What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 720

The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – Episode 720 (720/920)

You Are Perfect and Ultimate (1)

It felt like watching a solo dance performed by an unknown dancer.

That’s what Leopold Lasso thought.

-Step, step, step, step…

The man’s footsteps echoed lightly in the hallway, barely audible.

He moved with the elegance of a swan in the autumn sky and the nobility of a lily blooming in an ancient castle.

However, with every flutter of his pure white hair, he exuded an aura of poison and death.

Beneath his beautiful, pale complexion and smooth, marble-like neck, a network of dark roots—blood and scars—spread across the back of his hand.

Leopold was certain he had never encountered such a contradictory being.

-Clack!

As the Cardinal snapped his fingers,

-콰아아앙! [Sound of an explosion]

“Heuk!”

The door was ripped from its hinges by a sudden, violent gust of wind, and

-쌔애애액! [Sound of wind]

-콰가강! 콰앙! 쿵! [Sounds of destruction]

“Heuiik!”

-쨍그랑, 쨍그랑쨍그랑! [Sound of shattering glass]

A sharp gale swept through the room.

The neatly arranged bed, table, flower vase, and ornaments were mercilessly knocked over, broken, and sent crashing.

As the man slowly lowered and then raised his eyelids, his mint-colored eyes perfectly timed their movement to the chaos around him.

Then, his gaze, having coldly assessed the room, withdrew.

As if any further disturbance was unnecessary.

“There’s no one here either.”

“Heok, hiccup…”

A soft voice trembled, and Duke Lasso’s shoulders hunched further.

*Fortunately, there’s no one inside,* he thought sincerely. Because no one needed to witness more corpses in broad daylight.

“Please inform me immediately if you see anything suspicious.”

“Kkuk, I will, I will. Hiccup…”

Lasso repeated the answer for what felt like the hundredth time.

His jaw, stiff from shock, moved awkwardly.

The two men continued down the empty hallway.

Since leaving the large warehouse attached to the barracks, Johann Haynes and Leopold Lasso’s actions had been quite simple.

Johann was relatively lenient with commoners, but he threatened nobles first and mercilessly killed any soldiers who dared to attack him.

Meanwhile, Lasso trailed behind him, his large frame slumped and defeated.

It was hard to believe that these two men were both Cardinals.

-Clack!

When the man snapped his fingers again,

-콰아앙! [Sound of an explosion]

“Eueueu.”

The door was instantly torn apart, and

-쌔애애앵! [Sound of wind]

-우당탕퉁탕! 우지끈! [Sounds of destruction]

-쩽그렁쩽그렁! 쩽그렁! [Sound of shattering glass]

“Eoeoeoe, hiccup.”

The once-intact room transformed into a junkyard, a scene of utter devastation.

Leopold had never been particularly attached to the castle’s spaces, so he felt no personal loss, but he was awestruck by Johann’s immense power.

The same destructive act was repeated as they progressed down the main castle corridor.

Destroy, ransack, examine, and leave.

-콰가가강! [Sound of destruction]

All to achieve their purpose.

“Keuk, hiccup…”

-Step, step, step…

Princess Gong and Isabel Gong were heading to the rear of the lord’s castle to liberate the ‘zoo’ [likely referring to a menagerie or collection of exotic animals], while Angel Gong used himself as bait to explore the most secret areas of the castle.

His crucial mission was to find anything that could be Myker Lasso’s weakness or any important information and bring it back intact.

Meanwhile, Prince Taeja and Prince Swallow were searching for the carefully hidden Sun Halo Herb.

Attacking and smashing things recklessly wouldn’t uncover delicate herbs, making their task precarious and difficult.

Finally, Leopold and Haynes Gong….

“Did you mention that your mother has hearing problems?”

“Ma…. That’s right. Um.”

Caught off guard by the question, the Duke nodded awkwardly.

The paladin, enveloped in an aura of pure white, scrutinized him for a moment.

“Is she completely deaf?”

“Ah, no. Probably not. A few years ago… her hearing started to deteriorate. It gradually worsened over time….”

“I see. If it’s due to old age, that’s understandable.”

“….”

Johann turned his gaze away with an inscrutable smile.

Leopold stared at the floor, his face tense as he walked.

‘콰가가강!’ [Sound of destruction] The Cardinal continued to break down doors, continuing his terrifying search.

-쩌저적, 와장창! [Sounds of destruction]

“Hoo, hiccup. Hoo….”

Yes, ‘search’.

Their goal was to capture the fake lord, Myker Lasso, right here, today.

-똑! [Sound of knocking]

“Oh, my god! I am Lord Leopold’s man!”

“Ah….”

At that moment, a servant who appeared from a side passage turned pale and raised his arms in surrender.

Leopold, snapping back to attention, recognized her instantly. His hiccups ceased.

She was a loyal servant who had been in the same room as him on ‘that day’.

She had assisted him for a long time.

Johann, noticing the Duke’s affectionate expression, immediately spoke.

“Where is Myker Lasso?”

“He, he is still in the castle. The captain of the guard barely stopped him from leaving for the zoo. Butler Dolph took him somewhere, but he refused to go to the shelter…. He’s probably in his study or bedroom.”

“Thank you.”

Johann nodded and gestured for him to leave.

Leopold offered a guilty wave instead of speaking.

The middle-aged servant bowed politely to his master and hurried away.

The young servants and maids who had packed their bags followed her in droves.

The glances they cast at the Cardinal were filled with terror. They were no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

“…They’re evacuating the children first. She doesn’t look well herself.”

“What, what did you just say?”

Leopold flinched at Johann’s words. Johann turned to him, his eyes narrowed.

For a moment, he imagined the chaos outside the window fading away.

“That servant’s hands were peeling and red. They looked like old scars.”

Ah….

“Th-that’s right. The treatment, the treatment was given in time, so you don’t have to worry. It won’t hurt now….”

“There were more than one or two injured servants besides that one. They all had old wounds.”

“….”

Leopold twitched his lips but eventually lowered his gaze without responding.

A cuckoo [type of bird, often used symbolically] climbed up Johann’s wrist and wrapped its tail around it.

“Come to think of it, there were very few healing priests in such a large lord’s castle.”

“….”

“I believe you mentioned there wasn’t a single paladin.”

“Th-that’s right. That’s because my mother, she doesn’t like priests….”

“Is that because your mother is suffering from divine disease (神症) [a fictional disease related to divine power]?”

The question struck deep. The Duke was startled and looked up.

Johann tilted his head, his sharp eyes fixed on him, before resuming his search.

‘콰아아앙! 터엉!’ [Sounds of destruction] The thick door was torn off and sent flying like paper.

Leopold swallowed hard and stared at his back.

The Cardinal continued to move his arms as if directing a play.

-똑! [Sound of knocking]

-콰과광! [Sound of destruction]

“How about this hypothesis? Myker Lasso, a noble member of the royal family and a promising heir to the Duke’s title… He had to abandon all his dreams after developing divine disease in his childhood.”

“….”

He wasn’t running, but he was slowly losing his breath. The Duke clenched his trembling fists.

“He was born with a sacred bloodline, destined to become a priest, but he contracted divine disease, a curse typically afflicting commoners in the streets. His pride was shattered, his youth and health vanished, leaving only inferiority and shame. Perhaps that became his driving force.”

“….”

“He was skilled in business, leading a fairly satisfactory life. Then, one day….”

-똑! [Sound of knocking]

-우당퉁탕! [Sounds of destruction]

The door, likely the umpteenth, was smashed, sending sharp fragments and sawdust flying everywhere.

Yet, not a single piece touched Johann.

“His son, born from a political marriage, awakened as a paladin, as if to flaunt his superiority.”

“How… How did you know that….”

“Inferiority towards one’s children is not an uncommon emotion.”

The Cardinal explained in a chilling tone.

The eyes that turned back were ice-clear and pure, then shifted to a venomous green.

“It would have been tempting to use that as justification for abuse.”

“….”

“Deliberately withholding a priest from a paladin is one of the most basic torture methods passed down from ancient times.”

“Eueum….”

He choked up. Leopold instinctively rubbed the burn marks on his forearms, which remained white in patches.

It was a reflex, a habit formed from shielding himself from his mother’s cigarette ashes.

His whole body trembled.

“I, I always thought I had done something terribly wrong….”

“No, you already knew. A child’s senses are quite accurate, and if it’s a paladin, there’s no need to elaborate.”

-콰콰콰앙! [Sounds of destruction]

-휘이잉, 쌔애애앵! [Sounds of wind]

“But after formulating this hypothesis, one question remained.”

‘후두두, 뗑그렁!’ [Sounds of falling debris] Protruding nails and broken hinges rolled across the floor.

Johann glanced languidly at the guest room and then took a step. Indeed, not here either.

“So… what is your stigmata [mark of disgrace or divine favor] that caused your mother’s deafness?”

“….”

He felt a chill.

“You must have become a Cardinal that day.”

“You inoooom!”

Ugh! Before he could answer, he flinched at the roar that assaulted his ears.

Leopold opened his eyes wide and looked down the hallway.

It was a bit distant, but he could clearly recognize the speaker.

An old man in armor, tall and with a back as solid as a rock….

“How dare you destroy the Lord’s residence! Do you not realize that this is rebellion and a grave sin!”

He roared in fury, his voice echoing through the hallway.

Between his gray hair and beard, old eyes as sharp as rusty awls were embedded.

His dignity and presence were so overwhelming that Leopold, as always, forgot he was a Cardinal and was filled with terror.

“How can this be? It’s the captain of the guard, Haynes Gong! That man is a 7th-level swordsman who has dedicated his life to the sword!”

“….”

Only then, truly then, did Johann slowly turn his head.

The captain of the guard, seeing the Cardinal, paused.

Disbelief, astonishment, and perhaps a hint of fear spread across his wrinkled face.

His shocked lips trembled.

“You… Aren’t you the ‘cleaner of the Papal States’!”

“Never heard of it.”

Johann replied with an innocent expression.

‘스릉!’ [Sound of drawing a sword] The horrified knight drew his sword and aimed it at him.

Blood vessels bulged under the reddened old man’s chin.

“Good heavens, I can’t believe it…. Once in the South, every knight knew you were the Chief’s vulgar puppet. At least those who had deeply mastered the sword would have seen your cunning face in the shadows at least once!”

“….”

“I thought you were dead, but how dare you come all the way here? Who ordered you this time!”

It was a thunderous roar, truly terrifying.

“He, Haynes Gong….”

“Lord Leopold, how can you associate with such a lowly person? Come to my side immediately!”

The agitated knight spat and scolded.

The cuckoo tilted its small head and looked up at Johann.

*Do you need this body’s fire?* its gaze seemed to ask.

The Cardinal looked down at the divine object and lowered his voice.

“Well, it seems a waste to use your precious abilities on something like that.”

“What did you say?”

Sparks flew from the knight’s eyes.

The Duke turned pale at the murderous intent that rapidly filled the hallway.

No matter how skilled Johann Haynes was, the captain of the guard, whom he had feared since childhood, was on a different level.

The old man still haunted his nightmares.

“Haynes Gong, the captain has won several sword fighting competitions…!”

-스릉! 쿠구웅! [Sounds of sword and impact]

‘쌔애애액!’ [Sound of wind] The leap was instantaneous, the old body rushing forward with terrifying speed and flashing sword energy.

In an instant, the air in the hallway seemed to vanish, creating a brief gust of wind.

Johann stood still, not lifting a finger.

His indifferent eyes showed no life or interest.

Then Leopold witnessed an unbelievable sight.

-쌕, 쌕쌕, 쌔애앵! [Sounds of slicing]

“Ah….”

Something flat and translucent swept past the old man’s body as he charged forward with his sword.

He couldn’t see it clearly, but there were several of them. Three, no, four.

Resembling four shining blades….

-푸슈우욱! [Sound of slicing flesh]

“Keoheok.”

-푹! 푸슉, 푸슛! [Sounds of slicing flesh]

Murder by air fragments.

The captain of the guard, his limbs severed on the spot, vomited blood.

The sharp eyes quickly lost their light.

The bloodstains spread like a summer fan, and the separated limbs slowly drifted to the east, west, south, and north.

Leopold hurriedly turned his mouth away, fighting the urge to vomit—

“Sir Johann! Are you there?”

-와당탕퉁탕! [Sounds of crashing]

Just then, a familiar voice echoed from the corner of the hallway.

Everything that followed happened before the Duke could fully process anything.

-똑! [Sound of knocking]

-콰아아앙! [Sound of destruction]

“Heuik!”

Suddenly, the door of one of the guest rooms was ripped off, and all of the captain of the guard’s blood and corpse, which hadn’t yet hit the ground, were thrown inside.

In their place, pure white blankets and curtains were randomly blown about by the strong wind from within. ‘우당탕, 휘이이잉!’ [Sounds of crashing and wind]

-펄러덕, 펄러덕! [Sound of fluttering]

“Wow! What are these flowers? Were you looking for Sun Halo Herb flowers?”

And almost simultaneously, the priest with six wings spread out grabbed Johann’s shoulder and gently stepped onto the ground.

Before his eyes, red spring flowers, pulled from a vase, rained down.

“Welcome, Lord Gongju. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any special harvest yet.”

“It’s okay, the flowers are so pretty. And I found something instead.”

Lord Gongju said excitedly, his eyes shining.

The divine beasts and rag dolls in his arms also seemed very happy.

Finally, a genuine smile appeared on Johann’s face.

“….”

Leopold wondered if everything he had just witnessed was merely a dream.