Luca was shocked to see the Heart Sword sweep away and kill over 30,000 Black Skull soldiers. The invisible sword also cut him.
He hurriedly looked for the knights of the Black Skull Knight Order. And just like he expected, they had also fallen under the might of the Heart Sword and were spurting blood all over their bodies.
‘The Heart Sword from the myths?’
Luca could not believe the boy, who looked lacking, could demonstrate such a mighty sword. But he soon discovered a discrepancy.
‘The power of his Heart Sword falls far below the one described in the myths.’
That was right. The Heart Sword from the myths was said to be strong enough to cut down a million troops at once. It was also said that no enemy could endure and hold out in front of such swordsmanship.
But now? Even though he had suffered considerable damage, Luca could still survive the blow. The Black Skull Knight Order knights also started to stand up once again despite the blood spurting out of their bodies.
There was a massive gap between a knight and a soldier. A single knight could deal with ten soldiers all by himself. As for the knights of the Black Skull Knight Order? They were trained and raised by Duke Balaman himself.
Luca’s lips twisted into a frown. ‘The damage that we have received is far too great.’
But reinforcements would soon arrive. By that time, Luca was confident that they could suppress this boy. No, perhaps he and the Black Skull Knight Order knights, who were left relatively unscathed, could team up and kill that boy.“...?”
The gigantic young man wearing a white mask and watching the scene silently made a move. The young man stumbled as he walked toward the middle of the knights of Black Skull.
“You stupid moron. You won’t…” one of the knights roared at Herakel and blocked his path. But he soon saw the club swinging toward him at a breakneck speed.
Crack, crack, crack–!
The moment the club made contact with the knight’s body, not only was the sturdy and thick armor created by the blacksmiths of the Luvien Empire shattered, but even the knight's bones were broken.
“Keuaaaaaaaack!”
Herakel struck the screaming knight with his club once again.
“A– Aaaaaaack! Stop!”
It only took two strikes for the knights to collapse. All of his bones were broken and shattered, too. Then, Herakel struck another knight.
Crack–!
“A- aaaaaaaack! My- My bones…!”
The knights, whose bones shattered and cracked from Herakel’s blows, felt like the bones of their hands and feet were being switched.
Boom!
Boom, boom–!
Boom–!
“...”
Luca was stunned, speechless. In that short amount of time, two of their knights were incapacitated.
If the young boy had outstanding skills yet lacked the power to deal a considerable amount of damage, then the young man had shocking power that could deal massive damage yet lacked the skills. To put it simply, the combination of the two was fantastic.
Around fifteen Black Skull Knight Order knights were knocked down by Herakel in one go. Of course, these were ordinary members of the order.
‘The members of the Red Skull will definitely be able to suppress them.’
The Red Skull were the five most outstanding knights of the Black Skull Knight Order. They were comparable, or perhaps even superior, to the Swords of the Gods.
‘If Duke Balaman comes here, then they would easily be overpowered,’ Luca thought as he stepped forward. He had to buy time for them to arrive. At the very least, he believed he could deal with at least one of them alone.
“One second.”
“...”
Luca’s face grew ugly when he heard Conir mutter his last line. His instincts were screaming at him that there was danger coming his way.
“That’s the time it would take for you, who ignored me, to fa…”
But Conir failed to finish his sentence. This was because a man had appeared from far away and cut down Conir. The speed was so fast that the boy could not even react.
Bang–!
The man, who sent Conir rolling on the ground, grabbed Herakel by the back of his neck and slammed his face on the ground.
Bang–!
“Ugh! He- Herakel, hurt!”
Luca’s face immediately brightened up.
The man was 183 centimeters tall and had arms lined up with tattoos of a black skull. This man, who suppressed Conir and Herakel in one go, was Duke Balaman—the very same man who dreamt of becoming the new emperor of the Luvien Empire. With a bloody red sword in hand, he watched as the boy he sent flying away regained his posture and flew at him.
Conir might have an intellectual disability, but he was a genius in battle and combat sense. At this moment, his instincts were shouting at him to stab the man in front of him with the second chapter of the Heart Sword.
“Heart Sword. Second Chapter.”
Conir squeezed the imperceptible sword in his hands.
Boom–!
Just as Luca expected, Conir was an outstanding opponent regarding one-on-one battles. The problem was he could not display the Heart Sword's true power because he lacked the power to bring huge damage. But the second chapter of the Heart Sword was different.
“Sword’s Wrath.”
Slash–
Conir swung his sword at Duke Balaman when he arrived before the gigantic man.
Bang–!
A mighty force that ignored all defenses swept past Duke Balaman and made blood spurt all over his body.
“It’s a bit itchy,” Balaman said as he poured potion on the cuts on his body. He acted more calmly than Conir expected.
“...”
Conir was flustered.
Then, Balaman said, “Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Sword God Conir. That’s you, bastard. No?”
Luca and the other knights knew this when the boy used the Heart Sword against them. The one that they did not expect was the young man with unknown yet mighty power.
Bang–!
The young man named Herakel swung his club and hit Balaman. Duke Balaman, who looked like he was forced to lean for a moment, suddenly exerted force all over his body.
“Hit me, come on.”
“...Herakel, endure the club!”
Bang–!
Herakel immediately swung his club and struck Balaman once again. But Duke Balaman’s body only shook for a bit. Then, he returned the blow.
Slash–!
Balaman cut down Herakel without any hesitation. Just like that, blood spurted all over the young man’s body.
“H- Hurts… Hurts. Huuuurts…!”
Although many had attacked Herakel before, their attacks could not leave a scratch on his skin. That was why Herakel was not used to pain. And for him, having his flesh being cut deeply felt so terribly painful.
“It feels good to cut!”
Just like they said, Balaman was a lunatic who was crazy for battle. He also enjoyed watching others suffer from pain.
Slash–!
He cackled wildly after cutting Herakel once again. But he did not stop there. He continued to slash and hack at the young man. Conir, who could not bear to see this, jumped forward and hugged Herakel. He wrapped the young man and protected him with his own body.
Slash–!
“Sob. Conir. Hurts.”
Despite being bombarded by Balaman’s attacks, Conir tried to fight back, but his attacks fell through. He was overwhelmed by his opponent.
“Co- Conir, get out of the way! Don’t get hit on Herakel’s behalf!”
“Conir will protect Herakel!”
“Keuhahahahahaha! You’re going to make me cry!”
The display in front of him thoroughly amused Balaman. The Beyond the Heavens Empire was a nation that would be pushed out and forced to collapse once he became the emperor of the Luvien Empire. The fact that he could see two bastards from that empire suffer and grieve with his own eyes before he made that happen made him crazy with joy.
But Balaman did not have any intention of playing with these bastards. Why? Because his ultimate goal here was to get rid of Prince Cardin.
‘If he runs away from us now, it would be a big deal.’
Thankfully, more than 300,000 Black Skull troops and the Red Skull arrived alongside him. So, there was no need for him to worry about that.
“You can play around with them. Just make sure to kill them.”
With those words, the Red Skull knights approached Conir and Herakel. Balaman turned away from them to look for Cardin. But Prince Cardin was already standing in front of him.
Stab–!
Cardin moved at a breakneck speed, his sword stabbing straight toward Balaman’s abdomen.
“...Duke!”
“...!”
Everyone was shocked because they knew that Balaman’s skin was so thick and sturdy that one would believe it did not belong to a human.
Rumor had it that Duke Balaman regularly bathed in the Alhad River as a child. That was why his skin grew as hard as a god’s skin. Perhaps his parents did so, hoping Balaman could also become the emperor.
Yet a sword was able to pierce through his skin? It proved that Prince Cardin’s skill had reached such a high level.
“Urk…!”
Balaman was disconcerted by the sudden and unexpected attack. But what surprised him more was that the prince was the one who made the first move.
‘He did not run away…?’
Was it because he was confident? Or perhaps…?
‘Does that mean that he could not abandon them?’
It was the latter. Prince Cardin had met an outstanding teacher and had grown stronger. But he knew that it was still not enough to beat Duke Balaman. He knew that he couldn't deal with everyone present here.
‘I can’t just abandon them and run away.’
Cardin decided he should at least buy them some time to run away. So, he stabbed Duke Balaman’s abdomen. He thought that this injury must be severe.
Shwaaaa–!
Prince Cardin drew more power as he pulled out his sword and clashed with Duke Balaman.
‘What the hell…?’
Cardin was astonished. Duke Balaman was much stronger than he thought. From what he could tell, the duke seemed to have already transcended the limits of a human being and had become a powerhouse that would not lose even against the gods. The worst part? How could he still be this powerful despite sustaining severe injuries?
There was also another reason why Cardin could not concentrate. The Red Skulls had begun trampling on Conir and Herakel.
“You did not run away because of two little sacrifices? You’re a candidate that’s not fit to be an emperor.”
Prince Cardin’s choice was heavily influenced by emotions. It was proof that he was still far too soft and easily swayed. But there was something that Cardin believed in.
‘Because I received the help of my master…’
Cardin had once received his teacher's help, but that opportunity was priceless. Cardin looked around. They were surrounded by 350,000 strong troops, several outstanding Black Skull knights, Red Skull knights, and even Duke Balaman.
‘Even if my escorts, tasked to guide me safely, come here. We will not be able to win.’
This was the conclusion that he had made. Cardin could not help but bite his lips.
“Keuhaaaaack!”
Herakel, who switched places with Conir and hugged the young boy with all his might, was stabbed in the back by one of the Red Skulls.
“He- Herakel!”
Herakel trembled from the pain, but he did not let Conir go. Conir, protected in his arms, was left to ponder the situation deeply.
“Wahahahaha!”
“They’re crying!”
“This is fun. Fufufufu.”
Seeing them laugh in delight, Cardin thought that it was pretty ironic.
‘If not for Duke Balaman’s presence, those two would have been able to win against everyone here.’
But they laughed at them as if they were trampling on the two by their power. This was what strength and power was like. Just as Conir and Herakel could win against hundreds and thousands of them, Duke Balaman could win against the two of them.
Prince Cardin grabbed his sword tightly as he exchanged blows with Duke Balaman.
Balaman gestured to the knights behind him, signaling them to kill Conir and Herakel quickly. The Red Skulls moved to destroy them while giggling wildly.
Bang–!
A loud explosion erupted, and the Red Skull, about to swing his sword down, was sent flying away. Right in the middle of the Red Skulls, a man wearing a cape carrying the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together appeared. The man was looking gently at Conir and Herakel.
“The Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor…?!”
The Red Skull knights shouted in shock. All of their eyes turned to focus on the man.
Minhyuk gritted his teeth as he stood in the middle of the enemies. Nerva had asked him to rescue the prince. Because it was the affairs of another empire, they had to move secretly. So, he moved out alone. He decided to move alone because it would not bring any significant damage to the Beyond the Heavens Empire if ever something happened to him.
However, things were different now.
“Two people in the entire Beyond the Heavens Empire should never be touched.”
“...”
“...”
Duke Balaman’s gaze changed. This was because he judged that he would also be able to kill the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor now that he had appeared in front of him.
“They are none other than Conir and Herakel. These two are the purest and kindest people.”
That was right. The entire Beyond the Heavens Empire cared for and loved the two. What was the reason? Even though they knew the two were very strong, they felt the need to protect someone with such a pure, innocent, and kind heart.
“What bullshit…”
“That’s why…”
Minhyuk glared sharply at the people around him. They had to pay the price for touching the two people that they should not have touched.
“...you will have to endure their wrath.”
“Hyung!”
“Minhyuk hyung!”
Herakel and Conir called out to Minhyuk. And Minhyuk? He immediately started munching on the Almond of Subordinates.
“I am just one among their many brothers.”
Crunch–!
“They also have grandfathers, uncles, noonas, aunts, who care about them deeply.”
Flash, flash, flash–!
At that moment, light began to flash all around Minhyuk. With a flash of light, an old man with a head full of black hair appeared.
“Their grandfather is the greatest Spear God.”
“My– My babies! Who did this to you?!”
With another flash of light, the fallen emperor made an appearance.
“Their uncle is someone that even Nerva was envious of.”
“Conir? Herakel? Who dares do this to you?!”
“What happened to your faces…?”
“Their noona is Elizabeth, one of the Six Monster Gods.”
“Conir!!! Herakel!!!”
Vwooooooong–!
The Great Demon’s demonic energy surged from the body of one of the men that appeared.
Tremendous and overwhelming killing intent burst out from the eyes of the people who appeared one after another. The Spear God, the Fallen Emperor, someone who was once a member of the Swords of the Gods, the Great Demon, one of the Six Monster Gods, and countless other people were all feeling an indescribable and overwhelming rage.
Luo said, “Who is it? Who is the bastard who did this to my babies(?)?!”
Gorfido added, “I will tear you and rip you apart until you die!”
“Graaaaaaaaa!” Cerberus, or Love, Hope and Happiness, growled.
And Minhyuk, who stood in the middle of them, said, “But what’s more surprising is…”
He looked at Balaman with a cold and piercing glare.
“Their hyung is the Battle God.”
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