The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 160

The massive flesh filled my vision, emanating a repulsive stench.

And that wasn’t all.

The sound of a beating heart.

A whispering, mumbling noise.

The signs of life composing the flesh of the Demon King Calliope assaulted my ears unpleasantly.

‘…A mental attack?’

Raël frowned and gathered his magic power.

It did alleviate some of the burden on his body, but he still couldn’t shake off the nagging discomfort.

“May Gaia’s grace be with us. Soul Purge.”

Just then, a wave of divine power surged from behind, washing over Raël’s body.

The Saintess’s divine power was pure enough to resist the Demon King’s demonic energy.

Raël used *Hoecheon* [a technique to circulate and amplify magical energy] to accept Cecilia’s blessing, staring straight ahead.

At the end of the writhing flesh, Calliope’s face was visible.

“I thought these scraps would drop out with this. Turns out you little ones are tougher than I thought -?”

Calliope’s voice echoed around, carried on the demonic energy.

“I see. A Saintess. I was only interested in the Hero, but you look quite tasty too?”

Calliope scanned the humans’ faces.

The Order’s Hero and Saintess.

And other exceptional humans.

They would become slaves useful to him.

“You should consider it an honor. Only one human has ever stood properly before me until now.”

Calliope’s demonic energy seized the surroundings.

A smile spread across his face.

Visiting Arconia might be fate.

To encounter such humans faster than anyone else.

“Shit. It’s so annoying when something that disgusting talks.”

Raël frowned and raised the Holy Sword.

The repulsive flesh and the deafening voice were too irritating to bear.

‘Can I win with all my power right now?’

Calliope, unleashing his true power, seemed even stronger than Raël had anticipated.

The overwhelming demonic energy and physique made him realize that he was indeed a Demon King.

But fortunately, there was still hope.

“Can you afford to be so excited? You don’t have much time either, do you?”

This was the center of the free city of Arconia, Unity Square.

The appearance of such a monster would quickly spread, and reinforcements would arrive soon.

Raël was in a position to win if he just stalled for time.

“How arrogant, little one. Now that you’ve seen the Nightmare’s battle stance, you won’t escape alive.”

“Bullshit. You crazy demon bastard.”

Raël poured magic power into the Holy Sword.

Stalling for time to win was just an insurance policy.

His goal was always the same.

To defeat the enemy in front of him.

That didn’t change even if the opponent was a Demon King.

Swaaack-!

As Raël swung the Holy Sword down, an aura of sword energy that had already bloomed tore through the air.

The sword, transcending space, ripped Calliope’s flesh to shreds.

In an instant, his flesh was torn away.

Calliope’s eyes widened as he saw the strike.

‘This sword is…?!’

It was definitely a swordsmanship he had seen before.

Calliope stepped back, raising his demonic energy again.

‘The regeneration of the flesh is slow.’

His body was not regenerating.

Calliope recalled past memories.

About 10 years ago.

The sword that had recklessly butchered his body.

The reason Calliope had created such a massive body was precisely because he feared that sword.

A sword aura that transcended space so quickly that even a Demon King could not react.

There was only one such swordsmanship in the world.

The strongest swordsmanship created by the Continental First Swordsman, the *Cheonsal Sword Master* [Heavenly Execution Sword Master], to sever the tenacious life force of the demons.

*Cheonsal Sword* [Heavenly Execution Sword].

It had bloomed from the hands of the Gaia Order’s Hero.

“So that sword is still being passed down… Ha, that human’s vitality is really tenacious, isn’t it -?”

A human hero who single-handedly drove out the Demon King and stopped the war.

The human race, which was too weak compared to the demons, had to ‘sacrifice’ that monster in exchange for making a truce with the demons.

“*Hoecheon*.”

Raël approached Calliope, cutting through the demonic energy.

At the same time, he infused the Holy Sword with divine power, accepting the power of the heavens.

Based on his overwhelming magic power manipulation ability, the magic power intertwined with divine power on the Holy Sword, emitting a powerful force.

‘It’s definitely that sword!’

The sword of *Seungcheon* [Ascension] mangled Calliope’s flesh.

If Calliope had not recovered his flesh and allowed an attack on his main body, his life might have been in danger with this one blow.

Crack-

However, it was different now.

Nightmares basically steal the life force of their opponents in dreams.

It was natural for Calliope, the king of Nightmares, to have a strong life force.

He couldn’t cope with the sudden *Dapcheon* [Annihilation], but now that he knew it was *Cheonsal Sword*, he reacted quickly.

Calliope inflated his flesh, giving the unnecessary parts to the *Cheonsal Sword*.

“You know that monster’s sword, Hero…! I’ll make you regret showing me that sword! I’ll make you live as my slave until the life force in that body runs out!”

If he could enslave that Hero, it would definitely be a great help in the competition between demons.

Calliope smiled gleefully as he thought about that future.

“Crazy bastard.”

Raël, who muttered lightly, raised the Holy Sword again.

He detonated the divine power he had been condensing inside his body with *Hoecheon*, swallowing the surrounding demonic energy for a moment.

“Now!”

Now, with all of Calliope’s attention focused on him.

Raël trusted the others.

Taat-

At the same time, a powerful sanctuary unfolded from behind.

It was the domain of Marco, the commander of the Silver Cross Knights.

“…?!”

Calliope’s eyes widened at the divine power that engulfed the area.

His demonic energy disappeared in an instant, and divine power replaced it.

Demonic energy soon erupted from his flesh, but there was a brief gap before the demonic energy filled the space.

“I’ll go first!”

“I’ll hit him!”

Carlson and Marco aimed for that gap.

Marco.

He was the undisputed strongest of the Silver Cross Knights.

Although Raël had become the Hero and pushed him out of the Order’s strongest position, he was confident that he would not be inferior to anyone when dealing with demons as a paladin who wielded divine power.

That confidence did not waver at all, even against the Demon King.

“I will bestow a blessing! Commander Marco! Sir Carlson!”

Cecilia emitted holy light.

Her divine power dug into Marco and Carlson’s backs, becoming a dazzling armor of light that enveloped the warriors’ bodies.

“Power is overflowing! Commander!”

“Give it your all! Carlson!”

Goooooo-!

Marco’s eyes were bloodshot, and a thin stream of blood flowed from his mouth.

The golden opportunity that Raël had created.

He must not miss this.

Marco poured all the divine power inside his body into the battle-axe.

A divine power sword aura, in which tremendous divine power was combined with magic power, was formed on the battle-axe.

Marco entrusted his life to the Saintess’s blessing, which was still pouring divine power into him.

Carlson followed right behind him.

It was a combined attack by the Silver Cross Knights, who had practiced hundreds and thousands of times.

‘Divine power is like a sword aura…?’

Calliope’s flesh flinched and stepped back.

It was a technique of the Order that he had never seen during the Great War.

Moreover, with the Saintess’s divine power combined, he must never allow that dangerous-looking divine power to hit his main body.

Calliope immediately separated his body from the massive flesh.

Having already returned to the form of a handsome man, he threw the flesh at those monstrous guys and leaped back as if flying.

Kuuuung-!

Calliope’s flesh exploded from Marco and Carlson’s divine power sword aura.

The sword, strengthened by the Saintess’s blessing, mangled the flesh.

“Lucas!”

At that moment, the Holy Sword reached Lucas’s eyes as he ran out.

Lucas, who instantly understood Raël’s intention, snatched the Holy Sword.

“Thank you! Sir Raël!”

Divine power radiated from Saint, which was held in Lucas’s hand.

It was as if it was natural for him to use it, and it was a divine power that fit perfectly into his body.

“*Taegeuk Sword* [Supreme Ultimate Sword] Chapter 2. *Eumyang Hwan Sword* [Yin-Yang Circulation Sword].”

A sword that draws a harmonious flow as magic power circulates in a circle.

*Taegeuk Sword* unfolded in Lucas’s hand.

[T, this is…!]

A swordsmanship so perfect that even the Holy Sword Saint was surprised.

A sword that perfectly matched the Holy Sword’s divine power unfolded in Lucas’s hand.

At that moment, Lucas’s body rushed towards Calliope’s main body.

With the Saintess’s blessing strengthening him, Lucas advanced into the gap in the space where demonic energy had not yet filled.

Kwaaaang-!

Calliope twisted his main body, trying to avoid his sword, but Lucas’s speed was faster than he had expected.

The Blue Dragon that rose from Lucas’s back pushed Lucas’s back.

‘What is that…!’

At the same time as Calliope was flustered.

Lucas’s sword exploded on Calliope’s main body.

He had distributed the damage as much as possible with the flesh remaining from the paladins’ attacks, but it was still not enough.

Calliope’s chest burst open, and the shock reached deep into his body.

“Cough… !”

The soul of the dead dragon pushed Lucas once more.

Before Calliope could make his next judgment, *Taegeuk Sword* once again cut off Calliope’s arm.

Lucas’s sword, which was so fast that it defied the laws of physics, could not even be properly recognized by Raël.

“…*Cheonsal Sword* Form 3, *Dapcheon*.”

But Raël did what he had to do.

He unfolded the sword of *Dapcheon* with the sword of the guard captain, which he had held in a long time.

The sword aura of *Dapcheon* butchered Calliope’s main body, which had been battered by Lucas’s attack.

He could tell even without directly cutting it.

Now was the decisive moment to determine the victory.

‘I can kill the Demon King…!’

The Demon King beyond the forbidden Alheim.

The head of the demons who harm the continent.

There was too much evil in the world.

Lucas wanted to kill them for the peace of the continent.

It was the mission given to him from the moment he realized his talent.

He wanted to become the Hero of the Gaia Order in order to have that power.

Although he could not become the Hero, now was his chance.

Lucas leaped towards Calliope, who was flying backwards.

The sword and armor of divine power formed on his sword. And the breath of the Blue Dragon made Lucas stronger than ever.

His *Taegeuk Sword* burned stronger than ever, aiming precisely for Calliope’s neck.

Hwaak-

But at that moment, Lucas’s vision was turned upside down.

He felt Raël’s hand grabbing his nape.

“Sir Raël…?!”

The moment Lucas uttered his question.

Paah-!

The space where Lucas had been standing just now was distorted.

It was the tremendous mass of demonic energy that created nightmares that suppressed the space.

Lucas instinctively realized.

If he hadn’t stopped now… what that demonic energy had suppressed would not have been space, but himself.

“Too bad -? The Hero seems to cherish you quite a bit.”

Calliope smiled.

His body was already floating in the air.

It was a scene that made the fact that he had been flying backwards until just now seem insignificant.

“Interesting. You guys. You’re really interesting.”

Smoke rose from Calliope’s body.

The wounds inflicted by *Cheonsal Sword* could not be healed, but the wounds inflicted by other humans could be healed easily.

“Especially the Gaia Order’s Hero. Raël. I like you even more.”

That attack just now was an attack that no human could ever read.

But Raël had read it.

He was already an existence that could not be defined as human.

‘Damn it. It was a golden opportunity.’

Raël sighed and raised the Holy Sword.

Behind him were Marco and Carlson, who were barely standing, exhausted.

Marco and Carlson were completely retired with that attack just now.

Lucas and the Saintess might be able to fight a little more, but… the already difficult fight had become even more difficult.

“C, Calliope-nim!”

At that moment, the higher-ranking Nightmares, who had been far away from Calliope’s flesh, approached him.

Their faces were etched with tremendous fear.

“Hmm? Oh -. It ended up taking too long.”

At the same time as Calliope made a regretful face.

The atmosphere of the battlefield changed.

Thud. Thud.

Calliope made a disgusted face as he looked at the human walking towards him.

“Wow -. I really didn’t expect you to be alive. Continental First Swordsman, *Cheonsal Sword Master*.”

A monster who single-handedly stopped the war.

The strongest swordsman on the continent.

*Daeryuk Jeilgeom* [Continental First Swordsman] *Cheonsal Sword Master*.

Calliope gave him a bitter smile.