Ending Maker

Some corrections for the previous episodes:

-The multiplier for the north was actually higher than the multiplier for the south and center. Someone in the comments pointed it out in the previous episode, so I’ve corrected it now.

-In Jude’s first fight against First Sword, he actually used an attack called ‘Sky Shattering Black Dragon.’ I previously thought it was just some chuuni line, so I had translated it as ‘Shatter the skies, O Black Dragon.’ But it was an attack name, so I’ll be using Sky Shattering Black Dragon from now on.

The day of the competition finally arrived.

The massive colosseum stadium, which could accommodate tens of thousands of people at the same time, was literally packed.

If the ball was the highlight of the founding anniversary celebration for the nobles, the fighting competition was the highlight for the people of the royal capital.

“This fighting competition… everyone’s really excited.”

Dahlia said in a surprised voice as she sat in the VIP seats and looked around.

She had watched the competition four times in the past, but this was the first time that the competition had this much enthusiasm.

If Jude was next to them, he would have told them that the people the royal family had hired to liven up the atmosphere were active in various places, but unfortunately, Jude was in the stadium and not in the VIP seats.

“Don’t be so worried, Miss. I’m sure Miss knows how strong Lord Jude is, right?”

“That’s right, my lady. Nothing bad will happen.”

When Cordelia sat with an anxious and worried face, Dahlia spoke to her with a smile, and Maja who was nearby also smiled and added.

In the eyes of the two people, Cordelia worrying about her fiance’s safety was quite charming and commendable.

But Cordelia’s innermost feelings were a bit different.

‘Eueue…why am I this anxious?’

It was true that she was worried about him getting hurt, but she also had an ominous feeling.

50 kills.

Even if he’s that strong, 50 kills is impossible, right?

Lucas is there too, right? The other people from the north are not scarecrows, and in addition, it’s a 1:1:1. Some people will also be ‘killed’ when the center and south fight each other. And some people will choose to surrender in the fight.

‘Ah, I don’t know anymore.’

Anyway, please don’t get hurt.

Cordelia closed her eyes and tightly held her hands in prayer, and Maja who was next to Cordelia also prayed with her hands together since she was worried about Jude too.

And right after that.

At the time when Count Chase made a snorting sound.

“Let the fight begin!”

As soon as Princess Daphne, who was sitting on a high place, declared the start of the competition, loud trumpet sounds filled the colosseum, and the shouts of the spectators shook the place afterwards.

“Uoooooooh!”

Cordelia reflexively opened her eyes at the immensely loud cheers, and she looked down at the circular stadium with a nervous look.

Flags representing the north, center, and south were erected at the three corners of the round stadium which was wider than a soccer field, and 30 well-armed knights were lined up under each flag.

The group who could take away their opponent’s flag and bring it to their camp would win.

However, the north, center, and south were all pitted against each other, and there were 30 people per group, so tactical movements were quite important in this battle.

What will happen?

What in the world will Jude do to get 50 kills?

A dozen seconds passed.

At the time when the spectators’ shouts died down.

The knights from the center and south began to move at the same time.

But their movements were a little strange.

Because both of their attack groups were openly marching towards the north.

As if they had made an alliance.

“Oooh! The center and south have joined hands!”

“Are they hitting the north first?”

Most of the people who filled the spectator seats were naturally from the royal capital.

Since the center wasn’t in a disadvantageous situation, no one was booing.

Moreover, this kind of thing frequently happened in the fighting competition.

As it was a 1:1:1 battle in the first place, temporary alliances and betrayals commonly occurred.

But why the north?

Why are they attacking the north?

Cordelia was convinced the moment she saw the north’s response to the center and south attacking them from both sides.

‘Jude, you evil b*stard!’

You damn scammer!

At the moment when Cordelia’s praise (and not praise) burst out, loud cheers erupted again among the audience.

***

Jude didn’t actually put much effort into his scam.

All he did was create a venue where the central and southern prospects who attended the Banquet of Swords could exchange their thoughts several times.

So those who had participated in the Banquet of Swords all thought of the same thing.

They must attack the north first.

Even if Jude could move fast or slow, he was still one person in the end. Grabbing the flag of the north would mean the defeat of the entire northern group, regardless of whether Jude survived or not.

Furthermore, Jude had suffered great injuries in his fight against the Lord Protector.

It was somehow disgraceful to attack a weakened person, but in the first place, this was Jude’s fault for pushing ahead with his participation in the fighting tournament even though he had not completely recovered yet.

Several central and southern knights stayed behind in order to protect their flags, and the rest of them charged towards the northern group in both directions at the same time, but the north was fully prepared and responded.

“Strengthen the defense! Block the center!”

Lucas was pretty much the leader of the northern group.

When he loudly shouted, all the northern knights turned to the central knights and took a defensive formation.

Their combat tactic was hammer and anvil.

All the northern knights led by Lucas became the anvil and blocked the central knights.

All the southern knights were left to the hammer.

To their one-of-a-kind and invincible hammer on this battlefield!

“Sky Shattering Black Dragon!”

Jude rushed to the southern knights alone and shouted it loudly as he released the energy of the black dragon.

As huge air waves struck the front, the southern knights quickly spread to the left and right to evade the attack, but not everyone was able to avoid it. Some of the knights in the middle where blown away by the energy of the giant black dragon.

And lightning struck.

With the Hyper-Fast Thunderbolt, Jude headed to the southern knights who had split into the left side, and he opened the fifth door instead of the incomplete sixth door as he penetrated into their ranks.

But it wasn’t his usual fifth door.

To begin with, Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors was a kind of buff that nearly amplified its user’s basic capabilities.

Therefore, Jude’s fifth door was much stronger than his previous fifth door despite having opened the sixth gate already.

He added the Black Sun to his planned attack.

Jude’s internal energy was so immense and powerful that it was completely incomparable to the other prospects in the stadium, so it was truly like the sun appearing in the night sky.

First move.

Jude saw the southern knight in front of him as the knight raised his shield. Though Jude was wearing leather armor and had a sword on his waist, he used the energy of the Black Sun and transmitted it to his entire body, striking the center of the shield as he recalled Landius’ movements.

Bang!

The southern knight was blown away over a dozen meters with his shield before he rolled over the floor.

A fully armed knight usually weighed over a hundred kilograms. So the sight of such a knight flying over a dozen meters and rolling on the floor because of a single blow was so unrealistic.

But not for Jude. Because he had already seen Landius do it. Because he knew it was possible to fight like this.

He immediately kicked the ground again. He moved his hands and feet without hesitation towards the southern knights who had frozen for a moment because of the unrealistic sight.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He threw and pushed them.

Every time he moved his hand, a southern knight flew into the air. They were completely helpless against him because they couldn’t withstand the force pushing them even if they blocked it with a shield.

“Strike back! Rather, attack!”

One of the southern knights yelled and bravely rushed towards Jude.

Jude saw the knight. And he realized it again.

The world he had lived in had changed now.

For Jude who had fought against the swords of the Lord Protector and First Sword, the swords of the prospects were no longer a threat to him.

The knight’s sword drew a sharp trajectory. And Jude grabbed the trajectory of such a sword. To be exact, he grabbed the wrist of the knight wielding the sword.

The knight was flustered as he never imagined that to happen, and Jude threw the knight with only just his hand. Jude was as strong as several people to begin with, so if he added the energy of the Black Sun, his strength would rise so greatly that even the word ‘superpower’ didn’t fit it.

“Aaaaah!”

The southern knight struck the other knights and they fell to the floor. Having ‘killed’ more than ten people in an instant, the audience cheered even more, and Jude used his Hyper-Fast Thunderbolt again.

“No! Defend the flag!”

The leader of the southern knights shouted loudly, but it was a misjudgment.

Because Jude flew towards the knights of the center and north instead of heading to the flag of the south.

His reason was simple.

‘I have to kill more!’

He still had a long way to go before he got to 50 kills.

But his actions looked different to the surrounding knights.

Not only the southern knights, but even the central and northern knights misunderstood Jude’s actions.

‘Is he trying to protect his allies?’

‘He’s protecting us!’

It didn’t matter to him if he was misunderstood. What mattered to him was to increase his kill count.

‘Lucas is stronger than I thought!’

Lucas had already defeated three knights from the center. So Jude immediately blew away the three knights in front of him in succession and run towards Lucas. He destroyed the enemy formation and took down the knights around Lucas first.

And he thought at the same time.

The southern knights.

They were rearranging their formation. Because they realized that fighting Jude was impossible, so they were planning to take the flag of the north while he was fighting the center.

As for the central knights.

They did not know that they were only sacrifices for Jude, so they did not step back. They were already crossing swords with the north, so they tried to maintain their current situation.

But it wasn’t good. If they continued their tussle, the central knights would be defeated by the northern knights.

Therefore, Jude turned his eyes. He found a familiar man among the central knights, and put his hand on his sword as he looked at that man.

“Avoid him! He’s drawing his sword!”

Lucian Dior.

The guy whom he fought against in the Banquet of Swords, and the one who played a crucial role in moving the central knights.

And he made Jude’s wish come true again.

When he shouted loudly, all the central knights groaned and retreated.

Because Lucian had made a fuss before the game, saying that he didn’t know on what would happen if Jude drew his sword.

That was why a gap was created.

Jude flew to those who were mixed with the northern knights. It was the time that one long breath would take, but it was a long and valuable time for Jude to use Hyper-Wind Thunderbolt and Thunder God Invokes Lightning.

“Aaaah!”

Four central knights flew in the air, and Jude shouted at Lucas.

“Protect the flag! The south is coming!”

His words were heard. Lucas commanded them, and the northern knights quickly retreated to defend their flag as they lined up in formation, and because of that, a gap was created again. Jude blew away two more knights from the center before he headed towards the southern knights again. The situation of the southern and northern knights facing each other had to be avoided.

Jude turned his eyes.

He counted the number of knights from the south, and saw them approaching in a compact formation that would not be easily destroyed.

So he smiled and made his next move.

The sixth door.

It was incomplete but was stronger than the fifth door!

Bang!

The energy exploded. The black dragon’s energy turned into a black flame and rose like an explosion, and Jude kicked the ground. After he flew high in the air, he dug into the middle of the southern knights’ dense formation.

“It’s an attack!”

Someone shouted. They hastily stepped back and lifted their shields or swung their swords.

But Jude ignored them. He immediately lowered his posture and placed his two hands on the floor. The energy of the Black Sun was released to the maximum.

“Black Dragon Spiral!”

Six black dragons were released by Jude and turned the ground upside down at the same time. The black energy smashed the ground, and soon soared up and blew away all the southern knights.

“Uooooooh!”

The audience broke into loud cheers. It was natural because more than ten knights were defeated at once.

Jude raised his head amidst the cheers. He saw the flag of the south, and when the southern knights guarding the flag flinched, he rushed back towards the central knights.

And at that moment, everyone inside the stadium realized.

That Jude had no intention of taking the flags.

Even if they brought him the flag, he would defeat the one who brought it instead of receiving it.

‘W-what the hell!’

‘Does he have a grudge against us?!’

‘I-is it because of me?’

The last one was Lucian, and Jude threw that Lucian away. He used Lightning Punch against the central knights who were coming in from all sides at the same time.

Baaaaang!

His attack was different than before. His Lightning Punch were now truly seven strikes that were unfolded at the speed of lightning.

Four central knights were simultaneously defeated, and Jude let out his breath.

The only ones who stood now were the central and southern knights who were guarding their flags.

‘Seven in the south and five in the center.’

That was enough. If he chose the south, he could pass 50 kills.

“Lucas! Center!”

Jude loudly yelled, and Lucas, who had been looking around as he held his sword, came to his senses. He led a group of people and headed towards the central group’s flag.

And Jude headed towards the southern group’s flag.

If he walked slowly, they would have surrendered, so he quickly narrowed the distance with Hyper-Fast Thunderbolt.

“I sur-”

“No!”

I can’t allow it!

Jude struck the abdomen of the southern knight who was trying to surrender in order for the knight to be unable to speak, and he blew away the southern knights one after another. There were those who bravely charged, saying that it was all or nothing, but the difference in power was too big.

Originally, knights were not defeated so easily by martial arts because they were fully equipped with armor, but his unimaginable power and overwhelming difference in skill broke their existing common sense.

And he struck again.

Jude blew away the last man and grabbed the southern group’s flag.

“Uooooooooh!”

The audience broke into cheers.

When Lucas raised the central group’s flag, louder shouts shook the entire colosseum.

Because it was the north, or rather, Jude’s overwhelming victory.

“Jude Bayer!”

“Jude Bayer!”

“Count Bayer!”

To be exact, he was Jude August Bayer, but it was too long.

So the crowd cheered for Count Bayer, and the real Count Bayer somehow felt awkward and cleared his throat for no reason as he smiled.

“Miss, did you see it? Miss!”

Dahlia was delighted, and so was Maja. In particular, those on the Bayer side who had known Jude since his sick days had faces that looked like they were about to cry soon.

“The Swordless Swordsman!”

“Guardian of the royal family!”

Several voices were heard from the spectators at that time.

The winner of the Banquet of Swords.

The northern hero who protected the royal family from the Lord Protector.

It was at that moment when the true strength of Jude, which had only been known through rumors, was revealed to the entire world.

Smiles of satisfaction spread among the faces of the royal family, and the faces of the empire’s delegates who were watching from the VIP seats had slightly turned tense. It was a natural reaction as a monster beyond common sense had appeared in a competition for prospects, which was only a taste before the main competition.

And one more person.

The main character of this event, Jude, stared at that person.

’51 kills.’

All except those who were defeated by Lucas and the northern knights.

Jude had a dark smile on his face, and Cordelia covered her face with both hands.