Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Dangerous Invitation (3)
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“Uwaaak!”
“Kuhuk!”
Pained screams erupted from overhead. Red blood rained down like a storm.
The Mountain Duke spared no effort with his special forces. The moment the clash began, the Shadow Special Forces surged to the front lines.
They opted for tactics that scattered to exploit gaps rather than massing to breach a single point in the defensive line, dispersing throughout the banquet hall to assess the situation.
The moment a weakness appeared in the Royal Guards' defenses, they would strike.
“Enemy magic attacks incoming!”
“They’re targeting His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Focus defensive magic!”
The Royal Guards deployed their barriers. A barrage of fire rained down on the shield formed by their combined power. Blades of wind whipped through the air.
He had assumed most of the enemy forces would be at the front lines, but contrary to expectations, the subordinates gathered in the banquet hall by the Mountain Duke were of remarkably high caliber.
Even the mages were mostly mid-tier, with a significant number of advanced mages mixed in.
The Royal Guards' rock-solid shield suddenly began to shake violently.
Boom! Thud!
Each heavy thud, like a massive hammer striking down, sent ripples through the mana forming the barrier.
“It seems Ricardo Ens has joined the fray.”
Silvia spoke up. She had summoned a wind spirit to scout the banquet hall, reporting enemy troop movements and such to Raymond.
“Ricardo Ens...”
Ever since the high mage Ricardo Ens had linked up with the duke's mages, even heavier attack spells had begun pounding the shield relentlessly.
“Belpheon First Knight Order! Annihilate the enemy!”
Knight drew their swords and charged. The Royal Guards' mages could barely manage to defend against the enemy spells, with no spare capacity to block the knights' approach with magic.
“Royal Guard! Forward!”
“The Shield of the Imperial Family shall not break!”
“Protect His Majesty the Emperor!”
The Royal Guards not engaged in the magical firefight drew their weapons in unison and advanced.
Mana swords gleamed sharply from their blades, emitting clear ringing tones. Each swing toward the oncoming knights unleashed horrific screams and geysers of red blood.
“Kraaaak!”
The Belpheon First Knight Order was renowned as elite, but they fell short against the Royal Guard, the pinnacle of the Philius Empire. With every wail of the Royal Guards' mana swords, knights crumpled, spilling their blood.
“Press on! They’re few in number!”
Viscount Chester, a high knight sworn to the Belpheon ducal house and captain of the First Knight Order, drew his sword and stepped forward.
As he swung his blade infused with blue mana, the chest of a Royal Guard closing in with a spear split open, red blood fountaining out.
That was the beginning.
The Royal Guards' formation started to crumble. The Philius Empire currently had no Sword Saint, but it boasted several knights approaching that realm.
Viscount Chester was one such high knight on the cusp of Sword Saint mastery, making him a formidable opponent even for the Royal Guard.
“Gestain.”
Raymond called quietly. Gestain, who had been vigilant of the surroundings, approached cautiously.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Desia will guard my side.”
He offered no lengthy explanation, but Gestain instantly grasped his intent and spoke.
“Intercept Viscount Chester?”
“Can you handle it?”
Gestain didn’t answer immediately, but Raymond smiled faintly as if he’d already heard an affirmative.
This one-armed knight before him was, like Viscount Chester, evaluated as having neared Sword Saint territory in his prime—and in the novel, he fully mastered the one-armed sword style to reach that height.
Moreover, Raymond knew Gestain had undergone brutally harsh training recently, so he didn’t believe he’d lose to Viscount Chester.
“But I must remain at Your Majesty’s side.”
“As I said moments ago, Desia will guard me.”
“Your Majesty...”
“Don’t you want to test yourself right now?”
Raymond’s devilish whisper shook Gestain’s resolve deeply.
He had noticed the subtle aura Gestain exuded upon seeing Viscount Chester, signaling he had broken through to a new realm through his training.
‘Indeed, how far has he come?’
A genius swordsman once on the verge of Sword Saint but fallen after losing his arm. He had clearly surpassed his wall, but since he concealed his true power, the extent of his progress remained unknown.
“I permit it, so no need for hesitation.”
Truth be told, Raymond was curious about his level. Pressed further, Gestain grinned and turned toward Viscount Chester, slowly raising his sword.
“From the moment you granted me new life that day, I swore...”
Mana gathered on his blade, forming a mana sword. But the condensation didn’t stop.
“No way?”
“My sword belongs to His Majesty the Emperor.”
The mana sword blazed brighter. At last, it shrieked sharply, transforming into a distinct Aura Blade.
This was the noblest realm of swordsmanship—the symbol of Sword Saint, the rebirth of the Philius Empire’s severed Sword Saint lineage.
“For His Majesty the Emperor, who restored all I lost and led me forward once more.”
He kicked off the ground. In an instant, the distance to Count Chester closed.
“Wh-what...!”
Even high knight Count Chester was startled by Gestain’s sudden approach.
Gestain calmly assumed an attack stance, raising his Aura Blade-infused sword. His eyes gleamed coldly as they fixed on Viscount Chester.
“I offer the enemy’s heads.”
The knight’s noble vow was a declaration of doom to Viscount Chester.
“Sword Saint? This is absurd!”
Viscount Chester spat in disbelief. Over five hundred years had passed since the lineages of great archmages and Sword Saints were severed, marking the Philius Empire’s decline.
And now, a Sword Saint had appeared?
Sword Saint—the pinnacle of sword mastery. Viscount Chester stood on its threshold but hadn’t crossed the towering wall, the difference stark.
Mana Sword versus Aura Blade. Each clash visibly dimmed Viscount Chester’s mana sword against Gestain’s.
The seasoned knight retracted his blade each time to recharge, but limits loomed.
“Kraaaak!”
A sharp scream rang out with a spray of red blood.
Viscount Chester staggered back. Fresh crimson blood dripped steadily.
“Belpheon First Knight Order Captain!”
Amid outraged cries, Viscount Chester weakly lifted his head. Gestain approached slowly, his eyes icily cold.
“You have offended His Majesty the Emperor; your crime demands your life.”
Clang!
Gestain declared as he withdrew his Aura Blade-infused sword. Viscount Chester gritted his teeth.
‘To think the Emperor had a ‘Sword Saint’ among his closest aides.’
Now he understood the Emperor’s confidence.
“Reinforcing the Royal Guard wasn’t mere luck after all...”
Most nobles had deemed the Royal Guard reinforcements reckless, but no. Muttering to himself, Viscount Chester bowed his head.
Mortally wounded and having incurred a Sword Saint’s wrath, survival was impossible.
In decades of loyalty to the Mountain Duke, never had he felt he’d backed the wrong side as acutely as today.
‘I must acknowledge it—the current Emperor is the one to restore past glories and revive the Philius Empire.’
Five centuries later, the Royal Guard bolstered, a knight ascending the lost Sword Saint realm. This heralded the return of a forgotten age of glory.
He was a Philius subject before a knight sworn to the Mountain Duke. His reddening eyes stemmed from witnessing the empire’s longed-for revival only to perish before it.
“Take my head, Sword Saint.”
Realizing all was lost, his will to fight vanished; resistance futile in his fatal state.
Viscount Chester dropped his sword. Gestain swung his Aura Blade without hesitation, severing his head.
The headless body slumped. Gestain raised his Aura-infused sword high and roared.
“I have felled the Belpheon First Knight Order Captain!”
The lofty Count Chester of the Belpheon First Knight Order defeated? Initial disbelief gave way as knights witnessed the vivid Aura Blade on Gestain’s sword, nodding in acceptance.
“So that’s why the Emperor was so confident.”
“To think he hid a Sword Saint. Even the Association didn’t detect this.”
Baron Sidington spoke, and Richard, the Herald of the Apocalypse, nodded slowly in agreement.
Gestain had concealed his Sword Saint realm even from Raymond, so despite the Doomsday Association’s intelligence prowess, detecting it was impossible from the start.
“Sir Richard, what now? Shall we deploy the Association’s combatants?”
The Hashashin had been committed first. But with a Sword Saint rampaging, they were diced into pieces before reaching the Emperor.
Though the Hashashin fell helplessly, aces remained.
The Doomsday Association’s combatants lurked in hiding, and Shadow Special Forces members scattered, awaiting opportunities.
Baron Sidington judged deploying the Association combatants wise, but Richard shook his head slowly, thinking differently.
“Send in the Mountain Duke and Shadow Special Forces.”
“Not our combatants?”
Baron Sidington swallowed the rest: ‘We might lose the Mountain Duke and Shadow Special Forces.’
No need to spell it out—someone of Richard’s caliber would glean the meaning from context.
“No need to commit our own. The Mountain Duke and his Shadow Special Forces can kill the Emperor.”
“Sir Richard, there’s a Sword Saint ahead.”
“Baron Sidington, have you forgotten? We must hide our presence until true apocalypse dawns.”
“But Sir Richard, if we don’t kill the Emperor now, he’ll return a greater threat.”
Baron Sidington didn’t elaborate, assuming Richard would understand. Raymond had revived the Sword Saint lineage severed for five centuries—his threat level warranted escalation alone.
“If the Mountain Duke uses the ‘Dangerous Invitation’ properly, he can kill the Emperor.”
“But the Sword Saint guards the front...”
“The Shadow Special Forces will cover him with their lives. The Mountain Duke is a high knight himself; slaying the current Emperor, a mere advanced magic swordsman, should be easy. The stage is set—we just watch.”
Their disagreement clear, it wasn’t satisfying, but Richard outranked Baron Sidington in the Doomsday Association, leaving obedience no choice.
“Adjutant.”
“The Association’s combat unit awaits the will of apocalypse. Command us.”
“Deploy the Mountain Duke and Shadow Special Forces.”
Baron Sidington commanding them like subordinates revealed the Mountain Duke’s abnormal state.
“Understood.”
The adjutant withdrew, orders relayed.
“Shadow Special Forces, follow me.”
The Mountain Duke commanded gravely, advancing with his men. Baron Sidington watched anxiously, but Richard remained composed.
He rated the Mountain Duke’s prowess highly, expecting adept use of the ‘Dangerous Invitation.’
‘If he uses Dangerous Invitation to summon to the duel space, he can kill the Emperor.’
Killing intent gleamed in Richard’s eyes.
“Your Majesty!”
A urgent cry as Gestain whirled toward Emperor Raymond. In that moment of laxity, the Mountain Duke and Shadow Special Forces had pierced deep.
He rushed toward the Emperor, but the Belpheon First Knight Order blocked desperately.
“The Shield of the Imperial Family protects His Majesty the Emperor!”
Shadow Special Forces clashed with Royal Guard in chaos, allowing the Mountain Duke to showcase high knight prowess before the Emperor.
In his left hand dangled a chained dagger—the Dangerous Invitation. Known as an advanced magic swordsman, but truly at high knight level, Raymond instantly recognized it as a unique-grade magic artifact.
“Emperor, I pronounce your doom.”
“Mountain Duke, were you in league too?”
The Belpheon ducal link to the Tripartite Alliance clicked into place. Ignoring words, the Mountain Duke hurled Dangerous Invitation; Desia blocked with a shield.
Supreme mage barrier, yet it failed against the mana-charged artifact.
The dagger exploded mana at Raymond’s nose, and when he recovered, he was in unfamiliar space.
“Welcome to my domain. If you have last words, speak now... I’ll record them.”
This was the space created by Dangerous Invitation—just the two. No others in sight.
Mountain Duke, at high knight realm, brimmed with confidence to overwhelm Raymond, the famed advanced magic swordsman.
Raymond grinned. Imagining the Mountain Duke’s assured face crumbling already excited him.
“Ah, I’ll take yours instead.”
He extended his hand; the Soul Sword materialized. The Mountain Duke’s expression hardened sharply. The vivid energy on the Emperor’s blade was a high knight’s mana sword—unlike the rumors.