My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 310

310. The Fated Showdown (1)

Isabel’s eyes widened in shock.

Her pupils trembled incessantly.

“Why…?”

She couldn’t understand… she just couldn’t understand.

Her thoughts seemed to freeze, her train of thought broken.

Her mind was blank, her head in turmoil.

“But why…?”

Those same words just echoed in her mind.

The plan was perfect.

Nothing was out of place.

Nothing went wrong.

But… but…

“With His Holiness the Pope captured as a prisoner, hundreds of thousands of crusaders are also…”

What was this report she was hearing?

Crack!

Isabel’s fist clenched involuntarily.

The priest, who was continuing the report, was startled and shut his mouth.

Isabel’s fist trembled.

Her nails dug into her palm through her clenched fist, and drops of red blood dripped down.

A clear sense of anger settled heavily.

Surely… surely she thought everything was perfect.

But the very board she had set up had been overturned and shattered.

The meticulously crafted plan was not just messed up, but completely destroyed.

Where, though?

How, though?

Why, though?

Everything was a mystery.

And the truth that the current situation pointed to was one thing.

“I’ve… been had…?”

A face distorted with anger.

Crack!

Isabel felt something collapsing inside her.

#

In the silence filled with cold air.

“…”

Isabel closed her eyes and calmly calmed her mind.

Her mind was still seething with anger.

Nevertheless, Isabel calmly regained her reason.

As her reason returned, she then felt pain between her palms.

Slowly lowering her gaze, she gently unfolded her fist.

Her palm was scarred with nail marks.

Blood was constantly flowing from the wound.

The blood that had already flowed down her hand and onto the floor was already forming a small puddle.

“I’ll take a look at it.”

At Isabel’s appearance, the priest came forward.

She had lost a lot of blood, but it was just a scratch.

It would be quickly healed with divine power.

“It’s fine.”

But Isabel raised her hand to stop the priest.

She needed this tingling pain.

Otherwise, she felt like she would lose her reason again due to anger.

To maintain more composure.

She had to keep her mind in cold reason.

“Step back.”

Isabel muttered.

She still didn’t know how the situation had turned out like this.

She couldn’t even understand how this could happen.

But one thing was certain: the plan had been discovered.

Ruben knew all of her plans.

Knowing everything, he pretended not to know and drew them in.

Her pride, as well as her anger, flared up the more she thought about it.

However, Isabel relied on the pain in her palm and stubbornly held onto her reason.

“Pull back and reorganize the battle lines.”

Now is the time to retreat.

Now that Ruben knows all the plans.

Now that he is making all the preparations accordingly.

There was nothing more that could be done.

In the first place, Ruben hadn’t even been scratched by Elan Dur’s 300,000 troops.

Unless they attacked an empty house.

There was nothing they could do right now against Ruben, who was perfectly prepared.

They needed to prepare more.

To overwhelm Ruben, they needed to gather more strength.

She wouldn’t have dreamed of it anywhere else.

But the Holy Empire was a nation that had risen to the ranks of empires.

“Mobilize all the citizens.”

The power of the Holy Empire was still strong.

Above all, the best card that had not yet been used remained.

“This time, Kai… no, God will also participate in the Holy War.”

A real God.

However, he was not yet in perfect condition.

He had not properly digested the possessed divinity.

To be exact, he had not achieved divinity.

That’s why the Holy Empire moved first.

To give Kai time to achieve complete divinity.

At the same time, they wanted to deal with Ruben, who was a nuisance, first.

So, they had devised this meticulous plan…

The board was completely overturned.

But not everything was ruined.

That’s why now was the time to retreat and gather strength again.

“Excuse me…”

The voice heard at that moment.

“We don’t have much time left…”

There was Rachel, a woman with lily-like hair, there.

Isabel frowned slightly and asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Kai… no, His Arrogance won’t be able to acquire complete divinity in his current state.”

Isabel’s eyebrows furrowed.

Looking at Rachel with a cold gaze, she asked the reason with her eyes.

Rachel bowed her head slightly and opened her mouth.

“A thousand years ago, His Arrogance was the absolute being in this world. No one could break the arrogance and conceit that His Arrogance possessed.”

The strongest Arnaiz.

The greatest person of all time.

Kyle, who was possessed by Arrogance, was the only absolute being that existed throughout all ages.

So, no one could stop Kyle.

No one could bring down the arrogance that soared into the sky.

“Thus, a thousand years ago, His Arrogance was able to see the end of arrogance that humans could reach.”

But in the end, it did not sprout.

The absolute being, Kyle, finally controlled his arrogance.

He accomplished the absurd feat of cutting down God.

That was a thousand years ago.

However, going back a thousand years, arrogance was revived again.

And the revived arrogance was Kai.

He was the star of the Empire and a genius of the century.

In this era, no one could surpass Kai’s talent.

Looking at the entire continent, there was no one who could surpass Kai.

However.

“The absolute being of this era… has not yet been decided.”

In fact, Kai was not the absolute being of this era.

His talent was untouchable, but he was not the absolute being.

“Kai thinks so himself.”

Despite his overwhelming talent, Kai did not think that no one could stop him.

He thought that someone could stop him.

He did not think that he had the divine status and the arrogance that soared into the sky, and that there was no one to break it down.

He thought that someone would break down his arrogance.

And that someone who would break down Kai.

“Kai… is wary of Cyan Ruben.”

So, Kai was not seeing the end of arrogance.

He could not harbor the arrogance that he could stand against God.

No, furthermore.

“He harbors a feeling of… fear.”

Kai harbored a feeling of fear.

A slight fear and terror that he might be defeated by Cyan.

That was a feeling that an arrogant person should not have.

A feeling that was not allowed for the absolute being, God.

“So, if Kai is to become a complete God… he must kill Cyan.”

Thus, he had to harbor the arrogance that no one could stop him.

At the end of that road, Kai could reach the end of arrogance.

“But Cyan Ruben’s growth rate is bizarre.”

It was truly an absurd growth rate.

Perhaps he was constantly growing even at this moment.

As of now, it was impossible to even fathom.

So, if. Really, if.

If Cyan stood at the end of the road he was walking.

If he rose to the same ranks as the absolute being of this world a thousand years ago…

“We don’t have time to retreat and prepare.”

They had to eliminate Cyan right now.

They should not give Cyan the time to grow itself.

“Even if it’s reckless… we have to bet everything.”

Rachel finished speaking like that.

Isabel didn’t answer.

To be exact, she couldn’t answer.

Because she fully understood what Rachel was saying.

That’s why she had nothing to refute.

So, all of these things meant one thing.

The board had been overturned.

The tide of the battle had been reversed.

Crack!

It was now herself who was running out of time.

#

Ruben, located in the Dark Forest.

The Grand Conference Room located in the Lord’s Castle Lv.4.

“Are you saying that the Holy Empire is preparing for an all-out war?”

“If we combine the collected information… yes.”

Diana nodded at Elena’s question.

At Diana’s appearance, Elena was lost in thought for a moment.

“Not retreating, but an all-out war…”

Of course, Diana was not sure.

However, Diana, the head of Ruben’s intelligence department.

Elena thought Diana’s abilities were very outstanding.

In fact, there was no problem in accepting it as a fait accompli [an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action].

That’s why she didn’t rush over after interrogating the Pope.

“But why…”

Elena was honestly confused.

All of Isabel’s plans had been discovered.

As a result, they suffered a great blow by capturing the Pope.

So, she thought they would retreat once.

Even if they didn’t give up, she thought they would retreat once this time.

As a result, Isabel would buy time to reorganize the battle lines.

Elena would buy time for Cyan to return.

That’s how they were going to give and take one by one.

But unlike what she thought, Isabel didn’t do that.

“What is the size of the force?”

“It’s not certain, but… we estimate it to be at least 1 million.”

“1 million!”

The people gathered in the conference room seemed greatly surprised at Diana’s words.

In the past, Elan Dur brought 300,000 troops.

But the current scale was more than three times that.

Was it really a nation that had risen to the ranks of empires?

“Heo…!”

“How can this be…”

That’s why everyone in the conference room opened their eyes in surprise.

Only Elena had a calm look in her eyes.

Elena was deeply lost in thought.

And after a little time.

“It seems… the Marchioness is in a hurry.”

Elena was able to quickly grasp Isabel’s judgment.

She wasn’t sure what was making them rush.

But Elena could only think that it was Cyan’s existence.

Cyan’s existence made Isabel rush.

“Cyan…”

“He hasn’t returned yet.”

Hans shook his head slightly at Elena’s question.

Elena nodded slightly.

In the end, it was an unavoidable war.

The Holy Empire… no, Isabel had bet everything.

So, it was the final war that could be the last.

And the result could be Ruben’s defeat.

It was bound to be a difficult fight.

“Did you have any contact with your brother?”

“He said he would follow the Princess’s judgment. And… the Saintess also secretly sent a message.”

“The Saintess?”

“Yes. Here.”

Elena accepted a letter from Diana.

And as she calmly read the contents.

Elena smiled slightly.

The final war was approaching.

This war was definitely not going to be easy.

But Ruben was not alone.

At first glance, Ruben was the territory of one person.

A territory that the lord, Cyan, had almost single-handedly cultivated and created.

So, with Cyan gone now.

It could be said that Ruben was not Ruben.

But Elena didn’t think so.

Elena calmly looked around.

She looked at the many Ruben’s territory people gathered in the conference room.

These were the very people.

It was the path that Cyan had walked so far.

He settled life in the Dark Forest, which was full of blood and screams.

He made the stopped time of the dwarves flow.

He took the hand of the dark elves who had been abandoned by the world.

He did not turn a blind eye to the beastmen who had disappeared into history.

He took up his sword for the people of the West who were crying out in pain.

He conveyed the warmth of the sun to the cold northerners.

The Holy Empire was full of epidemics.

Cyan embraced the suffering citizens with sacrifice and dedication.

The path that Cyan had walked was never alone.

The will and sacrifice of many people were together.

The sanctuary of the abandoned, Ruben.

The lord of Ruben, Cyan, who embraced the abandoned.

So now.

“We will defend this place, Ruben.”

It was time for us to protect Cyan.

#

In an unknown cave where no one was felt.

“The greatsword is a sword that contains heaviness.”

Cyan focused on Kyle’s words.

At the same time, he focused on the sword that Kyle was wielding.

And it was heavy.

The sword that Kyle was swinging down seemed to have an indescribable weight.

If the weight of the sky could be measured, would it be the same as the weight of that sword?

That’s why Cyan thought of the greatsword as a sword containing Aura.

Because heaviness was the same as strength.

He thought that the greatsword was a sword containing the weight of magic.

“That heaviness is none other than the weight of the heart (心) [kokoro, Japanese for heart, mind, or spirit].”

But that’s not it.

“In Buddhism, the heart (心) [kokoro] of gravity (重) [omomi, Japanese for weight or importance] that does not waver in anything is called the heart of the Buddha, or immovable heart (不動心) [fudoshin, a state of mental imperturbability].”

Magic was bullshit.

It was the weight of the heart (心) [kokoro].

‘Does the heart also have weight?’

Well, metaphorically, it is expressed that way.

The heart is heavy.

The weight of the heart presses down, etc.

It is expressed in that way, but it is only an expression.

Realistically, physically, the heart had no weight.

But to contain the weight of that heart?

No, well, let’s say that’s the case.

‘What is the heart of the Buddha, and what is an immovable heart?’

It was full of words that he couldn’t understand.

A series of incomprehensible difficulties.

‘What the hell is he talking about…’

Cyan sighed deeply.

No, beyond a sigh, his mind was in a daze.

That’s because each and every word of Kyle.

Each and every action of Kyle. Each and every gesture.

‘It costs 1 million gold to rewind once.’

All of those things were money and gold.

It cost 1 million gold to rewind Kyle’s memory once.

And this memory of Kyle explaining the sword now.

This memory was about 13 minutes long.

In other words, it was like spending 1 million gold to watch a 13-minute video.

Approximately 70,000 gold per minute.

Approximately 1,100 gold per second.

In other words, the living expenses of a family of four for 36 months evaporated in one second.

And the number of times Cyan has rewound the memory so far…

‘Is this the 327th time?’

It was not an approximate number.

There were exactly 327 rewinds.

And the reason why he could remember the number accurately was simple.

Because 327 million gold disappeared from the inventory!

So, 1 billion gold was taken from the Imperial Mint.

The 327 million gold spent now.

[Gold currently held] – 662,250,000 G

The gold currently in Cyan’s possession was approximately 660 million.

Originally, there should have been 673 million gold.

However, there were various expenses such as maintenance costs.

‘The war preparations must be in full swing.’

In many ways, the gold that was going out was no joke.

‘It’s really fortunate that I took the gold from the Mint.’

If he hadn’t, he really wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

No, it wasn’t that he wouldn’t have been able to do anything, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything at all.

Kyle’s memory or whatever.

He would not have been able to prepare for the war with the Holy Empire at all.

But fortunately, Cyan took 1 billion gold from the Mint.

Ting!

[Demon Soul Asura Sword (魔魂修羅劍) [Makon Shura Ken, Demon Soul Asura Sword] Top Grade Progress Rate 90.1% (+0.1%)]

Thanks to that, he was able to increase the progress rate of the Demon Soul Asura Sword.

And the 90% progress rate raised through 327 rewinds.

‘Why does it feel like I’m buying the realm of Exceed with cash?’

Of course, how could the realm of Exceed cost only 300 million?

Still, it felt like he was buying the realm of Exceed with cash.

Isn’t cash an absolute magic that makes the impossible possible?

《You can consume Karma to re-watch the memory.》

《Would you like to re-watch the memory?》

Soon, the notification window appeared again on the retina.

And until just now, he had pressed the rewind button without hesitation.

‘What should I do…’

But this time, he had no choice but to hesitate.

That’s because the progress rate that was rising now was too slow.

Even right now, it only rose by 0.1%.

Of course, 0.1% in 13 minutes was not a small number.

The remaining progress rate was approximately 10%.

Therefore, the time required was approximately 1,300 minutes.

It was no different from saying that he could reach 100% in about a day.

‘But there’s no guarantee that it will continue to rise by 0.1%.’

Also, the progress rate was only a numerical value.

In short, it was a numerical value of what Cyan had realized as a record of Karma.

In the end, the progress rate would only increase if Cyan directly realized it.

‘It seems like I have to swing it directly and learn it.’

It seemed like there was a limit to just watching now.

‘Above all, Kyle’s last words are bothering me.’

This is the Demon Soul Asura Sword (魔魂修羅劍) [Makon Shura Ken] that I have completed.

And the sword (劍) [ken, Japanese for sword] that I have not completed.

After teaching the previous sword, Kyle left those words last.

The exact meaning was unknown.

However, it suddenly occurred to him that this top-level process might not be the end.

It meant that there was a sword (劍) [ken] that Kyle had not completed left.

He didn’t know what it was…

Exceed, what’s beyond that?

Cyan was just making cautious guesses.

Well, anyway.

‘Let’s stop rewinding here.’

Cyan was able to make a decision after much deliberation.

The progress rate was also the progress rate, and above all, this.

『[Main Story Quest] – ‘Approaching Fate’

▶Complete reading ‘DLC Content – Kyle’s Journal’.』

-Reward: Kyle’s Legacy

.

.

Now, it was necessary to clear the quest.

Even if he couldn’t set foot in the realm of Exceed at the end of this memory.

However, obtaining the legacy left by Kyle would be of great help.

After finishing his thoughts, Cyan pressed the N button instead of the Y button.

And right then.

《Memory retrieval is not possible.》

《Would you like to retrieve the corrupted memory?》

‘What?’

A strange notification window appeared on Cyan’s retina.

It looked like it had caused an error.

Did Mobile Lord cause another overload?

He thought that for a moment, but quickly shook his head.

This felt different from that.

It seemed like there was an error in the system itself.

‘This has never happened before?’

That’s why Cyan was embarrassed.

Mobile Lord had overloaded in the meantime.

That’s why he had to go into maintenance so often.

But this had never happened before.

The system itself had never caused an error.

‘What the hell is going on…’

…just as he was thinking.

“There is not much time allowed.”

In an instant, Kyle’s voice was heard.

Slowly turning his head to look at that place.

There, Kyle was looking at Cyan.

No joke, Kyle was looking straight at Cyan.

And in Kyle’s hand, he was holding something other than a sword.

‘Smartphone?’

In Kyle’s hand, he was holding a smartphone at some point.

“What I am about to say is not recorded in Karma.”

“What… what do you mean?”

Cyan asked without realizing it at Kyle’s words.

Forgetting that it was a virtual event, Cyan asked without realizing it.

“That’s why there is only one thing I can show you.”

And Kyle’s answer did not come.

Kyle was clearly looking at Cyan.

But he didn’t seem to be listening to Cyan’s words.

It looked like reality, but this was a strictly virtual space.

It was in Kyle’s memory a thousand years ago.

“Engrave it with your eyes and engrave it with your senses.”

The Kyle that Cyan was seeing was already dead and gone.

Therefore, the words of Kyle that he was seeing now were not just simple words.

“The only way I can arrange it and the Demon Soul Asura Sword (魔魂修羅劍) [Makon Shura Ken] that I have not completed.”

Kyle couldn’t do it a thousand years ago.

He had failed in the end.

“It is a sword that cuts down God.”

It was the legacy left by Kyle.