as if it had been shaved off with a razor blade.

“Kekekeke! You little rat. Don’t run away. Be a descendant of a hero and meet a glorious end!”

Arsen sneered, noticing that Luke had dodged, but Luke did not respond.

He didn’t have time to get angry right now.

It was crucial to somehow make time to pull Gigant out of the subspace.

But Arsen didn’t give him a chance.

“There you are!”

Dozens of black spheres poured out from the Avenger’s fingertips.

Luke, who was hiding behind the rubble of a building, hurriedly dodged.

‘Damn it, I was almost there!’

Frustrated with disappointment, he glanced at the object in his hand.

A wooden box containing the Holy Sword Valiant.

In the midst of urgently summoning from the subspace, a strange object, not Gigant, had come out.

‘If a sword had to come out, it should have been a proper one.’

Luke had several more master swords made by the master craftsman Zig, besides the broken Iron Feather.

When he first held the Holy Sword, Luke tried to activate the Holy Sword’s power several times, just in case.

However, the half-broken Holy Sword was nothing more than a sturdy and sharp sword.

In that state, how much help would it be in this situation?

‘It would be better to teleport out of this area and reorganize before returning… No, if I retreat like this, I’ll lose!’

Luke thought about what Arsen would do if he retreated.

He would do even worse things than the atrocities he had committed here to lure him out.

If that happened, even if he survived, the country would suffer enormous losses and he would lose the trust of the people.

‘I have to defeat him here somehow…!’

“Come out, Luke de Rakan! Or I will blow up the entire city!”

Arsen shouted and raised the Avenger’s hand towards the still-undestroyed part of the city.

As magic power concentrated on the steel fingertips, Luke gritted his teeth and rushed out.

There was no time to think, and it was not a situation to think.

He had to stop him no matter what.

He couldn’t let any more innocent people be harmed and sacrificed.

“Don’t do useless things, Arsen! I’m here!”

Luke, who had jumped out in front of Arsen, fired Titan Fist magic in succession.

It was a magical iron fist with tremendous power, but it was weaker than when he was riding the Avenger.

Pow! Pow!

The Titan Fist he unleashed was easily blocked by the shield that Arsen had deployed.

“Ke.ke.ke! Do you think you can defeat me with such ticklish attacks?”

“Of course not!”

The Titan Fist was just for checking.

Luke lured Arsen by firing a barrage of attack magic.

He didn’t know if it would work, but there was a plan he could try.

Arsen noticed that Luke was trying to do something.

However, confident that he had the upper hand, he was curious to see how the guy would struggle, so he decided to follow him for now.

As long as he didn’t give him time to pull Gigant out of the subspace, he was sure to win.

However, as Luke kept circling in the same place, irritation welled up.

“Annoying bastard! How long are you going to run away?”

Kwaaaang!

The dark magic that Arsen fired poured down in front of Luke.

The explosion that occurred with the black flames overturned the ground, and the paving stones of the road scattered in all directions.

‘Damn it, is it impossible anymore?’

He was planning to lure him a little more for a sure opportunity, but it seemed like he had to settle it here.

“Build Up!”

Puddeudeudeuk!

Luke unleashed the demon’s ability to draw out his physical and latent abilities to the third stage in an instant.

Then, the ether globe in his heart transformed into a black circle, and Luke’s body and appearance changed to be closer to a demon.

His height alone was over 3 meters.

Poong! Pow! Pow!

While Luke was transforming, Arsen’s attack magic flew and exploded on his body.

“Kuaak! Keok!”

Luke screamed in tremendous pain.

The reason he hadn’t used the demon’s power until now was because it took time to transform.

Of course, it wasn’t as long as summoning Gigant from the subspace, but there was no way Arsen would just watch that gap.

After repeated blows, he finally vomited blood.

However, Luke, who had covered his face with both arms to avoid fatal injuries, immediately fired Thunder Bringer, Cowlen’s specialty.

Kwakwang! Kwarurururung!

Purple lightning poured down indiscriminately.

Arsen, who had not expected Luke to counterattack, was electrocuted by the lightning.

It was powerful enough to smash any Gigant in one blow, so the Avenger, which had not completely neutralized it with defensive magic, faltered.

The only good thing was that Luke’s control was not precise, so some of the Thunder Bringer struck the floor around Arsen, not him.

“Hmph, you can’t defeat me with this much!”

Arsen was slightly surprised by the unexpectedly powerful attack, but he was not flustered and prepared to counterattack.

Wheeeeeee!

From the Avenger’s left hand, the darkness of the abyss rose.

The ultimate annihilation dark magic, Black Abyss.

It was difficult to use this level of dark magic when his body was not intact.

However, Arsen was determined to finish it this time, so he focused his magic power with all his might.

“Farewell, Luke de Rakan!”

Kooong-!

The moment Arsen completed the magic, the ground he was standing on suddenly caved in, and one of the Avenger’s feet fell in.

The Avenger staggered greatly due to the unexpected and sudden situation.

Because of that, Arsen sent the completed Black Abyss into the sky instead of at Luke.

‘Now is the time!’

It was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Luke, with his eyes gleaming, took out the broken Holy Sword Valiant from the wooden box.

Although it was broken and could not exert its original power, this Holy Sword made of orichalcum [a mythical metal] could amplify aura much more strongly than other famous swords.

‘There’s only one chance!’

Luke, who had rushed towards the Avenger in an instant with Blink, unfolded the swordsmanship of the latter half of Gold Sword.

Woo-oong!

A brilliant golden aura emanated from the broken Valiant.

The sword strike, which flew like a golden sunset, fell towards the struggling Avenger.

“Th, this. Damn it…!”

Arsen hurriedly began to defend.

However, the Gold Sword’s attack was faster than he could deploy dark magic.

Shwaeeeeeeek-!

The moment a streak of golden aura cut through the air, a thick golden trail was drawn across the entire body of the corroded Avenger.

“Kuaak! Luke. You bastard!”

No matter how much the Avenger was corroded, its foundation was a Gigant [a large, powerful magical construct].

As the mana converter, balance device, and various important parts were smashed, the Avenger collapsed helplessly on the spot.

Thud!

‘I did it!’

Luke, seeing the Avenger completely kneeling, sighed in relief.

The crisis that had arisen as the Avenger was being taken over seemed to end there.

2

“Oh, you did it!”

Hwang Bo-sung, who had been anxiously watching Luke’s fight after the wooden puppet was destroyed.

He clenched his fist as he watched the Avenger fall apart in two pieces.

It was truly unfortunate that the king’s personal Gigant was destroyed.

However, it was a hundred or a thousand times better than it falling into the hands of a villain and being misused.

‘But what was it that made the Avenger stagger just now? Was it luck, or was it something the lord intended?’

That, which Hwang Bo-sung was wondering about, was indeed a situation that Luke had intended.

Just before luring Arsen, Luke had found a manhole lying on the road.

Unlike 500 years ago, most of the cities on the continent today had at least basic water and sewage facilities.

Although the installation cost was high, it was actually cheaper considering the damage from epidemics caused by water pollution.

Enverry, a gateway city, also had a sewer system, and sewage was discharged into a nearby river through large sewer facilities under the road.

What Luke was aiming for was the sewer facility under that road.

It was built to be sturdy enough so that even a Gigant could pass without collapsing, but it was in a considerably damaged state due to the aftermath of the battle.

What put the final nail in the coffin was Luke’s Thunder Bringer.

He deliberately pretended to aim for the Avenger and concentrated his attacks on the ground where the sewer facility was located.

Because of that, the ground collapsed the moment Arsen deployed the Black Abyss, and the Avenger’s leg fell into the sewer.

“It worked well for a plan that was thought up on the spot.”

Luke stared at the broken Avenger while preparing to fire the Gold Sword at any time.

As long as Arsen’s magic power was not completely extinguished, there was no guarantee that he was defeated.

Just like before when he was taking over the Gigant, he didn’t know what kind of trick he would use to attack again.

“Kueee! Luke, you bastard! How dare you do this to me…!”

As Arsen’s unique voice was heard, Luke hurriedly turned towards the direction of the voice.

A fragment of magic power, which looked like less than a handful, was flickering like flies swarming around garbage.

The fragment of magic power had a shape that looked like the face of a very angry person.

“You are truly persistent, Arsen!”

“That is the power of darkness. You too must have been tempted by it and learned dark magic?”

“No, I just needed power. The power to defeat beasts in human skin like you!”

That was why Luke did not sell his soul to the demons or create undead by desecrating human corpses.

He thought that he should not be intoxicated by power and fall into the slavery of desire like Arsen.

“Hmph! Power… You little brat who doesn’t know what real power is!”

“Lord, get out of the way!”

Arsen’s sneer and Hwang Bo-sung’s urgent cry.

Luke, feeling a dangerous aura flying fiercely from behind, hurriedly turned around and deployed defensive magic.

“Shield!”

“Ke.ke.ke. You’re too late!”

Peoeok-!

The Avenger’s right arm, which had fallen off from the main body, flew as if it were alive and struck Luke.

The shield that was suddenly deployed could not withstand the mass of steel combined with Arsen’s dark magic.

Luke’s body, which was bounced off like a kicked ball, flew dozens of meters and rolled on the ground.

“Keoeok! Th, this damn it…!”

Luke, who had vomited a handful of blood, glared at Arsen with a resentful look.

Chareureu- Click! Click!

Arsen began to repair the broken Avenger with magic power.

It was truly a tenacious vitality.

Or should he say that his dark magic was that great?

Anyway, Arsen sneered at Luke, who was glaring at him with a dumbfounded face.

“Ke.ke.ke. You really are a stupid descendant of a hero. You could have completely defeated me if you had exploded the core engine.”

Luke had left the core engine alone when he broke the Avenger a little while ago.

No, he should say that he deliberately didn’t break it.

If he damaged the Avenger’s 4000-fight-class core engine, which was at the super-hero level, not only he but also the gateway city of Enverry could disappear without a trace.

If such a thing happened while the citizens and soldiers had not completely evacuated, a terrible disaster would occur.

“Since we’re talking about it, shall I just blow it up?”

“St, stop it!”

Luke was terrified at Arsen’s words.

However, Arsen did not touch the core engine.

He knew that Luke still had enough power to run away.

‘It would be troublesome if he teleported away just before the explosion. It’s troublesome, but I need to finish him off with my own hands.’

Arsen was determined to end it this time.

He was considerably injured, and it seemed he had exhausted almost all his energy, save for the ability to use magic once or twice.

‘If only that strange monk doesn’t interfere like last time…’ Arsen glanced around, worried that Nanda might appear.

Fortunately, there was no sign of Nanda. Instead, Hwangbo-sung, who had reversed the summoning of the wooden cow, rushed in and unleashed the Three Thunder God Fist at the Avenger.

Luke, and even Arsen, were startled by his reckless charge.

“Sir Hwangbo-sung!”

“My lord, please get away!”

“You annoying little fly!” Arsen stomped the Gigant’s feet and fired black magic indiscriminately to catch Hwangbo-sung, who was bothering him.

Watching Hwangbo-sung narrowly avoid the attacks, Luke clenched his fist in frustration. He wanted to join the fight immediately.

However, he had suffered considerable damage to his internal organs and ether glove, so he had to focus desperately on recovery.

‘Damn it, if I don’t hurry, Sir Hwangbo-sung, the people of Enverry…!’ With so much damage already done, he didn’t want any more sacrifices.

He had to defeat that devilish lich somehow, but he was in no condition to move properly.

‘Anyone is fine! If anyone can give me the power to defeat that demon…!’

Woo-woo-woo-! It was the moment Luke desperately prayed in his heart. The holy sword Valiant, which he held in his hand, resonated and shone brightly.

Luke was startled by the sudden reaction of the holy sword. A bizarre phenomenon was occurring in the broken holy sword, which was as good as a dead corpse.

Moreover, Luke was not channeling even a shred of aura or magic power into Valiant.

‘What is this?’ Kurkan’s words came to Luke’s mind as he wondered. “To restore it properly, you’ll need a will greater than what the maker put into it.”

A will greater than what the maker put into it. When Master Zigg made this holy sword, he must have poured a righteous and firm heart into it, hoping it would become a sword to protect someone, not to harm anyone.

“A will to protect… !” Luke tightened his grip on the holy sword Valiant. Then, Valiant cried out more strongly and emitted an even brighter light.

Seeing that, Luke was certain. Although not as much as when it was held by Rakan in the past, the sword that had clearly been dead was trying to come back to life, fueled by his will to defeat Arsen and protect his loyal subjects and people.

“Valiant, you killed me in the past. You blocked my path due to your master’s ignorance.” Woo-oong-! Woo-woo-oong! Valiant’s resonance grew stronger, as if it understood what he had said.

Luke focused his mind even more strongly and burned his wishes and will. “I need you now! Wake up and lend me your power! Please, with your power, defeat the evil foe and open my path!”

Fwaaaaat! The sharp resonance of the sword and the bright sword light shook the surroundings. Of course, Arsen couldn’t help but notice it.

He had just cornered Hwangbo-sung and was about to deliver the final blow when he felt an unusual noise and energy, and hurriedly turned his head.

‘Could it be…’ He saw Luke, holding a half-broken sword, standing there with a possessed look on his face. If it were nothing, he would have laughed it off as madness, but the energy emanating from the sword was not something to be taken lightly.

It felt much stronger than the divine power Luke had used to destroy Gorgos. But there was another fact that made Arsen even more horrified than that phenomenon.

“Holy. Sword. Valiant! It. Still. Existed!” The holy sword that had suddenly disappeared with Rakan’s death. Even though he had secretly stolen the hero’s corpse, Arsen had not been able to find out the whereabouts of the holy sword.

He had even searched the Holy See of the Divine Artenia Empire using spies, but the holy sword was nowhere to be found. So he thought the holy sword had been destroyed or had completely disappeared.

But it was in Luke’s hands! ‘Where the hell did that guy get it…!’ The source didn’t matter. It was important to eliminate it before things got worse.

“Vanish. With. The. Legacy. Of. The. Past. Dark. Hole!” Arsen created a dark energy resembling an abyss in the Avenger’s right hand.

It was difficult to suddenly activate top-tier black magic with only the remnants of his broken body, but this was not the time to worry about such things. As soon as the Dark Hole was completed, Arsen fired it at Luke.

A Dark Hole that could suck in everything within a 30-meter radius and turn it into dust in an instant. As the attack came before the holy sword was fully revived, Luke tried to dodge it hastily.

– No, you can’t just dodge it. Face it head-on. A voice echoed in Luke’s head. The moment he thought the voice resembled Rakan, the remaining part of the holy sword flew from the wooden box that had been lying far away and merged with it.

Flash-! The moment the Dark Hole and the holy sword collided, a bright and clear light enveloped Luke’s body.

‘That is!’ Hwangbo-sung, who had retreated after escaping the crisis, was captivated by the brilliant light. A radiance like the sun rising from the horizon.

Like the morning sun burning away the deepest darkness of dawn, the sacred radiance erased the Dark Hole that Arsen had fired as if it were a lie.

“N-no. Way!” “My lord!” Amidst Arsen’s shock and Hwangbo-sung’s cheers, the light faded slightly, revealing Luke’s figure.

‘The pain is gone. Is my injury completely healed?’ Perhaps thanks to that sacred light. Luke focused on Valiant in his hand.

The holy sword was so cleanly joined that it was impossible to tell where it had been broken. Moreover, it was emitting a much stronger and brighter energy than when Rakan had possessed it in the past.

‘Did the sword get switched?’ He suspected that, but the message Rakan had engraved on the blade remained intact. It was definitely the sword that had been broken just a moment ago.

How could this be possible? Was it because of the properties of the metal called orichalcum [a mythical metal], or was it a miracle that could not be explained by magic or knowledge?

What was clear was that it was more important to defeat the evil foe in front of him than to find the answer now. “I won’t make a mistake this time.”

“Kuh-ah! Die, Luke. De. Rakan!” Arsen, who was enraged by the absurd situation, indiscriminately fired black magic at Luke.

However, Luke, who was enveloped in the sacred light emitted by the holy sword, swung his sword and eliminated all the black magic that Arsen was firing. Moreover, he rushed towards Arsen like a shooting star.

Arsen, flustered, tried to unleash more powerful black magic. “Kuh, Black Abyss… !” But it was too late.

Luke, who was already right in front of him, unleashed the most powerful technique from the latter half of the Gold Sword. “Cyclone Rage!” Thud!

A brilliant golden aura flew through the air, illuminating it. The attack, imbued with the power of the holy sword, was even more powerful and targeted only one thing: the evil energy that disturbed the order of the world.

S-swish! The golden aura cut through the Avenger. But for some reason, the Avenger was fine. Instead, Arsen’s spirit, who was controlling the Avenger with black magic, suffered a major blow.

‘Kuh, this can’t be! I can’t accept this result!’ Arsen did not accept defeat until the moment the lich’s bone powder, which had been corroding the Avenger, was completely annihilated.

No, he couldn’t accept it. The fact that the foolish descendant of the hero, whom he thought he could eliminate at any time, had gained the ability to threaten, no, to eliminate him, who had been building his power for over 500 years.

However, despite Arsen’s complaints, the result did not change. Thud! ‘Is it really over now?’ Luke looked at the Avenger, which had lost its power and collapsed.

There was no more dark energy left, so it would not rise again. ‘But today, I only destroyed his body. If I don’t eliminate the lich’s life vessel, I can’t say the fight is over.’

Arsen would reappear someday. Whether it would be in a year or ten years, he didn’t know. Perhaps he would cunningly show up after Luke died.

“If you don’t show up, I’ll come find you. Just like you came to find me today!” A monster of immortality that disturbed the continent.

A remnant of the corrupt old era and an obstacle that blocked the arrival of a new era. Luke vowed to defeat such a foe and raised the holy sword towards the sky.

The sun, which had appeared through the hazy gray smoke, brightly illuminated the holy sword Valiant that he had raised.

3 At the moment Luke defeated Arsen. In the city of Lamer, a fierce battle was taking place at the Gigant Arena, which had a long-distance teleport gate underground.

It was a fight between the defending forces trying to protect it at all costs and the lich and monster legions trying to drive them out and destroy the long-distance teleport gate.

“Kekeke! Minions of darkness, quickly wipe out those Symphonia bastards!” Chathan, the black magician who had released the undead in the southern part of the Symphonia Kingdom under Nesta’s orders.

He watched the battle from afar and issued orders to the federation. Originally, he had planned to release the undead and leave.

But Nesta had issued an additional order: ‘Observe the undead’s battle and submit a detailed report.’ The idea was to accurately quantify the overall power of the undead legion based on the combat power of the intermediate undead that had been deployed this time.

This kind of work was essential to conquer the continent in the future. Knowing the exact power of one’s own forces was necessary to distribute and project power accordingly.

Of course, it was a troublesome and dangerous task for Chathan personally. If he lingered around the battlefield and encountered a hero-class Gigant or an enemy above the level of a Sword Master, he could die.

So at first, he was quite cautious. But after realizing that the Symphonia Kingdom army in the south was no match for the undead, he felt relieved and began to swagger around.

He had already thoroughly grasped the combat power of the Death Knights, and all that was left was the lich. The intermediate lich, who could summon hundreds of large and small monsters, seemed to be at least the power of a duchy.

Or perhaps even more. ‘Kekeke. That powerful lich is moving according to my orders. It feels like I’ve become a demon king.’

The fear he had felt when he first awakened the undead was no longer there. Rather, he felt a unique pleasure in the slaughter and destruction of the creatures that had become his limbs.

“Now! Quickly wipe them out! Let’s clear Lamer as it is and push all the way to Rakan Territory, the origin of the Symphonia Kingdom!” Chathan raised his voice arrogantly as if he had become a real demon king.

Then the lich’s eyes flashed red, and the monsters rushed at the Lamer defense forces even more fiercely. “Kuh! Hold on!” “They said reinforcements from the Divine Empire are coming soon! We absolutely cannot lose this place!”

At the forefront of the defense forces. Marquis Volant, riding his Gigant, swung his greatsword and encouraged the federation soldiers.

Just a moment ago, he had received a reply from the Divine Empire via magical communication that they would send reinforcements. The distance from Lamer City to the Divine Empire was two weeks by land.

Even by ship, it would take about 10 days. The only way to send rapid support from such a place was through the long-distance teleport gate.

Therefore, Marquis Volant had come out of the underground shelter and was directly leading the defense forces to secure the Gigant Arena, where the long-distance teleport gate was located.

However, that movement was spotted by Chathan. Chathan noticed that the Lamer defense forces were gathering at the Gigant Arena, not the administratively important city hall, and realized that there was something there.

According to information he had obtained while in the Divine Empire, King Luke had built long-distance teleport gates in various places before founding the Symphonia Kingdom and used them effectively in times of emergency.

There was also a story that during the recent battle with the Grenada Navy, the firestorm Bellic, who had been sweeping through the eastern part of the Baroque Empire, had suddenly appeared and saved Lamer City.

Based on this information, Chathan was convinced that there was a long-distance teleport gate in the Gigant Arena of Lamer City.

‘I need to hurry and destroy the long-distance teleport gate before things get complicated.’ Thinking that, he mobilized all the monsters scattered throughout the city and launched a concentrated attack on the Gigant Arena.

Shu-woong- Kwang!

“Kuh-erk!”

“Commander!”

Volant’s Gigant, which had been slaughtering the giant crocodile-like monsters, fell backward.

A black spear, secretly launched by the lich behind the monsters, had struck it.

Even for a top-tier expert, there was no way to block a dark magic attack launched in secret during a chaotic battle.

It was fortunate that he had noticed the moment of impact and quickly twisted his mech; otherwise, it would have hit the core engine and caused a massive explosion.

“Commander, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but the Gigant…”

Volant’s Gigant, its balance device damaged, staggered and couldn’t stand properly.

Marquis Volant was not a Sword Master and was in charge of the navy, so he hadn’t been given a Hero-class Gigant.

This was because the large and heavy Hero-class was disadvantageous for naval battles.

Instead, he was using a Gaius, which had its core engine and other key components reinforced, as his personal mech.

Among the ten or so Gigants currently capable of fighting, his mech was the most powerful.

With that Gigant falling, a hole was torn in the defense line.

It was becoming difficult to hold out any longer.

“Damn it! Retreat into the Gigant Arena, and artillery, hurry with the support!”

Following Marquis Volant’s order to abandon his half-destroyed personal mech, the cannons already positioned inside the arena began to fire.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang!

The monsters that had been chasing the retreating defenders fell in droves from the shelling.

However, they kept charging relentlessly, as if they had no fear.

Eventually, with the large monsters leading the way, they broke through the barricade at the entrance and began to push into the Gigant Arena.

“Kyahahaha! Hurry and find the long-distance teleport gate and destroy it! Once that’s destroyed, these guys are rats in a trap!”

At Chathan’s command, the lich and the monsters abandoned the attacking defenders and searched everywhere.

They then discovered a passage leading underground, and some of the monsters even made their way down to the third basement level where the long-distance teleport gate was located.

“S-stop them!”

“We have to stop them at all costs!”

The Gigants stationed on the third basement level desperately resisted.

However, these mechs had already been half-destroyed in the battle with the monsters and had only undergone emergency repairs at the arena’s maintenance bay, so there was no way they could properly stop them.

Eventually, a giant crocodile-like monster arrived in front of the long-distance teleport gate.

The mages in charge of managing the gate tried to stop it by unleashing attack magic, but it was a hopeless situation.

The monster, unfazed, swung its large tail at the gate.

Whoosh!

Just as the gate was about to be smashed, a pure white Gigant emerged from the blue waves of the gate and swung a greatsword at the monster.

Swoosh-

Kueeeeeeek!

The defenders, who had been on the verge of despair, were wide-eyed at the scream of the crocodile-type monster that had been cut in half.

“T-that’s… !”

“It’s the Hero-class Gigant Veda of the Holy Empire!”

As cheers erupted, Veda, leaving behind a pure white afterimage, charged forward and mercilessly cut down the monsters that were rushing towards the long-distance teleport gate.

Kyaaak! Kyaak!

Kieeeek!

In the blink of an eye, more than ten large monsters were instantly killed.

The small and medium-sized monsters that had followed the large ones hesitated and backed away, seeing the golden Gigantic Aura shining from Veda’s greatsword.

They instinctively realized that the energy flowing from the greatsword was their antithesis, and that the opponent was a much stronger force than the defenders.

“How dare monsters set foot in the middle realm! I swear to God, I will crush them all with my own hands!”

No sooner had the words flowed through the comms than Veda began to advance and hack the monsters to pieces.

Every time Veda’s sword flew, the monsters were sliced like meat on a cutting board.

Marquis Volant and his subordinates, who had been in despair after allowing the monsters to invade, were overjoyed at Veda’s appearance and performance.

The Gigant’s output was tremendous, but the rider’s skill was even more outstanding.

“Who is that Gigant’s rider…?”

“I-it’s Grand Duke Gregory! The Grand Duke himself has come to support us!”

At his subordinate’s words, Volant examined the emblem engraved on Veda’s armor.

It was undoubtedly the clover emblem that symbolized Grand Duke Gregory.

“Grand Duke Gregory has come to support us!”

“Waaaaaaa!”

Grand Duke Gregory, the leader of the Undying Legion.

The news that he, who had long reigned as the strongest swordsman on the continent, had arrived, ignited the morale of the defenders, which had fallen to the bottom, like a flame.

As if responding to the cheers of the defenders, Gregory advanced relentlessly, cutting down the monsters he saw.

After quickly wiping out the monsters underground, he went above ground and began to slaughter the monsters outside the Gigant Arena as well.

As the tide of the battle suddenly turned, Chathan couldn’t help but be flustered.

“T-that’s the Holy Empire’s Veda? And it’s Grand Duke Gregory of all people!”

Chathan was far away for safety.

However, he was not so blind that he could not recognize Veda’s clover emblem.

“Damn it, a Sword Sage has appeared!” [Sword Sage is a title given to extremely powerful swordsmen].

He had targeted the long-distance teleport gate in case something like this happened, but it had been in vain.

In any case, Chathan had no choice but to make a decision here.

Whether to fight while controlling the lich, or to run away.

He wanted to choose the latter.

However, he thought it was a waste of the mid-level lich’s combat ability.

He had heard that a mid-level lich was equivalent to an 8th-circle archmage, and that if they fought together with monsters, they could even take down a Sword Sage.

‘Grand Duke Gregory is an obstacle to our magic tower’s conquest of the continent. If I can kill him here, my position in the Veritas Magic Tower will definitely grow.’

He couldn’t keep playing the role of a spy and staying out of the spotlight forever.

Fueled by ambition, Chathan ordered the mid-level lich.

“Kill Gregory! You can ignore the others!”

Kieeeeee!

The lich, whose spirit was connected to Chathan, immediately acted on his will.

As the lich created a huge summoning circle on the ground, a giant eel-like monster emerged from within.

Its huge mouth, large enough to swallow a Gigant in one bite, was filled with dozens of layers of sharp teeth, and its body was covered with thick, sharp scales.

Guweeeeeeek! Quek!

This monster, which made a bizarre cry, was a Megius worm, which was rare even in the demon realm.

It was so ferocious that when it was hungry, it would chew on anything living, as well as rocks and lumps of iron.

Its scales were so tough that it wouldn’t even get a scratch from most attacks.

Because of that, even high-ranking demons avoided fighting it.

“That thing looks awfully vicious.”

Gregory, who was seeing the Megius for the first time, did not know how dangerous it was.

The Megius opened its mouth wide and swallowed Gregory’s Veda, which had charged at it with its greatsword raised.

Glup.

Immediately after swallowing Veda, the sound of something being crushed echoed from inside its mouth.

Crack! Crunch! Crrrrrunch!

“G-Grand Duke!”

Marquis Volant and the defenders’ faces turned pale.

They had not expected that Grand Duke Gregory, who had come to save them, would die as a meal for a monster.

‘It’s over! We’re all going to die now!’

Just as everyone’s faces were filled with despair.

Whoooom-!

Suddenly, sharp golden flashes of light shot out from the Megius’s body.

The golden flashes split into hundreds of strands and hacked the Megius from the outside, as if mincing it.

Queeeek! Kueeeeeeek!

In an instant, the Megius turned into a lump of meat, and Veda, with Gregory inside, reappeared.

Veda was dirty with the monster’s blood and flesh, but there were no signs of damage anywhere.

The cracking sound that had echoed when it was first swallowed was not the sound of armor breaking, but the sound of teeth being crushed by Gregory’s Gigantic Aura [a powerful energy].

“H-how can this be!”

While Chathan was horrified, Gregory threw his greatsword, imbued with Gigantic Aura, at the lich.

The lich used blink magic to easily avoid the attack.

However, the greatsword, which had stopped in mid-air, split into dozens of swords and poured down on the lich, who had moved its position.

The swords had not actually split, but the Gigantic Aura imbued in the sword had transformed into the shape of swords.

“This is the ‘Patriot Sword,’ a swordsmanship I created based on the latter half of the Gold Sword. I’ll make you my first sacrifice.”

Whirlick! Whiririririck!

Gregory attacked the lich by controlling the sword’s aura.

The lich was hit without even having a chance to dodge the dozens of aura swords that flew like lightning.

At first, it seemed to withstand it to some extent with dark magic.

However, that was only for a moment, and it was soon battered and instantly shattered, its body turning to ashes and crumbling.

‘Good heavens, a mid-level lich in an instant…!’

A lich with the power to destroy a city.

He had heard that it was powerful enough to fight a Sword Sage, but it had been defeated so easily.

Chathan trembled without realizing it.

He no longer had the arrogance of a demon king.

‘I, I have to run away! If I get caught here, I won’t even be able to collect my bones!’

With that thought, Chathan fled in a hurry, lest he be noticed by Grand Duke Gregory.

However, he had to stop in his tracks after not going far.

“Hey there, where are you going in such a hurry?”

A mage wearing a pure white robe and a silver cross around his neck blocked his path.

He looked more like a priest than a mage, with a benevolent appearance.

However, a fierce magical power that seemed to sweep away everything was emanating from his body.

‘T-that’s Meister Reas, Marquis of the Holy Artenia Imperial Magic Tower!’

Reas, Marquis, an 8th-circle archmage [a very powerful mage].

He had come to Lamer with Grand Duke Gregory.

The reason why Gregory, who was in Sachsen, was able to reach Lamer City in a few hours was thanks to him, who was skilled in teleportation magic.

If Marquis Reas had not teleported Grand Duke Gregory from Sachsen to Bless, where the long-distance teleport gate was located, several times, they would not have been able to come to help in time.

In any case, he, who had arrived in Lamer City, had also prepared attack magic to participate in the battle.

However, Grand Duke Gregory had already swept everything away, so he didn’t have much to do.

Fortunately, he had caught a worthy opponent to save face.

“King Luke said that not all dark mages are bad. There were definitely good friends, and they were a great help.”

“Ugh… !”

“But you seem like an evil dark mage.”

“Die, Reas!”

Chathan desperately fired a dark bullet.

It might have worked on an ordinary mage, but it had no chance against Reas, an archmage who had also mastered divine power, which was the antithesis of dark magic.

So, he was planning to launch a preemptive attack and use the gap to tear a teleport scroll and escape.

However, Marquis Reas was not so naive as to be fooled by Chathan’s trick.

“Holy Arrow.”

“Kuh-ack!”

Reas, who had blocked the dark bullet by waving his left hand, shot a magic imbued with divine power at Chathan.

The Holy Arrow, which pierced through Chathan’s chest, shattered his black circle [a source of dark magic].

“Kuaaaack! Uaaaaaack!”

As the black circle was destroyed, Chathan experienced a pain as if his whole body was being torn apart.

However, that pain was only temporary.

His body began to burn from the inside out.

The divine power that Marquis Reas had fired was purifying his body, which was tainted with dark magic.

“S-save me… please…”

“If you can’t overcome that much pain, how will you endure the hellfire of hell in the future?”

As Reas coldly turned away, Chathan’s body turned into pure white ashes and flew away.

“Oh dear, I was a step too late.”

Grand Duke Gregory, who belatedly realized that there was an escapee, came running and clicked his tongue.

“Hahaha. Grand Duke, there are undead in other cities as well, so there’s no need to be disappointed.”

“That’s right, was it called a Death Knight?”

Grand Duke Gregory, recalling that there were not one, but five undead that had appeared in the southern part of the Symphonia Kingdom.

He urged Marquis Volant, who had come to thank him, to get accurate information.

“I wonder how strong that Death Knight will be.”

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

Whoooom- Poof!

The moment the teleportation magic circle that Marquis Reas had drawn on the floor activated, the two men’s figures disappeared with a bright light.

One day later.

The undead crisis that had suddenly struck the southern part of the Symphonia Kingdom was completely ended with the slaying of five undead.