Chapter 595: Joseon (2)

“What...?”

One hundred thousand.

That was the scale of a full-fledged territory. A hundred thousand soldiers meant several units combined into one force, enough to fill more than two ordinary training grounds.

What shocked Pedro most was the question of whether he himself could cut down one hundred thousand people alone.

For a moment, he had wondered whether the man walking toward him one step at a time had been lying.

But no.

“...”

Pedro looked around and realized that the number of allied soldiers around him had fallen drastically.

The original five-hundred-thousand-man force was nearing total annihilation. Hyunsoo’s companions were sweeping through the surrounding battlefield, clearing space for the two of them.

Pedro had ambushed Hyunsoo when Hyunsoo and Musashi were surrounded by more than one hundred thousand troops, costing him the sight in one eye.

Now Hyunsoo stood before him, his Throne Sword hanging loosely at his side.

“108,316th.”

“...!”

Hyunsoo was saying Pedro would become one of them.

Pedro burst into laughter.

“Kh... KHAHAHAHAHA!”

He found it genuinely hilarious.

“Do you think you lost that eye because you got careless?”

Pedro had dismissed Hyunsoo from the start.

It might be true that Hyunsoo had killed one hundred thousand men.

But could he have won if he had faced one hundred thousand head-on?

“You slaughtered one hundred thousand soldiers and now you’re getting cocky.”

They had only been one hundred thousand soldiers who had already devolved into a disorganized rabble.

“The sight of you panicking and flailing around after losing one eye is still fresh in my mind.”

At the time, he had looked no different from some clueless soldier barely into his twenties.

And there was one thing Pedro could not understand.

“You think dressing yourselves up as the King of Stories’ army will hide that you’re from the nation of Hyun? What do you think will happen when His Majesty learns? He will uncover the truth, bring the entire 1st Knight Order and the army with him, and wipe the nation of Hyun from the map.”

The plan was laughably crude.

Hyunsoo, who had remained silent until then, spoke.

“...You sure do love running your mouth. You seem to be mistaken about something. To begin with, Bolond can’t know that the nation of Hyun joined this battle. Or that I did.”

They had sailed in aboard a Turtle Ship and openly brought the nation of Hyun’s commanders and everyone else with them.

“No one here will survive to tell him.”

“...?”

Pedro considered those words.

At some point, the hawks had all been wiped out.

The soldiers who had witnessed the truth were being swept away. The only survivors would be the Verd Territory forces.

...It’s true.

A chill ran down Pedro’s spine.

Across the continent, only one story would spread: that Verd Territory’s army, a group of nameless soldiers, and their new Monarch, the King of Stories, had annihilated the invaders.

“Are you going to make the King of Stories who helped you wage all-out war against His Majesty?”

“...That’s not it either. Do you know where the King of Stories is? Find him, if you can.”

They could not.

The King of Stories.

A former king who had led an era would possess more than enough power, and his wealth in gold and treasure would be beyond imagination.

The Parion Empire had reached Story Island only once.

But the Parion Empire Army that arrived there had been annihilated. They had not even learned its location.

The plan appeared simple, but Hyun’s plan had been carefully layered.

Pedro looked past Hyunsoo.

I’m not finished yet.

His escape route remained wide open. And after fighting Hyunsoo once, Pedro knew he was not a difficult opponent.

He would run to Bolond and report everything.

Moreover, Pedro was not tired in the slightest.

He stood with his arms folded, observing the entire battlefield. He was perfectly fine, not having sustained a single wound.

But Hyunsoo, who had cut down one hundred thousand men, must have exhausted most of what he had.

And there was no way a man who had lost vision in one eye could stop him.

BOOM!

Pedro moved toward Hyunsoo.

“...!”

He was so fast that Hyunsoo had difficulty reacting.

More precisely, Pedro had slipped past his notice by moving through his blind side.

Aiming for Hyunsoo’s flank, Pedro gathered sword energy at the tip of his blade.

BOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted at Hyunsoo’s side.

It was enough power to kill five or six knights instantly.

As dust rose thickly into the air, Pedro grinned at the escape route now open behind him.

Just as he tried to head toward it, he froze.

One shining eye glinted sharply through the dust.

FWOOOSH!

At the same time, a sword blossomed like cherry blossoms warmed by spring.

For an instant, Pedro’s gaze was stolen by that beautiful, magnificent pink radiance.

RIIIP!

He jerked back as the sword strike tore at his flesh.

A sharply honed blade killed its victim without pain.

But a blade that flowed like waves tore a person apart in the most agonizing way possible.

The blooming cherry blossoms delivered the greatest pain Pedro had ever experienced in his life.

“AAAAARGH!”

Yet an absurd sight unfolded.

Pedro’s blood burst forth, formed tiny droplets, and was drawn into Hyunsoo’s body.

SSSSSS—

Hyunsoo’s wounds healed in an instant, making him look like a vampire.

But—

[You have dealt 75,041 damage.]

[You have inflicted the most horrific pain upon the target.]

[HP has been restored to 45%.]

[The injury to one eye cannot be restored.]

[It will return after one day.]

Full Bloom could not restore the loss of one eye.

And Pedro’s damage output was even greater than Hyunsoo had expected.

So this is the 1st Knight Order...

He had allowed a single hit, yet his HP had plummeted by fifteen percent.

And now, having judged that getting past Hyunsoo would be harder than expected, Pedro went all out.

[Your heart beats faster!]

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

The Parion Empire’s 1st Knight Order was called the Heart of Parion for a reason.

They could draw on the power of the Heart passed down by Bolond.

Whenever their hearts beat faster, the knights surpassed their limits by far.

Their sword energy, speed, and every other aspect of their strength rose to terrifying heights.

Just like this—

KRAAASH!

Even a single thrust made the air around it convulse with a massive tearing roar.

Then—

SHNK!

Pedro drove his sword into Hyunsoo’s chest and shoved with all his strength.

Hyunsoo was forced backward. The instant he struck a tree—

CRUNCH!

“Khk!”

Pedro pulled out his sword and drew it back with all his strength.

[Your heart races as though it will burst!!]

The force spilling from his body shook the surrounding trees with overwhelming power.

RUMBLE—

The concentrated sword energy gathered on his blade would, in user terms, deal 2,500% damage in an instant.

And if Hyunsoo died here, no one would be able to catch Pedro. He would be able to flee at top speed.

By driving Hyunsoo back with his blade, Pedro had put some distance between them and the people from the nation of Hyun.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Just as his sword was about to strike Hyunsoo, whose back was pressed against the tree and whose brow had furrowed—

GRAB!

“Absolute Invincibility.”

“...???”

A barrier formed around Hyunsoo’s body.

The power of Overlord’s Armor wrapped around him, and even when Pedro’s sword struck it head-on—

CLAAANG!

[You take no damage!]

It prevented even the slightest damage.

Meanwhile, the trees and earth around Hyunsoo were uprooted and gouged apart.

CLANG! CLANG! CLAAANG!

No matter how many times Pedro swung his sword, Hyunsoo did not take even a trace of damage.

Instead—

SHRRRKKK!

Absolute Invincibility also possessed the power to attack the enemy, pressing Pedro back.

SHRRRK!

Though Pedro was attacking Hyunsoo, invisible sword energy raging madly around him continued cutting into him without end.

As he endured the surging sword energy, Pedro accelerated his heart even further.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

[Physical defense is raised to the limit.]

His hardened body attempted to withstand the invisible sword energy.

But Pedro realized too late.

This invisible sword energy retained its full power against any defense.

And then—

[Longing arises!!]

[Activation chance: 2%!]

[You strike the enemy with a mighty blow dealing 1100% damage!]

KABOOOM!

The power that had once knocked Asura Kabel unconscious in a single blow struck Pedro.

The enormous impact of the damage made him scream.

“AAAAARGH!!”

His armor shattered completely.

The shocking part was that Pedro had no idea where the hell this bastard’s power kept coming from.

He was only a blacksmith. He should not have possessed so much mystical power.

Yet it never ended.

Could it be...?

Pedro realized that the reason was precisely because he was a blacksmith.

The source of his strength—everything—came from artifacts.

The Throne Sword created by his fingertips let out a cry.

BOOOOM!

[Longing arises!!]

BOOOOM!

[Longing arises!]

BOOOOM!

[Longing arises!]

[Critical Hit!!]

Covered in blood, Pedro wheezed as he looked at Hyun, who now had only one functioning eye.

Hyun had recovered from Pedro’s earlier blow, but he was clearly exhausted to the limit.

Yet Pedro still could not understand how he remained so solid.

“Sword King’s Swordsmanship...”

This was the end.

The moment Pedro realized it—

STAGGER—

No...

Hyunsoo’s vision suddenly spun, and all the strength drained from his body.

The accumulated exhaustion from the lengthy battle, from personally cutting down more than one hundred thousand men, from the damage and fatigue piling up on him—

Damn it!

The game’s high degree of freedom was the problem.

If this attempt failed, he would not be able to stop that bastard.

And in the gap created by his momentary stagger, Pedro found his answer.

BOOOOM!

Pedro shoved Hyunsoo away and sprinted at full speed.

He had just been given a chance to kill Hyunsoo.

But Pedro was no fool.

If he killed Hyunsoo, Hyunsoo’s army would undoubtedly converge on him.

Reporting this to His Majesty was the highest priority.

“Khah, KHAHAHAHAHA!”

As Pedro moved farther away from Hyunsoo, he was overcome with emotion.

In the end, it was his victory.

The entire Parion Empire Army would sweep through the nation of Hyun, and he would stand at the vanguard that day.

Pedro did not consider retreating for now to be shameful.

TATATATATAT!

Pedro ran until he completely escaped their territory and rejoiced.

“My victory! I said it’s my victory!!!”

But then—

“...”

Pedro, still running, encountered a man.

FWOOOSH—

The man emerged from the flames.

He was barely still standing.

People had an aura about them.

Pedro could tell that Hyunsoo was already in a state where it would not have been strange for him to collapse.

Yet Hyunsoo, barely holding himself upright, muttered—

“Sword Rampage.”

KRAKRAKRAKRAKRAKRAKRAKRAK!

Eighty bundles of sword energy swept over Pedro.

Pedro’s entire body was torn to pieces, and he finally collapsed to the ground.

Hyunsoo, who had squeezed out every last ounce of strength to kill Pedro, fell as well.

THUD.

As his consciousness dimmed, he heard the notifications.

[You have slain Pedro of the Parion Empire’s 1st Knight Order.]

[Because you have killed a Commander, EXP and artifact drop rate x2 have been applied. You receive rewards.]

[You have acquired 38,031,000 EXP.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have acquired 153,016 Gold.]

[Legendary grade. You have acquired the Scar Engraver’s Ring.]

Ding!

[The Parion Empire Army has been annihilated.]

[You have killed more than 110,000 people.]

[The 50,000 Massacrer title has been upgraded and evolves into 100,000 Massacrer!]

[S-grade title.]

[You were progressing through Kingdom Quest: Final Battle.]

[You have killed more than 110,000 people and executed Commander-in-Chief Pedro.]

[Your contribution to Bellaim Kingdom now surpasses that of anyone in the kingdom’s history.]

[The standard reward of 30 Gold per kill has increased by 50%, applying 45 Gold per kill.]

[4,874,175,000 Gold.]

Ding!

[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]

[King Ruma of Bellaim Kingdom judges the reward to be insufficient!]

[King Ruma will meet with the kings across the continent to discuss a reward, and you will receive an even more remarkable one!]