Lord (4)
Ronso was merely a baron, but he had seized control of the entire North.
There were two reasons he could dominate the North.
First, his absurdly vast wealth.
Second, he was the Fourth Calamity.
The Calamity Cult, a gathering of evildoers.
Hiding as a baron in the North, Ronso had orchestrated countless schemes.
He had secretly assassinated lords of territories that refused to obey him at night, then seized their fortunes.
He had also offered "aid" to territories left leaderless after their lords' deaths, only to extract exorbitant taxes in return.
The new lords of those territories?
They couldn't defy the man who ruled the North like a king, so they became his dogs.
And Ronso had set his sights on Ballass Territory, forged by this Hyun-soo fellow.
Ballass Territory generated five times the revenue of territories its size.
And that was just the beginning.
If Ballass drew in more blacksmiths and nurtured them to grow like hens laying eggs, its value would surpass imagination.
That was why he had taken the risky gamble to seize it.
On top of that, he had planned to deceive everyone by claiming Brelin had died to monsters, then sell her as a slave on the black market.
The world's most beautiful lord, offered as a slave.
She would fetch an unimaginable price.
Finishing his scheming, Ronso suddenly jolted upright in his residence at the commotion outside.
"To the audience chamber!"
He led five knights straight there.
Fortunately, the source of the uproar hadn't breached the lord's castle.
Rushing in through the urgently opened doors to the audience chamber, Ronso's face twisted in bewilderment.
He had ordered a subordinate to bring food for Brelin, to keep her compliant—so she could help him smoothly take over the territory.
But that subordinate lay crumpled in the corner.
Who the hell is that?
And there was an unknown man.
He sat in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, flipping through a thick stack of papers.
For a moment, Ronso faltered.
The long brown coat, concealing armor that looked impressively sturdy.
The sleek, far-from-ordinary sword at his waist.
And his impassive expression as he rustled the papers.
Those papers detailed every atrocity Baron Ronso had committed.
"Applying taxes three times the national rate."
"Evidence of bribes from multiple territories."
"Indiscriminate slaughter of Ballass Territory residents."
"...And."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The man pressed a long index finger to his lips.
"Reviewing the letter to send to His Highness."
"...!"
Ronso's body trembled.
No matter that he was the Fourth Calamity—Sword King Barad was on another level entirely.
"...Who the hell are you?"
Thud.
Closing the stack of papers, the man met Ronso's gaze.
"Blacksmith Hyun-soo."
Hearing that name, Ronso's pounding heart calmed.
Before he could send that letter, his subordinates would crush him.
Ronso signaled his knights with a glance.
"How dare you stand before a noble higher than yourself... Insolent cur!"
With that, the knights reached for their sword hilts.
In that instant.
Krunch!
1.
Pfshk!
2.
Krriik!
3.
Crack!
4.
Thud thud!
5.
BOOM BOOM!
7, 8.
Ronso couldn't believe it.
The man before his eyes had vanished in a blink and reappeared.
And simultaneously, all five knights collapsed.
What... what the hell was that power...?
It was a force he'd never seen. Even to him, a Calamity, it was awe-inspiring.
Resuming his seat, Hyun-soo spoke.
"Exactly. Utterly insolent."
Admitting his own insolence?
Then an alert rang out.
[The Kingdom of Goyad's brightest star.]
[Viscount Hyun-soo appears.]
[You have encountered a noble higher than yourself.]
[Observe proper etiquette.]
"How dare a mere baron."
Ronso stepped back.
Hyun-soo hadn't been here long.
From commoner to viscount in that time?
Viscount wasn't a title taken lightly.
A viscount held power over multiple territories.
Ronso glanced around.
"Urk..."
"Kgh..."
The knights writhed on the floor, realizing their foe outranked them as a viscount.
But Ronso soon learned the truth.
"...Quite the amusing play."
Ronso laughed.
***
Hyun-soo knew they were in a dire situation.
Yes, he was a viscount.
But he'd jumped straight from sub-baron to viscount in one go.
And that came with side effects.
Normally, one would become a baron first, steadily building knights and troops.
Then promote to viscount once prepared.
But the fatigue of rapid ascension.
Knights and troops not yet solidified.
Those were the hurdles.
Baron Ronso's territory was the largest around, his forces numbering beyond imagination.
Gwangmyeong can't hold out long.
The simplest way: Crush Ronso with rank, force his surrender.
That would end it all.
So he'd overplayed the scene.
"...Quite the amusing play."
But Ronso was clever.
"Can you truly call yourself a viscount without an established system? Moreover."
Hyun-soo sensed the plan's failure and moved to act fast.
Then take Baron Ronso hostage...
But as he lunged, bewilderment flooded his face.
Sizzle—
The moment Ronso tore off his facial skin, his body writhed and transformed.
Squirm squirm.
Siiiizzle—
[Cannot approach.]
Siiiizzle.
"Kgh!"
Hyun-soo, attempting to close in, recoiled from the searing pain burning his body.
Now fully revealed, Ronso was an entirely different man.
An elderly figure with wild white hair.
The whip-wielding old man had hollow eyes, prominent cheekbones, and gaunt cheeks.
For over a century, he had parasitized kingdoms under new names—this Calamity now bared his true form.
[The Fourth Calamity appears.]
Zing—
Just facing him made Hyun-soo's body tingle all over.
His instincts screamed to flee.
"Why go to such lengths?"
Hyun-soo backed away instinctively.
The embodiment of evil, his limp white hair tightly bound with string, clicked his tongue.
"If you'd cooperated and become my puppet lord, none of this would have happened."
This.
"Today, I will erase all of Ballass Territory and vanish, you foolish, pitiable wretch."
Hyun-soo knew it was no bluff.
The stats before his eyes proved it.
This foe was on another plane from any he'd faced.
Even higher level than the Fifth Calamity Jack.
The level gap with Hyun-soo was a full 100.
Hyun-soo didn't let his guard down.
In that moment.
Slash!
The whip lashed out viciously.
Hyun-soo dodged swiftly, but the whip changed trajectory mid-air and struck him hard.
KRAAASH!
It felt like being hit by rebar, not a whip.
-HP drops below 92%.
A single normal hit shaved off 8% of Hyun-soo's HP.
"Quite sturdy. Most would be bisected in one strike."
Slash slash slash!
Whips flew from multiple angles at blinding speed.
Accelerating relentlessly, Hyun-soo closed the distance through the gaps.
"Weren't you a blacksmith?"
Slipping through, Ronso marveled purely.
"To wield power no blacksmith should have."
Someone had surely taught him.
And that teaching was proving invaluable.
Hyun-soo watched for the timing.
Attacks I can't counter with Reversal or Emergency Forge.
So only one option remained.
Spotting an opening, Hyun-soo prepared Sword Cry.
In that split second.
"Grrr!"
A black rift tore open, birthing a grotesque hound with melting flesh.
Dog-shaped, but twice a Doberman's size.
[Hellhound Lv. 332]
Its hideous, melted face lunged at Hyun-soo.
Their faces nearly touched.
"Grrrrr!"
Its drool sent chills down Hyun-soo's spine.
Krunch!
Slicing it away with his sword, Hyun-soo saw over twenty Hellhounds materialize from all sides.
Calamity Cult worshippers of evil.
Each with unique traits.
Jack had been black mage-like.
Ronso seemed a tamer.
"Hellhounds are hell's hunting dogs. They chew bones to dust—byproducts of the divine beast Hydra."
Ronso clicked his tongue.
"I've researched diligently. Outsiders close the gap with natives at alarming speed. Their greatest weakness? This."
Ronso's eyes narrowed.
"Mystic powers. Deny their use, and you're just talentless riffraff."
Surrounded by dozens of Hellhounds, finding a breakthrough was no easy task.
"Try to use it, and my whip will lash you. Ah, but then."
Ronso sneered.
"Even attempting it must be impossible now."
Hyun-soo couldn't deny it.
"Kyaak!"
"Kiiing!"
"Kekeh!"
All he could do was fend off the Hellhounds swarming from every direction.
And the moment he sought an opening—
Slash!
The whip struck Hyun-soo.
His face twisted.
I need a way.
Today, he realized.
A near-100 level gap was no small hurdle, even for him who'd overcome countless trials.
And the tamer's power defied common sense.
No Gwangmyeong allies to help like against Jack.
But as always, Hyun-soo sought a breakthrough.
Then, a long-cherished presence stirred within him.
A mischievous rascal.
The spoiled one who begged pets for good behavior.
It spoke.
[The wolf egg wishes to protect you.]
***
Ronso thought it ended too easily.
Of course—power gaps were stark.
Then.
He witnessed the incomprehensible.
Krunch!
Thud!
BOOM BOOM!
Suddenly, the man let the Hellhounds' attacks land.
Hellhounds never released once they bit.
Shoulder, left arm, both thighs, side.
Body riddled with bites, the man's eyes flashed.
Swoosh!
Watching the sword move, Ronso admired.
The surging power in an instant.
Recognizing it as the Sword King's, he tensed—and acknowledged it.
Incredible resolve.
Break but Do Not Yield
[In a desperate crisis, you found a breakthrough.]
[Skill effects improved by 8%.]
Seeing unyielding will even now, Ronso marveled.
But one thing he didn't know.
His whip could accelerate fivefold in a flash.
It targeted Hyun-soo's sword arm.
Slash!
But soon, Ronso's face filled with doubt.
Clang!
"...?"
A massive egg appeared, blocking the whip.
As a top tamer, Ronso sensed its worth.
Why... why are you here...?
The Hellhounds released Hyun-soo and retreated in terror.
Just facing the egg made them tremble.
"Kyak...!"
"Kiiing...!"
But that wasn't the point.
The unbreakable mystery egg's defense.
That one block created one opening for Hyun-soo.
Body full of bite marks, he completed his sword motion.
Cold sweat trickled down Ronso's back.
The surging Sword King aura dominated the narrow audience chamber.
"Sword Cry."
The Sword King's technique tore everything within 20 meters to shreds.