Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Gathering Legends (1)
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Chapter 27
Gathering Legends (1)
1
Duke Kairen of the Dragon Sword was a man who had become a legend in the flesh. Having lived far longer than any human lifetime, the countless achievements he had amassed led the people of Lurein Kingdom to regard him as a distant and magnificent legend, and Kairen took pride in that fact.
But even Kairen had once been a boy who yearned for legends.
The greatest war in human history—and the figures who shone brilliantly amid it.
Those who left their names in posterity were all titans, heroes and villains alike. Countless legends that had existed on the continent before faded into obscurity, and people remembered only those who had fought in the Dragon Emperor War.
Kairen often imagined what it would have been like if he had been born in that era. He had accomplished much in his current life, but he had not attained the immortal fame of those heroes from back then. If he had been born in that time, how much could he have achieved against the dark titans who made the whole world tremble in fear?
He had never imagined that he would live to find the answer to that question.
Kuuuguuguugu...!
A massive plume of smoke rose into the sky. The overwhelming shockwave that shook the earth was hard to believe had come from just two people clashing.
All eyes from the fierce battles where lives hung in the balance turned toward that spot.
[Excellent! It's been ages since I fought someone who makes it fun! That's right! A man who wields a sword must be prepared to charge forward even in death!]
Reygus's booming laughter echoed like thunder from within the chaos. Then a flash erupted. Kairen, having withstood Reygus's full-powered strike with his own all-out attack, immediately closed in.
Kairen's choice was correct. If he hadn't countered with full power, it would have ended there. Kairen's assault canceled out the shockwave from the Seal of Chaos's impact and cleared a path straight to Reygus.
"Kuh!"
Kairen groaned.
He had never been overpowered by raw strength before. But against Reygus, he couldn't match force with force. Fighting that way against an opponent with such a clear advantage would be foolish. Though his pride stung and irritation surged, Kairen wisely engaged Reygus with speed and technique.
Yet Reygus's seemingly sloppy defense was surprisingly solid. The difference in attack range due to his massive build and weapon length was significant, and Reygus's strikes demonstrated terrifying power, making it hard to close in.
Letisia, watching the scene, clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Such brutish fools..."
She had enveloped the surroundings in an ice barrier to endure the previous shockwave. The epicenter of that attack had formed a crater like one from a meteor strike, and the aftermath had spread over a 500-meter radius, flipping the forest upside down as if a volcano had erupted nearby.
"I'm joining in!"
[Oh? Modern ladies have no sense of style. When men are dueling one-on-one, you should watch with warm eyes—that's the charm!]
"When was that ever in fashion? If you want to dance with demure ladies, do it in your grave!"
Letisia snorted derisively as her spear, wreathed in cold air, thrust toward him. Reygus chuckled heartily even as he faced the fierce pincer attack from Kairen and Letisia.
[Both of you are splendid!]
Letisia broke out in a cold sweat. She had thought that with Kairen holding his own, joining in would overwhelm him—but that wasn't the case. Even with the two of them attacking from front and back, Reygus wasn't yielding easily.
'What kind of monster is this?'
He was huge, swinging a heavy weapon with wild abandon, which made him seem full of openings. But in reality, that wasn't true. Reygus's fighting style was the archetype of a heavy-armor, heavy-weapon warrior, but every element of it reached absurd levels.
[Hoo!]
Reygus swung his hammer with a sound like a mountain exhaling. The diagonal upward swing from below seemed full of gaps at a glance. But the problem was its range and momentum. Every time Reygus unleashed a big attack, he charged like a battering ram, and the ferocity made counterattacks glance off ineffectively.
Papapapapapa!
Destructive air currents exploded along the path of his swing and followed up. As they accumulated, a scorching gale whipped around, making it hard to even breathe and pressing Kairen and Letisia.
'Pushing with momentum will just get us countered.'
Kairen and Letisia agreed on that point. Reygus's movements appeared heavy overall, but the bursts of speed and momentum he showed in moments were explosively hard to follow. Even a casual swing's power surpassed their full-force strikes. Moreover, as an Undying, he wasn't bound by breathing limits, so if he kept accelerating without pause, they would be at a disadvantage.
Chiiik! Kiking!
An irritating screech rang out as sparks flew from Reygus's armor surface. It was the result of Kairen's sword grazing past.
No matter how skilled Reygus was, he couldn't perfectly block the coordinated high-speed strikes from Kairen and Letisia attacking from both sides. He kept pushing them outward with brute force, but attacks landed intermittently.
[Ugh!]
If not for the immense defensive power of his heavy armor enchanted with powerful magic, the fight would have ended long ago. That was how exceptional Kairen and Letisia's offensive prowess was.
'But it feels like fighting a real fortress.'
Kairen sweated coldly. Reygus was the type to fight like a berserker, taking hits with his body. The reinforcement magic cloaking his entire form was so potent that it was hard to pierce.
Letisia was troubled too.
'To think cold air has no effect at all.'
Cold air normally had little effect on the Undying. Living beings would suffer reduced physical abilities and frostbite from extreme chill, but the Undying only took physical damage from being frozen solid.
Yet Reygus showed extreme resistance to cold compared to other Undying. Even attacks that could turn a person into an ice pillar in an instant only resulted in a thin layer of frost on his surface.
Suddenly, Kairen gritted his teeth.
'Kuh! If it were just me, I couldn't handle him. Damn it!'
The man called Duke of the Dragon Sword had always held the superior position. He had faced hordes alone with haughty confidence, never once regretting the lack of more allies in a disadvantageous situation.
But to his chagrin, Reygus was an opponent too much for one person. He was the first since Azel that Kairen judged unbeatable in a one-on-one.
'What are the Guardian Shadows doing?'
In a brief moment of separation, he scanned the surroundings. What were Balsel and the two Undying, who had been fighting Reygus at first, doing? With their clear superiority now, they could end it immediately if they joined...
Soon, Kairen realized why.
'Damn. Not just numerous, but elites.'
Distracted by Reygus, he hadn't noticed, but a considerable number of Dragon Demon Worshippers had appeared. Leaving Kairen and Letisia to the rampaging Reygus, the rest were engaging the Guardian Shadows, as well as Yuren and Laura. Among them were several who looked like officers—Dragonkin and Dragon Demon Hybrids—and the others were all elite soldiers, fighting frantically.
[Interesting. I heard you modern kids lost all the old techniques due to our side's schemes, but you're holding your own quite well.]
Reygus seemed to be enjoying himself even as he was being pushed relentlessly. Was it his personality from life, or had death erased his fear?
Kairen's expression twisted at his words. Humiliating as it was, if he hadn't learned the lost secret arts from Azel, he might have lost.
In previous fights against Dragon Demon Worshippers, Kairen had won without those secret arts. His overflowing Dragon Soul power, the supreme weapon that was the Dragon Sword, and his exquisite skill wielding honed basics to the limit had been enough.
But Reygus was an enemy he couldn't face with that alone. This battle involved advanced Dragon Spirit Art exchanges—disrupting the opponent's mana flow with his own, attacking the mind, distorting senses—all while aiming for physical destruction. Even Reygus, who seemed to fight brutishly, casually incorporated such advanced techniques into his assaults.
Wuuuuuu...!
Kairen, glaring at Reygus, shuddered involuntarily. An overwhelming wave of Dragon Soul power had emanated from afar. The sensation was so dominant that even in a situation where he couldn't take his eyes off the enemy, he reflexively looked toward its source.
'Oh no!'
Kairen felt a chill down his spine and assumed a defensive stance. But instead of attacking, Reygus laughed merrily.
[Ho. That kid—I didn't like his gloomy vibe, but I have to acknowledge his skill. Taking down a dragon?]
"Did he complete the Dragon Slaying Ritual?"
Kairen muttered in a groan. The feeling was familiar. It was the same as when Azel had performed the Dragon Slaying Ritual against the Thunder Dragon after Laura tried to kidnap Seiga.
Reygus said,
[Yes. I heard modern kids have less than a 20% success rate with the Dragon Slaying Ritual, but he pulled it off nicely.]
"Hmm..."
[Well, shall we keep playing? My side's getting pushed, so I should wrap this up soon.]
As he said, the battle favored them. While Kairen and Letisia pinned Reygus, Yuren and Laura linked with the Guardian Shadows to whittle down the Dragon Demon Worshippers.
Letisia sneered.
"That's rich coming from someone who's been dodging nonstop till now."
Kairen smarted at the idea of teaming up with Letisia, but overall, they held the advantage. Reygus had taken several hits, with parts of his armor damaged.
Yet Reygus remained confident.
[Well... regretfully, that might really be the case now?]
"What?"
It was the moment Letisia looked puzzled.