The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 158

Thud. Thud.

“Chieftain.”

Deep within the Gaia Church’s sacred grounds.

As hundreds of giants silently moved, Brok, a giant warrior, approached the chieftain at the head of the group.

“The Great Warrior is approaching.”

“I know.”

Genul Kidslipper, the giant chieftain, stared straight ahead.

The human archbishop, having lost his reason, was being controlled by a nightmare, and the nightmare, Calliope, was searching for the elixir hidden by the Church to strengthen the giants.

It was a connection made by joining forces with the Demonic Cult.

‘Gent. So, it’s come to this.’

Gent, once called a genius of the giants blessed by the gods.

But he had rejected the destiny of the giants chosen by God.

“…What are you going to do, Genul?”

“No need to ask twice, Brok. He has refused my hand several times.”

Whether he was his son or called a genius blessed by the gods.

It didn’t matter.

The giants are all his comrades and brothers, and the giant warriors are all those who were once called geniuses.

“Join or die. That’s all.”

Genul said expressionlessly.

There was no affection for his flesh and blood left on his face.

“You seem to be the physical type, but you seem to have more worries than I thought -?”

At that moment, Calliope, who was walking at the head, joined the conversation.

He gave a faint smile and winked, but Genul stared at him even as he faced the seductive gaze.

‘I don’t like him.’

Genul’s warrior blood reacted.

He is not a fair warrior.

He’s as insidious as a basilisk [a legendary reptile said to kill with a single glance] and as musty as a goblin. But it doesn’t matter.

He is a giant warrior and chieftain.

If he bares his teeth, he will split his head in half at any time.

“Don’t interfere in the affairs of other races. Demon.”

“I even prepared an elixir for you, but that’s too much. Really!”

“…”

Genul stared at Calliope, who had his arms crossed, with one hand on his axe.

He might not care about a weak being like the human next to him.

The giants, a race chosen by God, are not fooled by such temptations.

“Well, it’s true that we don’t have much time. Let’s go quickly. There’s a limit to how long the Demonic Cult and lower nightmares can stall for time.”

“You can throw away the lower nightmares, but what about the Demonic Cult? I thought you guys were comrades.”

The giants were also connected to the demons with the help of the Demonic Cult.

But they were abandoning the Demonic Cult like consumables.

“Well. Do I really need to know about those guys?”

Why did Calliope come here?

Because Maledrax asked for support.

He was angry that he, as a fellow demon king, was moving under Maledrax’s orders, but he didn’t necessarily have to listen to his request.

“Come this way. They say the human has arrived.”

Archbishop Aldeb looked at the sky and took out the pill hidden deep in the sanctuary.

This is a pill provided to the council of the Free City of Arconia.

A pill provided to the council of the Free City of Arconia.

Some of them flow into criminal organizations, but most of them are provided to the council as bribes not to investigate the sanctuary.

“Take one each. It’s the Gaia Church’s elixir. If you have this, you can have the crazy fight you want. What did you say? Ragnarok [in Norse mythology, a series of events leading to the end of the world]?”

“Thank you. Demon.”

Genul immediately swallowed the pill that Calliope handed him.

After that, all the giants swallowed the pills, and a faint divine power began to flow through their bodies.

“Heh, you guys are really interesting.”

Calliope chuckled.

They have unbelievable strength, but they are foolish, a strange race.

“As expected, you’re the most foolish and easily deceived race on the continent.”

“What are you talking about? Demon.”

Genul frowned and raised his axe.

“You still don’t understand? Artificial divine power made from a human body can’t possibly work on other races. Rather, if other races take that medicine, they will go crazy.”

Calliope smiled and raised his demonic energy.

At the same time, the nightmares hidden deep in the sanctuary came out.

Upper nightmares with power too strong to face humans.

“Originally, I was going to bring demons who could fight you… but for some reason, they all disappeared. I had no choice but to go through this troublesome process.”

When he received this request from Maledrax.

Calliope never intended to leave the Demonic Cult or the giants alone from the beginning.

It was an opportunity to replenish the combat power lacking in nightmares by replenishing slaves.

In fact, a large number of combat demons heading this way disappeared, resulting in a loss, so he had to capture them all.

The Church’s elixir was the means.

Fortunately, the giants were stupid, but if it were him, he would never have fallen for such sweet talk.

“…That’s strange. Why aren’t you guys panicking?”

But there was something strange.

The giants did not panic at all even after taking the elixir.

They didn’t even look resentful and calmly raised their axes.

“I expected you to be suspicious. I knew there would be a trap. But, what’s the problem with that? Giants just pick up their axes and fight.”

When Genul at the head raised his axe, the rest of the giants also raised their axes.

The giants, a race chosen by God, do not give in to such obstacles.

They truly believed so.

“Why? You can still fight properly even with your minds being eaten away by divine power?”

Only then did Calliope feel a sense of incongruity.

The minds of the giants, who should have been broken by accepting artificial divine power, were fine.

“…Ah. You guys are a race that’s been out of your minds from the beginning?”

Calliope gave a bitter smile.

He was quite strange himself, but this race was different.

They had no process of thinking in the first place.

They only existed to fight.

“Good. It’s a bit twisted, but in the end, the job will be the same.”

Numerous nightmares stood around Calliope.

“Catch them all. Let’s make them slaves of the nightmares.”

At Calliope’s words, demonic energy erupted from the nightmares.

*

He was called a genius.

The giants, a race chosen by God. Among them, the warrior with the most outstanding talent.

That was the Great Warrior Genul Stormheart, born as the son of Chieftain Genul Kidslipper.

“Woo-oh! As expected, the Great Warrior is strong!”

“Genul Stormheart! You will be the main character of Ragnarok!”

Everyone praised the Great Warrior’s talent, and Gent himself did the same.

He was the best warrior and the strongest giant.

“N-No way! Using deception during battle!”

“But he’s strong! Isn’t that all that matters?!”

“That’s right! As expected of the Great Warrior!”

Even the Great Warrior Gent was the only one among the giants who could use strategy.

Gent thought that he himself would become the representative of the giants.

In his mind, he only thought about conquering the continent by leading the way in the future Ragnarok.

But one day, Gent realized that he was different.

“…What is this?”

The opportunity was very trivial.

When he was recognized as a warrior and left the giant’s territory for the first time.

Gent felt the beauty of nature as he looked at the vast forest.

No life other than giants can enter the giant’s territory.

The same goes for animals and plants.

Gent saw the fresh flowers and fruits of the tree for the first time, not the meat or tree fruits that the giants had broken and crushed.

He saw the vastness of the blue sky and the wide meadows.

He saw the majestic mountains and countless animals and plants.

“Genul Stormheart. What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to break the firewood?”

“…I didn’t become strong to destroy this forest.”

“Of course. The giants’ goal isn’t some forest like this.”

Crack.

The giant warrior split the tree that Gent was looking at in half with an axe.

“It devours this entire continent. That is the reason for the giants’ existence.”

“…”

That day, Gent could see the difference between himself and the giants.

They didn’t know the beauty of nature at all.

It was from then on that Gent began to feel out of place among the giants.

He did not participate in the training he used to participate in every day, but looked around the forest, and explored the various creatures of the forest to realize the beauty of nature.

Fortunately, there were few giants who cared about Gent’s deviation.

They are always a race faithful to their instincts.

You don’t have to train if you don’t want to.

The important thing was the warrior’s strength.

“Intruder! Capture him immediately!”

Then one day.

Someone invaded the giant’s territory.

“Giants, everyone. I am Yuriel von Grandia, the second princess of the Karmen Empire. I formally apologize for entering the giant’s territory. I will leave as soon as my body recovers.”

Yuri blinked as she looked at the giants surrounding her.

She had been wandering around the battlefield of the Great War for a long time, and accidentally entered the giant’s territory while being chased by demons.

She was afraid because the giants were faithful to their instincts and hostile to other races, but she thought she would not die because she had knights by her side and she was the princess of the Karmen Empire.

“Kill her.”

But the giant chieftain did not want to know anything about human affairs.

Anyone who invades the giant’s territory will only die.

Genul Kidslipper turned around and disappeared into the training ground as if he had lost interest.

“I understand!”

“You bastards! This person is the second princess of the Karmen Empire! Do you know who she is and say such nonsense…!”

Slash-!

Yuri’s escort knight stepped forward and complained, but what came back was a merciless axe.

The well-trained graduate escort knight turned into a pile of flesh in an instant.

“T-This is…”

Yuri swallowed and looked around.

All the giants around her seemed to be thinking the same thing.

‘Am I going to die here?’

Thump- Thump-

Yuri’s heart began to beat.

The murderous intent deep inside her body rippled.

“Yuriel-nim…”

Isabelle, her maid, also grabbed Yuri’s hand with tension.

‘Does such a race exist in the world?’

However, only one of the giants was thinking differently.

The delicacy contained in the small and delicate body.

The slender and balanced physique.

The fast and flexible movements.

The high and clear voice.

The diverse and rich changes in expression.

Everything was different from the giants, and it was just beautiful.

The moment Gent saw the humans, he knew the reason he had to live.

The vast nature and the humans roaming above it.

Gent was born to watch over them.

“What are you doing!”

Gent, who was fascinated by the beauty of humans, woke up from his dream when he saw one of the warriors cutting down a human.

Gent immediately stepped in front of the giants and stood as if to protect the humans.

“What are you doing, Great Warrior? Those who invade the giant’s territory can only die. You should know that too?”

“No. I will let them live. That is my decision as the Great Warrior.”

“Great Warrior. Do you really want to make a choice that goes against the clan’s decision?”

The giants have the logic of power.

The strong are right and the weak are wrong.

So, if you want to get your opinion across, you have to silence all those who have opposing opinions.

“…There’s no reason why I can’t.”

Swish-

Gent raised his axe.

It was the day when the ‘shame of the giants’ was born, who cut down hundreds of giant warriors to protect the humans who had invaded the giant’s territory.

*

Whoosh-!

Rael cut off the neck of the nightmare spewing demonic energy from the front.

Then, he kicked Gent in the side, who was staring blankly as if he had been possessed by the nightmare.

“Gent. Are you coming to your senses?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Rael.”

Gent shook off the demonic energy that had entered his body.

The closer he gets to the giants, the more memories of the past come to mind.

It is the memory of the day he was last in the giant’s territory.

It seems that the nightmare’s demonic energy invaded through that gap and showed him the past.

‘I don’t know what to say if I see the giants again.’

Gent still did not agree with their thoughts.

After following Yuri to the Empire, that thought became even more firm.

Ragnarok, which conquers the continent, is an unnecessary act.

“Tsk. They’re not cockroaches, damn it. I keep cutting them down, but they keep coming out.”

The Gaia Church’s sanctuary was deeper than Rael thought.

Perhaps there are several hidden entrances and exits in preparation for an emergency.

“Hooray, hooray, hooray!”

“Just die already!”

Rael dealt with the attacking Demonic Cult followers and turned his head.

Cecilia was right behind him.

“Cecilia-nim. Are you okay?”

“…Yes. Rael-ssi.”

Cecilia was shocked to see the truth of the Church.

It was the same when the Heavenly Demon brainwashed her, but this time it was a little more serious.

It’s not just someone’s fault. The entire Church was exploiting the weak.

Cecilia could not accept that fact.

“Pull yourself together, you can’t be weak here.”

He wanted to give the saintess some advice, but he didn’t have time right now.

“That’s right. Saintess-nim [Saintess – a holy woman]. We will protect you.”

“Carlson, the hope of the Silver Cross Knights, is also here.”

Lucas and Carlson said that, but they were also angry at the Church’s actions.

However, they could not open their mouths because they knew who was the most angry.

“Yes. I will do my best.”

Cecilia nodded and clenched her fists.

Marco, who was behind her, also concentrated on the battle and moved forward.

He was still narrowing his eyes as if he was thinking about something.

Slash-

“These bastards…”

Lucas and Carlson swallowed as they looked at Rael at the head.

They knew how angry he was, so they had to hold back their anger for now.

“Rael. Be careful.”

As they were going deeper into the sanctuary.

Gent put his hand on Rael’s back.

A strong smell of blood began to waft from the front.

“This is…?”

Gent looked at the corpse of the nightmare that Rael had not cut down.

It was not a lower nightmare, but an upper nightmare.

Moreover, next to it… even the corpse of a giant was visible.

“…!”

Gent was startled and ran deep into the sanctuary.

After passing countless corpses of nightmares and corpses of giants, he was able to face him.

“…Father.”

“Great Warrior. You’ve come at a good time.”

Chieftain Genul Kidslipper, covered in blood.

It was the first time he had seen his father’s face in years.

Gent looked around.

Numerous corpses of nightmares and corpses of giants.

And traces of a fierce battle.

He quickly grasped the situation.

There was an internal conflict with the demons after all.

“…In the end, you were defeated by them.”

“I was suspicious from the beginning. I didn’t smell a proper warrior.”

“If you knew that, you could have avoided joining hands from the beginning.”

Gent felt frustrated.

The foolish and instinctive giants never look back.

And Gent, a mutant, could not understand the giants.

“Why, why are you just accepting this result?”

“What are you asking? It’s because I was born that way.”

There is no other reason.

The giants were born that way.

They were strong because they could only think about that.

“The warriors are all dead. Ragnarok is over. Father.”

“I will return alone. I will create warriors again with the children left in the giant’s territory. Great Warrior Genul Stormheart, follow me.”

“Father! Stop it!”

“Great Warrior. You should know what to do if you want to get your opinion across. Don’t just talk.”

If there is a problem that cannot be solved, destroy the cause.

That is the way of the giants.

“…”

Gent quietly raised his axe.

The giant in front of him was covered in blood, but he was still a predator and a warrior.

“Genul Stormheart, I will prove my qualifications to inherit the position of chieftain.”

“Chieftain Genul Kidslipper accepts the challenge.”

No other words were needed once the fight began.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Kwaaaaaang-!

The two giants shouted and clashed their axes.

The two quickly concentrated on the battle.

“Genul Stormheart… Gent’s full name wasn’t Gent?”

“Rael-hyungnim [Hyungnim – a respectful Korean term used by males to address older brothers or close male friends]. Isn’t that not important right now? Shouldn’t we help him quickly?”

Carlson said, looking at Gent’s opponent.

He looked bloody and had many wounds, but his strength looked like it was above Sword Master at first glance.

At least the Sword Dragon or the Jeongcheon Alliance Lord would have to be able to face him.

“It’s okay. It’s something he’ll take care of himself. If he can’t beat an old man who’s about to die, then Gent’s thinking is wrong in the first place.”

What Rael was asked by Gent was to find the giants together.

Unless he didn’t have the ability to solve things like Reina, he could trust and leave it to Gent.

Rael left the situation to Gent and turned his body.

“Let’s leave them to fight and let’s all go.”

“Rael-gyeong [Gyeong – a respectful Korean title]. Where are you going?”

“Where else? As a warrior of the Gaia Church, I have to go catch the king of nightmares.”

Buzzing-

[Warrior of the Gaia Church. I feel the aura of the demon king.]

The Holy Sword Saint trembled.

“You’re calling me a warrior because the demon king is coming out?”

Rael smiled and raised his holy sword.

And he pointed to another entrance to the sanctuary in the back.

The demon king Calliope.

That bastard was still alive.