Chapter 693
Chapter 693
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 693
Chapter Title: The Strongest Shield
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693.
“Is everyone ready?”
Artian asked with a serious expression, looking at Dweno’s workshop in the distance.
“Our objective is to destroy the Legion’s Record as quickly as possible. As such, the moment we enter the World of the Legion, we must find the shortest route.”
At her words, Luke raised his hand.
“Do you have a question, Luke?”
“How do we find the Legion’s Record inside the World of the Legion?”
“When you enter the World of Heroes through the core of a Hero’s Dungeon, there will be a noticeable spatial distortion. The World of the Legion won’t be much different.”
Everyone nodded at Artian’s explanation.
“Karl, I’ll leave the command to you.”
“Yes.”
“Alright, then let’s get moving…”
“What are you all doing here?”
“Ah, Lord Dweno.”
Artian turned at the voice from behind and bowed her head politely.
At Dweno’s appearance, the faces of Chelsea and Karl hardened.
“The city is in danger. I need you to lend your strength.”
Seeing Dweno’s apologetic expression, Driana stepped forward and spoke.
“Yep! That’s why we’re about to destroy the barrier so we can call for outside support!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Dweno exclaimed in admiration and patted Driana’s head.
“Hey, what do we do?”
Karl asked quietly, and Chelsea bit her lip hard.
Dweno possessed memories from when they had conquered the World of Heroes before.
That was why he had intentionally hidden the entrance to the World of the Legion.
To show the people of Ivaldi a future.
Chelsea and Karl hadn’t told the others about this.
It was a fact tied to Leo’s secret, so they couldn’t speak of it recklessly.
They had only revealed that the entrance to the World of the Legion was in the basement of Dweno’s workshop.
But now, Dweno had appeared.
Dweno knew.
The moment they crossed over into the World of the Legion.
The time for the people of Ivaldi would end.
‘Lord Dweno will try to stop us.’
Just as Chelsea broke into a cold sweat.
*Tap-!*
Karl lightly tapped Chelsea’s arm.
Lifting her head to look at Karl, Chelsea’s expression stiffened.
Karl gestured toward Dweno with a small jut of his chin.
‘…Right. That’s the only way.’
Chelsea bit her lip hard.
The moment she made up her mind.
*Whoosh-!*
Chelsea cast a wind spell with her specialty, high-speed incantation.
A sudden gust of wind swept over Dweno.
“Student Chelsea! What is the meaning of this…!”
“Run for the workshop!”
Chelsea shouted urgently.
At the same time, she manipulated the wind to send her party members flying toward the workshop.
Everyone flinched at the sudden situation, but they soon entrusted their bodies to Chelsea’s wind.
It was an incredibly abrupt and unexpected action, but they decided to follow Chelsea’s lead for now.
It was because they trusted their comrade.
“Wh-what the! What are you doing!?!”
Driana demanded hotly, and Karl explained the situation.
“Lord Dweno has memories from the last time we conquered this place!”
“What?”
Driana’s eyes widened.
“He knows that if we destroy the Legion’s Record, the people of Ivaldi will disappear! That’s why he knew about the entrance but deliberately hid it!”
At those words, all the party members’ eyes shot open.
Iliana stammered.
“Th-that means…”
“Yeah.”
Karl glanced back, sweating coldly.
There, Dweno, who had been blown away by Chelsea’s magic, was getting back to his feet.
“It means Lord Dweno is going to stand in our way.”
“…I’d rather fight the Giant King a thousand times over.”
Iliana’s face fell.
***
The predawn night sky.
Dweno, who had been knocked back by Chelsea’s magic, pushed himself up.
“Hmm.”
*Pat, pat.* He dusted himself off and watched Chelsea running in the distance.
“An excellent high-speed incantation.”
He had heard she was still young.
Yet, to cast a spell of this level in an instant…
‘When she grows, she might rival Luna in high-speed incantations. She has a promising future.’
Thinking that far, Dweno gave a bitter smile.
‘A future.’
What he was doing might be making their futures uncertain.
‘It’s a foolish thing to do.’
But it couldn’t be helped.
The people of Ivaldi.
To Dweno, they were as precious as the Great Hero.
In his youth.
He had run away from home to perfectly control the golden flame that was akin to a curse.
The place that had taken him in was Ivaldi.
His people, whom he had failed to protect in the end.
‘After death, the moment to resolve this lingering regret has come.’
He didn’t ask for much.
He just wanted to show them the sun.
‘I’ll trust in Kyle.’
A true hero, incomparable to someone like himself.
Kyle would defeat Gias.
Just as he had defeated Erebos without ever giving up.
Dweno bent his knees.
In that moment.
“He’s coming!”
Simultaneously with Karl’s shout, Dweno charged forward at an incredible speed.
*Crackle-!*
Just then, Duran stepped forward.
His golden eyes flashing, Duran swung his sword with both hands.
The blade of lightning drove back the darkness.
*Flash!*
At the same time, Eliza summoned a Pegasus.
The golden lightning raging around them was sucked into Eliza’s Pegasus.
The moment Dweno saw this and tried to target the two.
*Flash-!*
Iliana appeared before Dweno in a burst of light.
Following her, Luke, Aina, and Haviden thrust their swords from behind Iliana.
‘Impressive.’
Dweno was filled with admiration.
When they first met.
They couldn’t even properly attack him.
But it was different now.
They were trying to stop him with all their might.
“Excellent.”
Dweno praised the hero candidates’ resolve.
However…
“Ack?! You’re not dodging?!”
Seeing Dweno, who seemed to have no intention of dodging or blocking her sword strike, Iliana was momentarily flustered.
Even so, the sharpness imbued in her sword did not falter.
*Clang-!*
Four swords struck Dweno’s body.
But they were repelled.
“Dodge? Why should I?”
Dweno tilted his head slightly, then lightly tapped the spot below Iliana’s neck with his fingertip.
*Thud-!*
“Guek?!”
Leaving Iliana to collapse backward, Dweno calmly rushed toward the lightning from Eliza and Duran that was bearing down on him.
*Zap-zap-zap-zap!*
An intense bolt of lightning struck Dweno.
But despite that, Dweno did not slow down.
“What?!”
Everyone was aghast.
Easily overtaking Ar’s party, Dweno came to a stop in front of the workshop.
“Hm. That hurts.”
Dweno massaged his shoulder and cracked his neck.
“Lies! That’s 100% a lie!”
“Iliana, are you okay?”
“Uh, huh?”
At Aina’s question, Iliana touched her body here and there with a bewildered look.
She wasn’t hurt anywhere.
“I can’t go around hurting young ones.”
Dweno crossed his arms and smiled faintly.
“Besides, your attacks aren’t much of a threat anyway.”
“Kugh!”
Duran’s face twisted in frustration.
Even if that was the truth, he couldn’t help but feel vexed.
“So, turn back now.”
“And if we refuse?”
At Chelsea’s question, Dweno smiled warmly.
“I intend to render you all incapable of fighting.”
“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t hurt us?”
“There are many ways to incapacitate someone without injuring them. For example.”
Dweno’s gaze turned to Karl.
The moment Karl flinched.
*Whoosh-!*
*Boom-!*
In that instant.
A fist flew toward Karl’s face.
Artian, who had thrown a punch right in front of Karl’s nose, broke into a cold sweat.
Dweno had thrown a punch to launch a bullet of compressed air at Karl’s head.
It wouldn’t have killed or injured him, but if it had hit his face, he would have been knocked out cold.
“Waaaaah! Professor! Thank you!”
At Karl’s words, Artian said.
“All of you, fight with the intent to kill Lord Dweno, you brats! Your opponent is the Great Hero who was called the Strongest Shield before he was known as the God’s Blacksmith! Get in formation!”
Artian clenched her fists and stepped forward.
Karl approached Driana.
“Driana! Get ready to fight.”
“I, I still don’t understand! There’s no way Lord Dweno would ignore the world’s danger… Why? Just why?”
Driana couldn’t compose herself.
Looking at her, Karl spoke.
“Lord Dweno is human, too. He’s an incredibly noble person… but he’s not perfect.”
“…!”
“It wouldn’t be strange for him to have something as precious as the world, right?”
At Karl’s words, Driana bit her lip.
Then, with a determined expression, she moved to the very front.
“You will never get past me. So I advise you to give up.”
As Dweno spoke calmly, Chelsea laughed.
“Unfortunately for you, our leader is someone who’s far from giving up.”
“…You’ve taught him well.”
Dweno closed his eyes.
“Then I have no choice but to make you give up yourselves.”
*
The Legion’s advance continued without rest.
The defensive battle had begun in earnest.
Ballistas on the castle walls fired endlessly, felling the demons and monsters that got too close.
Mages cast their spells.
The warriors of Ivaldi fought bravely.
‘Why! Why isn’t Dweno here!’
Gias trembled as he watched the scene.
‘Don’t tell me… he’s not on this battlefield? Did he run away?’
That couldn’t be.
Dweno was a warrior who would never break.
Gias knew Dweno better than anyone.
There was no way Dweno would run.
But no matter how he looked at the current situation, he couldn’t shake the thought that Dweno was absent from the battle.
It was then.
*Rumble-!*
A section of the castle wall collapsed.
The Legion’s advance focused on that point.
Ivaldi’s mages hurriedly began to repair the wall.
‘Yes! He can’t stay hidden in a crisis of this magnitude!’
Dweno must be hiding.
His prediction that he wasn't wrong would surely be proven now.
However…
Only Leo was active on the battlefield.
There was still no sign of Dweno.
Leo single-handedly held back the surging Legion.
In that time, the wall was barely repaired.
The moment he saw that.
“Guwooooooooaaaaaaar!”
Gias let out a roar and began to charge.
As the Giant King began to move, it was as if an earthquake had struck.
The ground of the entire area began to shake.
“Tch.”
Leo clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Why move now?”
Ar asked with a flustered look, and Leo replied calmly.
“That guy’s a coward.”
An overly cautious personality.
“Well, thanks to his misunderstanding, I had an easy fight… but I guess that’s over now.”
Leo stepped forward.
“Sh-should I help?”
At Ar’s question, Leo shook his head.
“It’s still too soon for you.”
“You can win on your own, right? Because you’re Kyle! Right?!”
“It’s going to be tough.”
Leo looked down at his palm.
His divine power hadn't manifested since he entered the World of the Legion.
The Legion’s Dungeon itself was the domain of Erebos, the natural enemy of divine power, so he couldn’t perform miracles.
“Aaaah! Then why are you so calm!”
As Ar tore at her hair, Leo smiled faintly.
“He’ll come.”
“What?”
“Dweno will come.”
It was faith.
Faith in someone with whom he had entrusted his life for many long years.
“He will.”
Leaving those words behind, Leo charged toward Gias.
“Kyle, the hero who survives! Where is Dweno!”
Gias roared, raising his massive greatsword.
Seeing this, Leo gripped Posteritas and shot him a sneer.
“He’s hiding, waiting to take your head.”
“Where do you get off spouting such lies!”
A small sword imbued with gray Aura and a mountain-sized greatsword filled with dark mana clashed.
-!
The demons nearby vanished into dust.
Even among the demons and monsters farther away, many exploded and died.
“The sound…?”
Despite the incredible scene unfolding before her, she heard no sound.
Ar, with a puzzled look, realized her own voice sounded muffled.
*Drip!*
“Huh, what?”
Feeling a dampness on her ear, she subconsciously brought her hand to it.
Something sticky coated her fingers.
Blood was flowing from her ear.
‘What… what kind of monstrous fight is this!’
Ar’s eyes widened.
This was a battle between a Great Hero and a Legion Commander.
“Kugh! When is Lord Dweno coming? Is it taking him a long time to find his equipment?”
Ar stomped her feet impatiently.
Just then, Enniha, who was commanding the battlefield, clenched her fist.
“Raden.”
“Yes, Lady Enniha!”
“Take command for a moment.”
“Yes? Where are you going…?”
“That damn dwarf! I’m going to punch him in the face and drag him here myself!”
Grinding her teeth, Enniha headed for Dweno’s workshop.